[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4771 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4771


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 13, 2019

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to permit appellants to appear 
  in cases before the Board of Veterans' Appeals by picture and voice 
transmission from locations other than facilities of the Department 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``VA Tele-Hearing Modernization Act''.

SEC. 2. HEARINGS BEFORE THE BOARD OF VETERANS' APPEALS BY MEANS OF 
              TELECONFERENCE FROM LOCATIONS OTHER THAN FACILITIES OF 
              THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) In General.--Section 7107(c)(2) of title 38, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``or subparagraph (C) 
        of this paragraph'' after ``subparagraph (B) of such 
        paragraph'';
            (2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``or subparagraph (C) 
        of this paragraph'' after ``subparagraph (A) of such 
        paragraph''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph 
        (C):
    ``(C)(i) Upon notification of a Board hearing under subparagraph 
(A) or (B) of paragraph (1), the appellant may alternatively request a 
hearing by picture and voice transmission--
            ``(I) at a location selected by the appellant; and
            ``(II) via a secure internet platform established and 
        maintained by the Secretary that protects sensitive personal 
        information from a data breach.
    ``(ii) If an appellant makes a request under clause (i), the Board 
shall grant such request.''.
    (b) Deadline for Implementation.--The Secretary shall implement the 
amendments made by subsection (a) not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Reporting.--
            (1) Annual reporting requirements.--Section 7101(d)(2) of 
        such title is amended--
                    (A) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``; and'' and 
                inserting a semicolon;
                    (B) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period at 
                the ending and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                subparagraph:
            ``(G) with respect to hearings scheduled under section 
        7107(c)(2)(C) of this title--
                    ``(i) the number of hearings scheduled under such 
                section;
                    ``(ii) the number of hearings under such section 
                that were cancelled; and
                    ``(iii) any statistical difference in outcomes 
                between cases heard under such section and those held 
                at the principal location of the Board or by picture 
                and voice transmission at a facility of the 
                Department.''.
            (2) One-time reporting requirements.--The first report 
        required to be submitted under section 7101(d) of title 38, 
        United States Code, shall include the following information 
        with respect to hearings scheduled under subparagraph (C) of 
        paragraph (2) of subsection (c) of section 7101 of such title, 
        as added by subsection (a):
                    (A) An outline of the outreach the Secretary of 
                Veterans Affairs plans to conduct to inform veterans, 
                families of veterans, survivors of veterans, veterans 
                service organizations, military service organizations, 
                congressional caseworkers, advocates for veterans, and 
                such other stakeholders as the Secretary considers 
                appropriate about hearings scheduled under such 
                subparagraph, including--
                            (i) a description of the resources required 
                        to conduct such outreach;
                            (ii) a timeline for conducting such 
                        outreach; and
                            (iii) information related to the advantages 
                        and potential technological challenges of 
                        conducting hearings under such subparagraph.
                    (B) A description of any modifications to the 
                information technology systems of the Veterans Benefits 
                Administration and the Board of Veterans' Appeals 
                required to carry out hearings under such subparagraph, 
                including cost estimates and a timeline for making such 
                modifications.
                    (C) A detailed description of the intra-agency 
                partnership between the Board of Veterans' Appeals and 
                the telehealth program of the Veterans Health 
                Administration as the Board conducts hearings under 
                such subparagraph, including best practices, a risk 
                assessment overview, risk mitigation efforts, and a 
                plan for ongoing collaboration and information sharing.
    (d) Collaboration.--In developing the capacity and procedures to 
conduct hearings under subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subsection 
(c) of section 7101 of title 38, United States Code, as added by 
subsection (a), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall collaborate 
with, partner with, and give weight to the advice of veterans service 
organizations and such other stakeholders as the Secretary considers 
appropriate.

            Passed the House of Representatives November 12, 2019.

            Attest:

                                             CHERYL L. JOHNSON,

                                                                 Clerk.