§8175. Information technology matters to be included in budget justification materials for the Department

(a) List of Information Technology Projects in Effect.-The Secretary shall ensure that whenever the budget justification materials are submitted to Congress in support of the Department budget for a fiscal year (as submitted with the budget of the President for such fiscal year under section 1105(a) of title 31), such budget justification materials include a list of every information technology project currently in effect at the Department (including not only congressional projects and subprojects as determined by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget or the Secretary).

(b) Prioritized List of Unfunded Projects.-(1) In addition to the list included in the budget justification materials required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall ensure that the budget justification materials described in such subsection also include summary descriptions and a prioritized list, in rank order, of every information technology project of the Department, proposed or intended to be proposed for the following one, two, or three fiscal years, that is unfunded as of the time of the inclusion of the list under this paragraph.

(2) In producing the list required by paragraph (1), the Secretary shall-

(A) ensure such list represents a ranking of all proposed information technology projects that reflects the needs of all elements of the Department;

(B) produce one unified list for the entire Department demonstrating how the various proposed information technology projects of each of the elements of the Department rank in priority with the information technology projects of the other elements of the Department; and

(C) ensure that the list-

(i) does not disaggregate and rank information technology projects based on element of the Department; and

(ii) does identify the element of the Department requesting the information technology project.

(3)(A) In producing each list under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall prioritize and rank each information technology project based on an assessment of each of the following factors:

(i) Degree of collaboration between business owners and the Chief Information Officer with respect to joint functional-technical planning, requirements, and management.

(ii) Operational or efficiency benefits to employees of the Department created or produced by the information technology project.

(iii) The life cycle cost of the information technology project.

(iv) The cost savings or cost avoidance yielded by the information technology project.

(v) Time to completion of the information technology project.

(vi) The difficulty of the information technology project, the likelihood the information technology project will be completed, or the risks associated with undertaking the information technology project.

(vii) Tangible benefits to veterans created or produced by the information technology project.

(viii) Such other factors as the Secretary considers appropriate.

(B) The Secretary shall ensure that each list produced under paragraph (1) includes, for each information technology project included in the list, a brief description of the findings of the Secretary with respect to each assessment carried out by the Secretary for each factor for the information technology project under subparagraph (A).

(c) Projected Funding Needs.-(1) In addition to the matters included under subsections (a) and (b), the Secretary shall ensure that the budget justification materials described in subsection (a) also include a projection of the one-year, two-year, and three-year funding needs of the Department for information technology, disaggregated by-

(A) portfolio; and

(B) the product line of the Department that requires the funding.

(2) In addition to the projections under paragraph (1), with respect to each of the periods set forth in such paragraph, the Secretary shall include a description of the funding required for each technology business management category used by the Office of Information Technology of the Department (commonly referred to as "cost pools" and "towers").

(Added Pub. L. 117–328, div. U, title IV, §403(a), Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 5488 .)

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of Subsection (c)

Pub. L. 117–328, div. U, title IV, §403(e), Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 5491 , provided that: "Subsection (c) of section 8175 of such title [meaning title 38, United States Code], as added by subsection (a) of this section, shall take effect on the first Monday in the second January beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 29, 2022]."