VA IT reorganization and
budget ‘of concern’ 

Washington, D.C. — Today, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 Information Technology (IT) budget.  The hearing focused on the FY 2007 budget request and reviewed some of the FY 2006 IT projects. 

Today’s hearing marks over a half-dozen hearings held by the Committee on VA IT issues since 2000.  Previous hearings have focused, not only on the budget, but also on specific programs and the VA’s enterprise architecture, or organization of the Department’s information technology.   

“As of today, VA has still yet to approve of its IT reorganization to move to a federated model.  The issue of VA IT reorganization funding is of concern,” said Chairman Bilirakis. 

While the purpose of the hearing was for the Subcommittee to act in due diligence and conduct oversight on the newly formed VA IT spending account, VA IT reorganization is a major focus of the full Committee, and part of this evolving process. 

During a September 14, 2005, full Committee hearing, Deputy Secretary Mansfield stated that the Department was adopting the federated model for VA’s IT infrastructure.  Deputy Secretary Mansfield also reiterated the VA’s plans to move to a federated IT infrastructure model before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee in October 2005.   

Background: On November 30, 2005, the President signed the Conference Report (109-305) for the FY 2006 Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act (P.L. 109-114).

Included in the law is a provision that directed VA to provide $1.2 billion for VA IT and IT restructuring and further directed funds to be appropriated/set-up as a new account (IT Systems account).  

The law also authorizes the transfer of funds among various accounts, subject to congressional notification and approval, to perfect the accounting structure of the IT Systems account.  The law further mandated that VA provide a comprehensive listing of priority projects for FY 2006 no later than 30 days after enactment of the Act.  

For FY 2007, the Administration requested $1.3 billion for IT funding. 

Testimony was provided by:
The Honorable Gordon H. Mansfield, Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Accompanied by:
The Honorable Jonathan B. Perlin, Under Secretary for Health, VA
The Honorable Robert McFarland, Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology, VA
The Honorable Daniel L. Cooper, Under Secretary for Benefits, VA
The Honorable William F. Tuerk, Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs, VA
The Honorable Robert Henke, Assistant Secretary for Management, VA