Sec. 703. Reinstatement of contracts and review of mass contract cancellations
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The Secretary of Veterans Affairs— shall reinstate each contract cancelled in a mass contract cancellation during the period beginning on January 20, 2025, and ending on the date of the enactment of this Act; shall pause any mass contract cancellation in progress as of the date of the enactment of this Act; and shall not commence any mass contract cancellation unless— each condition described in paragraph
(2)is met; and the requirements of section 704 are fulfilled. The conditions described in this paragraph are the following: The Secretary of Veterans Affairs has reviewed all contracts cancelled or proposed to be cancelled during the period beginning on January 20, 2025 and ending on April 30, 2025. The Secretary has submitted to Congress a report on the reviews conducted under subparagraph (A), including, for each contract reviewed, a certification by the Secretary and career head of each relevant administration or office of the Department of Veterans Affairs that canceling the contract has not or will not affect any of the following: The delivery of health care, benefits, and memorial services to veterans. Safety and cleanliness of any facility of the Department, including surgical suites. The ability of the Department to prevent and detect waste, fraud, and abuse. Medical research carried out by the Department. Cyber and information security. Planning, delivery, and maintenance for infrastructure, leasing, and construction. Homelessness services, including prevention and housing. Cancer research and care. Memorial services. Claims processing and retrieval and digitization of records. Veteran-directed care. Payments and program oversight for educational assistance under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Medical supplies. Mental health and suicide prevention. Implementation of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022 ( Public Law 117–168 ) (commonly known as the PACT Act ). Radiology services. Pharmacy services. Prosthetics services. The Transition Assistance Program. The Home Loan Guaranty Program of the Department. Police and security services provided by the Department. Emergency response, including the Fourth Mission of the Department. Veterans employment. The disposal of waste, including hazardous waste. Any other critical service, function, or operation of the Department, including those required by statute. The Secretary has submitted to Congress a report that sets forth a day-by-day timeline of how the effort to carry out mass contract cancellations was initiated, led, and unfolded, including the following: An identification of each of the following: Who directed the effort to begin and the date on which such direction took place. The parameters of the effort. Whether the Department was provided with a dollar number target to meet for savings or whether officials of the Department determined the amount of savings desired. The search terms used to select contracts for cancellation. Who led the contract review process. The specific individuals who reviewed the justifications to defend the merits of each contract. The data and fact-based criteria used to decide which contracts should be cancelled based on the review of the defense of those contracts prepared by career officials. Whether any contracts were removed from the initial list of contracts to be cancelled prior to that list being finalized. The criteria used to develop the list of contracts announced for termination on March 3, 2025. An estimate developed by the Chief Financial Officer or the Assistant Secretary for Management of the Department of the cost expended by employees of the Department to respond to data calls and contract justification exercises during the period beginning on January 20, 2025 and ending on April 30, 2025. A list of contracts cancelled during the period described in clause
(ii)that were subsequently restored, and any costs paid by the Department to the contractor to mitigate the temporary cancellation, including legal fees. For each contract that was cancelled, an estimated cost for the work to be performed by government personnel and an identification of the part of the Department those personnel will come from considering the ongoing partial hiring freeze and reduction in force efforts of the Department, including those outlined in the Departmental memorandum dated March 4, 2025, and entitled Department of Veterans Affairs Agency Reduction in Force
(RIF)and Reorganization Plan
(ARRP). Not later than one year after the date on which the reports required by subsection
(a)are submitted to Congress, the Inspector General of the Department shall— review the reports for accuracy and completeness; and submit to Congress and make publicly available a report that includes— findings regarding whether the process for mass contract cancellations was consistent with public statements of Department officials; recommendations for areas for improvement for future contract management and oversight; and such other matters as the Inspector General considers appropriate, including actions the Department may take to improve oversight and use of Federal resources in order to improve efficiency in contracting by the Department and prevent and detect waste, fraud, and abuse.
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Sec. 703
Reinstatement of contracts and review of mass contract cancellations
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