I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3335 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide certain employees of 
Members of Congress and certain employees of State or local govern-
mental agencies with access to case-tracking information of the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 29, 2015 
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois (for himself, Mr. BOST, and Mr. WALZ) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Vet-
erans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide certain 
employees of Members of Congress and certain employees 
of State or local governmental agencies with access to 
case-tracking information of the Department 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 ‘‘Access to Veterans 
Benefits Improvement Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. 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: 
‘‘§ 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, regardless of whether such em-
ployee is acting under 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. 
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‘‘(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. 
‘‘(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— 
‘‘(A) an employee of a Member of Congress 
who assists the constituents of the Member with 
issues regarding departments or agencies of the 
Federal Government; or 
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‘‘(B) an employee of a State or local gov-
ernmental agency (including a veterans service 
officer) who, in the course of carrying out the 
responsibilities of such employment, assists vet-
erans 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.’’. 
Æ 
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