[Senate Hearing 113-403]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 113-403
THE FISCAL YEAR 2014 BUDGET FOR
VETERANS AFFAIRS
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HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
APRIL 15, 2013
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
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COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS
Bernard Sanders, (I) Vermont, Chairman
John D. Rockefeller IV, West Richard Burr, North Carolina,
Virginia Ranking Member
Patty Murray, Washington Johnny Isakson, Georgia
Sherrod Brown, Ohio Mike Johanns, Nebraska
Jon Tester, Montana Jerry Moran, Kansas
Mark Begich, Alaska John Boozman, Arkansas
Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Dean Heller, Nevada
Mazie Hirono, Hawaii
Steve Robertson, Staff Director
Lupe Wissel, Republican Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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April 15, 2013
SENATORS
Page
Sanders, Hon. Bernard, Chairman, U.S. Senator from Vermont....... 1
Burr, Hon. Richard, Ranking Member, U.S. Senator from North
Carolina....................................................... 4
Rockefeller, Hon. John D., IV, U.S. Senator from West Virginia... 7
Johanns, Hon. Mike, U.S. Senator from Nebraska................... 8
Tester, Hon. Jon, U.S. Senator from Montana...................... 9
Isakson, Hon. Johnny, U.S. Senator from Georgia.................. 10
Boozman, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from Arkansas................... 10
Begich, Hon. Mark, U.S. Senator from Alaska...................... 11
Blumenthal, Hon. Richard, U.S. Senator from Connecticut.......... 243
Moran, Hon. Jerry, U.S. Senator from Kansas...................... 245
Hirono, Hon. Mazie, U.S. Senator from Hawaii..................... 248
WITNESSES
Shinseki, Hon. Eric K., Secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs; accompanied by Hon. Robert A. Petzel, M.D., Under
Secretary for Health; Hon. Allison A. Hickey, Under Secretary
for Benefits; Hon. Steve L. Muro, Under Secretary for Memorial
Affairs; Stephen W. Warren, Acting Assistant Secretary for the
Office of Information and Technology; and W. Todd Grams,
Executive in Charge for the Office of Management and Chief
Financial Officer.............................................. 12
Prepared statement........................................... 13
Response to posthearing questions submitted by:
Hon. Bernard Sanders....................................... 25
Hon. Richard Burr.......................................... 76
Response to request arising during the hearing by:
Hon. Richard Burr..........................................6, 252
Hon. Jerry Moran.........................................246, 247
APPENDIX
Hall, Jeffrey C., Assistant National Legislative Director,
Disabled American Veterans (DAV); prepared statement........... 255
Tarantino, Tom, Chief Policy Officer, Iraq and Afghanistan
Veterans of America (IAVA); prepared statement................. 261
Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA); prepared statement.......... 262
Wounded Warrior Project (WWP); prepared statement................ 266
THE FISCAL YEAR 2014 BUDGET FOR
VETERANS AFFAIRS
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MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Veterans' Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:30 p.m., in
room 418, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Bernard Sanders
presiding.
Present: Senators Sanders, Rockefeller, Tester, Begich,
Blumenthal, Hirono, Burr, Isakson, Johanns, Moran and Boozman.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BERNARD SANDERS,
CHAIRMAN, U.S. SENATOR FROM VERMONT
Chairman Sanders. OK. We have got a lot of work, so let's
get the hearing underway.
And I want to welcome everyone to this afternoon's hearing
on the fiscal year 2014 budget and the fiscal year 2015
advanced appropriations request for the Department of Veterans
Affairs.
Earlier this year, as I think we will all recall, we heard
from nearly all of the veterans service organizations. These
groups shared with us their priorities which reflect the needs
of the men and women who have served our country. I want to
thank all of the service organizations not only for the
important testimony but for the great work they do every single
day, protecting the interests of America's veterans.
If there is anything that many of us have learned in recent
years, it is that the real cost of war is far, far greater than
simply paying for the tanks and guns and planes and the
manpower to fight those wars. I believe that we now understand
more fully than we have in the past that soldiers who come home
from war are often very different people than when they went.
We now understand that the cost of war includes significant
care not only for those who lost their legs and their arms and
their eyesight but for those who came home with what we now
call the invisible wounds of war. Most recently, this includes
the hundreds of thousands of brave soldiers who returned from
Iraq and Afghanistan with Traumatic Brain Injury and Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder.
So, while this $152 billion budget we discuss today is a
complicated document with a whole lot of numbers, it all comes
down to how the people of our country, through their
government, honor their commitments to those who have
sacrificed so much and to the spouses and children who have
often also sacrificed.
In their testimonies, the VSOs discussed many of the
important and positive things that the VA does, which sometimes
we overlook, but let me talk a little bit about what the VSOs
discussed.
In terms of health care, in a nation with over 45 million
people lacking any health insurance and at a time when the cost
of health care in this country is far higher than any other
country on earth, the VA is recognized by many as providing
excellent quality health care in a cost-effective way to those
who have served our Nation. Like every other health care
organization, the VA can do better--and it must do better--but
most will agree that the VA has come a very long way in the
last 20 to 30 years in terms of health care.
In terms of another important issue--homelessness. At a
time when too many Americans and people in my own State of
Vermont are sleeping out in the streets or in their cars, the
VA has undertaken an aggressive and successful effort to
significantly reduce the number of homeless veterans in our
country. Since 2009, there has been a 17 percent decline in
veterans homelessness despite the tough economy. That is the
good news. The bad news is that there were still more than
62,000 homeless veterans in January 2012.
The VA must sustain its positive efforts in combating
veterans homelessness. Progress is being made; more must be
done.
Through its world-class research program, the VA is making
significant advances in health care not only for veterans but
for the entire country. That progress must continue.
The VSOs, while praising the VA in many areas, also
highlighted the significant challenges and problems that
continue to confront veterans of all generations, and I agree
with many of their concerns. Among many other issues, they
spoke of the obligation to address the tragic number of
servicemember and veteran suicides. This is a horrendous
tragedy. It is a tough issue. We have got to address it.
Further, the need to accelerate the transformation of the
compensation claims system in order to deal with the
unacceptably long delays that we are now seeing and the huge
backlog in cases--if there is any issue that I think veterans
and the veterans community are concerned about, it is that
issue, and I share that concern.
While the VA is now processing far more claims than ever
before, the movement to a paperless and efficient system must
be completed on schedule. I know we will be discussing that
issue during this hearing.
Further, the responsibility to make smart investments in
infrastructure and information technology systems to ensure
that the VA can continue to provide the care and benefits
veterans have earned is a major issue. This means--and this,
again, is a huge issue which this Committee will delve into--a
significant improvement in the relationship between the VA and
the Department of Defense. We may be dealing with two separate
agencies, but we are dealing with one human being who goes
through the DOD into the VA.
I believe that this year's budget request, especially
within the overall budget restraints facing Congress, again
reflects a strong commitment by this Administration to provide
veterans and their families with the care and benefits they
deserve.
This year's total budget request is $152.7 billion--$86.1
billion for mandatory entitlements and $66.5 billion for the
discretionary account. This is a 10.2 percent increase over
last year's enacted amount.
While the VA budget presented by the Administration is a
strong one, and I applaud the President for that, I remain
deeply disappointed that the White House included in their
budget request the so-called chained CPI. Switching to a
chained CPI would mean major cuts in Social Security and the
benefits that disabled veterans receive. Veterans who started
receiving VA disability benefits at age 30 would have their
benefits reduced by $1,425 at age 45, $2,341 at age 55 and over
$3,000 a year at age 65--tens of thousands of dollars within
their lifetime. This, to my mind, is unconscionable, and I will
do all that I can to prevent these cuts from taking place.
When it comes to the issue of funding for suicide
prevention, the budget is literally a matter of life or death.
Ensuring timely access to high quality mental health care is
critical for our veterans and their loved ones. To that end, I
am pleased to see the President's budget recommendation calls
for a 7.2 percent increase in funding for mental health.
At our last hearing, when we discussed the issue of mental
health and suicide, Dr. Petzel testified that the VA is on
track to hire the 1,600 mental health clinicians called for in
the President's Executive Order by the deadline of June 30. As
I noted at that hearing, I remain concerned that the VA has
hired just 47 clinicians in the 2 months prior to that hearing.
I understand VA must ensure that they are hiring high-quality
clinicians, but VA must pick up the pace of hiring if it
intends to meet its goal of 1,600 new clinicians by the end of
June of this year.
When hiring these clinicians, the VA must recognize that
individual veterans respond differently to different treatments
and not all veterans respond well to traditional therapies. I
appreciated Senator Boozman at our last hearing raising the
important issue of over-medicating veterans seeking mental
health treatment. I share that concern, as I believe do many
Americans.
I also know that many veterans respond positively to
complementary and alternative medicine. As the name indicates,
such treatments--which include therapies such as acupuncture,
guided imagery, meditation, chiropractic care and yoga--can be
provided in conjunction with traditional care or as stand-alone
care. I commend the VA's top leadership for embracing these
therapies but worry that that interest has not penetrated all
levels of the VA health care system. VA must do a better job to
make sure that these therapies are available to all interested
veterans.
In terms of the claims backlog, the fact that nearly 70
percent of claims are pending longer than 125 days is
completely unacceptable as is the fact that it took, on
average, 287 days to complete a compensation rating claim in
2012.
The inability to provide compensation benefits in a timely
manner tarnishes VA's reputation among the very population it
serves. I never want a veteran's negative experience with the
claims system to prevent him or her from seeking mental health
care or help in battling homelessness.
Mr. Secretary, I see your testimony reiterates VA's goal of
eliminating the claims backlog by 2015. VA has set ambitious
goals, put forward a plan and has been working hard to
transform the system.
I think we can all agree that the VA took too long to start
transforming itself from a paper-based to electronic system.
Clearly, that effort should have begun a decade ago, or longer,
and not just 4 years ago. Yet, despite these facts, one must
certainly understand how it is difficult for the average person
to believe VA is making progress when we continue to see the
unacceptably long wait times faced by veterans and their
survivors in obtaining benefits.
VA must do a better job of showing not only the Congress
but also veterans and their survivors about how VA plans to
accomplish their ambitious goals. And I look forward to working
with you to establish benchmarks which will allow us to see the
progress, or lack of progress, that VA is making in this
vitally important area.
VA must be able to construct, repair, or lease the physical
infrastructure necessary to provide the high-quality care that
veterans deserve. Yet, for the fourth year in a row the
President's request has been out of touch with the realities on
the ground. Adequate funding to maintain VA's aging
infrastructure must be a critical part of the discussion on
providing quality health care.
Further, the fiscal year 2014 budget request includes
another 13 major medical facility leases but does not include
funding for the full cost of authorizing these leases despite
the challenges Congress is still working to surmount. This is
an issue I would like to address later today.
Last, let me repeat; the importance of information
technology cannot be understated as VA seeks to deliver the
care and benefits that our veterans deserve in a more efficient
and effective way. I think the bottom line is there must, must,
must be much better cooperation between the DOD and the VA.
So let me conclude my remarks by thanking the Secretary and
his staff for being with us today. The issues that we are going
over are of enormous importance to millions of veterans and the
American people. I look forward to a very productive hearing.
Senator Burr.
STATEMENT OF HON. RICHARD BURR, RANKING MEMBER,
U.S. SENATOR FROM NORTH CAROLINA
Senator Burr. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, and Secretary
Shinseki, welcome. And to your team, welcome.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for that very thorough opening
statement.
As the Chairman indicated, we will be discussing the
President's budget request for the Department of Veterans
Affairs for fiscal year 2014.
As I have said at past budget hearings, it's important that
we provide adequate funding for the VA so that all veterans
receive the benefits and care that they have earned and
deserve. Yet, along with that funding we must conduct vigorous
oversight to make sure programs which benefit veterans are
working properly and lead to better outcomes for veterans,
their families, and their survivors.
Yet, in looking over the budget request, the lack of
consistent predictions and a lack of transparency lead me to
question if VA's stewardship of the taxpayers' money is leading
to better outcomes.
First, VA has been consistently inconsistent with its
workload projections. These changing projections mask whether
they have the backlog situation under control.
Second, the unclear accounting practices in the IT budget
make it difficult for us to conduct the necessary oversight
into these programs.
Regarding claims processing, we all know that the backlog
and delays have gotten worse over the past 4 years even though
VA has hired more staff, spent millions on IT solutions, and
rolled out dozens of initiatives. Today, we will again hear VA
assure that despite these trends this situation will be
completely under control by 2015; but in my view, this budget
provides one more reason to seriously question those
assurances.
For starters, the budget reflects that in 2013 and 2014 VA
will receive 2.6 million claims and decide 2.5 million. But in
the VA's strategic plan for eliminating the backlog, which was
sent to Congress less than 3 months ago, VA projected output of
2.8 million claims during those years. That means VA has
already lowered its productivity expectations by 12 percent.
As for receipts, the backlog plan estimated that VA would
take in 2.7 million claims this year and next year combined,
but VA acknowledged it could receive as many as 774,000
additional claims as a result of recent laws. Despite that
caution, the budget shows that VA will have even lower receipts
in those years than the backlog plan estimated.
The budget also reflects that incoming claims will continue
to exceed output during this year and next year, which means
that the number of pending claims will continue to grow. In
fact, VA now projects that it will have an inventory of roughly
960,000 claims at the end of 2014--about 100,000 more than are
pending today.
Compare that with VA's backlog plan, which predicted that
the decisions would outpace claims receipts next year, and, as
a result, the level of claims would drop to less than 800,000.
Finally, the budget projects that no more than 40 percent
of claims will be pending long enough this year and in 2014 to
be considered backlogged even though 70 percent of claims are
currently backlogged. On the other hand, VA's strategic plan
showed a backlog of 68 percent this year and 57 percent next
year, just 3 months ago.
Even if VA has updated these estimates based on more recent
data, it is difficult to understand how all of these projects
could change so dramatically in less than 12 weeks. These
fluctuating predictions, together with a history of missed
milestones and deteriorating performance, make it extremely
difficult to believe that VA has the backlog situation under
control.
As I said earlier, another area of concern for me is the
ambiguity of the IT projects that are becoming the backbone of
operations at VA medical centers and VA regional offices.
Currently, VA has several IT projects that are vital to
providing benefits and services to our Nation's veterans. In
the President's request, the Office of Information Technology,
or OIT, requested roughly $3.7 billion, a $360 million increase
over last year.
There are three areas of concern within the IT budget I
believe are worth highlighting.
First, OIT requested $252 million for the IPO for
development activities of the iEHR and VLER. How much of this
money will be spent on a new strategy of quick wins versus the
two initial operating capabilities at two sites in 2014 is a
question.
Second, according to the budget justifications, the 2014
allocation for VBMS development is roughly $33 million, which
would be a $71 million decrease from fiscal year 2012. However,
we are being told that there is another $155 million for VBMS
in this budget. Is this additional funding coming from VBA's
budget?
Finally, in my questions from last year's budget hearing, I
asked about the cost of the new patient scheduling system. VA's
response stated that they planned to have a Life Cycle Cost
Estimate completed by January 2013.
As of today, this life cycle cost analysis has yet to be
received by my office. Since the 2014 budget request has a $30
million allocation for the development of a new scheduling
package, I wonder if the life cycle cost analysis has now been
completed. [See below for answer.]
This unclear nature of the IT budget stands in the way of
Congress's ability to conduct effective oversight into these
programs to make sure they are working properly and, more
importantly, meeting their milestones. Unfortunately, these
inconsistent projections and lack of transparency are becoming
the standard operating procedure at VA, which is even more
troubling when it is our Nation's veterans that stand to lose
the most.
Mr. Chairman, I thank you, and I look forward to spending
some time with our panel today.
Response to Request Arising During the Hearing by Hon. Richard Burr
from Office of Information and Technology, U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs
Response: As a follow up to our prior correspondence to Senators
Burr and Murray on September 12, 2102, VA provides the following update
to its scheduling procurement efforts:
VA will procure a scheduling solution in two phases. In the first
phase, currently ongoing, VA is running a risk-reduction contest under
the America Competes Act calling for scheduling application
submissions. The purpose of this contest will be to reduce procurement
and deployment risk. VA will offer up to three prizes for scheduling
packages that demonstrate their compatibility with the Open Source
version of VA's electronic health record, VistA. Contest submissions
are due in June, and VA is scheduled to announce winners in September.
The second phase will include the actual procurement of a
scheduling solution. As this risk-reduction activity proceeds, VA will
continue working with the Department of Defense and the Interagency
Program Office to determine joint requirements and a master development
and acquisition plan. The master development and acquisition plan will
be based upon an evaluation of contestant responses for proposed
functionality and compliance with iEHR architecture.
May 2013
Chairman Sanders. Senator Burr, thank you very much.
Senator Rockefeller.
STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV,
U.S. SENATOR FROM WEST VIRGINIA
Senator Rockefeller. Thank you, Mr. Chairman; and I welcome
General Shinseki and his staff, as we all do.
I just want to recount to my colleagues that I spent a
very, very long time last week talking with General Shinseki
about how one takes a 220,000-person agency and gets it to be
responsive on all kinds of different issues, many of which have
been mentioned today and some more of which I will mention.
The General actually has done a lot of work on management
over the course of his life, and training, and he described how
he broke the 220,000 down into blocks and then blocks within
blocks, all of them to be held accountable, all evaluating
themselves, and being evaluated.
The reason I say this is because I really do not know of
any job which has such a human poignancy in its work and yet
has complexity and bulk at the level that the VA has.
I think you are a superb General of that VA, and I just
want to say that. We talked about claims and all the rest of
it. I mean, you are really working at it, and I believe that.
Does that give veterans enough comfort? No. But everything
in life is a process and the process is either pushed from
above or it is not.
As you and I discussed, General, a number of years ago, all
of a sudden the VA, medically, went from sort of a not really
very, very good place to a really good place. And we both, at
the same time, said Ken Kizer.
Ken Kizer had been sitting here on that row for years. I
knew his position. I had no idea until he left the effect that
he had, which lasts today.
I don't want Johnny Isakson, who is my dear friend, to be
mad at me if I say something nice about the President, but I am
really struck, Mr. Chairman, by the specificity and directness
of the budget increases which the President--with the entire
rest of the world claiming every nickel that he doesn't have in
this government--what he has done to make your mission more
amenable to your leadership, though not in all fields and not
with all problems. But he has given a vote of confidence, and
more importantly than that, he has spoken very strongly to the
veterans.
I do not usually say things like that at hearings, but I
just wanted to in this case.
A 10.2 increase percent is huge, you know. We throw those
numbers around and soon forget them, but this will not be
forgotten.
Nevertheless, I am also very concerned about the persistent
problems that have been addressed by the two speakers prior to
me--the needs of the rapidly growing veterans community to the
backlog in veterans' claims. I am actually not sure whether it
is 600,000, or at one point, I heard it was 800,000. In one
sense, it does not make any difference. It is too many.
And, yes, you are attacking that crisis. You are bringing
in more mental health clinicians. You are meant to have 1,600;
I think you have over 1,200. People all over the country--
hospitals--are screaming and yelling because you are taking
some of their best people. I say, well done. But the importance
of that, as Chairman Sanders indicated, is so incredibly
important.
Mental health care is so needed and so recently,
powerfully, on the minds of all of us. I think Americans in
general, American families, and even Senators as policymakers
are capable of seeing those kinds of things.
There is no quick fix for health care, mental health care,
claims, or anything else. There is the need for a persistent
driving agenda--when the Secretary and his team come to work
every day, determined as you are, sir, to make a difference as
best you can.
I am disturbed by the fact that this very promising DOD/VA
joint effort on IT and other things, which was quite vibrant 7
or 8 years ago, has now kind of been called off. So I want to
ask why and what price do we pay, and what can be done?
I would just say to my friends on this Committee that we
are very, very lucky to serve here. I've been on here every
year that I've been in the Senate, which some may think is 1 or
2 but actually is 28 years. And it is a proud, proud service.
You know, in West Virginia we have so many veterans; every
State does. The work is powerful in its poignancy.
I commend you for the work to be done, and I have more
questions I want to ask.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Sanders. Thank you, Senator Rockefeller.
Senator Johanns.
STATEMENT OF HON. MIKE JOHANNS,
U.S. SENATOR FROM NEVADA
Senator Johanns. Mr. Chairman, thank you and thank you for
calling this hearing on this budget request.
Mr. Secretary, it is good to see you again. One of the
things that I appreciate, and I know the other Members
certainly do also, is your willingness to stop by our offices
and talk to us about the issues that are of concern to us.
I also want to indicate, as a former department head, I
understand the complexities of putting together a budget that
meets the priorities of the President of the United States. I
also understand the challenges in trying to touch all of the
bases.
There are many challenges facing the VA. The Chairman and
the Ranking Member went through those. I will not take up time
this afternoon and go through them item-by-item myself.
There are a couple of things that I did want to mention.
The first one is one that I appreciate a great deal. As you
know, for some period of time, a number of us have been working
on a VA cemetery in the Omaha area. I do want to thank you for
including that in the fiscal year 2014 budget request.
There are about 112,000 veterans and their families who
currently do not have a VA cemetery within 75 miles that will
be very positively impacted. I did not want the start of this
hearing to go by without me saying how much I appreciate that.
In addition, I also wanted to mention on a more concerning
note, though, is the issue of facilities. As I mentioned, I
have gone through these budget efforts, where you are trying to
put together the necessary funds and get it passed through OMB,
et cetera, and one of the things that always tends to slip is
the capital improvements. It is just the reality of what we
deal with. You have real human beings with real human needs
that you need to find funding for.
I think about the facility in Omaha, but I do not want this
to be just about that facility because I know there are
problems all over the country where we are dealing with 1950s-
era buildings. Recently, in the Omaha VA they closed the
operating suite for much needed repairs. I am sure there are
stories that could be told about that kind of thing all across
the country.
So, as we go through the hearing this afternoon, I would
like to spend a little bit of time on facility needs around the
country and how you think we are doing in addressing that
because I do believe it is an important issue and, again, I
recognize it is an issue that I would suspect slips as the
budget gets put together.
With that, I do want to thank you for being here and look
forward to your testimony.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Sanders. Well, thank you, Senator Johanns.
Senator Tester.
STATEMENT OF HON. JON TESTER,
U.S. SENATOR FROM MONTANA
Senator Tester. Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I want to thank each and every one of you for being here
today. I have had a chance to work with, I think, every one of
you pretty closely, and I appreciate that.
A special thanks to the Secretary--thank you, General.
Thank you for being here and thank you for the work you do.
You have been saddled with a tough job, and you have
received some criticism. I just want to say some of it has been
pretty unfair criticism, and I think you have done a great job
considering the conditions that you are faced with in this
position. I appreciate your leadership, and I appreciate your
service to the country very much.
Now I will be the first to tell you--and you know this--I
do not agree with everything you have done, and there is plenty
to improve upon. Yet, I think we have made great strides under
your leadership, working with some incredibly complex issues--
the cost of war, the men and women coming back from Iraq and
now Afghanistan, and the injuries, both seen and unseen, that
you have to deal with and your staff has to deal with and
everybody on the ground has to deal with.
I can tell you that I have been on this Committee for 6
years and in this Senate for 6 years. I have had numerous
meetings around the State of Montana, and I have found one--
one--person that does not like VA health care. The rest of them
love it. So I just want to say thank you for your work.
This is a $152.7 billion budget. It is a fair chunk of
change that invests significantly in our veterans, and we need
to make sure that we spend it as effectively as possible. That
is our job, and it is your job. We need to proceed in a way
that honors our military folks' service, and one that also
makes the most sense for the taxpayers as we go forward.
This is an important discussion, whether we are talking
mental health or local partnerships or vet vans or Vet Centers
or vet cemeteries or homelessness or education. There are
plenty of issues to talk about. How we make this budget work
for our veterans is going to be critically important.
I want to thank you for being here, and I look forward to
the discussion today, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Sanders. Thank you very much, Senator Tester.
Now, Senator Isakson.
STATEMENT OF HON. JOHNNY ISAKSON,
U.S. SENATOR FROM GEORGIA
Senator Isakson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
So, as to not disappoint the distinguished Senator from
West Virginia, not only do I acknowledge that the President's
budget is a 10 percent increase, but it is $7 billion more than
this Senate approved in its budget just a month ago. So he has
topped us as well, as to what needs to be done.
I will also point out the fact that unlike a lot of
appropriations units that we do--whether it is the Department
of Energy, the Department of Labor--we are talking about
mandatory spending when we talk about veterans. When one of our
soldiers comes back from serving overseas, we have a commitment
to them that is going to drive how much we spend.
We should never shortchange those benefits, or look at it
as an efficiency or a savings. Instead, what we have got to do
is make sure we run the Department as efficiently as it can be
and find our savings there.
So I commend the President and the Senate, and most of all,
I am grateful and thankful to those soldiers who sacrificed and
fought for us overseas.
My interest is really in two things: suicide; and the
benefit claims backlog. Those two things are terrible,
protracted problems that I know you are facing. I acknowledge
the compliments that everybody has given you, General Shinseki,
because they are well deserved, but those are the two
priorities that we have got to focus on if we are ever going to
get the VA responding as it should respond to those who have
come back from overseas and who have served this country.
So, with that said, I will yield back the balance of my
time so we can get to our questions.
Chairman Sanders. Senator Isakson, thank you very much.
Senator Boozman.
STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN BOOZMAN,
U.S. SENATOR FROM ARKANSAS
Senator Boozman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Likewise, again, I do not have a lengthy statement at all.
It is good to have you here. We appreciate you and
appreciate your service, not only to the VA but in so many ways
throughout your career, and the team that you have assembled to
try to help us get this done.
I think as you hear the mood of the comments so far I think
it is important that the public understands that this is not a
partisan issue. This is something that I think both sides are
very much committed to helping you here in the Senate and then
also spending a lot of time in the House with Congressmen
Michaud and Miller. I know that they also are totally dedicated
to seeing if we can figure out how to solve some of these very,
very difficult problems, as Senator Isakson said--the suicide
issue, the benefits, and also just the ongoing.
As was said by our Senator from West Virginia, we can be
very proud of the VA system that we have. We are doing a lot of
things really, really right.
We have got two VA hospitals in Arkansas that are
excellent. That has taken a lot of hard work to get to that
outcome. So, again, we appreciate the efforts there.
Clearly, we have to address these other things, but we do
have some things that we can celebrate.
Thank you.
Chairman Sanders. Senator Boozman, thank you very much.
Senator Begich.
STATEMENT OF HON. MARK BEGICH,
U.S. SENATOR FROM ALASKA
Senator Begich. Mr. Chairman, I really do not have an
opening statement. I just want to first thank you for having
this hearing.
Thank you, General Shinseki--Secretary Shinseki--for all
the work you have done.
First, with Alaska and our rural vets that are moving
forward in a relationship with the tribal community on delivery
of health care, we really appreciate VA's efforts there. We
hope to see, as it moves forward, some good progress.
Second, I know you have put some resources in this budget,
which I will be anxious to hear about, regarding disability
claims and how we move those forward. We had a hearing, and
your staff was--they survived that last hearing, and we
appreciate that--but a lot of effort is needed to make sure we
move that forward. I know that is one of your priorities.
Last, is the effort that you all are making regarding
homeless vets. I know this is one of your top three priorities,
within the top three. In Alaska, as you can imagine, homeless
veteran issues are even more severe because of climatic
conditions and other things that we have to deal with.
So thank you for being here. I look forward to your budget,
and I am anxious to hear the testimony.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Sanders. OK. It is now my pleasure to welcome VA
Secretary Eric Shinseki.
Thank you, General, for joining us today to give your
perspective on the President's fiscal year 2014 budget and the
fiscal year 2015 advanced appropriations request for the
Department of Veterans Affairs. We look forward to hearing your
testimony.
Secretary Shinseki is accompanied by Steve Muro, Under
Secretary for Memorial Affairs; Allison Hickey, Under Secretary
for Benefits; and Dr. Robert Petzel, Under Secretary for
Health. We also have Todd Grams, Executive in Charge for the
Office of Management and Chief Financial Officer, and Stephen
Warren, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of
Information and Technology.
Your prepared remarks will be submitted for the record.
Secretary Shinseki, please begin and thanks again for being
with us today.
STATEMENT OF HON. ERIC K. SHINSEKI, SECRETARY, U.S. DEPARTMENT
OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, ACCOMPANIED BY: HON. ROBERT A. PETZEL,
M.D., UNDER SECRETARY FOR HEALTH; HON. ALLISON A. HICKEY, UNDER
SECRETARY FOR BENEFITS; HON. STEVE L. MURO, UNDER SECRETARY FOR
MEMORIAL AFFAIRS; STEPHEN W. WARREN, ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY
FOR THE OFFICE OF INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGY; AND W. TODD
GRAMS, EXECUTIVE IN CHARGE FOR THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Secretary Shinseki. Chairman Sanders, Ranking Member Burr,
distinguished Members of the Committee, thank you for this
opportunity to present the President's 2014 budget and 2015
advanced appropriations requests for VA. We deeply value your
partnership and support in providing the resources needed to
assure quality care and services for veterans.
Let me also join you, Mr. Chairman, in acknowledging other
partners here today--our veteran service organizations, whose
insights and support make us much better at our mission of
caring for veterans, their families and our survivors.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for accepting my written statement
for the record.
The 2014 budget and 2015 advanced appropriations requests
demonstrate the President's steadfast commitment to our
Nation's veterans. And I thank the members for your resolute
commitment as well to veterans and seek your support on these
requests.
The latest generation of veterans is enrolling at VA at a
higher rate than previous generations. Sixty-two percent of
those who deployed in support of operations in Afghanistan and
Iraq have used at least one VA benefit or service. VA's
requirements are expected to continue growing for years to
come. Our plans and resources must be robust enough to care for
them all.
The President's 2014 budget for VA, as the Chairman
outlined: $152.7 billion--$66.5 billion in discretionary
funding and $86.1 billion in mandatory funding, an increase of
$2.7 billion in discretionary funding, 4.3 percent above the
2013 level.
This is a strong budget which enables us to continue
building momentum for delivering three long-term goals we set
for ourselves roughly 4 years ago--increase veterans' access to
VA benefits and services, eliminate the disability claims
backlog in 2015, and end veterans' homelessness in 2015. These
were bold and ambitious goals then. They remain bold and
ambitious today because veterans deserve a VA that advocates
for them and then finds a way to put resources against its
words, against those promises.
Access. Of the roughly 22 million living veterans in the
country today, more than 11 million now receive at least 1
benefit or service from VA--an increase of over a million
veterans in the last 4 years. We have achieved this by opening
new facilities, renovating others, increasing investments in
telehealth and telemedicine, sending mobile clinics and Vet
Centers to remote areas where veterans live, and using every
means available, including the social media, to connect more
veterans to VA. Increasing access is a success story at VA.
The backlog. No question, too many veterans wait too long
to receive benefits they deserve. We know this is unacceptable
and no one wants to turn this situation around more than this
Secretary, Under Secretary Hickey or the folks who come to work
at VBA every day, 52 percent of whom are veterans themselves.
We are resolved to eliminate the claims backlog in 2015
when claims will be processed in 125 days or less at a 98
percent accuracy level. Our efforts mandate investments in
VBA's people, processes and technology. Not just technology--
people, processes and technology.
In terms of people, more than 2,100 claims processors have
completed training to improve the quality and productivity of
claims decisions. More are being trained, and VBA's new
employees now complete more claims per day than their
predecessors.
Processes. Use of disability benefits questionnaires, DBQs,
online forms for submitting medical evidence, have dropped
average processing times of medical exams and improved
accuracy.
There are now three lanes for processing claims--an express
lane for those that will, predictably, take less time; a
special operations lane for unusual cases or those requiring
special handling; and a core lane where roughly 60 percent of
the claims will go, and that is the remainder.
Technology is critical in ending the backlog. Our paperless
processing system, VBMS--Veterans Benefits Management System--
will be faster, improve access, drive automation and reduce
variance. Thirty regional offices now use VBMS. All 56 will
have it by the end of this year.
Homelessness. The last of our three priority goals is to
end veterans' homelessness in 2015. Since 2009 we have reduced
the estimated number of homeless veterans by more than 17
percent. The latest available estimate from January 2012 is
62,600.
There is more work to be done here, but we have mobilized a
national program that reaches into communities all across this
country. Prevention of veterans' homelessness is our follow-on
main effort. The first phase to be completed by 2015 is the
rescue of veterans currently on the street, and at the same
time we are building a prevention program to keep others from
ending up there.
Mr. Chairman, we are committed to the responsible use of
the resources Congress provides.
Again, thank you for this opportunity to appear here today,
and we look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Secretary Shinseki follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Eric K. Shinseki, Secretary, U.S. Department
of Veterans Affairs
Chairman Sanders, Ranking Member Burr, Distinguished Members of the
Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Thank you for the opportunity to
present the President's 2014 Budget and 2015 advance appropriations
requests for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This budget
continues the President's historic initiatives and strong budgetary
support and will have a positive impact on the lives of Veterans, their
families, and survivors. We value the unwavering support of the
Congress in providing the resources and legislative authorities needed
to care for our Veterans and recognize the sacrifices they have made
for our Nation.
The current generation of Veterans will help to grow our middle
class and provide a return on the country's investments in them. The
President believes in Veterans and their families, believes in
providing them the care and benefits they've earned, and knows that by
their service, they and their families add strength to our Nation.
Twenty-two million living Americans today have distinguished
themselves by their service in uniform. After a decade of war, many
Servicemembers are returning and making the transition to Veterans
status. The President's 2014 Budget for VA requests $152.7 billion--
comprised of $66.5 billion in discretionary funds, including medical
care collections, and $86.1 billion in mandatory funds. The
discretionary request reflects an increase of $2.7 billion, 4.3 percent
above the 2013 level. Our 2014 budget will allow VA to operate the
largest integrated healthcare system in the country, with more than 9.0
million Veterans enrolled to receive healthcare; the ninth largest life
insurance provider, covering both active duty members as well as
enrolled Veterans; an education assistance program serving over 1
million students; a home mortgage service that guarantees over 1.5
million Veterans' home loans with the lowest foreclosure rate in the
Nation; and the largest national cemetery system that leads the Nation
as a high-performing organization, with projections to inter about
121,000 Veterans and family members in 2014.
priority goals
Over the next few years, more than one million Veterans will leave
military service and transition to civilian life. VA must be ready to
care for them and their families. Our data shows that the newest of our
country's Veterans are relying on VA at unprecedented levels. Through
January 31, 2012, of the approximately 1.58 million Veterans who
returned from Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and New Dawn,
at least 62 percent have used some VA benefit or service.
VA's top three priorities--increase access to VA benefits and
services; eliminate the disability compensation claims backlog in in
2015; and end Veterans homelessness, also in 2015--anticipate these
changes and identify the performance levels required to meet emerging
needs. These ambitious goals will take steady focus and determination
to see them through. As we enter the critical funding year for VA's
priority goals, this 2014 budget builds upon our multi-year effort to
position the Department through effective, efficient, and accountable
programming and budget execution for delivering claims and homeless
priority goals.
stewardship of resources
Safeguarding the resources--people, money, time--entrusted to us by
the Congress, managing them effectively, and deploying them
judiciously, is a fundamental duty. Effective stewardship requires an
unflagging commitment to use resources efficiently with clear
accounting rules and procedures, to safeguard, train, motivate, and
hold our workforce accountable, and to assure the effective use of time
in serving Veterans on behalf of the American people. Striving for
excellence in stewardship of resources is a daily priority. At VA, we
are ever attentive to areas in which we need to improve our operations,
and are committed to taking swift corrective action to eliminate any
financial management practice that does not deliver value for Veterans.
VA's stewardship of resources begins at headquarters. Recognizing
the very difficult fiscal constraints facing our country, the 2014
request includes a 5.0 percent reduction in the Departmental
Administration budget from the 2013 enacted level. This reduction
follows a headquarters freeze in the 2013 President's Budget--a two-
year commitment.
Recent audits of the Department's financial statements have
certified VA's success in remediating all three of our remaining
material weaknesses in financial management, which had been carried
forward for over a decade. In terms of internal controls and fiscal
integrity, this was a major accomplishment. In the past four years, we
have also dramatically reduced the number of significant financial
deficiencies from 16 to 1.
At VA, we believe that part of being responsible stewards is
shutting down information technology (IT) projects that are no longer
performing. Developed by our Office of Information and Technology, the
Project Management Accountability System (PMAS) requires IT projects to
establish milestones to deliver new functionality to its customers
every 6 months. Now entering its third year, PMAS continues to instill
accountability and discipline in our IT organization. Through PMAS, the
cumulative, on-time delivery of IT functionality since its inception is
82 percent, a rate unheard of in the industry where, by contrast, the
average is 42 percent. By implementing PMAS, we have achieved at least
$200 million in cost avoidance by shutting down or improving the
management of 15 projects.
Through the effective management of our acquisition resources, VA
has achieved savings of over $200 million by participating in Federal
strategic sourcing programs and establishing innovative IT acquisition
contracts. In 2012, VA led the civilian agencies in contracting with
Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses, which, at $3.4
billion, accounted for 19.3 percent of all VA procurement awards. In
addition, we have reduced interest penalties for late payments by 19
percent (from $47 to $38 per million) over the past four years.
Finally, VA's stewardship achieved savings in several other areas
across the Department. The National Cemetery Administration (NCA)
assumed responsibility in 2009 for processing First Notices of Death to
terminate compensation benefits to deceased Veterans. Since taking on
this responsibility, NCA has advised families of the burial benefits
available to them, assisted in averting overpayments of some $142
million in benefit payments and, thereby, helped survivors avoid
possible collections. In addition, we implemented the use of Medicare
pricing methodologies at the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to
pay for fee-basis services, resulting in savings of over $528 million
since 2012 without negatively impacting Veteran care and with improved
consistency in billing and payment.
technology
To serve Veterans as well as they have served us, we are working on
delivering a 21st century VA that provides medical care, benefits, and
services through a digital infrastructure. Technology is integrated
with everything we do for Veterans. Our hospitals use information
technology to properly and accurately distribute and deliver
prescriptions/medications to patients, track lab tests, process MRI and
X-ray imaging, coordinate consults, and store medical records. VA IT
systems supported over 1,300 VA points of healthcare in 2012: 152
medical centers, 107 domiciliary rehabilitation treatment programs, 821
community-based outpatient clinics, 300 Vet Centers, 6 independent
outpatient clinics, 11 mobile outpatient clinics, and 70 mobile Vet
Centers. Technology supports Veterans' education and disability claims
processing, claims payments, home loans, insurance, and memorial
services. Our IT infrastructure consists of telephone lines, data
networks, servers, workstations, printers, cell phones, and mobile
applications.
No Veteran should have to wait months or years for the benefits
that they have earned. We will eliminate the disability claims backlog
in 2015; technology is the critical component for achieving our goal.
VA is deploying technology solutions to improve access, drive
automation, reduce variance, and enable faster and more efficient
operations. Building on the resources Congress has provided in recent
years to expand our claims processing capacity, the 2014 budget
requests $291 million for technology to eliminate the claims backlog?
$155 million in Veterans Benefits management System (VBMS) for our new
paperless processing system, and $136 million in the Veterans Benefits
Administration (VBA) to support a Veterans Claims Intake Program, our
new online application system that will allow for the conversion of
paper to digital images for our new paperless processing system, the
Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS). Without these resources, VA
will be unable to meet its goal to eliminate the disability claims
backlog in 2015.
Information Technology
At VA, advances in technology--and the adoption of and reliance on
IT in our daily commercial life--have been dramatic. Technology is
integral to providing high quality healthcare and benefits. The 2014
budget requests $3.683 billion for IT, an increase of $359 million from
the President's 2013 Budget, reflecting the critical role technology
plays in VA's daily work in serving and caring for Veterans and their
families. Of the total request, $2.2 billion will support the operation
and maintenance of our digital infrastructure and $495 million is for
IT development modernization and enhancement projects.
The 2014 budget includes $32.8 million for development of VBMS, our
new paperless processing system that enables VA to move from its
current paper-based process to a digital operating environment that
improves access, drives automation, reduces variance, and enables
faster, more efficient operations. As we increase claims examiners' use
of VBMS version 4.2 to process rating disability claims, our major
focus is on system performance, as we tune the system to be responsive
and effective. VA will complete the rollout of VBMS in June 2013.
In addition, the 2014 budget includes $120 million for development
of the Veterans Relationship Management (VRM) initiative, which
enhances Veterans' access to comprehensive VA services and benefits,
especially in the delivery of compensation and pension claims
processing. The program gives Veterans secure, personalized access to
benefits and information and allows a timely response to their
inquiries. Recently, VRM released Veterans Online Application Direct
Connect (VDC), which enables Veterans to apply for VBA benefits by
answering guided interview questions through the security of the
eBenefits portal. Claims filed through eBenefits use VDC to load
information and data directly into VBMS.
The Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER) is an overarching
program which aims to share health, benefits, and administrative
information, including personnel records and military history records,
among DOD, VA, SSA, private healthcare providers, and other Federal,
State and local government partners. eBenefits is already reaching 2
million Veterans and Servicemembers and 1 million active users with
BlueButton. The 2014 budget requests $15.4 million for VLER to develop
and support these functions as well as the Warrior Support Veterans
Tracking Application; the Disability Benefits Questionnaires; a VA/DOD
joint health information sharing project known as Bidirectional Health
Information Exchange; and a storage interface known as Clinical Data
Repository/Health Data Repository. All of these efforts are designed to
enable the sharing of health, military personnel and personal
information among VA, other Federal agencies, Veteran Service
Organizations and private health care providers to expedite the award
and processing of disability claims and other services such as
education, training and job placement.
eliminating the claims backlog
Too many Veterans wait too long to receive benefits they have
earned. This is unacceptable. Today's claims backlog is the result of
several factors, including: increased demand; over a decade of war with
many Veterans returning with more severe, complex injuries; decisions
on Agent Orange, Gulf War, and combat PTSD presumptions; and,
successful outreach to Veterans informing them of their benefits. These
facts, in no way, diminish the urgency that we all feel at VA to fix
this problem which has been decades in the making. VA remains focused
on eliminating the disability claims backlog in 2015 and processing all
claims within 125 days at a 98-percent accuracy level.
To deliver this goal, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) is
implementing a comprehensive transformation plan based on more than 40
targeted initiatives to boost productivity by over the next several
years However, as VBA transforms its people, processes, and
technologies, its claims demand is expected to exceed on million
annually. From 2010 through 2012, for the first time in its history,
VBA processed more than one million claims in three consecutive years.
In 2013, VBA expects to receive another million claims and similar
levels of demand are anticipated in 2014. This is driven by successful
outreach, claims growth not previously captured in VBA's baseline, and
new requirements. Included are mandatory Servicemember participation in
VOW/VEI benefits briefings and an expected increase upon successful
completion of a transition assistance program, revamped by the
President as Transition: Goals, Plan, Success (GPS). As more than one
million troops leave service over the next 5 years, we expect our
claims workload to continue to rise. In addition, VBA is experiencing
an unprecedented workload growth arising from the number and complexity
of medical conditions in Veterans' compensation claims. The average
number of claimed conditions for our recently separated Servicemembers
is now in the 12 to 16 range--roughly 5 times the number of
disabilities claimed by Veterans of earlier eras. While the increase in
compensation applications presents challenges, it is also an indication
that we are being successful in our efforts to expand access to VA
benefits.
Investments in transformation of our people, processes, and
technologies are already paying off in terms of improved performance.
For example:
People: More than 2,100 claims processors have completed
Challenge Training, which improves the quality and productivity of VBA
compensation claims decisionmakers. As a result of Challenge Training,
VBA's new employees complete more claims per day than their
predecessors--with a 30 percent increase in accuracy.
VBA's new standardized organizational model incorporates a case-
management approach to claims processing that organizes its workforce
into cross-functional teams that work together on one of three
segmented lanes: express, special operations, or core. Claims that
predictably can take less time will flow through an express lane (30
percent); those taking more time or requiring special handling will
flow through a special operations lane (10 percent); and the rest of
the claims flow through the core lane (60 percent). Initially planned
for deployment throughout 2013, VBA accelerated the implementation of
the new organizational model by nine months due to early indications of
its positive impact on performance.
VBA instituted Quality Review Teams (QRTs) in 2012 to improve
employee training and accuracy while decreasing rework time. QRTs focus
on improving performance on the most common sources of error in the
claims processing cycle. Today, for example, QRTs are focused on the
process by which proper physical examinations are ordered; incorrect or
insufficient exams previously accounted for 30 percent of VBA's error
rate. As a result of this focus, VBA has seen a 23 percent improvement
in this area.
Process: Disability Benefits Questionnaires (DBQs) are
online forms used by non-VA physicians to submit medical evidence. Use
of DBQs has improved timeliness and accuracy of VHA-provided exams--
average processing time improved by 6 days from June 2011 to
October 2012 (from 32 to 26 days).
Fully developed claims (FDCs) are critical to reducing ``wait
time'' and ``rework.'' FDCs include all DOD service medical and
personnel records, including entrance and exit exams, applicable DBQs,
any private medical records, and a fully completed claim form. Today,
VBA receives 4.5 percent of claims in fully developed form and
completes them in 117 days, while a regular claim takes 262 days to
process. Fulfilling the Veterans Claims Assistance Act, to search for
potential evidence, is the greatest portion of the current 262-day
process. The Veterans Benefit Act of 2003 allows Veterans up to 365
days, from the date of VA notice for additional information or
evidence, to provide documentation. Of the 262 days to complete a
regular claim, approximately145 days are spent waiting for potential
evidence to qualify the application as a fully developed claim.
VBA built new decision-support tools to make our employees more
efficient and their decisions more consistent and accurate. Rules-based
calculators provide suggested evaluations for certain conditions using
objective data and rules-based functionality. The Evaluation Builder
uses a series of check boxes that are associated with the Veteran's
symptoms to help determine the proper diagnostic code of over 800
codes, as well as the appropriate level of compensation based on the
Veteran's symptoms.
Technology: The centerpiece of VBA's transformation plan
is VBMS--a new paperless electronic claims processing system that
employs rules-based technology to improve decision speed and accuracy.
For our Veterans, VBMS will mean faster, higher-quality, and more
consistent decisions on claims. Our strategy includes active
stakeholder participation (Veterans Service Officers, State Departments
of Veterans Affairs, County Veterans Service Officers, and Department
of Defense) to provide digital electronic files and claims pre-scanned
through online claims submission via the eBenefits Web portal.
VBA recently established the Veterans Claims Intake
Program (VCIP). This program will streamline processes for receiving
records and data into VBMS and other VBA systems. Scanning operations
and the transfer of Veteran data into VBMS are primary intake
capabilities that are managed by VCIP. As VBMS is deployed to
additional regional offices, document scanning becomes increasingly
important as the main mechanism for transitioning from paper-based
claim folders to the new electronic environment.
There are other ways that VA is working to eliminate the claims
backlog. VHA has implemented multiple initiatives to expedite timely
and efficient delivery of medical evidence needed to process a
disability claim by VBA. As a result, timeliness improved by nearly
one-third, from an average of 38 days in January 2011 to 26 days in
October 2012. Recently, VA launched Acceptable Clinical Evidence (ACE),
an initiative that allows clinicians to review existing medical
evidence and determine whether they can use that evidence to complete a
DBQ without requiring the Veteran to report for an in-person
examination. This initiative was developed by both VHA and VBA in a
joint effort to provide a Veteran-centric approach for disability
examinations. Use of the ACE process opens the possibility of doing
assessments without an in-person examination when there is sufficient
information in the record.
Another way to eliminate the claims backlog is by working closely
with the DOD. The Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) is a
collaborative system to make disability evaluations seamless, simple,
fast and fair. If the Servicemember is found medically unfit for duty,
the IDES gives them a proposed VA disability rating before they leave
the service. These ratings are normally based on VA examinations that
are conducted using required IDES examination templates. In FY 2012,
IDES participants were notified of VA benefit entitlement in an average
of 54 days after discharge. This reflects an improvement from 67 days
in May 2012 to 49 days in September 2012.
The Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) and Quick Start programs
are two other collaborations for Servicemembers to file claims for
service-connected disabilities. This can be done from 180 to 60 days
prior to separation or retirement. BDD claims are accepted at every VA
Regional Office and at intake sites on military installations in the
U.S., and at two intake site locations overseas. In 2012, BDD received
more than 30,300 claims and completed 24,944--a 14% increase over
2011's productivity (21,657). During this same period of time Quick
Start decreased their rating inventory by over 44 percent.
expanding access to benefits and services
VA remains committed to ensuring that Veterans are not only aware
of the benefits and services that they are entitled to, but that they
are able to access them. We are improving access to VA services by
opening new or improved facilities closer to where Veterans live. Since
2009, we have added 57 community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs), for
a total of 840 CBOCs through 2013, and increased the number of mobile
outpatient clinics and mobile Vet Centers, serving rural Veterans, to
81. Last August, we opened a state-of-the-art medical center in Las
Vegas, the first new VAMC in 17 years. The 2014 medical care budget
request includes $799 million to open new and renovated healthcare
facilities and includes the authorization request for 28 new and
replacement medical leases to increase Veteran access to services.
Today, access is much more than the ability to walk into a VA
medical facility; it also includes technology, and programs, as well
as, facilities. Expanding access includes taking the facility to the
Veteran--be it virtually through telehealth, by sending Mobile Vet
Centers to rural areas where services are scarce, or by using social
media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to connect Veterans to
VA benefits and facilities. Telehealth is a major breakthrough in
healthcare delivery in 21st century medicine, and is particularly
important for Veterans who live in rural and remote areas. The 2014
budget requests $460 million for telehealth, an increase of $388
million, or 542 percent, since 2009.
As more Veterans access our healthcare services, we recognize their
unique needs and the needs of their families--many have been affected
by multiple, lengthy deployments. VA provides a comprehensive system of
high-quality mental health treatment and services to Veterans. We are
using many tools to recruit and retain our large mental healthcare
workforce to better serve Veterans by providing enhanced services,
expanded access, longer clinic hours, and increased telemental health
capabilities. In response to increased demand over the last four years,
VA has enhanced its capacity to deliver needed mental health services
and to improve the system of care so that Veterans can more readily
access them. Since 2006, the number of Veterans receiving specialized
mental health treatment has risen each year, from over 927,000 to more
than 1.3 million in 2012, partly due to proactive screening. Outpatient
visits have increased from 14 million in 2009 to over 17 million in
2012. VA believes that mental healthcare must constantly evolve and
improve as new knowledge becomes available through research.
The 2014 budget includes $168.5 million for the Veterans
Relationship Management (VRM) initiative, which is fundamentally
transforming Veterans' access to VA benefits and services by empowering
VA clients with new self-service tools. VA has already made major
strides under this initiative. Most recently, in November 2012, VRM
added new features to eBenefits, a Web application that allows Veterans
to access their VA benefits and submit some claims online. Veterans can
now enroll in and manage their insurance policies, select reserve
retirement benefits, and browse the Veterans Benefits Handbook from the
eBenefits Website. With the help of Google mapping services, the update
also enables Veterans to find VA representatives in their area and
where they are located. Since its inception in 2009, eBenefits has
added more than 45 features allowing Veterans easier, quicker, and more
convenient access to their VA benefits and personal information.
VBA has aggressively promoted eBenefits and the ease of enrolling
into the system. We currently have over 2.5 million registered
eBenefits users. Users can check the status of claims or appeals,
review VA payment history, obtain military documents, and perform
numerous other benefit actions through eBenefits. The Stakeholder
Enterprise Portal (SEP) is a secure Web-based access point for VA's
business partners. This electronic portal provides the ability for VSOs
and other external VA business partners to represent Veterans quickly
and efficiently.
VA also continues to increase access to burial services for
Veterans and their families through the largest expansion of its
national cemetery system since the Civil War. At present, approximately
90 percent of the Veteran population--about 20 million Veterans--has
access to a burial option in a national, state, or tribal Veterans
cemetery within 75 miles of their homes. In 2004, only 75 percent of
Veterans had such access. This dramatic increase is the result of a
comprehensive strategic planning process that results in the most
efficient use of resources to reach the greatest number of Veterans.
ending veteran homelessness
The last of our three priority goals is to end homelessness among
Veterans in 2015. Since 2009, we have reduced the estimated number of
homeless Veterans by more than 17 percent. The January 2012 Point-In-
Time estimate, the latest available, is 62,619. We have also created a
National Homeless Veterans Registry to track our known homeless and at-
risk populations closely to ensure resources end up where they are
needed. In 2012, over 240,000 homeless or at-risk Veterans accessed
benefits or services through VA and 96,681 homeless or at-risk Veterans
were assessed by VHA's homeless programs. Over 31,000 homeless and at-
risk Veterans and their families obtained permanent housing through VA
specialized homeless programs.
In the 2014 budget, VA is requesting $1.393 billion for programs to
assist homeless Veterans, through programs such as Department of
Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH), Grant
and Per Diem, Homeless Registry, and Health Care for Homeless Veterans.
This represents an increase of $41 million, or 3 percent over the 2013
enacted level. This budget will support our long-range plan to end
Veteran homelessness by emphasizing rescue and prevention--rescue for
those who are homeless today, and prevention for those at risk of
homelessness.
Our prevention strategy includes close partnerships with some 150
community non-profits through the Supportive Services for Veteran
Families (SSVF) program; SSVF grants promote housing stability among
homeless and at-risk Veterans and their families. The grants can have
an immediate impact, helping lift Veterans out of homelessness or
providing aid in emergency situations that put Veterans and their
families at risk of homelessness. In 2012, we awarded $100 million in
Supportive Service grants to help Veterans and families avoid life on
the streets. We are currently reviewing proposals for the $300 million
in grants we will distribute later this year. In 2012, SSVF resources
directly helped approximately 21,000 Veterans and over 35,000 household
members, including nearly 9,000 children. This year's grants will help
up to 70,000 Veterans and family members avoid homelessness. The 2014
budget includes $300 million for SSVF.
To increase homeless Veterans' access to benefits, care, and
services, VA established the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans
(NCCHV). The NCCHV provides homeless Veterans and Veterans at-risk for
homelessness free, 24/7 access to trained counselors. The call center
is intended to assist homeless Veterans and their families, VA medical
centers, Federal, state and local partners, community agencies, service
providers, and others in the community. Family members and non-VA
providers who call on behalf of homeless Veterans are provided with
information on VA homeless programs and services. In 2012, the National
Call Center for Homeless Veterans received 80,558 calls (123 percent
increase) and the center made 50,608 referrals to VA medical centers
(133 percent increase).
VA's Homeless Patient Aligned Care Teams (H-PACTs) program provides
a coordinated ``medical home'' specifically tailored to the needs of
homeless Veterans. The program integrates clinical care with delivery
of social services and enhanced access and community coordination.
Implementation of this model is expected to address health disparity
and equity issues facing the homeless population. Expected program
outcomes include reduced emergency department use and hospitalizations,
improved chronic disease management, and improved ``housing readiness''
with fewer Veterans returning to homelessness once housed.
During 2012, 119,878 unique homeless Veterans were served by the
Health Care for Homeless Veterans Program (HCHV), an increase of more
than 21 percent from 2011. At more than 135 sites, HCHV offers
outreach, exams, treatment, referrals, and case management to Veterans
who are homeless and dealing with mental health issues, including
substance use. Initially serving as a mechanism to contract with
providers for community-based residential treatment for homeless
Veterans, many HCHV programs now serve as the hub for myriad housing
and other services that provide VA with a way to outreach and assist
homeless Veterans by offering them entry to VA medical care.
VA's Homeless Veterans Apprenticeship Program was established in
2012--a 1-year paid employment training program for Veterans who are
homeless or at risk of homelessness. This program created paid
employment positions as Cemetery Caretakers at five of our 131 national
cemeteries. The initial class of 21 homeless Veterans is simultaneously
enrolled in VHA's Homeless Veterans Supported Employment program.
Apprentices who successfully complete 12 months of competency-based
training will be offered permanent full-time employment at a national
cemetery. Successful participants will receive a Certificate of
Competency which can also be used to support employment applications in
the private sector.
Another avenue of assistance is through Veterans Treatment Courts,
which were developed to avoid unnecessary incarceration of Veterans who
have developed mental health problems. The goal of Veterans Treatment
Courts is to divert those with mental health issues and homelessness
from the traditional justice system and to give them treatment and
tools for rehabilitation and readjustment. While each Veterans
Treatment Court is part of the local community's justice system, they
form close working partnerships with VA and Veterans' organizations. As
of early 2012 there are 88 Courts.
The Veterans Justice Outreach (VJO) program exists to connect these
justice-involved Veterans with the treatment and other services that
can help prevent homelessness and facilitate recovery, whether or not
they live in a community that has a Veterans Treatment Court. Each VA
Medical Center has at least one designated justice outreach specialist
who functions as a link between VA, Veterans, and the local justice
system. Although VA cannot treat Veterans while they are incarcerated,
these specialists provide outreach, assessment and linkage to VA and
community treatment, and other services to both incarcerated Veterans
and justice-involved Veterans who have not been incarcerated.
multi-year plan for medical care budget
Under the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act
of 2009, which we are grateful to Congress for passing; VA submits its
medical care budget that includes an advance appropriations request in
each budget submission. The legislation requires VA to plan its medical
care budget using a multi-year approach. This policy ensures that VA
requirements are reviewed and updated based on the most recent data
available and actual program experience.
The 2014 budget request for VA medical care appropriations is $54.6
billion, an increase of 3.7 percent over the 2013 enacted level of
$52.7 billion. The request is an increase of $157.5 million above the
enacted 2014 advance appropriations level. Based on updated 2014
estimates largely derived from the Enrollee Health Care Projection
Model, the requested amount would allow VA to increase funding in
programs to eliminate Veteran homelessness; continue implementation of
the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act; fulfill
multiple responsibilities under the Affordable Care Act; provide for
activation requirements for new or replacement medical facilities; and
invest in strategic initiatives to improve the quality and
accessibility of VA healthcare programs. Our multi-year budget plan
assumes that VHA will carry over negligible unobligated balances from
2013 into 2014--consistent with the 2013 budget submitted to Congress.
The 2015 request for medical care advance appropriations is $55.6
billion, an increase of $1.1 billion, or 1.9 percent, over the 2014
budget request. Medical care funding levels for 2015, including funding
for activations, non-recurring maintenance, and initiatives, will be
revisited during the 2015 budget process, and could be revised to
reflect updated information on known funding requirements and
unobligated balances.
medical care program
The 2014 budget of $57.7 billion, including collections, provides
for healthcare services to treat over 6.5 million unique patients, an
increase of 1.3 percent over the 2013 estimate. Of those unique
patients, 4.5 million Veterans are in Priority Groups 1-6, an increase
of more than 71,000 or 1.6 percent. Additionally, VA anticipates
treating over 674,000 Veterans from the conflicts in Iraq and
Afghanistan, an increase of over 67,000 patients, or 11.1 percent, over
the 2013 level. VA also provides medical care to non-Veterans through
programs such the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department
of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) and the Spina Bifida Health Care Program;
this population is expected to increase by over 17,000 patients, 2.6
percent, during the same time period.
The 2014 budget proposes to extend the Administration's current
policy to freeze Veterans' pharmacy co-payments at the 2012 rates,
until January 2015. Under this policy, which will be implemented in a
future rulemaking, co-payments will continue at $8 for Veterans in
Priority Groups 2 through 6 and at $9 for Priority Groups 7 through 8.
The 2014 budget requests $47 million to provide healthcare for
Veterans who were potentially exposed to contaminated drinking water at
Camp Lejeune as required by the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring
for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012, enacted last August. Since VA
began implementation of the law and in January 2013, 1,400 Veterans
have contacted us concerning Camp Lejeune. Of these, roughly 1,100 were
already enrolled in VA healthcare. Veterans who are eligible for care
under the Camp Lejeune authority, regardless of current enrollment
status with VA, will not be charged a co-payment for healthcare related
to the 15 illnesses or conditions recognized, nor will a third-party
insurance company be billed for these services. In 2015, VA expects to
start treating family members as authorized under the law and has
included $25 million for this purpose within the 2015 advance
appropriations request. VA continues a robust outreach campaign to
these Veterans and family members while we press forward with
implementing this complex new law.
Mental Healthcare and Suicide Prevention
At VA, we have the opportunity and the responsibility to anticipate
the needs of returning Veterans. Mental healthcare at VA is a system of
comprehensive treatments and services to meet the individual mental
health needs of Veterans. VA is expanding mental health programs and is
integrating mental health services with primary and specialty care to
provide better coordinated care for our Veteran patients. Our 2014
budget provides nearly $7.0 billion for mental healthcare, an increase
of $469 million, or 7.2 percent, over 2013. Since 2009, VA has
increased funding for mental health services by 56.9 percent. VA
provided mental health services to 1,391,523 patients in 2012, 58,000
more than in 2011.
To serve the growing number of Veterans seeking mental healthcare,
VA has deployed significant resources and is increasing the number of
staff in support of mental health services. Consistent with the
President's August 31, 2012 Executive Order, VHA is on target to
complete the goal of hiring 1,600 additional mental health clinical
providers and 300 administrative support staff by June 30, 2013 to meet
the growing demand for mental health services. In addition, as part of
VA's efforts to implement the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health
Services Act of 2010, VA has hired over 100 Peer Specialists in recent
months, and is hiring and training nearly 700 more. Additionally, VA
has awarded a contract to the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
to provide certification training for Peer Specialists. This peer staff
is expected to be hired by December 31, 2013, and will work as members
of mental health teams.
In addition to hiring more mental health workers, VA is developing
electronic tools to help VA clinicians manage the mental health needs
of their patients. Clinical Reminders give clinicians timely
information about patient health maintenance schedules, and the High-
Risk Mental Health National Reminder and Flag system allows VA
clinicians to flag patients who are at-risk for suicide. When an at-
risk patient does not keep an appointment, Clinical Reminders prompt
the clinician to follow-up with the Veteran.
Since its inception in 2007, the Veterans Crisis Line in
Canandaigua, New York, has answered over 725,000 calls and responded to
more than 80,000 chats and 5,000 texts from Veterans in need. In the
most serious calls, approximately 26,000 men and women have been
rescued from a suicide in progress because of our intervention--the
equivalent of two Army divisions.
We recently completed a 2012 VA suicide data report, a result of
the most comprehensive review of Veteran suicide rates ever undertaken
by VA. We are working hard to understand this issue--and VA and DOD
have jointly funded a $100 million suicide research project. We will be
better informed about suicides, but while research is ongoing, we are
taking immediate action and are not waiting 10 years for final study
outcomes. These actions include Veterans Chat on the Veterans Crisis
Line, local Suicide Prevention Coordinators' for counseling and
services, and availability of VA/DOD Suicide Outreach resources.
The Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) expands access to coverage, reins in
health care costs, and improves the Nation's health care delivery
system. The Act has important implications for VA. Beginning in 2014,
many uninsured Americans, including Veterans, will have access to
quality, affordable health insurance choices through Health Insurance
Marketplaces, also known as Exchanges, and may be eligible for premium
tax credits and cost-sharing reductions to make coverage more
affordable. The 2014 budget requests $85 million within the Medical
Care request and $3.4 million within the Information Technology request
to fulfill multiple responsibilities as a provider of Minimum Essential
Coverage under the Affordable Care Act, including: (1) providing
outreach and communication on ACA to Veterans related to VA health
care; (2) reporting to Treasury on individuals who are enrolled in the
VA healthcare system; and (3) providing a written statement to each
enrolled Veteran about their coverage by January 2015.
Medical Care in Rural Areas
VA remains committed to the delivery of medical care in rural areas
of our country. For that reason, in 2012, we obligated $248 million to
support the efforts of the Office of Rural Health to improve access and
quality of care for enrolled Veterans who live in rural areas. Some 3.4
million Veterans enrolled in the VA healthcare system live in rural or
highly rural areas of the country; this represents about 41 percent of
all enrolled Veterans. For that reason, VA will continue to emphasize
rural health in our budget planning, including addressing the needs of
American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Veterans.
VA is committed to expanding access to the full range of VA
programs to eligible AI/AN Veterans. Last year, VA signed a Memorandum
of Agreement with the Indian Health Service (IHS), through which VA
will reimburse IHS for direct care services provided to eligible
American Indian and Alaska Native Veterans. While the national
agreement applies only to VA and IHS, it will inform agreements
negotiated between the VA and tribal health programs.
This follows the agreement already in place between VA and IHS
whereby nearly 250,000 patients served by IHS have utilized a
prescription program that allows IHS pharmacies to use VA's
Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP) to process and mail
prescription refills for IHS patients. By accessing the service, IHS
patients can now have their prescriptions mailed to them, in many cases
eliminating the need to pick them up at an IHS pharmacy.
Women Veterans Medical Care
Changing demographics are also driving change at VA. Today, we have
over 2.2 million women Veterans in our country; they are the fastest
growing segment of our Veterans' population. Since 2009, the number of
women Veterans enrolled in VA healthcare increased by almost 22
percent, to 591,500. However, by 2022--less than a decade from now--
their number is projected to spike to almost 2.5 million, and an
estimated 900,000 will be enrolled in VA healthcare.
The 2014 budget requests $422 million, an increase of 134 percent
since 2009, for gender-specific medical care for women Veterans. Since
2009, we have invested $25.5 million in improvements to women Veterans'
clinics and opened 19 new ones. Today, nearly 50 percent of our
facilities have comprehensive women's clinics, and every VA healthcare
system has designated women's health primary care providers, and has a
women Veteran's program manager on staff.
In 2012, VA awarded 32 grants totaling $2 million to VA facilities
for projects that will improve emergency healthcare services for women
Veterans, expand women's health education programs for VA staff, and
offer telehealth programs to female Veterans in rural areas. These new
projects will improve access and quality of critical healthcare
services for women. This is the largest number of one-year grants VA
has ever awarded for enhancing women's health services.
medical research
Medical Research is being supported with $586 million in direct
appropriations in 2014, with an additional $1.3 billion in funding
support from VA's medical care program and through Federal and non-
Federal grants. VA Research and Development will support 2,224 projects
during 2014.
Projects funded in 2014 will be focused on supporting development
of New Models of Care, identifying or developing new treatments for
Gulf War Veterans, improving social reintegration following Traumatic
Brain Injury, reducing suicide, evaluating the effectiveness of
complementary and alternative medicine, developing blood tests to
assist in the diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and mild
Traumatic Brain Injury, and advancing genomic medicine.
The 2014 budget continues support for the Million Veteran Program
(MVP), an unprecedented research program that advances the promises of
genomic science. The MVP will establish a database, used only by
authorized researchers in a secure manner, to conduct health and
wellness studies to determine which genetic variations are associated
with particular health issues--potentially helping the health of
America's Veterans and the general public. MVP recently enrolled its
100,000th volunteer research participant, and by the end of 2013, the
goal is to enroll at least 150,000 participants in the program.
veterans benefits administration
The 2014 budget request of $2.455 billion for VBA, an increase of
$294 million in discretionary funds from the 2013 enacted level, is
vital to the transformation strategy that drives our performance
improvements focused most squarely on the backlog.
Virtually all 860,000 claims in the VBA inventory, including the
600,000 claims that have been at VA for over 125 days and are
considered backlogged, exist only in paper. Our transition to VBMS and
electronic claims processing is a massive and crucial phase in VBA
transformation. VA awarded two VCIP contracts in 2012 to provide
document conversion services that will populate the electronic claims
folder, or eFolder, in VBMS with images and data extracted from paper
and other source material. Without VCIP, we cannot populate the eFolder
on which the VBMS system relies. The 2014 request for $136 million for
our scanning services contracts will ensure that we remain on track to
reach this key goal. In addition, the budget request includes $4.9
million for help desk support for Veterans using the Veterans On-Line
Application/eBenefits system.
VBA projects a beneficiary caseload of 4.6 million in 2014, with
more than $70 billion in compensation and pension benefits obligations.
We expect to process 1.2 million compensation claims in 2014, and we
are pursuing improvements that will enable us to meet the emerging
needs of Veterans and their families.
Veterans Employment
Under the leadership of President Obama, VA, DOD, the Department of
Labor, and the entire Federal Government have made Veterans employment
one of their highest priorities. In August 2011, the President
announced his comprehensive plan to address this issue and to ensure
that all of America's Veterans have the support they need and deserve
when they leave the military, look for a job, and enter the civilian
workforce. He created a new DOD/VA Employment Initiative Task Force
that would develop a new training and services delivery model to help
strengthen the transition of our Veteran Servicemembers from military
to civilian life. VA has worked closely with other partners in the Task
Force to identify its responsibilities and ensure delivery of the
President's vision. On November 21, 2012, the effective date of the VOW
Act, VA began deployment of the enhanced VA benefits briefings under
the revised Transition Assistance Program (TAP), called Transition GPS
(Goals, Plans, Success). VA will also provide training for the optional
Technical Training Track Curriculum and participate in the Capstone
event, which will ensure that separating Servicemembers have the
opportunity to verify that they have met Career Readiness Standards and
are steered to the resources and benefits available to them as
Veterans. Accordingly, the 2014 budget requests $104 million to support
the implementation of Transition GPS and meet VA's responsibilities
under the VOW Act and the President's Veterans Employment Initiative.
Veterans Job Corps
In his State of the Union address in 2012, President Obama called
for a new Veterans Job Corps initiative to help our returning Veterans
find pathways to civilian employment. The 2014 budget includes $1
billion in mandatory funding to develop a Veterans Job Corps
conservation program that will put up to 20,000 Veterans back to work
over the next five years protecting and rebuilding America. Jobs will
include park maintenance projects, patrolling public lands,
rehabilitating natural and recreational areas, and administrative,
technical, and law enforcement-related activities. Additionally,
Veterans will help make a significant dent in the deferred maintenance
of our Federal, State, local, and tribal lands including jobs that will
repair and rehabilitate trails, roads, levees, recreation facilities
and other assets. The program will serve all Veterans, but will have a
particular focus on post-9/11 Veterans.
Post-9/11 and other Education Programs
Since 2009, VA has provided over $25 billion in Post-9/11 GI Bill
benefits to cover the education and training of more than 893,000
Servicemembers, Veterans, family members, and survivors. We are now
working with Student Veterans of America to track graduation and
training completion rates.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill continues to be a focus of VBA transformation
as it implements the Long-Term Solution (LTS). At the end of February
we had approximately 60,000 education claims pending, 70 percent lower
than the total claims pending the same time last year. The average days
to process Post-9/11 GI Bill supplemental claims has decreased by 17
days, from 23 days in September 2012 to 6 days in February 2013. The
average time to process initial Post-9/11 GI Bill original education
benefit claims in February was 24 days.
national cemetery administration
The 2014 budget includes $250 million in operations and maintenance
funding for the National Cemetery Administration (NCA). As we move
forward into the next fiscal year, NCA projects our workload numbers
will continue to increase. For 2014, we anticipate conducting
approximately 121,000 interments of Veterans or their family members,
maintaining and providing perpetual care for approximately 3.4 million
gravesites. NCA will also maintain 9,000 developed acres and process
approximately 345,000 headstone and marker applications.
Review of National Cemeteries
For the first time in the 150-year history of national cemeteries,
NCA has completed a self-initiated, comprehensive review of the entire
inventory of 3.2 million headstones and markers within the 131 national
cemeteries and 33 Soldiers' Lots it maintains. The information gained
was invaluable in validating current operations and ensuring a
sustainment plan is in place to enhance our management practices. The
review was part of NCA's ongoing effort to ensure the full and accurate
accounting of remains interred in VA national cemeteries. Families of
those buried in our national shrines can be assured their loved ones
will continue to be cared for into perpetuity.
Veterans Employment
NCA continues to maintain its commitment to hiring Veterans.
Currently, Veterans comprise over 74 percent of its workforce. Since
2009, NCA has hired over 400 returning Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans.
In addition, 82 percent of contracts in 2012 were awarded to Veteran-
owned and service-disabled Veteran-owned small businesses. NCA's
committed, Veteran-centric workforce is the main reason it is able to
provide a world-class level of customer service. NCA received the
highest score--94 out of 100 possible--in the 2010 American Customer
Satisfaction Index (ACSI) sponsored by the University of Michigan. This
was the fourth time NCA participated and the fourth time it received
the top rating in the Nation.
Partnerships
NCA continues to leverage its partnerships to increase service for
Veterans and their families. As a complement to the national cemetery
system, NCA administers the Veterans Cemetery Grant Service (VCGS).
There are currently 88 operational state and tribal cemeteries in 43
states, Guam, and Saipan, with 6 more under construction. Since 1978,
VCGS has awarded grants totaling more than $500 million to establish,
expand, or improve Veterans' cemeteries. In 2012, these cemeteries
conducted over 31,000 burials for Veterans and family members.
NCA works closely with funeral directors and private cemeteries,
two significant stakeholder groups, who assist with the coordination of
committal services and interments. Funeral directors may also help
families in applying for headstones, markers, and other memorial
benefits. NCA partners with private cemeteries by furnishing headstones
and markers for Veterans' gravesites in these private cemeteries. In
January of this year, NCA announced the availability of a new online
funeral directors resource kit that may be used by funeral directors
nationwide when helping Veterans and their families make burial
arrangements in VA national cemeteries.
capital infrastructure
A total of $1.1 billion is requested in 2014 for VA's major and
minor construction programs. The capital asset budget reflects VA's
commitment to provide safe, secure, sustainable, and accessible
facilities for Veterans. The request also reflects the current fiscal
climate and the great challenges VA faces in order to close the gap
between our current status and the needs identified in our Strategic
Capital Investment Planning (SCIP) process.
Major Construction
The major construction request in 2014 is $342 million for one
medical facility project and three National Cemeteries. The request
will fund the completion of a mental health building in Seattle,
Washington, to replace the existing, seismically deficient building. It
will also increase access to Veteran burial services by providing a
National Cemetery in Central East Florida; Omaha, Nebraska; and
Tallahassee, Florida.
The 2014 budget includes $5 million for NCA for advance planning
activities. VA is in the process of establishing two additional
national cemeteries in Western New York and Southern Colorado,
according to the burial access policies included in the 2011 budget.
These two new cemeteries, along with the three requested in 2014, will
increase access to 550,000 Veterans. NCA has obligated approximately
$16 million to acquire land in 2012 and 2013 for the planned new
national cemeteries in Central East Florida; Tallahassee, Florida; and
Omaha, Nebraska.
Minor Construction
In 2014, the minor construction request is $715 million, an
increase of 17.8 percent from the 2013 enacted level. It would provide
for constructing, renovating, expanding and improving VA facilities,
including planning, assessment of needs, gravesite expansions, site
acquisition, and disposition. VA is placing a funding priority on minor
construction projects in 2014 for two reasons. First, our aging
infrastructure requires a focus on maintenance and repair of existing
facilities. Second, the minor construction program can be implemented
more quickly than the long-term major construction program to enhance
Veterans' services.
In light of the difficult fiscal outlook for our Nation, it's time
to carefully consider VA's footprint and our real property portfolio.
In 2012, VA spent approximately $23 million to maintain unneeded
buildings. Achieving significant reduction in unneeded space is a
priority for the Administration and VA. To support this priority, the
President has proposed a Civilian Property Realignment Act (CPRA),
which would allow agencies like VA to address the competing stakeholder
interests, funding issues, and red tape that slows down or prevents the
Federal Government from disposing of real estate. If enacted by
Congress, this process would give VA more flexibility to dispose of
property and improve the management of its inventory.
legislation
Besides presenting VA's resource requirements to meet our
commitment to the Nation's Veterans, the President's Budget also
requests legislative action that we believe will benefit Veterans.
There are many worthwhile proposals for your consideration, but let me
highlight a few. For improvements to Veterans healthcare, our budget
includes a measure to allow VA to provide Veterans with alternatives to
long-stay nursing homes, and enhance VA's ability to provide
transportation services to assist Veterans with accessing VA healthcare
services. Our legislative proposasl also request that Congress make
numerous improvements to VA's critical homelessness programs, including
allowing an increased focus on homeless Veterans with special needs,
including women, those with minor dependents, the chronically mentally
ill, and the terminally ill.
We also are putting forward proposals aimed squarely at the
disability claims backlog--such as establishing standard claims
application forms--that are reasonable and thoughtful changes that go
hand-in-hand with the ongoing transformation and modernization of our
disability claims system. We are offering reforms to our Specially
Adaptive Housing program that will remove rules that in some
circumstances can arbitrarily limit the benefit. The budget's
legislative proposals also include ideas for expanding and improving
services in our national cemeteries.
Finally, this budget includes provisions that will benefit Veterans
and taxpayers by allowing for efficiencies and cost savings in VA's
operations--for example, we are forwarding a proposal that would
require that private health plans treat VA as a `participating
provider'--preventing those plans from limiting payments or excluding
coverage for Veterans' non-service-connected conditions. VA merits
having this status, and the additional revenue will fund medical care
for Veterans. We are also requesting spending flexibility so that we
can more effectively partner with other Federal agencies, including
DOD, in pursuit of collaborations that will benefit Veterans and
Servicemembers and deliver healthcare more efficiently.
summary
Veterans stand ready to help rebuild the American middle class and
return every dollar invested in them by strengthening our Nation. And
we, at VA, will continue to implement the President's vision of a 21st
century VA, worthy of those who, by their service and sacrifice, have
kept our Nation free. Thanks to the President's leadership and the
solid support of Congress, we have made huge strides in our journey to
provide all generations of Veterans the best possible care and benefits
through improved technology that they earned through their selfless
service. We are committed to continue that journey, even as the numbers
of Veterans using VA services increase in the coming years, through the
responsible use of the resources provided in the 2014 budget and 2015
advance appropriations requests. Again, thank you for the opportunity
to appear before you today and for your steadfast support of our
Nation's Veterans.
______
Response to Posthearing Questions Submitted by Hon. Bernard Sanders to
Hon. Eric K. Shinseki, Secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
benefits and burial programs
Question 1. Provide the current performance standards for employees
involved with the processing of claims.
Response. Please see attached documents, ``Q1--PMC RVSR Performance
Plan,'' ``Q1--PMC VSR Performance Plan,'' ``Q1--RVSR Standard,'' and
``Q1--VSR Standard.''
[The referenced files, due to their volume, are not being
reproduced here.]
The current performance standards for Veterans Service
Representatives (VSR) and Rating Veterans Service Representatives
(RVSR) are attached. The performance standards are based on the
employee's General Schedule grade level. VSRs and RVSRs are evaluated
based on quality of work, productivity, customer service, workload
management, cooperation, and organizational support. Claims processors
are awarded credit for actions taken to process a claim.
Question 2. Provide the job titles, grade level and number of FTE
assigned to each of the services and organizations within the Veterans
Benefits Administration as of April 1, 2011 and April 1, 2013.
Response. Please see attachment entitled ``VBA-SVAC-PHQ2FTElist''
[The referenced file, due to its volume, is not being reproduced
here.]
For the purposes of this response, the spreadsheet reflects Full-
time Equivalent (FTE) rather than individual employees. One FTE is the
equivalent of one employee working full time. For example, an employee
who is scheduled for 80 hours per pay period is considered 1 FTE, an
employee scheduled for 40 hours per pay period is considered .5 FTE, an
employee scheduled for 20 hours is considered .25 FTE, and so on. It is
also important to note that if an office has and is authorized 10 FTE,
there could theoretically be 20 half time employees to meet the 10 FTE
limit. In this example, when examining performance output or budget
authorizations, it would be misleading to note the office has 20
employees since it may be assumed the office has 20 full time
employees. This accounts for why whole numbers are not shown in the
spreadsheet.
Question 3. Provide the number of FTE at each VA regional office,
separated by job tittle and grade as of April 1, 2011 and April 1,
2013.
Response. Please see attachment entitled ``VBA-SVAC-PHQ3FTElist''
[The referenced file, due to its volume, is not being reproduced
here.]
For the purposes of this response, the spreadsheet reflects Full-
time Equivalent (FTE) rather than individual employees. One FTE is the
equivalent of one employee working full time. For example, an employee
who is scheduled for 80 hours per pay period is considered 1 FTE, an
employee scheduled for 40 hours per pay period is considered .5 FTE, an
employee scheduled for 20 hours per pay period is considered .25 FTE,
and so on. It is also important to note that if an office has and is
authorized 10 FTE, there could theoretically be 20 half time employees
to meet the 10 FTE limit. In this example, when examining performance
output or budget authorizations, it would be misleading to note the
office has 20 employees since it may be assumed the office has 20 full
time employees. This accounts for why whole numbers are not shown in
the spreadsheet.
Question 4. Provide the methodology utilized to allocate personnel
and resources to the regional offices.
Response. Veterans Benefits Administration's (VBA) Resource
Allocation Model (RAM) is a systematic approach to distributing field
resources each fiscal year. The RAM uses a weighted model to assign
compensation and pension FTE resources based on regional office (RO)
workload in rating receipts, rating inventory, non-rating receipts, and
appeals receipts. VBA leaders use the model as a guide, making some
adjustments for special circumstances or missions performed by
individual ROs. Special missions include the Appeals Management Center,
the Records Management Center, Day-One Brokering Centers, IDES
processing sites, Benefits Delivery at Discharge sites, Quick Start
processing locations, national call centers, fiduciary hubs, pension
management centers, etc. Similar workload-based models are used for
each VBA business line.
Non-payroll and travel resources are allocated to each RO based on
business need. RO need is driven by the number of FTE, benefits
programs administered by the RO, and other factors that are unique to
each RO, such as geographic location and jurisdiction, facility
characteristics, security needs, and workload.
VBA's Office of Field Operations works with the Area Offices and
ROs to determine resource needs.
Question 5. As of 2009, VA started updating the VA Schedule for
Rating Disabilities yet this budget request includes little information
about the status or resources necessary to complete this effort.
a. Provide an itemized list of funding expended in FY 2012 on the
rating schedule modernization.
Response. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is in the process
of updating the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD). As part of
this process, members of Compensation Service, Regulations Staff hosted
multiple public forums to gather scientific evidence regarding
disabling conditions and their impact on the average impairment of
earnings capacity. These public forums have also been used as a
platform to solicit public input regarding these deliberations. In
addition, during these forums, working groups were formed to support
the ongoing review process. For fiscal year (FY) 2012, the non-payroll
expenditures for the VASRD modernization project totaled $366,139. The
table below shows a breakdown:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Event Date Expenses
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VASRD FORUM--NYC............................................................. October 11-20 $84,626
VASRD Forum--NYC............................................................. January 17-26 $52,688
Travel....................................................................... FY 2012 $27,467
Medical consultation contract................................................ FY 2012 $201,358
-----------
TOTAL.................................................................... $366,139
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The medical consultation contract provided subject matter expertise
to assist with medical content relevant to rating disabilities, consult
on policy issues and revisions to the disability benefits
questionnaires, and various other responsibilities.
b. Provide an itemized list of funding expended in FY 2013 on the
rating schedule modernization?
Response. So far in FY 2013, an event focused on mental health
disorders was held on May 1 and 2, with expenses totaling $4,300, and a
meeting focused on skin diseases was held from March 28 through
April 5, with expenses totaling $2,000.
VA plans to fund additional VASRD modernization project conferences
this year. These conferences are needed for the body systems still
pending final review and revision, which include the musculoskeletal
system and mental disorders. The purpose of these work group
conferences is to intensify the review process and to expedite
research, development, and deliberations within these sections of the
VASRD. The diverse work group includes medical doctors, psychologists,
attorneys, Veterans Service Organization representatives, and VA
adjudicators. The benefit of these conferences is the generation of
more ideas and energizing of the collaborative process which is at the
heart of the VASRD review. Each conference will require participants to
travel, with estimated costs of $12,000 to $15,000.
VBA medical officers responsible for drafting the VASRD regulations
will also meet with subject matter experts (SME) to obtain clinical
expertise and opinions useful in revising the VASRD regulations. The
estimated cost for FY 2013 is $15,000.
c. Provide an itemized list of the requested funding in FY 2014 for
the rating schedule modernization? Also, include the number of FTE
assigned to or supporting this modernization effort.
VBA Response: It is anticipated that conferences, travel, and
outside consultation will be completed in FY 2013. In FY 2014, it is
expected that the remaining work will be accomplished by VA without
travel or outside consultation. VA has $15,000 in funding in FY 2014 to
support any unforeseen travel or conferences. There are currently 5 FTE
assigned to the VASRD modernization project.
d. Provide the Project Management Plan, the VASRD Update Operating
Plan and project schedule for the rating schedule modernization.
Response. VA is currently expanding the Project Management Plan
(PMP) to include a specific addendum that will include milestones,
deliverables, and the designation of a sub-program manager who is
dedicated to managing any earnings loss and validation studies VA
undertakes. VA is currently exploring the option of engaging in
research partnerships to conduct more than one earnings loss study at a
time to increase our research capacity. A copy of the updated PMP and
operating plan as well as the project schedule will be provided when
completed.
e. Provide an itemized list of any funding requested to support IT
solutions to modernize the rating schedule.
Response. The VASRD modernization project did not require any IT
solutions.
f. Does the FY 2014 request include any funding to support updates
that will need to be made to IT solutions, including VBMS, disability
benefit questionnaires, rules based calculators, or other initiatives
based on current VASRD? How much funding does VA anticipate these
updates will require upon publication of final rules for the various
body systems?
Response. The FY 2014 request does not include funding changes to
IT systems related to the VASRD modernization project, as Veterans
Benefits Management System (VBMS) enhancements will incorporate any
VASRD changes. VBMS will continue to be enhanced and additional system
capabilities will be released in 3 future generations of VBMS that will
be deployed over the next 2 years.
va/dod collaboration
Question 6. According to the FY 2014 budget request, IDES now
operates at 139 military treatment facilities worldwide and is
available to all servicemembers who are referred to Medical Evaluation
Boards. The FY 2014 budget request also noted over 30,000 new referrals
in 2012.
a. Provide the amount of funding spent in FY 2012 (both mandatory
and discretionary) and how many VA employees were dedicated to the IDES
process.
Response. During FY 2012, VA's Office of Planning and Policy (OPP)
spent approximately $1,074,539, consisting of $467,081 for a program
management support contract, $577,458 in salary for 5 full-time
equivalent employees (FTE), and $30,000 in travel costs.
During FY 2012, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) spent
approximately $54.8 million for salaries and general operating expenses
for 490 FTE dedicated to disability claims processing in the Integrated
Disability Evaluation System (IDES) process. Compensation staff and
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Counselors are included in
this count. Veterans filing claims through the IDES sites are captured
in the nationwide Veteran caseload count and total compensation benefit
obligations; therefore, mandatory funding cannot be separated for this
program.
The FY 2012 IDES Supplemental Budget distributed to the operational
field sites supporting IDES was $24.4 million. Staffs located at the VA
medical centers (VAMC) are not solely dedicated to the IDES process.
b. Provide the amount of funding spent in FY 2013 (both mandatory
and discretionary) and how many VA employees were dedicated to the IDES
process.
Response. During FY 2013, OPP spent approximately $1,336,630 which
is comprised of $570,630 for a program management support contract,
$741,000 in salary for 5 FTE, and $25,000 in travel costs.
During FY 2013, VBA estimates it will spend approximately $63
million for salaries and general operating expenses to support 580 FTE
dedicated to disability claims processing in the IDES process.
The FY 2013 IDES Supplemental budget was $21.6 million. These funds
were distributed to the VAMCs in support of IDES. Staffs located at the
VAMCs are not solely dedicated to the IDES process.
c. Provide the amount of funding requested in FY 2014 (both
mandatory and discretionary) and how many VA employees will be
dedicated to the IDES process.
Response. During FY 2014, OPP estimates it will spend $1,057,458,
which is comprised of $450,000 for a program management support
contract, $577,458 in salary for 5 FTE, and $30,000 in travel costs.
During FY 2014, VBA estimates it will spend approximately $63.6
million for salaries and general operating expenses to support 580 FTE
dedicated to disability claims processing in the IDES process.
For FY 2014, the IDES Supplemental budget request is $18.6 million.
Staff located at the VAMCs are not solely dedicated to the IDES
process.
d. What is the methodology used to predict workload for this joint
program? Has DOD provided information on the anticipated number of
referrals that VA can expect the program to receive in FY 2013 and
FY14?
Response. The IDES workload is based solely on the number of
referrals made by the Military Services; therefore, IDES workload
projections are made by DOD. We defer to DOD to explain the methodology
used in workload predication. VA has requested a 5 year projection from
DOD, and DOD is working on that request. The anticipated number of
referrals for FY 2013 is 32,000 and for FY 2014 is 32,000.
e. How many referrals has the program received in FY 2013 and how
many are anticipated for FY14.
Response. For FY 2013, 19,841 referrals have been received as of
May 12, 2013, and the anticipated number of referrals for FY 2014 is
32,000.
f. For each of the 139 military treatment facilities operating
IDES, provide performance metrics to include enrollment, outcomes, VA
exam utilization rate, timeliness, referred and total conditions, and
timeliness for case processing by stage.
Response. VA is at 116 sites throughout the United States and
Puerto Rico. The remaining 23 sites are overseas locations. The
attached spreadsheet shows the performance metrics for enrollment,
referred and total conditions, and timeliness for case processing by
stage. IDES outcomes are determined by the Military Services Physical
Evaluation Boards. VBA defers to DOD to provide definitive IDES outcome
metrics and the exam utilization rate, which is based on the outcome
metrics.
g. How many contract disability examinations were used to support
IDES in FY 2012 and FY 2013 and at which IDES locations?
Response. In FY 2012, 11,616 VBA contract examinations were
completed in support of IDES. In FY 2013 (through May 15, 2013), 7,426
VBA contract examinations have been completed in support of IDES. The
attached spreadsheet provides a breakdown by location of the contract
disability examinations completed so far in FY13.
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), similar to VBA, has a
contract--the Disability Examination Management (DEM) Contract, which
is used by the VAMCs to supplement Compensation & Pension (C&P)
examination services. No IDES exams were conducted using the DEM
Contract in FY 2012. However, 1,116 IDES exams were conducted using
this contract in FY 2013 through March 2013. Of these, 661 exams were
conducted to directly support IDES locations as described below. The
remaining examinations were conducted by VAMCs Nation-wide in support
of the IDES Reserve Component Exams Closest to Home initiative.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
IDES Location Number of Exams
------------------------------------------------------------------------
West Point............................................ 44
Ft. Bragg/Pope AFB/Camp Lejeune....................... 4
Ft. Riley/Ft. Leavenworth/McConnell AFB/Whiteman...... 32
Ft. Hood.............................................. 571
Ft. Bliss............................................. 1
Mountain Home AFB..................................... 9
-----------------
Total............................................. 661
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 7. VA's Office of VA/DOD Collaboration is responsible for
``coordinating the implementation of the integrated disability
evaluation system (IDES) and streamlining the disability evaluation
process through continual process improvements.''
a. What process improvements were made in FY 2013 to streamline the
process?
Response. VA has made the following process improvements in
streamlining the disability evaluation process:
Entry of Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) Decisions in the
Veterans Tracking Application (VTA)--IDES cases that have completed
Secretarial Review are missing Disposition and Combat Condition data in
VTA. Consistent entry of timely PEB decision information into VTA will
improve Benefits Notification process timeliness (Implemented).
Ensure cases are ``Ready to Rate'' before reaching the
Disability Rating Activity Site (DRAS)--Current IDES case processing
requires certain military information and/or documentation which ensure
cases are ready to rate before forwarding them to the DRAS. At times,
some of the required information and/or documentation were missing. DOD
has provided 15 DOD personnel to perform DOD administrative procedures
in development teams to assist in increasing the ready to rate
inventory (Implemented).
Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQs)--Currently DBQ's
are used in processing regular disability claims. VA's move to DBQ's
will increase the efficiency of the DRAS operations, assist in reducing
the current IDES backlog, reduce the percentage of insufficient medical
exams, and provide raters with needed clinical information to
effectively complete disability ratings.
Other identified initiatives in development are as follows:
One Rating--Current IDES case processing procedures require the
DRAS to prepare a rating decision for a case at two separate points in
time--Proposed Rating and Benefits Notification. Resources expended to
complete final rating could be devoted to proposed ratings which will
enable timely Benefit Notification and additional resources
(information technology changes will have to be made in the claims
processing system, potential implementation in FY 2014).
b. What is the status of electronic case file transfer capabilities
within IDES?
Response. Partial IDES case files, minus Service Treatment Records
(STRs), are already being shared electronically between DOD and VA
using DOD's Safe Access File Exchange (SAFE) system. Moreover, DOD and
VA have successfully tested a new system for electronically sharing
IDES case files-to include portions of STRs and other non-medical case
forms-using the Electronic Case File Transfer (eCFT) system, exchanging
more than 3,000 case files since the pilot began in September 2012. The
eCFT pilot was designed to demonstrate the ability of the Departments
to jointly develop and electronically share files that execute various
portions of the IDES process.
In January 2013, VA identified additional requirements to establish
interoperability between eCFT and VA IT via a data-exchange service.
These will satisfy VA's needs to (1) retain electronic copies of case
files for legal purposes, and (2) maintain the ability to track
documents entered into case files on a per member, per document basis.
Once these requirements are met, eCFT will replace SAFE.
To this end, VA and DOD are working together to provide an
automated file transfer capability that physically moves the files from
eCFT to VA systems (i.e., the Veterans' Benefits Management System or
VBMS) by way of VA's Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record Data Access
Service (VLER DAS).
medical programs
Budget Request Assumptions
Question 8. The President's budget request includes an increase of
15.4 percent for mental health care since 2012, which is a 7.2 percent
increase since last year's enacted level. Please explain how VA arrived
at this number. Specifically, did VA take into account an anticipated
increase in enrollment and use of behavioral health services that may
result from the return of troops from Afghanistan and the downsizing of
the force?
Response. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) places a high
priority on ensuring that all enrolled Veterans have access to needed
mental health services. The VA Enrollee Health Care Projection Model
(Model), with input from VHA's Office of Mental Health Services,
projected an increase in the utilization of mental health services by
taking into account several techniques to forecast Veteran enrollee
needs for VA mental health services. These techniques include
incorporating the latest scientific evidence about effective mental
health interventions, data analysis of Veteran demographics, access to
care data, and trends in service utilization projections. The Model
projects future demand for mental health services and accounts for the
impact of enrollee age, gender, morbidity, the unique utilization
patterns of specific cohorts such as Operation Enduring Freedom/
Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn (OEF/OIF/OND), events such
as the return of troops from Afghanistan, and the downsizing of the
force.
Question 9. Given that VA saw an increase of nearly 150,000
patients between 2010 and 2011, when the impact of the health insurance
coverage requirement in the Affordable Care Act coupled with the
drawdown of troops in Afghanistan was less of a factor, what led VA to
estimate that only 100,000 new patients will come into VA between 2014
and 2015?
Response. The year-to-year enrollment and patient projections
presented in the President's budget submission represent the net change
in projected enrollment and patients over the prior fiscal year. VA
recognizes that the additional options available under the Affordable
Care Act (ACA) may lead some Veterans to choose non-VA providers while
other Veterans may enroll with VA for the first time in order to
satisfy the requirement to have minimum essential coverage. The VA
Enrollee Health Care Projection Model (EHCPM) accounts for many factors
affecting enrollment, such as the drawdown of troops in Afghanistan,
mortality, change in demographic mix, morbidity, reliance on the VA
health care system, and economic conditions. These factors will affect
the net enrollment and patient growth differently each fiscal year. The
extent to which ACA will impact VA will be closely monitored on an
ongoing basis.
Question 10. How did VA determine that an increase of 5.4 percent
over the FY 2013 level for medical services was sufficient? To what
extent does this increase allow for an expansion of health care
treatment options beyond what VA is currently providing?
Response. VA's medical care budget is based on an actuarial model
(the Enrollee Health Care Projection Model) that reflects health care
trends within VA and also considers health care trends in the broader
health care industry. The estimate is informed by understanding the
demographic changes in the enrolled Veteran population, which is a key
factor for projecting future demand for health care services. VA's
budget also includes several initiatives for expanding services to
Veterans such as addressing Veteran homelessness and new models of
care, which include Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACT), Women's Health,
Special Care Team Based Models, and Connected Health. VA's program
offices are actively engaged to ensure that the actuarial model
reflects continued evolution of VA's health care delivery system and
reflects VA's vision for personalized, proactive, Veteran-centric
health care.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Question 11. How has VA included complementary and alternative
medicine (CAM) specialists into its health care delivery model? Are
clinicians who provide these services integrated into VA's Patient
Aligned Care Teams?
Response. As VHA does not have occupational codes that would allow
the hiring of CAM providers, almost all CAM delivered within VHA is
done by providers with allopathic training who have an interest in CAM.
Eighty-nine percent of VA facilities offer at least one form of CAM,
and these therapies are integrated into traditional VA care. CAM is
primarily used for the management of chronic pain and mental health
disorders and for the promotion of general health and well-being. The
principles of patient activation and self-management embodied by many
CAM activities are very consistent with VA's health care delivery model
which advocates for proactive, personalized, and patient-driven care.
The issue of chronic disease management, including management of mental
health disorders and chronic pain, as well as the promotion of healthy
lifestyle and behavior modification are a key part of the management of
Veterans in PACTs. While the clinicians who deliver CAM services within
VA are not physically part of the PACTs, many of the services they
provide are ones that would be accessed through PACTs. The providers
who deliver CAM would be considered part of the PACTs' resources.
Question 12. What are individual medical centers doing to promote
CAM therapies among their patients, including those seeking treatment
for behavioral health and pain management?
Response. The main reason cited by individual medical centers for
offering CAM therapies was to promote wellness, as an adjunct to
chronic disease management, and because they believed it was consistent
with patient preferences. The strategies of facilities regarding CAM
are variable. Some facilities offer CAM services such as Yoga and Tai
Chi, which may be accessed directly by Veterans, as well as other
services which may be accessed via referral from a primary care
provider or offered by a treating specialist as part of a comprehensive
plan of care. According to a 2011 VHA Survey of Complementary and
Alternative Medicine conducted by VHA's Healthcare Analysis and
Information Group, the conditions most commonly treated with CAM in VA
are mental health disorders and chronic pain. Within mental health, CAM
therapies such as meditation, biofeedback, and guided imagery, while
not a substitute for conventional therapies, are seen as potentially
useful adjuncts to care. The potential benefits of CAM therapies as
adjuncts to allopathic care are a consistent theme within VA.
For the past 13 months, VHA Primary Care Services and the Office of
Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation have hosted a monthly
Integrative Medicine Community of Practice conference call. This call
has served as a forum to spread information and education on
Integrative Health and CAM and on the ways CAM is being used within VA
as well as to create dialog on issues of policy and implementation.
Question 13. Would CAM therapies be more readily available to
veterans if clinicians could be hired solely to practice these
therapies?
Response. The lack of allopathic providers with training and
expertise in CAM does pose a barrier to being able to offer CAM
services, as does the lack of CAM providers. Further education of our
allopathic providers regarding the evidence and integration of these
practices, as well as the ability to hire CAM providers, would likely
enhance VA's ability to provide CAM services. In 2005, the Institute of
Medicine published its national report on CAM, and one of the key
recommendations was that ``health profession schools should incorporate
sufficient information about CAM into the standard curriculum at the
undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels to enable licensed
professionals to competently advise their patients about CAM.'' The
scope of Integrative Health and CAM is vast, including whole systems of
medicine and a diverse group of practices and products. As with
conventional approaches, those that are best trained and most qualified
should be the ones providing the services, which would also make these
services more readily available.
Medical Care Collections
Question 14. How does VA plan to ensure it meets its budget
projection of collecting nearly $3.1 billion for Fiscal Year 2014?
Response. The Medical Care Collections budget can be broken out
into three segments: Medical Care Collection Fund (MCCF) collections,
other collections (including parking fees, enhanced-use revenue,
compensation work therapy, compensation and living expenses and makes
up $65 million of the FY 2014 budget), and collections tied to
legislative proposals. The MCCF collections portion accounts for $2.870
billion of the $3.064 billion budget. VA's plans to ensure that FY 2014
MCCF budget projections are met through the following:
Consolidated Patient Accounting Centers (CPAC): In FY
2012, VA completed the transition of revenue collection activities from
individual VA medical centers to seven industry-best-practice CPACs.
This transition was done one year earlier than required under Public
Law 110-387. Most critically, CPACs have demonstrated success based on
standardized business practices, enhanced employee training and greater
accountability for results. In order to ensure MCCF collection targets
are met in FY 2014, VA will continue to focus on improving efficiencies
using the CPAC model in areas related to people, process and
technology.
Payer Relations Activities: VHA continues to aggressively
pursue strategies to effectively manage relationships with third-party
payers. In order to ensure that MCCF collection targets are met in FY
2014, VA plans to provide comprehensive training to payer relations
staff located in each CPAC, implement enhanced denials management
capabilities and deploy tools to monitor payments versus agreement
terms and conditions.
Electronic Business Initiatives: In an effort to leverage
the health care industry's migration to national standard electronic
data exchanges under the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act and to comply with other legal requirements, VHA has
put in place electronic business initiatives to add efficiencies to the
billing and collections processes. In order to meet FY 2014 MCCF
collection targets, VHA will continue to enhance this capability
through expanded utilization of Electronic Data Interchange tools
related to insurance verification, electronic billing and electronic
payments.
Question 15. To what extent would VA be unable to meet its
projected collections level if the legislation the Department proposed
on this topic does not become law?
Response. VA has submitted two legislative proposals in the FY 2014
President's Budget that 1) allow for VA to release of patient
information to bill health plans for non-service-connected care
relating to drug abuse, alcoholism, or alcohol abuse and 2) require
health plans to treat VA as a participating provider, whether or not an
agreement is in place with the health plan. These two proposals account
for $129 million of the $3.064 billion FY 2014 budget (4%). VA does not
anticipate being able to achieve this target without these proposals
becoming law.
Affordable Care Act
Question 16. Veterans enrolled in VA health care are not eligible
for tax credits established by the Affordable Care Act to assist
individuals in paying for health care coverage through the Exchange.
What is VA doing to inform veterans of this and how is VA working with
the IRS to determine which veterans will be ineligible for the tax
credit?
Response. VA has developed a plan to inform, educate, and engage
Veterans, eligible beneficiaries, and other stakeholders about ACA.
This plan includes a set of key messages that have been incorporated
into communications materials addressed to Veterans and other
beneficiaries. One of these key messages is that enrollment in VA
health care programs meets the ACA minimum essential coverage (MEC)
requirement. VA and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) collaborated to
draft a special provision for Veterans. Under an IRS final rule,
individuals who are enrolled in specified VA health care programs
identified as MEC will not be eligible to receive premium tax credits
(with respect to that individual) to purchase coverage through the
Health Insurance Marketplace.
VA will inform enrollees that individuals enrolled in specified VA
health care programs (i.e., Veterans health care program, VA Civilian
Health and Medical Program (CHAMPVA), and Spina Bifida health care
benefits program) are not eligible for a tax credit to purchase
additional health insurance coverage. Family members of enrolled
Veterans who are not enrolled in specified VA health care programs may
still be eligible for a tax credit (if they otherwise meet the
applicable eligibility criteria) to purchase health insurance coverage
through the Health Insurance Marketplace (formerly known as Health
Insurance Exchanges). Similar information will also appear in documents
such as fact sheets, frequently asked questions, and language for VA
social media sites accessible to both enrolled and non-enrolled
Veterans and other beneficiaries.
Question 17. Please provide a justification for the amount the
President requested for compliance with the Affordable Care Act.
Response. VA has prepared for health reform by examining the key
provisions of the law, identifying the implications for Veterans and
VA, and conducting analyses to estimate the potential impact of the law
on VA. The Fiscal Year 2014 President's Budget submission reflects the
estimated cost impacts due to the current assumption that VA will
experience a modest net enrollment increase as a result of ACA. VA's
Fiscal Year 2014 budget request included $85 million for the care of
the estimated 66,000 new Veterans that VA estimates may choose VA for
their health care under ACA. VA believes that some Veterans may enroll
with VA to satisfy the requirement to have MEC, and other Veterans may
disenroll in order to take advantage of the premium tax credit. VA
believes that those most likely to enroll or disenroll are those
Veterans who will have low reliance on VA health care. In addition, the
Fiscal Year 2014 VA Information Technology budget includes $3.4 million
to build functionality needed to deliver statements to enrolled
Veterans and beneficiaries enrolled in CHAMPVA and Spina Bifida who
maintain MEC through VA. This funding will also go toward building the
tool to identify and report on individuals who are enrolled in VA
health programs identified as MEC.
Question 18. What is VA doing to address the expected increase in
demand for primary care services that will be the result of expanded
insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act?
Response. Since the Affordable Care Act's enactment, VA has been
proactive in working to understand the law's impact on Veterans, other
beneficiaries, and VA's health care system, and in preparing for
implementation of the law. VA will continue to provide eligible
Veterans with high quality, comprehensive health care they have earned
through their service. VA is preparing for ACA implementation with a
focus on providing personalized, Veteran-centric health care. Ongoing
efforts include, for example, developing data tools and coordinating
directly with other Federal agencies, including the Department of
Health and Human Services.
Question 19. The President's Budget requests an additional $19
million for the HHS Inspector General for new oversight efforts,
including efforts related to the ACA. Do you anticipate VA's Office of
Inspector General will require any additional funds specific to ACA-
related activities?
Response. Until VA more clearly understands the impact of ACA on
its programs and operations, it is not possible to determine what OIG
efforts will be required. Additional funds may be needed when VA is
able to provide the OIG with detailed plans on ACA's impact.
Homeless Veterans
Question 20. As we pass the halfway point in the Secretary's five-
year plan to end homelessness among veterans, is any program
realignment necessary to ensure that there are no unsheltered homeless
veterans by the end of 2015?
Response. VA's successes thus far in reducing Veteran homelessness
is in part due to ongoing program evaluation and realignment in two
areas: services and resource investments. Finishing the job of ending
Veteran homelessness and ensuring there are no unsheltered homeless
Veterans on our streets will require continued realignment of program
resources and continued investment in Veteran-centric permanent housing
and health programs, including the widespread adoption of evidence-
based best practices, such as Housing First and critical time
intervention case management services.
Already, VA has realigned its programs and instituted a number of
Veteran-centric program innovations and transformations based on a
guiding principle: the solution to homelessness is permanent housing
with wrap-around supportive services. This commitment to permanent
supportive housing is best captured by VA's adherence to a Housing
First model. Housing First is an evidence-based approach that focuses
on helping individuals and families access and sustain permanent
housing as quickly as possible while providing the necessary health
care and other supports to help sustain permanent housing and improving
the Veteran's quality of life. VA's service delivery system has become
more accessible, community-based, and Veteran-centric, with a focus on
meeting Veterans where they are and helping them to move forward to
improve their health and housing stability. Resources focused on rapid
engagement and placement in permanent housing need to continue to grow
to ensure there are no unsheltered Veterans on the street. VA has
demonstrated its commitment to properly realigning program services and
program investments through the Department of Housing and Urban
Development-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program, Supportive
Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program, and the ongoing
transformation of the Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program.
The HUD-VASH Program is concrete evidence of VA's efforts to
realign program services to successfully end Veteran homelessness. The
HUD-VASH Program is jointly administered by HUD and VA to provide
permanent supportive housing for eligible homeless Veterans. Veterans
in the HUD-VASH Program receive a HUD-provided Section 8 Housing Choice
voucher and VA-provided case management services. Since 2008, a total
of 48,385 vouchers have been awarded, and 42,557 formerly homeless
Veterans are currently in homes because of HUD-VASH. VA's ongoing
commitment to the HUD-VASH Program is in keeping with its efforts to
realign program services under a Housing First permanent supportive
housing model.
The SSVF Program is further evidence of VA's ongoing efforts to
realign program services and investments to end Veteran homelessness.
Although still a relatively new program, it is already clear that the
SSVF Program has been an enormous success. The SSVF Program provides
grants to private non-profit organizations and consumer cooperatives to
help Veteran families rapidly exit homelessness or to assist Veterans
at-risk of homelessness. The SSVF Program is unique in that it can
serve both the Veteran and his or her family member(s) and continues
VA's efforts to realign services under a Housing First permanent
supportive housing model. In fiscal year (FY) 2012, during the SSVF
Program's first full year of operations, SSVF surpassed expectations,
serving approximately 21,500 Veterans and a total of over 35,000
persons. Of those served, 40 percent were at-risk for homelessness and
seeking prevention services while the remaining 60 percent were
provided rapid re-housing services to transition from homelessness into
permanent housing. At the end of FY 2012, VA awarded 151 SSVF grants in
49 states and the District of Columbia for operations in FY 2013. In
recognition that this community-based resource needed to be more
geographically available to all communities assisting Veterans and
their families, VA recently announced an FY 2013 SSVF Notice of Funding
Availability (NOFA) for an additional $300 million to further grow this
program.
Additionally, VA's recent efforts to transform the GPD Program
provides further evidence of VA's commitment to the realignment of
program services and investments. As VA advances its realignment
efforts focused on a community-based, Veteran-centric permanent
supportive housing, VA expects that the demand for transitional housing
will be less intense. In recognition of the decreased demand for
transitional housing, the GPD Program is already working with a new
model utilizing the principles of Housing First and focused on
facilitating permanent supportive housing, GPD Transition in Place
(TIP). In FY 2012, VA awarded approximately $28.4 million in grants to
provide capital funding for transitional housing projects. Thirty-one
of the funded projects were GPD TIP, which will provide time-limited
wrap-around supportive services to homeless Veterans housed in
apartment style housing, in which the services transition but the
Veteran remains in the housing. GPD TIP provides an opportunity to
realign traditional transitional housing services with VA's preferred
permanent supportive housing model.
To increase and enhance efforts at housing unsheltered homeless, VA
is working with community-based agencies to realign efforts at
targeting vulnerable unsheltered homeless Veterans. For example, some
local VA medical centers have started partnering with local homeless
Continuums of Care (CoC) to conduct local ``Registry Weeks.'' A
Registry Week is a concept used to develop an accurate registry of the
needs of individuals/Veterans who are permanently, or frequently,
living on the street. Volunteers are recruited and trained to reach out
to unsheltered homeless individuals and survey them in an effort to
collect valuable information that will help connect them to the
appropriate housing and services. Those identified as the most
vulnerable (physical and behavioral health conditions that are serious)
are prioritized for available permanent housing and support. Local VA
medical centers have also teamed with local homeless CoCs and other
local community-based organizations to evaluate and realign system
processes through Rapid Results Boot Camps. A Rapid Results Boot Camp
is a full-day event designed to train service providers who are already
helping homeless Veterans in their communities to learn new and more
efficient ways to house Veterans and provide them with the services
they need. Teams of representatives from VA, public housing
authorities, local governments, and other agencies who work with
homeless Veterans attend and participate in the Boot Camps. Boot Camps
help communities to improve their processes in order to decrease the
amount of time it takes a homeless Veteran to leave the streets and
enter into permanent housing.
VA has had significant and measurable success in VA's Plan to End
Veteran Homelessness. Based on HUD's Point in Time (PIT) Count, from
2009 to 2012, the number of Veterans experiencing homelessness on a
single night in January has decreased 17.2 percent (from 75,609 to
62,619). Furthermore, these reductions in Veteran homelessness took
place in a challenging economic period.
In conclusion, VA has made significant and measurable success in
ending Veteran homelessness. VA must continue to focus its efforts on
housing unsheltered homeless Veterans. The key to success is a
continued and increased investment in the HUD-VASH and SSVF Programs,
continued focus on the principles of Housing First, and effective and
ongoing realignment of program services and resources nationally and at
the local level.
Question 21. While homelessness is generally an urban phenomenon,
it is important to recognize that homelessness also occurs in rural
areas, albeit generally in the form of overcrowding or substandard
housing. What specific actions is VA taking to ensure that the housing
needs of rural veterans are also being met?
Response. VA has taken decisive action to eliminate Veteran
homelessness in both urban and rural areas. VA's ongoing prevention,
transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing programs provide
wide-ranging services in rural areas. VA realizes the importance of
reaching the rural homeless Veteran population. Rural homeless persons
are often referred to as the ``hidden homeless'' as many of these
individuals reside in the woods, campgrounds, abandoned farm buildings,
and buildings not intended for human habitation. Much of the rural at-
risk homeless population reside in substandard housing or are doubled
up in temporary housing arrangements. Additionally, rural community-
based homeless service providers often lack adequate capacity and
infrastructure to address rural homelessness.
The SSVF Program provides grant funding for private non-profit
organizations and consumer cooperatives to assist Veterans and their
families with preventive supportive services. Of those grants awarded
in FY 2011 for operations conducted in FY 2012, approximately 5 percent
of the SSVF grants serve Veteran families in rural areas exclusively
while an additional 32 percent of grants serve a mix of rural and urban
areas. In FY 2012, VA awarded funding for operations in FY 2013.
Approximately 10 percent of the community agency grantees provide
services exclusively in rural areas. Additionally, over 45 percent of
these grantees included a rural component in their services. VA is
expanding access to services both by increasing available resources and
by specifically targeting rural areas. In the past year, VA has
increased funding available through its SSVF grant program from $100
million to $300 million. Additionally, the FY 2013 SSVF NOFA lists
``Veteran families located in a rural area'' as one of the target
populations for SSVF funding.
Community agencies funded under VA's Homeless Providers GPD Program
provide transitional housing for Veterans who are homeless. In FY 2012,
16.8 percent of those GPD Programs were in rural areas. As of
April 2013, 26.6 percent of those GPD Programs indicated that they
provided transitional housing for Veterans in rural areas.
VA's HUD-VASH Program offers homeless Veterans permanent housing
opportunities through Section 8 vouchers, linked with wrap-around VA
case management services. Vouchers are distributed through Public
Housing Authorities in both urban and rural areas. From FY 2008 to FY
2012, HUD allocated approximately 11 percent of the approximately
48,000 HUD-VASH vouchers to rural areas, awarding a total of 5,260
vouchers to rural areas. VA expects HUD to announce the allocation of
an additional 10,000 vouchers for FY 2013 and expects a similar
proportion of these additional vouchers to serve rural areas.
Finally, VA understands that the rural homeless Veteran population
has pressing and unique needs. To that end, VA continues to explore the
potential use of video-teleconferencing and related technologies in the
care of rural homeless Veterans. Connecting people through technology
can reduce costly and inconvenient travel and prevent isolation for
remote staff and Veterans.
Question 22. The FY 2014 budget request notes that over 3,000
veterans were enrolled in H-PACTS in 2012 and that enrollment was
associated with greater health outcomes. Please provide more specific
data on what type of outcomes improved and how care improved.
Response. The Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team (H-PACT)
initiative is a pilot program that provides integrated homeless program
support and primary care to homeless Veterans. Teams integrate a
housing agenda with providing care for the ongoing and evolving
medical, mental health, and substance abuse needs of homeless Veterans
coming into the system. The goal is to create a ``medical home''
tailored to the needs of homeless Veterans that reduces unnecessary
trips to the emergency department for care; assists in addressing
chronic medical, mental health, and substance abuse treatment needs;
and integrates homeless program staff to expedite housing placement and
reduce recidivism. Enrollment in the H-PACT program has consistently
been associated with high volume use of primary care, mental health,
and specialty care outpatient services. Homeless Veterans enrolled in
H-PACT have shown reductions in inpatient hospitalizations and
emergency department visits. While national data is not available on H-
PACT program clinical performance, published site-specific data
(Providence VA Medical Center (VAMC): American Journal of Public Health
2010, American Journal of Public Heath 2013 (publication forthcoming))
has demonstrated improvements in chronic disease (diabetes,
hypertension, hyperlipidemia) monitoring and management, as well as
accelerated placement in permanent housing among Veterans enrolled in
the H-PACT program.
Through September 2012, approximately 3,549 Veterans were enrolled
in an H-PACT program. Of those enrolled, approximately 40.6 percent
have shown a reduction in emergency department use and a 32.3 percent
reduction in inpatient hospitalizations. Data from the Providence VAMC
has shown 80.7 percent of homeless Veterans enrolled in an H-PACT
program moved into transitional or permanent supportive housing within
6 months and demonstrated significant improvements in blood pressure
and cholesterol management.
The H-PACT model has already shown considerable promise with
preliminary data from early May 2013 showing 5,691 enrolled H-PACT
patients nationwide. H-PACT sites average approximately 350 new
patients each month with an 86 percent retention rate. Based on the
positive patient outcomes and the excellent performance of H-PACTs, VA
is considering further resource realignment to fund additional H-PACT
sites in FY 2014.
Question 23. CRRCs are critical to ending homelessness among
veterans. The FY 2014 budget request states that ``based on
demonstrated positive contribution to the community, additional CRRC
investment is anticipated in FY 2013 and FY 2014.'' Please describe the
level of additional investment anticipated in each fiscal year, and the
locations that may be considered for placement of additional CRRCs.
Response. Community Resource and Referral Centers (CRRC) are
collaborative, multi-agency, multi-disciplinary programs that provide
``one-stop shopping'' access to housing, health care, job development
programs, and other VA and non-VA benefits. In FY 2013, an additional
13 medical centers across the country were awarded funding to establish
CRRCs. Two of these sites will become operational in FY 2014. The total
funding for 28 of 30 CRRCs in FY 2013 will amount to approximately $23
million. All 28 sites will continue operations in FY 2014 along with
two new sites that will activate in FY 2014. At an estimated annual
cost of $1 million per site, the total estimated FY 2014 cost is $30
million. CRRC costs include lease, staffing costs, and supply costs.
Although specific locations for future CRRCs have not been
determined, additional sites for CRRCs may be selected as the budget
allows in FY 2014. VA medical centers will be encouraged to apply for
the placement of a CRRC upon announcement of a Request for Proposals.
In the event funding is available, potential future sites will be
chosen through selection criteria including: documentation of need,
homeless Veteran population, services offered, support from the local
VA medical center, and community support.
Veterans Canteen Service
Question 24. What is VA doing to ensure that everyone who is
eligible to make purchases in person at Veterans Canteen Service (VCS)
retail locations can do so via the VCS online exchange store?
Response. Working with internal/external stakeholders, Veterans
Canteen Service (VCS) has placed special emphasis on outreach
initiatives to eligible patrons communicating the benefits of VCS
services. VCS' Online Exchange Catalog validates eligible patrons
through VA's enrolled Veterans and active employee database.
Additional initiatives include:
VA's Health Benefits Office Veterans Benefit Handbook
includes VCS Online Exchange Catalog Program and 1-800 Special Order
Program information. Since February 2013, approximately 1.5 million
copies have been mailed to Veterans. The Veteran Identification Card
(VIC) will include information about VCS shopping benefits, and
Veterans will be able to directly access the VCS Web site from the
Health Benefits Web site.
eBenefits will host a promotional graphic with the VCS
Online Exchange Catalog Program on its homepage carousel. This will
take place in September 2013.
Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) Newsletters and
booklets include the VCS Online Shopping program. VISN newsletters are
electronically sent to Veterans and VA employees. As an incentive, VCS
provides coupons placed in newsletters and in some Community Living
Centers' (CLC) booklets to be used at the retail stores.
VCS conducts sale events at community-based outpatient
clinics (CBOC) on a scheduled basis. These operations do not have
traditional retail/food operations. VCS flyers and Exchange Catalogs
are offered to patrons informing them of online shopping benefits and
opportunities with VCS.
VCS uses ``eBlasts'' (e-mail) to send information
periodically to patrons about new VCS programs and online shopping
benefits. The list includes 97,000 VA employees and 2,000 Veterans. VCS
ran a promotion through July 2013 to sign up Veterans to the eBlast
program. VCS accumulated 6,870 new e-mail addresses to include in our
national eBlast promotions schedule. Veterans that signed up for the
promotion were also registered into a drawing to win prizes for their
participation. Winners were notified and visited the VCS Patriot Store
to claim their prize. In addition, VCS has increased the e-mail list
for VA employees from 97,000 to 101,368 since June 2013.
Question 25. The FY 2014 budget details an anticipated increase of
50 FTE for the Veterans Canteen Service (VCS). Please describe how VCS
plans to use these FTE, and where VA anticipates that they will be
located.
Response. Veterans Canteen service (VCS) will open 30 PatriotBrew
Coffee Shops as well as eight food/retail combo operations located in
CBOCs and VBA sites. Additional full-time employees (FTE) will be
secured to operate and maintain services at these locations.
Question 26. How is VCS working to improve the profitability of
underperforming locations?
Response. VCS has initiated a ``deep-dive'' assessment of the
underperforming operations. This will include analysis of current
business models for small, class 4/5 operations; business metrics
assessment (gross margins, retail turns, personnel cost increase, FTE/
productivity goals, supply chain, retail turns, retail/food/vending
promotions, overhead costs, leadership skill sets and core
competencies, etc.) to ascertain cause/effect correlations involving
successful/unsuccessful operating canteens; and the development of
aspirational goals and/or new business models to facilitate improved
sales and earnings for these operations. This assessment and supporting
action plans were completed in July 2013. Financial reports for
August 2013 indicate that 70 percent of the targeted canteens showed
improvement in operating income and other metrics. Monthly financial
results are addressed directly with targeted operations to ascertain
progress toward defined aspirational goals.
Question 27. Is VA considering any expansion of the healthy vending
initiative?
Response. VCS currently provides healthy vending machines at 10
percent of VA medical centers. These units offer a variety of organic,
gluten free, and healthy food/beverage options. VCS expects to increase
the presence of healthy vending machines by 60 percent by the end of
fiscal year 2013. This will include VA medical centers, CBOCs, and
Veterans Benefits Administration locations.
In 2012, VCS increased the assortment of healthy vending snack
options across the country. The assortment includes low fat and low
calorie selections. These additions produced a 25-percent sales
increase over the previous selections and have been well received by
customers. This fiscal year, VCS will double its healthy choice options
available from existing food and snack machines to include freshly
prepared salads, sandwiches, fruits, and vegetables as well as organic
and gluten free products.
Miscellaneous
Question 28. Given that VA generally pays for non-VA care at the
Medicare rate, does VA have plans to reduce reimbursement rates, since
Medicare is subject to a 2 percent cut and has reduced repayment rates
by that percentage?
Response. If the services are under contract, VA will continue to
honor the contractual reimbursement rate. Likewise, for services that
VA reimburses under the applicable Medicare Fee Schedule when there is
no contract, VA payments would continue to reflect Medicare Fee
Schedule rates, as only Medicare final payment amounts--not Medicare
Fee Schedule rates--are affected by the sequester.
Question 29. Please provide documentation to illustrate the mental
health staffing model that VA uses to determine the target number of
mental health staff at each facility.
Response. VA has developed and is implementing staffing guidance
for general outpatient mental health programs per 1,000 Veterans using
mental health services. VA does not yet have a staffing model that
determines the target number of mental health staff for the whole
facility. VA has previously developed a staffing model for the
Residential Rehabilitation Programs that is based on the number of beds
in the program. The general outpatient mental health model's clinical
staffing ratio is as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FTEE for Mental Health (MH)
Employee Category Team Panel Size of 1,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total MH Clinician: Licensed Independent 5.1-5.5
Providers (LIP).........................
Admin. Clerical Support.................. 0.5-1
Non-LIPs................................. 1
------------------------------
Total FTEE........................... 6.6-7.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The ``Total MH Clinician'' full-time equivalent employee (FTEE)
refers primarily to LIPs (e.g., psychiatrists, psychologists, social
workers, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, clinical nurse
specialists, licensed marriage and family therapists, and licensed
professional mental health counselors) and certain Doctors of Pharmacy
(Pharm.D.) with residency and board certification in psychiatric
pharmacy while the non-LIPs refer to providers such as Registered
Nurses (RN), addiction therapists, and peer support staff. The ``Admin.
Clerical Support'' is the administrative and/or clerical FTEE needed to
support the mental health providers on the team. In sum, at the
Residential Rehabilitation Program, each team of approximately 6.6-7.5
FTEE will be responsible for the mental health care of 1,000 Veterans.
Under Section 729 of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2013, VA is currently developing guidance to determine the
staffing level required for specialty mental health outpatient programs
per 1,000 Veterans. Finally, VA will develop guidance for acute
inpatient programs. Actual staffing at facilities will be based on the
types of programs available at the facilities and adjusted for local
factors such as use of telemental health programs and non-VA contracts.
Question 30. To the extent that there has been a study completed
within the last few years on the nutritional content of food available
at VA medical centers, please provide a brief summary of the study's
findings as well as a copy of the report.
Response. The automated version of the nutrient analysis data of VA
medical center diets began in FY 2002 for Veteran patients. The total
calories, fat, cholesterol, and sodium are decreasing. The sodium
content of meals has decreased by 1500 milligrams since FY 2002 with
the average FY 2012 content at approximately 3100 milligrams of sodium
per day. VA medical centers offer modified diets to meet the needs of
inpatient Veterans, including Diabetic/Carbohydrate Controlled, Renal,
and others that are specific to our patient population. In 2010, VHA's
Nutrition and Food Services published VHA Directive 2010-007, Healthy
Diet Guidelines, to improve the Regular Diet offered in all VA medical
centers: www.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub--ID=2167.
Subsequent to the release of VHA Directive 2010-007, Healthy Diet
Guidelines, the sodium, fat, and cholesterol contents of our meals
reached their lowest average since 2002. A copy of the data report is
provided as an attachment below.
Nutritional Analysis of Patient Hospital Menus
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2005 FY 2006 FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average Calories................ 2442 2444 2427 2383 2433 2387 2304 2271
Average Percentage Protein...... 16.9 17 17.2 17.3 17 17.1 18 18.8
Average Percentage Carbohydrate. 49.9 50.3 50.3 49.9 49.8 52.57 51 51.1
Average Percentage Fat.......... 33.3 33.5 32.5 32.7 32.3 32.3 31 30
Average Milligrams Sodium....... 4293 4167 3911 4068 4003 3688 3250 3165
Average Milligrams Cholesterol.. 377 369 358 364 386 378 308 361
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 31. Please provide the amount VA spent on outreach during
fiscal year 2012 and the estimate for how much will be spent during
fiscal year 2013.
Response. The Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs'
(OPIA) National Veterans Outreach Office (NVO) spent approximately
$600,000.00 on outreach during Fiscal Year 2012. This amount was
expended for message development and production of creative material
for an integrated advertising campaign. The goal of this campaign was
to inform and educate Veterans, their families, and other stakeholders
about the health care, benefits and services VA provides and
eligibility based on their service.
During FY 2013, OPIA will spend approximately $1,600,000.00 on
costs related to a national advertising campaign led by the Ad Council.
Ad Council is collaborating with DDB, an award winning advertising
agency, to produce the campaign. DDB is providing pro bono advertising
services. By working with the Ad Council and DDB, VA is receiving
advertising support from a world class advertising agency, which
represents approximately $35,000,000.00 worth of savings for the
government. These professional services will continue national VA
outreach efforts to increase awareness among Veterans and family
members regarding the breadth of VA benefits and services available to
them and how to access them.
construction and long range capital plan
Question 32. Please provide a list of priority weights for the
major criteria and sub criteria used to inform the FY 2014 Strategic
Capital Investment Plan decision plan.
Response. The diagram below shows the major criteria and sub
criteria priority weights that were used to inform the FY 2014
Strategic Capital Investment Plan.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
The decision criteria are Improve Safety and Security, Fixing What
We Have; Increasing Access; Right-Sizing Inventory; Ensure Value of
Investment; and Departmental Initiatives.
The details of each major criterion are listed below:
Improve Safety and Security: VA is dedicated to ensuring
its Clients (Veterans) and Customers (VA Staff) are being served and/or
work in a safe and secure environment. Mitigating the destruction and
injury caused by natural or manmade disasters (including seismic,
hurricane, flooding, blast, etc.); improving compliance with safety and
security laws, building codes, and regulations; mitigating threats to
persons on a VA facility (physical security), and ensuring VA mission
critical buildings are able to provide service in the wake of a
catastrophic event, are of paramount importance.
Fixing What We Have (making the most of current
infrastructure/extending useful life): VA is committed to managing its
buildings in order minimize the extent to which deficiencies in
infrastructure (including IT infrastructure) and other areas impact the
delivery of benefits and services to Veterans. For infrastructure
deficiencies, facility condition assessments (FCA) evaluate the
condition of VA buildings. Mitigating other deficiencies (such as
functional deficiencies and privacy deficiencies) also has a positive
impact on the delivery of benefits and services.
Increasing Access: Serving Veterans is at the core of VA's
mission. VA strives to increase access for Veterans by reducing the
time and distance a Veteran must travel to receive the best quality
services and benefits; providing adequate supporting structures at VA
facilities, such as gravesite locators; by increasing our ability to
handle workload; and by enabling VA staff to work efficiently.
Right-Sizing Inventory: In order to provide the highest
quality service to Veterans at the right time and in the right place,
VA is managing its space inventory by reducing excess space, building
new space, collocating (VHA, VBA, NCA, and Staff Offices using the
vacant or underutilized space of another office), leasing new space,
and converting underutilized space of one type to another type, to
better suit its mission.
Ensure Value of Investment: As a steward of the public's
trust, VA is responsible for making capital investments in the most
cost-effective way possible by ensuring new capital investments
optimize operating and maintenance costs, in order to create the best
value.
Departmental Initiatives: For improved management and
performance across the Department, capital projects should contribute
to key major (such as eliminating Veterans homelessness; improving
Veterans mental health; enable 21st century benefits, etc.) and
supporting initiatives (such as educating and empowering minority and
women Veterans; enabling 21st century vocational rehabilitation and
employment; expanding Veterans access to burial options in National or
State Veterans cemeteries) from the Department's strategic plan,
including DOD collaboration and complying with energy standards
established in law and Executive Orders.
Question 33. VA has identified over $9 billion in facility
condition deficiencies to remediate, and a total of $54-66 billion in
facility improvements that have been requested over the next ten years.
In light of several successful partnerships to share space with
community providers, what type of considerations are being made
regarding the use of these means to close this gap with fewer
appropriated dollars?
Response. Generally speaking, assets that have significant
conditions to remediate are often poor candidates for sharing of space.
The risk associated with significant deficiencies must be mitigated
prior to engaging with community partners or other Federal agencies to
share such space. This mitigation falls on VA and would require
appropriated funding.
For assets that have some deficiencies, but are otherwise in usable
condition, VA has had success using public-private partnerships. In
these cases, VA is able to leverage non-appropriated funds to address
the condition deficiencies of certain assets. VA has used its enhanced-
use lease (EUL) authority to repurpose and restore un-needed assets,
using private funding, in support of housing homeless Veterans and
delivering complementary services at local VA medical centers. Since
the EUL program was authorized in 1991, VA has awarded 100 projects.
These projects include housing (57), special services for Veterans (3),
consolidation/improved VA operations (14), energy (4), and mixed-use/
community benefit (14). Eight of the 100 projects have been terminated.
VA's current EUL authority, a narrow version to that which existed
before expiration on December 31, 2011, only allows re-purposing assets
for supportive housing, which limits the type of partnerships and
assets that can be pursued. A restoration of VA's full EUL authority,
as requested in the FY 2014 President's Budget, would allow additional
assets to be considered for re-purposing.
Other VA authorities, such as sharing agreements or joint ventures
with DOD have also assisted in meeting some of its condition or space
needs. These arrangements, however, generally still require
appropriated funding, although they may be shared across agencies. One
example of this is the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care
Center in North Chicago, Illinois, where VA and DOD operate the center
jointly.
Question 34. The budget requests authorization to proceed with 27
major medical facility leases in 18 states. For each, please detail the
following:
a. When the existing facility will close, if the request is for a
replacement, consolidation, or expansion lease.
b. The number of unique veterans that will not be able to access
care, if the request is for a replacement, consolidation, or expansion
lease.
c. The effect that pursuing each alternative to lease would have on
the patient population or the ability to provide care.
Response. The attached document contains information responsive to
questions 34 a-c for each of the 27 major medical facilities requiring
Congressional authorization. The attached information was previously
transmitted to the Committee on June 4, 2013, and was current at the
time of submission.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
d. Tables analyzing the costs of alternatives to leasing that were
considered.
Response. In response to question 34.d, the Department provides
tables [below] analyzing the total life cycle cost of the alternatives
to the 2013 and 2014 major medical facility leases.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Question 35. Please provide national quantity and cost data for
purchased utilities at VHA facilities, to include water, electricity,
gas, and sewage for FY 2010 through FY12.
Response. The below tables detail the cost and consumption data for
purchased utilities at VHA facilities for FY 2010 through FY 2012.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Question 36. Please provide national quantity and cost data for
waste disposal, divided by category to include general, regulated
medical, hazardous chemical, etc. for FY 2010 through FY12.
Response. The following attachment is the Waste Management and
Compliance data that provides the national quality and cost data for
waste disposal, divided by category to include general, regulated
medical, hazardous chemical, etc. for FY 2010 and FY 2011. VHA is
finalizing FY 2012 as part of our roll out and implementation of the
new VHA real time waste management and cost avoidance web based
tracking system developed by Practice GreenHealth (PGH).
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Question 37. The FY 2014 budget request commits to improving the
functionality of VA's national utility metering data collection and
analysis system. What type of improvements is the Department planning
to make?
Response. In FY 2014, VA will continue to build on its successful
metering program by improving the functionality of its data reporting
and analysis capability. Both electric and non-electric (water, natural
gas, etc.) information will be more visible and useful across VA from
facility managers to policymakers. System enhancements will help ensure
the capture and display of key data from meters around the country,
allowing better evaluation of facility performance to reduce energy
use. VA's capability to respond quickly and accurately to information
requests and perform annual reporting will be improved. Additionally,
VA will pursue avenues to more cost-effectively add, maintain, and
modify meter installations across the Department.
Specific areas of improvement include:
VA will add meters to fill gaps that have been identified
or created since past meter installations
VA will begin linking meter data into local facility
management systems
VA will create additional capacity to use historical
information to guide current operations--currently VA has limited ways
to use historical information
VA will develop new analysis capability on existing data
to improve local, regional, and national decisionmaking
information technology programs
Question 38. The President's Budget requests $344 million for the
Interagency Program Office (IPO) to support the integrated electronic
health record project. Please describe the assumptions used to arrive
at this estimate, and how the IPO plans to use this funding, given that
the Department of Defense is still making a decision regarding the core
technology they will use for this initiative.
Response. The budget request for FY 2014 is based on the Lifecycle
Cost Estimate and will support the following major iEHR efforts:
Identify Management
Access Control Services
Immunization
Laboratory
Pharmacy
Presentation Services
Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) Suite Enterprise
Service Bus (ESB)
Question 39. Please provide documentation to detail estimated
savings through ideas generated by the Ruthless Reduction Task Force.
OIT Response: The Ruthless Reduction Task Force (RRTF) was
established to identify opportunities for cost avoidance and to help VA
focus resources on access, benefits and homelessness. Over 60 projects
have been identified under RRTF that would result in an estimated total
cost avoidance of $2.5 billion. Below is a more in depth breakdown of
the cost avoidance, inclusive of approximate cost avoidance for pending
and active projects.
Total Estimated Cost Avoidance: $2.5 billion
Total Estimated Cost Avoidance for Pending Projects:
$2.166 billion
- Total Estimated Cost Avoidance to harmonize identity
management and access control across VA: $1.7 billion
- Note: A ``pending project'' is defined as a project for
which a plan of action and milestones (PoAM) idea scope is
still being defined, or one that is awaiting development of the
PoAM slide deck or else assignment of a project manager (PM.)
Total Estimated Cost Avoidance for Active Projects: $340
million
- Note: An ``active project'' is defined as a project for
which a PoAM has been developed and to which a PM has been
assigned
Question 40. In FY 2014, how much does VA anticipate spending to
improve the Department's Section 508 compliance?
Response. Making VA accessible for all Veterans, beneficiaries, and
employees is important not only because it is the law, but because it
is the right thing to do. Previously, VA's Section 508 IT compliance
efforts were divided between OIT's ``Section 508 Program Office'' and
VHA's ``Health 508 Office.''
In FY 2014, all Section 508 efforts will be centralized within OIT.
The combined Federal IT staff on this endeavor will amount to 11 FTE.
The President's FY 2014 budget request includes $11.9 million for
VA's Section 508 program. This funding will cover:
Contracted resources to support the development and
execution of Section 508-related training for developers, testers, and
non-technical staff
Testing support services to (1) bring new software into
compliance with Section 508 requirements, and (2) audit existing
Section 508-compliant software to ensure that it remains compliant
Maintenance of hardware and software that is used to test
IT systems for Section 508 compliance
Development of an enterprise-wide approach to bringing all
VA SharePoint repositories into compliance with Section 508
requirements
______
Response to Posthearing Questions Submitted by Hon. Richard Burr to
Hon. Eric K. Shinseki, Secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
general
Question 41. In the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) 2012
Performance and Accountability Report (PAR), VA indicated that it has
``developed and executed a plan to reduce the cost associated with
activities covered in [Executive Order 13589, Promoting Efficient
Spending].'' VA also indicated that, for 2012, it ``exceeded its
spending reduction target of $173.4 million by an additional $69
million.''
A. Please provide the Committee with a copy of the plan that was
developed in response to the Executive Order.
[The referenced files, due to their volume, are not being
reproduced here.]
B. Please outline where those spending reductions were realized and
what was done with the funds that were saved through those reductions.
Response. Spending reductions were realized in the categories of
travel, supplies and materials, printing, employee information
technology (IT) devices, and management support contracts. Realized
savings were used for:
Over-time hours for compensation claims processing staff
to support the reduction of the benefits claim backlog;
Non-recurring maintenance projects to improve the health
care environment;
Critical infrastructure and life cycle refresh for
existing IT equipment to support current and new VA staff; and
Additional health care-related equipment purchases.
Question 42. In response to questions about VA's fiscal year 2013
budget request, VA indicated that, at the end of fiscal year 2011,
there was $1.2 billion in outstanding delinquent debt owed to VA, of
which $732 million was created in connection with VA benefit payments.
VA also indicated that, during fiscal year 2011, VA wrote off or waived
$247 million of debts to VA.
A. What was the total amount of outstanding delinquent debt at the
end of fiscal year 2012?
Response. At the end of FY 2012, VA reported $3.7 billion in
outstanding debt.
B. What portion of that amount was debt created in connection with
VA benefit payments?
Response. At the end of FY 2012, VA reported $1.6 billion in
outstanding benefit debt.
C. What is the total value of debts for which VA waived recoupment
during fiscal year 2012 and what is the total value of debts that were
written off during fiscal year 2012?
Response. In FY 2012, VA waived debts totaling $116,167,896 and
wrote-off debts totaling $85,194,153.
D. During fiscal year 2013, how much new debt does VA project will
be established?
Response. For FY 2013, VA estimates new benefit debts of $1.2
billion.
E. During fiscal year 2014, how much new debt does VA project will
be established?
Response. For FY 2014, VA estimates new benefit debts of $1.3
billion
Question 43. In response to questions regarding VA's fiscal year
2013 budget request, VA indicated that approximately $305 million in
mandatory funding would be used to pay for non-direct benefits.
A. Does that figure include any amounts spent on contract
vocational and educational counseling?
Response. The $6 million from the Readjustments Benefits account
authorized for contract vocational and educational counseling is a
benefit to Veterans and is therefore not included in the $305 million
total for non-direct benefits. The $305 million in mandatory funding
used to pay for non-direct benefits includes funding for: equal access
to Justice Act payments, medical examination payments, and income
verification matching (38 United States Code (U.S.C.) Sec. 5317) from
the Compensation and Pensions (C&P) account. This also includes:
reporting fees, State Approving Agencies, reimbursements to the General
Operating Expense account as authorized under Public Laws (P.L.) 101-
237 and 105-368, and reimbursements to the Office of Information
Technology account as authorized under P.L.s 106-419, 108-454, and 112-
56 from the Readjustments Benefits account.
B. For fiscal year 2014, please identify how much in mandatory
funding will be spent on non-direct benefits and how those funds would
be spent.
Response. For FY 2014, VA expects to spend $285.3 million in
mandatory funding on non-direct benefits. Below is a detailed breakdown
of the requested funding:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Compensation and Pension ($000s)
Medical Exams...................................................................................... $231,376
Equal Access to Justice Act........................................................................ $11,768
Income Verification Matching....................................................................... $9,232
------------
C&P Total........................................................................................ $252,376
------------
Readjustment Benefits ($000s)
State Approving Agencies........................................................................... $19,000
Reporting Fees..................................................................................... $13,308
Reimbursement to GOE............................................................................... $568
------------
RB Total........................................................................................... $32,876
------------
TOTAL............................................................................................ $285,252
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. Are any mandatory funds expected to be spent to hire
contractors? If so, please specify the amount(s) and purpose(s).
Response. In accordance with Section 504 of the Veterans' Benefits
Improvement Act of 1996, Public Law 104-275, VA is authorized to pay
for contracting of disability evaluation examinations from the C&P
account. In FY 2014, VA estimates this amount to be $231.4 million.
Also, section 3697 of title 38 U.S.C, authorizes VA to use $6
million from the Readjustment Benefits account to pay for educational
or vocational counseling services obtained by VA by contract for
Veterans applying for or receiving Education or Vocational
Rehabilitation and Employment benefits.
Additionally, under section 3674 of title 38 U.S.C., VA is
authorized to reimburse State Approving Agencies up to $19 million from
the Readjustment Benefits account. This funding is for the reasonable
and necessary salary, travel, and administrative expenses incurred by
employees of the State Approving Agencies in carrying out contracts or
agreements entered into with VA for the purpose of ascertaining the
qualifications of educational institutions for furnishing courses of
education to eligible persons or Veterans.
D. Are mandatory funds expected to be used to pay the salary of any
VA employees? If so, please specify the amount(s) and purpose(s).
Response. Section 5317 of title 38 U.S.C., directs VA to pay the
expenses of carrying out certain income verification matching
activities with the mandatory C&P appropriation. Accordingly, the C&P
appropriation reimburses the General Operating Expenses (GOE) account
and the Office of Information Technology account for administrative
costs associated with verification of eligibility for the pension
program through income verification matching. The FY 2014 reimbursement
to the GOE account is estimated to be $8.4 million, which will be used
to support 97 FTE. Reimbursement to the Office of Information
Technology in FY 2014 is estimated to be $110,000, which will be used
to support one FTE.
P.L. 104-275 directs VA to make payments for contracts for the
pilot program for disability examinations from the C&P appropriation.
Historically, VA appropriations acts have provided that the mandatory
C&P appropriation is the source of funding for the pilot program for
disability examinations. Accordingly, the C&P appropriation has
reimbursed the the GOE account for the purposes of conducting a pilot
program to contract disability evaluation examinations of claimants for
benefits administered through VBA. The FY 2014 reimbursement amount is
estimated to be $2.1 million, which will support 25 FTE.
Question 44. This budget would cut VA central office (VACO) funding
by 5 percent; however, the offices that comprise VACO would realize an
increase of 106 full-time equivalents (FTE) if this budget were
adopted. During the budget rollout on April 10, 2013, VA responded to a
question inquiring about the contradiction of an increase in FTE and a
funding decrease that the additional staff is paid for out of the
Supply Fund and Franchise Fund. Additionally, throughout the budget
request for the General Administration account, many offices within
VACO indicate budget allocations and staffing under the heading
``reimbursement.''
A. Of the 3,334 staff requested in the fiscal year 2014 request,
how many are funded through the Supply Fund and Franchise Fund? Please
breakout this number by individual VACO offices (for example, Office of
the Secretary, Office of General Counsel, Office of Policy and
Planning, etc.).
Response. The 3,334 staff represent the FTE level funded within the
General Administration (GenAd) account in the President's FY 2014
budget request. A total of 76 GenAd FTE are reimbursed by the Supply
Fund for services provided (62 FTE in the Office of General Counsel, 7
in the Office of Business Oversight, and 7 in the Office of
Acquisitions, Logistics and Construction). None of the 3,334 FTE are
direct Supply Fund or Franchise Fund employees. The 106 FTE increase
reflected in GenAd represent staff being hired during the later stages
of FY 2013 which will be fully annualized in FY 2014. The on-board FTE
at the beginning of the fiscal year is not expected to change
significantly over the course of the year.
The 106 FTE consists of 31 FTE from budget authority (BA) and 75
FTE from reimbursable authority (RA). They are primarily funded through
VA's Human Capital Investment Plan (RA), VA's Identify Credentials
Management Program (RA), and VA's enterprise-wide facilities
transformation efforts (BA and RA).
B. Please provide the Committee with a detailed description of the
heading ``reimbursement.'' Please include the office, department, or
agency that is being reimbursed, a description of the program or
service for which they are being reimbursed, and the number of staff
associated with the reimbursement. Please break this out by individual
VACO offices (for example, Office of the Secretary, Office of General
Counsel, Office of Policy and Planning, etc.).
Response. The reimbursement process for VA's GenAd account occurs
when one office provides a service that benefits another office, and
the office receiving the service reimburses the providing office for
the cost of that service. Authority to provide reimbursements is
allowed under the Economy Act (31 United States Code (U.S.C.)
Sec. 1535), Account Adjustment Statute (31 U.S.C. Sec. 1534), or other
specific authority, including appropriations language. In many
instances, these authorities are utilized to ``pool'' funds to pay for
products or services that benefit more than one appropriation. VA
charges the benefiting appropriations amounts that are commensurate
with the value received by their staff office(s) and/or
Administrations.
Authorized reimbursements are requested through the Office of
Management and Budget apportionment process. Of the 3,334 FTE requested
in FY 2014, 1,067 are reimbursable FTE in the GenAd account. Of this
total, 76 GenAd FTE are reimbursed by the Supply Fund for services
provided directly to the Fund (62 FTE in the Office of General Counsel
for legal services provided to the Fund; 7 FTE in the Office of
Business Oversight for logistics reviews for the Fund; and 7 FTE in the
Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction for management
oversight of the Fund). Below is a description of the reimbursable
programs and FTE (if applicable) performed within the GenAd account.
office of the secretary
Office of Employment Discrimination Complaint Adjudication (OEDCA)--
FTE: 24
OEDCA has statutory authority to collect reimbursements for costs
incurred to carry out its operations. Historically, an administrative
provision in the annual appropriations act has provided that VA
customers may reimburse OEDCA for services provided, see, e.g., section
210 of title II of division E of section 2 of the Consolidated and
Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 (Public Law 113-6). OEDCA
is an independent office responsible for issuing final agency decisions
and orders on the merits of employment discrimination complaints filed
by employees. OEDCA is also responsible for determining equitable
relief and issuing final agency decisions on a complainant's
entitlement for compensatory damages and attorney's fees if the
complainant is the prevailing party. OEDCA collects funding from the
customers it services.
Leading Executives Driving Government Excellence (EDGE)--FTE: 3
The President's Management Council initiated Leading EDGE to: 1)
inspire a seamless and powerful senior executive corps with shared
governmentwide identity and vision; 2) craft solutions that have impact
across agencies; and 3) reignite the highest ideals of public service.
To achieve these objectives, Leading EDGE employs five integrated
learning components: workshops, leadership assessments, government
performance projects, executive coaching, and a Web portal for
increased cross-agency networking and problem-solving. In FY 2012, the
program's first year, 15 Federal Government departments (totaling over
150 individual bureaus) reimbursed VA to participate in Leading EDGE.
office of general counsel (ogc)
OGC receives reimbursement for legal services it provides where
authorized by statute.
MSCA Medical Support and Compliance Account--FTE: 63
Public Law 101-508 MSCA (formally Medical Care Collection
Fund (MCCF))
The Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, Public Law 101-508,
established the Medical Care Cost Recovery Revolving Fund (MCCF). VA
medical centers receive the funds collected through the MCCF program
and may use those funds for direct patient care. The reimbursement OGC
receives for its collection efforts, as authorized by 38 U.S.C.
Sec. 1729A(c)(1)(B), enables it to provide legal services related to
the recovery of reasonable charges from third parties (health insurance
companies, workers compensation plans, no-fault automobile insurance
carriers, and third-party tortfeasors) that are legally responsible for
paying for medical care and services provided to Veterans. In addition,
the Medical Support and Compliance Appropriations Account has
traditionally contained specific language that provides that the
account is available to fund ``legal expenses of the Department for
collecting and recovering amounts owed the Department as authorized
under chapter 17 of title 38, United States Code, and the Federal
Medical Care Recovery Act.'' See Public Law 113-6, the Consolidated and
Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013. Through OGC's services in
this program, VA has collected over $260 million which it returned to
VA medical centers for providing care to Veterans.
Credit Reform--FTE: 41
The Federal Credit Reform Act (FCRA) states that ``[a]ll funding
for an agency's administration of a direct loan or loan guarantee
program shall be displayed as distinct and separately identified
subaccounts within the same budget account as the program's cost''
(emphasis added). Generally, the FCRA requires a fund established for a
credit program to have two types of accounts. One is a program account
that records administrative expenses and disburses the subsidy cost to
the financing cost, and the other is a financing account that records
all of the cash-flows resulting from direct loans or loan guarantees
(It disburses loans, collects repayments and fees, makes claim
payments, holds balances, borrows from Treasury, and earns or pays
interest.).
OGC provides legal services under the FCRA and receives
reimbursement from the following two programs' accounts as authorized
by law:
Veterans Housing Program: OGC provides legal services related to
the origination and liquidation of guaranteed loans and to the
acquisition and sale of properties acquired as a result of guaranteed
loans that are foreclosed.
Native American Housing Program: OGC provides legal services
regarding the negotiation of memoranda of understanding with tribal
governments, the origination and liquidation of Native American Direct
Loans (NADL), and the acquisition and sale of properties acquired as a
result of NADL loans that are foreclosed.
Supply Fund Contract Attorneys and Staff--FTE: 62
OGC personnel provide direct contract support regarding all legal
aspects of Supply Fund procurements, including defending the Department
against protests, and are reimbursed by the Revolving Supply Fund.
Section 8121 of title 38, U.S.C., authorizes VA to use the Supply Fund
to cover ``all expenses necessary'' for the operation and maintenance
of a supply system.
Veterans Canteen Service (VCS)--FTE: 1
The employee is under the supervision of the OGC Regional Counsel
and the Assistant Regional Counsel in St. Louis, Missouri, where the
VCS has its headquarters. The attorney provides advice and
representation in administrative hearings and court proceedings as it
pertains to employee/labor relations and Equal Employment Opportunity
matters and acts as a liaison with personnel from other OGC regions who
perform representational tasks involving VCS personnel and operations.
Section 7804 of title 38, U.S.C., authorizes VA to use the Veterans
Canteen Service Revolving Fund to cover administrative and operating
expenses of the VCS.
Veterans Administration Law Enforcement Training Center (LETC)--FTE: <1
OGC provides reimbursable legal services from an attorney, part-
time, to LETC to plan, coordinate, develop, and teach courses in legal
aspects related to the field of law enforcement. LETC is a Franchise
Fund entity that is authorized to collect fees for services provided
and to use such fees to cover the total costs of providing such
services.
Enhanced-Use Lease (EUL)--FTE: <1
OGC provides legal support to VA's Office of Asset Enterprise
Management (OAEM), which administers VA's EUL program. VA's EUL
program, codified at 38 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 8161-8169, authorizes VA to
out-lease underutilized and vacant real property to lessees for terms
of up to 75 years. In return, the lessees develop and operate the out-
leased real property consistent with the EUL statute (which is
currently limited to providing eligible Veterans and non-Veterans with
``supportive housing,'' as defined in 38 U.S.C. Sec. 8161(3)) and
provide VA with negotiated consideration (i.e., in-kind consideration
and/or cash, depending upon when the underlying EUL was executed). VA's
EUL policy is contained in VA Directive and Handbook 7415. Section 8165
of title 38 U.S.C. authorizes the Secretary to use the proceeds from
any EUL to reimburse applicable appropriations of the Department for
any expenses incurred in the development of additional EULs. Notably,
per Chapter 8, paragraph 3 of the Handbook (copied below), OAEM may
charge a ``reimbursement fee'' for EUL projects that involve VA
receiving cash lease consideration. This fee is charged to reimburse
OAEM and OGC for their direct and indirect project-related expenses
associated with negotiating and administering the underlying EUL.
EU Reimbursement Policy and Procedures. Each executed EU lease
project managed by OAEM may be subject to a reimbursement fee to be
charged against the proceeds from the project. This charge is designed
to reimburse OGC and OAEM for direct and indirect project-related
expenses associated with planning, developing, executing, managing and
providing legal advice and services for the respective EU project,
transactions and lease. This fee is not to exceed reasonable VA
expenses.
Construction Facility Management (CFM)--FTE: 6
OGC attorneys review and comment on legal issues associated with
the Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction (OALC) and CFM
major construction and real property projects located throughout the
country. The attorneys are solely dedicated to OALC/CFM work and are
supported through funding reprogrammed from CFM within the GenAd
account. At least one will support OALC/CFM major leasing projects. The
attorneys who will support the OALC/CFM major construction program will
be assigned to the major projects in Denver, Colorado; Orlando,
Florida; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Palo Alto, California.
Additionally, the attorneys will assist with the remaining projects in
the Western, Central, and Eastern Regions, as well as the National
Region, which supports the National Cemetery Administration (NCA).
OALC/CFM initiated this arrangement of direct legal support to assist
in the expedient resolution of legal issues associated with major
construction and leasing projects.
office of management
Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS)--FTE: 0
The Office of Finance within the Office of Management has an Inter-
Agency Agreement with DFAS to process VA's payroll and leave and
earnings statements. Obligations are incurred and managed centrally,
and VA offices reimburse the Office of Management for their share of
the costs. No FTE are reimbursed.
Office of Business Oversight (OBO)--Veterans Health Administration
(VHA)--FTE: 20
OBO receives reimbursements from VHA to support OBO personnel in
conducting expense and revenue reviews that ensure VHA field facilities
comply with existing financial rules, regulations, and policies and
assure the quality of VHA fiscal information.
OBO--Supply Fund--FTE: 7
OBO collects funding from the Supply Fund to cover expenses for OBO
logistics reviews of the Supply Fund to ensure VHA field stations and
VA Central Office organizations comply with existing rules,
regulations, and policies.
OBO--A-123--FTE: 4
OBO personnel conduct and test reviews of internal controls of
financial reporting as required by Office of Management and Budget
Circular A-123 at VA facilities. The VA organizations that contribute
funding toward these reviews are VHA, the Veterans Benefits
Administration (VBA), NCA, and Office of Information and Technology.
OAEM--Green Management--FTE: 5
OAEM receives reimbursement from VHA for support of the VA Green
Management Program at VHA field facilities. The portfolio managers
support the Department's initiative, Establish Enterprise Energy Cost
Reduction and Implement VA-wide Greenhouse Gas Initiative to Address
VA's Carbon Footprint--Greening VA. These professionals assist OAEM in
managing the Green Management Program and meeting its performance and
reporting mandates.
OAEM--Building Utilization Review and Repurposing (BURR)--FTE: 3
OAEM receives reimbursement from VHA for support it provides to
eliminate Veteran homelessness through VA's EUL program. Another
initiative, BURR, uses VA's EUL program through public/private
partnerships to leverage VA's vacant and underutilized buildings and
land nationwide to provide housing for Veterans and their families who
are homeless or at-risk of homelessness.
Office of Management--VA Center of Innovation (VACI)--FTE: 0
The VACI program taps the talent and expertise of individuals
inside and outside of government to innovate and improve Veterans
access to services, lower costs, improve quality, and enhance the
performance of VA operations. The offices receiving the benefits and
services provide reimbursement to support any contractual costs and
operating expenses.
office of human resources and administration (hra)
Human Capital Investment Plan (HCIP)--FTE: 298
The HCIP includes VA's Learning University and focuses on the
development of VA's workforce through enterprise-wide training. This is
accomplished by leadership training, workforce competency training,
Veteran hiring efforts, employee wellness, and the Corporate Senior
Executive Management Office. HCIP program costs are funded by each
program office through reimbursements to HRA on a pro-rata FTE basis.
Office of Resolution Management (ORM)--FTE: 267
Historically, an administrative provision in the annual
appropriations act has provided that VA customers may reimburse ORM for
services provided, see, e.g., section 210 of title II of division E of
section 2 of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations
Act, 2013 (Public Law 113-6). ORM promotes a discrimination-free work
environment focused on serving Veterans by preventing, resolving, and
processing Equal Employment Opportunity discrimination complaints and
providing Alternative Dispute Resolution services as required by law.
Each office's costs are proportionate to the number of employees that
use the services across the entire VA system.
VA Child Care Subsidy Program (CCSP)--FTE: 0
VA CCSP is a nationwide program that assists lower income VA
employees (household income of less than $59,999 per year) with the
cost of child care. There are over 2,000 VA employee participants who
receive child care services and receive a subsidy. Reimbursement is
strictly for the costs of the program.
VA Central Office Services--FTE: 20
The Office of Administration (O/A) provides numerous services for
the VA Central Office campus. O/A houses the simplified acquisitions
staff which processes all procurement and acquisition requests for
purchases under a threshold of $150,000 for VA organizations in 11
buildings throughout the National Capital Region. Funding supports
acquisitions, labor support, and warehouse staff. O/A manages the
National Transit Benefits Program Office which administers the transit
benefits program for VA nationwide. Funds cover the salaries and
benefits of the National Transit Benefits Program Office. O/A oversees
the contract of the health units which provides health care services to
VA Central Office employees in designated buildings and maintains the
VA Central Office fitness center. The costs support the contract and
personnel who manage the contract. O/A has a contract to transport VA
Central Office employees across campus during duty hours.
office of policy and planning (opp)
Enterprise Data Contracts--FTE: 0
OPP requires three types of contract support to be the
authoritative organization for data governance, Veterans' statistics,
statistical analysis, and modeling to manage the Department's business
intelligence tools and processes and to manage VA resources for
developing interactive mapping tools and products. The three contracts
will enhance data collection reporting and analysis capabilities while
providing standards and guidelines for corporate-level business
intelligence program management. A major contract for OPP is data-
mining, which acquires Veteran demographics to supplement existing VA
data sources. The integrated data will be used by VA to conduct
statistical research and analysis, develop predictive models, and
conduct outreach to Veterans. The offices that receive the data and
analysis and benefit from these services reimburse OPP for these
contracts.
Secretary's Carey Awards Program--FTE: 0
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs' Robert W. Carey Performance
Excellence Award is an annual award that recognizes organizations
within the Department that have implemented management approaches that
result in sustained high levels of performance and service to the
Veterans we serve. OPP's Enterprise Program Management Office, executor
of the Carey Awards Program, uses award criteria aligned with the
Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. These criteria
are nationally recognized as a framework and standard for
organizational excellence. VHA, VBA, and NCA provide funding for
contractor support to train personnel to understand the Baldrige
criteria in order to develop application packages, provide support to
Carey examiners during consensus week, provide technical editing
support, and provide feedback to applicants for continuous improvement
purposes.
office of operations, security, and preparedness (osp)
Identity, Credential and Access Management Program (ICAM)--FTE: 30
A new program in FY 2014, ICAM, along with the ongoing
transformation initiative of Continuous Readiness in Information
Security (CRISP), will strengthen VA's security by sharing information
on the character and conduct of VA employees during the on-boarding,
station code or inter-Department transfer, or off-boarding processes,
consistent with Privacy Act requirements, VA Privacy Policy, and
collective bargaining agreements where applicable. Each program office
reimburses OSP for its share of the costs of this program.
Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Card--FTE: 0
Costs reflect procurement, distribution, and management support
related to Homeland Security Presidential Directive--12 PIV cards and
consumables for the Department. Each VA office reimburses OSP for its
share of the PIV cards and consumables.
office of public and intergovernmental affairs (opia)
Homeless Veterans Initiative Office (HVIO)--FTE: 15
OPIA's HVIO provides policy development, interagency coordination,
and public/community engagement in collaboration with VHA, which is
responsible for the operation and clinical implementation of
eliminating homelessness among Veterans. VHA provides reimbursement to
fund this initiative.
office of acquisition, logistics, and construction (oalc)
Consistent with appropriation language (see, e.g., Public Law 113-
6, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013),
OALC receives funding from the Major Construction and VHA Medical
Facilities appropriations to cover costs for resident engineers who
provide on-site supervision of VA's Major Construction projects and for
VHA lease projects located throughout the country.
OALC also receives reimbursement for FTE from NCA and the Supply
Fund to cover the costs of the work and services related to those
programs. In all circumstances, funding will cover employee costs
including salary and benefits, training, travel, permanent change of
station expenses, contracts, and other associated costs of these
programs. Additional detail is below:
Reimbursement for on-site resident engineers--187 FTE from
Major Construction, as authorized in appropriation language;
Reimbursement for proportionate share of OALC management
support provided from the Supply Fund--7 FTE; and
Reimbursement for NCA Real Property Land Acquisitions/
Actions support--2 FTE.
readjustment benefits
Question 45. One item that VA pays for using mandatory funding is
reporting fees provided to educational institutions. In response to
questions about the fiscal year 2013 budget request, VA indicated that
information was not available for 2011 regarding the number of
institutions that received reporting fees from VA or the size of those
payments.
A. Is that information now available regarding 2011 reporting fees?
If so, please provide the number of institutions that received
reporting fees, the 10 largest payments made to an institution, and the
10 smallest payments made to an institution.
Response. VA paid 9,557 educational institutions a total of
$9,370,303 in reporting fees in calendar year 2011. The tables below
show the institutions with the 10 largest and 10 smallest total payment
amounts.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Largest Reporting Fee
SCHOOL NAME Amounts for Calendar
Year 2011 (in $'s)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
University of Phoenix (Online)............... 230,317.00
American Public University System (American 109,697.00
Military University)........................
University of Maryland University College.... 65,313.00
Grantham University.......................... 60,696.00
Kaplan University............................ 58,707.00
Central Texas College........................ 45,947.00
Columbia Southern University................. 41,257.00
University of Phoenix (San Diego)............ 39,424.00
Florida State College at Jacksonville........ 39,085.00
DeVry University Online...................... 38,530.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Smallest Reporting Fee
SCHOOL NAME Amounts for Calendar Year
2011 (in $'s)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A and B Training Academy................... 7.00
A Head of Time Design Academy.............. 7.00
A Step Ahead Academy and Salon............. 7.00
A T E of Texas Inc., DBA American Fly...... 7.00
A.B. Training Center, LLC.................. 7.00
Abrams College (CHAPTER 31)................ 7.00
Academy of Acadiana--New Iberia............ 7.00
Academy of Cosmetology..................... 7.00
Academy of Equine Dentistry(CHAPTER 31).... 7.00
Academy of Hair Design..................... 7.00
1,046 other institutions................... 7.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. Is that information available regarding reporting fees paid in
2012? If so, please provide that information.
Response. VA paid 10,578 educational institutions a total of
$10,442,799 in reporting fees in calendar year 2012. The tables below
show the institutions with the 10 largest and 10 smallest total payment
amounts.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Largest Gross
Payments in
SCHOOL NAME Calendar Year 2012
(in $'s)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
University of Phoenix (Online).................... 339,132.00
American Public University System (American 169,596.00
Military University).............................
Ashford University (Online)....................... 143,835.00
University of Maryland University College......... 91,740.00
Liberty University................................ 79,119.00
Grantham University............................... 75,600.00
Kaplan University................................. 72,060.00
Columbia Southern University...................... 59,076.00
Central Texas College............................. 55,752.00
University of Phoenix (San Diego)................. 51,372.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Smallest Gross
SCHOOL NAME Payments in Calendar
Year 2012 (in $'s)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Louisiana Technical College--Shreveport.......... 12.00
YogaMotion--Center for Holistic Education........ 12.00
Yoga Yoga Teacher Training....................... 12.00
Yoga Connection, The............................. 12.00
Yale University School of Medicine--School of 12.00
Public Health...................................
Yale University School of Drama.................. 12.00
Xtra-mile Driver Training, Inc. (CHAPTER 31 ONLY) 12.00
Xenon International Academy--Grand Island........ 12.00
Xenon International Academy...................... 12.00
Wyzsza Szkola Komunikacji I Zarzadania........... 12.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 46. The fiscal year 2014 budget request reflects that VA
now expects to spend $4,764,000 from readjustment benefits in fiscal
year 2013 for ``[r]eimbursement to [General Operating Expenses] and
[Information and Technology],'' which is $4,226,000 more than VA had
originally projected would be spent in fiscal year 2013 for that
purpose. The budget submission also reflects that, in fiscal year 2014,
VA expects to spend $568,000 for that purpose.
A. Please provide an itemized list of how that $4.8 million is now
expected to be spent during fiscal year 2013.
Response. Please see the following chart:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2013
Readjustment Benefits ($000s) Authority
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reimbursements to GOE
Information Pamphlets on Education $234 PL 101-237: sec 421
Benefits.
Education Outreach Letters............ $304 PL 105-368: sec 206
Reimbursements to IT
Licensing and Certification System $158 PL 106-419: sec 121
Start-Up Funds.
Computer System Modifications for $2,189 PL 108-454: sec 104
Apprenticeship and OJT.
Veterans Retraining Assistance Program $1,880 PL 112-56: sec 211
(VRAP) IT Expenses.
----------
Total Reimbursements................ $4,764
------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. Please explain the specific changes that led to this expected
increase during fiscal year 2013.
Response. The increases in the FY 2013 current estimate are a
result of available funds carried over from FY 2012 to FY 2013 for
reimbursements to the Office of Information and Technology. At the time
the following laws were passed, $3 million was made available for
Licensing and Certification systems under Pub. L. 106-419; $3 million
was made available for Apprenticeship and on-job training (OJT) systems
under Pub. L. 108-454; and $2 million was made available for VRAP
systems under Pub. L. 112-56. Each fiscal year, the remaining unused
funds are still available for the intended purpose identified in law.
The increase for FY 2013 reflects the remaining funds being carried
over for obligation during FY 2013.
C. Please provide an itemized list of how these funds are expected
to be spent during fiscal year 2014.
Response. Please see the following chart:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2014
Readjustment Benefits ($000s) Authority
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reimbursements to GOE
Information Pamphlets on Education $248 PL 101-237: sec 421
Benefits.
Education Outreach Letters............ $320 PL 105-368: sec 206
Reimbursements to IT
Licensing and Certification System $0 PL 106-419: sec 121
Start-Up Funds.
Computer System Modifications for $0 PL 108-454: sec 104
Apprenticeship and OJT.
Veterans Retraining Assistance Program $0 PL 112-56: sec 211
(VRAP) IT Expenses.
---------
Total Reimbursements................ $568*
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Assuming funds associated with PL 106-419, PL 108-454, and PL 112-56
are obligated in FY 2013, the remaining $568 thousand is budgeted to
carry out the authority provided by PL 101-237 and PL 105-368.
Question 47. In the fiscal year 2014 budget request, VA proposes
legislation to increase funding for ``contract vocational and
educational counseling'' for certain veterans or members of the Armed
Forces.
A. In fiscal year 2012, how many individuals requested this type of
counseling, how many individuals were provided with this type of
counseling, and how much in total was spent to provide counseling to
those individuals?
Response. Please see table below showing FY 2012 data:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Completed by
Total Completed Vocational Ed Voc
Veteran with Rehabilitation Completed by Funding for
Requests Counseling and Employment Contractor Contractor
for Ch. 36 (VR&E) Staff Services
------------------------------------------------------------------------
15,513 5,341 271 5,070 $1,853,640.9
5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Requests which are not completed with counseling include those that
are pending completion, as well as those that did not attend their
required counseling appointments despite follow-up outreach attempts.
B. In fiscal year 2013, how many individuals are expected to seek
this type of counseling, how many individuals are expected to be
provided with this counseling, and how much in total is expected to be
spent on these counseling services?
Response. Please see table below showing FY 2013 data:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Ed Voc
Veteran Still Completed Completed Completed Funding for
Requests Pending with by VR&E by Contractor
for Ch. 36 Counseling Staff Contractor Services
------------------------------------------------------------------------
14,322 1,193 5,585 279 5,306 $2,089,792.
93
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2013 estimates are based on the assumption that 60 percent of
the year is complete, which equates to 60 percent of annual demand.
Part of the decrease in Veteran requests is caused by the National
Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and VR&E counselors at Integrated
Disability Evaluation System (IDES) installations accelerating
Servicemembers into the Chapter 31 program. Veterans with service-
connected disabilities who received Chapter 36 counseling often also
became eligible for and enrolled in the Chapter 31 program. As a result
of NDAA accelerating eligibility and entitlement to Chapter 31
services, transitioning Servicemembers going through the IDES are
receiving counseling under Chapter 31 instead of under Chapter 36.
C. In fiscal year 2014, how many individuals are expected to seek
this type of counseling?
Response. In FY 2014, VA estimates there will be a total of 15,754
Veterans requesting Chapter 36 counseling. FY 2014 estimates are 10
percent above FY 2013 projections due to anticipated increases in
Veteran requests through mandatory TAP, increased outreach to eligible
Veterans using Post-9/11 GI Bill, and VOW/VEI efforts.
Question 48. In the fiscal year 2014 budget request, VA proposes
legislation to permanently authorize work-study activities for which
authorization is currently set to expire in June 2013. Those work-study
activities include outreach programs with State approving agencies,
working in State homes, and administration of a national cemetery or
state veterans' cemetery.
A. During fiscal year 2012, how many individuals participated in
each of those work-study activities.
Response. The following table shows how many individuals
participated in each of those work-study activities:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Work-Study
Category Students for FY
2012
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SAA Outreach.......................................... 11
National Veteran Cemetery............................. 106
State Veteran Cemetery................................ 19
VA State Homes........................................ 166
-----------------
Total............................................. 302
------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. To date, during fiscal year 2013, how many individuals have
participated in each of those work-study activities?
Response. Since VA collects work-study statistics at the end of
each fiscal year, data for FY 2013 is not yet available.
C. Please describe the resources required to administer this
portion of the work-study program.
Response. VA does not anticipate any additional administrative
costs associated with permanent authorization of this program.
Question 49. The Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp
Lejeune Families Act of 2012 provided a temporary expansion of
eligibility for specially adapted housing for certain veterans with
disabilities causing difficulty with ambulating.
A. How many veterans have qualified for this expansion?
Response. VA claims examiners are processing claims for benefits
under Section 202 of P.L. 112-154. VA does not track the status and
disposition of claims for benefits under Section 202 of P.L. 112-154
separately from other claims. Also, due to the recent implementation of
this law, VA has not yet compiled data related to this temporary
expansion.
VA notes that the law specifies that assistance under certain
provisions of Section 202 of P.L. 112-154 may only be furnished for
applications approved on or before the sunset date (September 30,
2013). Because approval of a Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) grant is a
two-step process, in order for a Veteran or Servicemember to be
qualified for benefits under those provisions of Section 202, the
individual must receive a medical rating from VA of eligibility for SAH
grant benefits, as well as a determination of site feasibility and
suitability by VA to ensure the home can be adapted to meet the
individual's needs. For a Veteran or Servicemember to receive benefits
authorized by those provisions, both the medical rating and the site
feasibility and suitability determination would need to be completed on
or prior to the expiration date of the provisions (September 30, 2013).
In the fourth quarter of FY 2013, VA will be conducting a manual
count of Veterans and Servicemembers who have been medically rated
eligible for Section 202 benefits and who have begun the process of
site feasibility and suitability to obtain actual data. VA will be
happy to provide this information to SVAC upon conclusion of the count.
VA is also researching options for a system enhancement to the
Specially Adapted Housing/Special Housing Adaptation (SAHSHA) system,
which would allow SAH staff to flag and report on in-process grants
associated with Section 202 eligibility.
B. How many houses have been adapted using this authority?
Response. VA is unable to provide the requested figures at this
time. Upon conclusion of the fourth quarter of FY 2013 manual count, VA
will provide more information to the Committee.
C. What is the average cost and the total cost per veteran of those
who qualified and used the expansion?
Response. VA is unable to provide the requested figures at this
time; however, please note that each eligible Veteran may receive a
grant of up to $63,780.00. Upon conclusion of the fourth quarter of FY
2013 manual count, VA will provide additional information to the
Committee.
veterans benefits administration
Disability Compensation
Question 50. In January 2013, VA sent to Congress a strategic plan
for eliminating the backlog that projected VA would decide 1.6 million
claims in fiscal year 2014. Less than three months later, VA submitted
its budget request, which projects that VA will decide 1.3 million
claims in fiscal year 2014.
A. What specific performance metrics did VA assess in lowering this
projection and what did they show?
Response. The projections of received and completed claims in VA's
Strategic Plan to Eliminate the Compensation Claims Backlog, submitted
to Congress on January 25, 2013, were based on assumptions made earlier
in the budget cycle that included a higher level of claims receipts and
FTE than is reflected in the 2014 VA Budget Submission. VA revised its
projections prior to submission of the FY 2014 budget to Congress based
on FY 2013 actual experience to date that reflected a lower volume of
claims receipts than previously projected. Projections are periodically
updated based on recent experience, the impact of the transformation
initiatives, and enhanced forecasting capabilities.
B. Are there any on-going initiatives that are not having the
impact on production that VA expected? If so, please explain.
Response. VBA closely monitors the impact of initiatives on
performance. All currently on-going initiatives have provided
improvements to the disability claims process. A previous initiative
called the Veterans Benefits Management Assistance Program (VBMAP) did
not have an impact as expected and was not pursued further.
VBMAP was a professional services contract for rapid development of
claims for increased benefits, initial compensation claims, pension
claims, and dependency verification claims. The VBMAP contract was
awarded September 2011, requiring 100% quality and 300,000 developed
claims. The VBMAP vendor did not meet the quality or volume
requirements of the contract. In June 2012, VA halted shipment of
claims to allow the vendor to improve performance. The contract ended
after the base period, September 12, 2012.
Question 51. According to VA's January 2013 backlog plan, VA
expected that, in the first quarter of 2014, the number of claims VA
decides would start to outpace the number of claims being received and
that the total number of pending claims would be reduced in 2014. The
fiscal year 2014 budget submission reflects that claims receipts will
exceed production in 2014 and the number of pending claims will
continue to grow.
A. What specific information and metrics initially led VA to
project that the first quarter of 2014 would be the point when output
would start to exceed input?
Response. The January 2013 strategic plan presented a worst case
scenario in terms of a large number of incoming claims due primarily to
the implementation of the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) program
for separating servicemembers. We anticipated that 200K+ additional
claims might come in. Our belief was that if they did come in, they,
and many other supplemental claims, would be submitted electronically,
be fully-developed, and be simpler to process overall. Those
assumptions led us to believe that if the large volume of new VOW-
related claims occurred, we had a reasonable chance of turning them
around very quickly; thus, we showed very large production increases in
FY 2014 and especially FY 2015. In this worst case scenario, we
believed that by not later than first quarter FY 2014 we would see
significant production improvements from Transformation. We understood
the high risk that we would be assuming in production and that possible
risk generated significant discussion about resource requirements.
B. In revising this projection, what metrics did VA assess and what
did they show?
Response. In revising the January 2013 projections for the FY 2014
budget submission, we had trend data showing that traditional receipts
were moving downward but we were not yet ready to ignore the potential
impact of additional VOW-related claims. In reviewing the risk
associated with the dramatic increase in production we postulated in
the January plan, we concluded that with the resources requested we
needed to adjust our production plan to reflect a less risky output
projection. The combination of less projected production with the still
very real possibility of a large influx of VOW-related claims turned FY
2014 into a year where we might see no significant reduction in the
inventory.
Since the FY 2014 budget was submitted, we have not seen any
significant effect from VOW on total receipts in FY 2013 or the
beginning of FY 2014. In addition, we achieved a significant increase
in FY 2013 production. The net result was that we actually reached the
point where production exceeded receipts on a consistent basis in the
third quarter of FY 2013.
Question 52. In the January 2013 backlog plan, VA noted that it did
not take into account 774,000 claims that may be filed as a result of
the VOW to Hire Heroes Act and the Honoring America's Veterans and
Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act.
A. Does VA still expect those laws to generate an additional
774,000 claims?
Response. VA still expects that the VOW to Hire Heroes Act will
result in an increase in claims between FY 2013 and FY 2015. VA will
provide comprehensive benefits briefings at 250 sites worldwide.
Together with the Veterans Employment Initiative, this could result in
many additional claims as Servicemembers transition to civilian life.
Estimates show that the population assigned to Camp Lejeune between
1957 and 1987 was 630,000. Although the law provides health care to
certain eligible Veterans and their eligible family members, it does
not change the eligibility requirements for granting disability
compensation. However, as a result of increased media exposure to the
issue of contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, VA still expects that this
law could generate additional claims between FY 2013 and FY 2015.
B. What specific assumptions led VA to project in the fiscal year
2014 budget submission that less claims will be filed in 2013 and 2014
than VA projected in the backlog plan?
Response. As previously mentioned, the projections of received
claims VA's Strategic Plan to Eliminate the Compensation Claims
Backlog, submitted to Congress on January 25, 2013, were based on
assumptions made earlier in the budget cycle that included a higher
level of claims receipts and FTE than is reflected in the 2014 VA
Budget Submission. VA revised its projections prior to submission of
the 2014 budget to Congress based on FY 2013 actual experience to date
that reflected a lower volume of claims receipts than previously
projected. Projections are periodically updated based on recent
experience, the impact of the transformation initiatives, and enhanced
forecasting capabilities.
Question 53. The Winston-Salem regional office helps with national
missions, such as the Benefits Delivery at Discharge program and the
Quick Start program, in addition to handling claims from North
Carolinians. That office currently has about 50,000 pending claims.
A. For that workload, how many employees would be appropriate and
how many are there currently?
Response. Based on the RAM for FY 2012, the Winston-Salem RO
compensation rating claims processing FTE ceiling was 605. Due to
workload challenges, 25 additional FTE were approved in August 2012. As
of April 30, 2013, the actual on board FTE was 621.
B. What specific factors are considered in determining how claims
processing staff are allocated among the regional offices?
Response. The RAM is a systematic approach to distributing field
resources each fiscal year. The RAM uses a weighted model to assign
compensation and pension FTE resources based on RO workload in rating
receipts, rating inventory, non-rating receipts, and appeals receipts.
VBA leaders use the model as a guide, making some adjustments for
special circumstances or missions performed by individual ROs. Special
missions include the Appeals Management Center, the Records Management
Center, Day-One Brokering Centers, IDES processing sites, Benefits
Delivery at Discharge sites, Quick Start processing locations, national
call centers, fiduciary hubs, pension management centers, etc. Similar,
workload-based models are used for each VBA business line.
C. When did VA last assess the staffing needs of each regional
office and what did that assessment show?
Response. VBA assesses staffing needs in each RO at the beginning
of each fiscal year based on the RAM. In FY 2013, VBA shifted to a RAM
weighted more heavily on receipts and current workload, rather than the
previous model which was weighted more on performance. As a result,
some resources have been shifted to those ROs processing a greater
portion of claims receipts and those currently carrying a greater
portion of the claims inventory. The FY 2013 RAM has yet to be fully
implemented, since rebalancing FTE resources is dependent upon
attrition, and VBA must operate within its overall funding level. VBA
anticipates continued use of this workload-driven RAM going forward.
D. When is the next assessment scheduled to occur? Please share the
results of that review with the Committee.
Response. The RAM will be reviewed to ensure consistency with
achieving VBA's national mission and updated with current workload and
performance metrics for each RO at the beginning of FY 2014. VA can
share the results of the review with the Committee once it has been
finalized.
Question 54. VA has a number of initiatives underway to reach its
goal of a 98 percent accuracy rate.
A. In total, how much did VA spend in fiscal year 2012 to carry out
all of those quality initiatives?
Response. VBA's transformation plan is based on over 40 high-impact
initiatives across people, process, and technology through a systematic
and repeatable gap analysis process. It is difficult to separate each
initiative's precise impact on quality and productivity; however, the
FY 2012 funding for three of the initiatives with the greatest impact
on quality is provided below:
VBMS: $23.9 million (VBA GOE funding)
Challenge training: $9.5 million
Quality Review Teams: $51 million
B. In total, how much is VA expecting to spend in fiscal year 2013
to carry out all of those quality initiatives, including the quality
review teams at each regional office?
Response. As previously noted, several initiatives will impact
quality. A summary of FY 2013 funding for the primary initiative
focused on improving quality is provided below:
VBMS: $20.8 million (VBA GOE funding)
Challenge training: $10.1 million
Quality Review Teams: $52 million
Station Enhancement Training: $925,000
C. In total, how much is VA requesting for fiscal year 2014 to
carry out all of those quality initiatives, including the quality
review teams at each regional office?
Response. For FY 2014, VBA has requested the following funding for
these initiatives:
VBMS: $35.7 million
Challenge training: $9.9 million
Quality Review Teams: $53 million
D. Nationwide, how many full-time equivalents are currently
assigned to these quality review teams?
Response. Currently, there are 583 Quality Review Specialists
nationwide.
E. If the fiscal year 2014 budget request is adopted, how many
individuals Nation-wide would be assigned to these teams?
Response. During the development and piloting of the Quality Review
Team (QRT) positions, analysis showed an appropriate staffing ratio of
one Quality Review Specialist to 15 claims processors. VBA anticipates
continuing to utilize this staffing ratio for QRT positions during FY
2014. Since RO staffing will remain consistent from FY 2013 to FY 2014,
there will be no change to the number of Quality Review Specialists in
FY 2014.
Question 55. In the 2012 PAR, VA indicated that the use of
Disability Benefits Questionnaires has ``resulted in more timely rating
decisions, fewer duplicated examinations, a reduced need for VA
examinations, and a potential to improve rating accuracy.''
A. Please provide any statistics on the timeliness of rating
decisions in cases involving Disability Benefits Questionnaires
compared to cases that do not.
Response. All Veterans benefit from the efficiencies built into the
Disability Benefits Questionnaires (DBQ) tools. Submitting a claim with
a DBQ completed fully and accurately by a treating clinician can
obviate the need to request a C&P examination, thus reducing the time
required to obtain all the evidence necessary to decide the claim.
Additionally, since DBQs are streamlined, condition-focused, and
capture the specific rating criteria needed to evaluate a medical
condition, they elicit from the examiner responses to very specific
questions that yield all necessary facts to evaluate a disability
claim. Since the initiation of the DBQ process in 2012, VA has received
just over 15,000 DBQs from treating clinicians and more than 2.54
million DBQs completed through the C&P exam process.
At this time, there is insufficient data to compare the differences
in timeliness of rating decisions in cases involving DBQs with those
that do not as there are a limited number of cases in which DBQs are
not used. Additionally, other factors may affect timeliness which are
not related to DBQ use, such as requesting military and other Federal
records.
B. Please provide any statistics on the number of duplicated
examinations that have been avoided as a result of the use of
Disability Benefits Questionnaires and the cost savings associated with
that reduction.
Response. Because DBQs are streamlined, condition-focused, and
capture the specific rating criteria needed to evaluate a medical
condition, they elicit from the examiner responses to very specific
questions that yield all necessary facts to evaluate a disability
claim. Therefore, the DBQ examination report is less frequently found
insufficient for rating purposes, reducing the number of additional
exams on any given Veteran's claim. However, there is insufficient data
related to a measurable difference in the number of duplicate
examinations requested. This is not because the value and efficiency of
DBQs is not being seen, but because of other factors that held the
national insufficiency rate steady since the implementation of DBQs.
C. Please provide any statistics on the reduction of VA
examinations attributable to the use of Disability Benefits
Questionnaires and the cost savings associated with that reduction.
Response. The data set of DBQs completed by treating clinicians is
too small to allow for accurate measure of overall examination
avoidance. However, conservatively assuming that half of the DBQs
completed by a treating clinician avoided the need for a C&P
examination, it is possible that 7,500 fewer examinations were ordered.
With the average cost of an examination at $500, this equates to $3.75
million in cost savings. Again, these are estimates based on a non-
statistically significant sample of DBQs. VBA anticipates that the
examination avoidance figure will actually be higher once DBQs are
fully automated and become the norm for use by treating clinicians.
Question 56. In the fiscal year 2014 budget request, VA projects
that VA will complete 1.1 million claims in fiscal year 2013 and 1.3
million claims in fiscal year 2014.
A. If those projections are accurate, how many claims does VA
expect would need to be completed in fiscal year 2015 in order to meet
VA's goal of eliminating the backlog by 2015?
Response. Over the last 6 months, VBA has received a lower volume
of claims than previously projected. From October 1, 2012, through
June 3, 2013, VBA received 5.7 percent fewer receipts than last year at
the same time. As a result, VA will revise its estimates of the number
of completed claims needed through FY 2015 in connection with
developing the FY 2015 budget submission. Projections are periodically
updated based on recent experience, the impact of the transformation
initiatives, and enhanced forecasting capabilities. Eliminating the
claims backlog in 2015 remains VA's goal.
B. What specific performance outcomes suggest to VA that that level
of output during 2015 is possible?
Response. These increased levels of output are possible due to the
implementation of VA's comprehensive Transformation Plan, which is
designed to eliminate the claims backlog and achieve our goal of
processing all claims within 125 days at a 98-percent accuracy level in
2015. This major transformation in claims processing includes a series
of tightly integrated people, process, and technology initiatives that
are being implemented according to a carefully developed multi-year
timeline. The transformational initiatives are being rolled out in a
progressive, intentional sequence that enables efficiency gains while
minimizing risks to performance. We are confident that we will meet
this goal as we continue to implement the Transformation Plan. It is
important to note that the timeline for eliminating the claims backlog
could be affected if policymakers establish new presumptive conditions,
courts make new precedential decisions, or legislators make laws that
establish new entitlements. VA continues to monitor the performance
impact of transformation as well as other external factors that could
potentially have an impact.
VBA has increased its rating output in each of the past 3 months,
and in May 2013, VBA set production history by processing more claims
(109,097) than any previous month. Additionally, VA is eliminating the
backlog by prioritizing claims for those Veterans who have been waiting
the longest for a decision, including claims over 2 years old, followed
by claims over 1 year old. From April 19, 2013, through June 19, 2013,
VBA successfully processed 65,507 2-year-old claims, and 67,050 1-year-
old claims. Over this same period, VBA reduced its backlog, defined as
those claims pending for over 125 days, by over 58,000 claims, from
588,868 to 530,104.
Question 57. VA's ``appeals resolution time'' in fiscal year 2012
was 866 days, an increase of 210 days since fiscal year 2010.
A. How much in total is expected to be expended by the Veterans
Benefits Administration (VBA) to process appeals during fiscal year
2013?
Response. In FY 2013, VBA estimates that funding to process appeals
will total $84.5 million, including $63 million for Decision Review
Officers assigned at ROs and $21.5 million on Appeals Management Center
staffing and operations. There are also VSRs and RVSRs assigned to
Appeals Teams at ROs. However, VBA is unable to specifically identify
the payroll costs associated with those employees.
B. What level of funding is requested in total for fiscal year 2014
for purposes of processing appeals by VBA?
Response. The FY 2014 budget includes $85.9 million for processing
appeals, including $64 million for Decision Review Officers assigned at
ROs and $21.9 million on Appeals Management Center staffing and
operations. There are also VSRs and RVSRs assigned to Appeals Teams at
ROs. However, VBA is unable to specifically identify the payroll costs
associated with those employees.
Question 58. In the fiscal year 2014 budget request, the
discretionary request for the disability compensation program includes
$526 million for Other Services. Please provide a detailed itemized
list of how that funding would be utilized during fiscal year 2014. To
the extent any of the funds will be spent on contracts, please explain
the nature of the contract and the expected outcomes.
Response. The discretionary request for $526 million contains
funding of $420.6 million for contracts that directly impact or support
the delivery of disability compensation claims:
Contract Medical Examinations ($239.1 million)
Veterans Claims Intake Program (scanning) ($132.1 million)
Program management and systems engineering support
services for the Veterans Benefits Management System ($32.3 million)
Development of instructional methodologies and systems
that support the training and skills development of the disability
compensation workforce ($8.2 million)
Program management, scientific, technical, and engineering
support for Compensation Service and the VBA Operations Center ($6.2
million)
The request also includes $31.9 million for studies and analyses
that support strategic planning ($16.4 million) and innovation ($15.5
million).
The remaining $73.5 million is for administrative and management
support costs associated with VBA-internal support agreements, such as
Franchise Fund fees for Debt Management Center, Financial Services
Center, Computer Data Center Operations services, and for support
attained via interagency agreements with the Department of Homeland
Security, the Department of the Treasury, and the National Archives and
Records Administration.
Question 59. In response to questions about VA's fiscal year 2012
budget request, VA provided this prediction: ``Investments in
information technology will begin to pay dividends as deployment of the
Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS) begins in 2012, allowing for
increased productivity and reduced operating costs in processing
disability compensation claims.'' Then, in response to questions about
the fiscal year 2013 budget request, VA indicated that ``VA will be
able to better examine increases in productivity and reduction in costs
once additional software releases are deployed in November 2012 and
May 2013.''
A. Please quantify any increased productivity or reduced costs
realized during fiscal year 2012 and to date in fiscal year 2013 as a
result of VBMS, in terms such as individual productivity of claims
processing staff, cost per case, or overall operating costs.
Response. VBA began deployment of VBMS Generation 1 in
September 2012, concluding the calendar year with 18 stations on the
system. It is important to note that early adopters of first generation
technology participated heavily in the development and refinement of
efficiencies and functionality of the system, which had a direct impact
on productivity as a result of the live test environment. These
stations paved the way for the accelerated deployment of VBMS, which
will enable VBA to track and measure productivity outcomes in a
consistent and accurate manner once all ROs are operating with the new
technology and after a period of stabilization. The first 18 stations
enabled VBA to also test business processes and functionality for the
establishment of eFolders in VBMS and the model for tracking and
shipping of paper-based claims with two scanning vendors. Under VBA's
accelerated VBMS deployment schedule, all ROs have implemented VBMS as
of June 10, 2013. However, nearly 557,000 paper claims in our current
inventory remain to be processed.
It is difficult to extract the impact of each transformation
initiative from the combined people, process, and technology model to
determine individual initiative's contribution to productivity
outcomes. At the end of April 2013, approximately 5,800 claims have
been fully processed in VBMS in an average of 121.1 days fiscal year to
date.
B. Please quantify the increased productivity and reduced costs now
expected in fiscal year 2014 as a result of VBMS, in terms such as
individual productivity of claims processing staff, cost per case, or
overall operating costs.
Response. VBMS is projected to provide a 20 percent increase in
productivity in FY 2014.
Question 60. In connection with VA's fiscal year 2012 budget
request, VA was asked to explain VA's plan to bring down the backlog of
disability claims by 2015. In part, VA responded that ``productivity *
* * will rise from 89 annual claims per [compensation and pension]
direct labor FTE in 2012 to 129 in 2015.''
A. Now, how many claims are projected to be completed during fiscal
year 2015 per compensation and pension direct labor FTE?
Response. Our current estimates suggest a productivity of 100 to
101 per direct FTE in FY 2015 and 90 to 91 per direct FTE in FY 2014,
after finishing FY 2013 at approximately 81 per direct FTE. The 81
figure reflects a slow first six months of FY 2013 as the integrated
lanes and accelerated fielding of VBMS approached completion and a very
robust productivity the final six months of FY 2013.
B. What specific metrics or performance outcomes lead VA to
conclude that that level of productivity per FTE is attainable?
Response. As discussed in question 51, our assumptions for FY 2014
and FY 2015 productivity in the January 2013 plan reflected a high risk
assumption of our ability to deal with a large number of VOW-related
claims relatively quickly in comparison to the traditional receipts we
expected. The final six months of FY 2013 showed a sustained production
per direct FTE of almost 93 claims due to Transformation. Continued
Transformation is expected to permit achieving even higher levels of
productivity per direct FTE in FY 2014 and FY 2015.
Question 61. According to information provided in connection with
the fiscal year 2013 budget request, VBA planned to expend $46.9
million in fiscal year 2013 to pay for claims processing staff to work
overtime.
A. During fiscal year 2012, how much in total was actually expended
to pay for overtime work by claims processing staff and what outcomes
were achieved as a result of those overtime hours?
Response. In FY 2012, $42.9 million was spent on overtime for C&P
claims processing. Approximately 50,000 rating claims were completed
during overtime.
B. During fiscal year 2013, how much is now expected to be spent on
overtime by claims processing staff and what outcomes are expected to
be achieved as a result of those overtime hours?
Response. VBA recently reallocated an additional $32.9 million for
mandatory overtime for C&P claims processing, bringing the total
overtime for C&P claims processing in FY 2013 to $65.5 million. VBA
anticipates approximately 80,500 claims completed on overtime in FY
2013.
C. For fiscal year 2014, what level of funding is requested to pay
for overtime hours worked by claims processing staff and what outcomes
are expected to be achieved as a result of those overtime hours?
Response. Of the $45 million budgeted for overtime, VBA anticipates
using approximately $40 million to fund overtime for C&P claims
processing. FTE productivity is expected to be higher during FY 2014,
resulting in an estimated 53,000 claims completed on overtime during FY
2014.
Question 62. In VA's testimony before the Committee on the fiscal
year 2013 budget request, the Secretary indicated that ``VA plans an
aggressive communications strategy surrounding the release of
[additional Disability Benefits Questionnaires] that will promote the
[fully-developed claims (FDC)] program.'' VA's responses to post-
hearing questions also indicated that VA was ``considering promoting
the program by implementing an FDC training course for Veterans Service
Officers * * * and disseminating FDC program information, benefit
applications, and marketing materials, such as an FDC program trifold
brochure, to VSOs, Veterans, and other potential claimants.''
A. How many fully-developed claims are expected to be filed during
fiscal year 2013 and during fiscal year 2014?
Response. VA is on track to receive more than 80,000 fully
developed claims (FDCs) in FY 2013, and projects to receive more than
200,000 FDCs in FY 2014.
B. To date in fiscal year 2013, how many days on average is it
taking to complete fully-developed claims?
Response. FDCs are taking an average of 121 days to complete as of
September 17, 2013.
C. For fiscal year 2014, how long is it projected to take to
complete fully-developed claims?
Response. In FY 2014, an FDC is projected to take an average of 100
days.
D. For fiscal year 2013, how much is expected to be spent on FDC
marketing materials and on an FDC training course?
Response. In FY 2013, VBA's Benefits Assistance Service has
$450,000 allocated for FDC marketing materials and FDC training.
E. For fiscal year 2014, what level of funding is requested for
purposes of promoting the fully-developed claims program? Please
specify the amounts, if any, requested for an FDC training course and
for marketing materials.
Response. In FY 2014, VBA's Benefits Assistance Service has
$450,000 allocated for FDC marketing materials and FDC training.
Question 63. VA processes claims at 56 regional offices around the
country and those offices vary in the quality and timeliness of their
decisions.
A. For fiscal year 2012, please identify the specific regional
offices with the highest attrition rates for claims processing
personnel.
Response.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012
Station* Attrition
Rate**
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fargo..................................................... 17.18%
Honolulu.................................................. 14.87%
Indianapolis.............................................. 13.29%
Wilmington................................................ 13.28%
Chicago................................................... 12.17%
Albuquerque............................................... 12.12%
Boston.................................................... 11.05%
Anchorage................................................. 10.84%
San Juan.................................................. 10.77%
Denver.................................................... 10.65%
Reno...................................................... 10.45%
Baltimore................................................. 10.40%
Oakland................................................... 9.79%
Newark.................................................... 9.23%
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Stations with > 9% attrition for claims staff
** VSRs, RVSRs and DROs only
Attrition defined as employees who left VBA
B. What are the expected attrition rates for claims processing
positions during fiscal year 2013 and fiscal year 2014?
VBA Response. Based on a 5-year average of 7.57 percent and a
slight downward trend, we can estimate VBA-wide attrition to be 7
percent for each of the next 2 years. Please note: We define attrition
for the purposes of this response as employees who leave VBA.
Question 64. In response to questions regarding the fiscal year
2013 budget request, VA indicated that it planned to provide disability
examinations to veterans residing overseas using contractors as well as
VA employees.
A. How many examinations are expected to be provided through
contractors during fiscal year 2013 and 2014 and how much would be
expended for that purpose?
Response. In FY 2013, $4.798 million was budgeted for disability
exams and associated travel to support 1,500 Veterans in residing
overseas, with $575,000 paid to VHA contractors for performance of
these disability exams in supported locations (Germany and Japan). For
FY 2014, $4.316 million was budgeted for disability exams and
associated travel to support an estimated 1,550 Veterans.
B. How many examinations are expected to be provided through VA
employees during fiscal year 2013 and 2014 and how much would be
expended for that purpose?
Response. VHA employees have not conducted overseas examinations in
FY 2013. There are no examinations scheduled for either the remainder
of FY 2013 or FY 2014. The Office of Disability and Medical Assessment
(DMA) plans to use the Disability Examination Management contract to
the greatest extent possible to provide examinations to Veterans
residing at specific geographic locations overseas. DMA has executable
plans to deploy a small contingent of internal staff, if necessary.
Question 65. In response to questions about the fiscal year 2013
budget request, VA indicated that it was requesting $10 million in
order to contract with private entities to retrieve medical records
from private medical providers.
A. In total, how much was spent on that initiative during fiscal
year 2012 and what was the average time it took the contractors to
obtain private medical records (or otherwise close out the development
action)?
Response. VBA spent $508K in FY 2012 on the private medical records
initiative. The average time to obtain private medical records or
acceptable responses (none available or destroyed) from medical
providers was 11.5 days.
B. How much is now expected to be spent on this initiative during
fiscal year 2013 and how long on average is it currently taking the
contractors to obtain private medical records (or otherwise close out
the development action)?
Response. VBA obligated $2.1 million in FY 2013 to continue the
private medical records pilots at the ten pilot ROs: Chicago,
Indianapolis, Houston, Jackson, Portland, Phoenix, New York, St. Louis,
New York, and Waco. The average time for contractors to obtain private
records remains around 11.5 days.
C. Is any funding requested with respect to this initiative for
fiscal year 2014? If so, please specify the amount.
Response. VA requested $10 million in FY 2014, the estimated annual
cost to run the program nationally.
Question 66. According to the 2012 PAR, VA plans to continue
efforts to revise the disability rating schedule during fiscal year
2013.
A. How much in total was actually expended during fiscal year 2012
to update the disability rating schedule? Please provide an itemized
list of how that funding was expended and what results were achieved
with that funding.
Response. VA is in the process of updating the VASRD. As part of
this process, members of Compensation Service, Regulations Staff hosted
multiple public forums and gathered scientific evidence regarding
disabling conditions and their impact on the average impairment of
earnings capacity. These public forums were also used as a platform to
solicit public input regarding these deliberations. In addition, during
these forums, working groups were formed to support the ongoing review
process. For FY 2012, the non-payroll expenditures for the VASRD
modernization project totaled $366,139. The table below shows a
breakdown.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Event Date Expenses
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VASRD FORUM--NYC........................... October 11-20 $84,626
VASRD Forum--NYC........................... January 17-26 $52,688
Travel..................................... FY 2012 $27,467
Medical consultation contract.............. FY 2012 $201,358
----------
TOTAL.................................. ................ $366,139
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The medical consultation contract provided subject matter expertise
to assist with medical content relevant to rating disabilities, consult
on policy issues and revisions to the disability benefits
questionnaires, and various other responsibilities.
B. During fiscal year 2013, how much in total does VA currently
plan to expend to revise the rating schedule? Please provide an
itemized list of how that funding has been or will be expended and what
results have been or are expected to be achieved with that funding.
Response. So far in FY 2013, an event focused on mental health
disorders was held on May 1 and 2, with expenses totaling $4,300, and a
meeting focused on skin diseases was held from March 28 through
April 5, with expenses totaling $2,000.
VA plans to fund additional VASRD modernization project conferences
this year. These conferences are needed for the body systems still
pending final review and revision, which include the musculoskeletal
system and mental disorders. The purpose of these work group
conferences is to intensify the review process and to expedite
research, development, and deliberations within these sections of the
VASRD. The diverse work group includes medical doctors, psychologists,
attorneys, Veterans Service Organization representatives, and VA
adjudicators. The benefit of these conferences is the generation of
more ideas and energizing of the collaborative process which is at the
heart of the VASRD review. Each conference will require participants to
travel, with estimated costs of $12,000 to $15,000.
VBA medical officers responsible for drafting the VASRD regulations
will also meet with SMEs to obtain clinical expertise and opinions
useful in revising the VASRD regulations. The estimated cost for FY
2013 is $15,000.
C. What level of funding is requested for fiscal year 2014 for
purposes of updating the rating schedule and how are those funds
expected to be spent? What results are expected to be achieved with
that funding?
Response. It is anticipated that conferences, travel, and outside
consultation will be completed in FY 2013. In FY 2014, remaining work
including workgroup participation, regulation drafting, and internal
and external concurrence, will be accomplished by VA without travel or
outside consultation. VA has $15,000 in funding in FY 2014 to support
any unforeseen travel or conferences. There are currently 5 FTE
assigned to the VASRD modernization project. VA anticipates that two
body systems (endocrine and hematologic/lymphatic) will progress
through external concurrence during FY 2014, with final publication in
FY 2015. For the remainder of the body sytems, VA anticipates that they
will progress through the workgroup, drafting and internal concurrence
phases during FY 2014. Final publication of all body systems is
expected to be completed in 2016. A copy of the updated project
management plan and operating plan, as well as the project schedule,
will be provided when completed.
Question 67. According to a September 2012 Government
Accountability Office (GAO) report, VA has experienced delays and
challenges in obtaining earnings loss studies needed to complete
revisions to the disability rating schedule. The fiscal year 2014
budget request reflects that ``VA is in the process of issuing a
request for proposals for data-driven earnings loss studies.''
A. Since 2009, how much has VA expended in relation to earnings
loss studies and what results have been achieved with that funding?
Response. Since 2009, VA has entered into two contracts for
earnings loss studies. Both contracts were made with a single
contractor and most of the work completed was in support of development
of an earnings loss model. Other expected deliverables were not
completed prior to the decision to terminate the contract, including
the following: a database of comparison groups; a compilation of
service-connected Veterans and comparison group(s); and a peer-reviewed
final report. The contractor was also unable to apply the earnings loss
model formula it had developed for data acquisition because the
contract was terminated before the income data was supplied. VA has
paid $158,820 with the last payment made on these contracts in FY 2011.
The Contracting Officer is currently in the process of making a final
termination determination on the total amount that is due to the
contract based on the partial work completed. VA estimates that the
total payment for both contracts is approximately $663,000. From this
contractor, VA gained insight regarding limitations on the scope of any
future earnings loss study. For example, VA learned that due to
statutory limitations, individualized earnings data cannot be obtained
from the Internal Revenue Service and therefore, any future plans for
an earnings loss study cannot aspire to use individualized data.
Additionally, earnings loss models cannot be designed to forecast
earnings loss for each available diagnostic code because there is
insufficient data available to build a statistically competent and
reliable model for each diagnostic code.
B. In fiscal years 2013 and 2014, how will funding for earnings
loss studies be expended and what results are expected to be achieved?
Response. For FY 2013, VA anticipates no costs for the earnings
loss studies. VA is currently preparing for earnings loss studies in FY
2014 and will seek bids from contractors with demonstrated experience
in administering such studies for other government entities to yield an
adequate analysis of earnings loss for each of the major diagnostic
codes in the VASRD. VA estimates that $1.8 million will be spent on
earnings loss studies in FY 2014.
Question 68. In response to questions about VA's fiscal year 2013
budget request, VA indicated that there were 15 full-time employees at
the Louisville regional office dedicated to processing claims based on
exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
A. Currently, how many employees at the Louisville regional office
are dedicated to handling these claims?
Response. There are currently 15 full-time employees at the
Louisville RO dedicated to processing claims based on exposure to
contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
B. If the fiscal year 2014 budget request is approved, how many
employees would be dedicated to handling these claims at the Louisville
regional office?
Response. During fiscal year 2014, the number of full-time
employees dedicated to processing Camp Lejeune claims will remain at
15. Adjustments will be made as necessary based on the number of claims
received including those received in connection with the Honoring
America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012.
While this law does not change the eligibility requirements for
granting entitlement to compensation, it could potentially drive an
increased volume of claims related to Camp Lejeune, as new healthcare
benefits are provided to certain eligible Veterans and their eligible
family members.
Question 69. As one strategy to deal with VA's backlog of
disability claims, VA has brokered claims between VA offices. In
response to questions about the fiscal year 2013 budget request, VA
indicated that it ``has not completed an analysis on the cost-
effectiveness of brokered work.''
A. In total, during fiscal year 2012, how many paper-based claims
were brokered by VA?
Response. In support of its national priorities and workload
management strategies, VBA brokers its claims processing workload among
ROs and dedicated brokering sites as necessary. A total of 46,591
paper-based claims were completed as part of the national brokering
strategy. This represents 4.5 percent of the 1,044,207 claims completed
during FY 2012.
B. During fiscal year 2013 and fiscal year 2014, how many paper-
based claims does VA expect to broker?
Response. Through April 2013, a total of 25,558 paper-based claims
have been brokered this fiscal year. Workload demands and other factors
may affect the actual volume of paper-based claims that are brokered.
National deployment of Generation One of VBMS (our baseline system)
began in 2012, with 18 ROs operational as of the end of the calendar
year. Deployment to the remaining stations, originally scheduled to be
completed by the end of CY 2013, was accelerated and completed as of
June 2013, likely reducing the number of paper claims that will be
physically brokered in FY 2014.
C. What is the status of efforts to determine the cost-
effectiveness of brokering paper-based claims?
Response. With the implementation of VBMS, a cost-effectiveness
study is no longer warranted. As VBMS will allow for a completely
electronic claims process, future brokering efforts will be conducted
in a paperless environment, thus eliminating the need for the transfer
of paper-based claims folders among ROs.
Question 70. VA and the Department of Defense (DOD) have rolled out
worldwide an Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES), through
which an injured or ill servicemember, before being medically
discharged from the military, completes both the DOD disability rating
system and the VA disability rating process.
A. During fiscal year 2012, how much in total did VA expend with
respect to the Integrated Disability Evaluation System and how many VA
employees were dedicated to the IDES process?
Response. During FY 2012, VBA spent approximately $54.8 million for
salaries and GOE for 490 FTE dedicated to disability claims processing
in the IDES process. Compensation staff and VR&E Counselors are
included in this count. Veterans filing claims through the IDES sites
are captured in the nationwide Veteran caseload count and total
compensation benefit obligations; therefore, mandatory funding cannot
be separated for this program.
B. During fiscal year 2013, how much in total does VA expect to
expend with respect to the Integrated Disability Evaluation System and
how many VA employees will be dedicated to the IDES process?
Response. During FY 2013, VBA estimates it will spend approximately
$63.0 million for salaries and GOE to support 580 FTE dedicated to
disability claims processing in the IDES process.
C. During fiscal year 2014, how much in total is VA requesting with
respect to the Integrated Disability Evaluation System and how many VA
employees would that level of funding support?
Response. During FY 2014, VBA estimates it will spend approximately
$63.6 million for salaries and GOE to support 580 FTE dedicated to
disability claims processing in the IDES process.
Pension and Fiduciary Service
Question 71. In response to questions about the fiscal year 2013
budget request, VA indicated that the Pension and Fiduciary Service was
``working with VA's Office of Enterprise Development (OED) to replace
the current electronic workload management system, Fiduciary-
Beneficiary System (FBS)'' and that ``[c]ompletion of the first phase
is expected in the Fall of 2012.'' Please provide an updated timeline
for the replacement of FBS.
Response. Pension and Fiduciary Service began its pilot of the
replacement system, the Beneficiary Fiduciary Field System, on
August 30, 2013. The fiduciary hubs at Louisville, KY and Lincoln, NE
were selected as the initial sites to test the functionality and
capability of this application. National deployment of the replacement
system is scheduled for December 31, 2013.
Question 72. In response to questions about VA's fiscal year 2012
budget request, VA provided this information: ``The 2012 budget request
does not include funds to develop an online training program for
fiduciaries but we have conducted research to identify existing
certification programs. We plan to develop a system in 2013.'' Then, in
response to questions about the fiscal year 2013 budget request, VA
indicated that ``[t]he online training program for fiduciaries is still
in the initial stages of development.''
A. Please provide an update on the status of this initiative.
Response. The first phase of the fiduciary training initiative is
publication of a new Fiduciary Guidebook for volunteer fiduciaries (92
percent of VA fiduciaries); most of whom are the relatives, caregivers,
and friends of beneficiaries in VA's fiduciary program and have a one-
on-one relationship with the beneficiary. The Guidebook will instruct
fiduciaries on their responsibilities, their duty to act independently
to determine the beneficiary's needs, the rights of beneficiaries, and
the procedures for completing an accounting. The intent is to clarify
the roles of VA, fiduciaries, and beneficiaries in the program, and
improve communications. It will also provide helpful answers to
frequently asked questions. The ``Guidebook for VA Fiduciaries'' is
currently available online at: http://benefits.va.gov/fiduciary/Fid_
Guide.pdf. Hard copy guidebooks will be published by the end of the
fiscal year.
The second phase of the fiduciary training initiative will target
paid and unpaid fiduciaries and will include web-based training, as
well as self-certification of the training material. The second phase
is expected to deploy in October 2014.
B. Does the fiscal year 2014 budget request include any funding to
advance this initiative?
Response. Yes, current funding is available to advance the
fiduciary training initiative into the second phase.
Question 73. In response to questions about VA's fiscal year 2013
budget request, VA indicated that the Pension and Fiduciary Service
``entered into a contract with Accurint, which is a service of
LexisNexis Risk Solutions, to provide instant criminal background
checks on prospective fiduciaries.''
A. How much is expected to be expended for this purpose during
fiscal year 2013?
Response. During FY 2013, Pension and Fiduciary Service expects to
expend $82,565 for the purpose of contracting for instant criminal
background checks on prospective fiduciaries.
B. How much is requested for this purpose for fiscal year 2014?
Response. Pension and Fiduciary Service does not anticipate an
increase in the contract amount from FY 2013 to FY 2014.
Question 74. In the fiscal year 2014 budget request, the
discretionary request for the pension, dependency and indemnity
compensation, burial, and fiduciary programs includes $17.5 million for
Other Services for fiscal year 2014. Please provide a detailed itemized
list of how that funding would be utilized during fiscal year 2014. To
the extent any of the funds will be spent on contracts, please explain
the nature of the contract and the expected outcomes.
Response. The discretionary request for $17.5 million contains
funding of $11.7 million for contracts that directly impact or support
the delivery of pension claims:
Contract Medical Examinations ($2.3 million)
Program management, scientific, technical, and engineering
support for Pension and Fiduciary Service ($1.2 million)
Development of instructional methodologies and systems
that support the training and skills development of the Pension and
Fiduciary workforce ($8.2 million)
The remaining $5.8 million is for administrative and management
support costs associated with VBA-internal support agreements, such as
Franchise Fund fees for Debt Management Center, Financial Services
Center, Computer Data Center Operations services, and for support
attained via interagency agreements with the Department of Homeland
Security, the Department of the Treasury, and the National Archives and
Records Administration.
Question 75. The fiscal year 2014 budget submission reflects that
VA ``is in the process of developing fiduciary regulations.'' What is
the expected timeline for completion of these regulations?
Response. The draft fiduciary regulations are among VA's highest
priority regulations. VA anticipates publication in the second quarter
of FY 2014.
Question 76. Between 2009 and 2012, there was a 128.2 percent
increase in the average days to complete burial claims. From 2010 to
2012, there was a 3.2 percent decrease in the amount of initial burial
claims submitted to VA, yet there was a 4.6 percent decrease in the
amount of claims processed.
A. What has led to the substantial increase in days to process
burial claims even though the number of claims has decreased?
Response. All burial claims are processed at the Pension Management
Centers (PMC) in addition to Dependency and Indemnity Compensation
(DIC) and pension claims. The PMCs have focused more resources on DIC
and pension claims due to the dramatic growth in volume of incoming
claims between FY 2010 and FY 2012. As a result, the average days to
process burial claims has increased. VA recognizes that burial benefits
are an important benefit and has reviewed the process for adjudicating
burial claims to determine how to streamline the process and improve
the timeliness of claims. To address these issues, VBA is working to
simplify and automate the burial program.
Current burial regulations require VA to obtain statements and
receipts from claimants showing that funeral expenses were incurred.
Upon receipt, VA calculates the precise payment, up to a statutory
maximum, and reimburses claimants. The process is paper and time
intensive and often requires claimants and service providers to cover
some portion of burial and funeral costs until VA reimburses them for
allowable costs.
Because the average cost of a funeral far exceeds the available
benefit and VA could pay certain burial benefits based on evidence in
its records at the date of a Veteran's death, VA is drafting proposed
regulations that, if approved, would enable it to automatically pay
certain burial benefits to eligible survivors upon a confirmed notice
of death. Such automatic payments are only possible with regulatory or
legislative authority for payment of burial benefits at a flat-rate and
without a formal claim. VA will, to the extent possible, seek such
authority through regulatory change. By establishing flat-rate payment
of burial benefits and automating the processing of burial claims, VA
will expedite the delivery of benefits to survivors and other claimants
and free up resources for working claims in the backlog.
B. The 2014 target for average days to complete burial claims is 90
days, while the strategic target is 21 days. What actions have been or
will be taken to reduce the average days to complete a burial claim?
Response. See answer provided in 76a, above.
Appeals Management Center
Question 77. Since 2003, certain cases remanded by the Board of
Veterans' Appeals have been handled at a centralized entity called the
Appeals Management Center.
A. During fiscal year 2012, how much was spent on the Appeals
Management Center and what level of staffing did that funding support?
Response. In FY 2012, $20.8 million was allocated to the Appeals
Management Center (AMC) for payroll, non-payroll, and travel. This
supported staffing of 249 FTE, of which 235 were production FTE.
B. During fiscal year 2013, how much is now expected to be spent on
the Appeals Management Center and what level of staffing will that
funding support?
Response. Approximately $20.4 million will be allocated to the AMC
for FY 2013 to support staffing of 230, of which 222 are production
FTE.
C. In total, how much funding is requested for fiscal year 2014 for
the Appeals Management Center and what level of staffing would that
funding support?
Response. Currently, estimated FY 2014 staffing levels are
consistent with FY 2013 levels, and consequently, funding is also
consistent with FY 2013.
D. For fiscal years 2013 and 2014, what are the key performance
targets for the Appeals Management Center?
Response. The FY 2013 AMC key performance targets consist of the
following metrics and corresponding targets:
Average days pending for claims from homeless Veterans--70
days
Claims inventory--13,500
Average days pending--145 days
Average days to complete--270 days
Claims production--30,000
12-month claims accuracy--90%
FY 2014 targets will be set at the beginning of the next FY, and
will consider actual performance in FY 2013 and VBA's organizational
goals for FY 2014.
Education
Question 78. According to the 2012 PAR, one reason that VA did not
meet its timeliness goals for processing education claims is that
``[o]vertime for claims processing was limited.''
A. How much was requested for overtime for fiscal year 2012, what
amount was expended, and what amount would have been adequate to help
prevent claims processing delays?
Response. VBA initially allocated $8.8 million in overtime funds
for education claims processing in FY 2012. In the second quarter of FY
2012, some funds were reallocated for overtime for disability
compensation claims processors. As VBA identified degradation in
performance metrics for education claims, additional funding was
secured for overtime. By the end of FY 2012, a total of $9 million was
spent on overtime for education claims processing.
B. How much has been allocated for overtime for fiscal year 2013
and how much would be adequate?
Response. VBA initially allocated $10 million in overtime funds for
the processing of education claims in FY 2013. Through September 7,
2013, $7.2 million has been spent. VBA anticipates reaching $8 million
in total expenses for FY 2013. This is lower than our initial
allocation due to the efficiencies resulting from the Chapter 33 Long-
Term Solution (LTS). We will continue to monitor the performance
metrics of education claims and adjust overtime spending in order to
maintain the expected levels of performance.
C. How much is requested for overtime for fiscal year 2014 and what
amount is expected to be adequate?
Response. With the improved functionality of LTS, VBA anticipates
allocating between $5 million and $7 million in overtime for education
claims processing. VBA will monitor Education performance metrics and
distribute additional overtime funding as needed in order to maintain
performance.
Question 79. According to the fiscal year 2014 budget request, the
discretionary request for Education programs includes $16.6 million for
Other Services. Please provide a detailed itemized list of how those
funds would be utilized during fiscal year 2014. To the extent any of
the funds will be spent on contracts, please explain the nature of the
contract and the expected outcomes.
Response. The $16.6 million request contains funding of $5.4
million for contracts that support Education Service, including:
Program management and systems engineering support
services for the Post-9/11 GI Bill ($4.4 million),
Development of instructional methodologies and systems the
support the training and skills development of the Education workforce
($600,000),
Publication and distribution of outreach pamphlets and
letters to satisfy intent of Public Law 101-237 and Public Law 105-368
($200,000),
National Student Clearinghouse Contract for degree
attainment data ($100,000), and
State Approving Agency Contract to support development and
implementation of a RAM ($100,000).
The remaining $11.2 million is for administrative and management
support costs associated with VBA-internal support agreements, such as
Franchise Fund fees for Debt Management Center, Financial Services
Center, Computer Data Center Operations services, and for support
attained via interagency agreements with the Department of Homeland
Security, the Department of the Treasury, and the National Archives and
Records Administration.
general administration
Office of the Secretary
Question 80. According to the fiscal year 2014 budget request, 88
FTE are requested for the Office of the Secretary, which is 1 less than
VA requested for fiscal year 2013 (89 FTE) and 11 less than VA now
expects for fiscal year 2013 (99 FTE).
A. Please provide a list of what positions, including pay-grades,
would be included in the Office of the Secretary and its subsidiary
offices if the fiscal year 2014 budget is approved.
Response.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grade #Positions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SES......................................................... 15
15.......................................................... 14
14.......................................................... 28
13.......................................................... 18
12.......................................................... 4
11.......................................................... 5
9........................................................... 3
8........................................................... 2
7........................................................... 1
6........................................................... 5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. Please provide a list of the 10 additional positions that were
added in fiscal year 2013.
Response. The positions identified in the 2014 budget reflect the
proper staffing to support the VA leadership initiatives that will move
the Department forward in achieving the Secretary's stated goals to
increase access, eliminate the claims backlog, and end homelessness for
Veterans. Staff positions are added/deleted accordingly as emerging
requirements develop from administration, Congressional, or other
external sources.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grade #Positions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
15.......................................................... 2
14.......................................................... 3
13.......................................................... 4
4........................................................... 1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. If the fiscal year 2014 budget is adopted, what (if any)
positions would be eliminated?
Response. No positions would be eliminated.
D. If the fiscal year 2014 budget is adopted, would any employees
be transferred from the Office of the Secretary to other positions
within VA? If so, please specify.
Response. There would be no requirement to move employees.
Question 81. According to the fiscal year 2014 budget request, the
Office of the Secretary now expects to spend $4.3 million on Other
Services during fiscal year 2013, which is $4.2 million more than VA
originally requested for fiscal year 2013 for Other Services. Please
provide an itemized list of how those additional funds ($4.2 million)
are expected to be spent.
Response. In FY 2012 the Presidents Management Council approved and
launched the Leading Executives Driving Government Excellence (Leading
EDGE) program. Ninety-five percent of the $4.2 million reflected in the
2014 budget reflects the estimated cost to run this program. The
program is funded through reimbursement funds provided from all Federal
agencies including VA and any unused funds are returned to the
appropriate organization.
Question 82. The Office of the Secretary requests $3.7 million for
Other Services for fiscal year 2014. Please provide an itemized list of
how those funds are expected to be expended.
Response. In FY 2012 the Presidents Management Council approved and
launched the Leading Executives Driving Government Excellence (Leading
EDGE) program. Ninety-five percent of the $4.2 million reflected in the
2014 budget reflects the estimated cost to run this program. The
program is funded through reimbursement funds provided from all Federal
agencies including VA and any unused funds are returned to the
appropriate organization.
Question 83. According to the fiscal year 2014 budget request, the
Office of the Secretary now expects to spend $495,000 on travel during
fiscal year 2013, which is $216,000 more than VA originally requested
for fiscal year 2013. Please provide an itemized list of how those
additional funds ($216,000) are expected to be spent. For example, how
many additional trips will that funding support and what would be the
expected purposes of those additional trips.
Response. Based on past trends the average travel budget for OSVA
is approximately $450k; OSVA was approved additional funds through
remaining carryover dollars, which allowed them to request a more
realistic travel budget sufficient to support Senior Leaders, and
related necessary staff, in executing travel that supports initiatives
that will move the Department forward in achieving the Secretary's
stated goals to increase access, eliminate the claims backlog, and end
homelessness for Veterans. The additional funds also support travel to
fulfill invitations from Members for constituent activities in their
districts.
Question 84. According to the fiscal year 2014 budget request, the
Office of the Secretary now expects to spend $265,000 for supplies and
materials during fiscal year 2013, which is $165,000 more than VA
originally requested for fiscal year 2013 for that purpose. Please
provide an itemized list of how those additional funds ($165,000) are
expected to be spent.
Response. Based on past trends the average supplies and materials
budget for OSVA is approximately $200k; OSVA was approved additional
funds through remaining carryover dollars, which allowed them to
request a more realistic budget for supplies and materials including
expenditures for increase in administrative requirements that support
initiatives that will move the Department forward in achieving the
Secretary's stated goals to increase access, eliminate the claims
backlog, and end homelessness for Veterans.
Question 85. According to the fiscal year 2014 budget request, the
Office of the Secretary now expects to spend $43,000 for printing and
reproduction during fiscal year 2013, which is $27,000 more than VA
originally requested for fiscal year 2013 for that purpose. Please
provide an itemized list of how those additional funds ($27,000) are
expected to be spent.
Response. The OSVA mission is support of the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs, Deputy Secretary and Chief of Staff the execution of missions,
goals, and priorities of the Administration to support our Nation's
Veterans. Increase in printing and reproduction costs support strategic
messaging initiatives necessary to effectively support initiatives that
will move the Department forward in achieving the Secretary's stated
goals to increase access, eliminate the claims backlog, and end
homelessness for Veterans.
Question 86. The Leading Executives Driving Government Excellence
(Leading EDGE) Program is an executive level training and leadership
program across the entire Federal Government and, according to the
budget request, among one of its activities is ``[a]rchiving program
benefits to the taxpayer in terms of savings and cost avoidance.''
A. For fiscal year 2012, how much savings and cost avoidance did
Leading EDGE produce?
B. For fiscal year 2013, how much savings and cost avoidance does
Leading EDGE expect to produce?
C. For fiscal year 2014, how much savings and cost avoidance does
Leading EDGE expect to produce?
D. For each fiscal year, please describe in detail the savings and
cost avoidances Leading EDGE achieved or expects to achieve.
Response for A-D:
The President's Management Council (PMC) initiated Leading EDGE
(Executives Driving Government Excellence) to: 1) inspire a seamless
and powerful senior executive corps with shared governmentwide identity
and vision; 2) craft solutions that have impact across agencies; and 3)
reignite the highest ideals of public service. To achieve these
objectives, Leading EDGE employs five integrated learning components:
workshops, leadership assessments, government performance projects
(GPPs), executive coaching, and a web portal for increased cross-agency
networking and problem-solving. In 2012, the program's first year,
fifteen Federal Government departments (totaling over 150 individual
bureaus) reimbursed Veterans Affairs (VA) to participate in Leading
EDGE.
Five teams of program participants engaged in the learning
component most linked to cost savings and avoidance when they developed
solutions to seven significant, cross-government challenges,
subsequently reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget and the
Office of Performance Management. The following list details the
estimated cost savings based on the proposals of the 2012 government
performance projects (GPPs):
Review of Federal shared services procurement data
suggests an annual possible savings of $5.5 billion (supported by
Industry reports) through centralized acquisition
Establishment of centralized disability hiring in the
Federal Government acts as a catalyst for better return on human
capital investment and could yield 0.01 percent in annual employment
savings ($30 million)
Reduction of Federal employee attrition gained through
enhanced leadership development efforts across government could reduce
annual employment costs by 10 percent ($30 billion)
Establishing interagency security clearance reciprocity
and convenient access to all government buildings in Federal agencies
for all employees could yield annual cost savings of $38 million
Establishment of a Grants Management University could
yield $30 million in grant administration savings given the number of
Federal employees engaged in grants management
Establishment and monitoring of Do Not Pay performance
metrics could substantially reduce the $115 billion in improper
payments by the Federal Government
A ``Shared-First'' approach to IT shared service delivery
could yield annual cost savings of $50 million and represent increased
buying power for IT investments
Some of the qualitative benefits represented in these projects,
such as expedited procurement processes, improved employee morale, and
strengthened senior executive leadership are just as valuable as more
easily quantified cost savings. The calendar year 2013 Leading EDGE
effort began only recently and specific GPPs are as yet undecided, so
estimated costs savings and avoidance for the year is not possible at
this time.
Question 87. The VA Center for Innovation was established in 2010
to ``identif[y], prioritize[], fund[], test[] and evaluate[] the most
promising solutions to VA's most important challenges to increase
Veteran access to VA services, improve the quality of services
delivered, enhance the performance of VA operations, and reduce or
control the cost of delivering those services that Veterans, their
families, and survivors receive.''
A. Please provide the Committee with the number of staff assigned
to the Center, the total cost for staff salaries, whether any of the
staff is considered to be reimbursable and which office would be
reimbursed, and whether any of the staff were reassigned from the
Office of Information and Technology.
Response. The VA Center for Innovation (VACI) is a matrixed
organization, modeled on private sector best-practices to better ensure
VA-wide collaboration and coordinated execution. Not all of the
individuals who perform work associated with VA innovations are members
of the Office of the Secretary staff. By design, only the Director and
the Deputy Director function out of OSVA. Most members of the VACI team
work full time on innovations while some contribute in an adjunct
status as a collateral duty in addition to the work they perform for
other parts of the Department. Ten staff are assigned to the Center, of
which four are military Veterans. None are considered reimbursable and
one is assigned from the Office of Information and Technology. The
total cost for staff salaries is $742,774.
B. Please provide the Committee with the amount of funding
available for grants through Industry Competitions, Employee
Competitions, Special Projects, and Prize Contests.
Response. The VA Center for Innovation (VACI) uses contracts as
opposed to grants to implement its work with private sector entities
involved in the implementation of innovations. To further reduce risk
to the government, VACI general requires use of firm fixed price
contracts. For prize challenges, VACI uses cash prizes as authorized by
the America COMPETES Act of 2010.
Over 95% of the VACI annual budget is used for direct funding of
innovations that increase access to healthcare and other services,
reduce or control the cost of delivering those services, improve
quality at VA, and enhance the Veteran experience with the services
they receive from VA. VACI uses, among other things, the Industry
Innovation Competition, Employee Innovation Competition, Special
Projects, and Prize Contests to achieve this. To be responsive to
Veteran needs across the VHA and VBA mission areas, VACI funding is
contained in three appropriations. Annually, as much as $35 million in
Medical Services, $11 million in IT, and $15 million in VBA General
Operating Expenses (GOE) is budgeted to fund innovations through VACI.
The amounts available in a given Fiscal Year for contracts through the
Industry Innovation Competition, Employee Innovation Competition, or
Special Projects varies depending on the specific focus areas for that
operating year.
C. How many proposals have been selected for implementation through
the VA Center for Innovation and the VA Innovation Initiative? Of these
proposals, how many have been fully implemented on a national scale?
Response. Since its inception in mid-2010, the VA Center for
Innovation (VACI) has selected and implemented 149 innovations. The
Industry Innovation Competitions and Employee Innovation Competitions
generate the vast majority of the selected innovations. Special
Projects tend to target emergent opportunities and/or innovations that
have a longer lifecycle than the typical 24-month period.
VACI functions as a supplier of novel and innovative capabilities
to the Department, principally VHA and VBA. VHA and VBA are responsible
for selection and funding of completed innovation projects for
implementation and deployment across their respective domains. The pace
and extent of deployment depends on the availability of resources,
project scope, and overall innovation maturity.
Innovation projects execute over a period of performance of 12 to
24 months following the selection, pilot design, and contracting
processes. A substantial part of the VACI portfolio is in either the
period of performance phase or the design and contracting phase. As
these projects mature over the coming months and years, they move into
the evaluation phase. Successful innovations compete for VHA and VBA
resources required for adoption and wider implementation.
20 innovation projects have already been or are being adopted by
VHA and VBA or are operating independently of VA in service to the
Department's mission. These completed innovations include 7 industry
innovations, 8 employee innovations and 5 innovations from the prize
competitions and special projects categories.
The seven Industry Innovations adopted include a number of new Blue
Button services that allow Veterans across the Nation to freely access
their medical records in a format that is portable across health
providers, projects that use technology to improve TBI care and mental
health screening, and a cardiology mobile application that allows
physicians to receive medical images on mobile devices for faster and
better care for Veteran heart patients.
Among the several successful Employee Innovations, eight projects
have been selected for full implementation. These projects cover a wide
range of clinical practices, such as radiology, patient safety, and
novel approaches to caring for brain injuries and brain diseases
affecting Veterans.
The Special Project and prize competition category generated the
first open source software community to lower costs and increase
innovation rates for VA's electronic health record, the first automated
claims processing prototype, a mobile application to connect any local
services that can help Veterans in need, and a new way for Veterans to
have their military service experience count for private sector
employment.
Board of Veterans' Appeals
Question 88. The fiscal year 2014 budget request includes $75
million for the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board).
A. With that funding and funding provided in Public Law 113-6, what
FTE level is expected during fiscal year 2013 and 2014?
Response. With the additional $8 million in funding provided, the
Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA or Board) will be able to sustain 538
full-time equivalents (FTE) in fiscal year (FY) 2013 and 613 FTE in FY
2014.
B. Please provide a breakdown of the positions that would be filled
in fiscal year 2014 and the number of staff for each type of position.
Response. All 100 positions hired in FY 2013 & FY 2014 with the
additional $8 million in funding will be staff attorneys.
C. With that funding and the funding provided in Public Law 113-6,
what performance outcomes does the Board expect to achieve during
fiscal years 2013 and 2014?
Response. BVA has initiated an aggressive hiring plan to execute
the $8 million in additional funding in FY 2013. In parallel to this
aggressive hiring plan, BVA has developed and implemented a robust new
training program that is designed to handle the high volume of incoming
staff to maximize efficiencies at the earliest point. All new FTE will
undergo this training. BVA expects production gains based on these
efforts to be realized beginning in FY 2014. There is direct
correlation between the number of FTE and the number of decisions
produced; looking at recent years, each FTE produces up to 90 decisions
per year.
D. Of that funding, how much will be used to pay for union
representation/union time?
Response. The Board pays for union representation/union time in two
ways:
(1) costs (salary and benefits) of union representatives; and
(2) costs (salary and benefits) of BVA's managers who work on
labor relations matters, labor relations counsel, and other
labor relations support staff.
In total, the Board expects to pay approximately $2,011,926 for
labor relations matters per annum.
Question 89. According to the fiscal year 2014 budget request, the
Board now expects to spend $2.3 million on Other Services during fiscal
year 2013, which is $253,000 higher than the amount requested for
fiscal year 2013, and the Board is requesting $2.3 million for Other
Services for fiscal year 2014.
A. Please provide an itemized list of how these funds are expected
to be spent during fiscal year 2013.
Response. The $2,253,000 for ``Other Services'' in FY 2013 will be
allocated as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Shred Document Shredding Contract for disposition of $20,000.00
sensitive records......................................
Lean Six Sigma Study of the Board's Operations for 344,000.00
identification of possible efficiencies in processes...
West Group Contract--On-line Access to the Westlaw Legal 290,000.00
Database for legal research by the Board's Veterans Law
Judge and attorney staff...............................
Transit Benefits........................................ 555,000.00
United Parcel Services (UPS) Appellant Records Shipment 70,000.00
Contract...............................................
Transcription Service (2 Vendors)....................... 663,000.00
Board's Share of VACO's Human Capital Investment Plan 130,000.00
(HCIP) Training Support................................
Financial Service Center (FSC).......................... 123,000.00
Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS).......... 50,000.00
Security Investigation Service.......................... 8,000.00
---------------
Total Other Services................................ $2,253,000.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. Please provide an itemized list of how these funds are expected
to be spent during fiscal year 2014.
Response. The $2,333,000 for ``Other Services'' in FY 2014 will be
allocated as
follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Shred Document Shredding Contract for disposition of $20,800.00
sensitive records......................................
Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Electronic Research 386,000.00
Materials Service and Maintenance Contract.............
West Group Contract--On-line Access to the Westlaw Legal 298,000.00
Database for legal research by the Board's Veterans Law
Judge and attorney staff...............................
Transit Benefits........................................ 558,200.00
United Parcel Services (UPS) Appellant Records Shipment 80,000.00
Contract...............................................
Transcription Service (2 Vendors)....................... 670,000.00
Board's Share of VACO's Human Capital Investment Plan 131,000.00
(HCIP) Training Support................................
Financial Service Center (FSC).......................... 125,000.00
DFAS.................................................... 51,000.00
Security Investigation Service.......................... 13,000.00
---------------
Total Other Services................................ $2,333,000.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Office of General Counsel
Question 90. According to the fiscal year 2014 budget request, VA
is seeking total resources of $101 million for the Office of General
Counsel and 701 FTE.
A. Please provide a list of the positions that would be filled in
fiscal year 2014 with that level of funding and the number of staff for
each position.
Response.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Supervisory Attorney....................................... 78.0
General Attorney........................................... 400.8
Paralegal Specialist....................................... 86.1
Legal Assistant............................................ 52.1
Other...................................................... 84.0
------------
Total.................................................... 701.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. For each regional counsel office, please identify the number and
type of staff that would be located at the office during fiscal year
2014.
Response:
Region 1
Supervisory Attorney..................................... 2
General Attorney......................................... 14.3
Paralegal Specialist..................................... 1
Legal Assistant.......................................... 3
Office Automation Clerk.................................. 0.5
------------
Total.................................................. 20.8Region 2
Supervisory Attorney..................................... 2
General Attorney......................................... 12.5
Paralegal Specialist..................................... 1.8
Legal Assistant.......................................... 1
------------
Total.................................................. 17.3Region 3
Supervisory Attorney..................................... 2
General Attorney......................................... 8
Paralegal Specialist..................................... 3
Program Analyst.......................................... 1
------------
Total.................................................. 14Region 4
Supervisory Attorney..................................... 2
General Attorney......................................... 9
Paralegal Specialist..................................... 4
Administrative Officer................................... 1
------------
Total.................................................. 16Region 5
Supervisory Attorney..................................... 2
General Attorney......................................... 8.4
Paralegal Specialist..................................... 2
Legal Assistant.......................................... 4
------------
Total.................................................. 16.4
Region 6
Supervisory Attorney..................................... 2
General Attorney......................................... 15.63
Paralegal Specialist..................................... 9
Legal Assistant.......................................... 3
------------
Total.................................................. 29.63Region 7
Supervisory Attorney..................................... 2
General Attorney......................................... 11
Paralegal Assistant...................................... 3
Legal Assistant.......................................... 3
Program Assistant........................................ 1
Administrative Officer................................... 1
------------
Total.................................................. 21Region 8
Supervisory Attorney..................................... 2
General Attorney......................................... 8
Paralegal Specialist..................................... 6
Legal Assistant.......................................... 0
------------
Total.................................................. 16Region 9
Supervisory Attorney..................................... 2
General Attorney......................................... 8
Paralegal Specialist..................................... 2
Legal Assistant.......................................... 2
------------
Total.................................................. 14Region 10
Supervisory Attorney..................................... 2
General Attorney......................................... 12
Paralegal Specialist..................................... 2
Legal Assistant.......................................... 3
------------
Total.................................................. 19Region 11
Supervisory Attorney..................................... 2
General Attorney......................................... 8.5
Paralegal Specialist..................................... 3
------------
Total.................................................. 13.5Region 12
Supervisory Attorney..................................... 2
General Attorney......................................... 10
Paralegal Specialist..................................... 7
Legal Assistant.......................................... 2
------------
Total.................................................. 21Region 13
Supervisory Attorney..................................... 2
General Attorney......................................... 10
Paralegal Specialist..................................... 4.8
Legal Assistant.......................................... 5
------------
Total.................................................. 21.8
Region 14
Supervisory Attorney..................................... 2
General Attorney......................................... 13
Paralegal Specialist..................................... 5
Legal Assistant.......................................... 3
------------
Total.................................................. 23Region 15
Supervisory Attorney..................................... 2
General Attorney......................................... 6.75
Paralegal Specialist..................................... 1
Administrative Officer................................... 1
------------
Total.................................................. 10.75Region 16
Supervisory Attorney..................................... 2
General Attorney......................................... 8
Paralegal Specialist..................................... 2
Legal Assistant.......................................... 1
------------
Total.................................................. 13Region 18
Supervisory Attorney..................................... 4
General Attorney......................................... 21.483
Paralegal Specialist..................................... 8
Legal Assistant.......................................... 1.6875
Secretary................................................ 2
------------
Total.................................................. 37.17Region 19
Supervisory Attorney..................................... 2
General Attorney......................................... 9
Paralegal Specialist..................................... 2
Legal Assistant.......................................... 1
------------
Total.................................................. 14Region 20
Supervisory Attorney..................................... 2
General Attorney......................................... 10.58
Paralegal Specialist..................................... 2.8
Legal Assistant.......................................... 2
------------
Total.................................................. 17.38Region 21
Supervisory Attorney..................................... 2
General Attorney......................................... 8
Paralegal Specialist..................................... 4
Legal Assistant.......................................... 0.8
------------
Total.................................................. 14.8Region 22
Supervisory Attorney..................................... 2
General Attorney......................................... 6
Paralegal Specialist..................................... 1
Legal Assistant.......................................... 2
------------
Total.................................................. 11Region 23
Supervisory Attorney..................................... 2
General Attorney......................................... 8
Paralegal Specialist..................................... 4
Legal Assistant.......................................... 3
------------
Total.................................................. 17Grand Total
Supervisory Attorney..................................... 46.00
General Attorney......................................... 226.14
Paralegal Specialist..................................... 78.40
Legal Assistant.......................................... 40.49
Administrative Officer................................... 3
Secretary................................................ 2
Program Analyst.......................................... 1
Program Assistant........................................ 1
Office Automation Clerk.................................. 0.5
------------
Grand Total............................................ 398.53
------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. If the fiscal year 2014 budget request is adopted, what would be
the expected total budget for each regional counsel office?
Response.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grand Total Regions........................ 398.53 $54,386,322
----------------------------
Front Office--VACO 101..................... 5 $883,170
Regs Office--VACO 101...................... 9 1,267,152
PSG I--VACO 101............................ 19.41 3,068,983
PSG II--VACO 101........................... 20 2,836,576
PSG III--VACO 101.......................... 23 3,778,669
PSG IV--VACO 101........................... 19.75 3,057,628
PSG V--VACO 101............................ 63.8 8,843,661
PSG VI--VACO 101........................... 41 6,891,740
PSG VII--VACO 101.......................... 101.5 14,486,378
----------------------------
Grand Total VACO......................... 302.46 $45,113,957
----------------------------
Funded Where Needed...................... ........... $1,484,721
----------------------------
Grand Total OGC........................ 701.0 $100,985,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 91. According to the fiscal year 2014 budget request, VA's
Office of General Counsel now expects to spend $1.3 million on Other
Services during fiscal year 2013, which is $169,000 higher than the
amount requested for fiscal year 2013 ($1.1 million). According to the
budget request, that amount changed ``due to the transfer of all [human
resources (HR)] functions from the regions into VACO.''
A. Please provide an itemized list of how these funds are expected
to be spent during fiscal year 2013.
Response. Refer to charts below.
Notes:
(1) Budget Object Classification (BOC) codes describe the
``nature'' of the service or article for which obligations are first
incurred.
(2) In executing the fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget, the Office of
General Counsel (OGC) now plans to spend $1.6 million on Other
Services. Due to an unanticipated increase in the number of retirements
among its leadership, OGC has incurred more household goods storage
costs and relocation expenses associated with hiring replacements for
the retired personnel. OGC offset the increased spending from its
planned expenditures on equipment.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
BOC 2580/81
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013
Classification Budget
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contracts--VACO--employee recognition, 2580 $52,555
framing, moving furniture, court reporters,
transcription...............................
Contracts--Regions--Notaries, Shredding...... 2580 8,702
Human Capital Investment Plan (HCIP)......... 2580 178,000
Security & Investigation (S&I)............... 2580 11,615
Office of Resolution Management (ORM)........ 2580 108,000
Financial Service Center (FSC)............... 2580 177,654
Record Center & Vault (RC&V)................. 2580 1,811
Child Care Subsidy........................... 2580 --
Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) 2580 69,264
Financial Disclosure Management System (ARMY) 2580 10,000
PIV Card..................................... 2580 12,960
OA&L Contract Support........................ 2580 57,054
eOPF Contract................................ 2580 22,631
USA Staffing Contract........................ 2580 17,534
USA Jobs Contract............................ 2580 4,344
--------------------------
Total.................................... 2580 $732,124
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
B. Please explain what impact this transfer of H.R. functions had
on the budget for each region.
Response. The transfer of H.R. functions to Central Office did not
impact the budgets of OGC's regions, in past years; the VA facility
providing local fiscal support for each of the 22 regions would process
our payroll and pay the associated fees. After the transfer, OGC must
now pay all associated payroll processing fees for its personnel,
wherever located. As a result, our Service Level Agreement with VA's
Financial Service Center (FSC) increased from $35K to $178K. FSC
charges OGC for common and administrative services included in payroll
processing, financial reporting and accounting services, Permanent
Change of Station travel, processing W-2's, and helpdesk support.
Question 92. The Office of General Counsel is requesting $1.2
million for Other Services for fiscal year 2014. Please provide an
itemized list of how these funds would be spent during fiscal year
2014.
Response. See Chart below.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Question 93. In response to questions about the fiscal year 2013
budget request, VA indicated that the Office of General Counsel planned
to spend $14,000 in 2012 on a ``Tort training video.'' What was the
purpose of this video and how has it been utilized?
Response. The actual cost of producing this video training module
was $1,478.90, which represented the cost of transporting a VA Office
of Information Technology (OIT) employee and his video equipment to a
Federal building in St. Louis at which OGC personnel were conducting
previously-scheduled face-to-face training on administrative tort claim
adjudication procedures. Editing and polishing the raw digital
recordings in-house saved the Department over $12,000 in professional
services and travel. The purpose of taping that session was to provide
a Web-based, on-demand, re-usable training resource for OGC personnel
regarding the processes and procedures to be followed in investigating
and adjudicating administrative tort claims filed against the VA
pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). The overall goal of
creating this Web-based training was to improve the quality and
consistency of legal service relating to torts across all of OGC's
regions, thereby improving service to Veterans who avail themselves of
the administrative tort adjudication process afforded by the FTCA. The
project has not yet launched, as the editing work must be done as
collateral duty and as other duties allow. OGC anticipates taking the
training live in August 2013, at which point the training will be
viewed by the approximately 150 OGC employees who are engaged in torts
practice. VA anticipates cost savings will be realized by eliminating
travel and other costs associated with bringing those employees
together to receive this training.
Question 94. Within the Office of General Counsel, Professional
Staff Group VII represents VA before the U.S. Court of Appeals for
Veterans Claims.
A. Currently, how many employees are assigned to Professional Staff
Group VII and what is the average number of active cases per attorney?
Response. Professional Staff Group (PSG) VII has 101.5 FTE onboard
and 43 active cases per attorney, on average. An ``active case'' is one
in which the Secretary has yet to file his dispositive pleading.
B. For fiscal year 2014, what level of funding is requested to
support Professional Staff Group VII and how many employees would that
level of funding support?
Response.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FTE Funding
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PSG VII....................................... 101.5 $14,487,244
------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. Please provide a list of the positions that would be filled with
that level of funding.
Response.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Supervisory Attorney....................................... 11.0
General Attorney........................................... 57.0
Paralegal Specialist....................................... 4.5
Legal Assistant............................................ 14.0
Clerks..................................................... 11.0
Management Analyst......................................... 1.0
Supervisory Program Specialist............................. 1.0
Support Services Specialist................................ 1.0
Supervisory Program Analyst................................ 1.0
------------
Total.................................................... 101.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
D. With the requested funding level, what would be the expected
average number of active cases per attorney during fiscal year 2014?
Response. The average number of active cases per attorney will be
maintained in the range between 45 and 50.
E. How many motions for extension of time did Professional Group
VII file during fiscal year 2012?
Response. PSG VII filed a total of 2,129 extension motions in FY
2012.
F. How many motions for extension of time has Professional Staff
Group VII filed to date during fiscal year 2013?
Response. During the period between October 1, 2012, and April 30,
2013, PSG VII filed approximately 1,053 extension motions.
Question 95. In response to questions about the fiscal year 2013
budget request, VA indicated that the Regulation Rewrite Project ``is
not expected to require additional resources, but the implementation of
these rules will require more resources over time'' for items such as
``training program revisions, manuals and forms updating, skills
certification materials, and [information technology] projects.'' VA
also indicated that ``[i]mplementation budget planning will occur in
2013.''
A. Has VA developed a comprehensive implementation plan for these
regulations? If so, please provide a copy of that plan to the
Committee.
Response. VA's implementation planning for the Regulation Rewrite
Project has been deferred in order to avoid conflicts with VA's highest
priority effort to eliminate the claims backlog by 2015. The timing for
publishing a final rule and the manner of implementation will be
determined by the Secretary at a future date depending upon the
progress being made on the claims backlog. In the meantime, VA is
preparing to publish the comprehensive 21st proposed rule responding to
comments from the public and Veterans Service Organizations submitted
for the previous 20 proposed rules. This consolidated proposed rule
encompasses all of the previous proposed rules and is expected to be
published in 2013.
B. Please provide the Committee with an updated timeline for
completion of this project.
Response. The Rewrite Project's staff currently expects to seek a
determination on implementation by the end of 2014 in order to afford
the Veterans Benefits Administration time for the necessary advance
implementation coordination and budget planning. This expectation could
be delayed, however, depending upon the status of VA's claims backlog.
VA's goal is to implement the Regulation Rewrite Project so that it
does not conflict with VA's claims transformation initiatives or impede
VA's progress in eliminating the claims backlog.
Office of Management
Question 96. According to the fiscal year 2014 budget request, the
Office of Management plans to spend $53 million on Other Services
during fiscal year 2013, which is $16.3 million more than VA had
requested for that purpose for fiscal year 2013. Please provide an
itemized list of how those funds would be expended during fiscal year
2013 and identify expenditures that were not anticipated in the fiscal
year 2013 budget request.
Response. The majority of the $16.3 million increase in obligations
is due to higher-than-expected requirements for the Defense Finance and
Accounting Service (DFAS) payroll processing services, which are funded
through reimbursements and Department-level initiatives funded from FY
2012 carryover. The following are details of how the funds will be
expended.
$5 million to DFAS for VA payroll processing. The Office
of Management pays for this Departmental cost and is reimbursed from
other VA programs that pay for their share of the costs.
$3 million to fund activities for VA's Financial Statement
Audit, which includes audit remediation, policy updates support, and
vendor follow-up.
$1.2 million to address Improper Payments Elimination
Recovery Act requirements.
$1 million to conduct Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) Circular A-123 reviews under the Office of Business Oversight.
$400 thousand to support the VA Center of Innovation.
VA expects to obligate other contracts this fiscal year including:
$2 million for enhanced data analysis capability to
support better decisionmaking.
$1.2 million for budgetary analytical support and
development of an automation module to provide real-time budget data to
improve the budget process and strengthen the quality of analysis.
In addition, $2.5 million in Department-level carryover has been
re-allocated within General Administration for additional outreach to
increase Veterans' access to VA benefits and services.
Question 97. According to the fiscal year 2014 budget request, the
Office of Management requests $38 million for Other Services for fiscal
year 2014. Please provide an itemized list of how those funds would be
used.
Response. The $38 million in ``Other Services'' includes:
$30 million for DFAS support to the Department.
$4 million for reviewing and testing internal controls
over financial reporting, as required by Appendix A of OMB Circular A-
123.
$1 million for service level agreements for the Financial
Services Center, Security Investigations Center, and other service and
maintenance agreements to conduct regular operations.
$700 thousand for the Enterprise Risk Management program.
$400 thousand for VA Center for Innovation programs.
$350 thousand for training provided through the VA
Learning University and the Human Capital Investment Plan.
The balance of the costs within Office of Management's
`Other Services' are for Office of Personnel Management fees related to
USAJobs, USA Staffing, e-Classification, and e-OPF support.
Question 98. According to the fiscal year 2014 budget request, the
Office of Finance within the Office of Management manages the Debt
Management Center.
A. For fiscal year 2014, what level of resources is expected to be
used to operate the Debt Management Center and what level of staffing
would those resources support?
Response. The VA Debt Management Center (DMC) is an enterprise
center under the VA Franchise Fund, providing common administrative
support services to VA and other government agencies on a fee-for-
service basis and receives no direct appropriated funding. Projected
revenues in FY 2014 will support $20,943,647 in expenditures and a
staffing level of 189 FTE.
B. How many telephone lines does the Debt Management Center
currently operate and how many would be operated during fiscal year
2014?
Response. The DMC currently has 144 telephone lines (toll-free). In
2014, VA plans to continue to have 144 lines available unless Veterans'
demands increase.
C. During fiscal year 2012, how many debts were referred to the
Debt Management Center, what was the total value of those debts, and
how much did the Debt Management Center recoup?
Response. During FY 2012, 667,524 debts valued at $1.3 billion were
referred to the DMC. During the fiscal year, the DMC collected $1.1
billion.
D. How many new debts are expected to be referred to the Debt
Management Center during fiscal year 2013 and 2014?
Response. During FY 2013, VA expects referral of approximately
795,000 new debts, and during FY 2014, VA projects referral of
approximately 875,000 new debts.
Question 99. According to the budget request for fiscal year 2014,
the Office of Management is expected to spend $44.1 million and would
have a staffing level of 262 FTE, if this budget were adopted. This
would be a $4 million, or 8 percent, decline in budget authority;
however, the staffing level is expected to increase by 7 percent.
A. If the Office of Management's budget is set to decrease by 8
percent, what accounts for a 7 percent increase in FTE?
Response. The Office of Management is not requesting additional
staff in FY 2014. The office is hiring additional personnel during the
latter part of 2013, and these new hires will only account as partial
FTE for this year. In FY 2014, these partial FTE will be annualized
(i.e., a staff hired in June counts as one-fourth of an FTE in FY 2013
but a full FTE in FY 2014). Due to the late hiring in FY 2013, the FTE
will be lower but the on-board staffing level at year-end will be
similar to the FY 2014 FTE request level.
B. If the increase in staff is a result of reimbursable or detailed
FTE, please describe the work performed by those FTE for the Office of
Management and the office from which they are reimbursed or detailed.
Response. The increase in staff is not related to reimbursable or
detailed FTE and is explained in the response to 99A.
Office of Human Resources and Administration
Question 100. In response to questions regarding the fiscal year
2013 budget request, VA indicated that it planned to spend $242.3
million on contract costs for ``Training and Transformation
Initiatives.'' Please provide an itemized list of the specific
activities this funding has supported or will support, the amount
expected to be spent on each activity, and the expected outcomes.
Response. The initiatives included in the Human Capital Investment
Plan (HCIP), are expected to have immediate, tangible, and measurable
impact on the services provided to Veterans. HCIP expected outcomes are
programs that increase staff productivity and allow VA to more quickly
address the needs of Veterans. Training provided improves competencies
in the areas of human resources, financial management, project
management, acquisition and information technology (IT) certification
enabling VA employees to provide an improved level of service to
Veterans. Programs developed and administered by the Veterans
Employment Services Office, which includes the VA for VETS program,
created to facilitate the reintegration, retention and hiring of
Veteran employees at VA: http://vaforvets.va.gov/Pages/default.aspx,
provide the means for Veterans to translate the skills acquired in
military service to marketable skills for civilian employment.
The revised cost estimate for FY 2013 is $217 million, which
includes support and administrative fees. The reduction is primarily
due to the realigning of contracts' periods of performance. Below is a
list of the initiatives supported in FY 2013.
VA Learning University--VALU Transformational Leadership
Support the VA's transformation into a leading 21st century organization by training managers, supervisors,
and executives while providing tools to better serve veterans and their dependents. Supervisory and Management Training
Design and deliver supervisor and management training, including the Leadership Development Programs,
leadership portal, and the training delivery of commercial-off-the-shelf content. Training Evaluation
Provide independent evaluation and quality assurance of the ADVANCE training Initiatives delivered by VALU
training partners. Develop and deploy formative and summative evaluations to assess the learners during, at
close, and post-training. Evaluate program and training effectiveness. Program-Based Training/Career Technical Training
Provide training for cross cutting-career fields, in particular those that impact all of the Department's
administrations and multiple staff offices. The goals are to ensure training is: (1) competency based, (2)
consistent in learning events and products offered across the Department, and (3) uses formative and
summative evaluation in development, assessment of learners during, at the close, and post training. Leadership Competency Assessment and Certification
Develop a competency-based leadership assessment and certification program. Establish a leadership
certification which enables VA to send a clear message about the importance of leadership as a recognized
professional discipline equal to the status of a technical discipline. VA Career Mapping
The FY 2013 purpose of this project is to continue to expand the design, development, and implementation of
an innovative Career Mapping and Development Program. The goal is to ensure that VA employees have access to
the functional training, experience, and education necessary to enhance their job performance, career
progression, and development as multifunctional leaders. Leadership Infusion
The FY 2013 purpose of this project is to continue to provide an OPM catalogue of training courses. e-Content
This Initiative provides support and required licenses for educational content for VA employees. The
licenses allow access to online materials, books, and training on a wide variety of subjects at a very low
cost per person. Support services include: importing the content into the VA Talent Management System,
assigning VA defined core competencies to the courses, and creating and revising course catalog documents. Talent Management System (TMS) Upgrade Training
Provides training on the infrastructure system that is at the core of education, training and learning at
the VA. The capabilities of the VALU TMS support significant portions of the Initiatives enacted by VA, but
the VALU TMS is a tool that requires care and management itself. This Initiative ensures VA has the resources
necessary to support the tools that the Department relies upon for meeting its mission. Talent Management Support
This Initiative provides resources to manage the TMS system and to support all aspects of the Directorate's
business responsibilities. VA Acquisition Academy
The VA Acquisition Academy (VAAA) was created to address the growing challenge facing the Department of
Veterans Affairs and the Federal Government overall. This challenge is largely faced by the acquisition
workforce, which has been strained to keep pace with the increased amount of and complexities associated with
contracted work in support of the VA mission. National Center for Organization Development Evaluation Services
This Initiative funds an Intra-Agency Agreement (IAA) to extend a partnership between Office of Human
Resources & Administration (OHRA) and National Center for Organization Development (NCOD), part of Veterans
Health Administration (VHA), in order to complete projects that achieve goals for HRA and NCOD related to
VA's organizational health and transformation and most efficient use of VA resources. Staff Office Memoranda Of Understanding
This Initiative provides funding to execute training events for the VA staff offices in order to achieve
transformational impact, increase effectiveness, supports mission, and has investment justification. Office of Human Resources Management--OHRM HR Academy
HR Academy supports the professional growth of VA H.R. professionals nationwide by closing the competency
gaps. Central Office Human Resources Services (COHRS)
This Initiative provides professional services including: business process maps, workload tracking tool,
staffing resources, and an on-boarding program designed to improve H.R. services enabling the COHRS to reduce
hiring time. Workforce Planning
This Initiative develops and implements a corporate Workforce Planning (WFP) capability and forms strategic
partnerships with Program Offices and Administrations enabling VA to identify and address department-wide WFP
needs, make data-driven decisions, and capitalize on leading practices. Knowledge Management
This initiative helps transform organizations into a learning organization through a knowledge management
culture by empowering employees to innovate and collaborate with peers. Health and Wellness
This Initiative develops, implements, and manages a health and wellness program resulting in a healthier,
more productive, and motivated workforce. HR Professional Services
This Initiative provides H.R. and Project Management services using a variety of models and solutions to
standardize position descriptions; improve training, and H.R. customer service, and increase efficiencies in
H.R. processes across the VA. Reclassification
This project provides HRA with a customized positions classification system through Monster Government
Solutions. The system includes planning, coordination, implementation, training and communication. HR Line of Business (LOB)
HR LOB enables efficient Human Resource Service delivery by providing personnel information management
systems that meet Office of Personnel Management data requirements. Veterans Employment Service Office--VESO Case Management System (CMS)/ Coaching
Provides support to VESO thru Case Management System and development, providing the VA for Vets Help Desk,
training Veterans and providing coaching call center. VESO's goals are to: increase percentage of Veterans
hired within VA, the Federal Government, and non-profit sectors; reduce voluntary Veteran turnover VA-wide;
and, implement a supportive reintegration infrastructure. Strategic Management Group (SMG) Oversight and Program Management
This Initiative provides Program Management support to SMG within HRA with oversight and integrated
management of HCIP portfolio processes. Contract Assistance
This Initiative provides acquisition support to HCIP Program Offices within HRA to develop high-quality
requirements packages. HRA Strategic Support
This Initiative provides expert, strategic planning, program management, organizational transformation and
communications support to HRA, its supporting programs and initiatives. Support includes planning and
investment support designed to help HRA determine its strategic priorities. Office of Administration--OA Workers' Compensation Interdisciplinary FTE Support, Training and Occupational Safety and Health Conference
Provide training services and logistical support to improve the management of VA's Federal Workers'
Compensation (WC) and Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Programs. This ongoing effort aims to train more
than 196 VA employees in the fundamentals of the WC interdisciplinary functions and OSH program management
and helps drive cost avoidance. Centralized Workers' Compensation (WC) Processing
This initiative is a resource to support VA field locations reviewing WC cases. VA is seeking to continue
contractor support providing WC case management services. All Employee Safety Perception Survey
The VA contracted with the National Safety Council (NSC) to conduct an all-employee Safety Perception
Survey. In FY 2013, NSC's subject-matter experts provide training to improve lower scoring safety program
management categories identified in the FY 2012 survey. Medical Case Review
This Initiative request funds for a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) employee physician to review
Workers Compensation (WC) cases. The pilot of the Medical Case Review program has demonstrated the potential
to save costs related to WC cases, primarily related to questionable treatment and diagnoses. Agency Medical Exams
This Initiative is to establish a centralized fund to be used by VA facilities nationwide for medical
examinations to reduce unnecessary costs related to worker's compensation, as well as enhancing the
management of those cases. Administrative Investigations
This Initiative establishes a central fund for field facilities to draw and issue small non-personal service
contracts in accordance with micro-purchasing procedures to perform Administrative Investigations. Cases
would be evaluated against a set of criteria to ensure that only the most deserving cases are included in
this initiative. Warehouse Operations Support
The Office of Administration (OA) ensures that VA facility (office space), computer (laptop/workstation) and
access costs (badges, access cards, etc.) are identified if the ``contract employee'' requires them to
perform their work assignments. Workspace Modifications
A fund assisting organizations to redesign office space into smaller workstations, fewer offices, utilizing
collaborative and touchdown spaces. Employee Accountability/Emergency Preparedness (Personnel Accountability System (VA-PAS) Project)
The purpose of the VA-PAS is to identify the location of VA employees and contractors. An interagency
agreement with Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, Pacific delivers a VA enterprise-wide Capability to
identify personnel during an emergency and determine whether employees are safe, willing, and able to work
through a Personnel Assessment and Accountability System (PAAS) and a VA Notification System (VANS). Corporate Senior Executive Management Office--CSEMO Executive Coaching
Provides a one-on-one way to assist executives during their on-boarding experience to help identify and set
clear goals, ways, and methods to make their transition process efficient and effective. Executive coaching
supports the executive by offering personalized leadership development experience where coach, leader and key
stakeholders collaborate over time to accelerate the executive's development, achieving results that
positively impact his/her organization and ultimately Veterans. SES Collaborative Website
Continue development to content enhancement, implementation, and sustainment for CSEMO Connect, the
collaborative Web site for senior executives across VA. Senior Executive Talent Management System (TMS)
Senior Executive TMS is an automated system to recruit, develop, deploy, and support executives across the
Department to achieve VA's missions and support its transformational initiatives. The system contributes to
analysis and improvement of VA's executive life cycle management. Executive On-boarding Tool
Establish an automated tool for all aspects of the executive on-boarding experience. CSEMO will be able to
streamline processes, capitalize upon efficiencies in the process, and develop metrics and reporting
capabilities by automating certain aspects of the on-boarding process through the use of a web-based
automated system with dashboards. Corporate Performance Management Training System
Ensure the entire Senior Executive workforce receives annual performance management training as required by
Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Works with VA's automated Performance Management System tool to (1)
ensure the content is accurate and updated in a timely fashion, and (2) ensure newly appointed executives are
trained on the use of the automated tool. Business Process/Systems Architect
Develop, deliver, manage and maintain CSEMO's Human Resources (HR) information systems. Assistant Secretary for HRA--(AS) Leading EDGE (Executives Driving Government Excellence)
An executive-level training program that: (1) inspires a seamless and powerful senior executive corps with
shared governmentwide identity and vision; (2) crafts solutions that have impact across agencies; and (3)
reignites the highest ideals of public service. In 2012, 15 Federal departments participated in the program. Labor Management Relations--LMR Labor Management Relations (LMR) Training
This initiative supports all five Unions with Master Agreement Training. The FY 2013 effort supports the
unions with training products and training facilitation. Office of Diversity and Inclusion--ODI National Diversity Internship Program
Provide a centralized fund providing VA offices with the ability to pay the salary of summer interns. Reasonable Accommodations Centralized Fund
Provide a centralized fund to reimburse VA offices required to provide reasonable accommodations (RA) for VA
employees, such as those needing accommodations for disabilities. The secondary objective is to track the
receipt and processing of the RA requests. Diversity and Inclusion Training
Develop and provide comprehensive, continuing, coordinated diversity and inclusion training to all VA SES,
Title 38 Equivalents, managers and supervisors at the GS-13 level and above. Workforce Recruitment Program
Provide a centralized fund supporting VA offices with the resources to pay the salary of interns that may be
converted to full-time VA employees. Office of Resolution Management--ORM Conflict Management Training
Provide the VA with conflict management training for VA leadership, management and labor in an effort to
reduce and resolve workplace conflict.
Question 101. For fiscal year 2014, the Office of Human Resources
and Administration is requesting $305 million for Other Services.
Please provide a detailed itemized list of how those funds are expected
to be spent, including any specific initiatives these funds would
support. To the extent any of the funds will be spent on contracts,
please explain the nature of the contract and the expected outcomes.
Response. In addition to the ongoing initiatives provided through
the Human Capital Investment Plan (HCIP), (initiatives listed in
question 100), HRA requested funding in other services for Office of
Resolution Management (ORM), Office of Administration, and Office of
Human Resources Management (OHRM). The current estimate for FY 2014 has
been reduced from the projected $305 to $236 million.
HCIP is part of the Departmental effort to transform the VA
workforce to better serve Veterans in the 21st century. Contracts are
awarded to provide training in the areas of executive and leadership
training, program and project management, human resources reform, IT
certification and financial management. HCIP has been evaluated using
industry standards for best practices by an external auditing firm
(Deloitte) and VA's National Center for Organizational Development.
ORM contracts include ADR Mediations, IT equipment, FSC, SIC, VHA
Services Center, Temporary Services for a Visually Impaired Employee.
OHRM included funding for the Child Care Subsidy Program (CCSP).
CCSP is a Nation-wide program that assists lower income VA employees
whose total family income is less than $59,999 per year with the cost
of child care. Eligible employees receive a subsidy based on their
total family income. Over 2,000 VA employees have applied to
participate in the program and new applications are received daily.
Employees submit monthly invoices that must be processed timely and
accurately. Payments are made directly via electronic funds transfer to
child care providers. The Child Care Records Management System (CCRMS)
includes a process for capturing documents of participants in the Child
Care Subsidy Program in an electronic and database format. The CCRMS
provides a methodology for classifying, identifying, tracking, filing,
retrieving and storing of documents as well as data used for
statistical and reporting purposes. The Child Care Subsidy Program is a
reimbursement program. Each organization supports the cost of daycare
for their participants in the program and OHRM maintains the funding
for distribution to child to child care providers upon request.
A breakdown of current estimated FY 2014 contract costs of $236
million follows:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cost (in
Office Contract Description Millions)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Human Capital Investment Program................ Training and Transformation Initiatives.......... $217.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Office of Resolution Management (EEO complaint Contracts for Investigation of EEO complaints, $11
Processing). Court Transcription Services.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Administration.................................. Contracts with Other Government Agencies for $3
Mailroom Operations, Employee Health Unit and
Employee Fitness Center.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Office of Human Resources Management............ Child Care Subsidies............................. $4
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Miscellaneous................................... Individual training,copier and equipment $.4
maintenance and other contracts.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total....................................... ................................................. $235.9
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 102. According to the fiscal year 2014 budget request, the
Office of Human Resources and Administration plans to spend $13 million
on travel during fiscal year 2013 and requests $20 million for travel
during fiscal year 2014.
A. In total, how many employees are expected to travel during
fiscal year 2013, how many unique travel trips are expected to occur,
and what is the expected average cost per expected trip?
Response. Please see the response to question 102 B.
B. For fiscal year 2014, how many unique travel trips is the $20
million expected to support?
Response. The travel budget identified in the HRA chapter in the
budget is primarily for travel provided for Human Capital Improvement
Plan (HCIP) programs. The current estimates for travel have been
reduced from what was originally submitted in the budget. The HCIP was
initiated to transform the VA workforce to better meet the needs of a
changing Veteran population.
HCIP allocates most of its travel funds for training programs
conducted by the VA Learning University (VALU). VALU provides training
on a corporate level in the areas of leadership development, competency
improvement, and technical training. These training courses are
provided to all VA employees, not just HRA employees. VALU, through its
HCIP funding, covers the cost not only of the training but all travel
costs associated with attendance at the training. Travel associated
with HCIP-funded, VALU-sponsored training is tracked separately in the
travel management system from all other HRA travel and therefore is
listed separately from other HRA travel in the tables below.
Additional HCIP programs are also allocated funds for travel
associated with special events such as Veterans Employment Hiring Fairs
held at various locations throughout the country.
Other travel not associated with HCIP, but included in the HRA
budget is for the Office of Resolution Management, which handles the
processing of discrimination allegations and conflict resolution for
both field and VA Central Office Equal Employment Opportunity-related
cases. HRA travel funds also provide reimbursements to other VA offices
for travel incurred for attendance at training sessions associated with
new union contracts as well as travel associated with normal HRA
business.
HRA Travel Costs ($ in millions)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2013 FY 2014
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VALU sponsored travel................................. $10.1 $10.3
All other HRA travel not included in VALU totals...... $1.1 $2.4
-----------------
Total............................................. $11.2 $12.7
------------------------------------------------------------------------
# of Unique Trips
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2013 FY 2014
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VALU sponsored travel................................. 6,631 6,405
All other HRA travel not included in VALU totals...... 712 1,412
-----------------
Total............................................. 7,343 7,817
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average Cost (whole $)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2013 FY 2014
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VALU sponsored travel................................. $1,520 $1,611
All other HRA travel not included in VALU totals...... $1,513 $1,684
-----------------
Total............................................. $1,519 $1,624
------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. What steps have been taken to avoid questionable travel expenses
since issuance of the September 2012 Inspector General report entitled
``Administrative Investigation of VA's FY 2011 H.R. Conferences in
Orlando, FL?''
Response. VA employs over 320,000 employees who provide high
quality health care, benefits, and services to Veterans every day. VA
is the Nation's largest integrated health care system with nearly 1,300
centers of care serving 8.6 million Veterans across the country. A
large number of VA doctors, nurses, claims processors and other
employees directly benefit from training events every year. Continuous
workforce training and development is essential to delivering timely
and quality VA care and services our Veterans have earned and deserve.
VA holds centralized training forums to enhance the delivery of health
care, benefits, and memorial services unique to Veterans. This includes
employee development through critical training to improve customer
service and the timely delivery of benefits and services; clinical
training, which includes post-deployment care, treatment of chronic
conditions, mental health, suicide prevention; and strategies to
eliminate Veteran homelessness. Our training events are designed to
achieve our goals--better access, eliminate the backlog, and end
Veteran homelessness by training and developing our employees and
empowering them to provide the best care and services possible for our
Nation's Servicemembers and Veterans.
VA has implemented a comprehensive action plan to revise and
strengthen policies and controls on the planning and execution of
training conferences and events. These actions are consistent with the
recommendations in the September 30, 2012 Inspector General report and
are reflected in VA policy issued on September 26, 2012.
Stringent internal controls for training conferences are in place
and oversight is provided by the senior executives in the Department.
Further, the newly established Training Support Office ensures
consistency and the distribution of clear guidance regarding needed
steps for adherence with all appropriate regulations and requirements
as the Department balances critical training requirements to ensure
achievement of stated goals and objectives while minimizing costs.
Automating data collection is essential to provide accurate and
timely information for senior leaders so they can execute their
responsibilities and respond to queries for training related events
from Congressional and other Federal oversight bodies. VA is currently
engaged in developing and delivering an automated data collection tool
to increase accountability, control training conference spending, and
produce congressionally required reports.
VA's Conference Oversight Memorandum dated September 26, 2012,
supersedes all previously issued conference guidance.
The approval authorities:
A Senior Executive must approve any conference under
$20,000.
Two Senior Executives, the Conference Certifying Official
(CCO) and the Responsible Conference Executive (RCE), are appointed
when a conference exceeds $20,000 to ensure adherence to all applicable
statutes, regulations, and policies when planning and executing the
approved conference.
An Under Secretary or Assistant Secretary must approve any
conference within the threshold $20K to $100K.
The Deputy Secretary is responsible for approving
conferences exceeding $100K to $500K.
Conferences exceeding $500K require a waiver by the
Secretary.
A Quarterly Conference Planning and Execution Briefing is now
required at least 120 days prior to the quarter of execution. This
briefing outlines all the conferences planned for the targeted quarter
to include cost, attendees, location, purpose and outcomes.
The VA conference process has four phases: Concept, Development,
Execution, and Reporting.
The Concept Phase is a disciplined conference
authorization process. In October 2012, VA began our quarterly Concept
Authorization Briefing as part of the quarterly Conference Planning and
Execution Briefing Cycle where senior officials review all events to
ensure the best value prior to being authorized to enter the
Development Phase.
The Development Phase builds the business case for the
event; provides the guidance for the planning and execution of the
potential conferences; appoints a Senior Executive as the CCO and a
Senior Executive as the RCE. The CCO certifies the event details are in
compliance with all directives. The event plan is then submitted
through the appropriate channels to the approving official for
approval, disapproval or modification of the planned event.
The Execution Phase covers the period after the conference
plan has been approved and the responsible organization begins to
execute the approved plan. The RCE is responsible for executing the
approved plan in accordance with laws, regulations, and policy.
Additionally, the RCE oversees the spending and contract execution,
approving any changes to contract agreements or increases in spending.
The Reporting Phase covers the period after the execution
of the conference. The RCE submits an After Action Review (AAR)
reflecting how the event was conducted; providing conference attendance
and details on how the spending was tracked and reported in accordance
with Public Law 112-154 and OMB M-12-12. The Administrations and Staff
Offices leadership review the AAR to verify that the event was executed
in accordance with the plan and all applicable policies and
regulations.
Question 103. In response to questions regarding VA's fiscal year
2013 budget request, VA indicated that it planned to expend $6 million
during fiscal year 2013 on a ``Change Academy.''
A. To date, how much has been expended on the Change Academy during
fiscal year 2013, how many individuals have attended this training, and
what outcomes have been achieved? Are any of the individuals who
attended this training no longer employed at VA?
Response. Change Academies are customized programs designed to
address specific interests, problem solving or strategic initiatives
for any leadership team to bring transformational change to a VA
facility, region or network. Change Academy provides a venue to
leverage actual VA work scenarios to help clarify goals and action
plans and to build momentum for organizational sustainment. Change
Academies are more than training events; they are partnerships to
facilitate solving problems affecting VA and the needs of our Veterans.
As of June 30, 2014, three events have been approved and one event,
costing $11,000 for attendance by 12 employees, was completed. There
are currently 20 Change Academy sessions undergoing coordination for
delivery for the remainder of the FY, reaching over 4100 VA employees.
The expense associated with managing the program is $1.54 million
through April, 2013.
B. During fiscal year 2014, how much does VA expect to spend on the
Change Academy, how many individuals are expected to attend this
training, and what outcomes are expected to be achieved?
Response. There is currently $2.8 million budgeted for Change
Academies for FY 2014. Task estimates are based on delivery of 12 small
events of two or three day duration for up to 50 participants, 2 medium
events of five day duration for up to 80 participants, and 1 large
multi-event program for up to 2000 participants. This year, Change
Academies will be delivered on an indefinite delivery/indefinite
quantity (ID/IQ) basis. Change Academies have been an extremely
successful organizational training delivery and have received strong
reviews from VA participants. The outcome brings together an entire
facility or department to open dialog and identify solutions to address
urgent organizational needs.
Question 104. According to the fiscal year 2014 budget request,
funding for VACO is expected to be reduced by 5 percent; however, the
staffing level for the Office of Human Resources and Administration
would add 50 FTE above the 2013 level and the number of FTE has grown
by 72 percent since 2009. The Office of Resolution Management, which
handles equal employment opportunity (EEO) complaints within the Office
of Human Resources and Administration, would have the single largest
increase in staffing with an additional 24 reimbursable FTE. Has VA
seen a growth in EEO complaints in the last year? If not, what accounts
for the growth of these positions?
Response. The higher FY 2014 FTE in ORM is largely due to the
annualization of ORM FTE hired late in fiscal year FY 2013. ORM FTE is
expected to reach 267 FTE in FY 2014, as a result, there is no FTE
growth during FY 2014.
Question 105. The Corporate Senior Executive Management Office
(CSEMO), within the Office of Human Resources and Administration, was
created to provide a ``centralized approach to the executive life cycle
management.'' Under its responsibilities, CSEMO has created two
training programs--Senior Executive Leadership Development Course I
(SLC I) and Senior Executive Leadership Development Course II (SLC II).
According to the budget request, 40 Senior Executive Service (SES)
employees have completed SLC I and 476 SES employees have completed SLC
II.
A. For each training program (SLC I and SLC II), please provide the
amount VA expects to spend in fiscal year 2014.
Response. For SLC I--Core Training, the one-week senior executive
onboarding course, VA projects holding three sessions (Cohorts 4, 5,
and 6) in FY 2014 at a total cost of $127,578.84. For SLC II--Basic,
the strategic decisionmaking course currently held at University of
North Carolina-Chapel Hill, VA projects holding three sessions (Cohorts
20, 21, and 22) at a total maximum projected cost of $649,627.95.
B. How much was spent on each training course (SLC I and SLC II)
for fiscal year 2009 through fiscal year 2013? Please breakdown by
fiscal year, by category of spending (travel, facility rentals, course
material, etc.), and by training program.
Response. In 2012, VA Senior Executives called for a redesign of
the VA's Senior Executive On-boarding and Development Programs. Based
on senior executive feedback, the Executive Forum was terminated
because it was not providing new VA executives what they needed to be
successful. The Department piloted a new on-boarding program, the
Senior Executive Strategic Leadership Course I--Core Training. This
course was designed to acclimatize new senior executives to VA culture,
highlight red lines or issues that posed a threat to new senior
executives, set the conditions for a successful transition into the
role of strategic leader, and promote corporate problem-solving through
networking. About 80% of the program is delivered by VA Senior
Executives.
The SLC I--Core Training course is followed by the Strategic
Leadership Course II--Basic. This university-based course builds on SLC
I by focusing on critical thinking skills, strategic decisionmaking,
tools to facilitate leading and driving change, and networking
opportunities to promote corporate problem-solving. Additionally, VA
senior executives work VA Strategic Challenges during SLC II. These
challenge questions provide the senior executives an opportunity to
apply what they are learning at SLC II to real-world VA challenges.
They then brief their analysis and recommendations to a VA senior
leader on the final day of SLC II. Not only does the activity reinforce
lessons learned at SLC II, but the VA gains from a fresh perspective on
a VA program or policy.
For SLC I--Core Training:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cohort Program Travel Total
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1................................... 58,728.96 32,938.28 91,667.24
2................................... 53,464.35 25,436.23 78,900.58
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For SLC II--Basic:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contractor
Cohort Program Support OPM Fee Travel Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...................................................... 177,687.50 -- 7,995.94 17,500.00 203,183.44
2...................................................... 187,714.50 -- 8,447.15 21,000.00 217,161.65
3...................................................... 163,584.76 -- 7,361.31 16,800.00 187,746.07
4...................................................... 189,525.00 -- 7,107.19 18,725.22 215,357.41
5...................................................... 194,940.00 -- 7,310.25 25,032.66 227,282.91
6...................................................... 204,445.00 24,282.33 8,577.28 17,761.46 255,066.07
7...................................................... 202,732.50 24,282.33 8,513.06 23,624.59 259,152.48
8...................................................... 203,107.5 24,282.34 8,527.12 22,355.11 258,272.07
9...................................................... 197,255.00 24,282.33 8,307.65 22,426.96 252,271.94
10..................................................... 202,425.00 -- 7,584.19 22,254.56 232,083.75
11..................................................... 169,577.50 -- 6,359.16 20,974.88 196,911.54
12..................................................... 168,715.00 -- 6,326.81 20,974.88 196,016.69
13..................................................... 188,237.50 -- 7,058.91 19,782.60 215,079.01
14..................................................... 193,027.50 -- 7,238.53 28,005.65 228,271.68
15..................................................... 163,025.00 -- 6,113.44 17,036.47 186,174.91
16..................................................... 161,985.00 -- 6,074.44 14,436.74 182,496.18
17..................................................... 138,110.00 -- 5,179.13 12,186.36 155,475.49
18..................................................... 144,647.50 -- 5,424.28 13,345.62 163,417.40
19..................................................... TBD 0.00 TBD TBD TBD
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OPM Fee for use of contract vehicle in FY 2011 was 4.5%, then 3.75%
in FY 2012.
C. For training programs that are not conducted on VA property,
please provide the dates and locations of each training program.
Response. For SLC I--Core Training: Cohort 1 was conducted July 22-
27, 2012 and Cohort 2 during August 26-31, 2012, at the Bolger Center
in Potomac, MD, which is a U.S. Postal Service facility. For SLC II--
Basic: All cohorts were held at the Rizzo Conference Center, Kenan-
Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina, Chapel
Hill, NC.
Cohort dates follow:
FY 2011
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cohort Date
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 March 20-25, 2011
2 June 26-July 1, 2011
3 September 18-23, 2011
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2012
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cohort Date
------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 October 2-7, 2011
5 November 13-18, 2011
6 December 4-9, 2011
7 January 22-27, 2012
8 February 12-17, 2012
9 March 11-16, 2012
10 April 22-27, 2012
11 May 6-11, 2012
12 May 13-18, 2012
13 May 17-22, 2012
14 July 15-20, 2012
15 August 12-17, 2012
16 September 9-14, 2012
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2013
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cohort Date
------------------------------------------------------------------------
17 October 14-19, 2012
18 January 27-February 1, 2013
19 June 16-21, 2013
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 106. The Veterans Employment Services Office, under the
Office of Human Resources and Administration, oversees the VA for Vets
initiative. The VA for Vets initiative includes a Web site with a
skills translator that helps veterans find employment at VA and other
Federal agencies.
A. What Federal agencies have signed a memorandum of understanding
(MOU) with VA to utilize the capabilities of VA for Vets?
Response. To date, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, State,
Homeland Security, and Interior have signed MOUs with VA to utilize VA
for Vets. The American Red Cross, a non-profit organization, also has a
MOU in place with VA. An MOU is forthcoming with the Department of
Commerce. The Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services, the
National Credit Union Association, and the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration have all met with VA to discuss the MOU process.
B. How is VA reaching out to other agencies in order to expand the
usage of VA for Vets through MOUs?
Response. VA's Veteran Employment Services Office (VESO)
participates on the joint VA/DOD Veteran Employment Initiative Task
Force to maximize the career readiness of all Servicemembers. The VESO
Director serves as a co-chair for the Task Force's Veterans Employment
Working Group. The Task Force developed and submitted a list of
recommendations to the President outlining the steps needed to ensure a
successful transition for Military Servicemembers.
The recommendations included the development of a single portal for
Servicemembers and Veterans to gain access to resources on employment
and transition services and for employers to post jobs for Veterans.
VA supports this effort by providing access to the VA for Vets
platform throughout the Federal Government through MOU's. This access
is at no additional cost to either the VA or other agencies that use
VA4Vets.
Specifically, VA is responsible for having MOUs in place by 2015
with 35 percent of all the 24 agencies that comprise the Veteran
Employment Council. This number equates to 9 MOUs by 2015. VA is on
track to meet or exceed the target using the Task Force and the Veteran
Employment Council as the avenue to reach out to the agencies to
reinforce the benefits and importance of signing the MOU
C. Please describe the assistance provided to veterans through the
program (i.e., career coaching and counseling).
Response. VA for Vets provides a fully integrated, online job-
search and career-building platform, the VA for Vets Career Center,
which allows Veterans to assess their talents and strengths, translate
their military skills and training, build resumes, and identify and
apply for Federal job opportunities. Career Coaches work one-on-one
with Veterans and provide guidance on resume writing, job searches and
interview preparation. The program further supports Veteran employees
at VA by offering career development services and reintegration support
for Military Servicemembers.
D. There are numerous veteran employment Web sites supported by
various Federal agencies. Given the enhanced tools developed by VA for
use by other Federal agencies, what efforts, if any, have been pursued
by VA to establish one Federal Web site for veteran employment
information and tools?
Response. As mentioned in the response to subquestion 106 B above,
the joint VA/DOD Task Force recommended a single portal for
Servicemembers and Veterans to gain access to employment and transition
services and to determine the feasibility of deploying the VA for Vets
platform across government. VA is also undertaking internal initiatives
to work toward establishing one Federal portal for Veterans to access
employment information and tools by integrating its private employment
Web site (VetSuccess.gov) with its Federal employment Web site, VA for
Vets. VA will be integrating these two Web sites into one platform to
create a seamless and consistent experience for Veteran users.
These combined efforts will give Veterans instant access to open
Federal and private sector job listings as well as provide access to
the enhanced VA for Vets services in a single source.
E. Please provide the Committee with the number of unique veterans
who have used the VA for Vets site, the number of veterans utilizing
the job coaching and counseling, and the number of Federal jobs
obtained through the program.
Response. As of June 30, 2013, 944,127 unique visitors, both
Veterans and civilians, have visited the Web site. As of June 30, 2013,
12,733 Veterans have utilized the job coaching and counseling. As of
June 30, 2013, 1,921 Federal jobs have been obtained by Veterans
through the program.
Question 107. The Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA) is one of
the hiring authorities that allow Federal agencies to hire eligible
veterans. Veterans can be appointed to positions up to GS-11 or
equivalent. Participating veterans are hired under excepted
appointments to positions that would otherwise need to be competed.
After 2 years of service, the veteran must be converted to a career
position if they have performed satisfactorily.
A. According to the fiscal year 2014 budget request, 35 percent of
the VA workforce was comprised of veterans in 2013. Of those, how many
veterans were hired using VRA, over the last five years?
Response. Please see the chart provided in response to subquestion
B.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
B. Please provide the Committee the number of veterans, during the
last five years, hired under other hiring authorities, such as the
Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA) or 30 percent or more
disabled.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
C. Of those initially hired under VRA, how many (number and
percentage) were converted to career or career-conditional appointments
after two years?
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
D. Of those hired in the last five years under other authorities,
how many (number and percentage) are still employed at VA? Please
detail, if employees are no longer with VA, whether their positions
were terminated, the positions hired for were temporary, or they left
for other reasons.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Office of Policy and Planning
Question 108. The fiscal year 2014 budget request includes $11
million to be spent on Other Services by the Office of Policy and
Planning. Please provide a specific itemized list of how these funds
would be spent. To the extent any of these funds will be spent on
contracts, please explain the nature of the contract and the expected
outcomes.
Response. See spreadsheet below.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Question 109. For fiscal year 2014, the budget request includes
over $25 million for the Office of Policy and Planning and would
support 114 employees. For each office within the Office of Policy and
Planning, please identify the positions and pay-grades for employees
that would be assigned to that office during fiscal year 2013 and
fiscal year 2014 and the number of contractors that are expected to be
assigned to each such office.
Response.
2013
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title Series Grade
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Office of the Assistant Secretary
Assistant Secretary............................ 301 SES
Executive Assistant to the Assistant Secretary. 301 GS 15
Scheduler/Program Support to Assistant 301 GS 11
Secretary.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary........... 301 SES
Scheduler/Program Support to Principal Deputy 301 GS 11
Assistant Secretary.
Senior Policy Advisor.......................... 343 GS 15 Operations
Director of Operations......................... 343 GS 15
Human Capital Manager.......................... 301 GS 14
Administrative Officer......................... 301 GS 13
Communications Specialist...................... 343 GS 9
Budget Officer................................. 343 GS 13 Office of VA/DOD Collaboration
Executive Director............................. 301 SES
Scheduler/Program Support...................... 301 GS 11 Integrated Disability Evaluation System Service (IDES)
Director IDES.................................. 301 GS 15
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Pathways Intern................................ 399 GS 9 Joint Executive Council/Senior Oversight Committee Service (JEC/SOC)
Director JEC/SOC............................... 301 GS 15
Special Assistant.............................. 301 GS 15
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 9/11
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 11
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 9 Corporate Analysis and Evaluation Service
Executive Director............................. 343 SES Programming Service
Director....................................... 343 GS 15
Budget Analyst................................. 560 GS 14
Operations Research Analyst.................... 1515 GS 14
Budget Analyst................................. 560 GS 14
Operations Research Analyst.................... 1515 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14 Analysis & Evaluation Service
Director....................................... 343 GS 15
Operations Research Analyst.................... 1515 GS 14
Operations Research Analyst.................... 1515 GS 14
Operations Research Analyst.................... 1515 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 13
Operations Research Analyst.................... 1515 GS 14
Operations Research Analyst.................... 1515 GS 14 Office of Policy
Deputy Assistant Secretary..................... 343 SES
Program Support................................ 301 GS 9 Policy Analysis Service
Director....................................... 343 GS 15
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 11
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 13
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 9/11
Management Analyst............................. 399 GS 13
Management Analyst............................. 301 GS 9 Strategic Studies Group
Director....................................... 343 GS 15
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 12
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 11 Strategic Planning Service
Director....................................... 343 GS 15
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 13
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 11
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 11 Office of Data Governance and Analysis
Deputy Assistant Secretary..................... 343 SES National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics
Executive Director............................. 301 SES
Program Support................................ 301 GS 11 Analysis and Statistics Service
Director....................................... 1530 GS 15
Statistician................................... 1530 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Statistician................................... 343 GS 13
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Statistician................................... 1530 GS 14
Statistician................................... 1530 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 13
Statistician................................... 343 GS 13 Reports and Information Service
Director....................................... 343 GS 15
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 12
Pathways Intern................................ 399 GS 9
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 12
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 12 Office of the Actuary
Chief Actuary.................................. 1510 SL
Deputy Chief Actuary........................... 1510 GS 15
Actuary........................................ 1510 GS 14
Economist...................................... 110 GS 14
Actuary........................................ 1510 GS 14
Actuary........................................ 1510 GS 14
Actuary........................................ 1510 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14 enterprise Program Management Office
Executive Director............................. 301 SES
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 11
Deputy Director................................ 301 GS 15
Executive Program Manager...................... 301 SES Program Management Policy Service
Director....................................... 343 GS 15
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 13
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14 Operational Management Review
Director....................................... 343 GS 15
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 11
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 13
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Pathways Intern................................ 399 GS 9
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14 Resource Management Service
Director....................................... 343 GS 15
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 13
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 11
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 13
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title Series Grade
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Office of the Assistant Secretary
Assistant Secretary............................ 301 SES
Executive Assistant to the Assistant Secretary. 301 GS 15
Scheduler/Program Support to Assistant 301 GS 11
Secretary.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary........... 301 SES
Scheduler/Program Support to Principal Deputy 301 GS 11
Assistant Secretary.
Senior Policy Advisor.......................... 343 GS 15 Operations
Director of Operations......................... 343 GS 15
Human Capital Manager.......................... 301 GS 14
Administrative Officer......................... 301 GS 13
Communications Specialist...................... 343 GS 9
Budget Officer................................. 343 GS 13 Office of VA/DOD Collaboration
Executive Director............................. 301 SES
Scheduler/Program Support...................... 301 GS 11 Integrated Disability Evaluation System Service (IDES)
Director IDES.................................. 301 GS 15
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 11 Joint Executive Council/Senior Oversight Committee Service (JEC/SOC)
Director JEC/SOC............................... 301 GS 15
Special Assistant.............................. 301 GS 15
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 9/11
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 11
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 9 Corporate Analysis and Evaluation Service
Executive Director............................. 343 SES Programming Service
Director....................................... 343 GS 15
Budget Analyst................................. 560 GS 14
Operations Research Analyst.................... 1515 GS 14
Budget Analyst................................. 560 GS 14
Operations Research Analyst.................... 1515 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14 Analysis & Evaluation Service
Director....................................... 343 GS 15
Operations Research Analyst.................... 1515 GS 14
Operations Research Analyst.................... 1515 GS 14
Operations Research Analyst.................... 1515 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 13
Operations Research Analyst.................... 1515 GS 14
Operations Research Analyst.................... 1515 GS 14 Office of Policy
Deputy Assistant Secretary..................... 343 SES
Program Support................................ 301 GS 9 Policy Analysis Service
Director....................................... 343 GS 15
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 11
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 13
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 9/11
Management Analyst............................. 399 GS 13
Management Analyst............................. 301 GS 9 Strategic Studies Group
Director....................................... 343 GS 15
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 12
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 11 Strategic Planning Service
Director....................................... 343 GS 15
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 13
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 11
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 11 Office of Data Governance and Analysis
Deputy Assistant Secretary..................... 343 SES National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics
Executive Director............................. 301 SES
Program Support................................ 301 GS 11 Analysis and Statistics Service
Director....................................... 1530 GS 15
Statistician................................... 1530 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Statistician................................... 343 GS 13
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Statistician................................... 1530 GS 14
Statistician................................... 1530 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 13
Statistician................................... 343 GS 13 Reports and Information Service
Director....................................... 343 GS 15
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 12
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 9
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 12
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 12 Office of the Actuary
Chief Actuary.................................. 1510 SL
Deputy Chief Actuary........................... 1510 GS 15
Actuary........................................ 1510 GS 14
Economist...................................... 110 GS 14
Actuary........................................ 1510 GS 14
Actuary........................................ 1510 GS 14
Actuary........................................ 1510 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14 enterprise Program Management Office
Executive Director............................. 301 SES
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 11
Deputy Director................................ 301 GS 15
Executive Program Manager...................... 301 SES Program Management Policy Service
Director....................................... 343 GS 15
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 13
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14 Operational Management Review
Director....................................... 343 GS 15
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 11
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 13
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 9
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14 Resource Management Service
Director....................................... 343 GS 15
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 14
Management Analyst............................. 343 GS 13
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Additionally, OPP has contracts in place with third parties that
involve their employees working in VA facilities. However, VA does not
control those companies' independent business decisions regarding
staffing requirements. Thus, VA is unable to give a number of
contractor's employees assigned to OPP.
Question 110. According to the fiscal year 2014 budget request,
approximately $7.3 million is expected to be spent in ``contract
dollars'' managed by offices within the Office of Policy and Planning.
Please describe, in detail, the contracts for the Office of VA/DOD
Collaboration, the Office of Corporate Analysis and Evaluation, the
Office of Policy, the Office of Data Governance, and the Enterprise
Program Management Office. Please include a description of the work
performed under the contracts, the total number of on-site and offsite
contracted employees working under the contract, the length of the
contract, the metrics to be used to determine if the contract would be
renewed, and the expected outcomes.
Response. See spreadsheet below.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness
Question 111. For fiscal year 2014, the Office of Operations,
Security, and Preparedness requests total resources of $31 million and
133 employees. Please provide a list of the positions that would be
filled with that funding and the pay-grades for those positions.
Response. The Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness
(OSP) request of $31 million is the total fiscal year (FY) 2014 budget
request for the Office. The personnel services portion of that request
is $17.6 million to support 133 full-time employee equivalents.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grade TITLE Organization POSITION
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------OSP Front Office0---------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Honorable...... Assistant OSP............... Assistant
Secretary (A/S). Secretary
GS-12.......... Special Assistant OSP............... Staff Assistant
to A/S.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Office of Resource Management0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GS-15.......... Director, Resource Resource Director, ORM
Management. Management.
GS-13.......... Staff Assistant to Resource Staff Assistant
Director. Management.
GS-12.......... Program Analyst... Resource Program Analyst
Management.
GS-14.......... Budget Analyst.... Resource Budget Officer
Management.
GS-14.......... Administrative Resource Admin Officer
Officer. Management.
GS-12.......... Staff Assistant... Resource Admin Officer
Management.
GS-14.......... Resource Manager.. Resource Management
Management. Analyst
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Office of Emergency Management (OEM)0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SES............ Deputy Assistant Emergency DAS OEM
Secretary OEM. Management.
GS-14.......... Senior Staff Emergency Support
Assistant. Management.
GS-11.......... Staff Assistant... Emergency Support
Management.
GS-12/13....... Management Analyst Emergency Support
(Public Health). Management.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Planning, Exercise, Training, and Evaluation Service (PETE)0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GS-15.......... Dir - Emergency OEM/PETE..........
Management Spec.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Planning0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GS-14.......... Lead Emergency OEM/PETE.......... Planning
Mgt. Spec.
GS-11/12/13.... Emergency OEM/PETE.......... Planning
Management Spec
(Planner/Liaison
Officer (LNO)).
GS-13.......... Program Analyst - OEM/PETE.......... Planning
Geographic
Information
System (GIS).
............. Intern............ OEM/PETE.......... Planning
GS-11/12/13.... Emergency OEM/PETE.......... Planning
Management Spec
(DHS LNO).
GS-9/11/12..... Program Analyst - OEM/PETE.......... Planning
GIS.
GS-11/12/13.... Management Analyst OEM/PETE.......... Planning
(Planner/LNO).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exercise, Training, and Evaluation0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GS-14.......... Team Lead/ OEM/PETE.......... Planning
Exercises.
GS-11/12/13.... Emergency OEM/PETE.......... Planning
Management Spec
(Exercise).
GS-12/13....... Emergency OEM/PETE.......... Planning
Management Spec
(Continuity).
GS-12/13....... Emergency OEM/PETE.......... Planning
Management Spec
(Training).
GS-12/13....... Emergency OEM/PETE.......... Planning
Management Spec
(Evaluator).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VA Integrated Operations Center (IOC)0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GS-15.......... Director/(Supv.) OEM............... IOC
VA IOC (FY 12).
GS-14.......... (Supv.) Readiness OEM............... IOC
Operation Spec.
GS-13.......... Readiness OEM............... IOC
Operation Spec
(Team Lead).
GS-9/11/12..... Readiness OEM............... IOC
Operation Spec.
GS-9/11/12..... Readiness OEM............... IOC
Operation Spec.
GS-9/11/12..... Readiness OEM............... IOC
Operation Spec.
GS-9/11/12..... Readiness OEM............... IOC
Operation Spec.
GS-9/11/12..... Readiness OEM............... IOC
Operation Spec.
GS-9/11/12..... Readiness OEM............... IOC
Operation Spec.
GS-9/11/12..... Readiness OEM............... IOC
Operation Spec.
GS-9/11/12..... Readiness OEM............... IOC
Operation Spec.
GS-12/13....... Program Analyst... ................ IOC
GS-12/13....... Program Analyst... OEM............... IOC
GS-12/13....... Program Analyst... OEM............... IOC
GS-12/13....... Readiness OEM............... IOC
Operations
Specialist
(National
Operations Center
Liaison).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operations & National Security0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GS-15.......... Director (Supv.) OEM............... COOP/COG
RO Spec.
GS-14.......... Emergency OEM............... National
Management Spec. Security
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operations0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GS-14.......... Readiness OEM............... COOP/COG
Operation Spec
(Site B Director).
GS-13.......... Readiness OEM............... COOP/COG
Operation Spec
(Deputy Director
for Site B).
GS-11.......... Readiness OEM............... COOP/COG
Operation Spec.
GS-9/11/12..... Readiness OEM............... COOP/COG
Operations Spe.
GS-9/11/12..... Readiness OEM............... COOP/COG
Operations Spec.
GS-12.......... Readiness OEM............... COOP/COG
Operation Spec.
(Director Site C).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Security Service0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GS-14.......... Special Security OEM............... National
Officer. Security
GS-13.......... Special Security OEM............... National
Representative. Security
GS-13.......... Special Security OEM............... National
Representative. Security
GS-13.......... Special Security OEM............... COOP/COG
Representative
(ROS).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Personnel Security & Identity Management (PSIM)0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ES............. Director, PSIM.............. PSIM
Personnel
Security and
Identity
Management.
GS-12.......... Staff Assistant to PSIM.............. PSIM
Director.
GS-15.......... Director, HSPD-12. PSIM.............. HSPD-12
GS-14.......... Deputy Director, PSIM.............. HSPD-12
HSPD-12.
GS-13.......... Physical Security PSIM.............. HSPD-12
Specialist.
GS-13.......... Program Analyst... PSIM.............. HSPD-12
GS-11.......... Director, PIV PSIM.............. HSPD-12
Office.
GS-343-11...... Program Analyst... PSIM.............. HSPD-12
GS-7........... Program Specialist PSIM.............. PIV Office
GS-7........... Program Specialist PSIM.............. PIV Office
GS-7........... Program Specialist PSIM.............. PIV Office
GS-7........... Program Specialist PSIM.............. PIV Office
GS-7........... Program Specialist PSIM.............. PIV Office
GS-7........... Program Specialist PSIM.............. PIV Office
GS-15.......... Director, PSIM.............. PSS
Personnel
Security and
Suitability.
GS-14.......... Acting Director/ PSIM.............. PSS
Deputy Director,
PSS.
GS-12/13....... Security PSIM.............. PSS
Specialist.
GS-12/13....... Security PSIM.............. PSS
Specialist.
GS-12.......... Security PSIM.............. PSS
Specialist.
GS-12.......... Security PSIM.............. PSS
Specialist.
GS-11.......... Security PSIM.............. PSS
Specialist.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Office of Security & Law Enforcement (OSLE)0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SES............ Director for S&LE. OSLE.............. OSLE Lead
GS-13.......... Program Analyst... OSLE.............. Operations
GS-13.......... Administrative OSLE.............. Operations
Officer.
GS-11.......... Staff Assistant... OSLE.............. Operations
GS-15.......... Director, Police OSLE.............. Police Lead
Service.
GS-07.......... Program Support OSLE.............. Operations
Assistant.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LEO/Investigations0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GS-14.......... Chief............. Oversight & Lead
Investigations.
GS-13.......... Criminal Oversight & Crim Inv
Investigator. Investigations.
............. Criminal Oversight & Crim Inv
Investigator. Investigations.
GS-13.......... Criminal Oversight & Crim Inv
Investigator Investigations.
(Watch officer).
GS-13.......... Criminal Oversight & Crim Inv
Investigator. Investigations.
GS-13.......... Criminal Oversight & Crim Inv
Investigator. Investigations.
GS-12/13....... Criminal Oversight & Crim Inv
Investigator. Investigations.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intelligence & Crime Analysis0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GS-14.......... Chief............. Intell & Crime Lead
Analysis.
GS-12/13....... Criminal Intell & Crime Crim Inv
Investigator Analysis.
(Watch officer).
GS-13.......... Criminal Intell & Crime Crim Inv
Investigator Analysis.
(Watch officer).
GS-13.......... Criminal Intell & Crime Crim Inv
Investigator Analysis.
(Watch officer).
GS-12/13....... Criminal Intell & Crime Crim Inv
Investigator. Analysis.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Executive Protection (EX Pro)0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GS-14.......... Chief............. Executive Lead
Protection.
GS-13.......... Criminal Executive EX Pro
Investigator. Protection.
GS-13.......... Criminal Executive EX Pro
Investigator. Protection.
GS-13.......... Criminal Executive EX Pro
Investigator. Protection.
GS-11.......... Criminal Executive EX Pro
Investigator. Protection.
GS-13.......... Criminal Executive EX Pro
Investigator. Protection.
GS-13.......... Criminal Executive EX Pro
Investigator. Protection.
GS-12.......... Criminal Executive Security
Investigator. Protection.
GS-12.......... Criminal Executive Security
Investigator. Protection.
GS-12.......... Security Executive EX Pro
Specialist. Protection.
GS-12.......... Security Executive EX Pro
Specialist. Protection.
WL-9........... Motor Vehicle Executive EX Pro
Operator. Protection.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Infrastructure Security & Policy0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GS-14.......... Chief............. Policy & Lead
Infrastructure
Protection.
GS-13.......... Security Policy & Security
Specialist. Infrastructure
Protection.
GS-12.......... Security Policy & Security
Specialist. Infrastructure
Protection.
GS-12/13....... Criminal Policy & EX Pro
Investigator. Infrastructure
Protection.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Identity, Credentials, and Access Management (ICAM)0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ES............. Director,ICAM..... ICAM.............. ICAM
GS-11.......... Staff Assistant... ICAM.............. ICAM
GS-14.......... Administrative ICAM.............. ICAM
Officer.
GS-12.......... Staff Assistant... ICAM.............. ICAM
GS-14.......... Program Analyst... ICAM.............. ICAM
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Identity Management0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GS-15.......... Director--Identity Identity Mgt...... Identity Mgt
Management.
GS-11.......... Staff Assistant... Identity Mgt...... Identity Mgt
GS-14.......... Program Analyst... Identity Mgt...... Identity Mgt
GS-14.......... Program Analyst... Identity Mgt...... Identity Mgt
GS-11/12/13.... Program Analyst... Identity Mgt...... Identity Mgt
GS-11/12/13.... Program Analyst... Identity Mgt...... Identity Mgt
GS-7/9/11...... Program Support... Identity Mgt...... Identity Mgt
GS-7/9/11...... Program Support... Identity Mgt...... Identity Mgt
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Access Management0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GS-15.......... Director- Access Access Mgt........ Access Mgt
Management.
GS-11.......... Staff Assistant... Access Mgt........ Access Mgt
GS-14.......... Program Analyst... Access Mgt........ Access Mgt
GS-14.......... Program Analyst... Access Mgt........ Access Mgt
GS-11/12/13.... Program Analyst... Access Mgt........ Access Mgt
GS-11/12/13.... Program Analyst... Access Mgt........ Access Mgt
GS-7/9/11...... Program Support... Access Mgt........ Access Mgt
GS-7/9/11...... Program Support... Access Mgt........ Access Mgt
------------------------------------------------------------------------
On-Board/Monitor/Off-Board0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GS-15.......... Director-On-Board/ On-Board/Off-Board On-Board/Off-
Off-Board. Board
GS-11.......... Staff Assistant... On-Board/Off-Board On-Board/Off-
Board
GS-14.......... Program Analyst... On-Board/Off-Board On-Board/Off-
Board
GS-11/12/13.... Program Analyst... On-Board/Off-Board On-Board/Off-
Board
GS-7/9/11...... Program Support... On-Board/Off-Board On-Board/Off-
Board
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 112. For fiscal year 2014, the Office of Operations,
Security, and Preparedness requests $10.6 million for Other Services.
Please provide a specific itemized list of how these funds would be
spent. To the extent any of these funds will be spent on contracts,
please explain the nature of the contract and the expected outcomes.
Response. OSP uses contract support in the following areas:
Department of Homeland Security/Federal Protective Service Contract
Guards for the Government Services Administration leased spaces in the
Capital Region ($3.2 million) and Program support for the Homeland
Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12) program management office
($6 million). OSP also pays for support for Continuity of Operations
sites and Continuity of Government sites, which are located outside of
the National Capital Region ($750,000). OSP also has internal VA
Service Level Agreements totaling $525,000 and some maintenance
contracts.
Question 113. According to the fiscal year 2014 budget request, the
Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness now expects to spend
$10.2 million on Other Services during fiscal year 2013, which is $6.2
million higher than the amount originally requested for fiscal year
2013 ($4.1 million).
A. Please explain what led to the expected increase in Other
Services during fiscal year 2013.
Response. Beginning in FY 2013, OSP assumed overall management
responsibility for the VA Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card
program, which had previously resided in the Office of Information and
Technology (OI&T). This increase in Other Services ($6.2 million) is a
direct result of that action. OSP is funding that program utilizing
reimbursable funding from the other Offices and Administrations.
B. Please provide an explanation of how these funds are expected to
be expended during fiscal year 2013.
Response. These funds ($6.2 million) will be used for contract
support at the 200+ PIV card issuing stations across the Department as
well as in the Project Management Office at headquarters.
Question 114. According to the fiscal year 2014 budget request, the
Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness now expects to spend
$1.8 million on supplies and materials in fiscal year 2013, which is
$1.6 million higher than VA originally requested for fiscal year 2013.
A. Please explain what led to the expected increase in supplies and
materials during fiscal year 2013.
Response. Beginning in FY 2013, OSP assumed overall management
responsibility for the VA PIV card program, which had previously
resided in OI&T. This increase in Supplies and Materials ($1.6 million)
is a direct result of that action. OSP is funding that program
utilizing reimbursable funding from the other Offices and
Administrations.
B. Please provide an explanation of how these funds are expected to
be expended during fiscal year 2013.
Response. This $1.6 million increase will be used to purchase
consumable supplies for PIV card issuing stations across the agency.
These supplies are mainly PIV card blanks that are centrally managed
which are used to issue new or replacement cards to agency employees,
contractors, and affiliates.
Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs
Question 115. For fiscal year 2014, the Office of Public and
Intergovernmental Affairs requests total resources of $25.7 million and
101 employees. Please provide a list of the positions that would be
filled with that funding and the pay-grades for those positions.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Question 116. For fiscal year 2014, the Office of Public and
Intergovernmental Affairs requests $9.5 million for purposes of the
Paralympics program.
A. During fiscal year 2013, how much is expected to be dispersed
through this grant program, what percentage of those funds are expected
to be used to pay the salary costs for employees of the U.S. Olympic
Committee/U.S. Paralympics, and how much is expected to be spent on
non-salary administrative costs by the U.S. Olympic Committee?
Response. For FY 2014, OPIA requests $9.5 million for purposes of
the Paralympics program. During FY 2013, the Paralympic program is
expected to disperse $7.5 million through the Paralympic grant, with 13
percent expected to be used to pay the salary costs for employees of
the U.S. Olympic Committee/U.S. Paralympics, and no funds expected to
be spent on non-salary administrative costs by the U.S. Olympic
Committee. The U.S. Olympic Committee does not intend to use Paralympic
grant funds for the allowed 5 percent administrative costs and intends
to use non-governmental sources of funding for non-salary
administrative costs.
B. During fiscal year 2014, how much is expected to be dispersed
through this grant program, what percentage of those funds are expected
to be used to pay the salary costs for employees of the U.S. Olympic
Committee/U.S. Paralympics, and how much is expected to be spent on
non-salary administrative costs by the U.S. Olympic Committee?
Response. During FY 2014, the Paralympic program is expected to
disperse $7.5 million through the Paralympic grant, with 13 percent
expected to be used to pay the salary costs for employees of the U.S.
Olympic Committee/U.S. Paralympics, and no funds expected to be spent
on non-salary administrative costs by the U.S. Olympic Committee. The
U.S. Olympic Committee does not intend to use Paralympic grant funds
for the allowed 5 percent administrative costs and intends to use non-
governmental sources of funding for non-salary administrative costs.
Question 117. According to the fiscal year 2014 budget request, the
Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs now expects to spend
$4.4 million on Other Services during fiscal year 2013, which is $2.9
million higher than the amount requested for fiscal year 2013 ($1.5
million), and that office requests $1.5 million for Other Services for
fiscal year 2014.
A. Please explain what led to the expected increase in Other
Services during fiscal year 2013.
Response. OPIA received $2.5 million to execute an outreach
initiative known as ``VA-Outreach.'' The goal of the initiative is to
increase Veterans access to VA health care, benefits, and services.
B. Please provide an itemized list of how these funds are expected
to be expended during fiscal year 2013 and fiscal year 2014. To the
extent any of these funds will be spent on contracts, please explain
the nature of the contract and the expected outcomes.
Response.
FY 2013 Other Services $4.4 million
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Contracts/Name (Est.) Description
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VA Outreach Initiative............... $2,500,000 The goal of the initiative is to increase Veterans access to
VA health care, benefits, and services. ``VA Outreach'' is a
national marketing and advertising outreach campaign with
the goal of bringing new Veterans to VA.
Barbaricum LLC....................... $231,000 To establish, maintain and distribute a customized executive
daily news summary.
Young & Rubicam Inc.................. $166,000 Vendor to provide graphic design services, custom computer
programming services and administrative and general
management consulting services is support of VA's Executive
Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian
Tribal Governments.
Rhinegold............................ $965,000 HVIO will have a continuing need for outreach support in FY
14. That support will include purchasing paid internet
advertising, developing and distributing public service
announcements (PSAs), partner development and support, and
distribution of materials promoting awareness and use of the
National Call Center for Homeless Veterans (NCCHV), and
other communications and public relations support in support
of the effort to end homelessness among Veterans by 2015.
Part of the effort on this contract serves the VHA Homeless
Office.
VA History Office and Archives....... $300,000 DVA seeks to establish an agency-wide VA History Office and
Archives to preserve its heritage and material culture and
to develop history outreach programs to benefit VA,
Veterans, Congress and other stakeholders, and the American
public.
Misc. Contracts...................... $250,000 Rent, Transit Subsidy, UPS Service, Service Level Agreements,
Copier Maintenances
-------------
TOTAL............................ $4,412,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2014 Other Services $1,506m
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount
Contracts (Est.) Description
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barbaricum LLC....................... $238,000 To establish, maintain and distribute a customized executive
daily news summary.
Rhinegold............................ $965,000 HVIO will have a continuing need for outreach support in FY
14. That support will include purchasing paid internet
advertising, developing and distributing public service
announcements (PSAs), partner development and support, and
distribution of materials promoting awareness and use of the
National Call Center for Homeless Veterans (NCCHV), and
other communications and public relations support in support
of the effort to end homelessness among Veterans by 2015.
Part of the effort on this contract serves the VHA Homeless
Office.
Misc Contracts....................... $250,000 Rent, Transit Subsidy, UPS Service, Service Level Agreements,
Copier Maintenances
-------------
TOTAL............................ $1,453,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 118. According to the fiscal year 2014 budget request, the
Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs requests $462,000 for
travel for fiscal year 2014. How many trips is that level of funding
expected to support and what is the average expected cost per trip?
Response. OPIA's request of $462,000 for travel in FY 2014 is
expected to support an estimation of 270 trips with an average
estimation of $1,702.00 cost per trip.
Question 119. In response to a question for the record regarding
the fiscal year 2013 budget request, VA provided the Committee with
information on advertising outreach activities for 2009 through 2013.
For the five-year period ending in 2013, VA reported spending $83.7
million. Please provide the Committee with updated amounts for 2013 and
how much is expected to be spent on advertising in fiscal year 2014.
Response. In FY 2013, OPIA received $15 million from VHA to support
media buys for regional advertising and the development of an outreach
Web site prior to the start of the national Ad Council advertising
campaign that will be launched in October 2013. OPIA also received
approval for $2.5 million in FY 2012 carry-over funds to support
creative advertising development, and social media advertising.
In FY 2014, the Ad Council campaign will be the lead advertising
effort under OPIA. The budget for the campaign during FY 2014 is
estimated at $1.3 million.
[Note: All three VA administrations maintain separate advertising
and outreach budget data on their efforts conducted in FY 2013.]
Question 120. VA's response to prehearing questions for the fiscal
year 2013 budget hearing stated that one of the missions of the
National Veterans Outreach Office (NVO) was to ``evaluate and develop
metrics to measure the effectiveness of outreach programs.''
A. Please describe the metrics that have been developed by NVO for
the purposes of evaluating VA outreach activities.
Response. The metric established for outreach is new access to one
or more of VA's programs. ``Access'' is defined as a Veteran, family
member, or a Servicemember who enrolls, registers, and/or uses one or
more VA benefits and services. The access baseline is the number of
unique individuals who accessed VA in FY 2012. ``New access'' is
defined as an individual accessing VA in FY 2013 who was not found in
any VA database in FY 2012. FY 2012 baseline data and FY 2013 access
data are both extracted from VBA, VHA, NCA and VA's e-Benefits portal.
In order to track and measure VA access, a reporting process was
established and approved by the VA Chief of Staff in December 2012. On
a monthly basis, VHA, VBA, and NCA provide data within their respective
areas of responsibility to the VA Office of Policy and Planning (OPP)
to process and determine new clients accessing VA.
B. What metrics will VA use to determine whether programs are
duplicative in nature? If that determination is made, what steps will
be taken to change or terminate the outreach?
Response. NVO leadership and team members confer regularly with
other VA Staff Offices and with all three VA Administrations to review
the status of current programs and review proposals for new projects.
Through this detailed process, potential for duplicity is identified
and plans developed to ensure programs that may be duplicative in
nature are not executed by NVO.
C. Have any outreach programs or campaigns been terminated early by
VA because they have been deemed ineffective?
Response. Thus far, NVO has not terminated any outreach programs or
campaigns due to ineffectiveness. All of NVO's outreach programs or
campaigns have sufficient built-in flexibility to enable reinforcing
efforts along a proven path of success and also have off-ramp
capabilities to preclude following a path that is not producing the
intended result(s) or effect(s).
D. How does VA evaluate whether veteran participation in services
offered by VA is a result of outreach activities undertaken by VA?
Response. NVO presently uses the database tracking system discussed
in Question 120 to determine how outreach is impacting new user access
to VA benefits and services. Starting in October 2013, VA and the Ad
Council are launching a national advertising campaign targeting
Veterans and their families to increase their awareness and usage of
all VA benefits, programs, and services. The campaign's messaging will
direct the targeted audience to access a specially-created web page for
more information about VA. Access to this web page will be tracked as
one method of measuring the effectiveness of the advertising campaign.
Additionally, the Ad Council uses the leading monitoring, audience
and valuation services available in the industry to capture the data
pertaining to the markets where the public service announcements aired
during the campaign. The donated media support will be monitored and
reported to VA approximately two months after the close of each quarter
across the following:
Local broadcast, network cable, and local cable television
Radio (traditional and streaming)
Print (magazine and newspaper)
Web banners
Outdoor
Public Relations
The Ad Council will also provide preliminary monthly reports to VA
to assist with directional analysis. This information will include
reports from:
Local broadcast detections, dollar values, and specific
placement
Network cable detections and specific placement
Banner placements and click-through rates
Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs
Question 121. According to the 2012 PAR, during 2012 VA
``[i]mproved relations with Congress by improving responsiveness and
communicating more effectively.''
A. Please explain the statistics or information that were the basis
for this conclusion.
Response. The Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs
(OCLA) is responsible for maintaining open communications with Congress
through briefings, meetings, office calls, hearings, site visits,
written communications, reports, and responses to Congressional Member
offices and Congressional Committee requests for information. OCLA also
supports Congressional offices' Veterans constituent casework and is
responsible for VA interaction with the U.S. Government Accountability
Office (GAO). OCLA coordinates all VA-GAO meetings, correspondence, and
reports.
During FY 2012, OCLA supported 72 congressional hearings (57%
increase over FY 2011), coordinated 688 briefings (52% increase over FY
2011), responded to 1,404 questions for the record, processed over
19,703 constituent casework inquires, supported 43 GAO Entrance
Conferences, 41 Exit Conferences (41% increase over FY 2011), 65 Draft
Reports (35% increase over FY 2011), and 72 Final Reports (53% increase
over FY 2011). FY 2012 was the first year OCLA measured the number of
formal responses to requests for information. In FY 2012, OCLA
responded to 2,750 congressional requests for information.
B. During fiscal year 2012, what was the average time it took to
fulfill briefing requests by the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs?
Response. During FY 2012, OCLA coordinated 688 briefs to Members of
Congress and staff. This was a 52 percent increase over the 454 briefs
conducted in FY 2011. Briefs were coordinated based on the priority set
by the requesting committee and the Department.
C. During fiscal year 2012, what was the average time it took to
fulfill briefing requests by the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs?
Response. During FY 2012, OCLA coordinated 688 briefs to Members of
Congress and staff. This was a 52 percent increase over the 454 briefs
conducted in FY 2011. Briefs were coordinated based on the priority set
by the requesting committee and the Department.
D. To date in fiscal year 2013, how many requests from the Senate
or House Committees on Veterans' Affairs have gone unfulfilled for more
than 2 weeks and for more than 4 weeks?
Response. During FY 2013, OCLA coordinated 999 briefings to Members
of Congress, congressional committees, and staff. This was a 45 percent
increase over FY 2012. The priority for briefings was set by the
requesting Member or congressional committee, and the Department.
During FY 2013, OCLA developed and maintains a Workload Dashboard
that identifies all of the congressional action items the office is
currently working.
As of October 17, 2013, the OCLA Dashboard listed the following
outstanding items:
133 Congressional Requests for Information
86 Executive Congressional Correspondence items addressed
to the Secretary
732 Questions for the Record
17 Hearing Deliverables
Additionally, OCLA is also working:
- 427 Congressional Constituent Casework Inquires
- 17 GAO actions
- 20 Requests for Technical Assistance on Legislation
- 35 Briefings within the next 30 days
The total current daily volume of work constitutes over 1,400
action items. Given this extensive volume of work, OCLA reviews and
prioritizes its efforts to support both the Department and Congress.
Unfortunately, with such a large workload, there will be items that
will take longer to complete than we would like.
Question 122. For fiscal year 2014, the Office of Congressional and
Legislative Affairs requests $6 million and 45 employees. Please
provide a list of the positions that would be filled with that funding
and the pay-grades for those positions.
Response. The 45 positions and their corresponding pay-grades are
as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Assistant Secretary.......................... EX
Director Congressional Affairs............... SES
Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary......... SES
Director of Operations....................... GS-15
Director, Benefits Legislative Service....... GS-15
Director, Health Legislative Service......... GS-15
Director, Legislative Service................ GS-15
Director, Corporate Enterprise Legislative GS-15
Service.
Director, Congressional Reports and GS-15
Correspondence.
Special Assistant............................ GS-15
Special Assistant............................ GS-15
2 Administrative Officers.................... GS-14
Executive Correspondence Analyst............. GS-14
13 Congressional Relations Officers.......... GS-12/13/14
GAO Liaison Officer.......................... GS-14
6 Program Analysts........................... GS-9/11
Assistant Director, Congressional Liaison GS-14
Service.
Senior Congressional Liaison Representative.. GS-13
Congressional Liaison Officer................ GS-13
3 Congressional Liaison Representatives...... GS-12
Staff Assistant.............................. GS-11
3 Congressional Liaison Assistant............ GS-7/8/9
Program Assistant............................ GS-8
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 123. In connection with VA's fiscal year 2013 budget
request, the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs outlined
the measures and metrics used to evaluate the performance of that
office.
A. In terms of those measures and metrics, please assess the
performance of the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs
during fiscal year 2012.
Response. During FY 2012 OCLA continued to carry out its Strategic
Plan to ``Enhance relationships with Congress by improving
responsiveness and communicating more effectively'' though a pro-active
strategy designed to provide accurate, relevant, and timely information
to Congress. OCLA also achieved full operational capability of its
congressional knowledge management system that provides a database to
catalog the Department's congressional activities.
OCLA's workforce, of whom 50% are Veterans, accomplished the
following in FY 2012:
Supported 72 Hearings (57% increase over FY 2011)
Coordinated 688 Briefings (52% increase over FY 2011)
Coordinated responses to 1,404 Questions for the Record
Responded to 2,750 Requests for Information (first year
for this performance measure)
Supported 57 Congressional oversight travel visits
Supported 43 GAO Entrance Conferences
Supported 41 GAO Exit Conferences (41% increase over FY
2011)
Coordinated the Department's responses to 65 GAO Draft
Reports (35% increase over FY 2011)
Supported 72 GAO Final Reports (53% increase over FY 2011)
Coordinated 19,703 Congressional Constituent Inquires
Submitted 75% of questions for the record on time (Target
goal was 85%)
Submitted 88% of testimony on time (Target goal is 90%)
Submitted 68% of Title 38 reports on time (Target goal is
85%)
B. In terms of those measures and metrics, what performance
outcomes are expected during fiscal year 2013?
Response. OCLA achieved the following outcomes in FY 2013:
Supported 62 Hearings
Coordinated 999 Briefings (45% increase over FY 2012)
Coordinated responses to 310 Questions for the Record
Responded to 3,544 Requests for Information (29% increase
over FY 2012--first year this performance measure was kept)
Supported 63 Congressional oversight travel visits
Supported 51 GAO Entrance Conferences (19% increase over
FY 2012)
Supported 36 GAO Exit Conferences
Coordinated the Department's responses to 31 GAO Draft
Reports
Supported 35 GAO Final Reports
Coordinated 24,949 Congressional Constituent Inquires (27%
increase over FY 2012)
Submitted 13% of questions for the record on time (Target
goal was 85%)
Submitted 75% of testimony on time (Target goal is 90%)
Submitted 24% of Title 38 reports on time (Target goal is
85%)
C. In terms of those measures and metrics, what performance
outcomes are expected during fiscal year 2014 if the requested level of
funding is provided?
Response. OCLA will continue to advance responsive and effective
congressional communications (i.e., proactive approach to briefings,
meetings, hearings, site visits, and constituent service) to increase
the information exchanged regarding the Department of Veterans Affairs
among Members of Congress and staff.
If the requested level of funding is provided, OCLA would look to
efficiencies, technology, and effective prioritization to maintain its
level of performance and achieve the following outcomes in FY 2014:
100% Support of all Hearings set by Congress
Conduct approximately 700 Briefings
Respond to approximately 1,200 Questions for the Record
Respond to approximately 3,750 Requests for Information
Support 59 Congressional oversight travel visits
Support approximately 60 GAO Entrance Conferences
Support approximately 20 GAO Exit Conferences
Coordinate the Department's response to approximately 60
GAO Draft Reports
Support approximately 25 GAO Final Reports
Coordinate approximately 19,000 Congressional Constituent
Inquires
OCLA would strive to meet its target goals of:
90% Percentage of questions for the record submitted
on time
90% Percentage of testimony submitted on time
85% Percentage of Title 38 reports submitted on time
Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction
Question 124. In response to questions about the fiscal year 2013
budget request, VA indicated that the Office of Acquisition, Logistics,
and Construction planned to spend $5 million during fiscal year 2013 on
an ``Acquisition Improvement Initiative,'' which was described as
developing the acquisition workforce.
A. How much has VA expended on that initiative to date?
Response. VA has spent $3,979,384 on the Acquisition Improvement
Initiative as of August 31, 2013, and is spending an additional
$916,000 in September 2013, for a total of $4,895,384.
B. Please describe this initiative in more detail and outline any
measureable outcomes that have resulted from this initiative.
Response. The Office of Acquisition, Logistics and Construction
(OALC) is committed to continuing the improvement of the acquisition
process. To ensure that these improvements are sustainable, OALC
embarked on an aggressive path to increase the capacity and capability
of the acquisition workforce. OALC has begun to increase the size of
the acquisition workforce and improve the training of all employees
that have a significant impact to the process, to include the Major
Construction and Leasing Program Managers and Resident Engineers.
OALC increased the capacity of the acquisition workforce supporting
major construction and leasing by hiring 19 contracting officers since
fiscal year (FY) 2012. This represents an 80 percent increase in
contracting expertise. OALC has also invested in training and
technology to ensure sustained improvement. The legacy program
management software is currently being replaced by a state-of-the-art
system and nationwide training is ongoing. OALC has also invested in
additional program management and coaching focused on the acquisition
process. The table below details the distribution of the Acquisition
Improvement Initiative funds:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Program Management Software Services (TRIRIGA)............. $2,310,000
Program Management and Coaching Training................... $1,185,384
Salary & Benefits.......................................... $1,425,000
------------
$4,920,384
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 125. For fiscal year 2014, the Office of Acquisition,
Logistics, and Construction requests total resources of $87 million and
492 employees, an increase of 146 FTE over the fiscal year 2012 level.
A. Please provide a list of the positions added since fiscal year
2012.
Response.
Proposed Positions Over the FY 2012 Level
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resident Engineers......................................... 42
Project Managers/Program Managers.......................... 34
Realty Specialists......................................... 3
Planners................................................... 18
Contracting Specialists.................................... 23
Architect/Engineers........................................ 3
Management Support......................................... 23
------------
Total.................................................. 146
------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. Have those positions been and will those positions generally be
filled through hiring new employees or transferring employees from
other VA offices?
Response.
Actual Hired Positions
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resident Engineers......................................... 20
Planners................................................... 4
Contracting Specialists.................................... 19
------------
Total.................................................. 43
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To date, 43 positions have been hired with 77 percent of the
positions being new hires from outside VA. The majority of the 106 open
positions are currently projected to be filled from outside VA.
Question 126. According to the fiscal year 2014 budget request, the
Office Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction now expects to spend
$19.6 million on Other Services during fiscal year 2013, which is $5.7
million higher than the amount requested for fiscal year 2013 ($13.9
million), and that office requests $7 million for Other Services for
fiscal year 2014.
A. Please explain what led to the expected increase in Other
Services during fiscal year 2013.
Response. Updated hiring plans reduced the requirement for personal
services funds in FY 2013. $5.6 million from personal services was
moved to other services and is targeted for contract needs. In FY 2014,
hiring is expected to reach planned levels, and other services funding
will decrease proportionately. Due to delays in hiring, OALC will
pursue contracts to support efforts of the Construction Review Council
(CRC) and other improvements to address issues noted in the GAO report,
GAO-13-556T.
B. Please provide an itemized list of how these funds are expected
to be expended during fiscal year 2013 and fiscal year 2014. To the
extent any of these funds will be spent on contracts, please explain
the nature of the contract and the expected outcomes.
Response. See charts below.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Question 127. According to the 2012 PAR, in April 2012 VA
established a Construction Review Council (CRC). The stated purpose of
the CRC is to ``oversee the Department's development and execution of
its real property capital asset programs.'' The PAR also notes that VA
has started ``initiatives to advance the timely delivery of first-rate
facilities.''
A. Please provide a list of the members of the CRC, including their
positions and for which VA agency or department they work. If a member
of the CRC is not an employee of VA, please include the agency, Cabinet
level department, company, or association for which they work.
Response. The following positions are members of the CRC and are VA
employees:
Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs
Deputy Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs
Under Secretary of Health
Under Secretary of Memorial Affairs
Under Secretary of Benefits
Principal Executive Director, Office of Acquisitions,
Logistics and Construction (OALC)
Executive Director, Construction and Facilities Management
Assistant Secretary for Management
Director, Office of Asset and Enterprise Management
Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration
Assistant Secretary for Information Technology
Assistant Secretary for Policy and Planning
Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Legislative
Affairs
General Counsel
Assistant Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Policy and
Planning, Veterans Health Administration
The relevant Veterans Integrated Service Network and VA
medical center Directors as well as relevant construction program
executives and senior resident engineers will participate as required.
B. What is the duration of the CRC, and for how long do the members
of the CRC serve?
Response. The CRC does not have a termination date. Members on the
Council are by position; therefore, the incumbent will serve on the
panel.
C. Please describe, in detail, the initiatives (referenced above)
VA has undertaken to improve or ``advance timely delivery of first-rate
facilities to better serve our Nation's veterans.''
Response. The CRC defined four areas of concentration in order to
advance timely delivery of first-rate facilities to better serve our
Nation's Veterans. They are:
Requirements--Adequately develop requirements during the
planning process of a construction project.
Design--Improve design quality to minimize added costs
and/or delays during construction.
Budget--Effectively coordinate design, construction and
activation costs
Project Management--Streamline program management and
automation enterprise-wide tools.
The OALC initiatives to address these areas include:
Develop policy to align with the Strategic Capital
Investment Planning (SCIP) process and the move to a 35 percent design,
to adequately develop requirements before requesting major construction
funding.
Examine the current peer review process, adequacy of
current design guide, errors and omission rates, and guide
specifications, to ensure all are current and effective, increase
quality of the design, and allow fewer changes during construction.
Establish mechanisms, such as activations funding, to
coordinate the various funding streams required for major construction,
to ensure funding for medical equipment and Office of Information and
Technology equipment, to support the construction schedule.
Field the construction project management software package
(TRIRIGA) across the enterprise.
Question 128. The 2012 PAR indicates that VA has seen a ``cost
savings or avoidance'' of $82 million through selling property, space
management, and other initiatives. It also notes that VA has reduced
its vacant buildings by 23 percent over the last five years.
A. As of the start of fiscal year 2013, how many vacant or
underutilized properties does VA have in its inventory? Please break
this out by building or property type (hospital, clinic, office
building, etc.).
Response. At the end of FY 2012/beginning of FY 2013, VA had
approximately 974 vacant or underutilized buildings, of which 418 (43%)
were historic buildings. Of the 974, approximately 228 were vacant and
746 were underutilized.
The 974 buildings account for approximately 10.5 million Square
Feet (SF) of space in vacant or underutilized buildings. Of that total,
4.1 million SF is located in vacant buildings and 6.4 million SF is
located in underutilized buildings.
End of FY 2012 Vacant/Underutilized Buildings
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sq Ft # Sq Ft
Usage Type # Vacant Vacant Underutilized Underutilized Total # Total Sq
Buildings Buildings Buildings Buildings Buildings Ft
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dormitories/Barracks................. 2 110,200 0 0 2 110,200
Hospital............................. 14 1,315,299 32 706,071 46 2,021,370
Housing.............................. 58 294,004 52 233,414 110 527,418
Industrial........................... 2 2,278 57 243,619 59 245,897
Laboratories......................... 1 133,730 10 223,307 11 357,037
Office............................... 26 469,980 89 1,137,132 115 1,607,112
Other Institutional Uses............. 8 168,282 56 823,400 64 991,682
Outpatient Health care Facility...... 1 74,551 3 22,319 4 96,870
Service.............................. 16 145,115 193 1,342,195 209 1,487,310
Warehouses (Storage/Sheds)........... 21 177,237 143 787,358 164 964,595
All Other............................ 79 1,186,290 111 859,117 190 2,045,407
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grand Total...................... 228 4,076,966 746 6,377,932 974 10,454,898
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. In fiscal year 2014, how many vacant or underutilized properties
does VA expect to have in its inventory? Please break this out by
building or property type (hospital, clinic, office building, etc.).
Response. VA projects it will have approximately 941 vacant or
underutilized buildings at the end of FY 2013/beginning of FY 2014. Of
the 941, approximately 206 would be considered vacant and 735
underutilized. In terms of SF, there will be 3.8 million SF in vacant
buildings and 6.2 million SF in underutilized buildings, for a total of
10.0 million SF in the portfolio.
The reduction in vacant and underutilized buildings from end of FY
2012 is the result of disposing of un-needed assets;, however, there
are challenges in further reducing VA inventory in this area. Of the
projected 941 vacant or underutilized assets, 409 (44%) are considered
historic buildings, limiting VA's ability to dispose or reuse these
assets in many cases.
Competing stakeholder interests in some of these vacant or
underutilized assets also has hampered disposal or reuse efforts. VA is
looking at further opportunities to reduce our vacant and underutilized
footprint, as mentioned earlier. Having tools in place, such as a fully
restored Enhanced-Use Lease (EUL) authority or Civilian Property
Realignment Act (CPRA), as proposed by the President of the United
States, would help overcome some of these challenges and allow VA to
more effectively reduce its inventory of vacant and underutilized
assets.
Projected End of FY 2013 Vacant/Underutilized Buildings
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sq Ft # Sq Ft
Usage Type # Vacant Vacant Underutilized Underutilized Total # Total Sq
Buildings Buildings Buildings Buildings Buildings Ft
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dormitories/Barracks................. 1 85,000 0 0 1 85,000
Hospital............................. 14 1,315,299 32 706,071 46 2,021,370
Housing.............................. 55 283,430 52 233,414 107 516,844
Industrial........................... 1 555 56 241,019 57 241,574
Laboratories......................... 1 133,730 8 213,034 9 346,764
Office............................... 22 424,172 89 1,137,132 111 1,561,304
Other Institutional Uses............. 6 163,892 55 719,161 61 883,053
Outpatient Health care Facility...... 1 74,551 3 22,319 4 96,870
Service.............................. 15 129,055 190 1,309,696 205 1,438,751
Warehouses (Storage/Sheds)........... 17 166,571 139 780,740 156 947,311
All Other............................ 73 1,050,377 111 859,117 184 1,909,494
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grand Total...................... 206 3,826,632 735 6,221,703 941 10,048,335
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. For each of fiscal years 2012, 2013, and 2014, how much has VA
spent or does VA expect to spend on maintenance of vacant or
underutilized property?
Response. VA does not track actual costs at the building level;
however it does use a proration methodology to report building level
costs to the Federal Real Property Profile (FRPP) annually. For FY
2012, VA estimates it spent approximately $23.4 million on the 974
vacant and underutilized assets in its portfolio. A further breakdown
of those costs is an estimated $6 million on the 228 vacant buildings
and $17 million on the 746 underutilized assets.
The average cost for vacant buildings is $1.48/SF and is consistent
with previous estimates on maintaining vacant assets. Underutilized
buildings are still in use, therefore incur greater operating expenses
than a purely vacant building. The average cost for maintaining
underutilized buildings is $2.72/SF
The average cost per SF to maintain a vacant or underutilized
building would likely remain constant over the next several years.
Given current disposal plans, the overall estimated cost to operate
vacant and underutilized buildings would range from $22 to $24 million
annually in FY 2013 and FY 2014.
Question 129. Public Law 111-82 authorized VA to enter into leases
for seven Health Care Centers (HCCs). The law provided $150 million to
cover the startup costs and the first year's rent; however, VA has only
obligated $40 million for construction costs.
A. How much in total will be needed to construct theses HCCs and
when will they start treating veterans? Please breakdown this funding
by individual HCC.
Response. VA obligates the build-out funds and first year's rent
upon contract award. To date, four of the seven HCCs have been awarded
and approximately $52.7 million has been obligated. Please see the
table below for specific amounts related to each project. VA's request
for authorization and actual costs expended are linked to the medical
build-out requirements along with the rent payments, not necessarily
the developer's cost to construct the facility. Please see below for a
breakout of each HCC and anticipated or actual costs, which are
dependent on the contract award (projects highlighted in gray have been
awarded). Also included for each clinic is the anticipated date for
first patient day.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charlotte, Fayetteville, Loma Linda, Monterey, Montgomery, Winston-
Butler, PA NC NC CA CA AL Salem, NC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual Lease Cost--Year1($)............................... 5,755,683 14,232,000 7,662,113 16,249,000 6,183,000 3,723,855 10,986,664
Build-Out($).............................................. 2,813,953 16,225,000 8,936,545 14,905,000 5,445,000 3,214,237 9,604,089
Size (in net usable square feet).......................... 168,000 295,000 259,600 271,000 99,000 111,407 280,000
Date of Contract Award (Planned(P) & Actual(A)).......... May-12(A) Aug-13(P) Sep-12(A) Aug-13(P) Aug-13(P) May-13(A) May-13(A)
Anticipated Date to Start Treating Veterans............... TBD* Jan-16 Aug-15 Feb-16 Jan-16 Nov-15 Nov-15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* VA's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) completed an investigation of Westar and its related companies and principals and found that Westar made
fraudulent misrepresentations in its offer during the procurement process. Due to these findings, VA issued a stop work order on June 21, 2013, and a
``Show Cause'' letter to Westar on July 12, 2013. The lease was terminated for default effective as of August 9, 2013. VA reopened the Butler HCC
lease procurement on September 30, 2013, and expects a new lease award by May 2014.
B. What is VA doing to track costs of the HCCs to ensure there is
effective management of and supervision over the HCC leasing project?
Response. VA's lease acquisition process utilized on the HCCs
follows a number of methods to ensure effective cost management. Leases
adhere to the Competition in Contracting Act to ensure that maximum
competition is pursued, which yields the most competitive pricing
possible on each contract. Each lease is conducted as a ``best-value''
procurement, meaning that both price and technical factors are
evaluated and weighed prior to VA making the final award determination.
In order to track and manage funds expended on the HCCs, VA is
maintaining clear, consistent contract files that include spreadsheets
of all obligations pertaining to each project. Each project is
effectively managed by an acquisition team that includes a Real Estate
Project Manager and Contracting Officer from OALC; representatives from
leadership and engineering at the parent VA medical centers, and, as
needed, technical support from architect and engineer firms and legal
support from VA's Office of General Counsel. VA also assigns two to
three resident engineers for each of the HCCs to oversee the project
during the post-award design and construction phases, to ensure that
the contract is executed in a quality and timely manner.
Question 130. The 2012 PAR highlights the Warrior to Workforce
Program implemented by the Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and
Construction. The Warrior to Workforce Program is a three-year pilot
program that trains service-connected disabled veterans to become
contract specialists.
A. What metrics will VA use to determine if this program will be
expanded beyond the three-year pilot?
Response. The Warriors to Workforce (W2W) program has garnered
positive recognition for the great benefits derived by both the
Veterans in the program as well as VA. The W2W program has earned both
the Secretary's Award and the Chief Acquisition Officer's Council
Award, for its innovative approach to training wounded Veterans. Many
metrics have been collected and evaluated; below are some of the more
meaningful outcomes:
100 percent completion of the positive education
requirement for the 1102 series; average college business course grade
point average was 3.7 (4.0 scale) (Targeted metric was 95 percent).
Peak performance training resulted in 154 percent improvement in
attention; 58 percent brain speed improvement for working memory; 32
percent improvement on short term memory recall, and many other notable
achievements (Targeted metric was >30 percent improvement).
22 percent of the cohort will receive a Bachelor's of
Science in Business by May 2013; 65 percent of the cohort will receive
a Bachelor's degree within the next year.
VA acquisition organizations have embraced the W2W program
which is demonstrated by an overwhelming willingness to host a W2W
intern during their first on-the-job training period (which falls
within the 2-year Acquisition Intern Program).
Additionally, the VA Acquisition Academy (VAAA) established a
continuous improvement process for the W2W program to measure learning,
validate program effectiveness and incorporate lessons learned. VAAA
monitors 28 key program metrics to assess program success and
measurable benefit to the organization. Notable metrics demonstrating
results include:
W2W intern retention is 96 percent, as of May 14, 2013,
compared to 90 percent retention for the overall VA acquisition
workforce (Targeted metric was >80 percent).
W2W courses rate 4.3 out of 5.0 for overall effectiveness
(Targeted metric was 4.0 on a Lickert scale).
Interns receive an average of 96 percent on course exams
for the Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (Targeted
metric was >80 percent).
100 percent of interns received at least 95 percent
``Acceptable'' and ``Mastery'' ratings for performance in training
activities (Targeted metric was >90 percent).
The W2W Program has a broad reaching impact on groups including the
wounded Veteran participants and their families, Federal acquisition
organizations and America's Veteran population. The specific short and
long-term impacts, including lasting effects, on each of these groups
are outlined below:
The Veteran participant and their families:
Are provided a long-term professional career with
valuable skills (Peak Performance Training) that will benefit
them professionally and personally; and
Obtain a sense of purpose, pride, esteem, and
stability to be passed on to spouses and children.
The Federal Acquisition Organizations:
Receive an influx of well-rounded professionals
ready to hit the ground running; and
Benefit from succession planning efforts to supply a
pipeline of acquisition professionals for VA and other
government agencies.
America's Veterans:
Receive world-class service by expertly training
acquisition professionals who understand Veteran needs and
issues; and
Are provided increased career opportunities through
expanded programs for Veteran development.
As a result of the positive results from the completion of the W2W
program year one and the previously demonstrated success and metrics of
the 2-year Acquisition Intern Program (AIP), OALC intends to launch
additional intern cohorts as outlined in questions 2 and 3 below. The
intention is to expand participation by other executive agencies (NOTE:
GSA participated in the pilot program). Additionally, OALC is piloting
a W2W cohort focused on a program management career track. This cohort,
launched in January 2013, and sponsored and funded by VA's Office of
Information and Technology, uses the same successful program design and
focuses on the competencies required to become a program manager.
B. How much is expected to be spent on the Warrior to Workforce
Program for fiscal year 2014?
Response. Our budget forecasts $2.2 million for FY 2014; which
includes one acquisition-focused, and one program management-focused
cohort, for a total of 48 W2W participants in the program for FY 2014.
The funding covers staff cost, participants on-the-job training,
curriculum delivery, contractual services, and administrative costs
(supplies, printing, reproduction, materials, and equipment).
Cost effectiveness is central to the design and delivery of the W2W
program. Some examples include:
Participants utilize their Veteran benefits to fund the
college courses received in the program, resulting in a significant
cost savings for their training during program year one.
The program utilizes existing online courseware to
supplement the interns' development at no additional cost.
The program provides a supplement to existing proven
career development programs (such as the VA Acquisition Internship
School's Acquisition Intern Program for the inaugural W2W cohort).
C. Please describe the program in detail, including the number of
veterans currently in or who have completed the program, the courses
the veterans take, and any internships required.
Response. Twenty-eight interns have completed their first year and
have moved into the AIP. There are 20 interns currently in the first
year of the program management career track. OALC anticipates hiring
another acquisition W2W cohort in FY 2014, and is in discussions with
VA's Office of Information and Technology, to sponsor another FY 2014
program management cohort. Implementation of these additional
acquisition and program management cohorts would train an additional 48
Veterans.
VA launched the W2W program on December 5, 2011, to integrate
wounded Veterans into the acquisition workforce and uphold President
Lincoln's promise, ``to care for him who shall have borne the battle,
and for his widow, and his orphan'' by serving and honoring the men and
women who are America's Veterans. The mission of the program,
supporting Executive Order 13518--Employment of Veterans, is to assist
in the reintegration of wounded Veterans by preparing them for a career
as a Contract Specialist (GS-1102) or as a Program Manager (GS-0343).
As President Obama said in his address to Congress and the Nation, ``We
ask these men and women to leave their careers, leave their families,
and risk their lives to fight for our country. The last thing they
should have to do is fight for a job when they come home.'' Ideal
candidates are Veterans who have: (1) service-connected disabilities
and (2) little or no post high school education. The W2W program
addresses both the employment challenges facing wounded Veterans and
the workforce development challenges of the acquisition community. The
program design allows for participation from other government agencies.
The W2W program took an innovative approach to hiring the wounded
Veterans (including one GSA participant). The program utilizes the
Veteran's Recruitment Authority to access and target Veterans most in
need of career and development opportunities. VAAA also collaborated
with VA Veterans Employment Coordination Service and Vocational
Rehabilitation and Employment Program, DOD Wounded Warrior Transition
Programs and Veterans Service Organizations in identifying wounded
Veteran candidates.
The W2W program is a 3-year holistic training program providing
Veterans an opportunity to apply military experiences and skills to the
contract specialist career field. In the program;'s first year,
participants receive academic education, peak performance training, an
introduction to acquisition or project/program management, and
participate in mission service activities. Upon successful completion,
participants transition to the 2-year Acquisition Intern or Program
Management Fellows Programs.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
The initial year consists of 4 main components: Business Education,
Foundational Curriculum, Peak Performance Training, and Mission
Service. The purpose of these components is to build on the skill sets
imparted by the military, and prepare the W2W interns for either the 2-
year AIP, or the 2-year Program Management Fellows Program.
Business Education consists of accredited college-level courses to
prepare the interns for either the contracting or project/program
management career. The Foundational training consists of introductory
technical courses to introduce the interns to the technical specialty
of the career field and to prepare them in other office fundamentals
(including Microsoft Office applications and essential business
competencies). The Peak Performance training consists of highly
intensive, customized workshops and one-on-one sessions with training
coaches focused on mental and physiological conditioning to perform at
peak levels under pressure and stress. The Mission Service component is
designed to give the interns a chance to participate in efforts to
serve Veterans and gain a better understanding of VA's mission, vision,
and core values.
The courses within the Business Education component vary slightly
by the participant's track (acquisitions or project/program
management):
Acquisition
(Business curriculum targeted to meet the positive education
requirements of the 1102 career field):
Business Writing
Business Mathematics
Introduction to Business and Decision-Making
Computer Applications for Business
Accounting Principles I
Business Management and Organization
Accounting Principles II
Corporate Finance I
Business Law I
Business Communications: Written and Oral
Project/Program Management (PM)
(Combination of Business and Information Technology curriculum):
Business Writing
Business Mathematics
Computer Applications for Business
Computer Programming I
Information Systems
Operating Environments
Intro to Business Decision Making
Principles of Accounting I
Data base Design
Business Law
Systems Analysis and Design
Corporate Finance
Interns also have over 200 online courses to complete during the
first year as foundational curriculum in many topic areas including
technical and business competency, and computer skills. Examples of
foundational curriculum experienced by W2W acquisition interns include:
Negotiation Essentials, VA Contract Security, Performance Based
Services Acquisition, Simplified Acquisition Procedures, Overview of
Acquisition Ethics, Influencing Key Decision Makers, Getting Started
with Microsoft Word, Moving and Getting Around in Excel, Interpersonal
Communications, Workplace Conflict, Business Etiquette and Customer
Interactions. Examples of foundational curriculum experienced by W2W
program management interns include: Introduction to Project Management
Using Project, Monitoring Schedule, Building a Schedule with Project,
Communicating Project Information with Project, Influencing Key
Decision Makers, Getting Started with Microsoft Word, Moving and
Getting Around in Excel, Interpersonal Communications, Workplace
Conflict, Business Etiquette and Customer Interactions.
Interns also participate in Peak Performance training that
strengthens key mental skills (e.g., Goal Setting, Stress-Energy
Management) to assist with challenges associated with Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury. This approach boosts their
attention, memory, flexibility, and problem solving to perform at a
peak level under pressure and stress.
The final component is Mission Service. The interns plan and
participate in a wide range of Mission Service activities throughout
the program in an effort to gain a better understanding of VA's
mission, vision, and core values. Mission Service activities expose the
interns to the Veteran community through hands-on experience with VA
services and fellow Veterans. Interns take an active role in selecting
and coordinating Mission Service activities, providing a valuable
opportunity for development of teamwork and leadership skills.
The interns are hired as a GS-5 for their transition year, and
placed on a career ladder to GS-11. Interns in both the Acquisition
track and the Project/Program Management track complete the transition
year and move into their respective 2-year technical training. The
technical training delivers the training and experience for either the
Federal Acquisition Certification--Contracting or the Federal
Acquisition Certification--Project/Program Management.
The main goal of the W2W program is to transition the Veteran into
the business workplace and to provide training leading to a productive
career within VA. It serves VA by providing a valuable source of VA-
trained employees who bring valuable skills learned in the military
(i.e. integrity, discipline, teamwork, etc).
Question 131. The fiscal year 2014 budget request for Construction,
Major Projects, includes a request of $44 million for the Advanced
Planning Fund. This appropriated fund is comprised of ``no year money''
and is used to develop the early stages of construction projects for
the Veterans Health Administration, the National Cemetery
Administration, the Veterans Benefits Administration, and VA central
office staff offices.
A. What is the unobligated balance of the Advanced Planning Fund?
Response. The balance is $141. million as of the September 30,
2013. The table below reflects the anticipated balance in the Advanced
Planning Fund at the end of FY 2014.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unobligated Balance as of September 30, 2013).............. $141,106
FY 2014 Request............................................ $44,000
------------
Subtotal of Available Funds.............................. $185,106
Less: Expected FY 2014 Obligations....................... $182,042
------------
Balance Remaining.......................................... $3,064
------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. For fiscal year 2012, please provide a detailed description and
amount for each project funded through the Advanced Planning Fund.
Response. See table for 2012 below.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2012
Location/Description Obligations
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alameda, CA--OPC........................................... $694,963
Biloxi, MS--Mental Health Ctr Renovations.................. $209,583
Biloxi, MS--PM & RS /Prosthetics........................... $209,583
Bronx, NY--Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)........................ $869,398
Canandaigua, NY--New Construction CLC and Domiciliary...... $380,180
Dallas, TX--Clinical Expansion of Mental Health............ $402,033
Dallas, TX--Long Term SCI.................................. $901,173
East Central Florida--New Cemetery (MP/SD/DD).............. $1,664,339
Fayetteville, AR--Parking Garage........................... $261,258
Ft. Sam Houston, TX--National Cemetery (Master Plan)....... $332,571
Las Vegas, NV--New Adminstration Building.................. $865,480
Lexington, KY (Leestown)--Clinical Campus Realignment $610,409
(Master Plan).............................................
Livermore, CA--Realignment & Closure....................... $5,349,373
Long Beach, CA--Seismic Corrections Buildings 7 and 126.... $694,012
Los Angeles, CA (West LA)--Construct Essential Care Tower/ $574,000
B500 Seismic Correction...................................
Louisville, KY--New VAMC................................... $932,782
Omaha, NE--New Clinical Addition........................... $461,885
Orlando, FL--SimLEARN (Medical Center)..................... $1,870,734
Palo Alto, CA--80 Bed Psychiatric Facility................. $300,000
Palo Alto, CA--Ambulatory Care/Polytrauma Rehab............ $52,128
Pittsburgh, PA--Research Building.......................... $32,924
Portland, OR--Retrofit & Renovation Siesmic Studies........ $264,855
Riverside NC Master Plan Environmental Studies............. $80,000
Southern Colorado, NC (MP/SD/DD)........................... $353,360
St Louis, MO (JC Division)--Bed Tower Master Plan (NEPA and $107,701
106)......................................................
Tallahasee--New Cemetery (MP/SD/DD)........................ $1,283,441
Tampa, FL--Polytrauma Expansion............................ $367,227
Walla Walla, WA--Multispecialty Clinic..................... $158,099
West LA--12 Bldgs Seismic Upgrade (B206 & 258)............. $384,862
West LA--New Bed Tower & Bldg 500 Seismic Correction....... $500,000
------------
Total.................................................. $21,168,353
Other:
Various Planning/Design/Assessment Activities:............. $19,250,859
Updated Design Guides and Criteria....................... --
Facility Condition Assessments........................... --
Peer Review.............................................. --
Master Planning.......................................... --
Post Occupancy Evaluation................................ --
Transferred funds from APF to support: Miami, FL-- $14,000,000
Renovation-Surgical Suite & Operating Rooms...............
------------
Grand Total............................................ $54,419,212
------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. For fiscal year 2013, please provide a detailed description and
amount for each project expected to be funded through the Advanced
Planning Fund.
Response. See table for 2013 below.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2013
Location/Description Obligations
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alameda, CA--Outpatient Clinic (OPC)....................... $323,141
Biloxi, MS--B1 & B2 Renovations & PM-RS/Prosthetics........ $306,347
Bronx, NY--Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)........................ $1,091,888
Dallas, TX--Clinical Expansion of Mental Health............ $118,230
Livermore, CA--Realignment & Closure....................... $26,117
Long Beach, CA--Seismic Correction Buildings 7 & 126 Phase $141,108
2.........................................................
Los Angeles, CA (West LA)--Capital Improvement Plan (Master $1,788,441
Plan).....................................................
Louisville, KY--New VAMC................................... $15,940,404
Manhattan, NY--Medical Center-Flood Recovery............... $5,815,299
National Cemetery of the Alleghenies....................... $866,854
Omaha, NE--Replacement Facility............................ $628,380
Palo Alto, CA--80 Bed Psychiatric Facility................. $433,180
Palo Alto, CA--Ambulatory Care/Polytrauma Rehab............ $8,127,955
Perry Point, MD--Replace Community Living Center........... $107,617
Portland, OR--Retrofit & Renovation........................ $11,068
Reno, NV--Seismic & Life Safety Corrections B-1............ $4,298,543
San Juan, PR--Seismic Correction (Parking Structure)....... $16,455
St Louis, MO (JC Division)--Bed Tower...................... $41,100
Tallahasee--New Cemetery................................... $79,527
Walla Walla, WA--Multispecialty Clinic..................... $335,661
West LA--12 Bldgs Seismic Upgrade (B206 & 258)............. $1,788,441
West LA--New Bed Tower & Bldg 500 Seismic Correction....... $4,600,816
------------
Total.................................................. $46,886,572
Other:
Various Planning/Design/Assessment Activities:............. $12,399,045
Cost Estimating, Environmental & Historic Preservation --
Services................................................
Updated Design Guides and Criteria....................... --
NCA Facility Condition Assessments....................... --
Regional Strategic Master Plans.......................... --
Post Occupancy Evaluations............................... --
------------
Grand Total............................................ $59,285,617
------------------------------------------------------------------------
D. For fiscal year 2014, please provide a detailed description and
amount for each project expected to be funded through the Advanced
Planning Fund.
Response. See table for 2014 below.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2014
Location/Description Estimate
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alameda, CA--Outpatient Clinic (OPC)...................... $5,000,000
Dallas, TX--Clinical Expansion of Mental Health........... $548,387
Dallas, TX--Long Term SCI................................. $500,000
Dallas/Ft. Worth--Gravesite Expansion..................... $2,000,000
Livermore, CA--Realignment & Closure...................... $3,500,000
Ft. Sam Houston, TX--National Cemetery.................... $1,800,000
W. Los Angeles, CA--Seismic Corrections (blgs $4,700,000
B156,B157,B258)..........................................
Louisville, KY--New VAMC.................................. $19,475,000
Manhattan, NY--Medical Center-Flood Recovery.............. $1,350,000
North Little Rock, AR--VBA Building Replacement Facility.. $900,000
Ohio Western Reserve, OH--National Cemetery............... $1,500,000
Omaha--New Cemetery....................................... $500,000
Omaha, NE--Replacement Hospital........................... $15,000,000
Portland, OR--Retrofit & Renovation....................... $5,000,000
Southern Colorado National Cemetery....................... $2,000,000
Sacramento Valley, CA--NC................................. $2,000,000
Barrancas, FL--NC......................................... $2,000,000
Jacksonville, FL--NC...................................... $2,000,000
S.Florida, FL--NC......................................... $2,000,000
Palo Alto, CA--Building 6 Seismic Replacement............. $4,000,000
Pittsburgh, PA--Bridge.................................... $50,000
Perry Point, MD--Replace Community Living Center.......... $900,000
Long Beach, CA--Buildings 128 & 133....................... $100,000
San Francisco, CA--Seismic Retrofit B 1, 6 & 8/Replace B12 $350,000
San Juan, PR--Seismic Correction (Parking Structure)...... $3,500,000
Seattle, WA--B101 Mental Health Services--Request for $450,000
Equit Adj................................................
Puerto Rico, PR--Gravesite Expansion...................... $2,000,000
Reno, NV--Seismic & Life Safety Corrections B-1........... $4,300,000
St Louis, MO (JC Division)--Bed Tower..................... $8,218,525
Tampa, FL--New Bed Tower Schematics & DDs (Polytrauma $4,600,000
Expansion)...............................................
West LA--New Bed Tower & Bldg 500 Seismic Correction...... $19,000,000
Williamette, OR--NC Columbarium Expansion................. $2,000,000
Western New York--New Cemetery............................ $800,000
-------------
Total................................................. $122,041,912
Other:
Various Planning/Design/Assessment Activities:............ $60,000,000
Cost Estimating, Environmental & Historic Preservation --
Services...............................................
Updated Design Guides and Criteria...................... --
NCA Facility Condition Assessments...................... --
Regional Strategic Master Plans......................... --
Post Occupancy Evaluations.............................. --
-------------
Grand Total........................................... $182,041,912
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question 132. The Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business
Utilization's (OSDBU) stated mission ``is to advocate for the maximum
practicable participation of small business in VA acquisitions, with
special emphasis on service-disabled veteran-owned (SDVOSB) and
veteran-owned small business (VOSB).'' Within OSDBU is the Center for
Veterans Enterprise (CVE) that is charged with verifying veteran
businesses looking to take advantage of veteran specific VA contracting
preferences.
A. Many veterans have expressed the opinion that CVE's mission of
approving or denying eligibility for veteran set asides is in direct
conflict with the OSDBU mission of advocating for VOSBs and SDVOSBs.
How does VA respond to that charge?
Response. VA has unique legislation in support of meeting Veteran-
owned small business and service-disabled Veteran-owned small business
procurement goals. This legislation is found in section 8127 of title
38. The Executive Director is not the manager of the Center for
Veterans Enterprise (CVE). He has direct supervisory authority over the
Director of CVE.
The Executive Director, OSDBU implements and executes all of the
functions and duties of the office under section 644 and 637 of title
15 of the United States Code with respect to VA. Of particular note,
are the responsibilities of developing strategies to assure that a fair
proportion of the total purchases and contracts for property and
services for VA in each industry category are placed with small-
business concerns pursuant to sections 637(d)(1) and 644(a)(3). One
avenue to increase the number of awards to small businesses,
specifically SDVOSBs/VOSBs, is the verification program established by
38 U.S.C. Sec. 8127. Section 8127 directs the Secretary to verify the
Veteran status, ownership and control of all SDVOSBs/VOSBs to
participate in the unique contracting program created in the
legislation. The Secretary has directed that the Executive Director,
OSDBU oversee CVE as a part of his duties under sections 637(d)(1) and
644(a)(3).
The VA VOSB Verification program provides VOSBs with access to VA
procurement opportunities they would not have if they are not verified.
VA contends that there is no conflict between advocating for Veterans
and enabling VOSBs to participate in the Veterans First contracting
program.
B. In order to avoid the appearance of competing missions within
OSDBU, has VA looked at whether CVE should be moved to another office
or established as a standalone office under the Secretary? Please
explain.
Response. VA believes that the missions of verification and
acquisition support are not competing missions, rather they are
complementary missions. As such, VA has not explored moving CVE to
either another office nor as a standalone office under the Secretary.
The verification mission fits best with the mission of OSDBU, and VA
believes it is best suited to be under the supervision of the Executive
Director of OSDBU.
Question 133. The chart ``Summary of Employment and Obligations''
for the Office of Acquisitions and Logistics Supply Fund does not
include FTE information for OSDBU.
A. Please provide the Committee with the FTE requirements for OSDBU
for fiscal year 2014 and the preceding three years.
Response. OSDBU has a standing authorization of 42 FTE since FY
2012. Prior to that, the authorization was for 40 FTE.
B. Please provide the Committee with a detailed budget for OSDBU
and CVE.
Response. Due to the nature of OSDBU's source of funding in the
Supply Fund, OSDBU has traditionally negotiated its budget based on the
current year's funding level and adjusted the request for the rapidly
changing circumstances. The flexibility of the Supply Fund has been
beneficial to Veterans, as the OSDBU needs can be quickly addressed,
and more accurate projections made with the request coming much closer
to the need.
OSDBU FY 2012 Expenditures
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FTE...................................................... 42
Obligations:
Personal services...................................... $4,252,488
Travel................................................. $64,752
Transportation of things............................... --
Rents, communications and utilities.................... $359,492
Printing and reproduction.............................. $4,594
Other services......................................... $15,604,719*
Supplies and materials................................. $196,988
Equipment.............................................. $5,640
--------------
Total obligations.................................... $20,488,672**
--------------
Total budget......................................... $33,000,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* See breakdown of other services on page 5.
** $12,511,328 carried over to FY 2013.
OSDBU expects that the FY 2013 budget will be approved by July 31,
2013.
Question 134. Last year, CVE announced the creation of a pre-
decisional letter to better assist veterans make the necessary changes
to their businesses prior to receiving full verification decisions. The
goal was to decrease the number of veterans who entered the appeals
process after an initial denial.
A. Since its creation, how many veterans have taken advantage of
the pre-decisional letter to make the necessary changes?
Response. The Pre-Decisional Findings (PDF) program was piloted
from February to April 2013, and launched at full scale on May 1, 2013.
Data on the program is very limited, due to the fact that it is a brand
new program. It is important to note that not all businesses are
eligible for the program. Those businesses, whose compliance issues are
categorized among the list of correctible issues, not requiring full
re-evaluation, are allowed to clarify their issues and/or make
adjustments to their documentation within a specified time period with
the intent to avoid denial. Those with more complex issues that would
require a complete re-evaluation are offered the option to withdraw
their application rather than to receive a denial letter. This allows
them to take the time that they need to address the issues and
resubmit, rather than receiving a determination, and then having only
the 30 days allowed by regulation to submit the request for
reconsideration.
In the first 27 days from the full scale launch on May 1, 2013, 31
Veterans have taken advantage of the program. Pulling in all results
from both the pilot and the launch, 80 firms have taken advantage of
the program through May 27, 2013. Of those firms, 71 percent were
approved, ten percent were denied, and 19 percent withdrew their
applications.
B. What metrics have been established to determine whether the new
process has been effective in decreasing the number of veteran
businesses entering the appeal process?
Response. The PDF process has helped to decrease the number of
Veteran businesses entering the request for reconsideration (R4R)
process. This process enables applicants to correct non-compliant
aspects of their businesses established by the initial determination.
CVE has developed a number of metrics to gage the program. One of the
objectives of the PDF program is to reduce the number of requests for
reconsideration and the time required to process them. The average
number of R4Rs submitted monthly has declined from 92 in January 2013
to 40 in May (as of May 28, 2013). The average time to process R4Rs has
declined from 146 days in January to 66 days in May.
Fewer denials directly affects the number of requests for
reconsideration submitted, shortening the average processing time. At
the end of FY 2012, the initial determination approval rate was 58
percent. At the end of May 2013, the initial approval rate is 83
percent. It is important to note that prior to the introduction of PDF,
all of the firms that are now participating would have received an
initial denial. Note that because the sample size is so small (about
three percent of all initial determinations made in FY 2013 to date),
the impact on the overall approval rate will become more significant
over time.
OSDBU FY 2012 Expenditures (+ breakdown of other services)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FTE...................................................... 42
Obligations:
Personal services...................................... $4,252,488
Travel................................................. $64,752
Transportation of things............................... --
Rents, communications and utilities.................... $359,492
Printing and reproduction.............................. $4,594
Other services......................................... $15,604,719*
Supplies and materials................................. $196,988
Equipment.............................................. $5,640
--------------
Total obligations.................................... $20,488,672**
--------------
Total budget......................................... $33,000,000
* Breakdown of other services:
Verification support................................. $9,925,585
Outreach Support..................................... $5,263,156
Acquisition Support.................................. $365,607
Training and security................................ $50,371
** $12,511,328 carried over to FY 2013.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
office of inspector general
Question 135. For fiscal year 2014, the Office of Inspector General
requests $11 million for Other Services. Please provide an itemized
list of how those funds would be utilized.
Response. The fiscal year (FY) 2014) request for Other Services
includes the following contractual services, interagency agreements,
employee training, VA cross-cutting services, and other procured
services:
Contract for the Consolidated Financial Statement Audit.
Interagency Agreement for Human Resources/Payroll
Processing Services--Department of Treasury and Department of
Agriculture.
Contract for the Federal Information Security Management
Act Review.
Employee Training.
VA Franchise Fund Services--IT processing, financial
services, background investigations, and records storage.
Employee Relocation Services.
Annual assessment for Council of the Inspectors General
for Integrity and Efficiency.
Building Security Services--Department of Homeland
Security and VA.
Investigative Data Base Access, Forensic Services,
Communications Agreements.
Other VA Administrative Services, including workers
compensation, unemployment compensation, and EEO services.
Question 136. With the requested level of resources for fiscal year
2014, how many benefits inspections would the Office of Inspector
General plan to conduct?
Response. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) will conduct 18
inspections of VA Regional Office operations in FY 2014. Our
independent inspections provide recurring oversight focused on
disability compensation claims processing and the performance of
Veterans Service Center operations.
We also plan to conduct the following two national reviews of key
Veteran Benefits Administration (VBA) initiatives in meeting the VA
Secretary's goals of processing claims in an average of 125 days and
with 98 percent accuracy by FY 2015:
Review of VBA's Statistical Technical Accuracy Review
(STAR) Program--We will sample claims reviewed by STAR to determine the
effectiveness of the program in assessing disability claims processing
accuracy and identifying areas for improvement. The STAR program is
VBA's quality assurance program. In our March 2009 report, Audit of
Veterans Benefits Administration Compensation Rating Accuracy and
Consistency Reviews, we found that while VBA identified a national
compensation claim rating accuracy of 87 percent for the 12-month
period ending February 2008, we projected that VBA officials
understated the error rate by about 10 percent. This difference equated
to approximately 88,000 additional claims where veterans' monthly
benefits may be incorrect. In FY 2013, the risk of increased inaccurate
ratings could occur due to VBA's reliance on Disability Benefits
Questionnaires and provisional decisions on the oldest disability
compensation claims in VBA's inventory.
Review of the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS)--
We plan to audit claims processed using VBMS to determine whether the
automated system is resulting in higher quality and more consistent
disability benefits decisions. This review is expected to complement
the results of a current ongoing audit of cost, schedule, performance,
and information security in VBMS development.
veterans health administration
Question 137. If VA cannot provide care for a veteran at a VA
Medical Center (VAMC), the VAMC will provide that care to the veteran
in the veteran's local community through purchased care. In fiscal year
2014, VA is expected to spend $1.1 billion on purchased care. However,
there are several Inspector General (IG) reports that have criticized
various aspects of the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) purchased
care program, such as improper payments and some facilities having
problems with managing purchased care.
A. How much does VA expect to be spent on purchased care in fiscal
year 2015?
Response. In 2015, VHA estimates spending $6,177,600,000 on Non-VA
care.
B. What actions has VHA taken to meet the requirements of the
Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010?
Response. The VHA Chief Business Office (CBO) has implemented
multiple corrective actions to reduce improper payments and meet
Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act requirements.
Improvements to reduce improper payments include:
Implementation of the Quality Corrective Action Program
(QCAP) was completed in December 2012. This internal program is
designed to identify quality initiatives through various audit findings
and reviews. The QCAP facilitates the development of appropriate
corrective action teams and processes and tracks and trends results
with the use of an automated tool.
Implementation of the Fee Basis Claims System (FBCS) was
completed in March 2012. FBCS is a graphical user interface based
system that is layered on top of the VistA Fee system. The national
implementation of FBCS included an initial 3-week training course on
FBCS procedures that was provided to site Non-VA Care Fee staff during
rollout. Supplemental online training was also provided. Ongoing FBCS
training has been incorporated to share any recently installed patches
and updates to process changes.
National rollout of the FBCS Optimization launched in
August 2012. FBCS Optimization is the next stage in a nationwide effort
to improve and standardize the processes associated with the use of
FBCS for claims processing across VHA in support of the Non-VA Care
Program Offices in the field.
Establishment of a Field Assistance Program in 2011 was
expanded in 2012 to provide enhanced site visits designed to improve
local operations by assessing site Non-VA Care claims processes and
assisting with the development of effective internal controls. Findings
are tracked at all sites to measure trends and identify lessons learned
to share with all sites for training course development.
The VHA Chief Business Office developed a duplicate
payment report, accessed through a user-friendly tool called SnapWeb,
which identifies potential improper duplicate payments. The report was
available beginning in April 2012.
The Non-VA Care Program Academy is the primary training
program provided to VISN and VA medical center Fee employees
nationwide. The Non-VA Care Program Academy is organized into a four-
tiered, progressive level of curriculums designed to improve
performance, enhance internal controls, and be in compliance with
program policies.
The National Non-VA Care Program Office Intranet site was
expanded in December 2012 to include updated training materials,
procedure guides, notices, and FBCS alerts. This information is
available to the field to alert staff to any changes and provide status
of multiple projects related to Non-VA Care.
In January 2011, a contract was awarded to assist VA in
establishing an enhanced program integrity function to reduce fraud,
waste, and abuse through implementation of industry standard
applications and processes.
C. How much did VHA pay in duplicate payments in the last fiscal
year and how much of those duplicate payments did VHA recover?
Response.
Duplicate Payments FY 2012 = $1,213,070
Duplicate Payments Recovered in FY 2012 =
$776,450
D. Some VAMCs have inappropriately authorized millions in non-VA
care but did not have sufficient funding to pay for those services.
Why, after several IG investigations on this matter, does this
continue? What is VHA's plan to address this?
VHA Response: The Chief Business Office Purchased Care (CBOPC) has
instituted a comprehensive in-house auditing capability to cost-
effectively audit claims for all CBOPC programs and ensure compliance
with applicable regulations and other guidance. We will also be
focusing on improving processes within the financial management of the
Non-VA Medical Care program to improve the financial integrity of the
program throughout its lifecycle. Additionally, CBOPC provides guidance
to the field concerning the need to obligate funds prior to authorizing
care on an on-going basis through several venues to include:
Policy and Procedure Guides
Recorded training sessions on the use of estimation tools
National conference call announcements
Field Assistance Site Visits
On-going audits to reduce improper payments
In addition, guidance to the field is provided in Fiscal
regulations published by the Office of Finance, available on-line and
at local Finance offices.
Sections of the NNPO Web site contain links to cost estimation and
obligation of funds guidance to include:
1601F Program Guide series Authorizations outlining the
need to obligate the funds prior to issuance of the authorizations and
a specific section titled, Fee Basis Obligations.
Fee Internal controls and Continuous Monitors, Internal
Controls and Continuous Monitors Attachment A.
Obligation of Funds is outlined in M-1 Part 1, Chapter 18
and in M-1 Part 1 Chapter 21.