S. 1664, Department of Veterans Affairs Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Processing Claims Improvement Act of 2021

Congressional Budget Office

Cost Estimate

January 7, 2022

S. 1664, Department of Veterans Affairs Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Processing Claims Improvement Act of 2021

As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs on December 15, 2021

By Fiscal Year, Millions of Dollars

2022

2022-2026

2022-2031

Direct Spending (Outlays)

0

0

0

Revenues

0

0

0

Increase or Decrease (-)

0

0

0

in the Deficit

Spending Subject to

*

*

not estimated

Appropriation (Outlays)

Statutory pay-as-you-go

No

Mandate Effects

procedures apply?

Contains intergovernmental mandate?

No

Increases on-budget deficits in any

No

of the four consecutive 10-year

periods beginning in 2032?

Contains private-sector mandate?

No

* = between zero and $500,000.

S. 1664 would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop an annual training program for employees who process disability compensation claims for post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The bill also would require VA to develop a process to analyze future training needs based on an annual evaluation of errors in processing PTSD claims. Finally, VA would be required to annually determine if training for PTSD claims processors should be updated.

VA provides annual training for PTSD claims processors, updates that training as necessary, and analyzes error rates in PTSD-related claims. Because VA is already completing most of the bill's requirements, any incremental costs to implement the bill would be insignificant.

Those costs would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Logan Smith. The estimate was reviewed by Leo Lex, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.

See also CBO's Cost Estimates Explained,www.cbo.gov/publication/54437;

How CBO Prepares Cost Estimates, www.cbo.gov/publication/53519; and Glossary, www.cbo.gov/publication/42904.