VA Acquisition Review Board Act of 2023

To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish the Acquisition Review Board of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the VA Acquisition Review Board Act of 2023 2. Establishment of Acquisition Review Board in Department of Veterans Affairs (a) In general Chapter 81 VII Acquisition Review Board 8181. Definitions In this subchapter: (1) The term major acquisition program (2) The term non-major acquisition program 8182. Acquisition Review Board (a) In general There is established in the Department a board, to be known as the Acquisition Review Board (b) Composition (1) The Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall serve as Chair of the Acquisition Review Board. (2) The Deputy Secretary may designate an employee of the Department to oversee the operations of the Acquisition Review Board. (3) The Deputy Secretary shall ensure participation by other relevant Department officials with responsibilities relating to acquisitions as permanent members of the Acquisition Review Board, including the following: (A) The Chief Acquisition Officer. (B) The Chief Financial Officer. (C) The Chief Veterans Experience Officer. (D) The Chief Information Officer. (E) The Assistant Secretary for Enterprise Integration. (F) Other relevant senior Department officials, as the Deputy Secretary determines appropriate, including such officials from the Veterans Health Administration, the Veterans Benefits Administration, and the National Cemetery Administration. (c) Meetings The Acquisition Review Board shall convene— (1) at the discretion of the Deputy Secretary; and (2) not later than 45 days after any date on which— (A) a major acquisition program— (i) is proposed to the Secretary; (ii) is approved by the Secretary to commence; (iii) concludes an acquisition phase; (iv) is not in compliance with requirements relating to cost, schedule, or performance under the applicable program baseline described in section 8183(b)(1) of this title, as determined by the Deputy Secretary; or (v) requires additional review, as determined by the Deputy Secretary; and (B) a non-major acquisition program requires review, as determined by the Deputy Secretary. (d) Responsibilities The Acquisition Review Board shall be responsible for— (1) with respect to a major acquisition program proposed to the Secretary, determining whether the business strategy, budget, management, and organization of such program is feasible and in accordance with the mission and strategic goals of the Department; (2) with respect to a major acquisition program approved by the Secretary to commence, determining the appropriate acquisition category for such program; (3) with respect to a major acquisition program that has concluded an acquisition phase— (A) authorizing the manager of such program appointed pursuant to section 8183(a) of this title to advance such program to a subsequent acquisition phase if the relevant requirements in such applicable program baseline have been satisfied; and (B) advising such manager on appropriate corrective action if such requirements have not been satisfied; and (4) reviewing, on a continuous basis, each major acquisition program to ensure each such program is in compliance with— (A) the relevant requirements in such applicable program baseline; and (B) the certification requirement under subsection (c) of such section. (e) Acquisition decision memorandum Not later than 30 days after any date on which the Deputy Secretary convenes a meeting pursuant to subsection (c), the Deputy Secretary shall submit to the Secretary and the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate an acquisition decision memorandum that includes— (1) a summary of— (A) the purpose of such meeting; (B) any matter discussed during such meeting; (C) any decision of the Acquisition Review Board made during such meeting, including any such decision to allow a major acquisition program to deviate from the relevant requirements in such applicable program baseline; and (D) any matters assigned for further discussion during a subsequent meeting of the Acquisition Review Board; and (2) a certification by the Deputy Secretary that the contents of such memorandum are accurate. 8183. Major acquisition program managers (a) Appointments Not later than 30 days after any date on which the Secretary approves a major acquisition program to commence, the Deputy Secretary shall appoint a manager to be responsible for administering such program. (b) Duties Each manager appointed pursuant to subsection (a) shall be responsible for, with respect to the applicable major acquisition program— (1) developing, in coordination with the Acquisition Review Board, a plan to administer such program, to be known as the program baseline (A) a description of each acquisition phase of such program; (B) for each such acquisition phase, requirements for advancing such program to a subsequent acquisition phase; and (C) estimates of the cost, schedule, and performance of such program that account for the entire life cycle of such program; (2) ensuring such program is in compliance with such requirements; (3) securing funding necessary to satisfy such requirements; (4) adopting standardized processes with established success to support the progress of such program, including— (A) milestones; (B) exit criteria; and (C) specific accomplishments; (5) to the extent practicable, ensuring that personnel of the Department responsible for estimating the budget and cost of such program are provided with an opportunity to raise concerns relating to such budget and cost prior to the establishment of the program baseline under paragraph (1); (6) on a continuous basis, assessing and managing risks to satisfying the requirements of such program baseline relating to cost and schedule; (7) establishing a workforce for such program that is qualified and sufficient to perform the necessary functions of such program; and (8) ensuring such program has adequate technology and production capacity prior to commencing an acquisition phase of such program related to manufacturing, if applicable. (c) Consideration of alternate requirements Not later than 90 days after any date on which a manager appointed pursuant to subsection (a) establishes a program baseline described in subsection (b)(1), such manager shall submit to the Chair of the Acquisition Review Board a certification that such manager considered establishing alternate requirements in such program baseline relating to the cost, schedule, and performance of each acquisition phase of such program prior to establishing such program baseline. (d) Acquisition Review Board authorization required (1) Not later than 30 days after any date on which a major acquisition program concludes an acquisition phase, the manager of such program appointed pursuant to subsection (a) shall notify the Acquisition Review Board under section 8182 of this title. (2) Such manager may not advance such program to a subsequent acquisition phase without the authorization of such Acquisition Review Board pursuant to subsection (d)(3) of such section. . (b) Clerical amendment The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following: SUBCHAPTER VII—ACQUISITION REVIEW BOARD 8181. Definitions. 8182. Acquisition Review Board. 8183. Major acquisition program managers. .

Summary: VA Acquisition Review Board Act of 2023 This bill establishes the Acquisition Review Board within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to support the VA in managing its acquisition programs. In the case of an acquisition program of at least $250 million, the board chair must appoint a manager to administer the program.