Senator Hassan Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Digitize Veterans’ Service Records and Address Backlog
Bill Builds on Senator Hassan’s Efforts to Address Records Backlog That Prevents Veterans from Receiving Benefits
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and James Lankford (R-OK) earlier this month introduced the bipartisan Increasing Access to Military Service Records Act, which would address the backlog of hundreds of thousands of service records requests from veterans and modernize the way in which veterans access their service records. Without access to military service records, veterans and their families cannot access service-related benefits including medical treatment, unemployment assistance, home loans, and student loans. This legislation would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a portal for maintaining digital records of former members of the Armed Forces and to establish an advisory committee regarding the maintenance of those records.
“Veterans should not be blocked from receiving benefits because of paperwork backlogs at the Defense Department, VA, or other government agencies,” said Senator Hassan. “We need to ensure that veterans are receiving the benefits that they have earned and deserve. This commonsense, bipartisan bill would modernize the system so that backlogs like this don’t happen again.”
The bipartisan legislation is part of Senator Hassan’s ongoing efforts to help veterans access their service records more easily. Her office has directly helped Granite State veterans obtain their records, and previously, Senator Hassan helped pass into law bipartisan legislation that requires the U.S. Archivist to develop a strategy to eliminate the veteran record backlog. The bill that Senators Hassan and Lankford introduced builds upon that law by requiring the VA to create one easy online portal for veterans to use, so that digital records can be accessed more easily.
Senator Hassan also helped develop and pass into law the PACT Act, which fundamentally reforms and improves how veterans exposed to toxic substances receive health care and benefits from the VA. Last fall, President Biden also signed into law bipartisan legislation introduced by Senator Hassan to strengthen the Solid Start program, through which VA employees contact every veteran three times by phone in the first year after veterans leave active duty service to check in and help connect these new veterans to VA programs and benefits. Additionally, Senator Hassan’s bipartisan bill directing the VA to designate one week per year as “Buddy Check Week” to organize outreach events and educate veterans on how to conduct peer wellness checks was signed into law last year, and it was held October 16th to 20th for the first time this year.
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