I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2088 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program 
to establish claims adjudication centers of excellence. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 22, 2013 
Mr. MICHAUD (for himself, Mr. MCINTYRE, Ms. KUSTER, Ms. BROWNLEY of 
California, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Ms. FRANKEL of Florida, Ms. 
LEE of California, Mr. HECK of Nevada, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mrs. 
BUSTOS, Mr. BISHOP of New York, and Mr. KILMER) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out 
a pilot program to establish claims adjudication centers 
of excellence. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PILOT 
PROGRAM ON CLAIMS ADJUDICATION CEN-
TERS OF EXCELLENCE. 
(a) PILOT PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall carry out 
a three-year pilot program under which the Secretary shall 
establish in the Department of Veterans Affairs 12 claims 
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adjudication centers of excellence in accordance with this 
section. 
(b) SELECTION OF LOCATIONS.—The Secretary shall 
select the three highest performing regional offices in each 
of the four areas of the Veterans Benefits Administration 
as the locations of the centers of excellence. To determine 
which of the regional offices are the three highest per-
forming, the Secretary shall evaluate the quality and accu-
racy ratings of each of the regional offices and the average 
number of days a claim submitted to each of the regional 
offices is pending. 
(c) FOCUS OF CENTERS.— 
(1) SELECTION
OF
MEDICAL
CONDITIONS.— 
Each center of excellence established under this sec-
tion shall focus on adjudicating claims relating to 
one medical condition selected by the Secretary. The 
Secretary shall select medical conditions for such 
purpose that are among the most complex and time 
consuming, for purposes of adjudication, and that 
occur commonly enough to support the work of the 
centers. 
(2) ADJUDICATION OF OTHER CLAIMS.—If no 
claims relating to the medical condition which is the 
focus of a center are pending adjudication, employ-
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ees of the center shall adjudicate claims relating to 
other medical conditions. 
(d) EMPLOYEES.— 
(1) EMPLOYEE TRAINING.—Each employee of a 
center of excellence established under this section 
shall— 
(A) receive specific training related to the 
medical condition on which the center where the 
employee is employed is focused; 
(B) be required to pass an examination de-
signed to certify the employee’s ability to adju-
dicate claims relating to such medical condition 
to a high performing standard; and 
(C) work primarily, to the extent prac-
ticable, adjudicating claims for which the em-
ployee has received specialized training. 
(2) EMPLOYMENT AT MORE THAN ONE CEN-
TER.— 
(A) CONCURRENT EMPLOYMENT.—No em-
ployee may be employed concurrently at more 
than one center established under this section. 
(B) SUBSEQUENT
EMPLOYMENT.—If the 
Secretary determines appropriate, an employee 
may move from one center to another as long 
as the employee receives specialized training ap-
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propriate for the center to which the employee 
moves. 
(3) ADDITIONAL FULL TIME EMPLOYEES AU-
THORIZED.—The Secretary may assign additional 
full-time employees to a regional office designated as 
a center of excellence under this section as the Sec-
retary determines necessary. For any full-time em-
ployee of a regional office who is assigned to a cen-
ter of excellence under this section, the director of 
the regional office shall hire an additional full-time 
employee at the regional office. 
(e) DEADLINE FOR SELECTION OF MEDICAL CONDI-
TIONS.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall select the 
medical conditions on which the claims adjudication cen-
ters of excellence established under this section shall focus 
by not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
Æ 
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