[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 25 (Monday, February 13, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H1106-H1109]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    WORKING TO INTEGRATE NETWORKS GUARANTEEING MEMBER ACCESS NOW ACT

  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 512) to title 38, United States Code, to permit 
veterans to grant access to their records in the databases of the 
Veterans Benefits Administration to certain designated congressional 
employees, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 512

       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 ``Working to Integrate 
     Networks Guaranteeing Member Access Now Act'' or the 
     ``WINGMAN Act''.

     SEC. 2. PROVISION OF ACCESS TO CASE-TRACKING INFORMATION.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 59 of title 38, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec. 5906. Access of certain congressional employees to 
       veteran records

       ``(a) In General.--(1) The Secretary shall provide to each 
     veteran who submits a claim for benefits under the laws 
     administered by the Secretary an opportunity to permit a 
     covered congressional employee employed in the office of the 
     Member of Congress representing the district where the 
     veteran resides to have access to all of the records of the 
     veteran in the databases of the Veterans Benefits 
     Administration.
       ``(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, upon 
     receipt of the permission from the veteran under paragraph 
     (1), the Secretary shall provide read-only access to such 
     records to such a covered congressional employee in a manner 
     that does not allow such employee to modify the data 
     contained in such records or in any part of a database of the 
     Veterans Benefits Administration.
       ``(3) A Member of Congress may designate not more than two 
     employees of the Member as covered congressional employees.
       ``(b) Requirements.--The Secretary may not impose any 
     requirement other than the requirements specified under 
     subsection (e)(1) before treating an employee as a covered 
     congressional employee for purposes of this section.
       ``(c) Nonrecognition.--A covered congressional employee may 
     not be recognized as an agent or attorney under this chapter.
       ``(d) Limitation on Use of Funds.--None of the amounts made 
     available to carry out this section may be used to design, 
     develop, or administer any training for purposes of providing 
     training to covered congressional employees.
       ``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) The term `covered congressional employee' means a 
     permanent, full-time employee of a Member of Congress--
       ``(A) whose responsibilities include assisting the 
     constituents of the Member with issues regarding departments 
     or agencies of the Federal Government;
       ``(B) who satisfies the criteria required by the Secretary 
     for recognition as an agent or attorney under this chapter; 
     and
       ``(C) who is designated by the Member of Congress as a 
     covered congressional employee for purposes of this section.
       ``(2) The term `database of the Veterans Benefits 
     Administration' means any database of the Veterans Benefits 
     Administration in which the records of veterans relating to 
     claims for benefits under the laws administered by the 
     Secretary are retained, including information regarding 
     medical records, compensation and pension exams records, 
     rating decisions, statements of the case, supplementary 
     statements of the case, notices of disagreement, Form-9, and 
     any successor form.
       ``(3) The term `Member of Congress' means a Representative, 
     a Senator, a Delegate to Congress, or the Resident 
     Commissioner of Puerto Rico.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new item:

``5906. Access of certain congressional employees to veteran 
              records.''.

       (c) No Authorization of Appropriations.--No additional 
     funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
     section or the amendments made by this section. This section 
     and such amendments may only be carried out using amounts 
     otherwise authorized to be appropriated, of which, during the 
     period of fiscal years 2018 through 2021, not more than 
     $10,000,000 may be obligated or expended for such purpose.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from

[[Page H1107]]

Tennessee (Mr. Roe) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Walz) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.


                             general leave

  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and add extraneous material.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Tennessee?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today and urge all Members to support H.R. 512, 
as amended, the WINGMAN Act.
  First, I want to say a special thanks to the gentleman from Florida 
(Mr. Yoho) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis), our 
colleagues, for introducing the WINGMAN Act. This bill will help 
Members cut through the red tape and help constituents who have applied 
for benefits from VA.
  Isn't that why we are here, to help our constituents?
  The problem is that when a constituent calls one of our offices to 
ask about the status of a claim for benefits, the only thing we can do 
is write VA and wait for the VA to respond. I know I get very 
frustrated, and I am sure my colleagues do as well, with how long it 
takes for the VA to get back to us. The WINGMAN Act provides a simple 
solution. The bill allows designated, permanent, full-time 
congressional staffers to look up the status of a claim on VA's 
database, but only if the veteran has given the staffer permission. 
Staffers would have read-only access to VA databases, meaning they 
wouldn't be able to add or remove any information.
  Passing H.R. 512, as amended, would allow Members to help 
constituents who simply want to understand the status of their claim 
for benefits. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 
512, as amended.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1645

  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 512, as amended, the WINGMAN 
Act. I, too, would like to thank the gentleman from Florida for trying 
to do all they can to speed constituent services to their folks.
  This legislation gives certain designated congressional office 
caseworkers access to veterans' electronic disability claim records at 
the Veterans Benefits Administration, or VBA. It has broad support in 
this House, both Democrat and Republican.
  This bill would allow designated congressional employees to have 
read-only access to the Veterans Benefits Administration database to 
look at veterans' records. Congressional staff would not be able to add 
or remove anything from a record, but simply check on the status of a 
veteran's claim and check that evidence and documentation are 
submitted. The reason this is so important is that a veteran will, at 
times, wait months, only to be told a piece of document has been 
missing that could have been added months before. It makes sense. It 
tracks the system. It ensures that the veteran is getting the fastest, 
best possible claim adjudication.
  The purpose is to provide that faster status and let them know. There 
are privacy safeguards in the bill, which reinforce the necessity for 
getting prior consent from the veteran. Also, the bill clearly requires 
that congressional employees designated for this access must be full-
time employees who provide constituent services.
  Veterans service organizations have suggested that the VA should put 
a tracking system in place to ensure that these employees are only 
assisting constituents from their congressional district, and that 
congressional staff be held accountable if found to abuse any aspect of 
this new and unprecedented authority. I support that suggestion.
  In my district, county veterans service organizations have also asked 
to have read-only access to veterans' records so they can assist 
veterans. I wish to work with Chairman Roe to examine whether that 
might be something that could be included down the road.
  There is broad bipartisan support for giving congressional staff 
access to veterans' records so they can help veterans navigate a 
complex claims system. Often it takes too long to find out the status 
of a veteran's claim from the VA. Allowing certain professional staff 
to do the checking themselves seems like a simple step in the right 
direction, and I support it.
  Last Congress, similar legislation to H.R. 512 unanimously passed 
this House. I urge my colleagues to support it today.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) control the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Tennessee?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Bergman).
  Mr. BERGMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 512, the 
WINGMAN Act.
  I am honored to represent the First District of Michigan, which, as a 
State, has a higher than average percentage of veterans, and the First 
District has double the percentage of veterans of the rest of the 
State. To advocate for these fine men and women who have served so 
honorably, we have the absolute imperative to make sure that they get 
the help that they need to cut through the bureaucratic red tape at 
agencies such as the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  I have been serving in Congress for just over a month now, and, 
already, my office has been flooded with requests from veterans seeking 
aid in navigating the benefits claims process.
  Unfortunately, the VA is notoriously plagued by a culture of 
complacency and inefficiency. Even something as simple as checking the 
status of a veteran's claim means that congressional staff members have 
to circle back around numerous times with VA employees before being 
able to provide the veterans in the First District with an accurate 
update.
  As a veteran of the Vietnam war, I know that time is valuable to our 
veterans. We have to introduce more efficiency and transparency into 
the benefits claims process.
  H.R. 512 is designed to cut out the middle step. The WINGMAN Act 
provides congressional offices with read-only access to veterans' 
records within the Veterans Benefits Administration. This commonsense 
bill allows our veterans quicker access to simple status inquiries, 
provides greater transparency for congressional offices, and allows the 
VA employees more time to work on completing these claims.
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from the 
Northern Mariana Islands (Mr. Sablan), my good friend, a member of the 
Veterans' Affairs Committee, and a stalwart supporter of this Nation's 
veterans and those in uniform.
  Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, the ranking member 
of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, Mr. Walz, for allowing me to speak 
in support of H.R. 512, the WINGMAN Act.
  I rise today in support of H.R. 512, the WINGMAN Act, introduced by 
the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho), my colleague, which would allow 
veterans to grant designated congressional office staff read-only 
access to their claim records within the VBA, Veterans Benefits 
Administration.
  Mr. Speaker, there are no Veterans Benefits Administration personnel 
in the Northern Marianas. The veterans in my district have no one to 
meet with, but for the very occasional, usually one 6-hour visit to the 
Marianas from a VBA staff based in Guam or Hawaii. It usually comes 
once every 6 months if we are lucky.
  Staffs' request for information on behalf of veterans sometimes takes 
months to receive a reply. This bipartisan bill would eliminate the 
delay by enabling permitted staff to obtain the information directly 
from VBA databases. This would be especially meaningful to veterans in 
my district who face additional challenges for disability claims due to 
the lack of VA presence.

  Mr. Speaker, I represent three islands. I work with Social Security 
and Selective Service, of course, like other Members. For Social 
Security, we are

[[Page H1108]]

allowed to go and take data information, application forms, bring them 
to the main island of Saipan, where we go in line like everyone else 
and submit the applications on behalf of those constituents we serve.
  So having separate islands and having a post office in one island and 
no post office in another island is a little complicated and difficult. 
Can you just imagine for the veteran who needs access to his VBA 
records or who needs access to his Veterans Health Administration file? 
Because we only have one in the Northern Marianas. This one really 
would allow us to serve the veterans who deserve nothing else but the 
best.
  Our veterans responded to our call to serve and defend this country 
without hesitation. We must, in return, do everything we can to serve 
them in the same manner.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Yoho), a good friend and a strong advocate for our 
veterans.
  Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Bilirakis for the work 
that he has done. And I want to congratulate Chairman Roe for taking 
over the Veterans' Affairs Committee.
  I would also like to thank the committee staff for their diligence 
and help on this piece of legislation, as well as the co-leads of this 
bill, Representatives Rodney Davis, Kyrsten Sinema, and John Delaney.
  Last Congress, WINGMAN passed the Veterans' Affairs Committee 
unanimously in the House due to the bipartisan support of the Members 
of this Chamber. While it was disappointing that we were unable to get 
it across the finish line in the Senate, I feel confident, given the 
support this bill has witnessed early on in this year, with 175 Members 
in the House and 7 Members in the Senate, I am encouraged, and my hope 
is that we will see it pass the Senate this Congress and be signed into 
law by the President.
  Congressional constituent advocates worked diligently in our district 
offices to help veterans navigate the VA claims appeals system. But, 
they are hampered by having to wait weeks, months, and sometimes even 
years to receive documents from the VA that are often vital to helping 
the veteran reach a favorable resolution.
  WINGMAN will help to expedite the process by cutting out the 
middleman and providing direct access to the files our office already 
has permission to obtain. Currently, advocates must have a privacy 
release form signed by the constituent prior to acting on their behalf. 
This doesn't change. What changes is the wait time our offices, 
veterans, and their families must endure while the VA sends us the 
appropriate documents.
  WINGMAN will help veterans such as James, from my district, who had 
eight separate, but related, claims filed. He didn't know which files 
were attached to which claims, the dates they were received, which 
department they were referred to, or that he could have filed one 
single, fully developed claim. Had my staff had access to the files, 
which WINGMAN permits, they would have been able to assess the issue 
and update his claims without having to go on a wild goose chase for 
the documents with the VA system. Getting his case on track could have 
happened in a matter of days, rather than years. He is more than 
deserving of this, especially since some of his claims are over 6 years 
old.
  Another constituent lost her husband while he was serving this 
Nation. The VA was mailing all correspondence to his widow to an 
incorrect address. This resulted in an overpayment, which she was 
unaware of since she was not receiving the mail. The long-term result 
was a veteran's widow having her account sent to collections, which 
damaged her credit, and ended with her new spouse's tax return being 
confiscated. With access to the system files, our office would have had 
a clearer picture of the timeline of events and been able to direct and 
streamline our inquiry. Instead, our staff had to hunt down the 
relevant files from numerous branches within the VA and reassemble them 
like a jigsaw puzzle.
  When I hear the story of Sergeant Abraham or Colonel Bergman or Staff 
Sergeant Brian Mast behind me, these people have paid a price for their 
service to this country, and our country owes them a debt. As a 
country, we can do better by our veterans and their families. WINGMAN 
will not get rid of the claims backlog or solve all of the problems. 
What it will do, however, is make the process helping our veterans 
easier.
  Let's put the words ``customer service'' into our government. So I 
encourage my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Hawaii (Ms. Gabbard) one of our warriors and a veteran of the war in 
Iraq, and a staunch advocate for this Nation's veterans.
  Ms. GABBARD. Mr. Speaker, one of the things I appreciate most about 
the job that I have to represent Hawaii's Second District is to be able 
to respond to and provide assistance to the hundreds of veterans from 
across my State that contact our office every single year. They call to 
ask for help with things like compensation and pension issues, health 
care, mileage reimbursement, especially for our veterans who live on 
the neighboring islands where they don't have a VA clinic on an island, 
education, home loan benefits, and more. This is a responsibility as a 
Member of Congress and as a fellow veteran that I take very seriously.
  Right now, if a veteran contacts my office for assistance, we are 
required to go directly through the congressional liaison at the VA. We 
act as the veterans advocate to try to get answers for them on things 
that they haven't been able to get answers on, things that they haven't 
heard back on.
  Too often, we are faced with the bureaucratic layers within the VA 
and a slow turnaround that leave congressional staff, like mine and my 
colleagues here, jumping through hoops to access basic, but critical, 
information on behalf of our veterans and their families. At times, we 
have waited for months to get answers from the VA on behalf of a Hawaii 
veteran for something that should be a quick turnaround, like a status 
update. This is unacceptable.

  I am proud to cosponsor the WINGMAN Act, legislation introduced by 
the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho), my friend and colleague, which 
allows us to cut through the red tape and ensure that our certified 
caseworkers within our offices can provide quicker, more efficient, and 
effective service to our veterans. It would help streamline the 
veterans claims process by allowing congressional offices on behalf of 
our veteran constituents to directly access the status of pending 
claims, rating decisions, statement of the case, and so on.
  I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation so that 
all of us working here in the people's House can better serve our 
veterans who have sacrificed so much for our communities and our 
country.
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I urge support of 
H.R. 512.
  I yield back the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1700

  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, once again, I encourage all Members to 
support this legislation.
  Representative Yoho does outstanding work. He traveled to VISN 8 in 
St. Petersburg, Florida, which is about 3 hours away. We had a 
discussion about this particular issue. He came up with the suggestion, 
and he is following through with it. It is a good piece of legislation. 
Let's get it through the Senate this time.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 512, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to amend 
title 38, United States Code, to permit veterans to grant access to 
their records in the databases of the Veterans Benefits Administration 
to certain designated congressional employees, and for other 
purposes.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

[[Page H1109]]

  

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