[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 180 (Monday, November 6, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H8504-H8505]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  VA MANAGEMENT ALIGNMENT ACT OF 2017

  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 1066) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
to submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the 
House of Representatives a report regarding the organizational 
structure of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other 
purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1066

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``VA Management Alignment Act 
     of 2017''.

     SEC. 2. REPORT ON THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE 
                   DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

       (a) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
     shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the 
     Senate and the House of Representatives a report (including 
     recommendations for legislation the Secretary considers 
     appropriate) regarding the roles, responsibility, and 
     accountability of elements and individuals of the Department 
     of Veterans Affairs.
       (b) Matters Included.--In creating the report under 
     subsection (a), the Secretary shall--
       (1) utilize the results of--
       (A) the Independent Assessment of the Health Care Delivery 
     Systems and Management Process of the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs established by section 201 of the Veterans Access, 
     Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-146);
       (B) any study or report by the Commission on Care 
     established by section 202 of the Veterans Access, Choice, 
     and Accountability Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-146); and
       (C) other studies or reports, including a report titled 
     ``Task Force on Improving Effectiveness of VHA Governance: 
     Report to the VHA Under Secretary for Health'', dated 
     February 28, 2015; and
       (2) specify clearly delineated roles and responsibilities 
     to optimize the organizational effectiveness and 
     accountability of each--
       (A) Administration, staff office, or staff organization;
       (B) subordinate organization of each Administration, staff 
     office, or staff organization; and
       (C) key leader of the Department in relation to any 
     Administration, staff office, or staff organization, Veteran 
     Integrated Service Network, or medical facility.
       (c) Definition.--In this Act, the term ``key leader of the 
     Department'' includes--
       (1) the Secretary;
       (2) the Deputy Secretary;
       (3) each Under Secretary;
       (4) each Assistant Secretary;
       (5) each Deputy Assistant Secretary;
       (6) the Chief Financial Officer;
       (7) the Chief Information Officer;
       (8) the General Counsel;
       (9) the Inspector General;
       (10) the Director of Construction and Facilities 
     Management;
       (11) the Chief of Staff;
       (12) the Chairman of the Board of Veterans' Appeals;
       (13) the Vice Chairman of the Board of Veterans' Appeals;
       (14) the Director of each Veterans Integrated Service 
     Network; and
       (15) the Director of each medical facility.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Roe) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 1066.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Tennessee?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, in just a few days, Americans will once again take time 
to remember and honor the sacrifices of the very few of our fellow 
Americans who have sworn a solemn oath to defend this great Nation.
  As an Army Medical Corps veteran myself, I am proud that, with the 
support of leadership and Members of both sides, we will pass a series 
of bills today and tomorrow that improve the delivery of healthcare and 
enhance the benefits available to America's veterans.
  On our first bill, H.R. 1066, the VA Management Alignment Act, issues 
with the organization and management of the Veterans Health 
Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs, in general, are 
nothing new. In 2015, the independent assessment found VA's 
organizational structure to be unnecessarily complex, rampant with 
mistrust and risk aversion, confused about priorities and strategic 
direction, and hampered by a workforce that was losing motivation and a 
leadership team that was overwhelmed by crisis management. In 2016, the 
Commission on Care found VA to have one of the lowest organizational 
health scores in all of the Federal Government and lacking effective 
national policies and a rational organizational structure.
  Similar findings have been made by veterans, veterans service 
organizations, VA employees, the Government Accountability Office, the 
VA inspector general, and others in countless reports and testimony and 
stories over the last several years. They have also been common themes 
in the recent oversight hearings and site visits.
  In order to improve the care, benefits, and services that VA provides 
to our Nation's veterans and increase accountability for poor-
performing employees, VA must first clarify and rationalize the 
Department's organizational structure and the roles, responsibilities, 
and lines of authority for supervisors, managers, and employees.
  H.R. 1066 would jump-start that effort by requiring the VA to use the 
work the independent assessment, the Commission on Care, and others 
have already done to create a report on how the Department is to be 
structured--to include clearly defined roles and responsibilities of 
key leaders across all

[[Page H8505]]

levels--and submit it to Congress for review.
  I am grateful to Representative Kilmer for sponsoring this 
legislation. I urge all of my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 
1066, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1066, the VA Management 
Alignment Act of 2017, as introduced by my colleague from Washington, 
the most excellent Representative, Derek Kilmer. His advocacy and hard 
work on behalf of veterans is commendable.
  This bipartisan measure will require the VA Secretary to report to 
Congress on the roles, responsibilities, and accountability of 
employees within VA.
  This oversight is sorely needed. Last Congress, in testimony before 
the Veterans' Affairs Committee, the bipartisan co-chairs of the 
Commission on Care both highlighted how little attention is paid to the 
VA's human resources to ensure the Department is functioning 
efficiently. Representative Kilmer's legislation will help lead to a VA 
that more effectively meets veterans' needs.
  I have enjoyed working with Representative Kilmer to advance this 
legislation through committee and truly appreciate his work on this 
issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Kilmer).

                              {time}  1645

  Mr. KILMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe that we have a responsibility to ensure that 
military veterans have access to the benefits and services that they 
have earned. These men and women have had our backs, and we need to 
have theirs.
  We can't stand by as they endure challenges seeing doctors or getting 
treatment because of management failures and unnecessary bureaucratic 
barriers. Taxpayers have spent millions of dollars, tens of millions of 
dollars, to identify how the VA is broken and to identify opportunities 
to fix it.
  The Government Accountability Office has raised specific suggestions 
related to management issues, but, unfortunately, the VA has 
implemented few, if any, of these solutions, and that cannot stand.
  How can our Nation's veterans expect to get what they have earned if 
the leaders and components of the VA are not expected to cooperate with 
one another? How can they expect to see medical providers if the VA 
cannot bring in or maintain talented medical professionals?
  The VA Management Alignment Act is a bipartisan effort to address 
these and other management problems that have real consequences on the 
delivery of care to our friends, our neighbors, and to our loved ones.
  Representative Newhouse and I drafted this bill with input from the 
Government Accountability Office to bring an end to this disjointed and 
inefficient system. The bill would require the Secretary to outline the 
roles, responsibilities, and accountability measures of senior leaders 
and branches of the VA and to provide Congress with a series of 
legislative options to assist the Secretary in realizing positive 
change.
  The goal of this bill is to help Congress and the administration work 
together to fix these problems. The goal of this bill is to make sure 
veterans get the care and the benefits that they have earned.
  I would like to thank Chairman Roe and Ranking Member Walz for their 
leadership and support in moving this bill forward. I would like to 
thank my colleague from California (Mr. Takano) for his help as well.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation to help us align the 
VA into a system that can deliver on our Nation's responsibilities to 
our military veterans.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I urge my 
colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 1066, the VA Management 
Alignment Act of 2017.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all Members to support 
this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 1066.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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