September 22, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 164 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session
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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AUTHORITY AND COLLABORATION ACT OF 2020; Congressional Record Vol. 166, No. 164
(House of Representatives - September 22, 2020)
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[Pages H4679-H4680] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AUTHORITY AND COLLABORATION ACT OF 2020 Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6589) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop and submit to Congress a plan to address the material weakness of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 6589 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 ``Department of Veterans Affairs Chief Financial Officer Authority and Collaboration Act of 2020''. [[Page H4680]] SEC. 2. PLANS FOR ADDRESSING MATERIAL WEAKNESSES AND PROVIDING SUFFICIENT AUTHORITY TO CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for each of the three subsequent years, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, acting through the Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Veterans Affairs, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees-- (1) an action plan, including steps, related timelines, costs, progress, status of implementation, and any updates for fully addressing the material weaknesses of the Department discussed in the Management's Discussion and Analysis section of the financial statements of the Department submitted to Congress under section 3515 of title 31, United States Code for the year preceding the year during which the report is submitted; and (2) a plan outlining the steps the Secretary plans to take to address the recommendations of auditors related to entity- level internal controls and to provide sufficient authority to the Chief Financial Officer of the Department to carry out the requirements of section 902 of title 31, United States Code. SEC. 3. CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER ATTESTATION. Concurrent with the submittal to Congress of the President's budget request under section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, for fiscal year 2022 and each of the next three subsequent fiscal years, the Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Veterans affairs shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees each of the following: (1) A certification of the responsibility of the Chief Financial Officer for internal financial controls of the Department. (2) An attestation that the Chief Financial Officer has collaborated sufficiently with the subordinate chief financial officers of the Department to be confident in the financial projections included the budget request and supporting materials. SEC. 4. CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER RESPONSIBILITY FOR SUBORDINATE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERS. (a) In General.--In accordance with the responsibilities of the Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Veterans Affairs for the recruitment, selection, and training of personnel to carry out agency financial management functions pursuant to section 902(a)(5)(C) of title 31, United States Code, the Chief Financial Officer or the designee of the Chief Financial Officer within the Office of Management of the Department shall-- (1) participate in the interview and selection panels of all subordinate chief financial officers; and (2) give input into the performance plans and performance evaluations of all subordinate chief financial officers. (b) Termination.--The requirements under subsection (a) shall terminate on the date that is five years after the date of the enactment of this Act. SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. In this Act: (1) The term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives and the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives. (2) The term ``subordinate chief financial officer''-- (A) includes-- (i) the chief financial officer of the Veterans Health Administration, the chief financial officer of the Office of Community Care within the Veterans Health Administration, and all chief financial officers of Veterans Integrated Service Networks within the Veterans Health Administration; (ii) the chief financial officer of the Veterans Benefits Administration and all chief financial officers of organizational subdivisions representing business lines within the Veterans Benefits Administration; (iii) the chief financial officer of the National Cemetery Administration; and (iv) the chief financial officer of the Office of Information and Technology; and (B) does not include the Inspector General. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. David P. Roe) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California. General Leave Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the comments that I made on my previous motion that I withdrew be inserted in the Record in conjunction with my motion to pass H.R. 6589, as amended. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from California? There was no objection. Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6589, the VA Chief Financial Officer Authority and Collaboration Act. Each year, the Department of Veterans Affairs manages to pass its financial statement audit despite a number of persistent material weaknesses in what appears to be a stalemate. VA never quite loses its unqualified audit opinion but never materially improves either. We should expect more, especially with VA's budget approaching $250 billion and its total liabilities reaching near $3.3 trillion. Madam Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Susie Lee from Nevada and General Jack Bergman from Michigan for sponsoring this bill to address the root cause of the problem, the VA's Chief Financial Officer's lack of operational authority over the dozens of lower level chief financial officers throughout VA. This bill would direct VA to develop a detailed action plan to resolve material weaknesses and require VA's Chief Financial Officer to attest to the Department's financial projections and internal controls in VA's annual budget submission. It would also strengthen VA's Chief Financial Officer's operational authority by involving them or their designee in the hiring and performance evaluations of subordinate chief financial officers. All of these reforms are consistent with the Chief Financial Officer Act of 1990. I support this legislation because it is a carefully crafted solution to an old problem with escalating consequences. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mrs. Lee and Dr. Roe for helping me bring this legislation to the floor. I ask all of my colleagues to join me in passing this very important piece of legislation, H.R. 6589. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cleaver). The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6589, as amended. The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. ____________________
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