I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2138 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to resolve the backlog of disability 
claims of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 23, 2013 
Mr. MCCARTHY of California (for himself, Mr. MILLER of Florida, and Mr. 
COFFMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Armed 
Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to resolve the 
backlog of disability claims of the Department of Vet-
erans Affairs, 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 ‘‘Ending VA Claims 
Disability Backlog and Accountability Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs is statu-
torily obligated to provide to individuals who served 
in the Armed Forces and sustained an injury as a 
direct result of such service with health care, dis-
ability compensation, and related resources. 
(2) Disability compensation payments are in-
tended to provide relief for some of the socio-
economic and other losses veterans experience as a 
result of service-connected diseases and injuries. 
(3) A recent review by the Government Ac-
countability Office found that the backlog of dis-
ability claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs 
has more than tripled since 2009 and the average 
length of time to complete a claim has increased 
from 161 days in 2009 to 260 days in 2012. 
(4) In August 2012, approximately 568,043 
claims or two-thirds of all compensation rating 
claims are backlogged. 
(5) The Government Accountability Office 
found that delays in obtaining service and medical 
records for veterans who served in the National 
Guard or Reserve is a significant factor in length-
ening the claims process for these veterans even 
though they make up 43 percent of veterans who 
served during the Global War on Terrorism. 
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(6) The Government Accountability Office 
found that if a veteran submits a disability claim 
and reports receiving disability benefits from the So-
cial Security Administration, the Department of Vet-
erans Affairs is required to help the veteran obtain 
relevant Federal records, including medical records 
from the Social Security Administration to process 
the claim. 
(7) There is an interagency agreement between 
the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Social 
Security Administration, but the protocols of the De-
partment and the response time of the Administra-
tion can take a year before the Department has ob-
tained the requested information. 
(8) The Government Accountability Office 
found that approximately 50 percent of claims proc-
essing staff have been in their current role for less 
than two years and are not yet proficient in their 
duties requiring supervision and review from more 
experienced claims processing staff, diverting them 
from their claims processing responsibilities. 
(9) Veterans and their families have already 
selflessly and willingly sacrificed for our nation and 
faced numerous hardships; they should not have to 
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continue to face undue and avoidable hardships after 
their service as they seek the benefits they earned. 
(10) On March 24, 2013, the Secretary of Vet-
erans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki stated in an interview 
on State of the Union television show, ‘‘no veteran 
should have to wait for claims as they are today. We 
have a fix for this. We’re open for business. And we 
will end the backlog in 2015.’’. 
(11) On April 15, 2013, the Secretary, in writ-
ten testimony before the Committee on Veterans’ Af-
fairs of the Senate, again stated that the ‘‘VA re-
mains focused on eliminating the disability claims 
backlog in 2015 and processing all claims within 
125 days at a 98-percent accuracy level.’’. 
(12) On April 19, 2013, the Secretary again 
stated in a New York Times article titled ‘‘V.A. 
Aims to Reduce Its Backlog of Claims’’, that the 
Department will ‘‘eliminate the backlog by 2015.’’. 
(13) Numerous congressional inquiries for 
progress reports and detailed information regarding 
the disability claims backlog remain unanswered, 
while the Secretary continues to state the claims 
backlog will be eliminated by 2015, claims proc-
essing accuracy will be increased to 98 percent, and 
claims processing will take no longer than 125 days 
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as a direct result of the ‘‘Strategic Plan to Elimi-
nate the Compensation Claims Backlog’’ of the De-
partment. 
(14) The Government Accountability Office 
found that the ‘‘Strategic Plan to Eliminate the 
Compensation Claims Backlog’’ of the Department 
does not adequately articulate how the Department 
will meet its goals, and planning documents that the 
Department provided does not meet the established 
criteria of the Government Accountability Office for 
sound planning, potentially leading to concerns 
about the ability of the Department to reduce claims 
backlogs. 
SEC. 3. TIMELINE AND METRICS TO RESOLVE BACKLOG OF 
DISABILITY CLAIMS. 
(a) IMPLEMENTATION
OF
STRATEGIC
PLAN
TO 
ELIMINATE THE COMPENSATION CLAIMS BACKLOG.—The 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall implement the Stra-
tegic Plan to Eliminate the Compensation Claims Backlog, 
published by the Secretary on January 25, 2013, to ensure 
that by Memorial Day (May 25), 2015, each claim for dis-
ability compensation under the laws administered by the 
Secretary (in this Act referred to as a ‘‘claim’’) is ap-
proved or denied by not later than 125 days after the date 
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