S-731 : Still Just a Bill

Department of Veterans Affairs Information Technology Reform Act of 2021

This bill addresses the management and implementation of information technology projects and investments of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Specifically, the bill prohibits the VA from obligating or expending funds for any major information technology project that begins after the date of enactment of this bill unless a report is submitted that includes information on the cost, schedule, and performance of the project. The information in the report must be used as a baseline against which changes or variances are measured and reported on during the life cycle of the project. Projects must be managed by an interdisciplinary team that includes a certified project manager, a functional lead, a technical lead, a contracting officer, and other appropriate personnel.

The VA's Chief Information Officer must (1) exercise authority over the management, governance, and oversight processes relating to information technology of the VA's Financial Services Center; and (2) supervise the information technology employees and contractors of the center.

The VA must ensure its annual budget justification materials include

• a list of its active information technology projects and specified information about such projects,
  
• projected funding needs for projects,
  
• a prioritized list of every proposed project that is unfunded, and
  
• information about the decommissioning of information technology systems and applications.

Finally, the VA must assess all of its information technology investments to determine the suitability for migration to a cloud computing service.