H.R. 7683

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7683 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7683

To amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify and expand the 
authority of the Assistant Secretary for Management of the Department 
of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 25, 2026

Mr. Bergman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify and expand the 
authority of the Assistant Secretary for Management of the Department 
of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``VA Fiscal Management Modernization 
Act''.

SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION AND EXPANSION OF AUTHORITY OF THE ASSISTANT 
SECRETARY FOR MANAGEMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
AFFAIRS.

(a) In General.--Section 309 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows (and the table of sections at the beginning 
of chapter 3 of such title is amended accordingly):
``Sec. 309. Chief Financial Officer; Office of Management
``(a) Designation.--The Secretary shall designate the Assistant 
Secretary for Management, whose functions include budgetary and 
financial functions, as the Chief Financial Officer of the Department.
``(b) Duties.--The duties of the Chief Financial Officer include 
the following:
``(1) To advise the Secretary on financial management of 
the Department.
``(2) To formulate, justify, and execute the budget of the 
Department.
``(3) To control, account for, audit, and report on the 
finances of the Department.
``(4) To exercise the authority and carry out the functions 
specified in section 902 of title 31.
``(5) To ensure compliance with sections 1341, 1342, 1349, 
1350, and 1511 through 1519 of title 31 (commonly referred to 
as `the Antideficiency Act').
``(6) To provide to Congress (or a congressional 
committee), upon request, information regarding the budget and 
finances of the Department.
``(7) To serve as the head of the Office of Management of 
the Department.
``(c) Deputy Assistant Secretaries.--(1) There is in the Department 
of Management a Deputy Assistant Secretary for Management for Financial 
Strategy and Budget.
``(2) There is in the Department of Management a Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Management for Financial Operations and Internal 
Controls. Such Deputy Assistant Secretary shall be a career appointee 
(as that term is defined in section 3132(a) of title 5) within the 
Senior Executive Service of the Department.
``(d) Office of Management.--There is in the Department an Office 
of Management.
``(e) Legislative and Congressional Budget Information Office.--(1) 
There is within the Office of Management a Legislative and 
Congressional Budget Information Office (in this subsection referred to 
as the `LCBI Office'). The Chief Financial Officer shall appoint a head 
of the LCBI Office who shall report exclusively to the Chief Financial 
Officer.
``(2) The sole function of the LCBI Office is to provide to 
Congress (or a congressional committee), accurate, timely, and 
certified information regarding the finances and budget of the 
Department.
``(3) Not more than 15 full-time equivalent employees, including 
supervisors, may be assigned to the LCBI Office.''.
(b) Increase to Number of Deputy Assistant Secretaries.--Section 
308(d)(1) of such title is amended by striking ``19'' and inserting 
``21''.
(c) Financial Employees.--Subchapter I of chapter 7 of such title 
is amended by inserting after section 728 the following new section 
(and the table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended 
accordingly):
``Sec. 729. Employees with certain financial authority: management; 
limitation on authority to appoint
``(a) Management.--(1) An employee described in paragraph (2) shall 
report exclusively to the Chief Financial Officer of the Department 
designated under section 309 of this title.
``(2) An employee described in this paragraph is an employee of the 
Department--
``(A) whose position is that of chief financial officer of 
an Administration of the Department or Veterans Integrated 
Service Network; or
``(B) whose duties are substantially similar to a position 
described in subparagraph (A).
``(3) An employee described in paragraph (2) may not perform a 
programmatic or operational function in the Department.
``(b) Limitation on Authority To Appoint.--The Secretary may not 
establish a employee position--
``(1) that performs a function substantially similar to the 
function of the Legislative and Congressional Budget 
Information Office of the Department established under section 
309(d) of this title; and
``(2) that is not within the Legislative and Congressional 
Budget Information Office.''.
(d) Implementation.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall carry 
out the amendments made by this section not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act.
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