I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5499 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to expedite the processing of 
claims for disability compensation by veterans affected by major disasters. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 5, 2021 
Mr. PANETTA (for himself, Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana, Miss RICE of New 
York, Mrs. AXNE, and Mr. LIEU) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to expedite the 
processing of claims for disability compensation by vet-
erans affected by major disasters. 
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 ‘‘Priority Response for 
Veterans Impacted by Disasters and Emergencies Act’’ or 
the ‘‘PROVIDE Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The Department of Veterans Affairs sets 
forth criteria for priority processing of veterans’ dis-
ability claims by the Department. 
(2) Such criteria include veterans affected by 
extreme financial hardship, homelessness, terminal 
illness, and participants in the Department’s Fully 
Developed Claim program. 
(3) Currently there is no process in place to 
prioritize the disability claims of veterans affected by 
major disasters such as fires and floods. 
(4) Priority claims processing for veterans af-
fected by major disasters will significantly help such 
veterans begin rebuilding their lives. 
SEC. 3. PRIORITY CLAIMS PROCESSING IN THE EVENT OF A 
MAJOR DISASTER. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall prescribe reg-
ulations setting forth criteria for priority processing of a 
claim for compensation under chapter 11 of title 38, 
United States Code. Individuals whose claim shall be eligi-
ble for such priority processing shall include— 
(1) veterans affected by extreme financial hard-
ship; 
(2) veterans affected by homelessness; 
(3) veterans diagnosed with a terminal illness; 
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(4) participants in the Department of Veterans 
Affairs Fully Developed Claim program; and 
(5) veterans who live in an area for which the 
President has declared a major disaster under sec-
tion 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170). 
(b) SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR CLAIMS PROC-
ESSING IN THE EVENT OF A MAJOR DISASTER.—The Sec-
retary shall prescribe additional regulations relating only 
to subsection (a)(5). Such additional regulations include— 
(1) establishing flexible evidence requirements 
for veterans unable to meet the ordinary evidence re-
quirements for such a claim due to a major disaster; 
and 
(2) establishing a flexible filing deadline for 
such a claim. 
(c) NOTICE TO VETERANS OF ELIGIBILITY FOR PRI-
ORITY CLAIMS PROCESSING.—Not later than 60 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
post a permanent notice to veterans on the Department 
of Veterans Affairs website of the categories of eligibility 
for priority processing of such claims, including the 
changes to such categories made pursuant to subsection 
(a). 
Æ 
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