The Region News

Washington, DC – On April 19, 2023, Ranking Member Frank J. Mrvan participated in the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing to examine pending legislation.

A video of the hearing is available here, and the Congressman’s opening statement as prepared for delivery is below:

As the Chair of the Technology Modernization Subcommittee last Congress, I have seen first-hand the impacts of failures to improve VA’s large IT systems.  

I am proud to support and see the discussion today of the Department of Veterans Affairs IT Modernization Improvement Act, which is a strong first step to implementing a higher level of support and accountability for the VA.  Independent verification and validation processes are not a new concept, and it has been successfully utilized at the Department of Defense to ensure that the Department and taxpayers get what they pay for.  I am very pleased to see that VA supports this effort, and I look forward to hearing their testimony on this bill today.

A second broader and more aspirational bill that I support and that we will discuss today is the Manage VA Act, which would create an Under Secretary for Management at the VA and consolidate acquisition and business functions at the Department.  I realize that creating one management position is not going to fix all of the issues that VA has had with managing acquisitions, budget, and IT across the Department; however, it is time to provide a position that has the authority and weight to ensure that we do not keep making the same mistakes over and over.  

We found out last Congress that it took a decision from the Secretary to end the failed Supply Chain Modernization attempt with Defense Medical Logistics Standard Support.  As we move toward yet another attempt at modernizing supply chain management, I want to ensure we are providing VA with every resource possible to implement a successful program.

I would also like to acknowledge my colleagues’ bills concerning the EHRM program.  I was happy to lead the EHRM Transparency law with Chairman Bost and Ranking Member Takano on a bipartisan basis in the last Congress.  I look forward to continuing to work on a bipartisan basis on this program to support a system and results that benefit all veterans and employees.  

I am also proud to support and cosponsor the House version of the EHRM RESET Act, introduced initially in the Senate by Sen. Tester, and believe that we can use this as a starting point for discussing a long-term fix to the program.  This bill addresses a number of issues included in Chairman Bost’s legislation today, and I look forward to collaborating across the aisle to emulate in the same way the legislative accomplishments we achieved in the 117th Congress. 

 

Original source can be found here.