,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #edc  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,march #g1 #bjag    
,mr4 ,tester 7for himself1 ,mrs4        
,mc,caskill1 and ,mr4 ,bennet7          
introduced the following bill2 which was
 read twice and referred to the         
,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs  ,a   
,,bill  ,to amend title #ch1 ,united    
,states ,code1 to require the ,secretary
 of ,veterans ,affairs to include in    
each contract into which the ,secretary 
enters for necessary services           
authorities and mechanism for           
appropriate oversight1 and for other    
purposes4  #a4 ,short title  ,this ,act 
may be cited as the ,performance        
,accountability and ,contractor         
,transparency ,act of #bjag4  #b4       
,improving oversight of ,department of  
,veterans ,affairs contracts for        
services  7a7 ,in general ,section #eac 
of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is 
amended-- 7#a7 in the first sentence1 by
 striking ,the ,secretary may1 for and  

inserting the following3  7a7 ,in       
general ,the ,secretary may1 for  2 and 
7#b7 by adding at the end the following 
new subsection3  7b7 ,requirements  7#a7
 ,the ,secretary shall ensure that each 
contract for a service into which the   
,secretary enters under subsection 7a7  
includes the following3  7,a7           
,measurable metrics to ascertain the    
performance of the provider of the      
service1 relating to cost1 schedule1 and
 fulfillment of contract requirements4  
7,b7 ,a plan of action and milestones   
for the provision of the service1 with  
estimates of the dates on which         
significant portions of the contract    
will be completed and a description of  
the resources the service provider will 
assign to provide the service4  7,c7    
,safeguards to ensure that the service  
provided meets a minimum threshold of   
quality determined by the ,secretary1   
including authority for the ,secretary  
to levy a financial penalty upon the    
service provider if the service provided

 fails to meet such threshold4  7,d7    
,measurable metrics relating to the use 
of award or incentive fees4  7#b7 ,in   
each case of a contract for a service   
into which the ,secretary enters into   
under subsection 7a7 that would result  
in the ,department incurring an         
obligation of more than #ajj1jjj1jjj1   
the ,secretary shall--  7,a7 ensure the 
contract includes-- 7i7 a requirement   
that the service provider documents     
through information technology systems  
of the ,department the work of the      
service provider so that the ,secretary 
can review and validate quality of the  
service provided using the metrics set  
forth in the contract under paragraph   
7#a77;,a72 and  7ii7 a requirement that1
 not later than #de days after the last 
day of each quarter for the duration of 
the contract1 the service provider shall
 submit to the ,secretary1 the          
,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the
 ,senate1 and the ,committee on         
,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of    

,representatives a report on the service
 provided under the contract and an     
assessment as to how such service       
compares with respect to the metrics set
 forth in the contract under paragraph  
7#a77;,a72 and  7,b7 use the appropriate
 project management accountability      
system of the ,department to ensure that
 the contract provides an adequate      
return on the investment of the         
,secretary2  7,c7 whenever the          
,secretary provides notice to the       
service provider that the service       
provider is failing to meet contractual 
obligations1 submit to the ,committee on
 ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,senate and 
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of
 the ,house of ,representatives a report
 on such failure1 along with--  7i7 an  
explanation of the reasons for providing
 such notice2  7ii7 a description of the
 effect of such failure1 including with 
respect to cost1 schedule1 and          
requirements2  7iii7 a description of   
the actions taken by the ,secretary to  

mitigate such failure2 and  7iv7 a      
description of the actions taken by the 
contractor to address such failure2     
7,d7 not later than #de days after the  
last day of each quarter for the        
duration of the contract1 submit to the 
,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the
 ,senate and the ,committee on          
,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of    
,representatives a report that details  
the modifications made to the contract1 
if any1 and a justification for such    
modifications2 and  7,e7 publish on the 
,internet website of the ,department    
information about the contract and the  
modifications made to the contract1 if  
any4  4  7b7 ,effective date ,subsection
 7b7 of section #eac of such title1 as  
added by subsection 7a71 shall take     
effect on the date of the enactment of  
this ,act and shall apply with respect  
to contracts entered into by the        
,secretary after such date4