I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4772 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the application and 
review process of the Department of Veterans Affairs for clothing allow-
ance claims submitted by veterans, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 28, 2021 
Mr. LEVIN of California (for himself and Mr. MOORE of Alabama) 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 
application and review process of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs for clothing allowance claims submitted 
by veterans, 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 ‘‘Mark O’Brien VA 
Clothing Allowance Improvement Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO PROCESS OF THE DEPART-
MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FOR CLOTHING 
ALLOWANCE CLAIMS. 
(a) PROCESS FOR CLOTHING ALLOWANCE CLAIMS.— 
Section 1162 of title 38, United States Code, is amend-
ed— 
(1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary under’’ and in-
serting: 
‘‘(a) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary, 
under’’; 
(2) in paragraph (2)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘which (A) a physician’’ 
and inserting: ‘‘which—’’ 
‘‘(A) a physician’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘, and (B) the Secretary’’ 
and inserting ‘‘; and’’ 
‘‘(B) the Secretary’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
sections: 
‘‘(b) CONTINUOUS NATURE
OF PAYMENTS.—Pay-
ments made to a veteran under subsection (a) shall con-
tinue on an automatically recurring annual basis until the 
earlier of the following: 
‘‘(1) The date on which the veteran elects to no 
longer receive such payments. 
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‘‘(2) The date on which the Secretary deter-
mines the veteran no longer eligible pursuant to sub-
section (d). 
‘‘(c) REVIEWS OF CLAIM.—(1) Except as provided in 
paragraph (2)(B), the Secretary shall conduct reviews of 
the claim on which the clothing allowance is based to de-
termine the continued eligibility of the veteran as follows: 
‘‘(A) Beginning not earlier than five years after 
the date on which a veteran initially receives a cloth-
ing allowance under this section and on a periodic 
basis thereafter. 
‘‘(B) Whenever the Secretary receives notice 
that the veteran no longer meets the requirements 
specified in subsection (a). 
‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary shall prescribe in regulations 
standards for determining whether a claim for clothing al-
lowance is based on a circumstance that is not subject to 
change. 
‘‘(B) If the Secretary determines, pursuant to such 
standards, that a claim for clothing allowance is based on 
a circumstance that is not subject to change, paragraph 
(1)(A) shall not apply with respect to the claim. 
‘‘(d) DETERMINATION REGARDING CONTINUED ELI-
GIBILITY.—If the Secretary determines, as the result of 
a review of a claim conducted under subsection (c)(1), that 
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the veteran who submitted such claim no longer meets the 
requirements specified in subsection (a), the Secretary 
shall— 
‘‘(1) provide to the veteran notice of such deter-
mination that includes a description of applicable ac-
tions that may be taken following the determination, 
including the actions specified in section 5104C of 
this title; and 
‘‘(2) discontinue the clothing allowance based 
on such claim.’’. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub-
section (a) shall apply with respect to— 
(1) claims for clothing allowance submitted on 
or after the date of the enactment of this Act; and 
(2) claims for clothing allowance submitted 
prior to the date of the enactment of this Act, if the 
veteran who submitted such claim is in receipt of the 
clothing allowance as of the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
Æ 
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