II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2250 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 17, 2022 

Received 

AN ACT 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the 

management of information technology projects and investments of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Vet3 erans Affairs Information Technology Reform Act of 

4 2022’’. 

5 SEC. 2. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS AND AC6 TIVITIES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 81 of title 38, United 

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing new subchapter: 

10 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER VI—INFORMATION 

11 TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES 

12 ‘‘§ 8171. Definitions 

13 ‘‘In this subchapter: 

14 ‘‘(1) The term ‘appropriate congressional com15 mittees’ means— 

16 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

17 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

18 Senate; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

20 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

21 House of Representatives. 

22 ‘‘(2) The term ‘information technology’ has the 

23 meaning given that term in section 11101 of title 

24 40. 

25 ‘‘(3)(A) The term ‘information technology 

26 project’ means a project or program of the DepartVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Jan 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2250.RDS H2250

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1 ment (including a project or program of any element 

2 of the Department) for, or including, the acquisition 

3 or implementation of information technology. 

4 ‘‘(B) In cases where the Secretary transmits to 

5 the Director of the Office of Management and Budg6 et information regarding information technology in7 vestments, which may consist of individual or mul8 tiple projects, the term ‘information technology 

9 project’ refers to an individual project or program or 

10 a grouping of multiple projects or programs result11 ing in the acquisition or implementation of discrete 

12 information technology. 

13 ‘‘(4) The term ‘life cycle costs’ means all direct 

14 and indirect costs to acquire, implement, operate, 

15 and maintain information technology, including with 

16 respect to costs of any element of the Department. 

17 ‘‘(5) The term ‘major information technology 

18 project’ means an information technology project 

19 if— 

20 ‘‘(A) the project is designated by the Sec21 retary, the Chief Information Officer of the De22 partment, or the Director of the Office of Man23 agement and Budget as a major information 

24 technology investment, as defined in section 

25 11302 of title 40; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) the dollar value of the project is esti2 mated by the Secretary to exceed— 

3 ‘‘(i) $1,000,000,000 (as adjusted for 

4 inflation pursuant to section 1908 of title 

5 41) for the total life cycle costs of the 

6 project; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) $200,000,000 (as adjusted for 

8 inflation pursuant to section 1908 of title 

9 41) annually. 

10 ‘‘(6) The term ‘business owner’ means, with re11 spect to an information technology project, the pro12 gram manager, project manager, or other super13 visory official of the Department responsible for the 

14 project. 

15 ‘‘§ 8172. Management of major information tech16 nology projects 

17 ‘‘(a) COST, SCHEDULE, AND PERFORMANCE INFOR18 MATION.—(1) The Secretary, acting through the Chief In19 formation Officer of the Department, shall submit to the 

20 appropriate congressional committees a report containing 

21 information on the cost, schedule, and performance of 

22 each major information technology project that begins 

23 after the date of the enactment of the Department of Vet24 erans Affairs Information Technology Reform Act of 


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1 2022, as generated by the business owner of the project, 

2 prior to the commencement of such project. 

3 ‘‘(2) Each report submitted under paragraph (1) for 

4 a project shall include, with respect to such project, the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(A) An estimate of acquisition costs, imple7 mentation costs, and life cycle costs. 

8 ‘‘(B) An intended implementation schedule indi9 cating significant milestones, initial operating capa10 bility, and full operating capability or completion. 

11 ‘‘(C) Key business, functional, and performance 

12 objectives. 

13 ‘‘(b) BASELINE.—(1) The Secretary shall use the in14 formation on the cost, schedule, and performance of a 

15 major information technology project included in the re16 port under subsection (a) as the baseline against which 

17 changes or variances are measured during the life cycle 

18 of such project. 

19 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) annually update the baseline of a major 

21 information technology project pursuant to sub22 section (c); and 

23 ‘‘(B) include such updated baseline in the docu24 ments providing detailed information on the budget 

25 for the Department that the Secretary submits to 


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1 Congress in conjunction with the President’s budget 

2 submission pursuant to section 1105 of title 31. 

3 ‘‘(c) CHANGES AND VARIANCES.—(1) Not later than 

4 60 days after the date on which the Secretary identifies 

5 a change or variance described in paragraph (2) in the 

6 cost, schedule, or performance of a major information 

7 technology project, the Secretary, acting through the Chief 

8 Information Officer, shall submit to the appropriate con9 gressional committees a notification of such change or 

10 variance, including a description and explanation for such 

11 change or variance. 

12 ‘‘(2) A change or variance in the cost, schedule, or 

13 performance of a major information technology project de14 scribed in this paragraph is— 

15 ‘‘(A) with respect to the acquisition, implemen16 tation, or life cycle cost of the project, or develop17 ment increment therein, a change or variance that is 

18 10 percent or greater compared to the baseline; 

19 ‘‘(B) with respect to the schedule for a develop20 ment increment or for achieving a significant mile21 stone, initial operating capability, or full operating 

22 capability, or for the final completion of the project, 

23 a change or variance that is 180 days or greater 

24 compared to the baseline; or 


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1 ‘‘(C) with respect to the performance, an in2 stance where a key business, functional, or perform3 ance objective is not attained, or is not anticipated 

4 to be attained, in whole or in part. 

5 ‘‘(d) MANAGEMENT.—The Secretary shall ensure 

6 that each major information technology project is man7 aged by an interdisciplinary team consisting of the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(1) A project manager who— 

10 ‘‘(A)(i) is certified in project management 

11 at level three by— 

12 ‘‘(I) the Department; 

13 ‘‘(II) the Federal Acquisition Institute 

14 pursuant to section 1201 of title 41; or 

15 ‘‘(III) the Department of Defense 

16 pursuant to section 1701a of title 10; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) holds an equivalent certification by a 

18 private sector project management certification 

19 organization, as determined appropriate by the 

20 Secretary; and 

21 ‘‘(B) is an employee of the Office of Infor22 mation and Technology of the Department or 

23 an employee of an element of the Department 

24 at which the project originates. 


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1 ‘‘(2) A functional lead who is an employee of 

2 the element of the Department at which the project 

3 originates. 

4 ‘‘(3) A technical lead who is an employee of the 

5 Office of Information and Technology of the Depart6 ment. 

7 ‘‘(4) A contracting officer. 

8 ‘‘(5) Sufficient other project management, func9 tional, technical, and procurement personnel as the 

10 Secretary determines appropriate. 

11 ‘‘§ 8173. Information technology activities of the Fi12 nancial Services Center 

13 ‘‘(a) MANAGEMENT.—Consistent with sections 11302 

14 and 11319 of title 40— 

15 ‘‘(1) the Chief Information Officer of the De16 partment shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) exercise authority over the manage18 ment, governance, and oversight processes relat19 ing to existing or proposed information tech20 nology of the Financial Services Center of the 

21 Department, or such successor office; and 

22 ‘‘(B) supervise the information technology 

23 employees and contractors of the Financial 

24 Services Center; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) the Director of the Financial Services Cen2 ter of the Department, or the head of such successor 

3 office, may not enter into a contract or other agree4 ment for information technology or information tech5 nology services unless the contract or other agree6 ment has been reviewed and approved by the Chief 

7 Information Officer. 

8 ‘‘(b) OVERSIGHT.—The Chief Information Officer 

9 shall have oversight and operational authority over all in10 formation security practices of the Financial Services Cen11 ter of the Department. 

12 ‘‘§ 8174. Submission of annual reviews of information 

13 technology 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

15 the Chief Information Officer of the Department, shall 

16 submit to the appropriate congressional committees each 

17 annual review of the information technology portfolio of 

18 the Department conducted pursuant to section 

19 11319(d)(3) of title 40. 

20 ‘‘(b) FIRST SUBMISSION.—The first annual review 

21 submitted under subsection (a) shall include a copy of 

22 each previous annual review conducted under section 

23 11319(d)(3) of title 40. 


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1 ‘‘§ 8175. Information technology matters to be in2 cluded in budget justification materials 

3 for the Department 

4 ‘‘(a) LIST OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS

5 IN EFFECT.—The Secretary shall ensure that whenever 

6 the budget justification materials are submitted to Con7 gress in support of the Department budget for a fiscal 

8 year (as submitted with the budget of the President for 

9 such fiscal year under section 1105(a) of title 31), such 

10 budget justification materials include a list of every infor11 mation technology project currently in effect at the De12 partment (including not only congressional projects and 

13 subprojects as determined by the Director of the Office 

14 of Management and Budget or the Secretary). 

15 ‘‘(b) PRIORITIZED LIST OF UNFUNDED PROJECTS.— 

16 (1) In addition to the list included in the budget justifica17 tion materials required by subsection (a), the Secretary 

18 shall ensure that the budget justification materials de19 scribed in such subsection also include summary descrip20 tions and a prioritized list, in rank order, of every informa21 tion technology project of the Department, proposed or in22 tended to be proposed for the following one, two, or three 

23 fiscal years, that is unfunded as of the time of the inclu24 sion of the list under this paragraph. 

25 ‘‘(2) In producing the list required by paragraph (1), 

26 the Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) ensure such list represents a ranking of all 

2 proposed information technology projects that re3 flects the needs of all elements of the Department; 

4 ‘‘(B) produce one unified list for the entire De5 partment demonstrating how the various proposed 

6 information technology projects of each of the ele7 ments of the Department rank in priority with the 

8 information technology projects of the other ele9 ments of the Department; and 

10 ‘‘(C) ensure that the list— 

11 ‘‘(i) does not disaggregate and rank infor12 mation technology projects based on element of 

13 the Department; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) does identify the element of the De15 partment requesting the information technology 

16 project. 

17 ‘‘(3)(A) In producing each list under paragraph (1), 

18 the Secretary shall prioritize and rank each information 

19 technology project based on an assessment of each of the 

20 following factors: 

21 ‘‘(i) Degree of collaboration between business 

22 owners and the Chief Information Officer with re23 spect to joint functional-technical planning, require24 ments, and management. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) Operational or efficiency benefits to em2 ployees of the Department created or produced by 

3 the information technology project. 

4 ‘‘(iii) The life cycle cost of the information tech5 nology project. 

6 ‘‘(iv) The cost savings or cost avoidance yielded 

7 by the information technology project. 

8 ‘‘(v) Time to completion of the information 

9 technology project. 

10 ‘‘(vi) The difficulty of the information tech11 nology project, the likelihood the information tech12 nology project will be completed, or the risks associ13 ated with undertaking the information technology 

14 project. 

15 ‘‘(vii) Tangible benefits to veterans created or 

16 produced by the information technology project. 

17 ‘‘(viii) Such other factors as the Secretary con18 siders appropriate. 

19 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall ensure that each list pro20 duced under paragraph (1) includes, for each information 

21 technology project included in the list, a brief description 

22 of the findings of the Secretary with respect to each as23 sessment carried out by the Secretary for each factor for 

24 the information technology project under subparagraph 

25 (A). 


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1 ‘‘(c) PROJECTED FUNDING NEEDS.—(1) In addition 

2 to the matters included under subsections (a) and (b), the 

3 Secretary shall ensure that the budget justification mate4 rials described in subsection (a) also include a projection 

5 of the one-year, two-year, and three-year funding needs 

6 of the Department for information technology, 

7 disaggregated by— 

8 ‘‘(A) portfolio; and 

9 ‘‘(B) the product line of the Department that 

10 requires the funding. 

11 ‘‘(2) In addition to the projections under paragraph 

12 (1), with respect to each of the periods set forth in such 

13 paragraph, the Secretary shall include a description of the 

14 funding required for each technology business manage15 ment category used by the Office of Information Tech16 nology of the Department (commonly referred to as ‘cost 

17 pools’ and ‘towers’).’’. 

18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

19 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 

20 at the end the following: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER VI—INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES

‘‘Sec. 8171. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 8172. Management of major information technology projects. 

‘‘Sec. 8173. Information technology activities of the Financial Services Center. 

‘‘Sec. 8174. Submission of annual reviews of information technology. 

‘‘Sec. 8175. Information technology matters to be included in budget justification materials for the Department.’’. 


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1 (c) APPLICATION AND REPORT REGARDING MANAGE2 MENT OF MAJOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

3 PROJECTS.— 

4 (1) CURRENT AND NEW MAJOR PROJECTS.— 

5 Except as specifically provided in subsection (a) of 

6 section 8172 of title 38, United States Code, as 

7 added by subsection (a) of this section, such section 

8 8172 shall apply with respect to major information 

9 technology projects that begin before, on, or after 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

11 (2) REPORT ON CURRENT PROJECTS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

13 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

14 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to 

15 the appropriate congressional committees a re16 port on each major information technology 

17 project that the Secretary is carrying out as of 

18 the date of the report. 

19 (B) CONTENTS.—The report submitted 

20 under subparagraph (A) shall contain, with re21 spect to each project described in such subpara22 graph, information on the cost, schedule, and 

23 performance of the project as described in sub24 section (a) of section 8172 of such title, as so 

25 added. 


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1 (3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the 

2 terms ‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ and 

3 ‘‘major information technology project’’ have the 

4 meanings given those terms in section 8171 of title 

5 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a) 

6 of this section. 

7 (d) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACTIVITIES OF THE

8 FINANCIAL SERVICES CENTER.— 

9 (1) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 8173 of such 

10 title, as added by subsection (a), shall take effect on 

11 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

12 (2) APPLICABILITY.—Subsection (a)(2) of such 

13 section shall apply with respect to contracts and 

14 agreements entered into on or after the date of the 

15 enactment of this Act. 

16 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE OF REQUIREMENT FOR

17 PROJECTS IN BUDGET JUSTIFICATION MATERIALS.— 

18 Subsection (c) of section 8175 of such title, as added by 

19 subsection (a) of this section, shall take effect on the first 


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1 Monday in the second January beginning after the date 

2 of the enactment of this Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives November 17, 

2022. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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