IIB 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1405 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
OCTOBER 29, 2013 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
AN ACT 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to require the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs to include a notice of disagree-
ment form in any notice of decision issued for the denial 
of a benefit sought, to improve the supervision of fidu-
ciaries of veterans under the laws administered by the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. INCLUSION OF NOTICE OF DISAGREEMENT 
FORMS IN NOTICES OF DECISIONS OF BENE-
FITS DENIALS ISSUED BY SECRETARY OF 
VETERANS AFFAIRS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5104(b) of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘(2)’’; 
and 
(2) by inserting before the period at the end the 
following: ‘‘, and (3) a form that may be used to file 
a notice of disagreement to the decision’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
subsection (a) shall apply with respect to decisions made 
by the Secretary under section 511 of title 38, United 
States Code, on or after the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
SEC. 2. PROVISION OF STATUS UNDER LAW BY HONORING 
CERTAIN MEMBERS OF THE RESERVE COM-
PONENTS AS VETERANS. 
(a) VETERAN STATUS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 
107 the following new section: 
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‘‘§ 107A. Honoring as veterans certain persons who 
performed service in the reserve compo-
nents 
‘‘Any person who is entitled under chapter 1223 of 
title 10 to retired pay for nonregular service or, but for 
age, would be entitled under such chapter to retired pay 
for nonregular service shall be honored as a veteran but 
shall not be entitled to any benefit by reason of this sec-
tion.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 107 
the following new item: 
‘‘107A. Honoring as veterans certain persons who performed service in the re-
serve components.’’. 
(b) CLARIFICATION
REGARDING
BENEFITS.—No 
person may receive any benefit under the laws adminis-
tered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs solely by reason 
of section 107A of title 38, United States Code, as added 
by subsection (a). 
SEC. 3. PROVISION OF ACCESS TO CASE-TRACKING INFOR-
MATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 59 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘§ 5906. Provision of access to case-tracking informa-
tion 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) In accordance with sub-
section (b), the Secretary shall provide a covered employee 
with access to the case-tracking system to provide a vet-
eran with information regarding the status of a claim sub-
mitted by such veteran if such employee is acting under 
written permission or a power of attorney executed by 
such veteran. 
‘‘(2) In providing a covered employee with access to 
the case-tracking system under paragraph (1), the Sec-
retary shall ensure— 
‘‘(A) that such access— 
‘‘(i) is provided in a manner that does not 
allow such employee to modify the data con-
tained in such system; and 
‘‘(ii) does not include access to medical 
records; and 
‘‘(B) that each time a covered employee ac-
cesses such system, the employee must certify that 
such access is for official purposes only. 
‘‘(b) PRIVACY CERTIFICATION COURSE.—The Sec-
retary may not provide a covered employee with access to 
the case-tracking system under subsection (a)(1) unless 
the covered employee has successfully completed a certifi-
cation course on privacy issues provided by the Secretary. 
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‘‘(c) TREATMENT OF DISCLOSURE.—The access to 
information by a covered employee pursuant to subsection 
(a)(1) shall be deemed to be— 
‘‘(1) a covered disclosure under section 552a(b) 
of title 5; and 
‘‘(2) a permitted disclosure under regulations 
promulgated under section 264(c) of the Health In-
surance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 
(42 U.S.C. 1320d–2 note). 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘case-tracking system’ means the 
system of the Department of Veterans Affairs that 
provides information regarding the status of a claim 
submitted by a veteran. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘covered employee’ means an em-
ployee of a State or local governmental agency (in-
cluding a veterans service officer) who, in the course 
of carrying out the responsibilities of such employ-
ment, assists veterans with claims for any benefit 
under the laws administered by the Secretary.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 
at the end the following new item: 
‘‘5906. Provision of access to case-tracking information.’’. 
SEC. 4. IMPROVEMENT OF FIDUCIARIES FOR VETERANS. 
(a) APPOINTMENT AND SUPERVISION.— 
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(1) Section 5502 of title 38, United States 
Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 5502. Appointment of fiduciaries 
‘‘(a) APPOINTMENT.—(1) Where it appears to the 
Secretary that the interest of the beneficiary would be 
served thereby, payment of benefits under any law admin-
istered by the Secretary may be made directly to the bene-
ficiary or to a relative or some other fiduciary for the use 
and benefit of the beneficiary, regardless of any legal dis-
ability on the part of the beneficiary. 
‘‘(2) When in the opinion of the Secretary, a tem-
porary fiduciary is needed in order to protect the benefits 
provided to the beneficiary under any law administered by 
the Secretary while a determination of incompetency is 
being made or appealed or a fiduciary is appealing a deter-
mination of misuse, the Secretary may appoint one or 
more temporary fiduciaries for a period not to exceed 120 
days. If a final decision has not been made within 120 
days, the Secretary may not continue the appointment of 
the fiduciary without obtaining a court order for appoint-
ment of a guardian, conservator, or other fiduciary under 
the authority provided in section 5502(b) of this title. 
‘‘(b) APPEALS.—(1) If the Secretary determines a 
beneficiary to be mentally incompetent for purposes of ap-
pointing a fiduciary under this chapter, the Secretary shall 
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