Modernizing All Veterans and Survivors
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The bill would direct the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop a plan for automation tools that help process disability, pension, and survivor benefit claims, and to create a new annual report on causes of death among veterans.
It would also require the VA to build safeguards so claims processors are alerted when dependency or education benefit payments change for a veteran's child, and to ensure documents uploaded to its claims system are correctly labeled.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would require the VA to submit a plan, within one year of enactment, for deploying an automation tool that retrieves veteran records, compiles evidence, provides automated decision support, shares information between federal agencies, and helps generate claim correspondence. The plan must analyze feasibility, needed modifications to existing tools, and a timeline, with priority given to offices like the Pension and Fiduciary Service, Education Service, Debt Management Center, and Board of Veterans' Appeals. The bill would also add a new U.S. Code section requiring an annual VA report to Congress on causes of death among veterans, including service-connection status and manner of death, sunsetting five years after enactment. Separately, within one year the VA would have to implement policies and technology ensuring claims processors are alerted when a beneficiary's dependency compensation for a child increases or when a veteran's child receives educational assistance, and submit a plan to ensure documents in its benefits management system are correctly labeled when uploaded.
Key provisions
- 1Would require the VA to submit a plan within one year to deploy an automation tool for processing benefits claims, covering record retrieval, evidence compilation, decision support, and correspondence generation
- 2Would require the plan to prioritize automation tools for specific offices, including Pension and Fiduciary Service, Education Service, Debt Management Center, and Board of Veterans' Appeals
- 3Would add a new annual VA report to Congress on causes of death among veterans, including service-connection status and manner of death, sunsetting after five years
- 4Would require the VA to implement technology ensuring claims processors are alerted when dependency compensation for a child increases or a child receives educational assistance
- 5Would require the VA to submit a plan to ensure documents in the Veterans Benefits Management System are correctly labeled when uploaded
Who would be affected
Veterans and survivors who file claims for compensation, pension, or education benefits; VA claims processors and program offices including the Veterans Benefits Administration, Board of Veterans' Appeals, and Debt Management Center; and congressional Veterans' Affairs committees that would receive the required plans and reports.
Why it matters
If enacted, veterans and survivors could see faster, more consistent claims processing as automation tools handle record retrieval and correspondence, while new alerts aim to prevent errors when a child's benefits change. Congress would gain new visibility into veteran mortality causes and document-labeling accuracy within VA systems.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Creates Title 38, United States Code, chapter 5 (Sec. 2)
Adds new Section 534 requiring an annual VA report on causes of death among veterans, sunsetting after five years
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- VA's plan for the claims automation tool must be submitted to Congress
- VA must implement alert policies for changes in dependency/education benefits for children
- VA must submit plan for correct document labeling in benefits management system
- New annual causes-of-death report requirement terminates
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates H.R. 3854 would reduce the federal deficit by $8 million over the 2025–2035 period, with no significant effect in the near term.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3854 would reduce net direct spending (mandatory spending) by $8 million over the 2025–2035 period, with no effect on revenues. The main driver is a two-month extension (through January 31, 2032) of an existing rule that limits VA pension payments to $90 per month for veterans and survivors living in Medicaid nursing homes; while that saves $10 million per month in VA benefits, Medicaid costs would rise by $6 million per month, yielding a net savings of $8 million. Additional discretionary spending (spending that requires annual appropriations) would increase by less than $500,000 to cover new reporting and IT requirements. CBO found no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates in the bill as defined under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
How implementation would work
The VA would first analyze feasibility and develop a technology plan within one year, prioritizing specific benefit offices, then proceed to implementation with continued coordination between technology offices. Separately, within the same year the VA must build alert capabilities into systems like the National Work Queue and submit a document-labeling plan to Congress. The new causes-of-death report would be submitted annually to House and Senate Veterans' Affairs committees until it sunsets five years after enactment of a related act.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to plan and implement certain technological improvements to its systems, particularly in relation to the processing of claims and benefits.
First, the bill requires the VA to submit to Congress its plan to make available an automation tool for processing claims. Such tool must automate the retrieval of the records of the veteran, compile evidence relevant to the determination of the claim, provide automated decision support relevant to the determination, automate information sharing between federal agencies, and assist in generating correspondence regarding the claim.
Within one year of submitting this plan, the VA must ensure that each VA program office responsible for processing claims for pension or survivor benefits has an automation tool that at least assists in generating correspondence regarding the claim.
The VA must also implement policies, processes, and technological capabilities to ensure that a claims processor is made aware of and assigned to address situations when (1) there is an increase in the amount of dependency compensation paid to a beneficiary for a child, and (2) any educational assistance is paid to the child of a veteran.
Finally, the VA must submit a plan to Congress to ensure documents in the Veterans Benefits Management System are correctly labeled when uploaded.
Legislative subjects
Armed Forces and National Security; Computers and information technology; Congressional oversight; Government information and archives; Veterans' pensions and compensation
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-260