DOGE claimed $1.76 billion savings from Defence Health Agency IT contract termination that GAO found never occurred
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) reported $1.76 billion in savings from terminating a Defense Health Agency information technology contract that provided IT services to more than 700 military treatment facilities worldwide.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found the contract was never terminated. No work was removed, there was no reduction in its scope or value, and no funds were deobligated, according to a GAO review released on 6 August.
After Defence Health Agency officials discussed the contract with DOGE, DOGE agreed that no action should be taken to terminate it. The $1.76 billion savings claim remains listed on DOGE’s Wall of Receipts.
DOGE’s entry dated 14 April 2025 identifies A1FedImpact and “Geographic Service Providers.” Data provided to Military Times by GAO shows approximately $1.83 billion listed as the total contract value and $1.76 billion in savings, with $62 million listed as the amount currently obligated.
DOGE’s Wall of Receipts states that contract savings are calculated as the difference between a contract’s total value and the amount currently obligated. GAO could not determine how DOGE arrived at those figures because DOGE did not respond to the watchdog’s requests for meetings or documentation.
Defence Health Agency programme and acquisition officials told GAO there were no savings associated with the contract because nothing was cancelled or deobligated, and no work was removed.
The contract, HT001523D0002, was one of six awards made by DHA in 2023 under a multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity vehicle with a $2.4 billion ceiling. The vehicle was designed to provide standardised enterprise information technology support to medical treatment facilities and other lines of business across the Defense Health Agency in the United States and overseas.
Its scope includes IT service desks, database, application and web development, identity management and desktop support, data centre operations, information assurance, network operations, telecommunications, clinical informatics and information business operations.
DHA managed 736 medical facilities in the United States and overseas in fiscal year 2023, according to GAO. Those facilities included hospitals, medical centres, ambulatory and occupational health clinics and dental clinics.
The $2.4 billion figure is separate from the approximately $1.83 billion “Total Contract” figure displayed in DOGE’s record for the A1FedImpact entry.
On 10 April 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memorandum directing the termination of several Defense Department contracts as part of an effort to eliminate what the department characterised as wasteful spending.
The memorandum stated the identified terminations represented $5.1 billion in spending and nearly $4 billion in estimated savings. It included a Defense Health Agency consulting-services contract among the identified actions.
Four days later, DOGE posted the A1FedImpact Geographic Service Providers entry on its Wall of Receipts, reporting $1.76 billion in savings.
Defence Health Agency officials subsequently met with DOGE to discuss the work being performed under the contract. After that discussion, DOGE agreed that no action should be taken to terminate it, according to GAO.
GAO reviewed contract documentation and federal procurement data and found no complete or partial termination, no reduction in scope or value and no deobligation of funds. GAO concluded that no savings were achieved on the contract.
GAO found no evidence that DOGE later removed, revised or corrected the $1.76 billion claim. The claim remains reported on the Wall of Receipts, which DOGE last updated on 1 January 2026. The site remained live as of 7 July, when GAO completed its review period.
GAO identified broader discrepancies in DOGE’s contract-savings reporting. DOGE reported more than $61 billion in savings associated with 13,476 contracts it identified as terminated.
Of those contracts, GAO found that 2,503 of them, representing $27.4 billion in reported savings, had no termination action recorded in federal procurement data. GAO also found that DOGE did not use its stated methodology to calculate the majority of reported contract savings.
Military Times sought comment from DHA regarding what its officials told DOGE, whether the agency sought correction of the savings claim and whether the contract continued after DOGE reported the savings. DHA had not responded by publication time.
The White House was asked how DOGE arrived at the $1.76 billion figure and whether the administration stands by it as actual savings. The White House had not responded by publication time.
Military Times also asked A1FedImpact whether it was notified of a termination or reduction and whether work continued under the DHA vehicle. The company had not responded by publication time.
Source: Defense News — published August 10, 2026
