Congress·In Committee·H.R. 2303

Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney Retention and Backlog Reduction Act

Veterans' Appeals: Higher Pay for Attorneys to Speed Up Claims

Mar 18·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

This bill is one vehicle in a longer effort. See the full story across every version.View effort →

Next up: A house committee

This bill is currently in the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs for review. Nothing has happened with the bill since March 2026, which is a period of three months. The House committee must decide whether to hold a vote on the bill before it can move forward.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

How we got here

This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.

Reintroduced
Reintroduced from H.R. 9046 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
H.R. 9046 (118th) →

Key Points

This bill changes how lawyers at the Board of Veterans' Appeals are paid. It allows attorneys who are not supervisors to be promoted to the GS-15 pay level, which is the highest standard pay grade for federal workers. This allows them to earn a higher salary while continuing to focus on reviewing veteran cases rather than managing people.
The change is designed to help the Department of Veterans Affairs keep its most experienced legal staff. Many lawyers currently leave for higher-paying jobs in the private sector or other government agencies once they hit their pay ceiling. By offering more money, the VA hopes to keep these experts working on veterans' legal issues.
This policy aims to fix the long wait times veterans face when appealing denied benefit claims. With more experienced attorneys staying on the job, the Board expects to process claims faster and make fewer mistakes. This means veterans could receive final decisions on their disability or pension benefits much sooner.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

4 milestones6 actions

Mar 18, 2026House

Committee Hearings Held

Apr 9, 2025House

Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.

Apr 8, 2025House

Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held

Apr 8, 2025House

Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Mar 24, 2025House

Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

No votes, news coverage, or related bills recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney Retention and Backlog Reduction Act

Bill NumberHR 2303

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionCommittee Hearings Held

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(2)

D: 1R: 1

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.