[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3527 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3527

      To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize advance 
 appropriations for certain medical care accounts of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs by providing two-fiscal year budget authority, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

           September 18 (legislative day, September 17), 2008

  Mr. Akaka (for himself, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Feingold, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. 
 Johnson, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Thune, Mr. Stevens, and Mr. Rockefeller) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize advance 
 appropriations for certain medical care accounts of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs by providing two-fiscal year budget authority, 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 ``Veterans Health Care Budget Reform 
Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. TWO-FISCAL YEAR BUDGET AUTHORITY FOR CERTAIN MEDICAL CARE 
              ACCOUNTS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) Two-Fiscal Year Budget Authority.--
            (1) In general.--Chapter 1 of title 38, United States Code, 
        is amended by inserting after section 113 the following new 
        section:
``Sec. 113A. Two-fiscal year budget authority for certain medical care 
              accounts
    ``(a) In General.--Beginning with fiscal year 2010, new 
discretionary budget authority provided in an appropriations Act for 
the appropriations accounts of the Department specified in subsection 
(b) shall be made available for the fiscal year involved and shall 
include new discretionary budget authority first available after the 
end of such fiscal year for the subsequent fiscal year.
    ``(b) Medical Care Accounts.--The medical care accounts of the 
Department specified in this subsection are the medical care accounts 
of the Veterans Health Administration as follows:
            ``(1) Medical Services.
            ``(2) Medical Administration.
            ``(3) Medical Facilities.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of chapter 1 of such title is amended by inserting 
        after the item relating to section 113 the following new item:

``113A. Two-fiscal year budget authority for certain medical care 
                            accounts.''.

SEC. 3. COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES STUDY ON ADEQUACY AND 
              ACCURACY OF BASELINE MODEL PROJECTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT 
              OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FOR HEALTH CARE EXPENDITURES.

    (a) Study of Adequacy and Accuracy of Baseline Model Projections.--
The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study of 
the adequacy and accuracy of the budget projections made by the 
Enrollee Health Care Projection Model, or its equivalent, as utilized 
for the purpose of estimating and projecting health care expenditures 
of the Department of Veterans Affairs (in this section referred to as 
the ``Model'') with respect to the fiscal year involved and the 
subsequent four fiscal years.
    (b) Reports.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than the date of each year in 
        2010, 2011, and 2012, on which the President submits the budget 
        request for the next fiscal year under section 1105 of title 
        31, United States Code, the Comptroller General shall submit to 
        the appropriate committees of Congress and to the Secretary a 
        report.
            (2) Elements.--Each report under this paragraph shall 
        include, for the fiscal year beginning in the year in which 
        such report is submitted, the following:
                    (A) A statement whether the amount requested in the 
                budget of the President for expenditures of the 
                Department for health care in such fiscal year is 
                consistent with anticipated expenditures of the 
                Department for health care in such fiscal year as 
                determined utilizing the Model.
                    (B) The basis for such statement.
                    (C) Such additional information as the Comptroller 
                General determines appropriate.
            (3) Availability to the public.--Each report submitted 
        under this subsection shall also be made available to the 
        public.
            (4) Appropriate committees of congress defined.--In this 
        subsection, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Committees on Veterans' Affairs, 
                Appropriations, and the Budget of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committees on Veterans' Affairs, 
                Appropriations, and the Budget of the House of 
                Representatives.
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