HR2201-119

What This Bill Does

The Improving VA Training for Military Sexual Trauma Claims Act amends title 38 claim-processing rules for military sexual trauma claims. VA must ensure that every Department employee who processes an MST claim, communicates with a claimant about evidence, or decides the claim receives annual sensitivity training and other training. Training must match the employee's experience level with MST claims and must be updated at least once every year. Within 90 days after enactment, VA must report to the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees on training provided before enactment and plans to implement the new requirements. The bill also amends VA's duty to assist so that for a section 1166 MST claim, VA assistance must include obtaining the claimant's service personnel record and service medical record. A second 90-day report must cover sensitivity training for contracted health care professionals and scheduling staff who perform or arrange examinations for veterans with MST claims, and VA's plan to improve that training and ensure claimants are not retraumatized during examinations.

Who Benefits and How

Veterans filing military sexual trauma claims, MST survivors, veterans service officers, accredited claims representatives, VA regional office claimants, contracted examination patients, House Veterans' Affairs Committee members, Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee members, and trauma-informed care advocates benefit from better-trained VA employees, mandatory service-record development, experience-matched training, annual updates, and congressional oversight of examiner sensitivity training.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Department of Veterans Affairs, VA claims processors, VA decision reviewers, VA call-center staff, VA evidence-development teams, VA training offices, VA medical-record retrieval staff, contracted health care professionals, examination schedulers, Veterans Benefits Administration managers, and congressional report staff must complete annual training, update materials, obtain service personnel and medical records, improve contractor sensitivity training, prevent retraumatizing examinations, and submit 90-day reports to Congress.

Key Provisions

• Requires annual sensitivity training for VA employees who process, communicate about, or decide MST claims.
• Requires MST training to match employee experience and be updated at least annually.
• Requires 90-day reports to House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees on VA employee training and contractor-examiner training.
• Requires VA claim assistance to obtain service personnel records and service medical records for MST claims.
• Requires a plan to improve contractor sensitivity training and avoid retraumatizing veterans during examinations.