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agreement but the appellant requests, in the notice 
of disagreement, an opportunity to submit additional 
evidence. 
(u) REPEAL OF CERTAIN AUTHORITY FOR INDE-
PENDENT MEDICAL OPINIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 7109 of such title is 
repealed. 
(2) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 
5701(b)(1) of such title is amended by striking ‘‘or 
7109’’. 
(3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions at the beginning of chapter 71 of such title is 
amended by striking the item relating to section 
7109. 
(v) CLARIFICATION OF PROCEDURES FOR REVIEW OF 
DECISIONS ON GROUNDS OF CLEAR AND UNMISTAKABLE 
ERROR.—Section 7111(e) of such title is amended by 
striking ‘‘, without referral to any adjudicative or hearing 
official acting on behalf of the Secretary’’. 
(w) EVIDENTIARY RECORD BEFORE BOARD OF VET-
ERANS’ APPEALS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 71 of such title is 
amended by adding at the end the following new sec-
tion: 
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‘‘§ 7113. Evidentiary record before the Board of Vet-
erans’ Appeals 
‘‘(a) CASES WITH NO REQUEST FOR A HEARING OR 
ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE.—For cases in which a hearing 
before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals is not requested 
in the notice of disagreement and no request was made 
to submit evidence, the evidentiary record before the 
Board shall be limited to the evidence of record at the 
time of the decision of the agency of original jurisdiction 
on appeal. 
‘‘(b) CASES WITH A REQUEST FOR HEARING.—(1) 
Except as provided in paragraph (2), for cases in which 
a hearing is requested in the notice of disagreement, the 
evidentiary record before the Board shall be limited to the 
evidence of record at the time of the decision of the agency 
of original jurisdiction on appeal. 
‘‘(2) The evidentiary record before the Board for 
cases described in paragraph (1) shall include each of the 
following, which the Board shall consider in the first in-
stance: 
‘‘(A) Evidence submitted by the appellant and 
the representative of the appellant, if any, at the 
Board hearing. 
‘‘(B) Evidence submitted by the appellant and 
the representative of the appellant, if any, within 90 
days following the Board hearing. 
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‘‘(c) CASES WITH NO REQUEST FOR A HEARING AND 
WITH A REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE.—(1) Ex-
cept as provided in paragraph (2), for cases in which a 
hearing is not requested in the notice of disagreement but 
an opportunity to submit evidence is requested, the evi-
dentiary record before the Board shall be limited to the 
evidence considered by the agency of original jurisdiction 
in the decision on appeal. 
‘‘(2) The evidentiary record before the Board for 
cases described in paragraph (1) shall include each of the 
following, which the Board shall consider in the first in-
stance: 
‘‘(A) Evidence submitted by the appellant and 
the representative of the appellant, if any, with the 
notice of disagreement. 
‘‘(B) Evidence submitted by the appellant and 
the representative of the appellant, if any, within 90 
days following receipt of the notice of disagree-
ment.’’. 
(2) NOTIFICATION WHEN EVIDENCE NOT CON-
SIDERED.—Section 7104(d) of such title is amend-
ed— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 
and inserting a semicolon; 
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(B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 
paragraph (3); and 
(C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 
following new paragraph (2): 
‘‘(2) a general statement— 
‘‘(A) reflecting whether evidence was not 
considered in making the decision because the 
evidence was received at a time when not per-
mitted under section 7113 of this title; and 
‘‘(B) noting such options as may be avail-
able for having the evidence considered by the 
Department; and’’. 
(3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions at the beginning of chapter 71 of such title is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to sec-
tion 7112 the following new item: 
‘‘7113. Evidentiary record before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals.’’. 
(x) APPLICABILITY.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro-
vided in this subsection, the amendments made by 
this section shall apply to all claims for which notice 
of a decision under section 5104 of title 38, United 
States Code, is provided by the Secretary of Vet-
erans Affairs on or after the later of— 
(A) the date that is 540 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act; and 
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(B) the date that is 30 days after the date 
on which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs sub-
mits to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 
the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Af-
fairs of the House of Representatives— 
(i) a certification that the Secretary 
confirms, without delegation, that the De-
partment of Veterans Affairs has the re-
sources, personnel, office space, proce-
dures, and information technology re-
quired— 
(I) to carry out the modernized 
appeals system; and 
(II) to timely address both ap-
peals of decisions on legacy claims 
and appeals under the modernized ap-
peals system; and 
(ii) a description of the collaboration 
conducted under paragraph (2) in making 
such certification, including the views of 
the organizations and stakeholders speci-
fied in such paragraph. 
(2) COLLABORATION.—In determining whether 
and when to make a certification under paragraph 
(1)(B)(i), the Secretary shall collaborate with, part-
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ner with, and give weight to the advice of the three 
veterans service organizations with the most mem-
bers and such other stakeholders as the Secretary 
considers appropriate. 
(3) EARLY
APPLICABILITY.—The Secretary 
may apply the modernized appeals system to a claim 
with respect to which the claimant— 
(A) receives a notice of a decision under 
section 5104 of such title after the date of the 
enactment of this Act and before the applica-
bility date set forth in paragraph (1); and 
(B) elects to subject the claim to the mod-
ernized appeals system. 
(4) PHASED
ROLLOUT.—The Secretary may 
begin implementation of the modernized appeals sys-
tem in phases, with the first phase of such phased 
implementation beginning on the applicability date 
set forth in paragraph (1). 
(5) LEGACY CLAIMS.—With respect to legacy 
claims, upon the issuance to a claimant of a state-
ment of the case or a supplemental statement of the 
case occurring on or after the applicability date 
specified in paragraph (1), a claimant may elect to 
participate in the modernized appeals system. 
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(6) PUBLICATION OF APPLICABILITY DATE.— 
Not later than the date on which the modernized ap-
peals system goes into effect (or the first phase of 
the modernized appeals system goes into effect 
under paragraph (4), as the case may be), the Sec-
retary shall publish in the Federal Register such 
date. 
SEC. 3. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND REPORTS FOR PROC-
ESSING OF LEGACY APPEALS AND IMPLE-
MENTING MODERNIZED APPEALS SYSTEM. 
(a) PLAN REQUIRED.—Not later than 90 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Vet-
erans’ Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Veterans’ 
Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the Comp-
troller General of the United States a comprehensive plan 
for— 
(1) the number of resolutions for appeals of de-
cisions on legacy claims that the Secretary considers 
pending; 
(2) implementing the modernized appeals sys-
tem; and 
(3) timely processing, under the modernized ap-
peals system, of— 
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(A) supplemental claims under section 
5108 of title 38, United States Code, as amend-
ed by section 2(i); 
(B) requests for higher level review under 
section 5104B of such title, as added by section 
2(g); and 
(C) appeals on any docket maintained 
under section 7107 of such title, as amended by 
section 2(t). 
(b) ELEMENTS.—The plan required by subsection (a) 
shall include, at a minimum, the following: 
(1) An estimate (including a detailed descrip-
tion of the bases the Secretary uses to develop such 
estimate) of the— 
(A) numbers of appeals and the timeliness 
of deciding appeals under the modernized ap-
peals system, including such number under 
each docket described in section 7107 of title 
38, United States Code, as amended by section 
2; and 
(B) numbers of appeals of decisions on leg-
acy claims and the timeliness of deciding such 
appeals. 
(2) Delineation of the total resource require-
ments of the Veterans Benefits Administration and 
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the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, disaggregated by 
resources required to implement and administer the 
modernized appeals system and resources required 
to address the appeals of decisions on legacy claims. 
(3) Delineation of the personnel requirements 
of the Administration and the Board, including 
staffing levels during the— 
(A) period in which the Administration and 
the Board are concurrently processing— 
(i) appeals of decisions on legacy 
claims; and 
(ii) appeals of decisions on nonlegacy 
claims under the modernized appeals sys-
tem; and 
(B) the period during which the Adminis-
tration and the Board are no longer processing 
any appeals of decisions on legacy claims. 
(4) Identification of the legal authorities under 
which the Administration or the Board may— 
(A) hire additional employees to conduct 
the concurrent processing described in para-
graph (2)(A); and 
(B) remove employees who are no longer 
required by the Administration or the Board 
once the Administration and the Board are no 
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longer processing any appeals of decisions on 
legacy claims. 
(5) An estimate of the amount of time the Ad-
ministration and the Board will require to hire addi-
tional employees as described in paragraph (3)(A) 
once funding has been made available for such pur-
pose, including a comparison of such estimate and 
the historical average time required by the Adminis-
tration and the Board to hire additional employees. 
(6) A description of the modifications to the in-
formation technology systems of the Administration 
and the Board that the Administration and the 
Board require to carry out the modernized appeals 
system, including cost estimates and a timeline for 
making the modifications. 
(7) An estimate of the office space the Adminis-
tration and the Board will require during each of the 
periods described in paragraph (2), including— 
(A) an estimate of the amount of time the 
Administration and the Board will require to 
acquire any additional office space to carry out 
processing of appeals of decisions on legacy 
claims and processing of appeals under the 
modernized appeals system; 
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(B) a comparison of the estimate under 
subparagraph (A) and the historical average 
time required by the Administration and the 
Board to acquire new office space; and 
(C) a plan for using telework to accommo-
date staff exceeding available office space, in-
cluding how the Administration and the Board 
will provide training and oversight with respect 
to such teleworking. 
(8) Projections for the productivity of individual 
employees at the Administration and the Board in 
carrying out tasks relating to the processing of ap-
peals of decisions on legacy claims and appeals 
under the modernized appeals system, taking into 
account the experience level of new employees and 
the enhanced notice requirements under section 
5104(b) of title 38, United States Code, as amended 
by section 2(e). 
(9) An outline of the outreach the Secretary ex-
pects to conduct to inform veterans, families of vet-
erans, survivors of veterans, veterans service organi-
zations, military service organizations, congressional 
caseworkers, advocates for veterans, and such other 
stakeholders as the Secretary considers appropriate 
about the modernized appeals system, including— 
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(A) a description of the resources required 
to conduct such outreach; and 
(B) timelines for such outreach. 
(10) Identification of and a timeline for— 
(A) any training that may be required as 
a result of hiring new employees to carry out 
the modernized appeals system or to process 
appeals of decisions on legacy claims; and 
(B) any retraining of existing employees 
that may be required to carry out such system 
or to process such claims. 
(11) Identification of— 
(A) the costs to the Department of the 
training identified under paragraph (10) and 
any additional training staff and any additional 
training facilities that will be required to pro-
vide such training; and 
(B) any issues relating to how the hiring 
and training procedures of the Department may 
change because of unplanned circumstances (in-
cluding with respect to delays in developing an 
information technology system to process ap-
peals under the modernized appeals system) re-
lating to carrying out the modernized appeals 
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system or to process appeals of decisions on leg-
acy claims. 
(12) Estimated timelines for updating any pol-
icy guidance, internet websites, and official forms 
that may be necessary to carry out the modernized 
appeals system, including— 
(A) identification of which offices and enti-
ties will be involved in efforts relating to such 
updating; and 
(B) historical information about how long 
similar update efforts have taken. 
(13) A timeline, including interim milestones, 
for promulgating such regulations as may be nec-
essary to carry out the modernized appeals system 
and a comparison with historical averages for time 
required to promulgate regulations of similar com-
plexity and scope. 
(14) An outline of the circumstances under 
which claimants with pending appeals of decisions 
on legacy claims would be authorized to have their 
appeals reviewed under the modernized appeals sys-
tem. 
(15) A delineation of the key goals and mile-
stones for reducing the number of pending appeals 
that are not processed under the modernized appeals 
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system, including the expected number for each of 
appeals, remands, and hearing requests at the Ad-
ministration and the Board each year, beginning 
with the 1-year period beginning on the date of the 
enactment of this Act, until there are no longer any 
appeals pending before the Administration or the 
Board for a decision on a legacy claim. 
(16) The metrics and goals used by the Sec-
retary to monitor the implementation of the modern-
ized appeals system, including with respect to— 
(A) tracking progress of such implementa-
tion; 
(B) evaluating the efficiency and effective-
ness of such implementation; and 
(C) identifying potential issues with re-
spect to such implementation. 
(17) A description of each risk factor associated 
with each element of the plan and a contingency 
plan to minimize each such risk. 
(18) A detailed description of which employees 
of the Department will conduct higher level reviews 
under section 5104B of title 38, United States Code, 
as added by section 2(g). 
(c) REVIEW BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE 
UNITED STATES.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 
the Comptroller General of the United States re-
ceives the plan required by subsection (a), the 
Comptroller General shall— 
(A) assess such plan in writing; and 
(B) submit to the Committee on Veterans’ 
Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representa-
tives the findings of the Comptroller General 
with respect to the assessment conducted under 
subparagraph (A). 
(2) ELEMENTS.—The assessment conducted 
under paragraph (1)(A) shall include the following: 
(A) An assessment of whether the plan 
comports with sound planning practices. 
(B) Identification of any improvements the 
Comptroller General considers appropriate for 
the plan. 
(C) Formulation of such recommendations 
as the Comptroller General considers appro-
priate. 
(d) PERIODIC REPORTS.—On a quarterly basis dur-
ing the period beginning 90 days after the date on which 
the Secretary submits the plan under subsection (a) and 
ending on the date that the Secretary implements the 
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modernized appeals system, and on a semiannual basis 
during the 7-year period following such date of implemen-
tation, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Vet-
erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the 
Comptroller General a report on the modernized appeals 
system. Each such report shall include, with respect to the 
period covered by the report, the following: 
(1) Any updates to the plan under subsection 
(a). 
(2) As applicable, the number of appeals con-
sidered under the modernized appeals system, in-
cluding— 
(A) the number of such appeals, both with 
respect to pending appeals and completed ap-
peals, under each docket described in section 
7107 of title 38, United States Code, as amend-
ed by section 2; 
(B) the average wait time for each such 
docket and the extent to which such wait times 
compare with the established goals of the Sec-
retary for such wait times; and 
(C) the average age of such appeals. 
(3) The number of appeals considered with re-
spect to legacy claims, including— 
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(A) the number of pending appeals and the 
number of completed appeals; 
(B) the average wait time and the extent 
to which such wait times compare with the es-
tablished goals of the Secretary for such wait 
times; and 
(C) the average age of such appeals. 
(4) The efficacy of the information systems of 
the Department of Veterans Affairs to implement 
the modernized appeals system. 
(5) With respect to the Veterans Benefits Ad-
ministration and the Board of Veterans’ Appeals— 
(A) the number of supplemental claims 
under section 5108 of such title, as added by 
section 2(i), that were denied because the sup-
plemental claims did not include new and rel-
evant evidence; 
(B) the number of higher level reviews 
filed under section 5104B of such title, as 
added by section 2(g), that did not include new 
and relevant evidence, listed by the disposition 
of the higher level review; and 
(C) the number of appeals filed that did 
not include new and relevant evidence, listed by 
each docket described in section 7107 of such 
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title, as amended by section 2, and the deter-
mination of the Board. 
(6) With respect to any average wait time relat-
ing to appeals not otherwise specified in this sub-
section— 
(A) whether the Secretary is meeting any 
established wait-time goals of the Secretary; 
and 
(B) if so, the percentage of appeals meet-
ing such goals. 
(7) An identification of any changes that are 
necessary to improve the modernized appeals system. 
SEC. 4. PROGRAMS TO TEST ASSUMPTIONS RELIED ON IN 
DEVELOPMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE PLAN 
FOR PROCESSING OF LEGACY APPEALS AND 
SUPPORTING MODERNIZED APPEALS SYS-
TEM. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs may carry out such programs as the Sec-
retary considers appropriate to test any assumptions 
relied upon in developing the comprehensive plan re-
quired by section 3(a) and to test the feasibility and 
advisability of any facet of the modernized appeals 
system. The Secretary may not carry out such a pro-
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gram until the Secretary notifies the Committee on 
Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 
on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives 
of the program, including the reasons for carrying 
out the program. 
(2) REPORTING REQUIRED.—Whenever the Sec-
retary determines, based on the conduct of a pro-
gram under paragraph (1), that legislative changes 
to the modernized appeals system are necessary, the 
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Vet-
erans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives 
notice of such determination. 
(b) DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PROGRAM 
ON FULLY DEVELOPED APPEALS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs may, under subsection (a)(1), carry out a 
program to provide the option of an alternative ap-
peals process that shall more quickly determine such 
appeals in accordance with this subsection. 
(2) ELECTION.— 
(A) FILING.—In accordance with subpara-
graph (B), a claimant may elect to file a fully 
developed appeal under the program by filing 
with the Secretary all of the following: 
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(Q) The average of how long it takes to 
complete each segment of the claims process 
while claimants are protecting the effective date 
under such section, disaggregated by the time 
waiting for the claimant to take an action and 
the time waiting for the Secretary to take an 
action. 
(R) The number and the average amount 
of retroactive awards of benefits from the Sec-
retary as a result of protected effective dates 
under such section, disaggregated by action 
taken. 
(S) The average number of times claim-
ants submit to the Secretary different claims 
with respect to same condition, such as an ini-
tial claim and a supplemental claim. 
(T) The number of cases each year in 
which a claimant inappropriately tried to take 
simultaneous actions, such as filing a supple-
mental claim while a higher level review is 
pending, what actions the Secretary took in re-
sponse, and how long it took on average to take 
those actions. 
(U) In the case that the Secretary develops 
and 
implements 
a 
policy 
under 
section 
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