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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8874 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8874

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to report on expanding the 
 use of certain automation tools in the Department of Veterans Affairs.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 27, 2024

 Mr. Valadao introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to report on expanding the 
 use of certain automation tools in the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Modernizing All Veterans and 
Survivors Claims Processing Act''.

SEC. 2. PLAN TO EXPAND USE OF AUTOMATION TOOLS TO PROCESS CLAIMS UNDER 
              LAWS ADMINISTERED BY THE SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and twice annually thereafter, the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of 
the Senate and House of Representatives the plan of the Secretary to 
make available, to the maximum extent practicable, automation tools 
described in subsection (b) to other subdivisions of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs, for the purpose of processing claims under laws 
administered by the Secretary.
    (b) Automation Tools Described.--An automation tool described in 
this subsection is a technology developed for the Compensation Service 
of the Veterans Benefits Administration that--
            (1) automates the retrieval of the service record or health 
        records of a veteran;
            (2) compiles evidence relevant to the determination of a 
        claim for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary;
            (3) provides automated decision support relevant to such a 
        determination;
            (4) automates information sharing between Federal agencies; 
        or
            (5) assists in generating correspondence regarding such a 
        claim.
    (c) Elements.--The plan under subsection (a) shall include analyses 
of the following:
            (1) The feasibility and benefits of the use of such 
        automation technologies by such subdivisions for such purpose.
            (2) Any modification to an automation tool that may be 
        necessary to make it usable by such a subdivision.
            (3) Any requirement of such a subdivision pertaining to 
        such purpose that cannot be addressed by using such an 
        automation tool.
            (4) The extent to which the technology offices of such 
        subdivisions may need to collaborate with the technology office 
        responsible for developing such an automation tool.
            (5) A timeline for modifying and implementing the use of 
        such automation tools for such purpose.
    (d) Priority.--In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary shall 
give priority to the following subdivisions of the Department:
            (1) The Pension and Fiduciary Service of the Veterans 
        Benefits Administration.
            (2) The Education Service of the Veterans Benefits 
        Administration.
            (3) Program offices of the Veterans Benefits 
        Administration, as determined by the Secretary.
            (4) The Debt Management Center.
            (5) The Board of Veterans' Appeals.
                                 <all>
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