Sponsor
Michael Lawler
Representative · R-NY
Representative · R-NY
The bill speeds and clarifies WHCA reimbursements and eases insurer burdens—helping veterans, claimants, and contractors—but increases taxpayer exposure and administrative strain by accelerating payments, adding unfunded staffing requirements, and reducing insurer collateral protections.
Veterans and other WHCA claimants will get faster, more predictable reimbursements because DFEC must acknowledge complete claims within 14 days (outstanding claims are treated as acknowledged on enactment) and claimants receive statutory interest on late payments starting 60 days after acknowledgment.
Federal claims processing will become more consistent and better-staffed as DFEC must define a 'complete submission' and issue implementing regulations within 180 days while the Department of Labor adds at least 15 full-time staff to handle WHCA claims.
Insurance carriers no longer must post collateral for WHCA-reimbursable claims, reducing upfront financial burden on insurers and potentially lowering costs passed to government contractors.
Taxpayers could face higher costs because the government must pay interest on late WHCA reimbursements and may have greater short-term exposure if insurers post less collateral.
Deeming outstanding claims acknowledged on enactment and accelerating payments increases the risk of improper or unverified payments that could harm taxpayers and payees if fraud or errors are later discovered.
Meeting tight acknowledgment/regulatory deadlines and implementing a staffing mandate without specified funding may create administrative burden, reallocation of existing staff, and implementation uncertainty for DFEC/DOL.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Creates filing and response deadlines, interest on late WHCA reimbursements, a 15-staff DFEC hiring mandate, and bans collateral requirements for insurers on WHCA-reimbursable liabilities.
Official title: To amend the War Hazards Compensation Act and the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act to require that the Federal Government pay interest on late reimbursements, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 29, 2026 by Michael Lawler · Last progress June 29, 2026
Reforms how claims for war-related workers' compensation are processed and reimbursed. It sets filing requirements, shortens agency response times, forces interest on late reimbursements, requires the Labor Department's Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation (DFEC) to hire at least 15 full-time claims staff, and stops the Labor Secretary from forcing insurers to post collateral for liabilities reimbursable under the War Hazards Compensation Act. The bill also directs the Secretary of Labor to issue regulations to implement these changes within set timeframes and preserves existing benefit levels and the government's reimbursement obligations.