{"bills":[{"photos":{"featured":"https://assets.countable.us/bill/photo/hr216-114/featured_department-of-veterans-affairs-budget-planning-reform-act-of-2015-1454545586.jpg","featured_large":"https://assets.countable.us/bill/photo/hr216-114/featured_large_department-of-veterans-affairs-budget-planning-reform-act-of-2015-1454545586.jpg","shareable":"https://n.countable.us/share-images/bills/hr216-114.png"},"introduced_on":"2015-01-08","title_override":"Will More Reports Help the Dept. of Veterans’ Affairs Draft Better Budgets?","summary_override":"

By creating a new review program, this bill seeks to increase oversight during the Veterans’ Affairs (VA) budget drafting process.

This bill would add a set of new reports that the VA must submit to Congress. The first, the \"Future-Years Veterans Program,\" would detail a five-year spending plan for funding the Department's needs. That report would be included as part of the VA's annual budget submission to Congress.

A quadrennial review (every four years) of the VA would also be created through collaboration between the heads of other federal agencies, state and local governments, private business people and academics. These reviews could start no later than 2019. They would have to contain an overall strategy for the VA, an outline and prioritization of current programs, trends and areas where the programs could be improved and the budget necessary to do all of this.

The VA Secretary would also have to submit to a review of the quadrennial review (yes, a review of the review) within a year of its release. The review would be conducted by a 10-person Independent Veterans Review Panel appointed by Congress and the VA. The panel would submit a \"review and assessment of the assumptions, strategies, and findings of the quadrennial review.\"

","official_title":"To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a Future-Years Veterans Program and a quadrennial veterans review, to establish in the Department of Veterans Affairs a Chief Strategy Officer, and for other purposes.","short_title":"Department of Veterans Affairs Budget Planning Reform Act of 2015","popular_title":null,"short_summary":"Department of Veterans Affairs Budget Planning Reform Act of 2015\n\n(Sec. 2) Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to submit annually to Congress a Future-Years Veterans Program (Program) reflecting estimated expenditures and proposed appropriations included in the budget for that fiscal year.\n\nRequires the Program to: (1) set forth a five-year VA plan to address the U.S. commitment to veterans and the resources necessary to meet that commitment; (2) be included in VA's annual budget submission to the Congress, starting with the FY2020 budget submission; and (3) be published on a publicly available VA website.\n\nRequires the Secretary, in 2019 and quadrennially thereafter, to conduct a review of the strategy for meeting such commitment and resources requirement (Quadrennial Veterans Review) which shall include a comprehensive examination of U.S. policies and strategies for veterans, including recommendations regarding the long-term strategy and priorities for veterans programs, s...","summarized":true,"cost":3000000,"cost_commentary":"The CBO estimates that implementing this bill would cost $3 million from 2016 to 2020. ","impact":"Veterans, taxpayers, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the poor souls who have to read all the reports, and Congress.","argument_for":"Increased VA reports will not only help the Department more efficiently balance its budget, but also ensure that all the needs of U.S. veterans are being addressed in the proposals. Not to mention the VA is in serious need of better oversight. ","argument_against":"This bill would increase paperwork and bureaucracy at the VA. Part of the problem is that it’s run by incompetent bureaucrats on a shoestring budget. Burdening them with more work isn’t going to make it any better. ","bill_type":"hr","published":true,"type":"FederalBill","id":"hr216-114","bill_id":"hr216-114","formal_id":"H.R. 216","chamber":"house","congress":114,"last_action_at":"2015-03-25T00:00:00.000Z","active":true,"enacted":false,"enacted_at":null,"vetoed":false,"last_vote_at":"2015-03-24T18:18:14.000Z","debated_on":"2015-03-23T00:00:00.000Z","congress_url":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th/house-bill/216","plain_text_url":"http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-114hr216rfs/html/BILLS-114hr216rfs.htm","shareable_image_url":"https://n.countable.us/share-images/bills/hr216-114.png","congress_full_text_url":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th/house-bill/216/text","is_current_congress":false,"last_version_on":"2015-01-08","related_bill_ids":[],"progress":"Passed House","house_passage_result":true,"senate_passage_result":false,"position_count":80,"committees":[{"name":"Committee on Veterans' Affairs","chamber":"house","committee_id":"HSVR","subcommittee":false},{"name":"Committee on Veterans' Affairs","chamber":"senate","committee_id":"SSVA","subcommittee":false}],"links":{"rollCalls":"/api/roll_calls?bill_id=hr216-114","details":"/api/bills/hr216-114/details","sharingMessage":"/api/sharing_messages/hr216-114","positionsFor":"/api/bills/hr216-114/positions/for","positionsAgainst":"/api/bills/hr216-114/positions/against"},"upcoming":false,"cosponsors_count":4,"slug":"hr216-114-department-of-veterans-affairs-budget-planning-reform-act-of-2015","latest_chamber_votes_id":"hr216-114","official_url":null,"target_video":true,"following":false,"vote_count":1675,"yea_vote_count":658,"nay_vote_count":1015,"passed_house":true,"passed_senate":false,"vote_id":null,"my_position_id":null,"topic_ids":["defense"],"issue_ids":["defense"],"sponsor_id":481}],"votes":[],"issues":[{"id":"defense","name":"Defense","slug":"defense","description":"Federal legislation related to Defense spending, the active duty military, intelligence activities, war powers and veterans’ care. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about.","page_title":"US Armed forces and Defense related Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.countable.us/issue/icon/defense/black_defense-1429042040.svg","grey":"https://assets.countable.us/issue/icon/defense/grey_defense-1429042040.svg","white":"https://assets.countable.us/issue/icon/defense/white_defense-1429042040.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false}],"users":[{"name":"RobertAllport","vote_count":934,"photos":{"large":"https://assets.countable.us/user/avatar/yWjJl5Wb/large_ywjjl5wb-1447193863.jpg","small":"https://assets.countable.us/user/avatar/yWjJl5Wb/small_ywjjl5wb-1447193863.jpg","tiny":"https://assets.countable.us/user/avatar/yWjJl5Wb/tiny_ywjjl5wb-1447193863.jpg"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/yWjJl5Wb/following","followers":"/api/users/yWjJl5Wb/followers"},"about_me":"Conservative Christian Citizen Advocate for Moral Justice","twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":"robertallport","issue_count":0,"is_following":null,"influence_score":1095,"influence_level":30,"follower_count":3,"following_count":0,"position_count":435,"followed_tag_list":["contentsource/1","contentsource/4","partner/f2f8313e-7faa-4ea1-8628-1a14da928e02"],"id":"yWjJl5Wb","partner_id":null}],"bill_position":{"flagged":false,"id":"eca4355e-e69c-4b8a-a88f-c3cd7e071cac","argument_for":null,"argument_against":"More reports call for more committees that call for larger budgets that yield more red tape and confusion.","show_argument_for":false,"show_argument_against":true,"upvote_count":0,"upvotes_for_count":null,"upvotes_against_count":0,"has_upvoted":false,"endorsement_count":0,"links":{"self":"https://www.countable.us/positions/eca4355e-e69c-4b8a-a88f-c3cd7e071cac"},"body":"More reports call for more committees that call for larger budgets that yield more red tape and confusion.","stance":"nay","created_at":"2015-03-25T21:59:02.706Z","shareable_image_url":"https://n.countable.us/share-images/positions/eca4355e-e69c-4b8a-a88f-c3cd7e071cac.png","note_color":null,"note_text":null,"bill_id":"hr216-114","user_id":"yWjJl5Wb","endorser_ids":[]}}

Like Countable?

RobertAllport

Will More Reports Help the Dept. of Veterans’ Affairs Draft Better Budgets?