To improve the processing of disability claims by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
Latest action. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on September 27, 2013. The summary of that version is repeated here.)
Title I: Improvement of Claims Processing - (Sec. 101) Establishes within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) a commission or task force to study: (1) the backlog of veterans' disability claims, including the current process used by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Secretary) to evaluate claims and appeals and the applicable laws and regulations; and (2) the anticipated increase of such appeals. Requires the commission or task force to submit to the Secretary, the Chairman of the Board of Veterans' Appeals, and the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Veterans Claims information with respect to remedies and solutions identified under the studies. Directs the commission or task force to report to the President on study findings, conclusions, and recommendations, as well as on progress in implementing appropriate solutions to expedite the elimination of the backlog of claims. Requires commission or task force members to be appointed within 15 days after the enactment of this Act and terminates the commission or task force 60 days after submission of its final report. Provides funding.
(Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary to submit to Congress, within 60 days after the enactment of this Act and every 120 days thereafter until May 25, 2015, a supplemental report on VA implementation of the Strategic Plan to Eliminate the Compensation Claims Backlog, including verification that during the period covered by the report each claim was approved or denied within 125 days after it was submitted with an accuracy rate of 98%.
(Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary to enter into agreements to ensure that the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration and the Secretary of Defense (DOD) transfer to the VA disability or medical records that the VA Secretary will use to evaluate a disability claim by not later than 30 days after the Secretary requests such records. Requires the two Secretaries to submit to Congress, and implement, a plan to reduce to 30 days the time needed to provide members of the National Guard and the VA Secretary with the medical records of Guard members.
The summary continues for 14 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House amended" stage on October 28, 2013. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on October 29, 2013: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Jeff Miller (R-FL) introduced it on May 23, 2013, and 9 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 2 Democrats, 7 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on May 23, 2013, 4858 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4699 days ago, on October 29, 2013.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers