VA Electronic Health Record Transparency Act of 2021

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4591) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress periodic reports on the costs of the Department of Veterans Affairs Electronic Health Record Modernization program, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 4591, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4591, the VA Electronic Health Record Transparency Act of 2021, as amended.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has struggled to produce reliable cost estimates and reporting on the infrastructure needs associated with its $16 billion electronic health record modernization project. This bill is a good governance measure which will enable Congress to conduct better oversight and hold VA accountable for its spending.

It is essential that we ensure that taxpayer funds meant to serve veterans are being used properly and that VA is maintaining detailed records of its IT and physical infrastructure expenditures. We owe that to the veterans who get their care from VA and to the American taxpayer.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 4591, as amended, which was unanimously supported in committee.

I reserve the balance of my time, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Mrvan), who is my good friend and a member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs and chairman of the Subcommittee on Technology Modernization.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 4591, the VA Electronic Health Record Transparency Act of 2021, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4591, as amended, the VA Electronic Health Record Transparency Act.

Since the very beginning of the Electronic Health Record Modernization, or the EHRM, program, this committee has been requesting accurate and up-to-date lifecycle cost estimates from VA. Despite our requests, VA has never provided a credible lifecycle cost estimate. VA's cost estimates could not withstand even the most basic scrutiny.

This bill would require quarterly reports on the costs of the EHRM program. It would also capture the roughly $5 billion of costs the Inspector General found were unaccounted for and any other costs that VA has not been including.

Of course, cost is not everything. The electronic health record program needs to help the VA medical staff better care for veterans. That is why this bill would also require VA to report on performance and safety metrics. These data points will allow us to evaluate the program and determine whether it is making VA medical centers safer, faster, and better.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud of the bipartisan work of the Technology Modernization Subcommittee, and I am also pleased to be the original cosponsor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support H.R. 4591, as amended, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Takano for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this year the VA Office of the Inspector General released two separate reports highlighting VA's failure to conduct reliable lifecycle cost estimates for its Electronic Health Record Modernization program.

Specifically, the IG repeatedly found unreliable and incomplete estimates for infrastructure upgrades and costs as well as inadequate reporting of those costs.

Given the size and scope of the EHRM program, the lack of accurate cost estimates hampers VA's ability to provide Congress with an accurate picture of the cost and scale of efforts to modernize IT and physical infrastructure at VA medical centers.

This piece of legislation will address these issues. It requires VA to look at all costs across VHA, OIT, and any other programs for any amount expended on the EHRM program, including for infrastructure projects and contractors that were not part of the original contract. This legislation also requires VA to provide the committee with reports on performance metrics and outcomes.

I thank Chairman Takano and Ranking Member Bost for their leadership and for cosponsoring this legislation as well as all of the other cosponsors and the committee members who have truly made this a bipartisan effort.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 4591 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time.

Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the bill.

I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.