[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1658 Introduced in House (IH)]
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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 Representatives 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 DEPARTMENT 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:
``Sec. 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 Senate. The Under Secretary for Management
shall report directly 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 annual performance
planning and identification and tracking of performance
measures relating to the responsibilities of the Department.
``(6) The management integration and transformation within
each functional management discipline of the Department,
including information technology, financial management,
acquisition management, 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 systems, to the
greatest extent practicable, to enhance program
visibility, transparency, effectiveness and
coordination;
``(B) the development of standardized and automated
management information to manage and oversee programs
and make informed decisions to improve the efficiency
of the Department;
``(C) the development of effective program
management and regular oversight mechanisms, including
clear roles and processes for program governance,
sharing of best practices, and access to timely,
reliable, and evaluated data on all acquisitions and
investments; and
``(D) the overall supervision, including the
conduct of internal audits and management analyses, of
the programs and activities of the Department,
including establishment of oversight procedures to
ensure a full and effective review of the efforts by
components of the Department to implement policies and
procedures of the Department for management integration
and transformation.
``(7) The development of a transition and succession plan,
before December 1 of each year in which a Presidential election
is held, to guide the transition of Department functions to a
new Presidential administration, and making such plan available
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 Accountability Office
every six months to demonstrate measurable, sustainable
progress made in implementing the corrective action plans of
the Department to address the designation of acquisition
management on the bi-annual high-risk list of the Government
Accountability Office, until the Comptroller General of the
United States submits to the appropriate congressional
committees written notification of removal of the high-risk
designation.
``(9) The management of the Office of Enterprise
Integration.
``(10) The supervision of the Director of Construction 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 Management by not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
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