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.
Latest action · Mar 9, 2018 Became Public Law No: 115-130.
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 24, 2017
- Passed HouseMay 23, 2017
- Passed SenateFeb 15, 2018
- To the PresidentFeb 28, 2018
- Became lawMar 9, 2018Public Law 115-130
Summary
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on May 19, 2017. The summary of that version is repeated here.)
(Sec. 1) This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), within 180 days of enactment of this bill, to submit a report on the progress of the VA's Acceptable Clinical Evidence initiative in reducing the necessity for in-person disability examinations.
Such report shall include: (1) the number of claims eligible for the initiative, disaggregated by fiscal year; (2) the total number of claims eligible for the initiative that required a VA medical examiner to supplement the evidence with information obtained during a telephone interview with the claimant; (3) information on other VA initiatives to encourage the use of private medical evidence; (4) the anticipated impact on the time line and accuracy of processing claims if the VA were prohibited from requesting a private medical examination that is adequate for a claims decision; and (5) recommendations on how the VA can measure, track, and prevent the ordering of unnecessary medical examinations when a private examination has been administered.
(Sec. 2) The VA shall submit by March 1 of FY2018-FY2024 an annual report that includes for each VA regional office: (1) the number of times a veteran who submitted private medical evidence in support of a claim for compensation or pension was scheduled for an examination by VA personnel because the private medical evidence was determined to be unacceptable, (2) the most common reasons for such determinations, and (3) the types of disabilities for which claims were most commonly denied when private medical evidence was submitted.
Cosponsors 8
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 24, 2017 to Apr 8, 2017; 6 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NH | Ann M. Kuster | Original | Mar 24, 2017 |
| R-OH | Bill Johnson | Original | Mar 24, 2017 |
| D-RI | James R. Langevin | Original | Mar 24, 2017 |
| R-CA | Jeff Denham | Original | Mar 24, 2017 |
| R-AZ | Martha McSally | Original | Mar 24, 2017 |
| R-PA | Ryan A. Costello | Original | Mar 24, 2017 |
| D-NY | Brian Higgins | Apr 5, 2017 | |
| D-NH | Carol Shea-Porter | Apr 8, 2017 |
Committees 2
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 24, 2017Markup May 17, 2017Reported May 19, 2017 |
| Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee | Referred Mar 24, 2017Markup Apr 27, 2017Reported Apr 27, 2017 | |
| Senate | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Referred May 24, 2017Discharged Feb 15, 2018 |
Actions 23
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 9, 2018Signed by President.
- Mar 9, 2018Became Public Law No: 115-130.
- Feb 28, 2018Presented to President.
- Feb 16, 2018Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Feb 15, 2018Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs discharged by Unanimous Consent.(consideration: CR S1190-1191)
- Feb 15, 2018Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs discharged by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S1190-1191)
- Feb 15, 2018Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- May 24, 2017Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
- May 23, 2017Mr. Roe (TN) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- May 23, 2017Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H4475-4476)
- May 23, 2017DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 1725.
- May 23, 2017Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4475)
- May 23, 2017Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- May 23, 2017The title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.
- May 19, 2017Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H. Rept. 115-133.
- May 19, 2017Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 82.
- May 17, 2017Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- May 17, 2017Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
- Apr 27, 2017Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Apr 27, 2017Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote .
- Mar 24, 2017Introduced in House
- Mar 24, 2017Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
- Mar 24, 2017Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
In the Congressional Record 3
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S1190 | Lamar Alexander R-TN | Feb 15, 2018 |
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E716 | Christopher H. Smith R-NJ | May 24, 2017 |
| House | Debate and remarks H4475, H4476Text printed H4475 | David P. Roe R-TN, Timothy J. Walz D-MN | May 23, 2017 |
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.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- May 17, 2017H.R. 1725, a bill 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 SecretaryAs ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on May 17, 2017
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 163, no. 52, March 24, 2017, page H2445.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 115-11 | LEGISLATIVE HEARING ON: H.R. 105; H.R. 299; H.R. 1328; H.R. 1329; H.R. 1390; H.R. 1564; AND A DRAFT BILL ENTITLED "QUICKER VETERANS BENEFITS DELIVERY ACT OF 2017."62 pages | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Apr 5, 2017 |
CRS reports 8
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 8
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R46647 | Tribal Land and Ownership Statuses: Overview and Selected Issues for Congress Archived | Report | Jul 21, 2021 |
| R44822 | Cuba: U.S. Policy in the 115th Congress Archived | Report | Jan 15, 2019 |
| R45413 | FY2018 and FY2019 Agriculture Appropriations: Federal Food Safety Activities Archived | Report | Nov 27, 2018 |
| IF10947 | Regulation of Cell-Cultured Meat Archived | Resource | Oct 25, 2018 |
| R45217 | FY2018 Military Construction Authorizations and Appropriations Archived | Report | Jun 6, 2018 |
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 706 | Quicker Veterans Benefits Delivery Act of 2017 | Related bill | Mar 23, 2017 |
| HR 1331 | Quicker Veterans Benefits Delivery Act of 2015 | Reintroduction of | May 14, 2015 |
Titles 4
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title
- An act 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
- 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.
- Official Titles as Amended by House
- 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.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Quicker Veterans Benefits Delivery Act of 2017
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
Text 5
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- —Enrolled Bill
- May 24, 2017Referred in Senate
- May 23, 2017Engrossed in House
- May 19, 2017Reported in House
- Mar 24, 2017Introduced 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.
