Veliparib With or Without Carboplatin in Treating Patients With Stage III or IV Breast Cancer

Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients must be female, and must have histologically confirmed breast cancer that is metastatic or locally advanced, unresectable and for which standard curative measures do not exist or are no longer effective
* Patients must have a known deleterious BRCA mutation confirmed by report from a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) certified laboratory (generally Myriad Genetics Laboratory). It is expected that BRCA testing will be covered as medically necessary care by the patient's insurance carrier
* Measurable disease by RECIST criteria; (evaluable disease is allowed only for the safety lead-in phase)
* Prior chemotherapy regimens for metastatic disease are completed, at least 3 weeks prior to starting therapy; prior radiation and hormonal treatment must be completed at least 1 week prior to starting therapy
* Female, age \>= 18 years. Because no dosing or adverse event data are currently available on the use of ABT-888 in patients \< 18 years of age, children are excluded from this study
* Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-2
* Life expectancy of greater than four months
* Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) \>= 1,500/mcL
* Platelets \>= 100,000/mcL
* Total bilirubin =\< 1.5 times institutional upper limit of normal
* Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT) =\< 2.5 times institutional upper limit of normal unless there is evidence of liver metastasis, in which case the AST (SGOT)/ALT (SGPT) must be =\< 5 times institutional upper limit of normal
* Creatinine within normal institutional limits OR creatinine clearance \>= 60 mL/min/1.73 m\^2 for patients with creatinine levels above institutional normal
* If a woman is of child-bearing potential, a negative serum or urine pregnancy test is required; (The effects of ABT-888 \[NSC 737664\] on the developing human fetus are unknown; for this reason and because PARP Inhibitor agents are known to be teratogenic, women of child-bearing potential and men must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation; participants should agree to use contraception for at least 3 months after the completion of study therapy; should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately.)
* Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document

Exclusion Criteria:

* Prior therapy with platinum agents (adjuvant therapy with platinum agents is allowed, if completed \>= 12 months prior to relapse), or PARP inhibitors (prior iniparib, since it is no longer considered a PARP inhibitor, is allowed)
* Patients may not be receiving any other investigational agents
* Patients with known central nervous system (CNS) metastases requiring anticonvulsive medications, or steroids or with active symptomatology; patients on anticonvulsant medications prescribed for reasons other than CNS metastases, not on steroids and without active symptomatology are eligible; patients must be off anti-seizure medications and steroids for 3 months or more before enrollment
* Patients with active seizure or a history of seizure; patients with CNS metastases must be stable after therapy for \> 3 months and off steroid treatment prior to study enrollment
* History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biological composition to ABT-888 (NSC 737664) or PARP inhibitors
* Patients with contraindications to platinum agents are excluded
* Prior or current non-breast malignancy within 5 years except non-melanoma skin cancer or resected stage I ovarian cancer
* Patients with any non-malignant intercurrent illness (e.g., cardiovascular, pulmonary, or central nervous system disease) which is either poorly controlled with currently available treatment or which is of such severity that the investigators deem it unwise to enter the patient on protocol
* Pregnant women are excluded from this study because ABT-888 (NSC 737664) has the potential for teratogenic or abortifacient effects; because there is an unknown but potential risk for adverse events in nursing infants secondary to treatment of the mother with ABT-888 (NSC 737664), breastfeeding should be discontinued
* Patients unable to swallow the ABT-888 tablets whole are ineligible; (the tablets cannot be crushed or broken)
* Patients with an active severe infection; known infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus, or hepatitis C virus; HIV-positive patients on combination antiretroviral therapy are ineligible because of the potential for pharmacokinetic interactions with ABT-888 (NSC 737664); in addition, these patients are at increased risk of lethal infections when treated with marrow-suppressive therapy; appropriate studies will be undertaken in patients receiving combination antiretroviral therapy when indicated