October 28, 2013

House Passes Bill to Address VA’s Claims Backlog

Washington, D.C.  – Today, the House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation (H.R. 2189) designed to help the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) accomplish its goal of eliminating its claims backlog by 2015. The legislation incorporates provisions from a number of bills that were announced by Democrats on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee earlier this year as part of a 10 bill legislative package to address the backlog.

“There is no easy quick fix to the claims backlog. While progress is being made, this legislation provides the VA with the additional tools it needs to help reach its goal of ending the backlog by 2015. I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their bipartisan efforts to create smart, pragmatic solutions,” said Rep. Mike Michaud (ME-02), Ranking Member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

Key provisions from the backlog reduction package passed today include:

  • paying veterans more quickly by paying as their individual conditions are adjudicated (H.R. 2086, Rep. Dina Titus)
  • providing veterans with information that may lead to quicker routes to the successful adjudication of their claim (H.R. 1809, Rep. Beto O’Rourke)
  • strengthening accountability by requiring VA to regularly track and provide information to the public on claims processing and the performance of VA regional offices (H.R. 1623, Rep. Gloria Negrete McLeod; H.R. 1824, Rep. Grace Meng)
  • taking steps to help ensure the VA has the needed information from other agencies to accurately process claims in a timely way (H.R. 1759, Rep. Raul Ruiz)
  • encouraging VA to expand the use of automation in processing veterans claims (H.R. 1805, Rep. Ann Kuster)
  • speeding up claims by allowing veterans’ medical examinations to be done by physicians outside the VA system and encouraging veterans to file fully developed claims (H.R. 1521, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney)

In addition to H.R. 2189, the House also passed the following bills from the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee today:

  • H.R. 2481 – Veterans Economic Opportunity Act of 2013 (Rep. Bill Flores)
  • H.R. 1405 – To amend title 38, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to include an appeals form in any notice of decision issued for the denial of a benefit sought (Rep. Dina Titus). This bill also includes a provision honoring as a veteran any reservist entitled to retirement pay (H.R. 679, Rep. Walz)
  • H.R. 2011 – Veterans’ Advisory Committee on Education Improvement Act (Rep. John Delaney)