[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1203 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1203

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the processing by the 
   Department of Veterans Affairs of claims for benefits under laws 
   administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 6, 2015

Mr. Heller (for himself, Mr. Casey, Mr. Moran, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Toomey, 
 Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Vitter, Mr. Tester, and Ms. Collins) 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 improve the processing by the 
   Department of Veterans Affairs of claims for benefits under laws 
   administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``21st Century 
Veterans Benefits Delivery Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
                  TITLE I--BENEFITS CLAIMS SUBMISSION

Sec. 101. Improvements to Transition Assistance Program.
Sec. 102. Requirement that decisions on claims explain advantages of 
                            filing appeals within 180 days.
Sec. 103. Determination of manner of appearance for hearings before 
                            Board of Veterans' Appeals.
                TITLE II--PRACTICES OF REGIONAL OFFICES

Sec. 201. Required Comptroller General audit of regional offices of 
                            Veterans Benefits Administration.
Sec. 202. Requirement for management training program for veterans 
                            service center managers of Veterans 
                            Benefits Administration.
Sec. 203. Analysis of communication between regional offices of 
                            Department of Veterans Affairs and veterans 
                            service organizations and Congressional 
                            caseworkers.
Sec. 204. Review of practices of regional offices regarding use of 
                            suspense dates.
Sec. 205. Annual report on capacity of Veterans Benefits Administration 
                            to process benefits claims.
Sec. 206. Requirement to complete efforts to revise resource allocation 
                            model of Department of Veterans Affairs.
Sec. 207. Semiannual report on progress in implementing Veterans 
                            Benefits Management System.
Sec. 208. Report on plans of Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reduce 
                            inventory of claims for dependency and 
                            indemnity compensation and claims for 
                            pension.
Sec. 209. Increased transparency in Monday Morning Workload Report.
Sec. 210. Reports on appeals of decisions on benefits claims.
Sec. 211. Modification of pilot program for use of contract physicians 
                            for disability examinations.
                     TITLE III--GOVERNMENT RESPONSE

Sec. 301. Increased cooperation across Government.
Sec. 302. Report on interoperability between electronic health records 
                            systems of Department of Defense and 
                            Department of Veterans Affairs.

                  TITLE I--BENEFITS CLAIMS SUBMISSION

SEC. 101. IMPROVEMENTS TO TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) Modification To Enable Online Access.--Section 1144 of title 
10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsection:
    ``(f) Online Access.--(1) The Secretary of Labor, in conjunction 
with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall take such actions and make 
such modifications to the eBenefits Internet website as may be 
necessary to ensure that members of the armed forces and spouses 
described in subsection (a)(1) can access materials from the program 
carried out under this section through an Internet website.
    ``(2) An individual subject to a requirement under subsection (c) 
may not satisfy such requirement by participating in the program 
carried out under this section solely through an Internet website.''.
    (b) Participation of Veterans Service Organizations.--
            (1) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
        the Secretary of Defense, in collaboration with the Secretary 
        of Labor, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Secretary 
        of Veterans Affairs, should establish a process by which a 
        representative of a veterans service organization may be 
        present at any portion of the program carried out under section 
        1144 of title 10, United States Code, relating to the submittal 
        of claims to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for compensation 
        under chapter 11 or 13 of title 38, United States Code.
            (2) Report.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than one year after the 
                date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
                Defense shall submit to Congress a report on 
                participation of veterans service organizations in the 
                program carried out under section 1144 of title 10, 
                United States Code.
                    (B) Contents.--The report required by subparagraph 
                (A) shall include the following:
                            (i) An assessment of the compliance of 
                        facilities of the Department of Defense with 
                        the directives included in the memorandum of 
                        the Secretary of Defense entitled 
                        ``Installation Access and Support Services for 
                        Nonprofit Non-Federal Entities'' and dated 
                        December 23, 2014.
                            (ii) The number of military bases that have 
                        complied with such directives.
                            (iii) How many veterans service 
                        organizations have been present at a portion of 
                        a program as described in paragraph (1).
            (3) Veterans service organization defined.--In this 
        subsection, the term ``veterans service organization'' means 
        any organization recognized by the Secretary for the 
        representation of veterans under section 5902 of title 38.

SEC. 102. REQUIREMENT THAT DECISIONS ON CLAIMS EXPLAIN ADVANTAGES OF 
              FILING APPEALS WITHIN 180 DAYS.

    Section 5104(a) of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``In the case''; and
            (2) by striking the second sentence and inserting the 
        following new paragraph:
    ``(2) The notice shall include the following:
            ``(A) An explanation of the procedure for obtaining review 
        of the decision.
            ``(B) An explanation of the advantages of filing for review 
        of the decision within 180 days.''.

SEC. 103. DETERMINATION OF MANNER OF APPEARANCE FOR HEARINGS BEFORE 
              BOARD OF VETERANS' APPEALS.

    (a) In General.--Section 7107 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by striking subsection (e);
            (2) by redesignating subsections (d) and (f) as subsections 
        (f) and (g), respectively;
            (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new 
        subsections (d) and (e):
    ``(d)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a hearing before the Board shall 
be conducted, as the Board considers appropriate--
            ``(A) in person; or
            ``(B) through picture and voice transmission, by electronic 
        or other means, in such manner that the appellant is not 
        present in the same location as the members of the Board during 
        the hearing.
    ``(2) Upon request by an appellant, a hearing before the Board 
shall be conducted, as the appellant considers appropriate--
            ``(A) in person; or
            ``(B) through picture and voice transmission as described 
        in paragraph (1)(B).
    ``(e)(1) In a case in which a hearing before the Board is to be 
conducted through picture and voice transmission as described in 
subsection (d)(1)(B), the Secretary shall provide suitable facilities 
and equipment to the Board or other components of the Department to 
enable an appellant located at an appropriate facility within the area 
served by a regional office to participate as so described.
    ``(2) Any hearing conducted through picture and voice transmission 
as described in subsection (d)(1)(B) shall be conducted in the same 
manner as, and shall be considered the equivalent of, a personal 
hearing.''; and
            (4) in subsection (f)(1), as redesignated by paragraph (2), 
        by striking ``An appellant may request'' and all that follows 
        through ``office of the Department'' and inserting ``In a case 
        in which a hearing before the Board is to be conducted in 
        person, the hearing shall be held at the principal location of 
        the Board or at a facility of the Department located within the 
        area served by a regional office of the Department.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply with respect to cases received by the Board of Veterans' Appeals 
pursuant to notices of disagreement submitted on or after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.

                TITLE II--PRACTICES OF REGIONAL OFFICES

SEC. 201. REQUIRED COMPTROLLER GENERAL AUDIT OF REGIONAL OFFICES OF 
              VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall complete an audit of the regional offices of the Veterans 
Benefits Administration--
            (1) to assess the consistency of decisions being made with 
        respect to claims for benefits under laws administered by the 
        Secretary of Veterans Affairs; and
            (2) to identify ways in which the consistency of such 
        decisions can be improved.
    (b) Identification of Factors and Best Practices.--The audit 
conducted under subsection (a) shall include the following:
            (1) Identification of the factors, including management 
        practices, that distinguish higher performing regional offices 
        from other regional offices.
            (2) Identification of best practices employed by higher 
        performing regional offices that distinguish the performance of 
        such offices from other regional offices.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date on which the 
Comptroller General completes the audit required by subsection (a), the 
Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a report on the results of 
the audit.

SEC. 202. REQUIREMENT FOR MANAGEMENT TRAINING PROGRAM FOR VETERANS 
              SERVICE CENTER MANAGERS OF VETERANS BENEFITS 
              ADMINISTRATION.

    The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish a training 
program for veterans service center managers, or for employees in 
successor positions in regional offices of the Veterans Benefits 
Administration, on matters concerning managerial skills and such other 
skills as the Secretary considers appropriate for such managers.

SEC. 203. ANALYSIS OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN REGIONAL OFFICES OF 
              DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND VETERANS SERVICE 
              ORGANIZATIONS AND CONGRESSIONAL CASEWORKERS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure 
that each systemic analysis of operations that is completed by a 
veterans service center manager in a regional office of the Department 
of Veterans Affairs includes an analysis of the communication between 
the regional office and veterans service organizations and caseworkers 
employed by Members of Congress.
    (b) Veterans Service Organization Defined.--In this section, the 
term ``veterans service organization'' means any organization 
recognized by the Secretary for the representation of veterans under 
section 5902 of title 38, United States Code.

SEC. 204. REVIEW OF PRACTICES OF REGIONAL OFFICES REGARDING USE OF 
              SUSPENSE DATES.

    (a) Review Required.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs shall conduct a review of the practices of regional 
offices of the Department regarding the use of suspense dates during 
the disability claim assessment process.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 270 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Department shall 
submit to Congress a report on the findings of the Inspector General 
with respect to the review conducted under subsection (a).
    (c) Suspense Date Defined.--In this section, the term ``suspense 
date'' means a measure used by the Veterans Benefits Administration to 
set incremental deadlines for disability claims as they progress 
through the disability claim assessment process.

SEC. 205. ANNUAL REPORT ON CAPACITY OF VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION 
              TO PROCESS BENEFITS CLAIMS.

    (a) In General.--Along with the supporting information included in 
the budget submitted by the President for fiscal year 2017 pursuant to 
section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, and with the 
supporting information included in each budget submittal under such 
section thereafter, the President shall include a report that the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall prepare on the capacity of the 
Veterans Benefits Administration to process claims for benefits under 
laws administered by the Secretary during the fiscal year covered by 
the budget with which the report is submitted.
    (b) Contents.--Each report submitted under subsection (a) shall 
include, for the period covered by the report, the following:
            (1) The number of claims for benefits under laws 
        administered by the Secretary that the Secretary expects the 
        Veterans Benefits Administration to process.
            (2) The number of full-time equivalent employees of the 
        Veterans Benefits Administration who are dedicated to 
        processing such claims.
            (3) An estimate of the average number of such claims a 
        single full-time equivalent employee of the Administration can 
        process in a year, based on a time and motion study that the 
        Secretary shall conduct on the processing of such claims.
            (4) An assessment of whether the Administration requires 
        additional or fewer full-time equivalent employees to process 
        such claims during the next one-year, five-year, and ten-year 
        periods.
            (5) A description of the actions the Secretary will take to 
        improve the processing of such claims.
            (6) An assessment of the actions identified by the 
        Secretary in the previous report submitted under subsection (a) 
        and identification of the effects of those actions.
    (c) Public Availability.--The Secretary shall make each report 
required by subsection (a) available to the public on an Internet 
website of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

SEC. 206. REQUIREMENT TO COMPLETE EFFORTS TO REVISE RESOURCE ALLOCATION 
              MODEL OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall complete 
the efforts of the Department of Veterans Affairs to revise the 
resource allocation model of the Veterans Benefits Administration.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs 
of the House of Representatives a report on the resource allocation 
model revised pursuant to subsection (a).

SEC. 207. SEMIANNUAL REPORT ON PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTING VETERANS 
              BENEFITS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act and not less frequently than once every 180 days 
thereafter until the date that is three years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit 
to Congress a report on the progress of the Secretary in implementing 
the Veterans Benefits Management System.
    (b) Contents.--The report required by subsection (a) shall include 
the following:
            (1) An assessment of the current functionality of the 
        Veterans Benefits Management System.
            (2) Recommendations submitted to the Secretary by employees 
        of the Department of Veterans Affairs who are involved in 
        processing claims for benefits under laws administered by the 
        Secretary, including veteran service representatives, rating 
        veteran service representatives, and decision review officers, 
        for such legislative or administrative action as the employees 
        consider appropriate to improve the processing of such claims.
            (3) Recommendations submitted to the Secretary by veterans 
        service organizations who use the Veterans Benefits Management 
        System for such legislative or administrative action as the 
        veterans service organization consider appropriate to improve 
        such system.

SEC. 208. REPORT ON PLANS OF SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO REDUCE 
              INVENTORY OF CLAIMS FOR DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY 
              COMPENSATION AND CLAIMS FOR PENSION.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Congress a report 
that details the plans of the Secretary to reduce the inventory of--
            (1) claims submitted to the Secretary for compensation 
        under chapter 13 of title 38, United States Code; and
            (2) claims submitted to the Secretary for pension under 
        chapter 15 of such title.

SEC. 209. INCREASED TRANSPARENCY IN MONDAY MORNING WORKLOAD REPORT.

    (a) Disaggregation of Claims by Decisions Requiring Disability 
Rating.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall include in each Monday 
Morning Workload Report published by the Secretary the number of claims 
for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary that have been 
received by a regional office of the Department of Veterans Affairs and 
are pending a decision, disaggregated by--
            (1) claims that have been pending for more than 125 days;
            (2) claims that have been pending for 125 days or fewer; 
        and
            (3) claims that do not require a decision concerning a 
        disability rating.
    (b) Inclusion of Information on Assignment of Partial Ratings.--The 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall include in each Monday Morning 
Workload Report published by the Secretary in the portion of the report 
entitled ``Transformation'' and in the portion of the report entitled 
``Aggregate'' the number of partial ratings assigned.
    (c) Report on Fully Developed Claims.--The Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs shall include in each Monday Morning Workload Report published 
by the Secretary the following:
            (1) The total number of fully developed claims for benefits 
        under laws administered by the Secretary that--
                    (A) have been received by a regional office of the 
                Department of Veterans Affairs; and
                    (B) are pending a decision.
            (2) The total number of such claims that have been pending 
        for more than 125 days, disaggregated by station.
    (d) Station Defined.--In this section, the term ``station'' means 
the location of a regional office of the Department where claims for 
disability compensation are processed.

SEC. 210. REPORTS ON APPEALS OF DECISIONS ON BENEFITS CLAIMS.

    (a) Public Availability.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
make the reports of the Department of Veterans Affairs entitled 
``Appeals Pending'' and ``Appeals Workload By Station'' available to 
the public on an Internet website of the Department.
    (b) Appeals Granted by Station.--The Secretary shall include in one 
of the reports described in subsection (a) the percentage of appeals 
granted by station.
    (c) Claims Previously Adjudicated by Appeals Management Center.--
The Secretary shall include in one of the reports described in 
subsection (a) the percentage of claims previously adjudicated by the 
Appeals Management Center that were either subsequently granted or 
remanded by the Board of Veterans' Appeals.
    (d) Station Defined.--In this section, the term ``station'' means 
the location of a regional office of the Department where claims for 
disability compensation are processed.

SEC. 211. MODIFICATION OF PILOT PROGRAM FOR USE OF CONTRACT PHYSICIANS 
              FOR DISABILITY EXAMINATIONS.

    Section 504 of the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 1996 
(Public Law 104-275; 38 U.S.C. 5101 note) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections 
        (d) and (e), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 
        subsection (c):
    ``(c) Licensure of Contract Physicians.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any law regarding the 
        licensure of physicians, a physician described in paragraph (2) 
        may conduct an examination pursuant to a contract entered into 
        under subsection (a) at any location in any State, the District 
        of Columbia, or a Commonwealth, territory, or possession of the 
        United States, so long as the examination is within the scope 
        of the authorized duties under such contract.
            ``(2) Physician described.--A physician described in this 
        paragraph is a physician who--
                    ``(A) has a current license to practice the health 
                care profession of the physician; and
                    ``(B) is performing authorized duties for the 
                Department of Veterans Affairs pursuant to a contract 
                entered into under subsection (a).''.

                     TITLE III--GOVERNMENT RESPONSE

SEC. 301. INCREASED COOPERATION ACROSS GOVERNMENT.

    (a) Appointment of Liaisons.--
            (1) Department of defense.--The Secretary of Defense shall 
        appoint individuals as follows:
                    (A) At least one individual to act as a liaison 
                under this section between the Department of Defense 
                and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
                    (B) At least one individual for each of the reserve 
                components of the Armed Forces to act as a liaison 
                under this section between the respective component of 
                the Armed Forces and the Department of Veterans 
                Affairs.
            (2) National archives and records administration.--The 
        Archivist of the United States shall appoint at least one 
        individual to act as a liaison under this section between the 
        National Archives and Records Administration and the Department 
        of Veterans Affairs.
    (b) Duties of Liaisons.--Each individual acting as a liaison under 
this section shall expedite the timely provision to the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs of such information as the Secretary requires to 
process claims submitted to the Secretary for benefits under laws 
administered by the Secretary.
    (c) Procedures.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the 
        Secretary of Defense, and the Archivist of the United States 
        shall jointly develop and implement procedures to improve the 
        timely provision to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of such 
        information as the Secretary requires to process claims 
        submitted to the Secretary for benefits under laws administered 
        by the Secretary.
            (2) Timely provision.--The procedures developed and 
        implemented under paragraph (1) shall ensure that the 
        information provided to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs is 
        provided to the Secretary not later than 30 days after the date 
        on which the Secretary requests the information.
    (d) Annual Reports.--Not less frequently than once each year, the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Congress a report on--
            (1) the requests for information made by the Secretary 
        during the most recent one-year period for information from the 
        Secretary of Defense and the Archivist of the United States 
        required by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to process claims 
        submitted to the Secretary for benefits under laws administered 
        by the Secretary; and
            (2) the timeliness of responses to such requests.

SEC. 302. REPORT ON INTEROPERABILITY BETWEEN ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS 
              SYSTEMS OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND DEPARTMENT OF 
              VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall jointly submit to Congress a report that sets forth a timeline 
with milestones for achieving interoperability between the electronic 
health records systems of the Department of Defense and the Department 
of Veterans Affairs.
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