I 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1659 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 direct the Chief Acquisition Officer of the Department of Veterans Affairs to enter into a contract for the independent verification and validation of certain modernization efforts of the Department, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Department of Veterans Affairs IT Modernization Improvement Act of 2023 . 2. Independent verification and validation of certain modernization efforts of Department of Veterans Affairs (a) Contracting authority Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Chief Acquisition Officer of the Department of Veterans Affairs established pursuant to section 1702 of title 41, United States Code, shall enter into a contract with an eligible entity under subsection (b) to carry out the oversight functions described in subsection (c). (b) Eligibility An entity is eligible under this subsection if the Chief Acquisition Officer of the Department determines that, with respect to the solicitation by the Department for a contract under subsection (a), the entity— (1) is currently performing or has performed, during the three-year period preceding the date of the issuance of such solicitation, not fewer than three prime contracts for the independent verification and validation, or equivalent technical and program oversight support, of major defense acquisition programs or priority defense business systems, in accordance with guidance of the Department of Defense relating to such acquisition programs or such business systems; and (2) is not currently performing and has not performed, for at least the five-year period preceding the date of the issuance of such solicitation, any contract or subcontract for the Department of Veterans Affairs (including such a contract or subcontract relating to a covered program). (c) Functions The oversight functions described in this subsection are the following: (1) Conducting an initial assessment of each covered program and submitting to the Secretary a report containing the findings of such assessment. (2) On an annual basis, conducting an overall assessment of each covered program and submitting to the Secretary a report containing the findings of each such assessment. (3) Conducting continuous oversight of the activities carried out under, and the systems associated with, each covered program, including oversight of the status, compliance, performance, and implementation of recommendations with respect to, for each covered program, the following: (A) Management, including governance, costs, and implementation milestones and timelines. (B) Contracts for implementation, including financial metrics and performance benchmarks for contractors. (C) Effect on the functions, business operations, or clinical organizational structure of the health care system of the Department. (D) Supply chain risk management, controls, and compliance. (E) Data management. (F) With respect to associated systems, the following: (i) Technical architectural design, development, and stability of the systems. (ii) System interoperability and integration with related information technology systems. (iii) System testing. (iv) Functional system training provided to users. (v) System adoption and use. (d) Submission to Congress Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary receives any annual report under subsection (c)(2), the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate such report. (e) Awarded amounts Not later than 90 days after the date on which the Chief Acquisition Officer of the Department enters into the contract under subsection (a), the Chief Financial Officer of the Department, in coordination with the heads of such office of the Department responsible for the management of a covered program, shall ensure that amounts awarded to an eligible entity under such contract are derived, in proportionate amounts, from amounts otherwise authorized to be appropriated for each such office of the Department, respectively. (f) Definitions In this section: (1) The term covered program means the following: (A) The Electronic Health Record Modernization Program (or any successor program). (B) The Financial Management and Business Transformation Program (or any successor program). (C) Any program of the Department relating to supply chain modernization. (D) Any program of the Department relating to the modernization of information technology systems associated with human resources. (E) Any program of the Department relating to the Veterans Benefits Management System. (2) The term priority defense business system has the meaning given such term in section 2222(i)(5) of title 10, United States Code. (3) The term major defense acquisition program has the meaning given such term in section 4201 of title 10, United States Code.