Reducing High Risk to Veterans and Veterans Services Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4477) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a plan to address certain high risk areas identified by the Comptroller General of the United States regarding the Department of Veterans Affairs in the 2019 High- Risk List of the Government Accountability Office, and for other purposes, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 4477

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 ``Reducing High Risk to Veterans and Veterans Services Act''. SEC. 2. REPORT AND PLANNED ACTIONS OF THE SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO ADDRESS CERTAIN HIGH-RISK AREAS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

(a) Report Required.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the Comptroller General of the United States, shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report outlining the plan the Secretary has developed and the actions the Secretary has taken to address the areas of concern identified by the Comptroller General for the Department of Veterans Affairs in the 2019 High-Risk List of the Government Accountability Office (GAO-19-157SP) regarding--

(1) acquisition management; and

(2) managing risks and improving health care.

(b) Elements.--The report under subsection (a) shall include each of the following:

(1) Root causes of the areas of concern described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a).

(2) Corrective actions and specific steps to address each root cause, including--

(A) the progress of the Secretary in implementing those actions and steps; and

(B) timelines and milestones the Secretary determines feasible to complete each corrective action.

(3) Resources the Secretary determines are necessary to implement corrective actions, including--

(A) funding;

(B) stakeholders;

(C) technology; and

(D) senior officials responsible for implementing the corrective actions and reporting results.

(4) Metrics for assessing progress in addressing the areas of concern described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a).

(5) Key outcomes that demonstrate progress in addressing the areas of concern described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a).

(6) Obstacles to implementation of the plan that the Secretary identifies.

(7) Recommendations of the Secretary regarding legislation or funding the Secretary determines necessary to implement the plan.

(8) Any other information the Secretary determines is relevant to understanding the progress of the Department toward the removal of the areas of concern from the High Risk List.

(c) Annual Updates.--

(1) Update required.--Not less than once each year during the implementation period under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall submit to Congress an update regarding implementation of each element of the plan under subsection (b).

(2) Implementation period.--The implementation period described in this paragraph begins on the date on which the Secretary submits the report required under subsection (a) and ends on the earlier of the following dates:

(A) The date on which the Comptroller General removes the last area of concern for the Department from the most recent High-Risk List of the Government Accountability Office.

(B) The date that is eight years after the date on which the Secretary submits the plan required under subsection (a). SEC. 3. ANNUAL REPORT BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF PRIORITY RECOMMENDATIONS OF COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES PERTAINING TO DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

(a) Annual Report Required.--Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and not less than once during each of the subsequent three years, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives and to the Comptroller General of the United States a report on the implementation of priority recommendations of the Comptroller General that pertain to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

(b) Contents.--Each report submitted under subsection (a) shall include, for the period covered by the report, the following:

(1) The progress of the Secretary in implementing all open priority recommendations of the Comptroller General for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

(2) An explanation for each instance where the Secretary has decided not to implement, or has not fully implemented, an open priority recommendation of the Comptroller General for the Department.

(3) A summary of the corrective actions taken and remaining steps the Secretary plans to take to implement open priority recommendations of the Comptroller General.

(c) Supplement Not Supplant Certain Required Reports or Written Statements.--The report under this section shall not be construed to supplant any report or written statement required under section 720 of title 31, United States Code.

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Mr. TAKANO. 4477, as amended.

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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4477, as amended, the Reducing High Risk to Veterans and Veterans Services Act.

The Government Accountability Office provides important oversight across the Federal Government. As Congress' investigative arm, GAO audits and examines Department of Veterans Affairs programs and spending. The Comptroller General and his staff provide hundreds of recommendations on how to improve services and benefits. However, too often, GAO recommendations are ignored by the Department.

H.R. 4477, as amended, is bipartisan legislation offered by the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations' Chairman Pappas and Ranking Member Bergman that seeks to address, in a systematic manner, GAO's most notable and important findings and recommendations.

The act requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop a plan to address the two areas within VA identified as high risk by the Government Accountability Office. These are the Veterans Health Administration and acquisition management.

Every 2 years, the Government Accountability Office releases its High-Risk List of Federal Government programs most vulnerable to fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement.

Included in 2015, the Veterans Health Administration, the largest healthcare system in the country, remains on GAO's 2019 list.

This was the first year that VA acquisition management was placed on the High-Risk List as a result of inefficient use of acquisition funding and staffing resources, as well as numerous contracting challenges. VA's acquisition management is vital to VA's functioning because of its role in medical supplies procurement and construction, both of which relate directly to VA's ability to serve veterans and provide quality medical care.

The Reducing High Risk to Veterans and Veterans Services Act requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop a plan to address the two areas within VA identified as high risk by the Government Accountability Office.

This plan will address the root causes of why these programs are at high risk and include specific timelines to correct the problems. VA will report to Congress on progress and ongoing challenges. The Department will also provide their views on whether Congress needs to take legislative action or provide additional resources.

This bill has the support of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the DAV.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in support of H.R. 4477, as amended, the Reducing High Risk to Veterans and Veterans Services Act. This bill was introduced by Congressman Chris Pappas from New Hampshire and my good friend, Congressman Jack Bergman from Michigan, the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation.

Every 2 years, the Government Accountability Office, the GAO, publishes its High-Risk List identifying those activities that are considered high risk due to their vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement or that need transformation. GAO added managing risks and improving Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare to its High-Risk List in 2015, and it remains there today.

Last Congress, the committee held a roundtable discussion with representatives from VA and GAO to address VA's progress towards addressing GAO's concerns. While it takes an agency, on average, 7 years to be removed from the list, VA has demonstrated little progress. Additionally, GAO added that VA Acquisition Management to its 2019 list.

H.R. 4477, as amended, would require VA to develop a plan of action to address deficiencies in acquisition management and healthcare that led GAO to place VA on their High-Risk List in 2015 and again in 2017 and again in 2019. It would also incorporate a provision under H.R. 698, a bill introduced by Representative Jim Banks of Indiana, to direct VA to report on its efforts to address GAO's priority recommendations and GAO's top 30 open recommendations.

Our Nation's veterans and taxpayers deserve a VA that is high performing and that acts quickly to address areas of concern as they arise. This help will help ensure that they get it done.

I am grateful to Congressman Pappas and General Bergman for sponsoring this bill, which has my full support, but I would be remiss if I did not point out that this is another bill that did not go through regular order.

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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, it is my privilege to yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bergman), a lieutenant general--and for those of you all who don't know what that is, it is three stars; I only made it to a major--to describe his bill.

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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 4477, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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