[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1016 Engrossed in House (EH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1016

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
       To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide advance 
  appropriations authority for certain accounts 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 ``Veterans Health Care Budget Reform 
and Transparency Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that the provision of health care 
services to veterans could be more effectively and efficiently planned 
and managed if funding was provided for the management and provision of 
such services in the form of advance appropriations.

SEC. 3. PRESIDENTS' BUDGET SUBMISSIONS.

    Section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(36) information on estimates of appropriations for the 
        fiscal year following the fiscal year for which the budget is 
        submitted for the following accounts of the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs:
                    ``(A) Medical Services.
                    ``(B) Medical Support and Compliance.
                    ``(C) Medical Facilities.
                    ``(D) Information Technology Systems.
                    ``(E) Medical and Prosthetic Research.''.

SEC. 4. ADVANCE APPROPRIATIONS FOR CERTAIN ACCOUNTS OF THE DEPARTMENT 
              OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) Advance Appropriations for Certain Accounts.--
            (1) In general.--Chapter 1 of title 38, United States Code, 
        is amended by inserting after section 116 the following new 
        section:
``Sec. 117. Advance appropriations for certain accounts
    ``(a) In General.--For each fiscal year, beginning with fiscal year 
2011, discretionary new budget authority provided in an appropriations 
Act for the appropriations accounts of the Department specified in 
subsection (c) shall--
            ``(1) be made available for that fiscal year; and
            ``(2) include, for each such appropriations account, 
        advance discretionary new budget authority that first becomes 
        available for the first fiscal year after the budget year.
    ``(b) Estimates Required.--The Secretary shall include in documents 
submitted to Congress in support of the President's budget submitted 
pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, detailed 
estimates of the funds necessary for the accounts of the Department 
specified in subsection (c) for the fiscal year following the fiscal 
year for which the budget is submitted.
    ``(c) Accounts Specified.--The accounts specified in this 
subsection are the following accounts of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs:
            ``(1) Medical Services.
            ``(2) Medical Support and Compliance.
            ``(3) Medical Facilities.
            ``(4) Information Technology Systems.
            ``(5) Medical and Prosthetic Research.
    ``(d) Annual Report.--Not later than July 31 of each year, the 
Secretary shall submit to Congress an annual report on the sufficiency 
of the Department's resources for the next fiscal year beginning after 
the date of the submittal of the report for the provision of medical 
care. Such report shall also include estimates of the workload and 
demand data for that fiscal year.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the 
        item relating to section 116 the following new item:

``117. Advance appropriations for certain accounts.''.

SEC. 5. COMPTROLLER GENERAL 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 Base Line Model 
Projections.--The Comptroller General shall conduct a study of the 
adequacy and accuracy of the budget projections made by the Enrollee 
Health Care Projection Model (in this section referred to as the 
``Model''), its equivalent, or other methodologies utilized for the 
purpose of estimating and projecting health care expenditures of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs 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 
        2011, 2012, and 2013, 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 of 
        Veterans Affairs a report.
            (2) Elements.--Each report under this paragraph shall 
        include, for the fiscal year concerning the year for which the 
        budget 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 be made available to the public by 
        the Comptroller General.
            (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.

SEC. 6. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall submit to the Committees on 
Veterans' Affairs, Appropriations, and the Budget of the Senate and 
House of Representatives a report on the requirements of this Act and 
the amendments made by this Act. Such report shall include--
            (1) the Secretary's plans for improving the capability of 
        the Department of Veterans Affairs to better and more 
        accurately estimate future health care costs and demands; and
            (2) a description of impediments, statutory or otherwise, 
        to providing future year estimates and advance appropriations 
        for the Medical Services, Medical Support and Compliance, 
        Medical Facilities, Information Technology Systems, and Medical 
        and Prosthetic Research accounts of the Department.

            Passed the House of Representatives June 23, 2009.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
111th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 1016

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

       To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide advance 
  appropriations authority for certain accounts of the Department of 
               Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.