The Problem

The Board of Veterans' Appeals handles disability appeals for veterans across all branches, including the Air Force and Space Force. It chronically loses experienced attorneys to the VA's Office of General Counsel, which allows the same non-supervisory role to reach GS-15. BVA is capped at GS-14. The result is approximately $10,000 less per year for the same career track. Experienced legal talent walking down the hall while veterans wait.

• BVA appeals decisions directly affect disability ratings, benefits eligibility, and quality of life for many AFSA members.
• Experienced BVA attorneys produce faster, higher-quality decisions, and their departure directly extends backlogs.
• The GS-14 cap is an internal inequity with no policy justification. This gap exists nowhere else in VA's legal structure.

What H.R. 2303 Does

• Removes the GS-14 pay ceiling for BVA non-supervisory attorneys, allowing promotion to GS-15. This is the same ceiling that already exists at the Office of General Counsel.
• Grants BVA the same pay flexibility that other VA legal components already have.
• Requires no new appropriations. The adjustments come from within BVA's existing budget authority.

Why AFSA Supports This Bill

• AFSA members who have filed disability appeals deserve a fully staffed, experienced BVA. Every attorney who leaves for another office is a delay added to every veteran still in the queue.
• Air Force and Space Force veterans are well-represented in the VA appeals system. This bill directly improves the system that adjudicates their claims.
• Bipartisan (McGarvey-D and Bilirakis-R) — a strong candidate for floor passage with the right member engagement.
• Narrow, low-cost, and structurally sound. There is no legitimate reason BVA attorneys should earn less than their counterparts doing comparable legal work at the same agency.