II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2336 

To improve the management of information technology projects and 

investments of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 30, 2019 

Mr. TESTER (for himself and Mrs. BLACKBURN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Vet5 erans Affairs Information Technology Reform Act of 

6 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. MANAGEMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF2 FAIRS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 

3 PROJECTS. 

4 (a) UPDATE OF REVIEW PROCESS AND INFORMA5 TION TECHNOLOGY DASHBOARD CHIEF INFORMATION

6 OFFICER RATINGS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec9 retary of Veterans Affairs shall update the review 

10 process for information technology projects of the 

11 Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that ac12 tive risks are factored into the Information Tech13 nology Dashboard Chief Information Officer ratings. 

14 (2) REVIEW BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF

15 THE UNITED STATES.—Not later than one year after 

16 the date on which the Secretary completes updating 

17 the review process under paragraph (1), the Comp18 troller General of the United States shall complete 

19 a review such process. 

20 (b) ANNUAL REPORT ON PROJECT BUDGET DIS21 CREPANCIES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each fiscal year, not later 

23 than 120 days after the end of the previous fiscal 

24 year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 

25 on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Com26 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of RepVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Aug 12, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2336.IS S2336

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1 resentatives a report on covered information tech2 nology projects of the Department with respect to 

3 which the amounts that were obligated and the 

4 amounts expended by the Department in that fiscal 

5 year were, in aggregate, 10 percent or more greater 

6 or less than the amount budgeted for the project in 

7 that fiscal year. 

8 (2) COVERED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

9 PROJECTS.—For purposes of this subsection, a cov10 ered information technology project of the Depart11 ment is an information technology project of the De12 partment for which the Secretary estimates the De13 partment will expend or obligate $25,000,000 or 

14 more for development and sustainment over a three15 year lifecycle. 

16 (3) MITIGATION PLANS.—Each report sub17 mitted under paragraph (1) shall include, for each 

18 project described in the report, a plan to rectify the 

19 budget discrepancy and improve the accuracy of the 

20 budget formulation process of the Department. 

21 SEC. 3. PLAN FOR EXPENDITURES RELATING TO DEPART22 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS INFORMATION 

23 TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS AND INVESTMENTS. 

24 (a) PLAN REQUIRED.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 

2 Affairs shall submit to the appropriate committees 

3 of Congress a plan for expenditures of the Depart4 ment of Veterans Affairs relating to large informa5 tion technology projects and investments. 

6 (2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under 

7 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

8 (A) Identification of each information tech9 nology project and investment planned by the 

10 Secretary for which the Secretary estimates the 

11 Department will expend or obligate 

12 $25,000,000 or more for development and 

13 sustainment over a three-year lifecycle. 

14 (B) For each such project and investment, 

15 a description of— 

16 (i) the functional and performance ca17 pabilities to be delivered and the mission 

18 benefits to be realized; 

19 (ii) the estimated lifecycle cost, includ20 ing estimates for development as well as 

21 maintenance and operations; and 

22 (iii) key milestones to be met. 

23 (C) Demonstration that each project and 

24 investment is— 


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1 (i) consistent with the Information 

2 Technology Modernization Plan of the De3 partment, or successor plan; 

4 (ii) being managed in accordance with 

5 applicable lifecycle management policies 

6 and guidance; and 

7 (iii) subject to applicable planning and 

8 investment control requirements of the De9 partment. 

10 (D) A statement as to whether the plan 

11 has been reviewed by the Comptroller General 

12 of the United States. 

13 (b) DEFINITION OF APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF

14 CONGRESS.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate com15 mittees of Congress’’ means— 

16 (1) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the 

17 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and 

18 (2) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the 

19 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep20 resentatives. 

21 SEC. 4. BUDGET JUSTIFICATION FOR DEPARTMENT OF 

22 VETERANS AFFAIRS INFORMATION TECH23 NOLOGY PROGRAMS. 

24 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that 

25 whenever the budget justification materials are submitted 


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1 to Congress in support of the Department of Veterans Af2 fairs budget for a fiscal year (as submitted with the budg3 et of the President for such fiscal year under section 

4 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code), such budget jus5 tification materials include a specific accounting, including 

6 life cycle costs, of all funds requested for the information 

7 technology programs of the Department. 

8 SEC. 5. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS COMPLIANCE 

9 WITH OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET 

10 DATA CENTER OPTIMIZATION INITIATIVE. 

11 (a) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of Veterans Af12 fairs shall ensure that the Department of Veterans Affairs 

13 complies with all applicable requirements of the Data Cen14 ter Optimization Initiative (DCOI) of the Office of Man15 agement and Budget, including by— 

16 (1) fully identifying the data center inventory of 

17 the Department; and 

18 (2) meeting any targets assigned by the Direc19 tor of the Office of Management and Budget pursu20 ant to such initiative regarding data center closures, 

21 optimization savings, and optimization metrics. 

22 (b) PLAN FOR COMPLIANCE.—Not later than 90 days 

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

24 shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

25 Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 


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1 House of Representatives a plan to fully comply with the 

2 requirements described in subsection (a). 

3 (c) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than March 31, 

4 2020, and in March of each year thereafter until the date 

5 on which the Director of the Office of Management and 

6 Budget determines that the Department is in full compli7 ance with the requirements of the initiative referred to in 

8 subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Com9 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Com10 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representa11 tives a report on the progress of the Secretary in carrying 

12 out the plan submitted under subsection (b). 

13 SEC. 6. ANNUAL LIST OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF14 FAIRS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 

15 PROJECTS. 

16 (a) ANNUAL LIST.—Not less frequently than once 

17 each year, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit 

18 to the appropriate committees of Congress a comprehen19 sive, prioritized list of all information technology projects 

20 being funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, 

21 disaggregated by business line or portfolio division. 

22 (b) DEFINITION OF APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF

23 CONGRESS.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate com24 mittees of Congress’’ means— 


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1 (1) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the 

2 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and 

3 (2) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the 

4 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep5 resentatives. 

6 SEC. 7. ASSESSMENT OF SUITABILITY OF DEPARTMENT OF 

7 VETERANS AFFAIRS INFORMATION TECH8 NOLOGY INVESTMENTS FOR MIGRATION TO 

9 CLOUD COMPUTING SERVICE. 

10 (a) ASSESSMENT REQUIRED.—Not later than one 

11 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec12 retary of Veterans Affairs, acting through the Chief Infor13 mation Officer of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 

14 shall complete an assessment, in accordance with guidance 

15 from the Office of Management and Budget, of all infor16 mation technology investments of the Department of Vet17 erans Affairs to determine the suitability of the invest18 ments for migration to a cloud computing service. 

19 (b) MECHANISM TO TRACK SAVINGS.—The Sec20 retary shall create a consistent and repeatable mechanism 

21 to track savings and cost avoidances from— 

22 (1) migration of information technology invest23 ments to cloud computing services; and 

24 (2) deployment of cloud computing services. 


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1 (c) REPORT ON SPENDING.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, 

3 acting through the Chief, shall submit to the appropriate 

4 committees of Congress a report on spending by the De5 partment on information technology investments, 

6 disaggregated by information technology investment. 

7 (d) DEFINITION OF APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF

8 CONGRESS.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate com9 mittees of Congress’’ means— 

10 (1) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the 

11 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and 

12 (2) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the 

13 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep14 resentatives. 

15 SEC. 8. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS INFORMA16 TION TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT POLICIES 

17 WITH RESPECT TO ROLE OF CHIEF INFORMA18 TION OFFICER. 

19 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that 

20 the information technology management policies of the 

21 Department of Veterans Affairs address the role of the 

22 Chief Information Officer of the Department with respect 

23 to the following key responsibilities: 

24 (1) Information technology strategic planning. 

25 (2) Information technology workforce. 


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1 (3) Information technology planning, program2 ming, and budgeting. 

3 (4) Information technology investment manage4 ment. 

5 (5) Innovations and emerging technologies. 

6 SEC. 9. CONTINUOUS MONITORING STRATEGY TO IMPROVE 

7 INFORMATION SECURITY PROGRAMS OF DE8 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

9 In order to improve information security programs of 

10 the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Vet11 erans Affairs shall develop a continuous monitoring strat12 egy that addresses the following: 

13 (1) Organization-defined metrics. 

14 (2) Frequency of monitoring metrics. 

15 (3) Ongoing status monitoring of metrics. 

16 (4) Reporting of security status. 

17 SEC. 10. REVISION OF PROCESSES OF DEPARTMENT OF 

18 VETERANS AFFAIRS OFFICE OF INFORMA19 TION AND TECHNOLOGY RELATING TO RISK 

20 MANAGEMENT. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet23 erans Affairs, acting through the Chief Information Offi24 cer of the Department of Veterans Affairs, shall revise the 

25 processes of the Office of Information and Technology of 


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1 the Department relating to risk management to include 

2 the following: 

3 (1) Determining costs and benefits of imple4 menting the risk mitigation plan for each risk. 

5 (2) Collecting performance measures on risk 

6 handling activities. 

7 (b) REVIEW BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE

8 UNITED STATES.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

9 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of 

10 the United States shall complete a review of the processes 

11 revised pursuant to subsection (a). 

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