In an abrupt reversal, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced late Friday
it will rely on its own information technology staff to implement the
21st century G.I. Bill rather than contracting out the work. As
recently as 3 weeks ago, VA officials told Congress that they needed
outside help to meet the tight deadlines in the bill.
VA's press release said the department did not receive enough proposals from qualified private companies to do the work. VA Secretary Dr.
James B. Peake cited "external misconceptions" over the scope of the
work that made vendors reluctant to bid. Peake added, however, that "VA can and will deliver the benefits program on time."
The new G.I. Bill, which Science Careers has followed since it was passed in June, makes a university education much more affordable for
returning service members and has the potential at least of expanding
the size and diversity of American science and engineering talent. VA originally planned
to computerize many operational aspects of the bill's implementation
and outsource the development of those systems, largely because of the
mandated 1 August 2009 start date.
On 23 September, VA Assistant Deputy Under Secretary Keith Pedigo told the House Veterans Affairs Committee
that "VA is seeking contractor support to implement the Post-9/11 GI
Bill because we do not believe that we could deliver the systems
necessary to administer the program within the time required utilizing
our existing information technology (IT) resources." Friday's
announcement indicates VA has the in-house staff needed to deliver the
systems.
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The Political Scientist in Europe
October 13, 2008
VA to Implement GI Bill with Internal Staff
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