[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7816 Reported in House (RH)]

<DOC>





                                                 Union Calendar No. 477
118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7816

                          [Report No. 118-576]

 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to seek to enter into an 
 agreement with a federally funded research and development center for 
 an assessment of notice letters that the Secretary sends to claimants 
 for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 26, 2024

   Mr. Duarte (for himself, Mr. Bost, Mr. Valadao, Ms. Salazar, Mr. 
D'Esposito, and Ms. Budzinski) introduced the following bill; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

                              July 8, 2024

Additional sponsors: Mr. Williams of Texas, Mr. Ciscomani, Mr. Davis of 
               North Carolina, Mr. Lawler, and Ms. Tenney

                              July 8, 2024

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]
 [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 
                               26, 2024]


_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to seek to enter into an 
 agreement with a federally funded research and development center for 
 an assessment of notice letters that the Secretary sends to claimants 
 for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary, and for other 
                               purposes.


 


    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Clear Communication for Veterans 
Claims Act''.

SEC. 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; and
                    (D) an entity that advocates for veterans.
            (3) The terms ``claimant'' and ``notice'' have the meanings 
        given such terms in section 5100 of title 38, United States 
        Code.

SEC. 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 ``November 15, 2031'' each place it 
appears and inserting ``November 29, 2031''.
                                                 Union Calendar No. 477

118th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 7816

                          [Report No. 118-576]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to seek to enter into an 
 agreement with a federally funded research and development center for 
 an assessment of notice letters that the Secretary sends to claimants 
 for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary, and for other 
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                              July 8, 2024

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed