Department of Veterans Affairs Information Technology Reform Act of 2019

Department of Veterans Affairs Information Technology Reform Act of 2019

This bill revises several policies and procedures related to the management of information technology projects and programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Among other requirements, the bill requires the VA to

• update the review process for information technology projects to ensure active risks are factored into the Information Technology Dashboard Chief Information Officer ratings;
• submit a plan for expenditures relating to large information technology projects and investments;
• include a specific accounting of funds requested for VA information technology programs in budget justification materials;
• comply with applicable requirements of the Data Center Optimization Initiative of the Office of Management and Budget;
• submit a comprehensive, prioritized list of information technology projects being funded by the VA;
• assess information technology investments to determine the suitability of the investments for migration to a cloud computing service;
• create a mechanism to track savings and cost avoidances from migration to cloud computing services and deployment of such services;
• ensure that information technology management policies address the role of the Chief Information Officer with respect to key responsibilities;
• develop a continuous monitoring strategy to address organization metrics, frequency of monitoring metrics, ongoing status monitoring of metrics, and reporting of security status; and
• revise Office of Information and Technology processes relating to risk management.

The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to review the VA's updated processes related to the review of information technology projects and risk management.