3.0.0 1286 2023-01-11T13:31:09Z 2023-01-11T13:31:09Z Senate S 2015-05-11 114 ssva00 Veterans' Affairs Committee Senate Standing Referred to 2015-05-11T23:06:20Z 2015-05-11 ssva00 Veterans' Affairs Committee Senate Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. IntroReferral 2015-05-11 Introduced in Senate IntroReferral 10000 9 Library of Congress S001181 Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH] Jeanne Shaheen D NH N L000174 Sen. Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT] Patrick Leahy D VT 2015-05-11 True B001230 Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI] Tammy Baldwin D WI 2015-05-11 True C000141 Sen. Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD] Ben Cardin D MD 2015-05-11 True B001267 Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO] Michael Bennet D CO 2015-05-11 True B000944 Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH] Sherrod Brown D OH 2015-05-11 True K000367 Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] Amy Klobuchar D MN 2015-05-11 True U000039 Sen. Udall, Tom [D-NM] TOM UDALL D NM 2015-05-11 True W000802 Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] Sheldon Whitehouse D RI 2015-05-11 True R000122 Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI] John Reed D RI F. 2015-10-29 False B001277 Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] Richard Blumenthal D CT 2016-01-27 False Armed Forces and National Security Administrative remedies Congressional oversight Federal appellate courts Government studies and investigations Judicial review and appeals Lawyers and legal services Specialized courts Veterans' pensions and compensation Armed Forces and National Security 00 2015-05-11 Introduced in Senate 2015-06-26T15:43:03Z Veterans Appeals Assistance and Improvement Act of 2015

This bill directs the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims to establish a financial assistance program to provide legal and other assistance without charge for veterans and other persons seeking Court review who are unable to afford legal representation costs. (Programs include case screening and referral, training for attorney and related personnel, and facilitation of pro bono representation by members of the bar and law school clinical and other programs.)

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) shall establish a financial assistance program to provide legal and other assistance without charge to veterans and other persons seeking review by the Board of Veterans' Appeals who are unable to afford legal representation costs.

The Court and the VA shall each carry out such programs through an interagency agreement with the Legal Services Corporation. The Corporation may receive a reimbursable payment from the Court or VA for providing such financial assistance. Funds may not be used for the payment of attorney's fees.

VA shall provide for the expeditious treatment by the Board of any claim that: (1) is remanded to VA by the Court, or (2) has been pending before the Board for eight years or more.

The Government Accountability Office shall review the processing of appeals of VA decisions regarding service-connected disability and dependency and indemnity compensation claims.

]]> Veterans Appeals Assistance and Improvement Act of 2015 Display Title Veterans Appeals Assistance and Improvement Act of 2015 Official Title as Introduced A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to reduce the backlog of appeals of decisions of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs by facilitating pro bono legal assistance for veterans before the United States Court of Veterans Appeals and the Board of Veterans' Appeals, to provide the Secretary with authority to address unreasonably delayed claims, and for other purposes. Introduced in Senate IS Short Titles as Introduced Veterans Appeals Assistance and Improvement Act of 2015 Introduced in Senate 2015-05-11T04:00:00Z https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-114s1286is/xml/BILLS-114s1286is.xml 2015-05-11 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries and statuses for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.