A subcommittee of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs voted on Tuesday afternoon to approve the Modernizing All Veterans and Survivors Claims Processing Act, which aims to improve the claims process for veterans by requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to make AI tools available to its workforce.
The Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs advanced the legislation during its Tuesday markup, sending the bill to the full committee for further consideration.
Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., introduced the Modernizing All Veterans and Survivors Claims Processing Act in late June. The bill would require the VA to create a plan to make automation tools available for all Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) offices and the VA Board of Veterans’ Appeals to process benefits claims for survivors and veterans more efficiently.
“Veterans shouldn’t be waiting months for their benefits because of outdated technology at the VA, but sadly that’s happening across the country,” Rep. Valadao said in a June 28 statement. “This commonsense bill ensures the VA has the technology and resources they need to review veterans’ claims in a more timely and efficient manner.”
House VA Committee Chairman Mike Bost, R-Ill., who is a supporter of the bill, added: “In order to ensure that our veterans and their families can access the benefits they have earned, we must keep pushing VA forward in their modernization efforts.”
“This commonsense bill would require VA to develop a plan for how all of VBA’s different offices can and should process veterans’ and their survivors’ claims in a more efficient manner,” Rep. Bost said. “In return, veterans and their families won’t be stuck waiting months on end for answers on their claims.”
According to the text of the bill, the automation tools would help the VA to retrieve service or health records of a veteran, compile evidence, provide decision support, share information between Federal agencies, and more.
