Letter to the Hon. Robert Wilkie, Secretary of Veterans Affairs - Bustos Advocates for Modernization of Veterans Affairs Process in Letter to VA Secretary

Letter

Dear Secretary Wilkie:

As I engage with veterans across my district, accessibility to services regardless of geographic location continues be a concern. This issue has been amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic as in-person contact has been reduced and more services have moved to virtual modalities.

The 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA) was signed into law on December 20, 2018 (Pub.L. 115-336). This bill requires the VA to make forms used by the public available in digital form. As we move toward increased reliance on virtual platforms and communications, it is imperative that veterans can fill out and submit forms electronically, specifically via mobile devices. This becomes especially important for rural veterans that either may not have access to desktop computers or are unable to print out forms to mail to the VA.

I write to request information on how the VA plans to modernize all forms to make them both electronically transferable back to VA and available via mobile devices. In particular, I request:

Your plan to make all VA forms fillable and able to be submitted on-line and via mobile devices;
The number of paper forms that you have currently transitioned to an online fillable form that can be submitted online;
The number of paper forms that you have currently transitioned to mobile friendly forms that are able to be filled out and submitted via mobile devices;
The timeline for completion of your form modernization plan
Thank you for your prompt attention to this inquiry.

Source