,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #bhhe  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,may #ba1 #bjai,mr4  
,wittman introduced the following bill2 
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,veterans' ,affairs  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
direct the ,secretary of ,veterans      
,affairs to carry out a pilot program to
 promote and encourage collaboration    
between the ,department of ,veterans    
,affairs and nonprofit organizations and
 institutions of higher learning that   
provide administrative assistance to    
veterans4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,veterans           
,collaboration ,act4  #b4 ,pilot program
 on collaboration with nonprofit        
organizations  7a7 ,in general ,the     
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall  
carry out a two-year pilot program to   
promote and encourage collaboration     
between the ,department of ,veterans    
,affairs and nonprofit organizations and
 institutions of higher learning4 ,in   
carrying out the pilot program1 the     

,secretary shall emphasize collaboration
 with--  7#a7 veterans service          
organizations that provide personnel    
with appropriate credentials to assist  
veterans in filing claims and appeals   
with the ,department for disability     
compensation2 and  7#b7 educational     
institutions that provide pro bono legal
 assistance to veterans4  7b7 ,metrics  
,the ,secretary shall establish metrics 
to determine which organizations and    
institutions provide the best service to
 veterans and seek to encourage such    
organizations and institutions to       
participate in the pilot program4  7c7  
,location ,the ,secretary shall carry   
out the pilot program in ,states with   
the highest veteran populations1 as     
determined by the ,secretary4  7d7 ,use 
of social media ,in carrying out the    
pilot program1 the ,secretary shall use 
social media to promote the             
collaboration efforts carried out under 
the pilot program and to notify veterans
 of such collaborations4 ,quarterly     

reports will be provided to members of  
the ,veterans' ,affairs ,committee that 
document the reach of the social media  
efforts and the number of veterans who  
use the program4  7e7 ,reports ,not     
later than #cj days after the end of a  
fiscal quarter1 the ,secretary shall    
submit to the ,committees on ,veterans' 
,affairs of the ,senate and the ,house  
of ,representatives a report on the     
pilot program1 including the use of     
social media under subsection 7d7 and   
the number of veterans who receive      
administrative assistance from          
organizations and institutions through  
the program4