I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1658 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish in the Department 
of Veterans Affairs an Under Secretary for Management, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 17, 2023 
Mr. TAKANO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish in the 
Department of Veterans Affairs an Under Secretary for 
Management, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Manage VA Act’’. 
SEC. 2. UNDER SECRETARY OF MANAGEMENT OF DEPART-
MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 307 the 
following new section: 
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‘‘§ 307A. Under Secretary for Management 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is in the Department an 
Under Secretary for Management, who is appointed by the 
President, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen-
ate. The Under Secretary for Management shall report di-
rectly to the Deputy Secretary. 
‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Under Secretary for 
Management shall serve as the Chief Management Officer 
of the Department and principal advisor to the Secretary 
on matters related to the management of the Department, 
including management integration and transformation in 
support of Veterans Affairs operations and programs. The 
Secretary shall carry out the following responsibilities 
through the Under Secretary for Management: 
‘‘(1) The budget, appropriations, expenditures 
of funds, accounting, and finance. 
‘‘(2) Procurement, including infrastructure, 
property, equipment, and other material resources. 
‘‘(3) Human resources and personnel. 
‘‘(4) Information technology, including policies 
and directives to standardize information technology 
systems across the components of the Department. 
‘‘(5) Strategic management planning and an-
nual performance planning and identification and 
tracking of performance measures relating to the re-
sponsibilities of the Department. 
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‘‘(6) The management integration and trans-
formation within each functional management dis-
cipline of the Department, including information 
technology, financial management, acquisition man-
agement, and human capital management, to ensure 
an efficient and orderly consolidation of functions 
and personnel in the Department, including— 
‘‘(A) the development of centralized data 
sources and connectivity of information sys-
tems, to the greatest extent practicable, to en-
hance program visibility, transparency, effec-
tiveness and coordination; 
‘‘(B) the development of standardized and 
automated management information to manage 
and oversee programs and make informed deci-
sions to improve the efficiency of the Depart-
ment; 
‘‘(C) the development of effective program 
management and regular oversight mechanisms, 
including clear roles and processes for program 
governance, sharing of best practices, and ac-
cess to timely, reliable, and evaluated data on 
all acquisitions and investments; and 
‘‘(D) the overall supervision, including the 
conduct of internal audits and management 
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analyses, of the programs and activities of the 
Department, including establishment of over-
sight procedures to ensure a full and effective 
review of the efforts by components of the De-
partment to implement policies and procedures 
of the Department for management integration 
and transformation. 
‘‘(7) The development of a transition and suc-
cession plan, before December 1 of each year in 
which a Presidential election is held, to guide the 
transition of Department functions to a new Presi-
dential administration, and making such plan avail-
able to the next Secretary and Under Secretary for 
Management and to the Committees on Veterans’ 
Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives. 
‘‘(8) Reporting to the Government Account-
ability Office every six months to demonstrate meas-
urable, sustainable progress made in implementing 
the corrective action plans of the Department to ad-
dress the designation of acquisition management on 
the bi-annual high-risk list of the Government Ac-
countability Office, until the Comptroller General of 
the United States submits to the appropriate con-
gressional committees written notification of removal 
of the high-risk designation. 
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‘‘(9) The management of the Office of Enter-
prise Integration. 
‘‘(10) The supervision of the Director of Con-
struction and Facilities, who shall report directly to 
the Under Secretary for Management. 
‘‘(11) Any other management duties that the 
Secretary may designate.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 307 the following new 
item: 
‘‘307A. Under Secretary for Management.’’. 
(c) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs shall appoint an individual to serve 
as the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Manage-
ment by not later than one year after the date of the en-
actment of this Act. 
Æ 
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