Rep. Mace reintroduces bill to modernize VA with blockchain technology
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., is renewing her push for the Department of Veterans Affairs to embrace blockchain-like technology and improve what she described as the agency’s “outdated” systems.
The South Carolina Republican reintroduced the Veterans Affairs Distributed Ledger Innovation Act on Thursday, stating in a press release that “we need to bring the federal government into the 21st century.”
The bill would direct the VA to conduct a “comprehensive study” on how distributed ledger technology could be used at the agency to boost accountability in claims management and improve the allocation of benefits.
The study, according to the bill text, would explore how blockchains and other similar technology might boost the traceability and reliability of veterans’ benefits claims by recording steps of the process and reducing the risk of fraudulent claims in verification processes.
“This legislation paves the way for research into cutting-edge solutions to replace the broken, outdated systems continuing to fail our veterans,” Mace said in a statement Thursday. “We owe it to the men and women willing to lay down their lives to use every tool available to improve theirs.”
Distributed ledger technology is increasingly floated as a way to make government processes more efficient and transparent, especially when dealing with large swaths of data.
With the technology, all users on the network can access the ledger history. Advocates say the decentralized system helps prevent fraud and makes data more easily traceable.
The VA, according to Mace’s office, is currently relying on decades-old systems, which leads to delays in benefits claims and appointment scheduling and cyber vulnerabilities.
Lawmakers like Mace have long pressed the VA on its modernization efforts, including the rollout of its troubled Electronic Health Record system.
Mace first introduced the bill last year, though the legislation did not move past the House Veterans Affairs subcommittee on technology modernization.
House Veterans Affairs Committee Chair Mike Bost, R-Ill., applauded the bill, adding in a statement that the “VA must be an efficient and innovative organization in order to deliver high quality, advanced healthcare and services to veterans.”
The legislation was also endorsed by the Digital Chamber, an advocacy group for blockchain technology and digital assets, according to Mace’s office.
“Blockchain technology has the power to meaningfully transform how veterans access their earned benefits by providing greater transparency, security, and efficiency,” Cody Carbone, the group’s CEO, said in a statement.
