Senator Hassan Applauds Veterans’ Affairs Committee Passage of Bipartisan Measure to Modernize VA Appeals Process

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) applauded the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee’s passage of the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act. The bipartisan legislation, which Senator Hassan helped introduce, seeks to overhaul the current process for veterans’ appeals at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and was led by Senators Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Jon Tester (D-MT), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).

“We must reform the broken VA appeals process to ensure that our veterans get the benefits that they need and deserve,” said Senator Maggie Hassan. “There are too many veterans who are struggling with the current complex and inefficient process. The Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act takes common-sense steps to streamline this process and ensure that our veterans can choose the appeals path that works best for them.”

The measure, which passed the Committee by voice vote, would create three separate paths for veterans to choose from when seeking redress from a decision by the Veterans Benefits Administration on their claims for VA benefits.

The VA’s current appeals process is in desperate need of updating, and nearly half a million veterans are in limbo because of the VA’s existing backlog. Between fiscal year 2015 and fiscal year 2017, the number of pending appeals increased from approximately 380,000 to 470,000 – a more than 20 percent increase.

The Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act allows certain veterans already going through the appeals process to opt in to the new system and gives the VA secretary the authority to test facets of the new system prior to full implementation. The bill also requires the VA to provide a comprehensive plan for both implementing the new system and processing the existing appeals.

Under the new process, veterans dissatisfied with the initial decisions on their claims will be able to:

• Seek a higher-level review by a regional office on the same evidence presented to the original claims processors;
• File a supplemental claim with a regional office that would include the opportunity to submit additional evidence; or
• Appeal directly to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, resulting in a possible hearing and/or the opportunity to submit additional evidence.

A one-page summary of the legislation can be found here. Following today’s Committee passage, the bill heads to the full Senate for a vote.

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