I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 698 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to report biennially on actions 
taken to address areas of concern regarding the Department of Veterans 
Affairs in the High Risk List of the Government Accountability Office, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 22, 2019 
Mr. BANKS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to report bienni-
ally on actions taken to address areas of concern regard-
ing the Department of Veterans Affairs in the High 
Risk List of the Government Accountability Office, 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 ‘‘Department of Vet-
erans Affairs Oversight Enhancement Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. BIENNIAL REPORT BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS 
AFFAIRS ON ACTIONS TAKEN TO ADDRESS 
AREAS OF CONCERN IN THE HIGH RISK LIST 
OF THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OF-
FICE. 
(a) BIENNIAL REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 
120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 
in each session of Congress thereafter in which the High 
Risk List of the Government Accountability Office pub-
lished in that session includes areas of concern relating 
to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs shall submit to the appropriate commit-
tees of Congress and the Comptroller General of the 
United States a report on the actions taken by the Sec-
retary and the progress made by the Secretary in imple-
menting the High Risk Action Plan of the Department 
of Veterans Affairs to address such areas of concern iden-
tified by the Comptroller General in the most recently pub-
lished High Risk List. 
(b) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under sub-
section (a) shall include, for the period covered by the re-
port, the following: 
(1) The corrective measures and specific steps 
necessary for addressing root causes identified in the 
High Risk Action Plan for removal from the high- 
risk designation, including the progress of the Sec-
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(3) An explanation and course of action for 
each failure to fully adopt the criteria of the Comp-
troller General for removal from the High Risk list. 
SEC. 3. ANNUAL REPORT BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS AF-
FAIRS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF CERTAIN 
RECOMMENDATIONS OF COMPTROLLER GEN-
ERAL OF THE UNITED STATES PERTAINING 
TO DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 
(a) ANNUAL REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 
120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 
not less frequently than once each year thereafter, the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the appropriate 
committees of Congress and to the Comptroller General 
of the United States a report on the implementation of 
recommendations of the Comptroller General that pertain 
to the Department of Veterans Affairs. 
(b) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under sub-
section (a) shall include, for the period covered by the re-
port, the following: 
(1) The progress of the Secretary in imple-
menting all open priority recommendations of the 
Comptroller General for the Department of Veterans 
Affairs. 
(2) An explanation for each instance where the 
Secretary has decided not to implement, or has not 
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fully implemented, an open priority recommendation 
of the Comptroller General for the Department. 
(3) Courses of action for the Secretary to im-
plement open priority recommendations of the 
Comptroller General, including— 
(A) resources to implement corrective ac-
tions, including funding, stakeholders, tech-
nology, and the senior officials responsible for 
implementing the corrective actions and report-
ing results; 
(B) metrics that can be used to assess 
progress and assign responsibility for tracking 
progress, including the mechanism that will be 
used to keep senior leadership informed about 
progress made or challenges encountered; 
(C) key outcomes and goals that dem-
onstrate progress in addressing the concerns; 
and 
(D) timeframes with overall and interim 
milestones. 
(c) SUPPLEMENT AND NOT SUPPLANT CURRENT RE-
PORT REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements of this section 
shall supplement and not supplant the requirements of 
section 720 of title 31, United States Code. 
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SEC. 4. APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE-
FINED. 
In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate committees of 
Congress’’ means the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 
the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 
House of Representatives. 
Æ 
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