Clear Communication for Veterans Claims Act
Officially: “Clear Communication for Veterans Claims Act” Read the full text
What it does
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1Short title
This section gives the Act its short title, the Clear Communication for Veterans Claims Act. It does not create any legal requirement on its own.
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1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Clear Communication for Veterans Claims Act .
2Independent assessment of notices that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs sends to claimants
This section would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, no later than 30 days after the Act becomes law, to seek an agreement with a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) to assess the notice letters the Secretary sends to claimants for veterans benefits. Under that agreement, the FFRDC would submit a written assessment to the Secretary that includes a determination, made in consultation with covered entities, of whether each notice could feasibly be changed to reduce paper use and cost to the federal government, and the FFRDC's recommendations for making the notices clearer to claimants, better organized, and more concise. Within 90 days after the Secretary receives the assessment, the Secretary would have to send a copy of it to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives, and put into effect the recommendations in the assessment that comply with the laws the Secretary administers. The Secretary would then have to finish carrying out those recommendations no later than one year after the date the Secretary starts implementing them. For purposes of this section, FFRDC means a federally funded research and development center. Covered entities include the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, an expert in the laws the Secretary administers, a veterans service organization recognized under section 5902 of title 38, United States Code, an entity that advocates for veterans, and an entity that advocates for the survivors of veterans. The terms claimant and notice have the meanings already given to them in section 5100 of title 38, United States Code.
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2. Independent assessment of notices that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs sends to claimants (a) Agreement Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall seek to enter into an agreement with an FFRDC for an assessment of notices that the Secretary sends to claimants. (b) Assessment An FFRDC that enters to an agreement under subsection (a) shall submit to the Secretary a written assessment of such notices. The assessment shall include the following: (1) The determination of the FFRDC, made in consultation with covered entities, whether each such notice may be feasibly altered to reduce paper consumption by, and costs to, the Federal Government. (2) The recommendations of the FFRDC regarding how the Secretary may make such notices clearer to claimants, better organized, and more concise. (c) Report; implementation Not later than 90 days after the Secretary receives the assessment under subsection (b), the Secretary shall— (1) submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a copy of such assessment; and (2) implement the recommendations in the assessment that are in compliance with the laws administered by the Secretary. (d) Deadline for implementation The Secretary shall complete the implementation of such recommendations pursuant to subsection (c)(2) by not later than one year after the date on which the Secretary commences such implementation. (e) Definitions In this section: (1) The term FFRDC means a federally funded research and development center. (2) The term covered entities includes— (A) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; (B) an expert in laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; (C) a veterans service organization recognized under section 5902 of title 38, United States Code; (D) an entity that advocates for veterans; and (E) an entity that advocates for the survivors of veterans. (3) The terms claimant and notice have the meanings given such terms in section 5100 of title 38, United States Code.
3Modification of certain housing loan fees
This section would change the loan fee table in section 3729(b)(2) of title 38, United States Code, by replacing every instance of the date June 9, 2034, with June 23, 2034. Wherever that table currently lists June 9, 2034, the date would instead read June 23, 2034.
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3. Modification of certain housing loan fees The loan fee table in section 3729(b)(2) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking June 9, 2034 each place it appears and inserting June 23, 2034 .
Where it is
In the House.