,i  #aadth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ccce  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,july #bi1 #bjae ,mr4
 ,rodney ,davis of ,illinois 7for       
himself1 ,mr4 ,bost1 and ,mr4 ,walz7    
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on          
,veterans' ,affairs  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
amend title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 
to provide certain employees of ,members
 of ,congress and certain employees of  
,state or local governmental agencies   
with access to case-tracking information
 of the ,department of ,veterans        
,affairs4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,access to ,veterans
 ,benefits ,improvement ,act4  #b4      
,provision of access to case-tracking   
information  7a7 ,in general ,chapter   
#ei of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1
 is amended by adding at the end the    
following3  #eijf4 ,provision of access 
to case-tracking information  7a7 ,in   
general  7#a7 ,in accordance with       
subsection 7b71 the ,secretary shall    

provide a covered employee with access  
to the case-tracking system to provide a
 veteran with information regarding the 
status of a claim submitted by such     
veteran1 regardless of whether such     
employee is acting under a power of     
attorney executed by such veteran4  7#b7
 ,in providing a covered employee with  
access to the case-tracking system under
 paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall   
ensure--  7,a7 that such access-- 7i7 is
 provided in a manner that does not     
allow such employee to modify the data  
contained in such system2 and  7ii7 does
 not include access to medical records2 
and  7,b7 that each time a covered      
employee accesses such system1 the      
employee must certify that such access  
is for official purposes only4  7b7     
,privacy certification course ,the      
,secretary may not provide a covered    
employee with access to the             
case-tracking system under subsection   
7a77#a7 unless the covered employee has 
successfully completed a certification  

course on privacy issues provided by the
 ,secretary4  7c7 ,treatment of         
disclosure ,the access to information by
 a covered employee pursuant to         
subsection 7a77#a7 shall be deemed to   
be--  7#a7 a covered disclosure under   
section #eeb;a7b7 of title #e2 and  7#b7
 a permitted disclosure under           
regulations promulgated under section   
#bfd7;c7 of the ,health ,insurance      
,portability and ,accountability ,act of
 #aiif 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acbj;d-#b note74 
7d7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 
,the term case-tracking system means the
 system of the ,department of ,veterans 
,affairs that provides information      
regarding the status of a claim         
submitted by a veteran4  7#b7 ,the term 
covered employee means-- 7,a7 an        
employee of a ,member of ,congress who  
assists the constituents of the ,member 
with issues regarding departments or    
agencies of the ,federal ,government2 or
  7,b7 an employee of a ,state or local 
governmental agency 7including a        

veterans service officer7 who1 in the   
course of carrying out the              
responsibilities of such employment1    
assists veterans with claims for any    
benefit under the laws administered by  
the ,secretary4  4  7b7 ,clerical       
amendment ,the table of sections at the 
beginning of such chapter is amended by 
adding at the end the following new     
item3  #eijf4 ,provision of access to   
case-tracking information4  4