Mace Probes DoD’s Cancellation of Contract Modernizing Defense Travel System; Sends Requests for Testimony at Upcoming Hearing

WASHINGTON— Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation Chairwoman Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) sent a letter to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Gilbert Cisneros requesting information on the Defense Department’s (DoD) sudden cancellation of a $374 million contract aimed at replacing its archaic, quarter-century old Defense Travel System (DTS) with MyTravel, a subscription-based, software as a service system.

“The rapid reversal on MyTravel—a system being developed for DoD for over four years at a direct cost of more than $20 million—is troubling. It inevitably raises broader questions about DoD’s ability to manage its finances and information technology,” wrote Subcommittee Chairwoman Mace.

In a briefing earlier this month with committee staff, DoD officials indicated the primary reason the contract was terminated was that DoD components are unprepared to implement MyTravel. DoD officials attributed this to a delay in performing financial management system upgrades to integrate those systems with MyTravel. Absent this integration, the officials said, forced adoption of MyTravel would reduce the auditability of those components.

As part of the investigation, Subcommittee Chairwoman Mace also sent letters to Director of Defense Capabilities and Management at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Elizabeth Field and to Under Secretary Cisneros inviting them to testify at a hearing before the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation, to be held on July 18, 2023.

“I write to invite you to testify at a hearing before the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation, to be held on July 18, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. in room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building,” continued Subcommittee Chairwoman Mace.

Read the letter to Under Secretary Cisneros here.

Read the request for testimony to Under Secretary Cisneros here.

Read the request for testimony to Director Field here.