I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2911 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a plan 

for obligating and expending Coronavirus pandemic funding made available to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 30, 2021 

Mr. BOST (for himself, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. PAPPAS, and Mr. MANN) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to 

Congress a plan for obligating and expending 

Coronavirus pandemic funding made available to 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 ‘‘VA Transparency & 

5 Trust Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT OF CORONAVIRUS 

2 PANDEMIC FUNDING MADE AVAILABLE TO 

3 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

4 (a) PLAN AND REPORTS BY SECRETARY.— 

5 (1) PLAN.—Not later than 30 days after the 

6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

7 Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees on 

8 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives 

9 and the Senate a detailed plan for obligating and ex10 pending covered funds, including a detailed justifica11 tion for each type of obligation of such funds. 

12 (2) BIWEEKLY REPORTS.—Every 14 days dur13 ing the period beginning on the date on which the 

14 plan under paragraph (1) is submitted and ending 

15 seven days after the date on which the Secretary has 

16 expended all covered funds, the Secretary shall sub17 mit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

18 House of Representatives and the Senate a report 

19 detailing the obligation and expenditure of, and the 

20 planned uses for, such funds during the period cov21 ered by the report, including a written justification 

22 for any deviation in such obligations, expenditures, 

23 or planned uses from such plan. 

24 (b) INSPECTOR GENERAL AUDITS.—Not later than 

25 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

26 semiannually thereafter for three years or until the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2911.IH H2911

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1 retary has expended all covered funds, whichever occurs 

2 first, the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans 

3 Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af4 fairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a 

5 report examining the obligations and expenditures made 

6 using covered funds during the period covered by the re7 port. Each such report shall include— 

8 (1) a comparison of how the funds are being 

9 obligated and expended to how the funds were 

10 planned to be obligated and expended in the plan 

11 under subsection (a)(1); 

12 (2) areas of waste, fraud, and abuse, if any; 

13 and 

14 (3) any other matter the Inspector General de15 termines relevant. 

16 (c) COMPTROLLER GENERAL REVIEWS.— 

17 (1) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than Sep18 tember 30, 2022, the Comptroller General of the 

19 United States shall submit to the Committees on 

20 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives 

21 and the Senate an interim report containing a re22 view of obligations and expenditures made using cov23 ered funds. The report shall include— 


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1 (A) a review of the process of the Depart2 ment of Veterans Affairs for preparing the re3 quest for funds; 

4 (B) an explanation of how the expenditure 

5 of such funds met the goals of the Department 

6 during the public health emergency for which 

7 the funds were made available; 

8 (C) any recommendations to improve the 

9 process of identifying needs and expending 

10 funds during similar situations in the future; 

11 and 

12 (D) a review of the plans of the Depart13 ment to continue programs or investments that 

14 were begun with such funds but will continue 

15 after such funds are expended. 

16 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than September 

17 30, 2024, the Comptroller General shall submit to 

18 the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 

19 Representatives and the Senate a final report on the 

20 matters specified under paragraph (1). 

21 (d) COVERED FUNDS DEFINED.—In this section, the 

22 term ‘‘covered funds’’ means funds that are made avail23 able to the Department of Veterans Affairs pursuant to— 

24 (1) the Families First Coronavirus Response 

25 Act (Public Law 116–127); 


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1 (2) the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic 

2 Security Act (Public Law 116–136); or 

3 (3) the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 

4 (Public Law 117–2). 

Æ 


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