ARCA Act of 2025

The Acquisition Reform and Cost Assessment Act of 2025 (ARCA Act) would fundamentally reorganize how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) handles its acquisitions, contracting, and cost oversight. It creates a centralized Office of Acquisition and Innovation led by a new Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Innovation, with dedicated deputies for logistics, innovation, and procurement. The bill defines “major” and “non-major” VA acquisition programs (threshold: life-cycle cost of $250 million or more for major) and requires major programs to be managed by designated Major Acquisition Program Managers who report to the Acquisition and Innovation office. A separate Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation would provide independent cost estimates, analysis, and guidance to ensure accurate budgeting and lifecycle costing, while independent verification and validation (IV&V) for major acquisition and IT programs would be contracted out to qualified entities. The act also allows VA to use other transaction authority (OTA) to partner with nontraditional contractors for health-care-related research and development, with sunset provisions after three years, and to pursue advance market commitments to secure new health-care technologies or services for veterans. Additionally, ARCA expands an 1102 internship pipeline to grow VA contracting talent and consolidates logistics under the new Acquisition and Innovation leadership.