Some cancelled VA contracts disappear from ‘Wall of Receipts’ as more cuts loom
Gettyimages.com/Douglas Rissing
By
Nick Wakeman
Despite inconsistencies, veteran-owned businesses are bearing the brunt of the DOGE-driven eliminations at the Veterans Affairs Department.
The Veterans Affairs Department has caused quite a stir with its Monday announcement that it has identified 585 contracts to cancel.
Only 34 of those, or 6%, have appeared so far on the Department of Government Efficiency Wall of Receipts and cover a range of activities.
There previously were 28 contracts on the wall, so simple math would make you think that DOGE added six more contracts. But as we are learning with DOGE, nothing is so simple.
Ten contracts that DOGE previously listed as cancelled are no longer on the wall.
These include:
- An $18.6 million contract for digital modernization support held by Sprezzatura Management Consulting.
- A $10.7 million contract to support clinical informatics and program management with Green-Gate Technology.
- A $1.9 million contract with Aptive Resources for news media analysis and clipping services
- A $178,202 contract for subscriptions to Politico.
DOGE either mistakenly put these contracts on the wall or reinstated them. We have reached out to the companies and DOGE to determine how the contracts appeared and then disappeared.
Since its start, the Wall of Receipts has had problems with exaggerated claims of savings and mistakes like overstating the value of a cancelled Leidos contract.
There is little doubt that contracts are being cancelled, even if you just track LinkedIn postings. At least one CEO has offered himself as a reference for any of his now laid off employees.
Even with the mistakes surrounding VA contracts, the fact remains that service-disabled/veteran-owned small businesses hold most of the cancelled contracts.
Of the 34 VA contracts on the wall: SDVO small businesses hold 25, a veteran-owned business holds one, and women-owned businesses hold two.
We have asked VA for a list of the 585 contracts. We expect the percentage of SDVO businesses to drop, but keep in mind that VA does have a stated policy to contract as much as possible with veteran-owned businesses. We have also reached out to DOGE.
Given that policy, little doubt exists that a considerable number of veteran-owned businesses will lose contracts.
Not a good look for an agency whose sole constituency is veterans.