I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3983 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the quality of the adjudica-
tion of claims for benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 12, 2025 
Mr. LUTTRELL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the 
quality of the adjudication of claims for benefits under 
the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Af-
fairs, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Claims Qual-
ity Improvement Act of 2025’’. 
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SEC. 2. NOTICE OF AVOIDABLE DEFERRALS OF CLAIMS 
FOR BENEFITS UNDER LAWS ADMINISTERED 
BY THE SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS; 
STUDY AND REPORT ON CERTAIN OPINIONS 
OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OF-
FICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL. 
(a) NOTICE OF AVOIDABLE DEFERRALS.—Not later 
than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall develop policies, 
procedures, and technological capabilities to ensure that 
each employee of the Veterans Benefits Administration 
that commits an avoidable deferral with respect to a claim 
for benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs in the National Work Queue is notified 
of any avoidable deferrals that such employee commits 
with respect to the same claim. 
(b) STUDY AND REPORT ON CERTAIN OGC OPIN-
IONS.— 
(1) STUDY.—Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the Office of 
the General Counsel of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs and the Chairman of the Board of Veterans’ 
Appeals, shall complete a study to identify— 
(A) issues about which an opinion from the 
Office of the General Counsel of the Depart-
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ment would foster consistency in the decisions 
of the Secretary with respect to claims for bene-
fits under the laws administered by the Sec-
retary; and 
(B) issues raised in appeals of such deci-
sions to the United States Court of Appeals for 
Veterans Claims before the date of the enact-
ment of this Act about which the Office of the 
General Counsel has had inconsistent opinions 
in matters involving substantially similar ques-
tions of law or fact. 
(2) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees on 
Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a 
report that includes— 
(A) the findings of the study required by 
paragraph (1); 
(B) a statement of which issues identified 
pursuant to such study about which the Office 
of the General Counsel of the Department in-
tends to publish an opinion; and 
(C) a timeline for the publication of any 
such opinion. 
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SEC. 3. IMPROVEMENTS TO SYSTEM FOR ADJUDICATION 
OF CLAIMS FOR BENEFITS UNDER LAWS AD-
MINISTERED BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS 
AFFAIRS. 
(a) PROGRAM FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE IN DECI-
SIONS OF BOARD OF VETERANS’ APPEALS; PERFORM-
ANCE REVIEWS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 7101 of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(f)(1) The Chairman shall carry out a program to 
ensure quality in the decisions of the Board. Under such 
program, the Chairman shall— 
‘‘(A) develop policies and procedures for— 
‘‘(i) measuring quality in such decisions; 
‘‘(ii) maintaining data and identifying 
trends with respect to— 
‘‘(I) errors in such decisions; 
‘‘(II) errors in decisions remanded or 
returned to the Board by the Court of Ap-
peals for Veterans Claims; and 
‘‘(III) specific members of the Board 
that issued decisions that were subse-
quently vacated by the Court of Appeals 
for Veterans Claims; and 
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‘‘(iii) ensuring any such decision of the 
Board to remand a claim for a benefit under a 
law administered by the Secretary is necessary 
under any applicable law or regulation; 
‘‘(B) with respect to a claim for such a benefit 
that is remanded to the Board by the Court of Ap-
peals for Veterans Claims— 
‘‘(i) inform any employee of the Board re-
sponsible for drafting the decision of the Board 
with respect to such claim that such decision 
was remanded; 
‘‘(ii) provide any such employee with a 
copy of the relevant order of the Court of Ap-
peals for Veterans Claims (including a copy of 
any accompanying joint motion for remand); 
and 
‘‘(iii) provide incentives to such employees 
to review such relevant orders and joint motions 
for remand; and 
‘‘(C) ensure, to the maximum extent prac-
ticable, that any error identified by the Board under 
such program is corrected before the date on which 
the Board issues the final decision associated with 
such error. 
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‘‘(2) In developing policies and procedures to measure 
quality in decisions of the Board pursuant to clause (i) 
of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), the Chairman shall 
consider the data and trends maintained and identified 
pursuant to clause (ii) of such subparagraph. 
‘‘(3) The Chairman may use technology, including ar-
tificial intelligence, to maintain such data and identify 
such trends. 
‘‘(4) The Secretary shall submit to the Committees 
on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and 
the Senate an annual report on the program required by 
this subsection that includes, with respect to the period 
covered by the report, an identification of— 
‘‘(A) elements, if any of the process of the 
Board for reviewing an appeal under this chapter 
that lead to errors in decisions of the Board; and 
‘‘(B) the most common reasons that a claim for 
a benefit under a law administered by the Secretary 
was remanded to such Board by the Court of Ap-
peals for Veterans Claims.’’. 
(2) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall submit 
the first report required by paragraph (2) of such 
section (as added by paragraph (1)) by not later 
than one year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
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(b) TRAINING PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES 
OF BOARD OF VETERANS’ APPEALS; PERFORMANCE RE-
VIEWS.— 
(1) TRAINING PROGRAM.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Chapter 71 of such 
title (as amended by subsection (a)) is further 
amended by inserting after section 7101A the 
following new section: 
‘‘§ 7101B. Training program for Members of Board on 
timely and correct adjudication of ap-
peals 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in conjunction 
with the Chairman of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, 
shall develop and carry out a program to provide Members 
of the Board training on timely and correct adjudication 
of appeals under this chapter. 
‘‘(b) REQUIRED CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out 
the program required by subsection (a), the Secretary 
shall consider the following: 
‘‘(1) Feedback, if any, from members of the 
Board and covered employees with respect to such 
program. 
‘‘(2) Data on errors in decisions of the Board 
maintained pursuant to the program for quality as-
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surance required by subsection (f) of section 7101 of 
this title. 
‘‘(3) Any decision of the Court of Appeals for 
Veterans Claims to remand a claim for benefits 
under the laws administered by the Secretary to the 
Board for further action, including a joint motion to 
remand such claim. 
‘‘(c) ASSESSMENTS OF EFFECTIVENESS.—The Sec-
retary, in conjunction with the Chairman of the Board of 
Veterans’ Appeals, shall develop a method to assess, on 
an annual basis, the effectiveness of the training program 
under this section. In developing such method, the Sec-
retary shall consider best practices for assessing the effec-
tiveness of training programs, including the Kirkpatrick 
evaluation model. 
‘‘(d) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to the 
Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Senate an annual report on the pro-
gram required by subsection (a) that includes, with respect 
to the period covered by the report— 
‘‘(1) a statement of the topics of the training 
provided pursuant to this section, disaggregated 
by— 
‘‘(A) mandatory training; and 
‘‘(B) non-mandatory training; and 
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‘‘(2) the results of the assessment of the effec-
tiveness of such program required under subsection 
(b). 
‘‘(e) COVERED EMPLOYEE DEFINED.—In this sec-
tion, the term ‘covered employee’ means an employee of 
the Board who is— 
‘‘(1) not a member of the Board; and 
‘‘(2) responsible for drafting decisions of the 
Board.’’. 
(B) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of 
sections at the beginning of such chapter is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 7101A the following new item: 
‘‘7101B. Training program for Members of Board on timely and correct 
adjudication of appeals.’’. 
(2) PERFORMANCE REVIEWS OF MEMBERS OF 
THE
BOARD.—Section 7101A of such title (as 
amended by paragraph (1)) is amended— 
(A) in subparagraph (B) of subsection 
(c)(1) by striking ‘‘not less often than once 
every three years’’ and inserting ‘‘not less often 
than annually’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following new 
subsection: 
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‘‘(h)(1) With respect to any performance review of 
a covered employee, the Secretary may not consider the 
timeliness or quality of work of any Member of the Board. 
‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘covered employee’ 
has the meaning given such term in section 7101B of this 
title.’’. 
(c) DECISIONS OF BOARD TO REMAND.— 
(1) INFORMATION RELATING TO DECISIONS TO 
REMAND.—Section 7104 of such title is amended in 
subsection (d)— 
(A) 
by 
redesignating 
paragraphs 
(1) 
through (3) as paragraphs (2) through (4), 
respsectively; and 
(B) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as 
so redesignated), the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(1) with respect to a claim that the Board re-
mands for further action, a statement of the specific 
reasons such claim was remanded, including any 
failure on the part of the Secretary to comply with— 
‘‘(A) the Secretary’s duty to assist under 
section 5103A of this title; and 
‘‘(B) the Secretary’s duty to notify under 
section 5103 of this title;’’. 
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(2) NOTICE OF REMANDED DECISION FOR CER-
TAIN EMPLOYEES.—Such section is further amended 
in— 
(A) subsection (e)— 
(i) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 
through (3) as subparagraphs (A) through 
(C), respectively; 
(ii) by striking ‘‘After’’ and inserting 
‘‘(1) After’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(2) If, pursuant to a decision on an appeal, the 
Board remands a claim for a benefit under a law adminis-
tered by the Secretary for further action, the Secretary 
shall, to the maximum extent practicable, issue a copy of 
such decision to each employee of the Veterans Benefits 
Administration who committed the error resulting in the 
decision of the Board to remand, when applicable.’’; and 
(B) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘under 
subsection (e)’’ and inserting ‘‘ under para-
graph (1) of subsection (e)’’. 
(d) ANNUAL REPORTS FOR BOARD OF VETERANS’ 
APPEALS.— 
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—Chapter 71 of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after 
section 7114 the following new section: 
‘‘§ 7115. Annual report on Board of Veterans’ Appeals 
‘‘The Chairman of the Board shall submit to the 
Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Senate an annual report that in-
cludes, for each decision of the Board to remand a claim 
for a benefit under a law administered by the Secretary 
to the Secretary for further adjudication during the period 
covered by the report, a statement of the reasons for such 
decision of the Board, disaggregated by decisions on— 
‘‘(1) claims with a rating decision dated on or 
after February 19, 2019; and 
‘‘(2) claims with a rating decision dated before 
such date.’’. 
(2) DEADLINES.—The Secretary shall submit 
the first reports required by subsections (a) and (b) 
of section 7115 of such title (as added by paragraph 
(1)) by not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act. 
(3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 7114 
the following new item: 
‘‘7115. Annual report on Board of Veterans’ Appeals’’. 
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(e) PLAN FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO QUALITY IN DECI-
SIONS OF BOARD.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than six months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the 
Chairman of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals and the 
head of the Office of Administrative Review of the 
Veterans Benefits Administration, shall develop a 
plan to— 
(A) improve the quality of decisions of the 
Board to remand, pursuant to section 7104 of 
title 38, United States Code, claims for a ben-
efit under a law administered by the Secretary 
to the Secretary for further action; and 
(B) mitigate the number of such decisions 
that are unnecessary under any applicable law 
or regulation. 
(2) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to 
the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 
Representatives and the Senate a report on such 
plan by not later than six months after the date of 
the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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