S. 1286 · 114th Congress
Veterans Appeals Assistance and Improvement Act of 2015
Key: what the circles and colors mean
Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:
Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.
Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.
Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 114th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
D
ShaheenSponsor10 cosponsors · 10 D
D
Brown
TB
D
Baldwin
MB
D
Bennet
BC
D
Cardin
AK
D
Klobuchar
PL
D
Leahy
TU
D
Udall
SW
D
Whitehouse
JR
D
Reed
RB
D
Blumenthal8 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill directs the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims to establish a financial assistance program to provide legal and other assistance without charge for veterans and other persons seeking Court review who are unable to afford legal representation costs.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · May 11, 2015
Veterans Appeals Assistance and Improvement Act of 2015
This bill directs the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims to establish a financial assistance program to provide legal and other assistance without charge for veterans and other persons seeking Court review who are unable to afford legal representation costs. (Programs include case screening and referral, training for attorney and related personnel, and facilitation of pro bono representation by members of the bar and law school clinical and other programs.)
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) shall establish a financial assistance program to provide legal and other assistance without charge to veterans and other persons seeking review by the Board of Veterans' Appeals who are unable to afford legal representation costs.
The Court and the VA shall each carry out such programs through an interagency agreement with the Legal Services Corporation. The Corporation may receive a reimbursable payment from the Court or VA for providing such financial assistance. Funds may not be used for the payment of attorney's fees.
VA shall provide for the expeditious treatment by the Board of any claim that: (1) is remanded to VA by the Court, or (2) has been pending before the Board for eight years or more.
The Government Accountability Office shall review the processing of appeals of VA decisions regarding service-connected disability and dependency and indemnity compensation claims.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Veterans Appeals Assistance and Improvement Act of 2015
Latest action (May 11, 2015): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security · Origin: Senate · Introduced: May 11, 2015
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.