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S. 2063Senate115th Congress (2017-2019)In Committee

Veterans' Electronic Health Record Modernization Oversight Act of 2017

Sponsored by Jon TesterSen. Jon Tester (D-MT)
Introduced November 2, 2017

AI-Generated Summary

Updated April 15, 2026 at 6:49 PM UTC

The Veterans' Electronic Health Record Modernization Oversight Act of 2017 requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to give Congress detailed information and regular updates about its effort to replace and upgrade its electronic health record system. It mandates the submission of planning, cost, risk, security, and interoperability documents, as well as quarterly status reports, contract copies, and prompt notifications of major problems. The bill is aimed at improving congressional oversight of the VA’s health‑record modernization and ensuring transparency for veterans and taxpayers.

Key Provisions

  • Within 30 days of the law’s enactment, the VA Secretary must send Congress a set of core program documents—including master plans, schedules, cost estimates, risk and security plans, and interoperability plans—for the VA’s Electronic Health Record Modernization Program.
  • Every fiscal quarter, the Secretary must provide updated versions of key documents (schedule, management plan, cost estimates, performance baseline, budget reconciliation, and risk plan) to the same committees until the program is finished.
  • Within five days after any contract, order, or modification related to the program is awarded, a copy of that contract must be sent to the committees.
  • If any major issue occurs—such as a milestone delay of 30+ days, a contract change over $1 million, a protest or claim, loss of clinical data, or a patient‑privacy breach—the Secretary must notify the committees within 10 days with details and an explanation.
  • The “appropriate congressional committees” are defined as the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees and the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action
SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Veterans' Affairs Committee

November 2, 2017

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

November 2, 2017

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Veterans' Affairs Committee

November 2, 2017

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued November 2, 2017

II

115th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 2063

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

November 2, 2017

Mr. Tester (for himself and Mr. Blumenthal) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress certain documents relating to the Electronic Health Record Modernization Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Veterans’ Electronic Health Record Modernization Oversight Act of 2017.

2.

Oversight of Electronic Health Record Modernization Program

(a)

Program documents

Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees the following documents concerning the Electronic Health Record Modernization Program:

(1)

Integrated Master Plan.

(2)

Integrated Master Schedule.

(3)

Program Management Plan.

(4)

Annual and lifecycle cost estimates, including, at a minimum, cost elements relating to—

(A)

Federal Government labor;

(B)

contractor labor;

(C)

hardware;

(D)

software; and

(E)

testing and evaluation.

(5)

Cost baseline.

(6)

Risk Management Plan.

(7)

Health IT Strategic Architecture Plan.

(8)

Transition Plan for implementing updated architecture.

(9)

Data Migration Plan.

(10)

System and Data Security Plan.

(11)

Application Implementation Plan.

(12)

System Design Documents.

(13)

Legacy Veterans Information Systems and Technology Architecture Standardization, Security Enhancement, and Consolidation Project Plan.

(14)

Health Data Interoperability Management Plan.

(15)

Community Care Vision and Implementation Plan, including milestones and a detailed description of how complete interoperability with non-Department health care providers will be achieved.

(b)

Quarterly updates

Not later than 30 days after the end of each fiscal quarter during the period beginning with the fiscal quarter in which this Act is enacted and ending on the date on which the Electronic Health Record Modernization Program is completed, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees the most recent updated versions, if any exist, of the following documents:

(1)

Integrated Master Schedule.

(2)

Program Management Plan, including any written Program Management Review material developed for the Program Management Plan during the fiscal quarter covered by the submission.

(3)

Each document described in section (a)(4).

(4)

Performance Baseline Report for the fiscal quarter covered by the submission or for the fiscal quarter ending the fiscal year prior to the submission.

(5)

Budget Reconciliation Report.

(6)

Risk Management Plan and Risk Register.

(c)

Contracts

Not later than five days after awarding a contract, order, or agreement, including any modifications thereto, under the Electronic Health Record Modernization Program, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a copy of the entire such contract, order, agreement, or modification.

(d)

Notification

(1)

Requirement

Not later than 10 days after an event described in paragraph (2) occurs, the Secretary shall notify the appropriate congressional committees of such occurrence, including a description of the event and an explanation for why such event occurred.

(2)

Event described

An event described in this paragraph is any of the following events regarding the Electronic Health Record Modernization Program:

(A)

The delay of any milestone or deliverable by 30 or more days.

(B)

A request for equitable adjustment, equitable adjustment, or change order exceeding $1,000,000 (as such terms are defined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation).

(C)

The submission of any protest, claim, or dispute, and the resolution of any protest, claim, or dispute (as such terms are defined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation).

(D)

A loss of clinical or other data.

(E)

A breach of patient privacy, including any—

(i)

disclosure of protected health information that is not permitted under regulations promulgated under section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–191; 42 U.S.C. 1320d–2 note); and

(ii)

breach of sensitive personal information (as defined in section 5727 of title 38, United States Code).

(e)

Definitions

In this section:

(1)

The term appropriate congressional committees means—

(A)

the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate; and

(B)

the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

(2)

The term Electronic Health Record Modernization Program means—

(A)

any activities by the Department of Veterans Affairs to procure or implement an electronic health or medical record system to replace any or all of the Veterans Information Systems and Technology Architecture, the Computerized Patient Record System, the Joint Legacy Viewer, or the Enterprise Health Management Platform; and

(B)

any contracts or agreements entered into by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out, support, or analyze the activities under subparagraph (A).