Review Every Veterans Claim Act of 2025
- Bill Number
- H.R. 2137
- Origin Chamber
- House
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2026-05-04: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 549.
- Last Updated
- 2026-07-08T16:38:22Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose
The Review Every Veterans Claim Act of 2025 (H.R. 2137) aims to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and fairness of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) process for adjudicating (deciding) and appealing claims for veterans' benefits. It prevents claim denials based solely on missing a medical exam, enhances tracking and reporting, reduces unnecessary delays and remands (returns for further review), and promotes quality in decisions.
Key Provisions
- Prohibition on Sole-Basis Denials: VA cannot deny a veteran's benefits claim only because the veteran missed a scheduled medical exam.
- Reporting and Tracking Requirements:
- Annual reports on average time for remanded claims, docket advancements, appeal dismissals (including by suicide), and tracked claims (e.g., continuously pursued, unassigned, expedited, remanded).
- New tracking system for specific claim types, non-compliance with Board remands, supplemental claims, and beneficiary death notices.
- Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) Improvements:
- Guidelines for advancing urgent cases on the docket.
- Authority to aggregate (group) appeals with common legal or factual issues.
- Ensure compliance with remand decisions; allow waivers if new evidence resolves issues.
- Quality assurance program, training for BVA members, annual performance reviews, and plans to reduce unnecessary remands.
- Annual reports on remand reasons, disaggregated by claim date.
- Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) Expansion:
- Supplemental jurisdiction for class action-like reviews of similar claims.
- Limited remands for specific unresolved issues, with rules for timelines and notifications.
- Studies and Assessments:
- Study on common legal/factual issues for precedential guidance (potentially using AI).
- Independent assessment by a federally funded research center on BVA issuing precedential decisions.
- Study on Office of General Counsel opinions for consistency.
- Other Measures:
- Notices for avoidable deferrals (delays) in claims processing.
- Extension of pension payment limits to December 31, 2034.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Amends 38 U.S.C. § 5103A(d): Expands from compensation claims to all benefits; adds explicit ban on no-show denials.
- Adds/enhances sections like § 5109B, § 5109C, § 7101(f), § 7101B, § 7104, § 7115, § 7252: Introduces tracking tech, aggregation authority, quality programs, training, class certification, limited remands.
- Changes BVA performance reviews to annual; requires specific remand justifications and employee notifications.
- Expands CAVC rules for class-like proceedings and tolling (pausing) appeal deadlines during class reviews.
Potential Impacts
- VA and Agencies: Increased administrative burden from tracking, reports (annual to Congress), tech upgrades, training, and quality programs; potential efficiency gains via aggregation, reduced remands, and AI use.
- Veterans and Claimants: Faster, fairer processing; protection from automatic denials for missed exams; easier group challenges via class actions; fewer delays from remands.
- No direct international relations impact.
Main Stakeholders
- Veterans and survivors filing benefits claims (primary beneficiaries).
- Department of Veterans Affairs (Secretary, Veterans Benefits Administration, BVA, Office of General Counsel).
- Courts: BVA and CAVC (expanded roles).
- Congress: House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees (receive reports).
- Veterans service organizations (consulted on assessments).
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Enables class action-like mechanisms in CAVC (novel for VA appeals), potentially binding groups of claimants; promotes precedential decisions to standardize rulings (currently limited); strengthens duty-to-assist/notify compliance.
- Constitutional: No direct challenges; aligns with due process by reducing arbitrary denials and ensuring reasoned decisions.
- Political: Bipartisan support (original and additional sponsors); emphasizes accountability/transparency via reports, could reduce backlog complaints but increase oversight on VA/BVA performance.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Rep. Luttrell, Morgan [R-TX-8]
Cosponsors (9)
Rep. McGarvey, Morgan [D-KY-3], Rep. Weber, Randy K. Sr. [R-TX-14], Rep. Pfluger, August [R-TX-11], Rep. Mills, Cory [R-FL-7], Rep. Vindman, Eugene Simon [D-VA-7], Rep. Neguse, Joe [D-CO-2], Rep. Thompson, Mike [D-CA-4], Rep. Kiggans, Jennifer A. [R-VA-2], Rescom. Hernández, Pablo Jose [D-PR-At Large]
Recent Actions
- 2026-05-04: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 549.
- 2026-05-04: Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H. Rept. 119-633.
- 2026-05-04: Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H. Rept. 119-633.
- 2025-07-23: Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.
- 2025-07-23: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- 2025-07-23: Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Discharged
- 2025-03-26: Subcommittee Hearings Held
- 2025-03-26: Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
- 2025-03-14: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
- 2025-03-14: Introduced in House
- 2025-03-14: Introduced in House
Bill Versions
- Review Every Veterans Claim Act of 2025 — issued 2025-03-14 — PDF (2 pages)
- Review Every Veterans Claim Act of 2025 — issued 2026-05-04 — PDF (32 pages)