I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4771 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to permit appellants to appear 
in disability compensation cases before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals 
by picture and voice transmission from locations other than facilities 
of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 21, 2019 
Mr. CUNNINGHAM (for himself and Mr. KATKO) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to permit appellants 
to appear in disability compensation cases before the 
Board of Veterans’ Appeals by picture and voice trans-
mission from locations other than facilities of the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs. 
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 ‘‘VA Tele-Hearing Mod-
ernization Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. DISABILITY COMPENSATION HEARINGS BEFORE 
THE BOARD OF VETERANS’ APPEALS BY 
MEANS OF TELECONFERENCE FROM LOCA-
TIONS OTHER THAN FACILITIES OF THE DE-
PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 7107 of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subsection (c)(2)— 
(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or 
subparagraph (C) of this paragraph’’ after 
‘‘subparagraph (B) of such paragraph’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘or 
subparagraph (C) of this paragraph’’ after 
‘‘subparagraph (A) of such paragraph’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph (C): 
‘‘(C) Upon notification of a Board hearing under sub-
paragraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) in a case regarding 
disability compensation under a law administered by the 
Secretary, the appellant may alternatively request a hear-
ing by picture and voice transmission— 
‘‘(i) at a location selected by the appellant; and 
‘‘(ii) via a secure internet platform established 
and maintained by the Secretary that protects sen-
sitive personal information from a data breach. 
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If so requested, the Board shall grant such re-
quest.’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section (f): 
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘sen-
sitive personal information’ and ‘data breach’ have the 
meanings given those terms in section 5727 of this title.’’. 
(b) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall implement the 
amendments made by subsection (a) not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(c) REPORTS.—On the day that is one year after the 
date on which the Secretary implements subparagraph (C) 
of subsection (c)(2) of such section 7107, as added by sub-
section (a), and twice annually thereafter, the Secretary 
shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of 
the Senate and House of Representatives a report regard-
ing hearings held under such subparagraph. Each such re-
port shall include, with respect to the year immediately 
preceding the date of the report, the following: 
(1) The number of hearings scheduled under 
such subparagraph. 
(2) The number of hearings under such sub-
paragraph that were cancelled and why each such 
hearing was cancelled. 
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(3) Any statistical difference in outcomes be-
tween cases heard under such subparagraph and 
those held at the principal location of the Board or 
by picture and voice transmission at a facility of the 
Department. 
Æ 
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