,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ijbj  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,december #ag1       
#bjbj,mr4 ,panetta 7for himself1 ,mr4   
,higgins of ,louisiana1 ,miss ,rice of  
,new ,york1 ,mrs4 ,axne1 ,mr4 ,steube1  
and ,ms4 ,sherrill7 introduced the      
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs   
,a ,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of 
,veterans ,affairs to expedite the      
processing of claims for disability     
compensation by veterans affected by    
major disasters4  #a4 ,short title ,this
 ,act may be cited as the ,priority     
,response for ,veterans ,impacted by    
,disasters and ,emergencies ,act or the 
,,provide ,act4  #b4 ,findings ,congress
 finds the following3 7#a7 ,the         
,department of ,veterans ,affairs sets  
forth criteria for priority processing  
of veterans' disability claims by the   
,department4  7#b7 ,such criteria       
include veterans affected by extreme    
financial hardship1 homelessness1       

terminal illness1 and participants in   
the ,department's ,fully ,developed     
,claim program4  7#c7 ,currently there  
is no process in place to prioritize the
 disability claims of veterans affected 
by major disasters such as fires and    
floods4  7#d7 ,priority claims          
processing for veterans affected by     
major disasters will significantly help 
such veterans begin rebuilding their    
lives4  #c4 ,priority ,claims           
,processing in the ,event of a ,major   
,disaster  7a7 ,in general ,the         
,secretary shall prescribe regulations  
setting forth criteria for priority     
processing of a claim for compensation  
under chapter #aa of title #ch1 ,united 
,states ,code4 ,individuals whose claim 
shall be eligible for such priority     
processing shall include-- 7#a7 veterans
 affected by extreme financial hardship2
  7#b7 veterans affected by             
homelessness2  7#c7 veterans diagnosed  
with a terminal illness2  7#d7          
participants in the ,department of      

,veterans ,affairs ,fully ,developed    
,claim program2 and  7#e7 veterans who  
live in an area for which the ,president
 has declared a major disaster under    
section #dja of the ,robert ,t4         
,stafford ,disaster ,relief and         
,emergency ,assistance ,act 7#db        
,u4,s4,c4 #eagj74  7b7 ,special         
considerations for claims processing in 
the event of a major disaster ,the      
,secretary shall prescribe additional   
regulations relating only to subsection 
7a77#e74 ,such additional regulations   
include-- 7#a7 establishing flexible    
evidence requirements for veterans      
unable to meet the ordinary evidence    
requirements for such a claim due to a  
major disaster2 and  7#b7 establishing a
 flexible filing deadline for such a    
claim4  7c7 ,notice to veterans of      
eligibility for priority claims         
processing ,not later than #fj days     
after the date of enactment of this     
,act1 the ,secretary shall post a       
permanent notice to veterans on the     

,department of ,veterans ,affairs       
website of the categories of eligibility
 for priority processing of such claims1
 including the changes to such          
categories made pursuant to subsection  
7a74