,i #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #bach ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,may #bc1 #bjac ,mr4 ,mc,carthy of ,california 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,miller of ,florida1 and ,mr4 ,coffman7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,armed ,services1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs to resolve the backlog of disability claims of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,ending ,,va ,claims ,disability ,backlog and ,accountability ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs is statutorily obligated to provide to individuals who served in the ,armed ,forces and sustained an injury as a direct result of such service with health care1 disability compensation1 and related resources4 7#b7 ,disability compensation payments are intended to provide relief for some of the socioeconomic and other losses veterans experience as a result of service-connected diseases and injuries4 7#c7 ,a recent review by the ,government ,accountability ,office found that the backlog of disability claims at the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs has more than tripled since #bjji and the average length of time to complete a claim has increased from #afa days in #bjji to #bfj days in #bjab4 7#d7 ,in ,august #bjab1 approximately #efh1jdc claims or two-thirds of all compensation rating claims are backlogged4 7#e7 ,the ,government ,accountability ,office found that delays in obtaining service and medical records for veterans who served in the ,national ,guard or ,reserve is a significant factor in lengthening the claims process for these veterans even though they make up #dc percent of veterans who served during the ,global ,war on ,terrorism4 7#f7 ,the ,government ,accountability ,office found that if a veteran submits a disability claim and reports receiving disability benefits from the ,social ,security ,administration1 the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs is required to help the veteran obtain relevant ,federal records1 including medical records from the ,social ,security ,administration to process the claim4 7#g7 ,there is an interagency agreement between the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs and the ,social ,security ,administration1 but the protocols of the ,department and the response time of the ,administration can take a year before the ,department has obtained the requested information4 7#h7 ,the ,government ,accountability ,office found that approximately #ej percent of claims processing staff have been in their current role for less than two years and are not yet proficient in their duties requiring supervision and review from more experienced claims processing staff1 diverting them from their claims processing responsibilities4 7#i7 ,veterans and their families have already selflessly and willingly sacrificed for our nation and faced numerous hardships2 they should not have to continue to face undue and avoidable hardships after their service as they seek the benefits they earned4 7#aj7 ,on ,march #bd1 #bjac1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs ,eric ,k4 ,shinseki stated in an interview on ,state of the ,union television show1 no veteran should have to wait for claims as they are today4 ,we have a fix for this4 ,we're open for business4 ,and we will end the backlog in #bjae44 7#aa7 ,on ,april #ae1 #bjac1 the ,secretary1 in written testimony before the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,senate1 again stated that the ,,va remains focused on eliminating the disability claims backlog in #bjae and processing all claims within #abe days at a #ih-percent accuracy level44 7#ab7 ,on ,april #ai1 #bjac1 the ,secretary again stated in a ,new ,york ,times article titled ,v4,a4 ,aims to ,reduce ,its ,backlog of ,claims1 that the ,department will eliminate the backlog by #bjae44 7#ac7 ,numerous congressional inquiries for progress reports and detailed information regarding the disability claims backlog remain unanswered1 while the ,secretary continues to state the claims backlog will be eliminated by #bjae1 claims processing accuracy will be increased to #ih percent1 and claims processing will take no longer than #abe days as a direct result of the ,strategic ,plan to ,eliminate the ,compensation ,claims ,backlog of the ,department4 7#ad7 ,the ,government ,accountability ,office found that the ,strategic ,plan to ,eliminate the ,compensation ,claims ,backlog of the ,department does not adequately articulate how the ,department will meet its goals1 and planning documents that the ,department provided does not meet the established criteria of the ,government ,accountability ,office for sound planning1 potentially leading to concerns about the ability of the ,department to reduce claims backlogs4 #c4 ,timeline and metrics to resolve backlog of disability claims 7a7 ,implementation of ,strategic ,plan ,to ,eliminate the ,compensation ,claims ,backlog ,the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall implement the ,strategic ,plan to ,eliminate the ,compensation ,claims ,backlog1 published by the ,secretary on ,january #be1 #bjac1 to ensure that by ,memorial ,day 7,may #be71 #bjae1 each claim for disability compensation under the laws administered by the ,secretary 7in this ,act referred to as a claim7 is approved or denied by not later than #abe days after the date on which the claim is submitted with an accuracy rate of #ih percent4 7b7 ,supplemental report ,not later than #fj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall submit to ,congress a supplemental report to the ,strategic ,plan to ,eliminate the ,compensation ,claims ,backlog that includes the following3 7#a7 ,specific measures1 procedures1 and metrics to assess the implementation of the plan pursuant to subsection 7a74 7#b7 ,a detailed timeline to implement each initiative contained in the ,strategic ,plan to ,eliminate the ,compensation ,claims ,backlog4 #d4 ,expedition of transfer of certain records 7a7 ,,ssa records ,not later than #fj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall enter into an agreement with the ,commissioner of the ,social ,security ,administration to ensure that the ,commissioner transfers to the ,secretary disability or medical records of the ,commissioner that the ,secretary will use to evaluate a claim by not later than #cj days after the ,secretary requests such records4 7b7 ,,dod records ,not later than #fj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall enter into an agreement with the ,secretary of ,defense to ensure that the ,secretary of ,defense transfers to the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs medical records of members or former members of the ,armed ,forces that the ,secretary will use to evaluate a claim by not later than #cj days after the ,secretary requests such records4 7c7 ,national ,guard records ,not later than #fj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs and the ,secretary of ,defense shall jointly-- 7#a7 submit to ,congress a plan to reduce to #cj days the amount of time needed to provide members of the ,national ,guard and the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs with the medical records of such members1 including by partnering with appropriate officials of ,federal or ,state departments or agencies2 and 7#b7 implement such plan4 #e4 ,claims processors training 7a7 ,establishment ,the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall establish a training program to provide newly hired claims processors of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs with training for a period of not less than three years4 ,in carrying out such program1 the ,secretary shall identify successful claims processors of the ,department who can assist in the training of newly hired claims processors4 7b7 ,ability to process claims ,the ,secretary shall carry out the training program established under subsection 7a7 without increasing the amount of time in which claims are processed by the ,department4 #f4 ,reports by ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states 7a7 ,reports ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and each #ij-;day period thereafter1 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall submit to ,congress a report on the progress of the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs in implementing the ,strategic ,plan to ,eliminate the ,compensation ,claims ,backlog pursuant to section #c7;a74 7b7 ,matters included ,each report under subsection 7a7 shall include the following3 7#a7 ,whether the ,secretary is meeting the timeline of the ,strategic ,plan to ,eliminate the ,compensation ,claims ,backlog4 7#b7 ,an analysis of the implementation by the ,secretary of such plan4 7#c7 ,administrative or regulatory recommendations of the ,comptroller ,general with respect to improving the ability of the ,secretary to carry out section #c7;a74