II
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3527
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 18 (legislative day, September 17), 2008
Mr. Akaka (for himself, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Feingold, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Johnson, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Thune, Mr. Stevens, and Mr. Rockefeller) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize advance appropriations for certain medical care accounts of the Department of Veterans Affairs by providing two-fiscal year budget authority, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the
Veterans Health Care Budget Reform Act
of 2008
.
Two-fiscal year budget authority for certain medical care accounts of the Department of Veterans Affairs
Two-fiscal year budget authority
In general
Chapter 1 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 113 the following new section:
Two-fiscal year budget authority for certain medical care accounts
In general
Beginning with fiscal year 2010, new discretionary budget authority provided in an appropriations Act for the appropriations accounts of the Department specified in subsection (b) shall be made available for the fiscal year involved and shall include new discretionary budget authority first available after the end of such fiscal year for the subsequent fiscal year.
Medical care accounts
The medical care accounts of the Department specified in this subsection are the medical care accounts of the Veterans Health Administration as follows:
Medical Services.
Medical Administration.
Medical Facilities.
.
Clerical amendment
The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 1 of such title is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 113 the following new item:
.
Comptroller General of the United States study on adequacy and accuracy of baseline model projections of the Department of Veterans Affairs for health care expenditures
Study of adequacy and accuracy of baseline model projections
The
Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study of the adequacy
and accuracy of the budget projections made by the Enrollee Health Care
Projection Model, or its equivalent, as utilized for the purpose of estimating
and projecting health care expenditures of the Department of Veterans Affairs
(in this section referred to as the Model
) with respect to the
fiscal year involved and the subsequent four fiscal years.
Reports
In general
Not later than the date of each year in 2010, 2011, and 2012, on which the President submits the budget request for the next fiscal year under section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, the Comptroller General shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress and to the Secretary a report.
Elements
Each report under this paragraph shall include, for the fiscal year beginning in the year in which such report is submitted, the following:
A statement whether the amount requested in the budget of the President for expenditures of the Department for health care in such fiscal year is consistent with anticipated expenditures of the Department for health care in such fiscal year as determined utilizing the Model.
The basis for such statement.
Such additional information as the Comptroller General determines appropriate.
Availability to the public
Each report submitted under this subsection shall also be made available to the public.
Appropriate committees of Congress defined
In this subsection, the term appropriate committees of Congress means—
the Committees on Veterans' Affairs, Appropriations, and the Budget of the Senate; and
the Committees on Veterans' Affairs, Appropriations, and the Budget of the House of Representatives.