U.S. Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) on June 9 sponsored legislation that would standardize and expand the software used by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to process benefit claims.
“Our veterans have made great sacrifices fighting for our freedom, and when they return home, they shouldn’t be waiting months to receive their benefits because of outdated technology at the VA,” Rep. Valadao said.
The Modernizing All Veterans and Survivors Claims Processing Act, H.R. 3854, also would streamline the benefits claims process, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Valadao’s staff.
“I’m proud to reintroduce this bill, which will expand the use of automation tools for processing VA claims to ensure veterans get the benefits they deserve in a more timely and efficient manner,” said the congressman.
Specifically, H.R. 3854 would require the VA to develop a plan to provide automation tools for purposes of claims processing, information sharing between federal agencies, and generating correspondence to VA program offices other than Compensation Service.
Under the bill, the VA also would be required to implement a plan to provide an automated letter-drafting tool to program offices that process veterans’ pension claims and survivors’ benefits claims; and to develop a plan to ensure that documents in the VA’s electronic claims processing system are correctly labeled when they are uploading into that system, including when they are automatically labeled using AI technology.
Additionally, H.R. 3854 would require the VA to implement policies, processes, and technological capabilities to ensure that when a veteran or school-age child is awarded benefits based on a child attending school, the department’s Compensation Service and Education Service are each automatically updated so that timely action can be taken to decrease overpayments of dependent benefits, the summary says.
The measure is under consideration by the U.S. House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.