Last progress June 9, 2025 (8 months ago)
Introduced on June 9, 2025 by Mike Bost
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to collect more and better data, issue new reports, and adopt procedures and technology to speed and improve handling of veterans’ benefit claims and appeals. It adds specific reporting on remands, motions, and dismissals; mandates case-tracking with technology; creates rules to advance and aggregate appeals; expands certain court jurisdiction; and orders studies and an independent assessment on whether the Board should have precedential authority, with multiple deadlines measured from enactment.
Amend section 5109B of title 38 to add an annual-report requirement. The Secretary must submit to the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees an annual report that includes: (1) the average length of time a claim or issue remanded by the Board was pending before the Secretary after remand; (2) the number of cases that advanced on the docket by reason of a motion filed under 7107(b), disaggregated by whether the motion was granted or denied and the reason for the motion; and (3) the number of appeals dismissed by the Board, disaggregated by whether dismissal was due to the death of the appellant and, if due to death, whether the death resulted from suicide.
Deadline for the first annual report required by new subsection (b) of section 5109B: submit by not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act.
Within one year after enactment, the Secretary, in consultation with the Board of Veterans’ Appeals and the VA General Counsel, must prescribe guidelines for advancing a case on the Board’s docket on a motion for earlier consideration under section 7107(b)(3). The guidelines must include the type of evidence that may be submitted with the motion to show grounds for advancement.
Insert new section 5109C requiring the Secretary to use technology to track and maintain information (including timeliness) on specified categories of claims and related items. Tracked items include: claims continuously pursued under certain statutes or policies; claims filed in the National Work Queue not assigned to a VBA office; claims afforded expeditious treatment under 5109B or other policy; claims remanded by the Board; claims pending a Board hearing; instances where a VBA adjudicator does not comply with a Board remand decision (including failures to satisfy the duty to assist under 5103A); certain supplemental claims filed under 5108; and first notices of death of individuals receiving benefits, disaggregated by whether a fiduciary was assigned. The Secretary must submit an annual report with all tracked information.
Deadline for first annual report required under new 5109C: submit by not later than one year after the date of enactment.
Primary effects: Veterans filing benefit claims and appeals stand to benefit from faster processing, clearer tracking, and more transparent reporting on how and why claims are remanded, dismissed, or advanced. Representatives and attorneys who handle veterans’ appeals may see streamlined procedures for aggregating related cases and potentially fewer repetitive appeals on the same legal issues.
Operational impacts: VA offices and the Board of Veterans’ Appeals must collect new data, produce reports, develop policies, and deploy or expand case-tracking technology. That will increase administrative and IT workload; VA will need staff time, technical capability, and possibly new contracts or internal reorganization to meet deadlines. If no additional funding is provided, other VA activities could be reprioritized.
Legal and systemic effects: An independent assessment and studies about giving the Board precedential authority could change how consistent legal interpretations are across appeals, which may reduce repeated litigation on settled points of law. Expanding certain court jurisdiction may shift where and how some appeals are litigated, with downstream effects on case volume for the Board and courts.
Risks and challenges: Implementation depends on VA producing effective tracking tools and workable procedures within statutory timelines. Technical complexity, data quality, training, and potential legal disputes about new procedures or jurisdictional expansions are likely. The text does not specify funding, so timely implementation could be constrained by VA resources.
Updated 1 day ago
Last progress June 9, 2025 (8 months ago)
