VA Overhaul Bill Forces $1B Projects Under Single Manager, Mandates Independent Cost Checks

The Acquisition Reform and Cost Assessment Act of 2025 (ARCA Act) is a massive structural overhaul of how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) buys everything from new medical equipment to complex IT systems. If you think your company’s internal reorganization was tough, this bill is trying to centralize all acquisition, procurement, and logistics functions—which currently live scattered across the VA’s massive departments—under one single executive. The goal is to stop the multi-billion dollar project failures that have plagued the VA for years by bringing in professional standards and serious outside oversight.

The New Sheriff in Town: Centralizing Power

Right now, the VA’s buying power is decentralized, meaning the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) often run their own complex purchasing operations. The ARCA Act changes this by creating a new Assistant Secretary for Acquisition who will be the sole Chief Acquisition Officer. This new Assistant Secretary will absorb all acquisition, procurement, and logistics staff from across the entire VA (Sec. 4). This move concentrates immense power and responsibility in one office, but the idea is that a single point of accountability will make it easier to manage the VA’s nearly $300 billion budget. If you’re a VA staffer currently working on contracts or supply chain for the VHA, expect your reporting structure to change dramatically as everything rolls up to this new central office.

The $1 Billion Club: Higher Standards for Big Projects

The bill defines a “major acquisition program” as any project costing over $1 billion total or $200 million annually (Sec. 2). For these massive projects, the ARCA Act mandates a huge upgrade in professionalism. Every Program Executive Officer (PEO) and Program Manager must now hold a Level 3 project management certification—the highest tier—from a recognized body like the Department of Defense or an approved private sector equivalent (Sec. 2, Sec. 3). This is the bill saying, “We’re only putting certified experts in charge of the biggest budgets.” Program Managers will also have to develop a detailed program baseline plan that covers cost, schedule, and performance before the project even starts.

No More Guesswork: Independent Oversight

Perhaps the most significant change for taxpayers is the introduction of mandatory, independent oversight. The bill creates a Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation who reports directly to the VA Secretary (Sec. 6). This Director’s job is to provide an independent cost estimate for every major acquisition before it moves forward. This means the project team can no longer just tell the Secretary what they think it will cost; an independent office must verify those numbers. Furthermore, the Secretary must hire outside contractors to perform Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) on major projects at key stages (Sec. 5). This IV&V process is basically a third-party audit to ensure the requirements, cost, and schedule are realistic. To prevent conflicts of interest, these IV&V contractors must prove they have no existing ties that could affect their performance, and the VA cannot accept any mitigation plan to get around this rule.

Building the Bench: A Focus on Internships

Recognizing that the VA needs a steady pipeline of new talent to manage these complex projects, the bill focuses on the entry-level workforce. The VA must prioritize hiring through acquisition internship programs and must increase the number of participants to at least double, but no more than quadruple, the level seen in Fiscal Year 2025 (Sec. 7). This provision aims to build a sustainable, certified acquisition workforce from the ground up, ensuring that the VA isn't constantly relying on expensive outside consultants for basic project management down the road. For recent college grads or career switchers interested in federal contracting, this bill means significantly more job openings in the VA’s acquisition track.