S. 731: Department of Veterans Affairs Information Technology Reform Act of 2021

117th Congress · introduced 2021-03-11 · Armed Forces and National Security · Latest: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2021-03-11 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Department of Veterans Affairs Information Technology Reform Act of 2021

Plain summary

Department of Veterans Affairs Information Technology Reform Act of 2021 This bill addresses the management and implementation of information technology projects and investments of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Specifically, the bill prohibits the VA from obligating or expending funds for any major information technology project that begins after the date of enactment of this bill unless a report is submitted that includes information on the cost, schedule, and performance of the project. The information in the report must be used as a baseline against which changes or variances are measured and reported on during the life cycle of the project. Projects must be managed by an interdisciplinary team that includes a certified project manager, a functional lead, a technical lead, a contracting officer, and other appropriate personnel. The VA's Chief Information Officer must (1) exercise authority over the management, governance, and oversight processes relating to information technology of the VA's Financial Services Center; and (2) supervise the information technology employees and contractors of the center. The VA must ensure its annual budget justification materials include a list of its active information technology projects and specified information about such projects, projected funding needs for projects, a prioritized list of every proposed project that is unfunded, and information about the decommissioning of information technology systems and applications. Finally, the VA must assess all of its information technology investments to determine the suitability for migration to a cloud computing service.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Department of Veterans Affairs Information Technology Reform Act of 2021

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

AI explanation – may be wrong, check the official text

No AI explanation yet. It takes up to a minute to write and is then saved for everyone.

Limited to a few requests an hour per person.

The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Arguments against (opponents)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Alternatives

Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT] · 4 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: S. 731, Department of Veterans Affairs Information Technology Reform Act of 2021 (2022-03-16)

Cosponsors on this site

Jerry Moran (R-KS), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Jon Ossoff (D-GA)

Agencies named in this bill

Department of Veterans Affairs: its federal spending and other bills that name it

Found automatically: the agency's full official name appears in the bill title. A bill can affect agencies it does not name, so this list may be incomplete.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-117s731.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/117/s>

Record fed-us-cong117-s731 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong117 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong117