WASHINGTON – Friday, during a Pro Forma session in the U.S. House of Representatives, Representative Mary Peltola (D-AK-AL), Representative James Moylan (R-GU-AL), and Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-05) introduced the bipartisan VA Appeals Reform Act of 2024, new legislation to reform the Department of Veteran Affairs’ appellate backlog. Currently, an average of 200,000 VA appeals are backlogged annually. Each appeal faces delays spanning several years, while only roughly 90,000 cases are resolved per year.

“Our veterans served honorably and should have speedy access to the benefits they’ve earned, but delays in the VA appellate system continue to jeopardize their health and financial well-being – veterans are dying while they wait for their cases to be heard,” said Rep. Peltola. “As the mother of two sons in the Coast Guard, I know this bill can be a starting point to making real changes to a broken system.”

“Our veterans deserve the best services and support available and it’s shameful that many may wait years for their cases to be heard. That’s why Rep. Peltola and I introduced the VA Appeals Reform Act of 2024 which seeks to correct the Department of Veteran Affairs’ appellate backlog,” said Rep. Moylan. “As a veteran, I have seen the harm and financial impact that prolonged waiting periods have on those who have proudly served our country. They deserve better and I urge my colleagues in Congress to support our bipartisan measure.”

“After sacrificing so much, our veterans should never struggle to get the care or recognition they have earned. These are not Democratic or Republican issues — they are principles of the country we live in, the one our veterans helped protect, under the flag we all salute,” said Rep. Gottheimer. “I’m proud to work across the aisle to help lead this effort to reform the VA appeals process, which will streamline this broken system and keep the VA accountable to those who have served.”

The VA Appeals Reform Act:

• Protects veterans from predatory legal fees by establishing a legal fee cap.
• Empowers veterans and their representation to get discovery documents for their case that go beyond the initial board duty assistance. 
• Allows the claimant to contact their Pension and Compensation examiner or adjudicator to ask questions about their documentation, a crucial step for any errors to be recognized before they go to court. 
• Allows for the supplement of record for higher review. This allows veterans to get additional information added to their claim without adding additional time to their original claim.
• Reinstates military judges if no administrative law judge is available, creating accountability standards for the board and ensuring a fair scheduling conference with veterans their representation for due process.
• Enhances accountability for judicial errors.
• Establishes an electronic case management and filing system to streamline the process.

“The VA appeals system is broken, and it has been broken for decades,” said Retired U.S. Navy Commander John Wells, of Military-Veterans Advocacy Inc. “In 2017, Congress passed the Appeals Modernization Act which was intended to provide faster quality service on appeals. It failed to do so. Today, 70-80% if the cases appealed to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims are remanded because the Board failed to do its job. Yet none of these board members are held accountable. Over 30% of the hearings are rescheduled because of a lack of coordination. Approximately 10% of the hearings are cancelled because the veteran died waiting for his hearing. Despite the VA’s protestations, over 200,000 appeals are awaiting adjudication. The Peltola-Moylan bipartisan bill will address many of these problems. We owe our veterans a better system.”

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