SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
ings: 
(1) According to an internal report of the De-
partment of Defense, Black members of the Armed 
Forces are more likely than White members to be 
the subject of— 
(A) an administrative action, including an 
investigation into alleged misconduct; 
(B) a nonjudicial punishment; or 
(C) a trial by court-martial. 
(2) Certain administrative actions, nonjudicial 
punishments, and court-martial sentences may ad-
versely affect the eligibility of a former member of 
the Armed Forces to receive disability benefits ad-
ministered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 
(3) According to the report titled ‘‘VA Dis-
ability Benefits: Actions Needed to Further Examine 
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Compensation’’ 
(GAO–23–106097), published on July 26, 2023— 
(A) Black, non-Hispanic applicants for 
such benefits experience the lowest rate of ap-
proval for such benefits compared to applicants 
of other races or ethnicities; 
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(B) a Black, non-Hispanic applicant is 14 
percent less likely to be approved for such bene-
fits than a White, non-Hispanic applicant; and 
(C) the rates of approval for such benefits 
for Black, male applicants are between 3 and 
22 percent lower than the rates of approval for 
applicants of other races or genders. 
(4) Female former members of the Armed 
Forces are less likely to apply for such benefits than 
male former members. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
(1) each former member of the Armed Forces 
made heroic sacrifices while serving in the Armed 
Forces, such as risking the life of the former mem-
ber, to preserve the freedom of the United States; 
and 
(2) the collection and publication by the Sec-
retary of accurate data regarding the race, ethnicity, 
and gender of all applicants for, and recipients of, 
disability benefits administered by the Secretary 
would enable the Secretary and Congress to identify 
and address any disparity based on the race, eth-
nicity, or gender of a former member of the Armed 
Forces, with respect to the receipt of such benefits. 
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SEC. 3. REPORTS ON RACIAL, ETHNIC, AND GENDER DIS-
PARITIES WITH RESPECT TO DISABILITY 
BENEFITS 
ADMINISTERED 
BY 
THE 
SEC-
RETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 
(a) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE RE-
PORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the en-
actment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall submit to the appropriate congressional com-
mittees a report that includes the following elements: 
(1) Statistics for the 15-year period imme-
diately prior to the date of the enactment of this Act 
that describe— 
(A) the characterization of discharge or 
dismissal of each former member of the Armed 
Forces who separated from the Armed Forces 
during such period, disaggregated by the race, 
ethnicity, and gender of the former member; 
and 
(B) the number of such former members, 
disaggregated by the race, ethnicity, and gender 
of each such former member, who— 
(i) requested review of the character-
ization of discharge or dismissal by an ap-
propriate board; 
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(ii) received review of the character-
ization of discharge or dismissal by an ap-
propriate board; 
(iii) received a change to the charac-
terization of discharge or dismissal as a re-
sult of a decision by an appropriate board; 
(iv) applied for disability benefits ad-
ministered by the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs; 
(v) applied for and received such ben-
efits; and 
(vi) applied for and were denied such 
benefits for reason of characterization of 
discharge or dismissal. 
(2) The determination of the Comptroller Gen-
eral whether there is a disparity based on the race, 
ethnicity, or gender of a former member, with re-
spect to the receipt of— 
(A) review of the characterization of dis-
charge or dismissal by an appropriate board; or 
(B) a change to the characterization of dis-
charge or dismissal as a result of a decision by 
an appropriate board. 
(3) The assessment of the Comptroller General 
whether there is a relationship between— 
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(A) any disparity determined under para-
graph (2); and 
(B) any disparity determined by the Comp-
troller General in the covered report, with re-
spect to disability benefits administered by the 
Secretary. 
(b) SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS: REPORTS; 
PLAN; IMPLEMENTATION.— 
(1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 365 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Com-
mittees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 
House of Representatives, and make available on a 
publicly accessible website of the Department of Vet-
erans Affairs, a report that includes the following 
elements: 
(A) A description of any specific actions 
taken or processes implemented by the Sec-
retary to address the limitations identified by 
the Comptroller General in the covered report, 
with respect to the collection and availability of 
data regarding each racial and ethnic group to 
which a former member of the Armed Forces 
belongs. 
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(B) An identification by the Secretary, 
based on information in the covered report, of 
every significant cause of a racial, ethnic, or 
gender disparity with respect to disability bene-
fits administered by the Secretary. 
(C) The three-year plan of the Secretary to 
address each significant cause identified under 
subparagraph (B). 
(2) IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN; ANNUAL RE-
PORT.—The Secretary shall— 
(A) implement the plan under paragraph 
(1)(C) not later than one day after the submis-
sion of the report under paragraph (1); and 
(B) annually for each year during which 
the Secretary is carrying out such plan, make 
available on a publicly accessible website of the 
Department a report summarizing, for the pe-
riod covered by the report, the actions of the 
Secretary pursuant to such plan. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘appropriate board’’ means— 
(A) a board for the correction of military 
records under section 1552 of title 10, United 
States Code; or 
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