IIB 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4771 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 13, 2019 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

AN ACT 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to permit appellants 

to appear in cases before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals 

by picture and voice transmission from locations other 

than facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 

and for other purposes. 


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HR 4771 RFS

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘VA Tele-Hearing Mod5 ernization Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. HEARINGS BEFORE THE BOARD OF VETERANS’ AP7 PEALS BY MEANS OF TELECONFERENCE 

8 FROM LOCATIONS OTHER THAN FACILITIES 

9 OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF10 FAIRS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7107(c)(2) of title 38, 

12 United States Code, is amended— 

13 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or sub14 paragraph (C) of this paragraph’’ after ‘‘subpara15 graph (B) of such paragraph’’; 

16 (2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘or sub17 paragraph (C) of this paragraph’’ after ‘‘subpara18 graph (A) of such paragraph’’; and 

19 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub20 paragraph (C): 

21 ‘‘(C)(i) Upon notification of a Board hearing under 

22 subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1), the appellant 

23 may alternatively request a hearing by picture and voice 

24 transmission— 

25 ‘‘(I) at a location selected by the appellant; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) via a secure internet platform established 

2 and maintained by the Secretary that protects sen3 sitive personal information from a data breach. 

4 ‘‘(ii) If an appellant makes a request under clause 

5 (i), the Board shall grant such request.’’. 

6 (b) DEADLINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—The Sec7 retary shall implement the amendments made by sub8 section (a) not later than 180 days after the date of the 

9 enactment of this Act. 

10 (c) REPORTING.— 

11 (1) ANNUAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Sec12 tion 7101(d)(2) of such title is amended— 

13 (A) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘; 

14 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

15 (B) in subparagraph (F), by striking the 

16 period at the ending and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

18 subparagraph: 

19 ‘‘(G) with respect to hearings scheduled under 

20 section 7107(c)(2)(C) of this title— 

21 ‘‘(i) the number of hearings scheduled 

22 under such section; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the number of hearings under such 

24 section that were cancelled; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) any statistical difference in outcomes 

2 between cases heard under such section and 

3 those held at the principal location of the Board 

4 or by picture and voice transmission at a facil5 ity of the Department.’’. 

6 (2) ONE-TIME REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

7 The first report required to be submitted under sec8 tion 7101(d) of title 38, United States Code, shall 

9 include the following information with respect to 

10 hearings scheduled under subparagraph (C) of para11 graph (2) of subsection (c) of section 7101 of such 

12 title, as added by subsection (a): 

13 (A) An outline of the outreach the Sec14 retary of Veterans Affairs plans to conduct to 

15 inform veterans, families of veterans, survivors 

16 of veterans, veterans service organizations, mili17 tary service organizations, congressional case18 workers, advocates for veterans, and such other 

19 stakeholders as the Secretary considers appro20 priate about hearings scheduled under such 

21 subparagraph, including— 

22 (i) a description of the resources re23 quired to conduct such outreach; 

24 (ii) a timeline for conducting such 

25 outreach; and 


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1 (iii) information related to the advan2 tages and potential technological challenges 

3 of conducting hearings under such sub4 paragraph. 

5 (B) A description of any modifications to 

6 the information technology systems of the Vet7 erans Benefits Administration and the Board of 

8 Veterans’ Appeals required to carry out hear9 ings under such subparagraph, including cost 

10 estimates and a timeline for making such modi11 fications. 

12 (C) A detailed description of the intra13 agency partnership between the Board of Vet14 erans’ Appeals and the telehealth program of 

15 the Veterans Health Administration as the 

16 Board conducts hearings under such subpara17 graph, including best practices, a risk assess18 ment overview, risk mitigation efforts, and a 

19 plan for ongoing collaboration and information 

20 sharing. 

21 (d) COLLABORATION.—In developing the capacity 

22 and procedures to conduct hearings under subparagraph 

23 (C) of paragraph (2) of subsection (c) of section 7101 of 

24 title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), 

25 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall collaborate with, 


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1 partner with, and give weight to the advice of veterans 

2 service organizations and such other stakeholders as the 

3 Secretary considers appropriate. 

Passed the House of Representatives November 12, 

2019. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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