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 forms that the Secretary sends to claimants for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseAdditional sponsors: Mr. Meuser, Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania, Mr. Pfluger, …
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the …
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Mr. Bresnahan (for himself, Mr. Davis of North Carolina, Mr. …
On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended
Simplifying Forms for Veterans Claims Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill requires the VA to hire an independent federally funded research center to assess all forms sent to veterans claiming benefits. The assessment must recommend how to make forms clearer and better organized. The VA must then implement the recommendations within 2 years.
Who Benefits and How
Veterans filing benefits claims benefit from simpler, clearer forms. Veterans service organizations that help veterans navigate claims benefit from reduced complexity. Survivors of veterans (also consulted in the assessment) benefit from improved forms for dependent claims.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The VA faces the cost of contracting with an FFRDC and implementing form redesign. However, clearer forms may reduce processing errors and appeals, potentially saving money long-term. The 2-year implementation deadline creates accountability.
Key Provisions
- VA must seek agreement with FFRDC within 30 days of enactment
- Assessment must consult veterans service organizations and advocacy groups
- VA must report assessment to Congress within 90 days of receiving it
- VA must implement compliant recommendations within 2 years
- Also extends certain pension payment limits by one month (November to December 2031)
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Requires VA to contract with a federally funded research center to assess and simplify forms sent to veterans claiming benefits, then implement the recommendations within 2 years.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Use independent assessment to improve VA claims process"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Veterans filing benefits claims
- Veterans service organizations
Likely Burden Bearers
- VA (implementation costs and process changes)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "ffrdc"
- → Federally Funded Research and Development Center
- "secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Federally funded research and development center
As defined in 38 USC 5100 - person applying for VA benefits
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology