‘‘(2) In the case of a qualifying veteran de-
scribed in subsection (b)(3)(B), a rating of 50 per-
cent. 
‘‘(b) QUALIFYING VETERAN.—For the purposes of 
this section, a qualifying veteran is a veteran— 
‘‘(1) who has been discharged from active duty 
service for 365 days or less; 
‘‘(2) for whom a permanent disability rating is 
not immediately assignable under the regular provi-
sions of the schedule for rating disabilities under 
section 1155 of this title or on the basis of indi-
vidual unemployability; and 
‘‘(3) who has— 
‘‘(A) a severe disability for whom substan-
tially gainful employment is not feasible or ad-
visable; or 
‘‘(B) a wound or injury, whether healed, 
unhealed or incompletely healed for whom ma-
terial impairment of employability is likely. 
‘‘(c) EXAMINATIONS.—A medical examination of a 
qualifying veteran is not required to be performed before 
assigning a partial disability rating to the veteran under 
this section, but the fact that such an examination is con-
ducted shall not prevent the Secretary from assigning such 
a rating. 
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‘‘(d) TERMINATION OF PARTIAL RATING.—(1) Ex-
cept as provided in paragraph (2), a partial disability rat-
ing assigned to a veteran under this section shall remain 
in effect until the earlier of the following dates: 
‘‘(A) The date on which the veteran receives a 
permanent disability rating based on the schedule 
for rating disabilities under section 1155 of this 
title. 
‘‘(B) The date that is 365 days after the date 
of the veteran’s last separation or release from ac-
tive duty. 
‘‘(2) The Secretary may extend a partial disability 
rating assigned to a veteran under this section beyond the 
applicable termination date under paragraph (1), if the 
Secretary determines that such an extension is appro-
priate.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 1156 of title 38, 
United States Code, as added by paragraph (1), shall take 
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 1155 the following new 
item: 
‘‘1156. Partial disability ratings.’’. 
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SEC. 110. REVIEW AND ENHANCEMENT OF USE OF INFOR-
MATION TECHNOLOGY AT VETERANS BENE-
FITS ADMINISTRATION. 
(a) REVIEW AND COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.—By not 
later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a re-
view of the use of information technology at the Veterans 
Benefits Administration and develop a comprehensive plan 
for the use of such technology in processing claims for 
benefits under laws administered by the Secretary of Vet-
erans Affairs that would reduce subjectivity, avoidable re-
mands, and regional office variances in disability ratings. 
(b) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.—The plan devel-
oped under subsection (a) shall include— 
(1) the use of rules-based processing and infor-
mation technology systems and automated decision 
support software at all levels of processing claims; 
(2) the enhancement of the use of information 
technology for all aspects of the claims process; 
(3) a technological platform that allows for the 
use of information that members of the Armed 
Forces, veterans, and dependents have submitted 
electronically, including uploaded military records, 
medical evidence, and other appropriate documenta-
tion, and the capability to view applications for bene-
fits submitted online; 
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(4) the use of electronic examination templates 
in conjunction with the schedule for rating disabil-
ities under section 1155 of title 38, United States 
Code; 
(5) making such changes as may be required to 
the information technology system of the Depart-
ment so as to ensure that users of such system are 
able to access the service medical records of the De-
partment of Defense by not later than one year after 
the date on which the plan is implemented; 
(6) the provision of bi-directional access to med-
ical records and service records between the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs and the Department of De-
fense; and 
(7) the availability, on the Internet website of 
the Department, of a mechanism that can be used 
by a claimant to check on the status of any claim 
submitted by that claimant and that provides infor-
mation on— 
(A) whether a decision has been reached 
with respect to such a claim, notice of the deci-
sion; or 
(B) if no such decision has been reached, 
notice of— 
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(i) whether the application submitted 
by the claimant is complete; 
(ii) whether the Secretary requires ad-
ditional information or evidence to process 
the claim; 
(iii) the estimated date on which a de-
cision with respect to the claim is expected 
to be made; and 
(iv) the stage at which the claim is 
being processed as of the date on which 
such status is checked. 
(c) REVIEW
OF BEST PRACTICES
AND LESSONS 
LEARNED.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary 
shall review best practices and lessons learned within the 
Department of Veterans Affairs and the use of the tech-
nology known as ‘‘VistA’’ by other Government entities 
and private sector organizations who employ information 
technology and automated decision support software 
(d) REDUCTION OF CLAIMS PROCESSING TIME.—In 
carrying out this section, the Secretary shall ensure that 
a plan is developed that, within three years of implementa-
tion, would reduce the processing time for each claim proc-
essed by the Veterans Benefits Administration to not 
longer than the average amount of time to required to 
process a claim, as identified by the Secretary in the most 
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