The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs has signed and served subpoenas compelling Oracle executive chair Larry Ellison and CEO Mike Sicilia to testify about the company’s $27 billion VA EHR contract.
The committee voted 19-0 to force the testimony after a motion from Rep. Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., during a Sept. 2 oversight hearing. Chair Mike Bost, R-Ill., recessed the hearing and repeatedly pressed Democrats to withdraw the motion; they refused, and Republicans ultimately joined them in the vote.
The subpoenas require Mr. Ellison and Mr. Sicilia to answer under oath for a no-bid contract modification that raised the deal’s ceiling from roughly $10 billion to $27 billion, despite years of delays, technical failures and patient safety concerns affecting veterans. Mr. Sicilia told Congress in 2022 that Oracle would bear the cost of fixing the system.
“Oracle agreed to testify, backed out, then tried to substitute private conversations for public accountability,” ranking member Mark Takano, D-Calif., said in a Sept. 14 statement. “Nineteen members of this committee, Republicans and Democrats, said that was unacceptable.”
Mr. Takano also said Mr. Ellison donated $45 million to a political nonprofit backing President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign before the VA approved the ceiling increase, calling the timing a matter Congress has a duty to examine.
The subpoenas set up a public hearing where lawmakers can question Oracle’s leaders directly on a contract that has drawn repeated scrutiny from Congress and the Government Accountability Office over its cost and rollout.
Becker’s reached out to Oracle for comment and will update the story if new information becomes available.
