HR7683-119

What This Bill Does

The VA Fiscal Management Modernization Act rewrites section 309 of title 38 and adds a new section 729. It requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to designate the Assistant Secretary for Management as the Department of Veterans Affairs Chief Financial Officer. The CFO's statutory duties include advising the Secretary on financial management, formulating and executing the VA budget, controlling and auditing VA finances, carrying out federal CFO Act functions, ensuring Antideficiency Act compliance, providing budget and finance information to Congress on request, and serving as head of the VA Office of Management.

The bill creates two deputy assistant secretary roles: one for Financial Strategy and Budget, and one for Financial Operations and Internal Controls. The Financial Operations and Internal Controls role must be a career Senior Executive Service appointee. It also creates a Legislative and Congressional Budget Information Office inside the Office of Management. The LCBI Office must provide accurate, timely, and certified VA financial and budget information to Congress or congressional committees and is capped at 15 full-time-equivalent employees. New section 729 requires VA administration and Veterans Integrated Service Network financial officers to report exclusively to the VA CFO, bars those employees from programmatic or operational functions, and prevents the Secretary from creating a similar congressional budget-information office outside the LCBI Office. VA must implement the amendments within 180 days.

Who Benefits and How

Congressional veterans committees benefit from a dedicated LCBI Office that must provide accurate, timely, certified VA budget and finance information. The VA Chief Financial Officer benefits from exclusive reporting lines from administration and Veterans Integrated Service Network financial officers. VA financial oversight staff benefit from clearer statutory authority over budget execution, internal controls, audits, Antideficiency Act compliance, and congressional reporting. Veterans and VA beneficiaries benefit indirectly if stronger financial management improves budget transparency and reduces fiscal risk in VA programs. Federal taxpayers benefit from clearer audit, control, and compliance duties inside VA.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs must reorganize management authority, designate the Assistant Secretary for Management as CFO, and implement the amendments within 180 days. VA administration financial officers and Veterans Integrated Service Network financial officers must report exclusively to the CFO and stop performing programmatic or operational functions. VA Office of Management staff must stand up deputy assistant secretary roles and operate the LCBI Office within the 15-FTE cap. VA program managers lose flexibility to use financial officers for operational work. Federal taxpayers bear implementation costs for the new office structure and reporting requirements.

Key Provisions

• Designates the VA Assistant Secretary for Management as the Department of Veterans Affairs Chief Financial Officer.
• Assigns the VA CFO duties for budget formulation, budget execution, audits, finance reporting, CFO Act functions, and Antideficiency Act compliance.
• Creates deputy assistant secretary roles for Financial Strategy and Budget and for Financial Operations and Internal Controls.
• Establishes a Legislative and Congressional Budget Information Office inside the VA Office of Management.
• Limits the LCBI Office to 15 full-time-equivalent employees.
• Requires VA administration and Veterans Integrated Service Network financial officers to report exclusively to the VA CFO.
• Prohibits covered VA financial officers from performing programmatic or operational functions.
• Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to implement the amendments within 180 days.