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I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 3450
To direct the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs to
submit to Congress a report on the backlog of disability compensation
claims submitted to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 17, 2023
Mrs. TORRES of California introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
A BILL
To direct the Inspector General of the Department of Vet-
erans Affairs to submit to Congress a report on the
backlog of disability compensation claims submitted to
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Administra-
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tion Backlog Accountability Act of 2023’’.
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•HR 3450 IH
SEC. 2. INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT ON BACKLOG OF
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DISABILITY
COMPENSATION
CLAIMS
SUB-
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MITTED TO DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF-
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FAIRS.
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(a) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date
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of the enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the
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Department of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Congress
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a report on the backlog of disability compensation claims
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submitted to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs pursuant
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to chapter 11 of title 38, United States Code, pending be-
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fore the Veterans Benefits Administration or the Board
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of Veterans’ Appeals.
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(b) MATTERS INCLUDED.—The report under sub-
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section (a) shall include the following:
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(1) A description of the status of the backlog
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described in such subsection.
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(2) An assessment of how the Secretary is ad-
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dressing such backlog, including how the Secretary
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is recruiting staff to fill open positions within the
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Department using authorities or amounts available
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under the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022 (Public
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Law 117–168).
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(3) An assessment of how such backlog affects
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the average amount of time claimants who have sub-
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mitted disability compensation claims pursuant to
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•HR 3450 IH
chapter 11 of title 38, United States Code, wait for
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the Secretary to adjudicate those claims.
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(4) An assessment of how the Secretary is pre-
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paring to address the predicted 50 percent increase
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in such claims resulting from the Honoring our
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PACT Act of 2022 (Public Law 117–168).
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(5) An overview of how new technologies, such
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as automated decision support technology, have con-
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tributed to the reduction of such backlog.
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(6) Recommendations by the Inspector General
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to further reduce such backlog.
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Æ
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