Departmental Administration

Departmental Administration general administration (including transfer of funds) For necessary operating expenses of the Department of Veterans Affairs, not otherwise provided for, including administrative expenses in support of Department-wide capital planning, management and policy activities, uniforms, or allowances therefor; not to exceed $25,000 for official reception and representation expenses; hire of passenger motor vehicles; and reimbursement of the General Services Administration for security guard services, $321,591,000, of which not to exceed $9,660,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2016: Provided, That funds provided under this heading may be transferred to “General Operating Expenses, Veterans Benefits Administration”. board of veterans appeals For necessary operating expenses of the Board of Veterans Appeals, $99,294,000, of which not to exceed $9,429,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2016. general operating expenses, veterans benefits administration For necessary operating expenses of the Veterans Benefits Administration, not otherwise provided for, including hire of passenger motor vehicles, reimbursement of the General Services Administration for security guard services, and reimbursement of the Department of Defense for the cost of overseas employee mail, $2,534,254,000: Provided, That expenses for services and assistance authorized under paragraphs (1), (2), (5), and (11) of section 3104(a) of title 38, United States Code, that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines are necessary to enable entitled veterans: (1) to the maximum extent feasible, to become employable and to obtain and maintain suitable employment; or (2) to achieve maximum independence in daily living, shall be charged to this account: Provided further, That of the funds made available under this heading, not to exceed $124,000,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2016.128 STAT. 2557 information technology systems (including transfer of funds) For necessary expenses for information technology systems and telecommunications support, including developmental information systems and operational information systems; for pay and associated costs; and for the capital asset acquisition of information technology systems, including management and related contractual costs of said acquisitions, including contractual costs associated with operations authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, $3,903,344,000, plus reimbursements: Provided, That $1,039,000,000 shall be for pay and associated costs, of which not to exceed $30,792,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2016: Provided further, That $2,316,009,000 shall be for operations and maintenance, of which not to exceed $160,000,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2016: Provided further, That $548,335,000 shall be for information technology systems development, modernization, and enhancement, and shall remain available until September 30, 2016: Provided further, That amounts made available for information technology systems development, modernization, and enhancement may not be obligated or expended until the Secretary of Veterans Affairs or the Chief Information Officer of the Department of Veterans Affairs submits to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress a certification of the amounts, in parts or in full, to be obligated and expended for each development project: Provided further, That amounts made available for salaries and expenses, operations and maintenance, and information technology systems development, modernization, and enhancement may be transferred among the three subaccounts after the Secretary of Veterans Affairs requests from the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress the authority to make the transfer and an approval is issued: Provided further, That amounts made available for the “Information Technology Systems” account for development, modernization, and enhancement may be transferred among projects or to newly defined projects: Provided further, That no project may be increased or decreased by more than $1,000,000 of cost prior to submitting a request to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress to make the transfer and an approval is issued, or absent a response, a period of 30 days has elapsed: Provided further, That funds under this heading may be used by the Interagency Program Office through the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop a standard data reference terminology model: Provided further, That of the funds made available for information technology systems development, modernization, and enhancement for VistA Evolution, not more than 25 percent may be obligated or expended until the Secretary of Veterans Affairs submits to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress, and such Committees approve, a report that describes: (1) the status of and changes to the VistA Evolution program plan (hereinafter referred to as the “Plan”), VistA 4 product roadmap (“Roadmap”), or the VistA Evolution cost estimate, dated March 24, 2014; (2) any changes to the scope or functionality of projects within the VistA Evolution program as established in the Plan; (3) any refinements to the cost estimate presented in the Plan, including those based on actual costs incurred; (4) a Project Management Accountability System 128 STAT. 2558 resourced schedule for every development project within the VistA Evolution program, including a testing methodology schedule; (5) progress toward developing and implementing all levels of interoperability, including semantic interoperability, between the electronic health record systems of the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs; and (6) a detailed governance structure for the VistA Evolution program, including the establishment of a single program director and integrator who shall have responsibility for the entire program: Provided further, That the funds made available under this heading for information technology systems development, modernization, and enhancement, shall be for the projects, and in the amounts, specified under this heading in the explanatory statement described in section 4 (in the matter preceding division A of this consolidated Act). office of inspector general For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General, to include information technology, in carrying out the provisions of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), $126,411,000, of which $12,141,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2016. construction, major projects For constructing, altering, extending, and improving any of the facilities, including parking projects, under the jurisdiction or for the use of the Department of Veterans Affairs, or for any of the purposes set forth in sections 316, 2404, 2406 and chapter 81 of title 38, United States Code, not otherwise provided for, including planning, architectural and engineering services, construction management services, maintenance or guarantee period services costs associated with equipment guarantees provided under the project, services of claims analysts, offsite utility and storm drainage system construction costs, and site acquisition, where the estimated cost of a project is more than the amount set forth in section 8104(a)(3)(A) of title 38, United States Code, or where funds for a project were made available in a previous major project appropriation, $561,800,000, of which $527,800,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2019, and of which $34,000,000 shall remain available until expended: Provided, That except for advance planning activities, including needs assessments which may or may not lead to capital investments, and other capital asset management related activities, including portfolio development and management activities, and investment strategy studies funded through the advance planning fund and the planning and design activities funded through the design fund, including needs assessments which may or may not lead to capital investments, and salaries and associated costs of the resident engineers who oversee those capital investments funded through this account, and funds provided for the purchase of land for the National Cemetery Administration through the land acquisition line item, none of the funds made available under this heading shall be used for any project which has not been approved by the Congress in the budgetary process: Provided further, That funds made available under this heading for fiscal year 2015, for each approved project shall be obligated: (1) by the awarding of a construction documents contract by September 30, 2015; and (2) by the awarding 128 STAT. 2559 of a construction contract by September 30, 2016: Provided further, That the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall promptly submit to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress a written report on any approved major construction project for which obligations are not incurred within the time limitations established above. construction, minor projects For constructing, altering, extending, and improving any of the facilities, including parking projects, under the jurisdiction or for the use of the Department of Veterans Affairs, including planning and assessments of needs which may lead to capital investments, architectural and engineering services, maintenance or guarantee period services costs associated with equipment guarantees provided under the project, services of claims analysts, offsite utility and storm drainage system construction costs, and site acquisition, or for any of the purposes set forth in sections 316, 2404, 2406, and chapter 81 of title 38, United States Code, not otherwise provided for, where the estimated cost of a project is equal to or less than the amount set forth in section 8104(a)(3)(A) of title 38, United States Code, $495,200,000, to remain available until September 30, 2019, along with unobligated balances of previous “Construction, Minor Projects” appropriations which are hereby made available for any project where the estimated cost is equal to or less than the amount set forth in such section: Provided, That funds made available under this heading shall be for: (1) repairs to any of the nonmedical facilities under the jurisdiction or for the use of the Department which are necessary because of loss or damage caused by any natural disaster or catastrophe; and (2) temporary measures necessary to prevent or to minimize further loss by such causes. grants for construction of state extended care facilities For grants to assist States to acquire or construct State nursing home and domiciliary facilities and to remodel, modify, or alter existing hospital, nursing home, and domiciliary facilities in State homes, for furnishing care to veterans as authorized by sections 8131 through 8137 of title 38, United States Code, $90,000,000, to remain available until expended. grants for construction of veterans cemeteries For grants to assist States and tribal organizations in establishing, expanding, or improving veterans cemeteries as authorized by section 2408 of title 38, United States Code, $46,000,000, to remain available until expended.