To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit certain reports relating to medical evidence submitted in support of claims for benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to express my strong support for the significant package of the veteran's bills that we considered in the House both yesterday and today.

As the former Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee (2001 through 2005), I am acutely aware of the challenges our veterans face, especially as they transition from military to civilian life. As Chairman, I authored more than a dozen laws to expand health, education, job training and homelessness benefits for the men and women who served in uniform. Thankfully these laws continue to help our veterans today.

Still, there are new problems and new issues that urgently need our attention. Massive wait times, forged documents by VA officials, ineptitude, lack of equipment and under-staffing at VA medical facilities are just a few of the significant transgressions that have been exposed and are undermining the quality of service and the treatment our veterans receive.

In 2014 and 2016 Congress passed the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act (P.L. 113-146) and the Faster Care for Veterans Act (P.L. 114-286), respectively, to usher in a complete overhaul of VA systems and to institute new technological services for scheduling and in order to secure more timely appointments. Some, but not nearly enough, progress has occurred. Much more must be done.

I commend Chairman Phil Roe, MD and his team at the Veterans Affairs Committee on the package of bills before us this week. All seven will help improve the benefit programs and the delivery of healthcare service for our veterans.

For instance, The Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 (H.R. 2288) will empower veterans who have been denied benefits to have more options as they pursue their appeals. Under the new bill, vets will be able to waive a hearing and submit additional evidence, pursue a hearing and submit additional evidence, or transfer the jurisdiction of their case to the Board of Veterans Appeals. The new options should help cut through some wait time.

The VA Scheduling Accountability Act (H.R. 467) would require an annual certification of compliance with scheduling directives. Additionally the bill blocks awards and bonuses to any leadership personnel at any medical center that fails to comply with the scheduling directives. Another bill before us, H.R. 1005 would allow the federal government to enter into agreements with state veteran's homes to pay for adult day health care for certain eligible veterans.

The No Hero Left Untreated Act (H.R. 1162) will create a one year pilot program at the VA to use innovative therapy to treat veterans who suffer from invisible wounds, which include post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury (TBI), military sexual trauma, chronic pain, or opiate addiction. As the author of the Veterans Health Programs Improvement Act (P.L. 108-422) which authorized regional veteran polytrauma centers for multiple injuries including TBI, I fully support H.R. 1162 as a way to ensure that the VA is able to adapt to the newest and best practices for treating veterans with these unique traumas and conditions.

The Quicker Veterans Benefits Delivery Act of 2017 (H.R. 1725) will require stronger reporting requirements from the Department of Veterans Affairs regarding the necessity for in-person disability examinations; and the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2017 (H.R. 1329) will increase the cost-of-living-adjustment for disabled veterans who receive compensation to equal the same rate of increase for citizens who receive Social Security in 2018.

Finally, the VA Prescription Data Accountability Act (H.R. 1545) will help combat drug addiction among our veterans by creating better information and data sharing between the Department of Veterans Affairs and the states' recording programs.

Mr. Speaker, let me remind my colleagues that while this package of veterans bills marks another step forward, we cannot be lulled into thinking that the Department of Veterans Affairs and the delivery of veterans' benefits and healthcare will be forever fixed simply with the enactment of new legislation, no matter how well written.

Good legislation is the necessary, minimum first step. But equally important is the full and consistent implementation of the new laws, along with regular and aggressive oversight by this Congress. We must be vigilant and continue to push to ensure that all veterans get the care they have earned--at the time they need it--not months or years later.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this piece of legislation.

I want to thank the chairman personally for bringing this forward and for being very eloquent in his words on what this does. It is appropriate that it is part of this block of legislation dealing with appeals reform also.

I thank the folks who have worked on this for years: Mr. Denham, Mr. Langevin, Ms. McSally, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Costello, Ms. Kuster, Mr. Higgins of New York, and Ms. Shea-Porter.

As originally introduced, this bill sought to change a current requirement stipulating that initial physical examinations of those seeking to file disability claims must be conducted by the VA. It was to allow veterans to see a local doctor.

Again, as the chairman so clearly pointed out, it was to relieve some of the pressure on the VA, while recognizing we have quality, ethically trustworthy physicians in the private sector who can deliver some of these services. The idea was that requiring the VA to accept private medical evidence from a qualified physician would ease the benefit process in rural communities, expedite diagnosis of disabilities, and reduce the wait times and the backlogs.

This is a problem that we have been working on for many years. We introduced similar language in 2013, 2014, and 2015.

I would like to thank all my fellow members, both on and off the committee, and those who are no longer in Congress for working toward this. I am especially thankful to Chairman Bost and Ms. Esty for having worked with me to tighten the scope of this bill to address the cost that the Congressional Budget Office scored it to.

As it is now, the bill requires an annual report on how veterans obtain private medical evidence in support of their claim, how often it is rejected, and why. It is my hope that this data will help build our case for mandating that the VA accept all credible private medical evidence. We cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good and need to get started gathering this data as soon as possible.

As we also work to improve the appeals process today, making it more convenient for veterans to get and submit medical evidence, this component will be important. By continuing our work on this issue, veterans will be able to complete their claims faster; start receiving the benefits that they have earned faster; and make sure that the stress you heard about with 20 years of waiting, much of that time

seeing private physicians and gathering evidence to support the very claim that is being denied, this piece of legislation should make sense with that.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I thank everyone involved with this. I urge my colleagues to support this piece of legislation, H.R. 1725.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1725) to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the treatment of medical evidence provided by non-Department of Veterans Affairs medical professionals in support of claims for disability compensation under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material in the Record on H.R. 1725, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

H.R. 1725, as amended, was introduced by my good friend Mr. Walz, the ranking member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

This bill addresses a very serious issue. When a veteran files a claim for disability benefits, VA may need a medical opinion regarding whether the injury or illness is service connected and, if it is, the extent of the veteran's disability. The problem is that the VA often schedules a medical disability examination when one might not be needed.

Many times, a veteran will submit medical evidence from a private doctor with enough information for VA to decide the claim, but we hear about cases where VA still requires a VA examination. Ordering unnecessary disability examinations is a waste of time and resources. It takes doctors away from taking care of their patients and conducting other disability examinations.

H.R. 1725, as amended, would require VA to provide reports to Congress about its use of private medical evidence. This information will be used to help us find ways to make the disability examination more efficient for veterans.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1725, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I wholeheartedly endorse this bill.

Mr. Walz, Sergeant Major Walz, speaks with great passion about it. He has the Mayo Clinic in his district. I can't imagine an evaluation at the Mayo Clinic by physicians there wouldn't be adequate for the VA.

I wholeheartedly support this bill, H.R. 1725, as amended. I urge all Members to also support it.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1725 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.