Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney Retention and Backlog Reduction Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney Retention and Backlog Reduction Act makes a narrow title 38 personnel change. It amends section 7101A(b) so an individual employed by the Board as a non-supervisory attorney may be promoted to grade GS-15 of the General Schedule. The bill does not create new appeal rights or change benefits standards. Its operational purpose is to create a higher career ceiling for experienced Board attorneys so VA can retain legal staff who draft decisions and help process veterans' appeals.
Who Benefits and How
Board of Veterans' Appeals non-supervisory attorneys benefit from a statutory path to GS-15 promotion without moving into management. Veterans waiting for appeals decisions benefit if attorney retention helps the Board reduce backlogs. VA appeals managers benefit from an additional retention tool for experienced decision-drafting attorneys. Veterans service organizations benefit if the Board can maintain experienced attorney capacity for appeals processing.
Who Bears the Burden and How
VA human resources staff must update promotion policies and classification practices for Board attorneys. Board of Veterans' Appeals budget officials must absorb higher salary costs for promoted non-supervisory attorneys. Federal taxpayers bear the cost of GS-15 promotions for qualifying attorneys. Supervisory attorneys may face changed retention dynamics if non-supervisory roles can reach GS-15.
Key Provisions
- Allows non-supervisory Board of Veterans' Appeals attorneys to be promoted to GS-15.
- Amends title 38 section 7101A(b) to create the career-enhancement authority.
- Provides a retention tool for experienced Board attorneys without changing veterans benefits law.
- Targets appeals backlog reduction through attorney workforce stability.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Allows non-supervisory attorneys employed by the Board of Veterans' Appeals to be promoted to GS-15, giving VA a career-enhancement tool intended to retain experienced appeals attorneys and reduce veterans' appeals backlogs.
Key Policy Areas
Veterans, Federal Workforce, VA, Appeals
Primary Purpose
Allows non-supervisory attorneys employed by the Board of Veterans' Appeals to be promoted to GS-15, giving VA a career-enhancement tool intended to retain experienced appeals attorneys and reduce veterans' appeals backlogs.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Board of Veterans' Appeals attorneys
- Veterans waiting for appeals decisions
- VA appeals managers
- Veterans service organizations
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- VA human resources staff
- Board budget officials
- Federal taxpayers
- Supervisory attorneys
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeCommittee Hearings Held
Committee Hearings Held
Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Introduced in House
Mr. McGarvey (for himself and Mr. Bilirakis) introduced the following …
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
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.
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