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Veterans Administration Backlog Accountability Act of 2025
To direct the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a report on the backlog of disability compensation claims submitted to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Summary
This bill would require the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs to submit a report to Congress within 180 days on the backlog of disability compensation claims. The report would assess the status of the backlog, how the VA is addressing it including through staff recruitment efforts, and how staffing reductions since January 2025 have affected the backlog. The report would also evaluate how the backlog impacts claimant wait times and how the VA is preparing for a predicted 50 percent increase in claims. Additionally, the report would review how new technologies have helped reduce the backlog and provide recommendations for further improvements.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Norma J. Torres’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- NULL $36,825
- HDC CONSTRUCTION $6,600
- GOLDMAN SACHS $6,600
- DIVERSIFIED PACIFIC DEVELOPMENT GROUP $6,200
- WTRSHD CAPITAL LLC $5,800
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Norma J. Torres → · Outside spending →
Actions (3)
- Jun 6, 2025 Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs. · house
- May 21, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. · house
- May 21, 2025 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 21, 2025
Mrs. Torres of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
A BILL
To direct the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a report on the backlog of disability compensation claims submitted to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Veterans Administration Backlog Accountability Act of 2025”.
SEC. 2. INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT ON BACKLOG OF DISABILITY COMPENSATION CLAIMS SUBMITTED TO DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
(a) Report.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Congress a report on the backlog of disability compensation claims submitted to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs pursuant to chapter 11 of title 38, United States Code, pending before the Veterans Benefits Administration or the Board of Veterans’ Appeals.
(b) Matters Included.—The report under subsection (a) shall include the following:
(1) A description of the status of the backlog described in such subsection.
(2) An assessment of how the Secretary is addressing such backlog, including how the Secretary is recruiting staff to fill open positions within the Department using authorities or amounts available under the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-168).
(3) An assessment of the effect of any reduction in staffing at the Department since January 20, 2025, affects such backlog.
(4) An assessment of how such backlog affects the average amount of time claimants who have submitted disability compensation claims pursuant to chapter 11 of title 38, United States Code, wait for the Secretary to adjudicate those claims.
(5) An assessment of how the Secretary is preparing to address the predicted 50 percent increase in such claims resulting from the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-168).
(6) An overview of how new technologies, such as automated decision support technology, have contributed to the reduction of such backlog.
(7) Recommendations by the Inspector General to further reduce such backlog. <all>
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