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The House during a pro forma session Friday cleared a bipartisan bill aimed at paring down a massive backlog of appeals for veterans’ disability benefits.
Passage of the measure brings to three the number of major veterans’ bills that now await President Donald Trump’s signature. In addition to the appeals bill, Congress before leaving for the August recess cleared a $2.1 billion funding patch for a private medical care access program, and the “Forever GI Bill,” which extends education benefits to future veterans for an entire lifetime instead of the current 15-year window.
The bill as amended would essentially create three “lanes” for veterans’ appeals as a strategy to reduce the time a former service member needs to wait for a decision on benefit claims. It was introduced by Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., with original cosponsor Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-Conn.