WASHINGTON — Today, Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Peter Roskam (R-IL) sent a letter to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen asking him to explain why the agency recently hired CGI Federal, the same contractor that bungled the rollout of Healthcare.gov. Upon sending the letter, Chairman Roskam issued the following statement.

“The American people should know why the IRS spent millions of taxpayer dollars to hire the same company responsible for the botched Healthcare.gov rollout. From an agency clamoring for more funding, this isn’t a confidence-inspiring use of resources.”

The full text of the letter follows below and can be viewed here.

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January 23, 2015

The Honorable John Koskinen
Commissioner
Internal Revenue Service
1111 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20224

Dear Commissioner Koskinen,

As Chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, I am writing to inquire about the Internal Revenue Service’s decision to hire contractor CGI Federal to provide “critical functions” related to the “ACA Program-Wide Consolidated Release Management Support.” Given your publicly-stated concerns about resource challenges at the IRS, I am seeking assurance that taxpayer dollars are being put to their highest and best use.   

As you know, in January 2014, the Department of Health and Human Services fired CGI Federal after its disastrous rollout of the HealthCare.gov website. Shortly thereafter, Massachusetts followed suit, firing CGI for its poor performance developing the state health exchange website. Governor Deval Patrick called CGI Federal a “disappointing partner.” In August 2014, Vermont also fired CGI Federal for its “unacceptable” work creating its state exchange website.” I am concerned that just months after the HHS and Massachusetts firings, the IRS selected the same contractor to provide critical technology services related to the administration of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

To help the Subcommittee understand your decision to spend $4.46 million of taxpayer funds on CGI Federal’s services, please provide the following information by February 6, 2015:

1. The contract between the IRS and CGI Federal signed on August 11, 2014, and all  associated documents;
2. All competing bid documents;
3. The IRS’s request for proposals and statement of work associated with this contract;
4. A description of when and how the IRS decided to hire CGI Federal, including the names of all IRS personnel involved in the decision-making process and a description of their roles in the process;
5. All internal communications, including, but not limited to, e-mail correspondence and memoranda, regarding the IRS’s decision to hire CGI Federal; and
6. A description of the controls the IRS has in place for this project to ensure that the problems associated with Healthcare.gov and the state exchange websites do not arise with this project.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter. If you have any questions, please contact Oversight Subcommittee staff at 202-225-5522.

Sincerely,

Peter J. Roskam
Chairman
Subcommittee on Oversight

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