This bill overhauls how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) buys big systems and services. It creates a new Office of Acquisition and Innovation led by an Assistant Secretary who is also the VA’s Chief Acquisition Officer. Major program offices will report directly to this leader. All contracting officers and acquisition centers move under this office, and VA logistics and supply chains are consolidated under a new Deputy for Logistics. The VA also adds Deputies for Innovation and for Procurement to manage research, testing, and contracting across the agency . Big purchases are defined as programs costing $250 million or more, and dedicated program managers must set clear cost, schedule, and performance targets and cannot move to the next phase without approval from the Assistant Secretary .

To keep projects on track, the VA must hire qualified, independent firms to test and verify major programs and major IT projects, with rules to prevent conflicts of interest and quick reporting to Congress. The VA must review current testing contracts within 120 days and set up new ones as needed. Costs for these contracts are shared across VA offices . The bill also creates a Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation to set cost-estimating rules, provide independent cost estimates before key decisions, and issue an annual public report on VA’s cost analysis. Within one year, the Director must report on how the VA tracks long-term operating and support costs for major programs . To speed health care innovation, the VA can use special agreements with nontraditional companies for research and pilot projects (generally up to $5 million with a 33% non-federal cost share unless waived). This authority ends three years after enactment and includes notice to Congress. The VA can also make “advance market commitments,” promising to buy approved technologies or services for veterans and then reporting on results within 120 days. The VA will expand internship and training pipelines for 1102 contracting officers to build its workforce .

• Who is affected: VA leaders and staff who manage buying, vendors (including new, smaller firms), and veterans who rely on VA health care and services .
• What changes: Centralized acquisition leadership and staff, stricter oversight of big projects, required independent testing, stronger cost checks, new tools to bring in innovative health solutions, and expanded training for contracting officers .
• When: 120 days to review and align testing contracts; 30-day deadlines to notify Congress on key reviews; a report on long-term costs due within one year; special innovation agreements sunset three years after enactment; advance market commitment reports due 120 days after each agreement .