Sponsors (4)
Last progress June 9, 2025 (8 months ago)
Introduced on June 9, 2025 by James E. Banks
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Requires faster handling and better tracking of veterans’ benefit claims and appeals by establishing new technology-driven data collection, regular reports, and firm deadlines for studies and rulemaking. It lets the Board combine similar appeals and directs outside experts to study whether the Board can issue decisions that guide future cases, all to reduce delays and improve consistency. Imposes specific reporting and tracking requirements, timelines for studies and rules, and authority to consolidate appeals; affects veterans filing claims, their representatives, VA staff, and the Board’s processes by increasing transparency and pushing for quicker decisions.
Amend 38 U.S.C. 5109B by replacing the opening language and adding a new annual-report subsection (b) requiring the Secretary to submit an annual report to the Senate and House Committees on Veterans’ Affairs that covers: (1) the average time remanded claims (or issues) were pending before the Secretary after remand; (2) the number of cases advanced on the Board docket by a motion under 7107(b), disaggregated by whether the motion was granted or denied and by the reason for the motion; and (3) the number of appeals dismissed by the Board, disaggregated by whether dismissal was due to the appellant’s death and, if so, whether the death resulted from suicide.
First annual report under new 5109B(b) must be submitted not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act.
Not later than 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 docket under 38 U.S.C. 7107(b)(3); the guidelines must include the types of evidence that may be submitted with such a motion.
Insert new 38 U.S.C. 5109C requiring the Secretary to use technology to track and maintain information (including timeliness) on specific categories of claims and related matters.
The tracking in new 5109C must cover: (A) claims continuously pursued under sections 5104C(a) and 5110(a)(2) or other Secretary policy; (B) claims filed in the National Work Queue but not assigned to a VBA office; (C) claims afforded expeditious treatment under section 5109B or other VA policy; (D) claims remanded by the Board under 7104; and (E) claims pending a Board hearing under 7107.
Who is affected and how:
Veterans filing claims and appeals: Most directly affected. Faster tracking, consolidation of similar appeals, and tighter deadlines aim to reduce wait times and provide steadier progress on appeals; veterans may receive decisions more quickly and see clearer information about case status.
VA claimants before the Board: Will benefit from procedural changes that target backlog reduction and case consolidation; however, implementation glitches could temporarily affect processing if systems or workflows are updated.
Representatives of claimants (attorneys, accredited agents): May see shorter timelines for some appeals and will need to adapt to consolidated dockets or new Board procedures; could face new notice or coordination requirements when cases are grouped.
Department of Veterans Affairs staff and Board employees: Must implement new tracking tools, produce reports, meet statutory deadlines for studies and rulemakings, and may change internal procedures to join appeals; staffing, training, and IT work will increase in the short term.
Administrative and policy stakeholders (outside experts, oversight bodies): External researchers or contractors will be engaged to study precedential-decision authority; congressional and oversight entities will receive more data to evaluate performance.
Overall effects:
Updated 3 days ago
Last progress June 9, 2025 (8 months ago)