116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2336 

AN ACT 

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, 
2 

†S 2336 ES

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

4 2019’’. 

5 SEC. 2. MANAGEMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF6 FAIRS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 

7 PROJECTS. 

8 (a) UPDATE OF REVIEW PROCESS AND INFORMA9 TION TECHNOLOGY DASHBOARD CHIEF INFORMATION

10 OFFICER RATINGS.— 

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

12 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec13 retary of Veterans Affairs shall update the review 

14 process for information technology projects of the 

15 Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that ac16 tive risks are factored into the Information Tech17 nology Dashboard Chief Information Officer ratings. 

18 (2) REVIEW BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF

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

20 the date on which the Secretary completes updating 

21 the review process under paragraph (1), the Comp22 troller General of the United States shall complete 

23 a review such process. 

24 (b) ANNUAL REPORT ON PROJECT BUDGET DIS25 CREPANCIES.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each fiscal year, not later 

2 than 120 days after the end of the previous fiscal 

3 year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 

4 on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Com5 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep6 resentatives a report on covered information tech7 nology projects of the Department with respect to 

8 which the amounts that were obligated and the 

9 amounts expended by the Department in that fiscal 

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

11 or less than the amount budgeted for the project in 

12 that fiscal year. 

13 (2) COVERED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

14 PROJECTS.—For purposes of this subsection, a cov15 ered information technology project of the Depart16 ment is an information technology project of the De17 partment for which the Secretary estimates the De18 partment will expend or obligate $25,000,000 or 

19 more for development and sustainment over a three20 year lifecycle. 

21 (3) MITIGATION PLANS.—Each report sub22 mitted under paragraph (1) shall include, for each 

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

24 budget discrepancy and improve the accuracy of the 

25 budget formulation process of the Department. 
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1 SEC. 3. PLAN FOR EXPENDITURES RELATING TO DEPART2 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS INFORMATION 

3 TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS AND INVESTMENTS. 

4 (a) PLAN REQUIRED.— 

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

6 Affairs shall submit to the appropriate committees 

7 of Congress a plan for expenditures of the Depart8 ment of Veterans Affairs relating to large informa9 tion technology projects and investments. 

10 (2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under 

11 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

12 (A) Identification of each information tech13 nology project and investment planned by the 

14 Secretary for which the Secretary estimates the 

15 Department will expend or obligate 

16 $25,000,000 or more for development and 

17 sustainment over a three-year lifecycle. 

18 (B) For each such project and investment, 

19 a description of— 

20 (i) the functional and performance ca21 pabilities to be delivered and the mission 

22 benefits to be realized; 

23 (ii) the estimated lifecycle cost, includ24 ing estimates for development as well as 

25 maintenance and operations; and 

26 (iii) key milestones to be met. 
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1 (C) Demonstration that each project and 

2 investment is— 

3 (i) consistent with the Information 

4 Technology Modernization Plan of the De5 partment, or successor plan; 

6 (ii) being managed in accordance with 

7 applicable lifecycle management policies 

8 and guidance; and 

9 (iii) subject to applicable planning and 

10 investment control requirements of the De11 partment. 

12 (D) A statement as to whether the plan 

13 has been reviewed by the Comptroller General 

14 of the United States. 

15 (b) DEFINITION OF APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF

16 CONGRESS.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate com17 mittees of Congress’’ means— 

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

19 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and 

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

21 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep22 resentatives. 
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1 SEC. 4. BUDGET JUSTIFICATION FOR DEPARTMENT OF 

2 VETERANS AFFAIRS INFORMATION TECH3 NOLOGY PROGRAMS. 

4 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that 

5 whenever the budget justification materials are submitted 

6 to Congress in support of the Department of Veterans Af7 fairs budget for a fiscal year (as submitted with the budg8 et of the President for such fiscal year under section 

9 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code), such budget jus10 tification materials include a specific accounting, including 

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

12 technology programs of the Department. 

13 SEC. 5. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS COMPLIANCE 

14 WITH OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET 

15 DATA CENTER OPTIMIZATION INITIATIVE. 

16 (a) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of Veterans Af17 fairs shall ensure that the Department of Veterans Affairs 

18 complies with all applicable requirements of the Data Cen19 ter Optimization Initiative (DCOI) of the Office of Man20 agement and Budget, including by— 

21 (1) fully identifying the data center inventory of 

22 the Department; and 

23 (2) meeting any targets assigned by the Direc24 tor of the Office of Management and Budget pursu25 ant to such initiative regarding data center closures, 

26 optimization savings, and optimization metrics. 
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1 (b) PLAN FOR COMPLIANCE.—Not later than 90 days 

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

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

4 Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

5 House of Representatives a plan to fully comply with the 

6 requirements described in subsection (a). 

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

8 2020, and in March of each year thereafter until the date 

9 on which the Director of the Office of Management and 

10 Budget determines that the Department is in full compli11 ance with the requirements of the initiative referred to in 

12 subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Com13 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Com14 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representa15 tives a report on the progress of the Secretary in carrying 

16 out the plan submitted under subsection (b). 

17 SEC. 6. ANNUAL LIST OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF18 FAIRS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 

19 PROJECTS. 

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

21 each year, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit 

22 to the appropriate committees of Congress a comprehen23 sive, prioritized list of all information technology projects 

24 being funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, 

25 disaggregated by business line or portfolio division. 
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1 (b) DEFINITION OF APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF

2 CONGRESS.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate com3 mittees of Congress’’ means— 

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

5 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and 

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

7 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep8 resentatives. 

9 SEC. 7. ASSESSMENT OF SUITABILITY OF DEPARTMENT OF 

10 VETERANS AFFAIRS INFORMATION TECH11 NOLOGY INVESTMENTS FOR MIGRATION TO 

12 CLOUD COMPUTING SERVICE. 

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

14 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec15 retary of Veterans Affairs, acting through the Chief Infor16 mation Officer of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 

17 shall complete an assessment, in accordance with guidance 

18 from the Office of Management and Budget, of all infor19 mation technology investments of the Department of Vet20 erans Affairs to determine the suitability of the invest21 ments for migration to a cloud computing service. 

22 (b) MECHANISM TO TRACK SAVINGS.—The Sec23 retary shall create a consistent and repeatable mechanism 

24 to track savings and cost avoidances from— 
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1 (1) migration of information technology invest2 ments to cloud computing services; and 

3 (2) deployment of cloud computing services. 

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

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

6 acting through the Chief, shall submit to the appropriate 

7 committees of Congress a report on spending by the De8 partment on information technology investments, 

9 disaggregated by information technology investment. 

10 (d) DEFINITION OF APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF

11 CONGRESS.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate com12 mittees of Congress’’ means— 

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

14 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and 

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

16 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep17 resentatives. 

18 SEC. 8. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS INFORMA19 TION TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT POLICIES 

20 WITH RESPECT TO ROLE OF CHIEF INFORMA21 TION OFFICER. 

22 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that 

23 the information technology management policies of the 

24 Department of Veterans Affairs address the role of the 
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1 Chief Information Officer of the Department with respect 

2 to the following key responsibilities: 

3 (1) Information technology strategic planning. 

4 (2) Information technology workforce. 

5 (3) Information technology planning, program6 ming, and budgeting. 

7 (4) Information technology investment manage8 ment. 

9 (5) Innovations and emerging technologies. 

10 SEC. 9. CONTINUOUS MONITORING STRATEGY TO IMPROVE 

11 INFORMATION SECURITY PROGRAMS OF DE12 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

13 In order to improve information security programs of 

14 the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Vet15 erans Affairs shall develop a continuous monitoring strat16 egy that addresses the following: 

17 (1) Organization-defined metrics. 

18 (2) Frequency of monitoring metrics. 

19 (3) Ongoing status monitoring of metrics. 

20 (4) Reporting of security status. 
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1 SEC. 10. REVISION OF PROCESSES OF DEPARTMENT OF 

2 VETERANS AFFAIRS OFFICE OF INFORMA3 TION AND TECHNOLOGY RELATING TO RISK 

4 MANAGEMENT. 

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

6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet7 erans Affairs, acting through the Chief Information Offi8 cer of the Department of Veterans Affairs, shall revise the 

9 processes of the Office of Information and Technology of 

10 the Department relating to risk management to include 

11 the following: 

12 (1) Determining costs and benefits of imple13 menting the risk mitigation plan for each risk. 

14 (2) Collecting performance measures on risk 

15 handling activities. 

16 (b) REVIEW BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE

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

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

19 the United States shall complete a review of the processes 

20 revised pursuant to subsection (a). 

Passed the Senate July 30, 2020. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2336 

AN ACT 

To improve the management of information techment of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. nology projects and investments of the Depart-