[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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