[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2055 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2055
To amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain improvements to
the program of the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide
comprehensive assistance for family caregivers of eligible veterans,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 12, 2025
Mr. Banks (for himself and Mr. King) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain improvements to
the program of the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide
comprehensive assistance for family caregivers of eligible veterans,
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 ``Veterans' Caregiver Appeals
Modernization Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO PROGRAM OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FOR
COMPREHENSIVE ASSISTANCE FOR FAMILY CAREGIVERS OF
ELIGIBLE VETERANS.
(a) In General.--Section 1720G of title 38, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(4)--
(A) by striking ``An eligible veteran'' and
inserting ``(A) An eligible veteran''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
``(B) The Secretary shall develop and implement a single digital
system through which each employee of the Veterans Health
Administration or the Board of Veterans' Appeals responsible for
evaluating an application submitted under subparagraph (A), or appeals
of decisions of the Secretary with respect to any such application, may
access--
``(i) each such application; and
``(ii) all documents received or submitted with respect to
each such application.''; and
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) in the heading, by inserting ``; Training''
after ``Construction'';
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by striking ``construed to create--''
and inserting ``construed--'';
(ii) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and
(B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively (and
conforming the margins accordingly);
(iii) by inserting before the matter so
redesignated the following new subparagraph:
``(A) to create--'';
(iv) in clause (ii) of subparagraph (A), as
added by clause (iii), by striking the period
at the end and inserting ``; or''; and
(v) by inserting after subparagraph (A), as
added by clause (iii), the following new
subparagraph:
``(B) as affecting, if an eligible veteran dies during the
pendency of an appeal of a decision of the Secretary affecting
the furnishing of assistance or support services under this
section, the eligibility of a family caregiver to receive
monthly personal caregiver stipends under subsection
(a)(3)(A)(ii)(V)--
``(i) to which the family caregiver was entitled on
the date of the death of the eligible veteran based on
evidence in the file for such veteran or caregiver on
such date; and
``(ii) due and unpaid as of such date.''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(3) The Secretary shall ensure that any employee of the Veterans
Health Administration responsible for evaluating appeals of decisions
of the Secretary affecting the furnishing of assistance or support
services under this section is provided the same guidance and completes
the same training as a higher-level adjudicator under section 5104B of
this title.''.
(b) Required Considerations.--
(1) Digital systems.--In developing the digital system
required by subsection (a)(4)(B) of section 1720G of title 38,
United States Code, (as added by subsection (a)(1)), the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall consider--
(A) lessons learned from the implementation of the
Veterans Benefits Management System to process claims
for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary;
and
(B) whether other programs administered by the
Veterans Health Administration would improve from the
development of a single digital system through which
applications and documents relating to such programs
may be accessed by employees of the Veterans Health
Administration responsible for evaluating such
applications and documents.
(2) Training.--In carrying out the requirement under
subsection (c)(3) of such section (as added by subsection
(a)(2)), the Secretary shall consider best practices developed
from efforts of the Secretary to standardize the guidance and
training available to employees of the Department of Veterans
Affairs responsible for the delivery of disability compensation
to veterans eligible for such compensation.
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