Congressman Morgan McGarvey Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Help Veterans Access Benefits Unattained Due to Lost Records
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 18, 2024) – Today, Congressman Morgan McGarvey (KY-03) introduced a bill to give veterans alternative pathways to access their earned veterans benefits when their records are lost by the U.S. government. The legislation, H.R. 8048 the Fred Hamilton Veterans’ Lost Records Act, codifies the Department of Veterans Affairs’ ability to determine the eligibility for veteran benefits based on alternative sources of evidence when the military service or medical treatment records of the veteran are damaged or lost, ensuring all veterans entitled to benefits receive them. The legislation was introduced on a bipartisan basis along with Representatives Chuck Edwards (NC-11), Joe Morelle (NY-25), and Claudia Tenney (NY-24). Companion legislation was introduced in the Senate by Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), Chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.
“Veterans have already put on the uniform and sacrificed for our country — they shouldn’t have to go through endless hoops to prove their service or disability when their records are lost by no fault of their own,” said Rep. Morgan McGarvey. “My office has assisted local veterans with retrieving their lost records, but it shouldn't have to be this hard. This commonsense bill simply gives the VA the authority to use alternative sources of evidence to prove service without placing the burden on veterans. As a proud member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, I'm fighting so every veteran who is eligible receives their benefits.”
The National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973 destroyed between 16 to 18 million records of U.S. military personnel and veterans. In response, VA established regulations for determining alternative sources of evidence for the veterans affected by this fire. However, many other veterans find their records damaged, lost, or otherwise unusable due to mistakes made by the Department of Defense or VA when records are transferred or stored. The Fred Hamilton Veterans Lost Records Act would expand these authorities to include other veterans outside of those who had their records destroyed in the 1973 fire. A veteran would be able to provide evidence for a service connected disability through items such as a previous medical disability examination, credible buddy statement, and other sources the VA deems eligible.
“When the government loses veterans’ records, those who faithfully served our nation should not have to spend decades trying to prove that their disabilities are related to their military service,”said Rep. Edwards. “The Veterans’ Lost Records Act will allow those whose records were lost by the VA or the Department of Defense to use additional methods to apply for benefits. This bill is a commonsense solution to fix an injustice that veterans have faced for far too long, and will allow them to finally receive the care and benefits they have rightfully earned.”
“It’s shameful many of our brave veterans and their families are being denied the benefits they’ve rightfully earned from their service because of records lost by the U.S. government,” said Rep. Morelle. “The Fred Hamilton Veterans’ Lost Records Act will help make it easier for veterans to gain access to these benefits and ensure they can receive the care and support they need. I’m grateful to my colleagues in the House and Senate for supporting this legislation, and I look forward to working with them to see it passed swiftly into law.”
“Throughout our nation, veterans find themselves unjustly denied the benefits they have rightfully earned, not through any fault of their own, but due to errors within the VA," said Rep. Tenney. "This bill aims to rectify these injustices, providing our veterans with the resources to receive the benefits they sacrificed so much to obtain. We must correct these errors to ensure that all our courageous servicemen and women receive the recognition and assistance they have earned."
“When service members turn their medical records over to the federal government, they do so with the assurance that it will keep their records safe and secure,” said Nancy Espinosa, National Commander of Disabled American Veterans (DAV). “However, as tragedies such as the 1973 National Personnel Records Center fire in St. Louis demonstrated, that is not always the case—and it’s a situation that strips veterans of their ability to prove their disabilities are related to their military service. That’s why DAV supports the Fred Hamilton Veterans’ Lost Records Act—as well as its Senate companion legislation, S. 3452—which would authorize VA to grant disability claims using previous medical disability exams, credible buddy statements, or a statement from impacted veterans whose records were lost or destroyed through no fault of their own. We very much appreciate and applaud Rep. McGarvey, Rep. Edwards, Rep. Morelle and Rep. Tenney’s leadership in introducing this important bipartisan legislation as it will help our nation’s heroes obtain the benefits they’ve earned.”
“The medical records of veterans are foundational to applying for VA benefits claims,” said Nancy Springer, Associate Director of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). “Federal repositories typically store these records for safekeeping. However, over time some records have been lost or damaged, derailing the claims process for those individuals. Lacking the vital substantiating documents, some from decades ago, these veterans cannot claim the benefits they earned while in service. Though the migration from paper-based to electronic records and cloud storage repositories will mitigate this situation in the future, this is a problem now. Accordingly, the VFW supports legislation to recognize this reality and permit alternate evidentiary sources to validate these claims, finally allowing these veterans to access their rightful benefits. The VFW applauds Congressman McGarvey for introducing this bill and calls for its swift passage.”
H.R. 8048 - The Fred Hamilton Veterans’ Lost Records Act is endorsed by the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Wounded Warrior Project.
The bill text can be found HERE.
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