Quicker Veterans Benefits Delivery Act of 2015
Latest action · May 14, 2015 Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote .
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 4, 2015
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Quicker Veterans Benefits Delivery Act of 2015
Requires (current law authorizes) the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to accept, for purposes of establishing a claim for veterans disability benefits, a report of a medical examination administered by a private physician without requiring confirmation by a Veterans Health Administration physician if the report is sufficiently complete. Defines "sufficiently complete" as competent, credible, probative, and containing such information as required to make a decision on the claim for which the report is provided.
Requires the Secretary to submit: (1) a report on the progress of the VA's Acceptable Clinical Evidence initiative in reducing the necessity for in-person disability examinations, and (2) an annual report for each VA regional office regarding claims for which private medical evidence was determined to be unacceptable.
Cosponsors 21
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 4, 2015 to Jun 3, 2016; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-CA | Jeff Denham | Original | Mar 4, 2015 |
| D-NY | Brian Higgins | Mar 10, 2015 | |
| R-LA | Ralph Lee Abraham | Mar 10, 2015 | |
| R-FL | David W. Jolly | Mar 13, 2015 | |
| D-NE | Brad Ashford | Mar 26, 2015 | |
| D-MI | Brenda L. Lawrence | Apr 14, 2015 | |
| R-WI | Reid J. Ribble | Apr 14, 2015 | |
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Apr 21, 2015 | |
| R-OH | Bill Johnson | Apr 23, 2015 | |
| R-FL | Carlos Curbelo | Apr 30, 2015 | |
| R-PA | Ryan A. Costello | May 12, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Alan S. Lowenthal | May 13, 2015 | |
| D-TX | Beto O'Rourke | May 13, 2015 | |
| D-GU | Madeleine Z. Bordallo | May 13, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Mark Takano | May 20, 2015 | |
| D-RI | James R. Langevin | May 22, 2015 | |
| R-VA | Robert J. Wittman | May 22, 2015 | |
| R-CA | Stephen Knight | Jun 16, 2015 | |
| R-OH | Robert E. Latta | Dec 10, 2015 | |
| R-FL | Richard B. Nugent | Apr 18, 2016 | |
| R-AZ | Martha McSally | Jun 3, 2016 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Referred Mar 4, 2015 |
| Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee | Referred Mar 19, 2015Hearings Apr 14, 2015Markup May 14, 2015Reported May 14, 2015 |
Actions 6
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 14, 2015Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- May 14, 2015Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote .
- Apr 14, 2015Subcommittee Hearings Held.
- Mar 19, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
- Mar 4, 2015Introduced in House
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 161, no. 37, March 4, 2015, page H1617.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 114-182 | HEARING ON PENDING BENEFITS LEGISLATION212 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | May 13, 2015 |
Related bills 3
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 666 | Quicker Veterans Benefits Delivery Act of 2015 | Related bill | Mar 4, 2015 |
| HR 1725 | To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit certain reports relating to medical evidence submitted in support of claims for benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary. | Reintroduced Bill | Mar 9, 2018 |
| HR 6062 | SERVICE Act | Related bill | Oct 19, 2016 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the treatment of medical evidence provided by non-Department of Veterans Affairs medical professionals in support of claims for disability compensation under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Quicker Veterans Benefits Delivery Act of 2015
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Congressional oversight
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Disability assistance
- Evidence and witnesses
- Health information and medical records
- Medical tests and diagnostic methods
- Veterans' medical care
- Veterans' pensions and compensation
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 4, 2015Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
