[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4225 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4225
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish the Acquisition
Review Board of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 20, 2023
Mr. Mrvan (for himself and Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans'
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish the Acquisition
Review Board of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``VA Acquisition Review Board Act of
2023''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF ACQUISITION REVIEW BOARD IN DEPARTMENT OF
VETERANS AFFAIRS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 81 of title 38, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after subchapter VI the following new subchapter:
``SUBCHAPTER VII--ACQUISITION REVIEW BOARD
``Sec. 8181. Definitions
``In this subchapter:
``(1) The term `major acquisition program' means a program
of the Department to acquire property, assets, supplies,
services, or a combination thereof, with an estimated life-
cycle cost of $250,000,000 or more, as determined by the
Secretary.
``(2) The term `non-major acquisition program' means a
program of the Department to acquire property, assets,
supplies, services, or a combination thereof, with an estimated
life-cycle cost of less than $250,000,000, as determined by the
Secretary.
``Sec. 8182. Acquisition Review Board
``(a) In General.--There is established in the Department a board,
to be known as the `Acquisition Review Board', to support the Secretary
in managing acquisition programs under the laws administered by the
Secretary.
``(b) Composition.--(1) The Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall serve as Chair of the Acquisition Review Board.
``(2) The Deputy Secretary may designate an employee of the
Department to oversee the operations of the Acquisition Review Board.
``(3) The Deputy Secretary shall ensure participation by other
relevant Department officials with responsibilities relating to
acquisitions as permanent members of the Acquisition Review Board,
including the following:
``(A) The Chief Acquisition Officer.
``(B) The Chief Financial Officer.
``(C) The Chief Veterans Experience Officer.
``(D) The Chief Information Officer.
``(E) The Assistant Secretary for Enterprise Integration.
``(F) Other relevant senior Department officials, as the
Deputy Secretary determines appropriate, including such
officials from the Veterans Health Administration, the Veterans
Benefits Administration, and the National Cemetery
Administration.
``(c) Meetings.--The Acquisition Review Board shall convene--
``(1) at the discretion of the Deputy Secretary; and
``(2) not later than 45 days after any date on which--
``(A) a major acquisition program--
``(i) is proposed to the Secretary;
``(ii) is approved by the Secretary to
commence;
``(iii) concludes an acquisition phase;
``(iv) is not in compliance with
requirements relating to cost, schedule, or
performance under the applicable program
baseline described in section 8183(b)(1) of
this title, as determined by the Deputy
Secretary; or
``(v) requires additional review, as
determined by the Deputy Secretary; and
``(B) a non-major acquisition program requires
review, as determined by the Deputy Secretary.
``(d) Responsibilities.--The Acquisition Review Board shall be
responsible for--
``(1) with respect to a major acquisition program proposed
to the Secretary, determining whether the business strategy,
budget, management, and organization of such program is
feasible and in accordance with the mission and strategic goals
of the Department;
``(2) with respect to a major acquisition program approved
by the Secretary to commence, determining the appropriate
acquisition category for such program;
``(3) with respect to a major acquisition program that has
concluded an acquisition phase--
``(A) authorizing the manager of such program
appointed pursuant to section 8183(a) of this title to
advance such program to a subsequent acquisition phase
if the relevant requirements in such applicable program
baseline have been satisfied; and
``(B) advising such manager on appropriate
corrective action if such requirements have not been
satisfied; and
``(4) reviewing, on a continuous basis, each major
acquisition program to ensure each such program is in
compliance with--
``(A) the relevant requirements in such applicable
program baseline; and
``(B) the certification requirement under
subsection (c) of such section.
``(e) Acquisition Decision Memorandum.--Not later than 30 days
after any date on which the Deputy Secretary convenes a meeting
pursuant to subsection (c), the Deputy Secretary shall submit to the
Secretary and the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of
Representatives and the Senate an acquisition decision memorandum that
includes--
``(1) a summary of--
``(A) the purpose of such meeting;
``(B) any matter discussed during such meeting;
``(C) any decision of the Acquisition Review Board
made during such meeting, including any such decision
to allow a major acquisition program to deviate from
the relevant requirements in such applicable program
baseline; and
``(D) any matters assigned for further discussion
during a subsequent meeting of the Acquisition Review
Board; and
``(2) a certification by the Deputy Secretary that the
contents of such memorandum are accurate.
``Sec. 8183. Major acquisition program managers
``(a) Appointments.--Not later than 30 days after any date on which
the Secretary approves a major acquisition program to commence, the
Deputy Secretary shall appoint a manager to be responsible for
administering such program.
``(b) Duties.--Each manager appointed pursuant to subsection (a)
shall be responsible for, with respect to the applicable major
acquisition program--
``(1) developing, in coordination with the Acquisition
Review Board, a plan to administer such program, to be known as
the `program baseline', that includes--
``(A) a description of each acquisition phase of
such program;
``(B) for each such acquisition phase, requirements
for advancing such program to a subsequent acquisition
phase; and
``(C) estimates of the cost, schedule, and
performance of such program that account for the entire
life cycle of such program;
``(2) ensuring such program is in compliance with such
requirements;
``(3) securing funding necessary to satisfy such
requirements;
``(4) adopting standardized processes with established
success to support the progress of such program, including--
``(A) milestones;
``(B) exit criteria; and
``(C) specific accomplishments;
``(5) to the extent practicable, ensuring that personnel of
the Department responsible for estimating the budget and cost
of such program are provided with an opportunity to raise
concerns relating to such budget and cost prior to the
establishment of the program baseline under paragraph (1);
``(6) on a continuous basis, assessing and managing risks
to satisfying the requirements of such program baseline
relating to cost and schedule;
``(7) establishing a workforce for such program that is
qualified and sufficient to perform the necessary functions of
such program; and
``(8) ensuring such program has adequate technology and
production capacity prior to commencing an acquisition phase of
such program related to manufacturing, if applicable.
``(c) Consideration of Alternate Requirements.--Not later than 90
days after any date on which a manager appointed pursuant to subsection
(a) establishes a program baseline described in subsection (b)(1), such
manager shall submit to the Chair of the Acquisition Review Board a
certification that such manager considered establishing alternate
requirements in such program baseline relating to the cost, schedule,
and performance of each acquisition phase of such program prior to
establishing such program baseline.
``(d) Acquisition Review Board Authorization Required.--(1) Not
later than 30 days after any date on which a major acquisition program
concludes an acquisition phase, the manager of such program appointed
pursuant to subsection (a) shall notify the Acquisition Review Board
under section 8182 of this title.
``(2) Such manager may not advance such program to a subsequent
acquisition phase without the authorization of such Acquisition Review
Board pursuant to subsection (d)(3) of such section.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of
such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following:
``subchapter vii--acquisition review board
``8181. Definitions.
``8182. Acquisition Review Board.
``8183. Major acquisition program managers.''.
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