[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1435 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1435

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a pilot program 
     to reduce the backlog of claims for benefits pending with the 
                    Department of Veterans Affairs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 9, 2007

   Mr. Baca introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a pilot program 
     to reduce the backlog of claims for benefits pending with the 
                    Department of Veterans Affairs.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Department of Veterans Affairs 
Claims Backlog Reduction Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) There are more than 500,000 veterans who have claims 
        pending with the Department of Veterans Affairs for benefits, 
        and approximately 100,000 of such claims are over one year old 
        without resolution.
            (2) 37 States have established, over time, a nationwide 
        system of County Veterans Service Officers, which now includes 
        more than 2,400 full-time employees and numerous part-time 
        employees, to assist veterans to file claims with the Veterans 
        Administration, as well as to provide information on the 
        various State benefits available to veterans.
            (3) The County Veterans Service Officers are an arm of 
        local government and therefore, the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs, the various State Veterans Agencies or Departments, 
        and County Veterans Service Officers should cooperate more 
        closely, as governmental agencies, and share information so 
        that all such agencies can better assist the Nation's veterans.
            (4) The majority of County Veterans Service Officers are 
        accredited by the Department of Veterans Affairs, or by the 
        appropriate State Department of Veterans Affairs, or both, in 
        addition to being accredited by various veterans' service 
        organizations.
            (5) These County Veterans Service Officers represent a 
        highly trained and dedicated work force that stands ready to 
        assist the Department of Veterans Affairs.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) The term ``claimant'' means an individual applying for, 
        or submitting a claim for, any benefit under the laws 
        administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
            (2) The term ``County Veterans Service Officer'' means any 
        person employed by or funded by any county, parish, borough, or 
        territory whose job it is to assist veterans and eligible 
        dependents in the application for, administration of, or 
        receipt of benefits under any Federal, State, or county 
        veterans benefit program.
            (3) The term ``injury or illness claim'' means a claim for 
        benefits that is documented as being service-connected.
            (4) The term ``presumptive claim'' means a claim for 
        benefits that is presumptively connected to a specific tour of 
        duty or to specific types of military assignment.
            (5) The term ``statutory claims'' means those claims for 
        benefits defined in section 5101 of title 38, United States 
        Code.
            (6) The term ``specific claims'' includes statutory claims, 
        presumptive claims, and injury or illness claims.
            (7) The term ``ready to be rated'' means that there is 
        sufficient information to evaluate the claimed disability and 
        to assign a rating based on degree of disability.
            (8) The term ``State'' has the meaning given that term in 
        section 101(20) of title 38, United States Code.

SEC. 4. PILOT PROGRAM TO REDUCE BACKLOG OF VETERANS' CLAIMS.

    (a) Pilot Program.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct 
a pilot program to reduce the backlog of claims for benefits pending 
with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
    (b) Scope of Pilot Program.--
            (1) Location of program.--The Secretary shall conduct the 
        pilot program with the County Veterans Services Officers 
        located in the following States:
                    (A) The State of California.
                    (B) The State of Florida.
                    (C) The State of Ohio.
                    (D) The State of South Carolina.
                    (E) The State of Texas.
            (2) Expansion of program to other states.--The Secretary 
        may expand the pilot program to include the County Veterans 
        Services Officers located in a State not listed in paragraph 
        (1), upon the request of a County Veterans Services Officer 
        located in such State.
            (3) Duration of program.--The pilot program shall be 
        conducted during the three-year period beginning on the date of 
        the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Reduction of Backlog of Veterans' Claims.--
            (1) Referral of claims to county veterans service 
        officers.--
                    (A) Identification of claims backlog.--In 
                conducting the pilot program, the Secretary of Veterans 
                Affairs shall identify the backlog of veterans' claims 
                as of the date of the enactment of this Act and shall 
                categorize those claims into types of specific claims. 
                As part of such categorization, the Secretary shall 
                identify the pending claims that require further 
                development to be considered ready to be rated.
                    (B) Referral of certain claims.--The Secretary 
                shall refer those claims identified under subparagraph 
                (A) as requiring further development to a County 
                Veterans Service Officer for such development.
                    (C) Selection of county veterans service officer.--
                In referring a claim under subparagraph (B), the 
                Secretary shall select a County Veterans Service 
                Officer for development of such claim based upon the 
                Officer's geographical proximity to the claimant.
                    (D) Information required to develop claim.--A claim 
                referred to a County Veterans Service Officer for 
                development under the pilot program shall be 
                accompanied by specification from the Secretary of the 
                information that is required to develop the claim and 
                the information that is needed to make the claim ready 
                to be rated.
            (2) Filing of claims with county veterans service 
        officers.--Claims for benefits under laws administered by the 
        Secretary of Veterans Affairs may be submitted to County 
        Veterans Service Officers under the pilot program. Receipt of 
        such a claim by a County Veterans Service Officer under the 
        program shall be treated for all purposes as receipt of the 
        claim by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
    (d) Development of Claims.--
            (1) Development of claims by county veterans service 
        officer.--When a County Veterans Service Officer receives a 
        claim referred under subsection (c)(1) or receives a claim 
        under subsection (c)(2), the officer shall make personal 
        contact with the claimant, explain the situation, and further 
        develop the claim, with the permission of the claimant.
            (2) County veterans service officer as representative of 
        claimant.--In developing a claim under this subsection, a 
        County Veterans Service Officer shall act as the advocate of 
        the claimant. In the event of a conflict between the claimant 
        and the Department of Veterans Affairs, the responsibility of 
        the officer is to represent the claimant.
            (3) Authority to fully develop claim.--A County Veterans 
        Service Officer to whom a claim is referred under subsection 
        (c)(1) or who receives a claim under subsection (c)(2) shall 
        have the authority to fully develop the claim and to transmit 
        the claim to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs when the claim 
        is ready to be rated.
            (4) Procedure.--Once the claim has been fully developed, 
        the claim shall be transmitted back to the Secretary with the 
        information developed in accordance with the specification 
        under subsection (c)(1)(D) and a statement from the County 
        Veterans Service Officer indicating that the claim is ready to 
        be rated.
            (5) Fully developed claims.--For purposes of this 
        subsection, a claim shall be considered to be fully developed 
        when the County Veterans Service Officer has obtained all items 
        that are necessary and available to the officer to develop the 
        claim in accordance with the specification under subsection 
        (c)(1)(D) and all items that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
        has specifically specified to be developed in connection with 
        the claim.
            (6) Cooperation with a veterans service organization.--For 
        purposes of the pilot program, if a claimant whose claim is 
        being developed under this section has established a power of 
        attorney through a veterans service organization, the County 
        Veterans Service Officer shall work through and in cooperation 
        with such veterans service organization to develop the claim.
    (e) Information Sharing.--
            (1) Access to benefits delivery network.--Under the pilot 
        program, veterans' information contained in the Benefits 
        Delivery Network of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall be 
        accessible to County Veterans Service Officers in order to 
        provide County Veterans Service Officers with online access to 
        client information contained in the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs database.
            (2) Availability of electronic files.--Subject to the 
        requirements of subchapter III of Chapter 57 of title 38, 
        United States Code, the Secretary shall make available to a 
        County Veterans Service Officer all appropriate electronic 
        files concerning the claimant for whom the officer is 
        developing a claim.
            (3) Use of information.--Information provided or made 
        available under this subsection shall be used by County 
        Veterans Service Officers to develop veterans' claims under the 
        pilot program and for no other purpose.
    (f) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the completion of the 
pilot program under this section, the Secretary shall submit to 
Congress a report on the program containing the following information:
            (1) The original backlog number per State participating in 
        the program.
            (2) The final backlog number per State at the completion of 
        the program.
            (3) The total reduction of the backlog in each State 
        participating in the program.
            (4) The number of claims, per State, referred by the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs to County Veterans Service 
        Officers for development.
            (5) The number of such claims, per State, returned to the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs as ready to be rated, after 
        being referred to a County Veterans Service Officer under 
        subsection (c)(1).
            (6) The number of new claims, per State, filed with a 
        County Veterans Service Officer under subsection (c)(2), 
        transmitted to the Department of Veterans Affairs as fully 
        developed.

SEC. 5. FUNDING.

    There are authorized to be appropriated, for each State 
participating in the pilot program under section 4, such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out the pilot program.
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