Congress' $1.1 trillion spending bill for the new fiscal year includes $71.4 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is $6 billion more than the agency received the previous year. However, the additional money is tied to heightened oversight, reports Federal News Radio.
The VA plans to use the funds to improve its EHR, address the backlog of disability claims and move forward with construction projects, but the agency must keep House and Senate appropriations committees abreast of spending, according to the report. Text in the spending bill requires the VA Secretary or CIO to submit plans to the committees for projects related to "information technology systems development, modernization and enhancement," according to the report.
Additionally, the VA must request a funding transfer if a project's cost changes by more than $1 million, according to the report.
Approximately $233 million of the VA's funding is dedicated to upgrading the VA's EHR system, and $2.7 billion is dedicated to the Veterans Benefits Administration, largely to reduce the backlog of disability claims, according to the report.
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