Mr. President, today I am introducing the proposed Senior Oversight Committee Extension Act of 2008 The VA and DoD Senior Oversight Committee--the SOC--has been an important component of ongoing…
Mr. President, today I am introducing the proposed Senior Oversight Committee Extension Act of 2008 The VA and DoD Senior Oversight Committee--the SOC--has been an important component of ongoing efforts to ensure that the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense work together to improve the treatment and care of our Nation's wounded warriors. This bill requires a 3-year extension of the VA and DoD SOC so that it may continue its vitally important oversight function.
As a result of the problems identified at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in May 2007, VA and DoD established the SOC to identify corrective actions. It was tasked with reviewing and overseeing the implementation of the recommendations of the various task forces and study groups which were established to study problems related to the transitioning of seriously injured servicemembers. Today, the SOC and its supporting staff continue to work toward implementing policies and procedures to streamline and expedite joint efforts to provide seriously injured servicemembers and veterans with the best care available.
The SOC is currently co-chaired by the Deputy Secretary of Defense and the Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs. It brings together the most senior VA and DoD officials on a regular basis to ensure that the decisions designed to improve care, recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration of seriously injured servicemembers are made in a timely and efficient manner. It is supported by a full-time joint VA and DoD staff that is responsible for coordinating, integrating and synchronizing the activities of the Committee.
The Administration's current plan is for the SOC to hand over its responsibilities next January to the existing VA and DoD Joint Executive Council. However, the Joint Executive Council has neither a full time staff nor the equivalent involvement of senior VA and DoD officials. The JEC staff has neither the resources nor the leverage within the individual Departments to carry out the essential work that the SOC has managed. Veterans' organizations who testified at the April 23, 2008, Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing support the need to extend the SOC rather than transfer responsibilities to the Joint Executive Council.
Although I am pleased with the progress that has been achieved over the past year on improving VA and DoD cooperation and collaboration, much work remains. I am concerned that, in the future, without the full weight of VA and DoD leadership behind these activities, an ongoing commitment to solving the problems related to the goal of seamless transition and a full time staff to track implementation, there is a very real risk of returning to the bureaucratic lethargy which contributed to the Walter Reed scandal. We have come too far to return to those days.
I am a firm believer in the adage that what the boss checks is what gets done. To make sure the boss--in this case, the Secretaries of Veterans Affairs and Defense--keep an eye on coordination and cooperation between the two departments, I am introducing this legislation to provide the two Secretaries with authority to extend the work of the SOC for 3 years, to ensure the continued existence of a joint body that will serve as the single point of contact for the oversight, strategy and integration of policies and procedures pertaining to the seriously injured.
With the upcoming change in Administration, there can be no wavering on the high level of attention that the Departments have brought to issues of coordination and cooperation. I am committed to sustaining this effort for as long as there are servicemembers in combat.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.
Mr. President, I am introducing legislation concerning the nonprofit research and education corporations--NPCs--that serve the Department of Veterans Affairs. These organizations provide essential support to research and education at VA facilities around the country. My legislation will amend the law which authorizes NPCs so as to better reflect their mission and the needs of VA, as well as strengthen control and oversight of these entities.
The legislation which authorizes NPCs was enacted in 1988 to allow the establishment of these entities as flexible funding mechanisms for the conduct of research and education at VA medical centers. In 2006, 85 NPCs expended $227 million in support of over 5,000 VA research and education programs. NPCs give VA the opportunity to access and manage research funds from sources outside of VA, while maintaining VA oversight.
Twenty years have passed since the inception of NPCs, and it is time to update the law governing their operation. VA's research needs have shifted and the function of NPCs has evolved. I will highlight a few of the corrections this legislation would make.
NPCs are nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations that are entirely dedicated to serving VA research. They efficiently administer VA research funds, and provide access to some funds that VA would otherwise be unable to access. Unfortunately, given their close affiliation with VA, and due in part to various state laws, NPC nonprofit status is in some situations unclear. My legislation would explicitly identify the nonprofit status of NPCs under IRS code. It would also make clear that NPCs are not owned or controlled by the U.S. Government, and are not agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S.
As the utility and appeal of NPCs have grown, their numbers have expanded. While this growth is positive, it is not always efficient or feasible for a medical center to establish and manage its own NPC. The legislation would
create authority for multi-medical center NPCs to be shared among a number of medical centers. Condensing numerous NPCs into one would retain the local affiliations that make them valuable and effective, but would achieve greater efficiency and economy of scale by combining administrative resources.
The legislation would make additional adjustments in other areas. It would expand VA's oversight capability. It would clarify existing authority for NPCs to transfer funds among medical centers, and it would clarify reimbursement processes. It would also modify the required composition of NPC governance boards, to allow individuals with a wider range of expertise to serve.
I believe these proposed changes would facilitate better working relationships between NPCs and VA, thereby achieving better support of VA research and education. I am confident that these provisions will make an effective source of support for VA even stronger.
