US Congress Senate Bill 154 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-1)
Status: Introduced on January 16 2019 - 25% progression, died in committee
Action: 2019-01-16 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Pending: Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee
Text: Latest bill text (Introduced) [PDF]

Addresses oversight of financial processes of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and also requires implementation of systems for maintaining specified records. Among other elements, the bill requires the VA to include specified elements in contracts it enters for services (e.g., measurable metrics to ascertain the performance of the provider of the service), submit a justification and plan for contracts for services that would incur an obligation of more than $2 billion, contract with a third party to review and audit the VA's financial processes and provide recommendations for improvement, and submit a justification for requests for supplemental appropriations. Additionally, the Inspector General of the VA and the Government Accountability Office must complete a review of a contract for services that would result in the VA incurring an obligation of more than $2 billion. The bill authorizes the Inspector General of the VA, in the performance of the functions assigned to such office, to subpoena the attendance and testimony of witnesses. Finally, the bill requires the VA to implement a centralized system to maintain and record completed reviews of administrative investigation boards, and the Veterans Health Administration must implement a centralized system for tracking instances where the VA has referred a clinician to a state's licensing board because of behavior or clinical outcomes.

Department of Veterans Affairs Contract, Leadership, and Ensuring Accountability and Reform Act of 2019 VA CLEAR Act of 2019

Sen. Jon Tester [D-MT]	Sen. Richard Blumenthal [D-CT]	Sen. Tammy Baldwin [D-WI]	Sen. Patty Murray [D-WA]
Sen. Tim Kaine [D-VA]	Sen. Michael Bennet [D-CO]	Sen. Kyrsten Sinema [I-AZ]

Date	Chamber	Action
2019-01-16	Senate	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Type	Source
Summary	https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/154/all-info
Text	https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/s154/BILLS-116s154is.pdf