Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000

Summary: Requires, in the case of a veteran's claim for disability compensation, the Secretary to: (1) obtain the claimant's service medical records and, if the claimant has furnished sufficient information, other relevant service records, existing records of relevant medical treatment or examination at Department of Veterans Affairs health care facilities or at the expense of the Department, and any other relevant records held by a Federal department or agency; and (2) provide a medical examination or obtain a medical opinion when the evidence indicates that the claimant has a current disability, or persistent or recurrent symptoms of disability, which may be associated with active military service, but does not contain sufficient medical evidence for the Secretary to make a decision on the claim.(Sec. 4) Places on the claimant the burden of proving entitlement to benefits (currently, of submitting evidence to justify a belief by a fair and impartial individual that the claim is well grounded).(Sec. 5) Requires the Federal department or agency providing information under this Act to bear its costs.(Sec. 7) Provides for: (1) the applicability of provisions of this Act concerning the burden of proof to claims filed before, or not final as of, the date of enactment of this Act; and (2) the readjudication of claims for benefits that were denied, because the claims were not well grounded, during the period between July 14, 1999, and this Act's enactment date.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 
2000''.

SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF DEFINITION OF ``CLAIMANT'' FOR PURPOSES OF 
              VETERANS CLAIMS.

    Chapter 51 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
before section 5101 the following new section:

``Sec. 5100. Definition of `claimant'

    ``For purposes of this chapter, the term `claimant' means any 
individual applying for, or submitting a claim for, any benefit under 
the laws administered by the Secretary.''.

SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE TO CLAIMANTS.

    (a) Reaffirmation and Clarification of Duty To Assist.--Chapter 51 
of title 38, United States Code, is further amended by striking 
sections 5102 and 5103 and inserting the following:

``Sec. 5102. Application forms furnished upon request; notice to 
            claimants of incomplete applications

    ``(a) Furnishing Forms.--Upon request made by any person claiming 
or applying for, or expressing an intent to claim or apply for, a 
benefit under the laws administered by the Secretary, the Secretary 
shall furnish such person, free of all expense, all instructions and 
forms necessary to apply for that benefit.
    ``(b) Incomplete Applications.--If a claimant's application for a 
benefit under the laws administered by the Secretary is incomplete, the 
Secretary shall notify the claimant and the claimant's representative, 
if any, of the information necessary to complete the application.

``Sec. 5103. Notice to claimants of required information and evidence

    ``(a) Required Information and Evidence.--Upon receipt of a 
complete or substantially complete application, the Secretary shall 
notify the claimant and the claimant's representative, if any, of any 
information, and any medical or lay evidence, not previously provided 
to the Secretary that is necessary to substantiate the claim. As part 
of that notice, the Secretary shall indicate which portion of that 
information and evidence, if any, is to be provided by the claimant and 
which portion, if any, the Secretary, in accordance with section 5103A 
of this title and any other applicable provisions of law, will attempt 
to obtain on behalf of the claimant.
    ``(b) Time Limitation.--(1) In the case of information or evidence 
that the claimant is notified under subsection (a) is to be provided by 
the claimant, if such information or evidence is not received by the 
Secretary within 1 year from the date of such notification, no benefit 
may be paid or furnished by reason of the claimant's application.
    ``(2) This subsection shall not apply to any application or claim 
for Government life insurance benefits.

``Sec. 5103A. Duty to assist claimants

    ``(a) Duty To Assist.--(1) The Secretary shall make reasonable 
efforts to assist a claimant in obtaining evidence necessary to 
substantiate the claimant's claim for a benefit under a law 
administered by the Secretary.
    ``(2) The Secretary is not required to provide assistance to a 
claimant under this section if no reasonable possibility exists that 
such assistance would aid in substantiating the claim.
    ``(3) The Secretary may defer providing assistance under this 
section pending the submission by the claimant of essential information 
missing from the claimant's application.
    ``(b) Assistance in Obtaining Records.--(1) As part of the 
assistance provided under subsection (a), the Secretary shall make 
reasonable efforts to obtain relevant records (including private 
records) that the claimant adequately identifies to the Secretary and 
authorizes the Secretary to obtain.
    ``(2) Whenever the Secretary, after making such reasonable efforts, 
is unable to obtain all of the relevant records sought, the Secretary 
shall notify the claimant that the Secretary is unable to obtain 
records with respect to the claim. Such a notification shall--
        ``(A) identify the records the Secretary is unable to obtain;
        ``(B) briefly explain the efforts that the Secretary made to 
    obtain those records; and
        ``(C) describe any further action to be taken by the Secretary 
    with respect to the claim.
    ``(3) Whenever the Secretary attempts to obtain records from a 
Federal department or agency under this subsection or subsection (c), 
the efforts to obtain those records shall continue until the records 
are obtained unless it is reasonably certain that such records do not 
exist or that further efforts to obtain those records would be futile.
    ``(c) Obtaining Records for Compensation Claims.--In the case of a 
claim for disability compensation, the assistance provided by the 
Secretary under subsection (b) shall include obtaining the following 
records if relevant to the claim:
        ``(1) The claimant's service medical records and, if the 
    claimant has furnished the Secretary information sufficient to 
    locate such records, other relevant records pertaining to the 
    claimant's active military, naval, or air service that are held or 
    maintained by a governmental entity.
        ``(2) Records of relevant medical treatment or examination of 
    the claimant at Department health-care facilities or at the expense 
    of the Department, if the claimant furnishes information sufficient 
    to locate those records.
        ``(3) Any other relevant records held by any Federal department 
    or agency that the claimant adequately identifies and authorizes 
    the Secretary to obtain.
    ``(d) Medical Examinations for Compensation Claims.--(1) In the 
case of a claim for disability compensation, the assistance provided by 
the Secretary under subsection (a) shall include providing a medical 
examination or obtaining a medical opinion when such an examination or 
opinion is necessary to make a decision on the claim.
    ``(2) The Secretary shall treat an examination or opinion as being 
necessary to make a decision on a claim for purposes of paragraph (1) 
if the evidence of record before the Secretary, taking into 
consideration all information and lay or medical evidence (including 
statements of the claimant)--
        ``(A) contains competent evidence that the claimant has a 
    current disability, or persistent or recurrent symptoms of 
    disability; and
        ``(B) indicates that the disability or symptoms may be 
    associated with the claimant's active military, naval, or air 
    service; but
        ``(C) does not contain sufficient medical evidence for the 
    Secretary to make a decision on the claim.
    ``(e) Regulations.--The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to 
carry out this section.
    ``(f) Rule With Respect to Disallowed Claims.--Nothing in this 
section shall be construed to require the Secretary to reopen a claim 
that has been disallowed except when new and material evidence is 
presented or secured, as described in section 5108 of this title.
    ``(g) Other Assistance Not Precluded.--Nothing in this section 
shall be construed as precluding the Secretary from providing such 
other assistance under subsection (a) to a claimant in substantiating a 
claim as the Secretary considers appropriate.''.
    (b) Reenactment of Rule for Claimant's Lacking a Mailing Address.--
Chapter 51 of such title is further amended by adding at the end the 
following new section:

``Sec. 5126. Benefits not to be denied based on lack of mailing address

    ``Benefits under laws administered by the Secretary may not be 
denied a claimant on the basis that the claimant does not have a 
mailing address.''.

SEC. 4. DECISION ON CLAIM.

    Section 5107 of title 38, United States Code, is amended to read as 
follows:

``Sec. 5107. Claimant responsibility; benefit of the doubt

    ``(a) Claimant Responsibility.--Except as otherwise provided by 
law, a claimant has the responsibility to present and support a claim 
for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary.
    ``(b) Benefit of the Doubt.--The Secretary shall consider all 
information and lay and medical evidence of record in a case before the 
Secretary with respect to benefits under laws administered by the 
Secretary. When there is an approximate balance of positive and 
negative evidence regarding any issue material to the determination of 
a matter, the Secretary shall give the benefit of the doubt to the 
claimant.''.

SEC. 5. PROHIBITION OF CHARGES FOR RECORDS FURNISHED BY OTHER FEDERAL 
              DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.

    Section 5106 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new sentence: ``The cost of providing 
information to the Secretary under this section shall be borne by the 
department or agency providing the information.''.

SEC. 6. CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.

    The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 51 of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended--
        (1) by inserting before the item relating to section 5101 the 
    following new item:

``5100. Definition of `claimant'.'';

        (2) by striking the items relating to sections 5102 and 5103 
    and inserting the following:

``5102. Application forms furnished upon request; notice to claimants of 
          incomplete applications.
``5103. Notice to claimants of required information and evidence.
``5103A. Duty to assist claimants.'';

        (3) by striking the item relating to section 5107 and inserting 
    the following:

``5107. Claimant responsibility; benefit of the doubt.'';

    and
        (4) by adding at the end the following new item:

``5126. Benefits not to be denied based on lack of mailing address.''.

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) In General.--Except as specifically provided otherwise, the 
provisions of section 5107 of title 38, United States Code, as amended 
by section 4 of this Act, apply to any claim--
        (1) filed on or after the date of the enactment of this Act; or
        (2) filed before the date of the enactment of this Act and not 
    final as of that date.
    (b) Rule for Claims the Denial of Which Became Final After the 
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Decision in the Morton Case.--(1) 
In the case of a claim for benefits denied or dismissed as described in 
paragraph (2), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall, upon the 
request of the claimant or on the Secretary's own motion, order the 
claim readjudicated under chapter 51 of such title, as amended by this 
Act, as if the denial or dismissal had not been made.
    (2) A denial or dismissal described in this paragraph is a denial 
or dismissal of a claim for a benefit under the laws administered by 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs that--
        (A) became final during the period beginning on July 14, 1999, 
    and ending on the date of the enactment of this Act; and
        (B) was issued by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs or a court 
    because the claim was not well grounded (as that term was used in 
    section 5107(a) of title 38, United States Code, as in effect 
    during that period).
    (3) A claim may not be readjudicated under this subsection unless a 
request for readjudication is filed by the claimant, or a motion is 
made by the Secretary, not later than 2 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
    (4) In the absence of a timely request of a claimant under 
paragraph (3), nothing in this Act shall be construed as establishing a 
duty on the part of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to locate and 
readjudicate a claim described in this subsection.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.