A U.S. Senate committee will review a bill that a local congressman hopes will eventually make it easier for veterans to apply for benefits.
U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-Luzerne, introduced the Simplifying Forms for Veterans Claims Act in February, about a month after beginning his first term in Congress. The House overwhelmingly approved it two weeks ago.
If the Senate passes the bill and President Donald Trump signs it, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs would have to contract with a federally funded research and development center to assess the forms the department sends veterans applying for benefits.
The center would have to come up with a report on how to “make the forms clearer and more organized.”
Bresnahan highlighted the bill Monday at a news conference at Tobyhanna Army Depot in Coolbaugh Twp.
In an interview Friday, Bresnahan said he decided to serve as lead sponsor of the bill based on personal experience. His grandmother had to fill out forms for benefits when his grandfather died.
“I remember her sitting at the kitchen table going through like almost 40 different pages,” he said. “And I had met with the VA early on, within my first two weeks of being in office. And you know, the bureaucratic process sometimes is frustrating, so I was honored that the first piece of legislation I introduced is aimed at improving the claims process for veterans.”
More than 40,000 veterans live in the 8th Congressional District, which Bresnahan represents.
The House voted 386-1 to approve the bill on May 19. The Senate assigned to its Veterans’ Affairs Committee the next day.
Rep. John Duarte, a California Republican congressman, introduced the same bill last June during the previous Congress. That bill never made it out of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, though a subcommittee approved it.
Duarte lost his bid for re-election in November when Bresnahan was elected.
