Title: Department of Veterans Affairs Information Technology Reform Act of 2019
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Department of Veterans Affairs Information Technology Reform Act of 2019
This bill revises several policies and procedures related to the management of information technology projects and programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Among other requirements, the bill requires the VA to do the following:
The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to review the VA's updated processes related to the review of information technology projects and risk management.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2336 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2336

   To improve the management of information technology projects and 
   investments of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 30, 2019

 Mr. Tester (for himself and Mrs. Blackburn) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To improve the management of information technology projects and 
   investments of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Department of Veterans Affairs 
Information Technology Reform Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. MANAGEMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS INFORMATION 
              TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS.

    (a) Update of Review Process and Information Technology Dashboard 
Chief Information Officer Ratings.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
        shall update the review process for information technology 
        projects of the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that 
        active risks are factored into the Information Technology 
        Dashboard Chief Information Officer ratings.
            (2) Review by comptroller general of the united states.--
        Not later than one year after the date on which the Secretary 
        completes updating the review process under paragraph (1), the 
        Comptroller General of the United States shall complete a 
        review such process.
    (b) Annual Report on Project Budget Discrepancies.--
            (1) In general.--Each fiscal year, not later than 120 days 
        after the end of the previous fiscal year, the Secretary shall 
        submit to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and 
        the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of 
        Representatives a report on covered information technology 
        projects of the Department with respect to which the amounts 
        that were obligated and the amounts expended by the Department 
        in that fiscal year were, in aggregate, 10 percent or more 
        greater or less than the amount budgeted for the project in 
        that fiscal year.
            (2) Covered information technology projects.--For purposes 
        of this subsection, a covered information technology project of 
        the Department is an information technology project of the 
        Department for which the Secretary estimates the Department 
        will expend or obligate $25,000,000 or more for development and 
        sustainment over a three-year lifecycle.
            (3) Mitigation plans.--Each report submitted under 
        paragraph (1) shall include, for each project described in the 
        report, a plan to rectify the budget discrepancy and improve 
        the accuracy of the budget formulation process of the 
        Department.

SEC. 3. PLAN FOR EXPENDITURES RELATING TO DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
              AFFAIRS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS AND INVESTMENTS.

    (a) Plan Required.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
        submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a plan for 
        expenditures of the Department of Veterans Affairs relating to 
        large information technology projects and investments.
            (2) Contents.--The report submitted under paragraph (1) 
        shall include the following:
                    (A) Identification of each information technology 
                project and investment planned by the Secretary for 
                which the Secretary estimates the Department will 
                expend or obligate $25,000,000 or more for development 
                and sustainment over a three-year lifecycle.
                    (B) For each such project and investment, a 
                description of--
                            (i) the functional and performance 
                        capabilities to be delivered and the mission 
                        benefits to be realized;
                            (ii) the estimated lifecycle cost, 
                        including estimates for development as well as 
                        maintenance and operations; and
                            (iii) key milestones to be met.
                    (C) Demonstration that each project and investment 
                is--
                            (i) consistent with the Information 
                        Technology Modernization Plan of the 
                        Department, or successor plan;
                            (ii) being managed in accordance with 
                        applicable lifecycle management policies and 
                        guidance; and
                            (iii) subject to applicable planning and 
                        investment control requirements of the 
                        Department.
                    (D) A statement as to whether the plan has been 
                reviewed by the Comptroller General of the United 
                States.
    (b) Definition of Appropriate Committees of Congress.--In this 
section, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the Senate; and
            (2) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the House of Representatives.

SEC. 4. BUDGET JUSTIFICATION FOR DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 
              INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS.

    The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that whenever the 
budget justification materials are submitted to Congress in support of 
the Department of Veterans Affairs budget for a fiscal year (as 
submitted with the budget of the President for such fiscal year under 
section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code), such budget 
justification materials include a specific accounting, including life 
cycle costs, of all funds requested for the information technology 
programs of the Department.

SEC. 5. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS COMPLIANCE WITH OFFICE OF 
              MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET DATA CENTER OPTIMIZATION 
              INITIATIVE.

    (a) Requirement.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure 
that the Department of Veterans Affairs complies with all applicable 
requirements of the Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI) of the 
Office of Management and Budget, including by--
            (1) fully identifying the data center inventory of the 
        Department; and
            (2) meeting any targets assigned by the Director of the 
        Office of Management and Budget pursuant to such initiative 
        regarding data center closures, optimization savings, and 
        optimization metrics.
    (b) Plan for Compliance.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 
on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs of the House of Representatives a plan to fully comply with the 
requirements described in subsection (a).
    (c) Annual Report.--Not later than March 31, 2020, and in March of 
each year thereafter until the date on which the Director of the Office 
of Management and Budget determines that the Department is in full 
compliance with the requirements of the initiative referred to in 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs 
of the House of Representatives a report on the progress of the 
Secretary in carrying out the plan submitted under subsection (b).

SEC. 6. ANNUAL LIST OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS INFORMATION 
              TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS.

    (a) Annual List.--Not less frequently than once each year, the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the appropriate 
committees of Congress a comprehensive, prioritized list of all 
information technology projects being funded by the Department of 
Veterans Affairs, disaggregated by business line or portfolio division.
    (b) Definition of Appropriate Committees of Congress.--In this 
section, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the Senate; and
            (2) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the House of Representatives.

SEC. 7. ASSESSMENT OF SUITABILITY OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 
              INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS FOR MIGRATION TO CLOUD 
              COMPUTING SERVICE.

    (a) Assessment Required.--Not later than one year after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, acting 
through the Chief Information Officer of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs, shall complete an assessment, in accordance with guidance from 
the Office of Management and Budget, of all information technology 
investments of the Department of Veterans Affairs to determine the 
suitability of the investments for migration to a cloud computing 
service.
    (b) Mechanism To Track Savings.--The Secretary shall create a 
consistent and repeatable mechanism to track savings and cost 
avoidances from--
            (1) migration of information technology investments to 
        cloud computing services; and
            (2) deployment of cloud computing services.
    (c) Report on Spending.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, acting through the Chief, 
shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on 
spending by the Department on information technology investments, 
disaggregated by information technology investment.
    (d) Definition of Appropriate Committees of Congress.--In this 
section, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the Senate; and
            (2) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the House of Representatives.

SEC. 8. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 
              MANAGEMENT POLICIES WITH RESPECT TO ROLE OF CHIEF 
              INFORMATION OFFICER.

    The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that the information 
technology management policies of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
address the role of the Chief Information Officer of the Department 
with respect to the following key responsibilities:
            (1) Information technology strategic planning.
            (2) Information technology workforce.
            (3) Information technology planning, programming, and 
        budgeting.
            (4) Information technology investment management.
            (5) Innovations and emerging technologies.

SEC. 9. CONTINUOUS MONITORING STRATEGY TO IMPROVE INFORMATION SECURITY 
              PROGRAMS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    In order to improve information security programs of the Department 
of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall develop a 
continuous monitoring strategy that addresses the following:
            (1) Organization-defined metrics.
            (2) Frequency of monitoring metrics.
            (3) Ongoing status monitoring of metrics.
            (4) Reporting of security status.

SEC. 10. REVISION OF PROCESSES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OFFICE 
              OF INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGY RELATING TO RISK 
              MANAGEMENT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, acting 
through the Chief Information Officer of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs, shall revise the processes of the Office of Information and 
Technology of the Department relating to risk management to include the 
following:
            (1) Determining costs and benefits of implementing the risk 
        mitigation plan for each risk.
            (2) Collecting performance measures on risk handling 
        activities.
    (b) Review by Comptroller General of the United States.--Not later 
than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall complete a review of the 
processes revised pursuant to subsection (a).
                                 <all>