[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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