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H.R. 6589 — what changed

Department of Veterans Affairs Chief Financial Officer Authority and Collaboration Act of 2020

From Introduced in House to Engrossed in House. 2 sections amended and 3 added between Introduced in House and Engrossed in House.

Section 1 Short title

changed This Act may be cited as the “CFO “Department of Veterans Affairs Chief Financial Officer Authority and Collaboration Act of 2020”.

Sec. 2 Plans for addressing material weaknesses and providing sufficient authority to Chief Financial Officer of Department of Veterans Affairs

changed Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for each of the three subsequent years, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall—Affairs, acting through the Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Veterans Affairs, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees—

(1)
changed develop a an action plan, including steps and steps, related timelines, costs, progress, status of implementation, and any updates for fully addressing—addressing the material weaknesses of the Department discussed in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis section of the financial statements of the Department submitted to Congress under section 3515 of title 31, United States Code for the year preceding the year during which the report is submitted; and
(A)
removed the repeated material weakness of the Department of Veterans Affairs; and
(B)
removed the recommendations of the auditor related to entity level controls, including the organizational structure of the office of the Chief Financial Officer of the Department; and
(2)
changed submit a plan outlining the steps the Secretary plans to take to address the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs recommendations of the Senate auditors related to entity-level internal controls and to provide sufficient authority to the House Chief Financial Officer of Representatives a report containing a description of—the Department to carry out the requirements of section 902 of title 31, United States Code.
(A)
removed the plan developed under paragraph (1); and
(B)
removed the steps the Secretary plans to take to provide sufficient authority to the Chief Financial Officer of the Department to carry out the requirements of section 902 of title 31, United States Code.

Sec. 3 Chief Financial Officer attestation

added

added Concurrent with the submittal to Congress of the President’s budget request under section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, for fiscal year 2022 and each of the next three subsequent fiscal years, the Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Veterans affairs shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees each of the following:

(1)
added A certification of the responsibility of the Chief Financial Officer for internal financial controls of the Department.
(2)
added An attestation that the Chief Financial Officer has collaborated sufficiently with the subordinate chief financial officers of the Department to be confident in the financial projections included the budget request and supporting materials.

Sec. 4 Chief Financial Officer responsibility for subordinate chief financial officers

added
(a)
added In general— In accordance with the responsibilities of the Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Veterans Affairs for the recruitment, selection, and training of personnel to carry out agency financial management functions pursuant to section 902(a)(5)(C) of title 31, United States Code, the Chief Financial Officer or the designee of the Chief Financial Officer within the Office of Management of the Department shall—
(1)
added participate in the interview and selection panels of all subordinate chief financial officers; and
(2)
added give input into the performance plans and performance evaluations of all subordinate chief financial officers.
(b)
added Termination— The requirements under subsection (a) shall terminate on the date that is five years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Sec. 5 Definitions

added

added In this Act:

(1)
added The term “appropriate congressional committees” means the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives and the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
(2)
added The term “subordinate chief financial officer”—
(A)
added includes—
(i)
added the chief financial officer of the Veterans Health Administration, the chief financial officer of the Office of Community Care within the Veterans Health Administration, and all chief financial officers of Veterans Integrated Service Networks within the Veterans Health Administration;
(ii)
added the chief financial officer of the Veterans Benefits Administration and all chief financial officers of organizational subdivisions representing business lines within the Veterans Benefits Administration;
(iii)
added the chief financial officer of the National Cemetery Administration; and
(iv)
added the chief financial officer of the Office of Information and Technology; and
(B)
added does not include the Inspector General.