Modernization of information technology systems of the Veterans Benefits Administration

(a) Program required To fulfill the modernization objectives of section 701(b) of the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022 (Public Law 117–168; 38 U.S.C. 324 note), and subject to the requirements and limitations of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, acting through the responsible official described in subsection (b), shall establish a program to design, build, implement, and operate a technology platform, leveraging existing agreements where practicable, to modernize the disability claims process of the Department of Veterans Affairs in a manner that reduces operational waste and strengthens internal accountability. (b) Responsible official The responsible official described in this subsection is the Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology (serving as the Chief Information Officer of the Department as described in section 5723(b) of title 38, United States Code), in consultation with the Under Secretary for Benefits and the Chief Acquisition Officer of the Department. (c) Objectives The program established under subsection (a) shall focus on the following objectives: (1) Improving the overall veteran experience. (2) Increasing efficiency and accuracy in the claims processing workflow. (3) Improving system architecture and resiliency. (4) Improving data infrastructure and interoperability. (5) Improving employee efficiency and user experience. (d) Requirements relating to automation and human decision making The Secretary shall ensure that the program established under subsection (a) is carried out, and the technology platform is designed and built, in a manner that ensures that— (1) automation of any claims analysis or determination process includes human review of individual conditions claimed for benefits; and (2) employees of the Department continue to make all final decisions with respect to the approval of claims and the granting of benefits. (e) Data rights The Secretary shall ensure that the Department retains unlimited rights in technical data, as described in section 2302 of title 41, United States Code, in connection with the program and technology platform, including information, source datasets, application programming interfaces, and derivative technological outputs generated under the technology platform. (f) Data interoperability The Secretary shall ensure that the technology platform establishes and maintains direct, automated data interoperability between and among the Veterans Health Administration, the Veterans Benefits Administration, and the Department of Defense. (g) FedRAMP categorization The Secretary shall ensure that the technology platform is categorized under the Federal Risk and Authorization Program at the high impact categorization level (or an equivalent categorization level, if the categorization levels are revised).