Veterans Affairs: The Role of the Chief Information Officer in Effectively Managing Information Technology

In carrying out its mission of serving the nation's veterans and their dependents, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) relies extensively on information technology (IT), for which it is requesting about $2.1 billion in fiscal year 2006. VA's vision is to integrate its IT resources and streamline interactions with customers, so that it can provide services and information to veterans more quickly and effectively. Fully exploiting the potential of IT to improve performance is a challenging goal for VA, as it is throughout government. The Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 addressed this challenge by, among other things, establishing the position of chief information officer (CIO) to serve as the focal point for information and technology management within departments and agencies. As agreed with Congress, GAO will discuss the role of CIOs in the federal government and in the private sector, as well as provide a historical perspective on the roles and responsibilities of VA's CIO. In developing this testimony, GAO relied on its previous work at VA and on the CIO role, including a 2004 review of CIOs at major departments and agencies and a 2005 review of CIOs at leading private-sector organizations.