[Congressional Bills 117th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 5944 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 117th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 5944 To direct the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a report on the backlog of disability compensation claims submitted to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES November 9, 2021 Mrs. Torres of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To direct the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a report on the backlog of disability compensation claims submitted to the Secretary 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 ``Veterans Administration Backlog Accountability Act of 2021''. SEC. 2. INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT ON BACKLOG OF DISABILITY COMPENSATION CLAIMS SUBMITTED TO DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. (a) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Congress a report on the backlog of disability compensation claims. (b) Matters Included.--The report under subsection (a) shall include the following: (1) The status of the backlog described in such subsection. (2) How the Secretary is addressing the backlog. (3) How the backlog is affecting the amount of time a claimant is waiting for the Secretary to adjudicate the claim. (4) Recommendations to improve the backlog. (c) Backlog of Disability Compensation Claims.--The term ``backlog of disability compensation claims'' means a backlog of disability compensation claims submitted to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs pursuant to chapter 11 of title 38, United States Code, pending before the Veterans Benefits Administration or the Board of Veterans' Appeals. <all>