IB 

Union Calendar No. 159 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2349 

[Report No. 112–241] 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans 

Affairs to annually assess the skills of certain employees and managers 

of the Veterans Benefits Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 24, 2011 

Mr. RUNYAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

OCTOBER 6, 2011 

Additional sponsor: Mr. BILIRAKIS

OCTOBER 6, 2011 

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 

on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 


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A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to annually assess the skills 

of certain employees and managers of the Veterans Benefits Administration, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Veterans’ Benefits 

5 Training Improvement Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ANNUAL ASSESSMENT OF CLAIMS PROCESSING 

7 SKILLS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 77 of 

9 title 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

10 section 7732A the following new section: 

11 ‘‘§ 7732B. Annual assessment of claims processing 

12 skills 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

14 ‘‘(1) annually assess the skills of appropriate 

15 employees and managers of the Veterans Benefits 

16 Administration who are responsible for processing 

17 claims for compensation and pension benefits under 

18 the laws administered by the Secretary; and 

19 ‘‘(2) develop and implement an individualized 

20 training plan related to such skills for each such em21 ployee and manager. 

22 ‘‘(b) REMEDIATION OF DEFICIENT SKILLS.—(1) In 

23 providing training under subsection (a)(2), if any em24 ployee or manager receives a less than satisfactory result 

25 on any portion of an assessment under subsection (a)(1), 


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1 the Secretary shall provide such employee or manager with 

2 remediation of any deficiency in the skills related to such 

3 portion of the assessment. 

4 ‘‘(2) In accordance with this title and title 5, the Sec5 retary shall take appropriate disciplinary actions with re6 spect to any employee or manager who, after being given 

7 two opportunities for remediation under paragraph (1), 

8 does not receive a satisfactory result on an assessment 

9 under subsection (a)(1). 

10 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than March 1 of 

11 each year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 

12 on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and 

13 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate a report 

14 on the assessments and training conducted under this sec15 tion during the previous year, including a summary of— 

16 ‘‘(1) the results of the assessments under sub17 section (a)(1); 

18 ‘‘(2) remediation provided under subsection 

19 (b)(1); and 

20 ‘‘(3) disciplinary action taken under subsection 

21 (b)(2).’’. 

22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

23 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

24 after the item relating to section 7732A the following new 

25 item: 

‘‘7732B. Annual assessment of claims processing skills.’’. 


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1 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of Veterans 

2 Affairs shall implement section 7732B of title 38, United 

3 States Code, as added by subsection (a), by not later than 

4 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

5 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

6 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans’ Benefits Act 

7 of 2011’’. 

8 SEC. 2. ASSESSMENT OF CLAIMS-PROCESSING SKILLS 

9 PILOT PROGRAM. 

10 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.—Commencing not later than 

11 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Act, in addi12 tion to providing employee certification under section 

13 7732A of title 38, United States Code, the Secretary of Vet14 erans Affairs shall carry out a pilot program to assess skills 

15 and provide training described under subsection (b). 

16 (b) BIENNIAL SKILLS ASSESSMENT AND INDIVIDUAL17 IZED TRAINING.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

19 (A) biennially assess the skills of appro20 priate employees and managers of the Veterans 

21 Benefits Administration who are responsible for 

22 processing claims for compensation and pension 

23 benefits under the laws administered by the Sec24 retary, including by requiring such employees 

25 and managers to take the examination provided 


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1 under section 7732A(a)(1) of title 38, United 

2 States Code; and 

3 (B) on the basis of the results of such assess4 ment and examination, and on any relevant re5 gional office quality review, develop and imple6 ment an individualized training plan related to 

7 such skills for each such employee and manager. 

8 (2) REMEDIATION.— 

9 (A) REMEDIATION PROVIDED.—In pro10 viding training under paragraph (1)(B), if any 

11 employee or manager receives a less than satis12 factory result on any portion of an assessment 

13 under paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall pro14 vide such employee or manager with remediation 

15 of any deficiency in the skills related to such 

16 portion of the assessment and, within a reason17 able period following the remediation, shall re18 quire the employee or manager to take the exam19 ination again. 

20 (B) PERSONNEL ACTIONS.—In accordance 

21 with titles 5 and 38, United States Code, the 

22 Secretary shall take appropriate personnel ac23 tions with respect to any employee or manager 

24 who, after being given two opportunities for re25 mediation under subparagraph (A), does not reVerDate Mar 15 2010 20:29 Oct 06, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2349.RH H2349

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1 ceive a satisfactory result on an assessment 

2 under paragraph (1)(A). 

3 (c) LOCATIONS AND DURATION.—The Secretary shall 

4 carry out the pilot program under this section at five re5 gional offices of the Veterans Benefits Administration dur6 ing the four-year period beginning on the date of the com7 mencement of the pilot program. 

8 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

9 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section a 

10 total of $5,000,000 for fiscal years 2012 through 2016. 

11 (e) REPORTS.—Not later than November 1 of each year 

12 in which the pilot program under this section is carried 

13 out, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Vet14 erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Com15 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate a report on any 

16 assessments and training conducted under this section dur17 ing the previous year. Each such report shall include— 

18 (1) a summary of— 

19 (A) the results of the assessments under sub20 section (b)(1)(A); 

21 (B) remediation provided under subsection 

22 (b)(2)(A); and 

23 (C) personnel actions taken under sub24 section (b)(2)(B); and 


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1 (2) any changes made to the training program 

2 under subsection (b)(1)(B) based on the results of such 

3 assessments and remediation and the examinations 

4 provided under section 7732A(a)(1) of title 38, United 

5 States Code. 

6 SEC. 3. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN REIMBURSEMENTS OF EX7 PENSES FROM DETERMINATION OF ANNUAL 

8 INCOME WITH RESPECT TO PENSIONS FOR 

9 VETERANS AND SURVIVING SPOUSES AND 

10 CHILDREN OF VETERANS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (5) of section 1503(a) 

12 of title 38, United States Code, is amended to read as fol13 lows: 

14 ‘‘(5) payments regarding— 

15 ‘‘(A) reimbursements of any kind (including 

16 insurance settlement payments) for— 

17 ‘‘(i) expenses related to the repayment, 

18 replacement, or repair of equipment, vehi19 cles, items, money, or property resulting 

20 from— 

21 ‘‘(I) any accident (as defined in 

22 regulations which the Secretary shall 

23 prescribe), but the amount excluded 

24 under this subclause shall not exceed 

25 the greater of the fair market value or 


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1 reasonable replacement value of the 

2 equipment or vehicle involved at the 

3 time immediately preceding the acci4 dent; 

5 ‘‘(II) any theft or loss (as defined 

6 in regulations which the Secretary 

7 shall prescribe), but the amount ex8 cluded under this subclause shall not 

9 exceed the greater of the fair market 

10 value or reasonable replacement value 

11 of the item or the amount of the money 

12 (including legal tender of the United 

13 States or of a foreign country) involved 

14 at the time immediately preceding the 

15 theft or loss; or 

16 ‘‘(III) any casualty loss (as de17 fined in regulations which the Sec18 retary shall prescribe), but the amount 

19 excluded under this subclause shall not 

20 exceed the greater of the fair market 

21 value or reasonable replacement value 

22 of the property involved at the time 

23 immediately preceding the casualty 

24 loss; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) medical expenses resulting from 

2 any accident, theft, loss, or casualty loss (as 

3 defined in regulations which the Secretary 

4 shall prescribe), but the amount excluded 

5 under this clause shall not exceed the costs 

6 of medical care provided to the victim of the 

7 accident, theft, loss, or casualty loss; and 

8 ‘‘(B) pain and suffering (including insur9 ance settlement payments and general damages 

10 awarded by a court) related to an accident, theft, 

11 loss, or casualty loss, but the amount excluded 

12 under this subparagraph shall not exceed an 

13 amount determined by the Secretary on a case14 by-case basis;’’. 

15 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub16 section (a) shall take effect on the date that is one year after 

17 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 (c) EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN CERTAIN

19 INFORMATION FROM DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY.—Section 

20 5317(g) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by strik21 ing ‘‘2011’’ and inserting ‘‘2013’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF USE OF ELECTRONIC COMMU2 NICATION TO PROVIDE NOTICE TO CLAIM3 ANTS FOR BENEFITS UNDER LAWS ADMINIS4 TERED BY THE SECRETARY OF VETERANS AF5 FAIRS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5103 of title 38, United 

7 States Code, is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘Upon receipt of a complete 

10 or substantially complete application, the’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘The’’; 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘notify’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘provide to’’; and 

14 (C) by inserting ‘‘by the most effective 

15 means available, including electronic commu16 nication or notification in writing’’ before ‘‘of 

17 any information’’; and 

18 (2) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 

19 following new paragraphs: 

20 ‘‘(4) Nothing in this section shall require the Secretary 

21 to provide notice for a subsequent claim that is filed while 

22 a previous claim is pending if the notice previously pro23 vided for such pending claim— 

24 ‘‘(A) provides sufficient notice of the information 

25 and evidence necessary to substantiate such subse26 quent claim; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) was sent within one year of the date on 

2 which the subsequent claim was filed. 

3 ‘‘(5)(A) This section shall not apply to any claim or 

4 issue where the Secretary may award the maximum benefit 

5 in accordance with this title based on the evidence of record. 

6 ‘‘(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘max7 imum benefit’ means the highest evaluation assignable in 

8 accordance with the evidence of record, as long as such eval9 uation is supported by such evidence of record at the time 

10 the decision is rendered.’’. 

11 (b) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in the amendments 

12 made by subsection (a) shall be construed as eliminating 

13 any requirement with respect to the contents of a notice 

14 under section 5103 of such title that are required under reg15 ulations prescribed pursuant to subsection (a)(2) of such 

16 section as of the date of the enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 5. DUTY TO ASSIST CLAIMANTS IN OBTAINING PRI18 VATE RECORDS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5103A(b) of title 38, 

20 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(b) ASSISTANCE IN OBTAINING PRIVATE RECORDS.— 

22 (1) As part of the assistance provided under subsection (a), 

23 the Secretary shall make reasonable efforts to obtain rel24 evant private records. 


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1 ‘‘(2)(A) Whenever the Secretary, after making such 

2 reasonable efforts, is unable to obtain all of the relevant 

3 records sought, the Secretary shall notify the claimant that 

4 the Secretary is unable to obtain records with respect to 

5 the claim. Such a notification shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) identify the records the Secretary is unable 

7 to obtain; 

8 ‘‘(ii) briefly explain the efforts that the Secretary 

9 made to obtain such records; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) explain that the Secretary will decide the 

11 claim based on the evidence of record but that this 

12 section does not prohibit the submission of records at 

13 a later date if such submission is otherwise allowed. 

14 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall make not less than two re15 quests to a custodian of a private record in order for an 

16 effort to obtain relevant private records to be treated as rea17 sonable under this section, unless it is made evident by the 

18 first request that a second request would be futile in obtain19 ing such records. 

20 ‘‘(3)(A) This section shall not apply if the evidence of 

21 record allows for the Secretary to award the maximum ben22 efit in accordance with this title based on the evidence of 

23 record. 

24 ‘‘(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘max25 imum benefit’ means the highest evaluation assignable in 


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1 accordance with the evidence of record, as long as such eval2 uation is supported by such evidence of record at the time 

3 the decision is rendered. 

4 ‘‘(4) Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary, the 

5 Secretary— 

6 ‘‘(A) shall encourage claimants to submit rel7 evant private medical records of the claimant to the 

8 Secretary if such submission does not burden the 

9 claimant; and 

10 ‘‘(B) in obtaining relevant private records under 

11 paragraph (1), may require the claimant to authorize 

12 the Secretary to obtain such records if such authoriza13 tion is required to comply with Federal, State, or 

14 local law.’’. 

15 (b) PUBLIC RECORDS.—Section 5103A(c) of such title 

16 is amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(c) OBTAINING RECORDS FOR COMPENSATION

18 CLAIMS.—(1) In the case of a claim for disability com19 pensation, the assistance provided by the Secretary under 

20 this section shall include obtaining the following records if 

21 relevant to the claim: 

22 ‘‘(A) The claimant’s service medical records and, 

23 if the claimant has furnished the Secretary informa24 tion sufficient to locate such records, other relevant 

25 records pertaining to the claimant’s active military, 


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1 naval, or air service that are held or maintained by 

2 a governmental entity. 

3 ‘‘(B) Records of relevant medical treatment or 

4 examination of the claimant at Department health5 care facilities or at the expense of the Department, if 

6 the claimant furnishes information sufficient to locate 

7 those records. 

8 ‘‘(C) Any other relevant records held by any Fed9 eral department or agency that the claimant ade10 quately identifies and authorizes the Secretary to ob11 tain. 

12 ‘‘(2) Whenever the Secretary attempts to obtain records 

13 from a Federal department or agency under this subsection, 

14 the efforts to obtain those records shall continue until the 

15 records are obtained unless it is reasonably certain that 

16 such records do not exist or that further efforts to obtain 

17 those records would be futile.’’. 

18 SEC. 6. CONDITIONS FOR TREATMENT OF CERTAIN PER19 SONS AS ADJUDICATED MENTALLY INCOM20 PETENT FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 55 of title 38, United 

22 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 

23 new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 5511. Conditions for treatment of certain persons as 

2 adjudicated mentally incompetent for cer3 tain purposes 

4 ‘‘In any case arising out of the administration by the 

5 Secretary of laws and benefits under this title, a person who 

6 is mentally incapacitated, deemed mentally incompetent, or 

7 experiencing an extended loss of consciousness shall not be 

8 considered adjudicated as a mental defective under sub9 section (d)(4) or (g)(4) of section 922 of title 18 without 

10 the order or finding of a judge, magistrate, or other judicial 

11 authority of competent jurisdiction that such person is a 

12 danger to himself or herself or others.’’. 

13 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at 

14 the beginning of chapter 55 of such title is amended by add15 ing at the end the following new item: 

‘‘5511. Conditions for treatment of certain persons as adjudicated mentally incompetent for certain purposes.’’. 

16 SEC. 7. REINSTATEMENT OF PENALTIES FOR CHARGING 

17 VETERANS UNAUTHORIZED FEES. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5905 of title 38, United 

19 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘§ 5905. Penalty for certain acts 

21 ‘‘Except as provided in section 5904 or 1984 of this 

22 title, whoever— 

23 ‘‘(1) in connection with a proceeding before the 

24 Department, knowingly solicits, contracts for, charges, 


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1 or receives any fee or compensation in connection 

2 for— 

3 ‘‘(A) the provision of advice on how to file 

4 a claim for benefits under the laws administered 

5 by the Secretary; or 

6 ‘‘(B) the preparation, presentation, or pros7 ecution of such a claim before the date on which 

8 a notice of disagreement is filed in a proceeding 

9 on the claim, 

10 or attempts to do so; 

11 ‘‘(2) unlawfully withholds from any claimant or 

12 beneficiary any part of a benefit or claim under the 

13 laws administered by the Secretary that is allowed 

14 and due to the claimant or beneficiary, or attempts 

15 to do so; 

16 ‘‘(3) commits an offense punishable by this chap17 ter, or aids, abets, counsels, commands, or procures 

18 the commission of such an act; or 

19 ‘‘(4) causes an act to be done, which if directly 

20 performed would be punishable by this chapter, 

21 shall be fined as provided in title 18, or imprisoned for 

22 not more than one year, or both.’’. 

23 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub24 section (a) shall apply with respect to acts committed after 

25 the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 8. PERFORMANCE AWARDS IN THE SENIOR EXECUTIVE 

2 SERVICE. 

3 For each of fiscal years 2012 through 2016, the Sec4 retary of Veterans Affairs may not pay more than 

5 $2,000,000 in performance awards under section 5384 of 

6 title 5, United States Code. 

7 SEC. 9. BUDGETARY EFFECTS OF THIS ACT. 

8 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

9 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go-Act of 2010, 

10 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement titled 

11 ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this Act, 

12 submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the 

13 Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that 

14 such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on pas15 sage. 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to amend title 

38, United States Code, to improve the determination of 

annual income with respect to pensions for certain veterans, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a pilot program to assess the skills of certain employees and managers of the Veterans Benefits Administration, and for other purposes.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 159 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2349 

[Report No. 112–241] 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct 

other purposes. of the Veterans Benefits Administration, and for sess the skills of certain employees and managers the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to annually asOCTOBER 6, 2011 

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee 

dered to be printed of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and orVerDate Mar 15 2010 20:29 Oct 06, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H2349.RH H2349

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