PRIA Logo™
119-hr-6833119th CongressWALLET

ARCA Act of 2025

Sponsored By: Representative Barrett, Tom [R-MI-7]

In Committee

Summary

Centralized VA acquisition moves procurement, logistics, and program management into a single Office of Acquisition to tighten cost control and boost independent oversight. The Act also creates a dedicated cost assessment function to produce independent estimates and program evaluations for major VA programs.

Show full summary
  • Consolidates VA acquisition under a new Office of Acquisition within 1 year and creates an Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, deputies, Program Executive Officers, and a requirement that program managers hold advanced project management certification.
  • Sets clear major acquisition thresholds for stricter governance for programs that exceed $200 million in annual cost or $1 billion in lifecycle cost, requires a standardized requirements process, and mandates Independent Verification and Validation that covers design, requirements, and cost and schedule baselines.
  • Creates a Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation to deliver independent cost estimates before major decisions and annual reports to Congress, requires reporting when estimates exceed budgets by more than 5 percent, expands acquisition internships to 2x–4x 2025 levels, and calls for a systems engineering analysis with the DoD Acquisition Research Center.

Personalized for You

How does this bill affect your finances?

Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.

Free to download

Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

5 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 3 mixed.

Bigger acquisition internship hiring

If enacted, the bill would prioritize hiring entry-level acquisition staff from VA acquisition internship programs. By September 30 of the first fiscal year after enactment, annual internship participants must be at least twice and no more than four times the number in fiscal year 2025. The numeric requirement would end once the Secretary certifies to House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees that projected graduates will meet acquisition hiring needs, accounting for attrition and retirements.

Independent cost and engineering reviews

If enacted, the bill would create a Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation who reports to the Secretary. The Director would do independent cost estimates before major acquisition decisions, develop cost-estimation policies, evaluate program effectiveness, and send an annual report to Congress. If enacted, the Director must list any acquisitions where the independent estimate exceeded the budget request by more than 5 percent. The bill would also require VA to enter an agreement with the Department of Defense acquisition research center to do a systems engineering analysis and report findings to Congress within a year of the agreement.

New IV&V contracting rules

If enacted, the bill would require VA to seek competitively awarded Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) contracts not later than 120 days after enactment. IV&V would check major programs at start, end, and other times chosen by the Chief Acquisition Officer. If enacted, IV&V contractors would need at least three prime contracts in the prior three years with satisfactory past performance, and VA could not accept conflict mitigation plans for firms with unmitigable conflicts. The bill would also require the Chief Financial Officer to make each VA subdivision that uses IV&V contracts proportionally contribute to pay those contracts.

New centralized acquisition office

If enacted, the bill would create an Office of Acquisition led by an Assistant Secretary who would be the Department's Chief Acquisition Officer. Major acquisition program offices would be required to report directly to that Assistant Secretary and new deputy posts and program executive officers would be appointed. If enacted, the Department would be required to consolidate acquisition, procurement, contracting, logistics, and supply chain activities under that office within one year and to send a written consolidation plan and brief Congress within 90 days. The bill would also change VA law to increase the number of Assistant Secretaries from seven to eight and replace the phrase "Procurement functions" with "Acquisition functions."

Which programs are "major"

If enacted, the bill would define a "major acquisition program" as one with life-cycle costs above $1 billion or annual costs above $200 million. Those dollar tests would be adjusted under existing law and depend on the Secretary's cost estimate. If enacted, the bill would also require a standardized requirements process for those major programs. The process would use data-driven needs assessments, stakeholder input (including veterans service organizations), and iterative validation through independent verification and validation. The Secretary would must send a report and implementation plan to the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees not later than 180 days after enactment.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Barrett, Tom [R-MI-7]

MI • R

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Messmer, Mark B. [R-IN-8]

    IN • R

    Sponsored 9/3/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

View on Congress.gov
Back to Legislation