Federal

Manage VA Act

Source: Congress.gov · 1,003 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill creates a new position called Under Secretary for Management at the Department of Veterans Affairs. This official will be appointed by the President with Senate approval and will handle the department's business operations and management improvements.

Who It Affects

The Department of Veterans Affairs, the President, the Senate, the Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and the Government Accountability Office (a federal watchdog agency that reviews government spending).

Key Provisions

• A new Under Secretary for Management position is created and reports directly to the Deputy Secretary (Sec. 2). • The Under Secretary serves as the Chief Management Officer and advises the Secretary on department management, including budget, accounting, hiring, technology systems and strategic planning (Sec. 2). • The Under Secretary oversees connecting computer information systems across the department and developing standardized management information to improve efficiency (Sec. 2). • The Under Secretary must conduct internal audits and management reviews of department programs and activities (Sec. 2). • The Under Secretary must report every six months to the Government Accountability Office about progress in fixing the department's acquisition management problems until the Comptroller General removes the high-risk designation (Sec. 2). • The Secretary of Veterans Affairs must appoint someone to this position within one year of the bill becoming law (Sec. 2).

What Changes

A new management leadership position is created within the Veterans Affairs department with responsibility for budget, hiring, technology, property, and overall operational improvements.

Important Definitions

None defined in bill text.

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1658 To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish in the Department of Veterans Affairs an Under Secretary for Management, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 17, 2023 Mr. TAKANO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish in the Department of Veterans Affairs an Under Secretary for Management, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Manage VA Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. UNDER SECRETARY OF MANAGEMENT OF DEPART- 5 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of title 38, United 7 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 307 the 8 following new section: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Mar 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1658.IH H1658 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1658 IH ‘‘§ 307A. Under Secretary for Management 1 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is in the Department an 2 Under Secretary for Management, who is appointed by the 3 President, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen- 4 ate. The Under Secretary for Management shall report di- 5 rectly to the Deputy Secretary. 6 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Under Secretary for 7 Management shall serve as the Chief Management Officer 8 of the Department and principal advisor to the Secretary 9 on matters related to the management of the Department, 10 including management integration and transformation in 11 support of Veterans Affairs operations and programs. The 12 Secretary shall carry out the following responsibilities 13 through the Under Secretary for Management: 14 ‘‘(1) The budget, appropriations, expenditures 15 of funds, accounting, and finance. 16 ‘‘(2) Procurement, including infrastructure, 17 property, equipment, and other material resources. 18 ‘‘(3) Human resources and personnel. 19 ‘‘(4) Information technology, including policies 20 and directives to standardize information technology 21 systems across the components of the Department. 22 ‘‘(5) Strategic management planning and an- 23 nual performance planning and identification and 24 tracking of performance measures relating to the re- 25 sponsibilities of the Department. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Mar 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1658.IH H1658 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1658 IH ‘‘(6) The management integration and trans- 1 formation within each functional management dis- 2 cipline of the Department, including information 3 technology, financial management, acquisition man- 4 agement, and human capital management, to ensure 5 an efficient and orderly consolidation of functions 6 and personnel in the Department, including— 7 ‘‘(A) the development of centralized data 8 sources and connectivity of information sys- 9 tems, to the greatest extent practicable, to en- 10 hance program visibility, transparency, effec- 11 tiveness and coordination; 12 ‘‘(B) the development of standardized and 13 automated management information to manage 14 and oversee programs and make informed deci- 15 sions to improve the efficiency of the Depart- 16 ment; 17 ‘‘(C) the development of effective program 18 management and regular oversight mechanisms, 19 including clear roles and processes for program 20 governance, sharing of best practices, and ac- 21 cess to timely, reliable, and evaluated data on 22 all acquisitions and investments; and 23 ‘‘(D) the overall supervision, including the 24 conduct of internal audits and management 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Mar 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1658.IH H1658 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1658 IH analyses, of the programs and activities of the 1 Department, including establishment of over- 2 sight procedures to ensure a full and effective 3 review of the efforts by components of the De- 4 partment to implement policies and procedures 5 of the Department for management integration 6 and transformation. 7 ‘‘(7) The development of a transition and suc- 8 cession plan, before December 1 of each year in 9 which a Presidential election is held, to guide the 10 transition of Department functions to a new Presi- 11 dential administration, and making such plan avail- 12 able to the next Secretary and Under Secretary for 13 Management and to the Committees on Veterans’ 14 Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives. 15 ‘‘(8) Reporting to the Government Account- 16 ability Office every six months to demonstrate meas- 17 urable, sustainable progress made in implementing 18 the corrective action plans of the Department to ad- 19 dress the designation of acquisition management on 20 the bi-annual high-risk list of the Government Ac- 21 countability Office, until the Comptroller General of 22 the United States submits to the appropriate con- 23 gressional committees written notification of removal 24 of the high-risk designation. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Mar 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1658.IH H1658 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1658 IH ‘‘(9) The management of the Office of Enter- 1 prise Integration. 2 ‘‘(10) The supervision of the Director of Con- 3 struction and Facilities, who shall report directly to 4 the Under Secretary for Management. 5 ‘‘(11) Any other management duties that the 6 Secretary may designate.’’. 7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 8 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 9 after the item relating to section 307 the following new 10 item: 11 ‘‘307A. Under Secretary for Management.’’. (c) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary 12 of Veterans Affairs shall appoint an individual to serve 13 as the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Manage- 14 ment by not later than one year after the date of the en- 15 actment of this Act. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Mar 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1658.IH H1658 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

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