[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 164 (Tuesday, September 22, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H4685-H4687]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1430
        VETERANS BENEFITS FAIRNESS AND TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2020

  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 7795) to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the 
ability of veterans to access and submit disability benefit 
questionnaire forms of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 7795

       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 Fairness 
     and Transparency Act of 2020''.

     SEC. 2. PUBLICATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF DISABILITY BENEFIT 
                   QUESTIONNAIRE FORMS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
                   AFFAIRS.

       (a) In General.--Section 5101 of title 38, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new 
     subsection (d):
       ``(d)(1) The Secretary shall publish in a central location 
     on the internet website of the Department disability benefit 
     questionnaire forms, or such successor forms relating to non-
     Department medical providers submitting evidence regarding a 
     disability of a claimant.
       ``(2) Subject to section 6103 of this title, if the 
     Secretary updates a form described in paragraph (1), the 
     Secretary shall--
       ``(A) accept the previous version of the form filed by a 
     claimant if--
       ``(i) the claimant provided to the non-Department medical 
     provider the previous version of the form before the date on 
     which the updated version of the form was made available; and
       ``(ii) the claimant files the previous version of the form 
     during the one-year period following the date the form was 
     completed by the non-Department medical provider;
       ``(B) request from the claimant any other information that 
     the updated version of the form requires; and
       ``(C) apply the laws and regulations required to adjudicate 
     the claim as if the claimant filed the updated version of the 
     form.
       ``(3) The Secretary may waive any interagency approval 
     process required to approve a modification to a disability 
     benefit questionnaire form if such requirement only applies 
     by reason of the forms being made public under paragraph (1).
       ``(4) Not less frequently than once each year through 2026, 
     the Inspector General of the Department shall submit to 
     Congress a report on the findings of the Inspector General 
     with respect to the use of the forms described in paragraph 
     (1).''.
       (b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in section 5101 of title 
     38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), may be 
     construed to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to 
     develop any new information technology system or otherwise 
     require the Secretary to make any significant changes to the 
     internet website of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Takano) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. David P. 
Roe) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks, and to include extraneous material on H.R. 7795.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the Veterans Benefits Fairness and Transparency Act of 
2020 is legislation that was brought to the House Veterans' Affairs 
Committee as a result of a strong partnership between staff and the 
advocates that are out in the field, even through the COVID-19 
pandemic, assisting our veterans in the disability benefits process.
  When a VA doctor evaluates a veteran's disability, they use a form 
known as a disability benefit questionnaire, or DBQ.
  These DBQs are what VA employees use to decide benefit claims and can 
be the deciding factor between a grant or a denial.
  During the height of the pandemic, VA made the decision to pull these 
DBQs off its public website, making them inaccessible to veterans and 
their representatives. The advocates told us this change was harmful 
for veterans because they could no longer get relevant medical 
information from their own treatment providers to support their claims.
  Now, even though VA oftentimes provides medical exams to veterans 
during the claims process, it is not always the same as getting that 
information from your own doctor.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 7795 fixes this issue by requiring VA to publish 
DBQs on its website and to accept DBQs completed by a non-VA medical 
provider.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to take this moment to thank Representatives Barr 
and Luria for introducing this legislation, and also thank our VSO 
partners for bringing this issue to our attention.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7795, the Veterans 
Benefits

[[Page H4686]]

Fairness and Transparency Act of 2020, which was introduced by my good 
friend,   Andy Barr, from Kentucky.
  This bill would streamline the process for veterans to submit medical 
evidence from their private provider to support their Department of 
Veterans Affairs compensation claim.
  As you may know, VA has recently resumed certain in-person disability 
exams after suspending them at the start of the COVID-19 national 
emergency.
  During those uncertain times, some veterans may have requested that 
their private physician conduct their disability exam in order to avoid 
a claims processing delay.
  Unfortunately, in April of 2020, VA stopped publishing the disability 
benefits questionnaires, or DBQs, on its website. Those forms are used 
to ensure that VA receives all the medical information the department 
needs to adjudicate the veteran's disability claim.
  However, if a veteran's physician does not have access to the 
appropriate DBQ, the provider may not include all the medical 
information needed to support the veteran's claim. H.R. 7795 would 
address this issue by requiring the VA to reinstate the public-facing 
DBQs on its website.
  As an OB/GYN physician who managed my own private practice for three 
decades, I believe that a physician or other healthcare provider who 
has had the opportunity to develop a relationship with a veteran 
patient over several years is the most qualified to assess the 
veteran's disability.
  If that provider is willing to perform a disability exam, they should 
have the same access to the DBQ that a VA examiner would have. I have 
heard VA's concerns about this bill, and I understand the department 
would like to improve the process for veterans to develop and obtain 
supportive evidence from their private providers.
  However, I am not persuaded that the veterans are well-served by 
eliminating the public access to DBQs right now. Instead, I believe 
veterans should be able to obtain these forms until VA can implement a 
better process.
  Veterans should not be penalized for seeking out a medical opinion 
from their private medical provider, especially when there is a backlog 
of over 350,000 pending disability exams caused by the pandemic that VA 
must address.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Congressman Barr and Congresswoman 
Elaine Luria of Virginia for their leadership on this issue.
  And, Mr. Speaker, let me explain how it is. Let's say I am seeing a 
patient for a disability in my office, and I have put down exactly what 
I think is appropriate, but it is not all the information the VA needs. 
I don't know what they need. They need to just send me the form so I 
will know what to fill out so they will have adequate information.
  So in your office, your staff back home are not getting these 
complaints about, Well, they turned my claim down because they didn't 
have adequate information. This is a simple solution to a simple 
problem.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage all Members to support H.R. 7795, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Virginia (Mrs. Luria), the chairwoman of the Disability Assistance and 
Memorial Affairs Subcommittee, and also a cosponsor of H.R. 7795.
  Mrs. LURIA. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today in support and as a 
co-lead of the Veterans Benefits Fairness and Transparency Act.

  I want to start by thanking my colleague, Mr. Barr from Kentucky, for 
taking the lead on this.
  And as you know, we have heard from countless veterans and countless 
veterans' advocates that this is a problem; that these forms are not 
available to our veterans and their providers to be able to provide the 
best information in the most timely manner in order to process these 
claims.
  The simple fact is that we must act to make it easier, not harder, 
for our veterans to receive the benefits that they deserve. As 
mentioned, this bill will ensure that benefit questionnaires will be 
public-facing again on a website.
  Mr. Barr and I learned from many veterans' advocates that these forms 
were removed and that veterans that needed to provide this vital 
information in order to process their claim couldn't simply have the 
forms that they needed in order to do that.
  This bill also includes the use of older versions of the form, 
because how many times have we heard in our offices and from our 
constituents that a veteran has submitted their claim only to have it 
sent back again requesting a different version of the form, thus, 
delaying the process for our veterans who desperately need these claims 
to be adjudicated, and need the care from the VA.
  This will also allow the VA to make prompt decisions on the 
disability claims and reduce their unfinished exam backlog, which is 
currently nearing 60 percent.
  These questionnaires played a huge role in 2011 in reducing the 
massive claims backlog that we experienced at that time. And during our 
current public health crisis, while access to care at VA facilities is 
limited, what could make more sense than allowing veterans, in company 
with their civilian providers, to also be able to provide the 
information necessary to process their claims?
  In my district in coastal Virginia, I am honored to represent more 
than 92,000 veterans in our district. And this is among my top 
priorities to ensure that we make this process easier, more 
transparent, and more timely for our veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to close by thanking Mr. Barr for introducing 
this legislation, and for allowing me to cosponsor it.
  And I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill in order to help 
our Nation's many deserving veterans.
  Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr), my good friend and fellow member of 
the Veterans' Affairs Committee.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to have my bill, H.R. 7795, the 
Veterans Benefits Fairness and Transparency Act of 2020 before the 
House of Representatives today.
  I would like to thank my good friend, Ranking Member Roe, for his 
support of this legislation, and would especially like to thank my 
colleague across the aisle and chair of the Disability and Memorial 
Affairs Subcommittee, Representative Elaine Luria, for co-leading this 
bipartisan legislation with me. I appreciate Representative Luria's 
leadership on this issue.
  This bill is vitally important because it will restore access for 
veterans and their representatives to the disability benefits 
questionnaires forms previously available on the VA's public website. 
Our veterans used these forms to submit evidence to the VA for their 
disability claims until the VA removed them in April of this year in 
the middle of a pandemic, making it harder for veterans to submit their 
evidence and get the benefits owed to them.
  The idea for this legislation was brought to me by a member of 
Kentucky's Sixth Congressional District Veterans' Coalition, Chief 
Warrant Officer Denny Hart. I know Mr. Hart, he is a good patriotic 
man, and he continues to serve our country by helping other veterans 
file their disability claims with the VA.
  However, after the VA removed these forms from being publicly 
available, they effectively shut out Mr. Hart and others from assisting 
our veterans. There were only 11 VA contract examiners in the Sixth 
District of Kentucky in January of this year. Now, to their credit, the 
VA has increased the number of those contract examiners, probably 
because of this legislation. But until we have the assurances that a 
sufficient number of VA contract examiners are able to assist all of 
the veterans with their disability claims, we need public-facing DBQs.
  My legislation gives the VA additional manpower to process a 
veteran's DBQ by maintaining the ability of a veteran's own provider to 
fill out the form. This is something vital to veterans in rural 
communities who may be far from a VA medical center or contract 
examiner.
  Furthermore, our proposal prevents veterans from having their 
disability claim delayed or denied because the VA changed their DBQ 
form during the application process without the veteran knowing. During 
this pandemic, we must ensure our veterans' disability

[[Page H4687]]

claims process is not paused or compromised solely due to a change in a 
bureaucratic form.
  We must protect veterans from unnecessary burdens while securing 
benefits owed to them. No veteran should be denied the disability 
benefits to which he or she is justly entitled solely because a DBQ is 
not publicly available or because the VA changed the form in the middle 
of the process.
  This is commonsense legislation supported by multiple veteran service 
organizations, such as the Disabled American Veterans, the Paralyzed 
Veterans of America, Minority Veterans of America, Iraq and Afghanistan 
Veterans of America, and more.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan 
legislation and restore this vital resource for our Nation's heroes.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a commonsense solution to a problem that 
shouldn't have occurred in the first place. And I think that it is--I 
appreciate both Congresswoman Luria and Congressman Barr for their 
leadership on this. I encourage my colleagues to support this.

  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the passage of this important legislation is necessary 
to continue to make it easier for veterans to submit medical evidence 
in support of their disability claims.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support the legislation, H.R. 7795, 
brought forward by Congressman Barr of Kentucky, and the cosponsor, the 
chairwoman of our Subcommittee on DAMA, Elaine Luria of Virginia.
  Mr. Speaker I urge support of this bill, and I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 7795.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________