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, $345,391,000, of which not to exceed 5 percent shall remain available until September 30, 2018: 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, $156,096,000, of which not to exceed 10 percent shall remain available until September 30, 2018. information technology systems (including transfer of funds) For necessary expenses for information technology systems and telecommunications support, including developmental information 130 STAT. 872 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, $4,278,259,000, plus reimbursements: Provided, That $1,272,548,000 shall be for pay and associated costs, of which not to exceed $37,100,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2018: Provided further, That $2,534,442,000 shall be for operations and maintenance, of which not to exceed $180,200,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2018: Provided further, That $471,269,000 shall be for information technology systems development, modernization, and enhancement, and shall remain available until September 30, 2018: 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 define data standards, code sets, and value sets used to enable interoperability: Provided further, That of the funds made available for information technology systems development, modernization, and enhancement for VistA Evolution or any successor program, not more than 25 percent may be obligated or expended until the Secretary of Veterans Affairs:(1) submits to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress the VistA Evolution Business Case and supporting documents regarding continuation of VistA Evolution or alternatives to VistA Evolution, including an analysis of necessary or desired capabilities, technical and security requirements, the plan for modernizing the platform framework, and all associated costs;(2) submits to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress, and such Committees approve, the following: a report that describes a strategic plan for VistA Evolution, or any successor program, and the associated implementation plan including metrics and timelines; a master schedule and lifecycle cost estimate for VistA Evolution or any successor; and an implementation plan for the transition 130 STAT. 873 from the Project Management Accountability System to a new project delivery framework, the Veteran-focused Integration Process, that includes the methodology by which projects will be tracked, progress measured, and deliverables evaluated;(3) submits to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress a report outlining the strategic plan to reach interoperability with private sector healthcare providers, the timeline for reaching “meaningful use” as defined by the Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology for each data domain covered under the VistA Evolution program, and the extent to which the Department of Veterans Affairs leverages the State Health Information Exchanges to share health data with private sector providers;(4) submits to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress, and such Committees approve, the following: a report that describes the extent to which VistA Evolution, or any successor program, maximizes the use of commercially available software used by DoD and the private sector, requires an open architecture that leverages best practices and rapidly adapts to technologies produced by the private sector, enhances full interoperability between the VA and DoD and between VA and the private sector, and ensures the security of personally identifiable information of veterans and beneficiaries; and(5) certifies in writing to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress that the Department of Veterans Affairs has met the requirements contained in the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2014 (Public Law 113–66) which require that electronic health record systems of the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs have reached interoperability, comply with national standards and architectural requirements identified by the DoD/VA Interagency Program Office in collaboration with the Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology: 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 joint explanatory statement accompanying this 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.), $160,106,000, of which not to exceed 10 percent shall remain available until September 30, 2018. 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 130 STAT. 874 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, $528,110,000, of which $478,110,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2021, and of which $50,000,000 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 contracting officers who manage specific major construction projects, and funds provided for the purchase, security, and maintenance 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 that has not been notified to Congress through the budgetary process or that has not been approved by the Congress through statute, joint resolution, or in the explanatory statement accompanying such Act and presented to the President at the time of enrollment: Provided further, That funds made available under this heading for fiscal year 2017, for each approved project shall be obligated: (1) by the awarding of a construction documents contract by September 30, 2017; and (2) by the awarding of a construction contract by September 30, 2018: 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: Provided further, That, of the amount made available under this heading, $222,620,000 for Veterans Health Administration major construction projects shall not be available until the Department of Veterans Affairs—(1) enters into an agreement with an appropriate non-Department of Veterans Affairs Federal entity to serve as the design and/or construction agent for any Veterans Health Administration major construction project with a Total Estimated Cost of $100,000,000 or above by providing full project management services, including management of the project design, acquisition, construction, and contract changes, consistent with section 502 of Public Law 114–58; and(2) certifies in writing that such an agreement is executed and intended to minimize or prevent subsequent major construction project cost overruns and provides a copy of the agreement entered into and any required supplementary information to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress.130 STAT. 875 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, $372,069,000, to remain available until September 30, 2021, 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, $45,000,000, to remain available until expended.