[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1148 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1148

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
  Veterans Affairs to provide notice of average times for processing 
                    claims, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 12, 2013

  Mr. Heinrich (for himself and Mr. Heller) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
  Veterans Affairs to provide notice of average times for processing 
                    claims, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Veterans Benefits Claims Faster 
Filing Act''.

SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS NOTICE OF AVERAGE TIMES FOR 
              PROCESSING CLAIMS.

    (a) Public Notice.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall post 
the information described in subsection (c)--
            (1) in a conspicuous place in each regional office and 
        claims intake facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs; 
        and
            (2) on the Internet website of the Department.
    (b) Notice to Applicants.--The Secretary shall provide to each 
person who submits a claim for a benefit under a law administered by 
the Secretary before the person submits such claim--
            (1) notice of the information described in subsection (c); 
        and
            (2) notice that the person is eligible to receive up to an 
        extra year of benefits payments if the person files a claim 
        that is fully developed.
    (c) Information Described.--
            (1) In general.--The information described in this 
        subsection is the following:
                    (A) The average processing time of the claims 
                described in paragraph (2).
                    (B) The percentage of each of the following types 
                of submitted claims for benefits under the laws 
                administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for 
                which benefits are awarded:
                            (i) Claims filed by veterans who authorized 
                        a veterans service organization to act on the 
                        veterans' behalf under a durable power of 
                        attorney.
                            (ii) Claims filed by veterans who 
                        authorized a person other than a veterans 
                        service organization to act on the veterans' 
                        behalf under a durable power of attorney.
                            (iii) Claims filed by veterans who did not 
                        authorize a person to act on the veterans' 
                        behalf under a durable power of attorney.
            (2) Claims described.--The claims described in this 
        paragraph are each of the following types of claims for 
        benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary of 
        Veterans Affairs:
                    (A) A fully developed claim that is submitted in 
                standard electronic form.
                    (B) A fully developed claim that is submitted in 
                standard paper form.
                    (C) A claim that is not fully developed that is 
                submitted in standard electronic form.
                    (D) A claim that is not fully developed that is 
                submitted in standard paper form.
                    (E) A claim that is not fully developed that is 
                submitted in non-standard paper form.
            (3) Update of information.--The information described in 
        this subsection shall be updated not less frequently than once 
        each fiscal quarter.
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