103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4386

AMENDMENTS
In the Senate of the United States,

October 7 (legislative day, September 12), 1994.

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 4386) entitled ‘‘An Act to amend title 38, United

States Code, authorizing the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to

provide compensation to veterans suffering from disabilities

resulting from illnesses attrituted to service in the Persian

Gulf theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War, to

provide for increased research into illnesses reported by Persian Gulf War veterans, and for other purposes’’, do pass

with the following

AMENDMENTS:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Vet3 erans’ Benefits Improvements Act of 1994’’.

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this

5 Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. References to title 38, United States Code.

TITLE I—PERSIAN GULF WAR VETERANS

Sec. 101. Short title.

Sec. 102. Findings.

Sec. 103. Purposes.

Sec. 104. Development of medical evaluation protocol.

Sec. 105. Outreach to Persian Gulf veterans.

Sec. 106. Compensation benefits for disability resulting from illness attributed to

service during the Persian Gulf War.

Sec. 107. Evaluation of health status of spouses and children of Persian Gulf War

veterans.
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Sec. 108. Clarification of scope of health examinations provided for veterans eligible for inclusion in health-related registries.

Sec. 109. Survey of Persian Gulf veterans.

Sec. 110. Authorization for epidemiological studies.

Sec. 111. Cost-savings provisions.

TITLE II—BOARD OF VETERANS’ APPEALS ADMINISTRATION

Sec. 201. Appointment, pay comparability, and performance reviews for members

of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals.

Sec. 202. Deadline for establishment of performance evaluation criteria for Board

members.

Sec. 203. Continuation in office of Chairman pending appointment of successor.

TITLE III—ADJUDICATION IMPROVEMENTS

Sec. 301. Acceptance of certain documentation for claims purposes.

Sec. 302. Expedited treatment of remanded claims.

Sec. 303. Screening of appeals.

Sec. 304. Report on feasibility of reorganization of adjudication divisions in VBA

regional offices.

TITLE IV—VETERANS’ CLAIMS ADJUDICATION COMMISSION

Sec. 401. Establishment of commission.

Sec. 402. Duties of the commission.

Sec. 403. Powers of the commission.

Sec. 404. Commission personnel matters.

Sec. 405. Termination of the commission.

Sec. 406. Definitions.

Sec. 407. Funding.

TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 501. Restatement of intent of Congress concerning coverage of Radiation-Exposed Veterans Compensation Act of 1988.

Sec. 502. Extension of authority to maintain regional office in the Philippines.

Sec. 503. Renouncement of benefit rights.

Sec. 504. Clarification of payment of attorney fees under contingent fee agreements.

Sec. 505. Codification of herbicide-exposure presumptions established administratively.

Sec. 506. Treatment of certain income of Alaska natives for purposes of needsbased benefits.

Sec. 507. Elimination of requirement for payment of certain benefits in Philippine pesos.

Sec. 508. Study of health consequences for family members of atomic veterans of

exposure of atomic veterans to ionizing radiation.

Sec. 509. Center for Minority Veterans and Center for Women Veterans.

Sec. 510. Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans.

Sec. 511. Mailing of notices of appeal to the Court of Veterans Appeals.

TITLE VI—EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAMS

Sec. 601. Flight training.

Sec. 602. Training and rehabilitation for veterans with service-connected disabilities.
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Sec. 603. Alternative teacher certification programs.

Sec. 604. Education outside the United States.

Sec. 605. Correspondence courses.

Sec. 606. State approving agencies.

Sec. 607. Measurement of courses.

Sec. 608. Veterans’ Advisory Committee on Education.

Sec. 609. Contract educational and vocational counseling.

Sec. 610. Service Members Occupational Conversion and Training Act of 1992.

TITLE VII—EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS

Sec. 701. Job counseling, training, and placement.

Sec. 702. Employment and training of veterans.

Sec. 703. Conforming amendments to ERISA relating to the Uniformed Services

Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.

TITLE VIII—CEMETERIES AND MEMORIAL AFFAIRS

Sec. 801. Eligibility for burial in national cemeteries of spouses who predecease

veterans.

Sec. 802. Restoration of burial eligibility for unremarried spouses.

Sec. 803. Extension of authorization of appropriations for State cemetery grant

program.

Sec. 804. Authority to use flat grave markers at the Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

TITLE IX—HOUSING PROGRAMS

Sec. 901. Eligibility.

Sec. 902. Revision in computation of aggregate guaranty.

Sec. 903. Public and community water and sewerage systems.

Sec. 904. Authority to guarantee home refinance loans for energy efficiency improvements.

Sec. 905. Authority to guarantee loans to refinance adjustable rate mortgages to

fixed rate mortgages.

Sec. 906. Manufactured home loan inspections.

Sec. 907. Procedures on default.

Sec. 908. Minimum active-duty service requirement.

TITLE X—HOMELESS VETERANS PROGRAMS

Sec. 1001. Reports on activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs to assist

homeless veterans.

Sec. 1002. Report on assessment and plans for response to needs of homeless veterans.

Sec. 1003. Increase in number of demonstration programs under Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Service Programs Act of 1992.

Sec. 1004. Removal of funding requirement of Homeless Veterans Comprehensive

Service Programs Act of 1992.

Sec. 1005. Sense of Congress.

TITLE XI—REDUCTIONS IN DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

PERSONNEL

Sec. 1101. Findings.

Sec. 1102. Requirement for minimum number of full-time equivalent positions.

Sec. 1103. Enhanced authority to contract for necessary services.
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Sec. 1104. Study.

TITLE XII—TECHNICAL AND CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.

Sec. 1201. Amendments to title 38, United States Code.

Sec. 1202. Amendments to other laws administered by Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Sec. 1203. Amendments to other laws.

1 SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO TITLE 38, UNITED STATES CODE.

2 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in

3 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of

4 an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision,

5 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or

6 other provision of title 38, United States Code.

7 TITLE I—PERSIAN GULF WAR

8 VETERANS

9 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

10 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Persian Gulf War Veter11 ans’ Benefits Act’’.

12 SEC. 102. FINDINGS.

13 The Congress makes the following findings:

14 (1) During the Persian Gulf War, members of

15 the Armed Forces were exposed to numerous poten16 tially toxic substances, including fumes and smoke

17 from military operations, oil well fires, diesel exhaust,

18 paints, pesticides, depleted uranium, infectious

19 agents, investigational drugs and vaccines, and indig20 enous diseases, and were also given multiple immuni21 zations. It is not known whether these servicemembers

22 were exposed to chemical or biological warfare agents.
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1 However, threats of enemy use of chemical and bio2 logical warfare heightened the psychological stress as3 sociated with the military operation.

4 (2) Significant numbers of veterans of the Per5 sian Gulf War are suffering from illnesses, or are ex6 hibiting symptoms of illness, that cannot now be di7 agnosed or clearly defined. As a result, many of these

8 conditions or illnesses are not considered to be service

9 connected under current law for purposes of benefits

10 administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

11 (3) The National Institutes of Health Technology

12 Assessment Workshop on the Persian Gulf Experience

13 and Health, held in April 1994, concluded that the

14 complex biological, chemical, physical, and psycho15 logical environment of the Southwest Asia theater of

16 operations produced complex adverse health effects in

17 Persian Gulf War veterans and that no single disease

18 entity or syndrome is apparent. Rather, it may be

19 that the illnesses suffered by those veterans result from

20 multiple illnesses with overlapping symptoms and

21 causes that have yet to be defined.

22 (4) That workshop concluded that the informa23 tion concerning the range and intensity of exposure

24 to toxic substances by military personnel in the

25 Southwest Asia theater of operations is very limited
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1 and that such information was collected only after a

2 considerable delay.

3 (5) In response to concerns regarding the health4 care needs of Persian Gulf War veterans, particularly

5 those who suffer from illnesses or conditions for which

6 no diagnosis has been made, the Congress, in Public

7 Law 102–585, directed the establishment of a Persian

8 Gulf War Veterans Health Registry, authorized health

9 examinations for veterans of the Persian Gulf War,

10 and provided for the National Academy of Sciences to

11 conduct a comprehensive review and assessment of in12 formation regarding the health consequences of mili13 tary service in the Persian Gulf theater of operations

14 and to develop recommendations on avenues for re15 search regarding such health consequences. In Public

16 Law 103–210, the Congress authorized the Depart17 ment of Veterans Affairs to provide health care serv18 ices on a priority basis to Persian Gulf War veterans.

19 The Congress also provided in Public Law 103–160

20 (the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal

21 Year 1994) for the establishment of a specialized envi22 ronmental medical facility for the conduct of research

23 into the possible health effects of exposure to low levels

24 of hazardous chemicals, especially among Persian

25 Gulf veterans, and for research into the possible health
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1 effects of battlefield exposure in such veterans to de2 pleted uranium.

3 (6) In response to concerns about the lack of ob4 jective research on Gulf War illnesses, Congress in5 cluded research provisions in the National Defense

6 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995, which was

7 passed by the House and Senate in September 1994.

8 This legislation requires the Secretary of Defense to

9 provide research grants to non-Federal researchers to

10 support three types of studies of the Gulf War syn11 drome. The first type of study will be an epidemiolog12 ical study or studies of the incidence, prevalence, and

13 nature of the illness and symptoms and the risk fac14 tors associated with symptoms or illnesses. This will

15 include illnesses among spouses and birth defects and

16 illnesses among offspring born before and after the

17 Gulf War. The second group of studies shall be con18 ducted to determine the health consequences of the use

19 of pyridostigmine bromide as a pretreatment antidote

20 enhancer during the Persian Gulf War, alone or in

21 combination with exposure to pesticides, environ22 mental toxins, and other hazardous substances. The

23 final group of studies shall include clinical research

24 and other studies on the causes, possible transmission,

25 and treatment of Gulf War syndrome, and will in-
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1 clude studies of veterans and their spouses and chil2 dren.

3 (7) Further research and studies must be under4 taken to determine the underlying causes of the ill5 nesses suffered by Persian Gulf War veterans and,

6 pending the outcome of such research, veterans who

7 are seriously ill as the result of such illnesses should

8 be given the benefit of the doubt and be provided com9 pensation benefits to offset the impairment in earn10 ings capacities they may be experiencing.

11 SEC. 103. PURPOSES.

12 The purposes of this title are—

13 (1) to provide compensation to Persian Gulf War

14 veterans who suffer disabilities resulting from illnesses

15 that cannot now be diagnosed or defined, and for

16 which other causes cannot be identified;

17 (2) to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs

18 to develop at the earliest possible date case assessment

19 strategies and definitions or diagnoses of such ill20 nesses;

21 (3) to promote greater outreach to Persian Gulf

22 War veterans and their families to inform them of on23 going research activities, as well as the services and

24 benefits to which they are currently entitled; and
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1 (4) to ensure that research activities and accom2 panying surveys of Persian Gulf War veterans are

3 appropriately funded and undertaken by the Depart4 ment of Veterans Affairs.

5 SEC. 104. DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICAL EVALUATION PROTO6 COL.

7 (a) UNIFORM MEDICAL EVALUATION PROTOCOL.—(1)

8 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall develop and imple9 ment a uniform and comprehensive medical evaluation pro10 tocol that will ensure appropriate medical assessment, diag11 nosis, and treatment of Persian Gulf War veterans who are

12 suffering from illnesses the origins of which are (as of the

13 date of the enactment of this Act) unknown and that may

14 be attributable to service in the Southwest Asia theater of

15 operations during the Persian Gulf War. The protocol shall

16 include an evaluation of complaints relating to illnesses in17 volving the reproductive system.

18 (2) If such a protocol is not implemented before the

19 end of the 120-day period beginning on the date of the en20 actment of this Act, the Secretary shall, before the end of

21 such period, submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs

22 of the Senate and House of Representatives a report as to

23 why such a protocol has not yet been developed.

24 (3)(A) The Secretary shall ensure that the evaluation

25 under the protocol developed under this section is available
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1 at all Department medical centers that have the capability

2 of providing the medical assessment, diagnosis, and treat3 ment required under the protocol.

4 (B) The Secretary may enter into contracts with non5 Department medical facilities for the provision of the eval6 uation under the protocol.

7 (C) In the case of a veteran whose residence is distant

8 from a medical center described in subparagraph (A), the

9 Secretary may provide the evaluation through a Depart10 ment medical center described in that subparagraph and,

11 in such a case, may provide the veteran the travel and inci12 dental expenses therefor pursuant to the provisions of sec13 tion 111 of title 38, United States Code.

14 (4)(A) If the Secretary is unable to diagnose the symp15 toms or illness of a veteran provided an evaluation, or if

16 the symptoms or illness of a veteran do not respond to treat17 ment provided by the Secretary, the Secretary may use the

18 authority in section 1703 of title 38, United States Code,

19 in order to provide for the veteran to receive diagnostic tests

20 or treatment at a non-Department medical facility that

21 may have the capability of diagnosing or treating the symp22 toms or illness of the veteran. The Secretary may provide

23 the veteran the travel and incidental expenses therefor pur24 suant to the provisions of section 111 of title 38, United

25 States Code.
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1 (B) The Secretary shall request from each non-Depart2 ment medical facility that examines or treats a veteran

3 under this paragraph such information relating to the diag4 nosis or treatment as the Secretary considers appropriate.

5 (5) In each year after the implementation of the proto6 col, the Secretary shall enter into an agreement with the

7 National Academy of Sciences under which agreement ap8 propriate experts shall review the adequacy of the protocol

9 and its implementation by the Department of Veterans Af10 fairs.

11 (b) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER COMPREHENSIVE CLINI12 CAL EVALUATION PROTOCOLS.—The Secretary, in consulta13 tion with the Secretary of Defense, shall ensure that the in14 formation collected through the protocol described in this

15 section is collected and maintained in a manner that per16 mits the effective and efficient cross-reference of that infor17 mation with information collected and maintained through

18 the comprehensive clinical protocols of the Department of

19 Defense for Persian Gulf War veterans.

20 (c) CASE DEFINITIONS AND DIAGNOSES.—The Sec21 retary shall develop case definitions or diagnoses for ill22 nesses associated with the service described in subsection

23 (a)(1). The Secretary shall develop such definitions or diag24 noses at the earliest possible date.
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1 SEC. 105. OUTREACH TO PERSIAN GULF VETERANS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs

3 shall implement a comprehensive outreach program to in4 form Persian Gulf War veterans and their families of the

5 medical care and other benefits that may be provided by

6 the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of

7 Defense arising from service in the Persian Gulf War.

8 (b) NEWSLETTER.—(1) The outreach program shall in9 clude a newsletter which shall be updated and distributed

10 at least semi-annually and shall be distributed to the veter11 ans listed on the Persian Gulf War Veterans Health Reg12 istry. The newsletter shall include summaries of the status

13 and findings of Government sponsored research on illnesses

14 of Persian Gulf War veterans and their families, as well

15 as on benefits available to such individuals through the De16 partment of Veterans Affairs. The newsletter shall be pre17 pared in consultation with veterans service organizations.

18 (2) The requirement under this subsection for the dis19 tribution of the newsletter shall terminate on December 31,

20 1999.

21 (c) TOLL-FREE NUMBER.—The outreach program

22 shall include establishment of a toll-free telephone number

23 to provide Persian Gulf War veterans and their families

24 information on the Persian Gulf War Veterans Health Reg25 istry, health care and other benefits provided by the Depart26 ment of Veterans Affairs, and such other information as the
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1 Secretary considers appropriate. Such toll-free telephone

2 number shall be established not later than 90 days after

3 the date of the enactment of this Act.

4 SEC. 106. COMPENSATION BENEFITS FOR DISABILITY RE5 SULTING FROM ILLNESS ATTRIBUTED TO

6 SERVICE DURING THE PERSIAN GULF WAR.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Chapter 11 is amended by add8 ing at the end of subchapter II the following new section:

9 ‘‘§ 1117. Compensation for disabilities occurring in

10 Persian Gulf War veterans

11 ‘‘(a) The Secretary may pay compensation under this

12 subchapter to any Persian Gulf veteran suffering from a

13 chronic disability resulting from an undiagnosed illness (or

14 combination of undiagnosed illnesses) that—

15 ‘‘(1) became manifest during service on active

16 duty in the Armed Forces in the Southwest Asia thea17 ter of operations during the Persian Gulf War; or

18 ‘‘(2) became manifest to a degree of 10 percent

19 or more within the presumptive period prescribed

20 under subsection (b).

21 ‘‘(b) The Secretary shall prescribe by regulation the pe22 riod of time following service in the Southwest Asia theater

23 of operations during the Persian Gulf War that the Sec24 retary determines is appropriate for presumption of service

25 connection for purposes of this section. The Secretary’s de-
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1 termination of such period of time shall be made following

2 a review of any available credible medical or scientific evi3 dence and the historical treatment afforded disabilities for

4 which manifestation periods have been established and shall

5 take into account other pertinent circumstances regarding

6 the experiences of veterans of the Persian Gulf War.

7 ‘‘(c)(1) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to

8 carry out this section.

9 ‘‘(2) Those regulations shall include the following:

10 ‘‘(A) A description of the period and geographi11 cal area or areas of military service in connection

12 with which compensation under this section may be

13 paid.

14 ‘‘(B) A description of the illnesses for which com15 pensation under this section may be paid.

16 ‘‘(C) A description of any relevant medical char17 acteristic (such as a latency period) associated with

18 each such illness.

19 ‘‘(d) A disability for which compensation under this

20 subchapter is payable shall be considered to be service con21 nected for purposes of all other laws of the United States.

22 ‘‘(e) For purposes of this section, the term ‘Persian

23 Gulf veteran’ means a veteran who served on active duty

24 in the Armed Forces in the Southwest Asia theater of oper25 ations during the Persian Gulf War.’’.
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1 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chap2 ter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section

3 1116 the following new item:

‘‘1117. Compensation for disabilities occurring in Persian Gulf War veterans.’’.

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 1113 is

5 amended—

6 (1) by striking out ‘‘section 1112 or 1116’’ in the

7 first and third place it appears and inserting in lieu

8 thereof ‘‘section 1112, 1116, or 1117’’;

9 (2) by striking out ‘‘title’’ the second place it ap10 pears and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘title, or payments

11 of compensation pursuant to section 1117 of this

12 title,’’; and

13 (3) by inserting ‘‘or disabilities’’ after ‘‘diseases’’

14 both places it appears in subsection (a).

15 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the date

16 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Af17 fairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs

18 of the Senate and House of Representatives a report stating

19 whether or not the Secretary intends to pay compensation

20 as provided in section 1117 of title 38, United States Code,

21 as added by subsection (a).

22 (d) REGULATIONS.—If the Secretary states in the re23 port under subsection (c) that the Secretary intends to pay

24 compensation as provided in section 1117 of title 38, United

25 States Code, as added by subsection (a), the Secretary shall,
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1 not later than 30 days after the date on which such report

2 is submitted, publish in the Federal Register proposed regu3 lations under subsections (b) and (c) of that section.

4 SEC. 107. EVALUATION OF HEALTH STATUS OF SPOUSES

5 AND CHILDREN OF PERSIAN GULF WAR VET6 ERANS.

7 (a) EVALUATION PROGRAM.—Subject to subsection (c),

8 the Secretary of the Veterans Affairs shall conduct a study

9 to evaluate the health status of spouses and children of Per10 sian Gulf War veterans. Under the study, the Secretary

11 shall provide for the conduct of diagnostic testing and ap12 propriate medical examinations of any individual—

13 (1) who is the spouse or child of a veteran who—

14 (A) is listed in the Persian Gulf War Veter15 ans Registry established under section 702 of

16 Public Law 102–585; and

17 (B) is suffering from an illness or disorder;

18 (2) who is apparently suffering from, or may

19 have suffered from, an illness or disorder (including

20 a birth defect, miscarriage, or stillbirth) which cannot

21 be disassociated from the veteran’s service in the

22 Southwest Asia theater of operations; and

23 (3) who, in the case of a spouse, has granted the

24 Secretary permission to include in the Registry rel25 evant medical data (including a medical history and
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1 the results of diagnostic testing and medical examina2 tions) and such other information as the Secretary

3 considers relevant and appropriate with respect to

4 such individual.

5 Such testing and examinations shall be carried out so as

6 to gather such medical data as the Secretary considers rel7 evant and appropriate in order to determine the nature and

8 extent of the association, if any, between illness or disorder

9 of the spouse or child and the illness of the veteran.

10 (b) DURATION OF PROGRAM.—The program shall be

11 carried out during the period beginning on November 1,

12 1994, and ending on September 30, 1996.

13 (c) FUNDING LIMITATION.—The amount spent for the

14 program under subsection (a) may not exceed $2,000,000.

15 (d) CONTRACTING.—The Secretary shall provide for

16 the conduct of testing and examinations under subsection

17 (a) through appropriate contract arrangements.

18 (e) STANDARD PROTOCOLS AND GUIDELINES.—The

19 Secretary shall seek to ensure uniform development of medi20 cal data through the development of standard protocols and

21 guidelines for such testing and examinations. If such proto22 cols and guidelines have not been adopted before the end

23 of the 120-day period beginning on the date of the enact24 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall, before the end of such

25 period, submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of
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1 the Senate and House of Representatives a report as to why

2 such protocols and guidelines have not yet been developed.

3 (f) ENTRY OF RESULTS IN REGISTRY.—The results of

4 diagnostic tests, medical histories, and medical examina5 tions conducted under subsection (a) shall be entered into

6 the Persian Gulf War Veterans Health Registry.

7 (g) OUTREACH.—The Secretary shall conduct such

8 outreach activities as the Secretary determines necessary to

9 ensure that implementation of this section results in suffi10 cient information to enable the Secretary—

11 (1) to analyze the health status of large numbers

12 of spouses and children of Persian Gulf veterans; and

13 (2) to formulate research hypotheses regarding

14 possible association between illnesses or disorders suf15 fered by Persian Gulf veterans and illnesses or dis16 orders (including birth defects, miscarriages, and

17 stillbirths) suffered by their spouses and children.

18 (h) USE OUTSIDE DEPARTMENT OF STANDARD PRO19 TOCOLS AND GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall—

20 (1) make the standard protocols and guidelines

21 developed under this section available to any entity

22 which requests a copy of such protocols and guide23 lines; and

24 (2) enter into the registry the results of any ex25 amination of the spouse or child of a veteran who
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1 served in the Persian Gulf theater which a licensed

2 physician certifies was conducted using those stand3 ard protocols and guidelines.

4 (i) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—(1) The Secretary shall

5 submit to Congress no later than October 31, 1995, a report

6 on the Secretary’s implementation of this section.

7 (2) The Secretary shall analyze the data entered into

8 the registry under this section and shall submit to Congress,

9 not later than March 1, 1997, a report on that analysis

10 and on the Secretary’s recommendation for any further leg11 islation or studies regarding the health status of spouses

12 and children of Persian Gulf War veterans.

13 (j) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the

14 terms ‘‘child’’ and ‘‘spouse’’ have the meanings given those

15 terms in paragraphs (4) and (31), respectively, of section

16 101 of title 38, United States Code.

17 SEC. 108. CLARIFICATION OF SCOPE OF HEALTH EXAMINA18 TIONS PROVIDED FOR VETERANS ELIGIBLE

19 FOR INCLUSION IN HEALTH-RELATED REG20 ISTRIES.

21 Section 703 of the Persian Gulf War Veterans’ Health

22 Status Act (title VII of Public Law 102–585; 38 U.S.C. 527

23 note) is amended—
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1 (1) by inserting ‘‘(including diagnostic tests)’’

2 after ‘‘examination’’ each place it appears other than

3 in subsection (a)(1)(A);

4 (2) in subsection (a)(1)(A)—

5 (A) by inserting ‘‘(including any appro6 priate diagnostic tests)’’ after ‘‘a health exam7 ination’’; and

8 (B) by inserting ‘‘and the tests’’ after ‘‘the

9 examination’’; and

10 (3) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting ‘‘(including

11 any diagnostic tests)’’ after ‘‘examinations’’.

12 SEC. 109. SURVEY OF PERSIAN GULF VETERANS.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs

14 may carry out a survey of Persian Gulf veterans to gather

15 information on the incidence and nature of health problems

16 occurring in Persian Gulf veterans and their families.

17 (b) COORDINATION WITH DEPARTMENT OF DE18 FENSE.—Any survey under subsection (a) shall be carried

19 out in coordination with the Secretary of Defense.

20 (c) PERSIAN GULF VETERAN.—For purposes of this

21 section, a Persian Gulf veteran is an individual who served

22 on active duty in the Armed Forces in the Southwest Asia

23 theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War as de24 fined in section 101(33) of title 38, United States Code.
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1 SEC. 110. AUTHORIZATION FOR EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUD2 IES.

3 (a) STUDY OF HEALTH CONSEQUENCES OF PERSIAN

4 GULF SERVICE.—If the National Academy of Sciences in5 cludes in the report required by section 706(b) of the Veter6 ans Health Care Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–585) a find7 ing that there is a sound basis for an epidemiological study

8 or studies on the health consequences of service in the Per9 sian Gulf theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War

10 and recommends the conduct of such a study or studies, the

11 Secretary of Veterans Affairs is authorized to carry out such

12 study.

13 (b) OVERSIGHT.—(1) The Secretary shall seek to enter

14 into an agreement with the Medical Follow-Up Agency

15 (MFUA) of the Institute of Medicine of the National Acad16 emy of Sciences for (A) the review of proposals to conduct

17 the research referred to in subsection (a), (B) oversight of

18 such research, and (C) review of the research findings.

19 (2) If the Secretary is unable to enter into an agree20 ment under paragraph (1) with the entity specified in that

21 paragraph, the Secretary shall enter into an agreement de22 scribed in that paragraph with another appropriate sci23 entific organization which does not have a connection to

24 the Department of Veterans Affairs. In such a case, the Sec25 retary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs

26 of the Senate and House of Representatives, at least 90 days
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1 before the date on which the agreement is entered into, no2 tice in writing identifying the organization with which the

3 Secretary intends to enter into the agreement.

4 (c) ACCESS TO DATA.—The Secretary shall enter into

5 agreements with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary

6 of Health and Human Services to make available for the

7 purposes of any study described in subsection (a) all data

8 that the Secretary, in consultation with the National Acad9 emy of Sciences and the contractor for the study, considers

10 relevant to the study.

11 (d) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap12 propriated to the Department such sums as are necessary

13 for the conduct of studies described in subsection (a).

14 SEC. 111. COST-SAVINGS PROVISIONS.

15 (a) ELECTION OF DEATH PENSION BY SURVIVING

16 SPOUSE.—Section 1317 is amended—

17 (1) by striking out ‘‘No person’’ and inserting in

18 lieu thereof ‘‘(a) Except as provided in subsection (b),

19 no person’’; and

20 (2) by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(b) A surviving spouse who is eligible for dependency

22 and indemnity compensation may elect to receive death

23 pension instead of such compensation.’’.

24 (b) POLICY REGARDING COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT

25 IN COMPENSATION RATES FOR FISCAL YEAR 1995.—The
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1 fiscal year 1995 cost-of-living adjustments in the rates of

2 and limitations for compensation payable under chapter 11

3 of title 38, United States Code, and of dependency and in4 demnity compensation payable under chapter 13 of such

5 title will be no more than a percentage equal to the percent6 age by which benefit amounts payable under title II of the

7 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.) are increased

8 effective December 1, 1994, as a result of a determination

9 under section 215(i) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 415(i)), with

10 all increased monthly rates and limitations (other than in11 creased rates or limitations equal to a whole dollar amount)

12 rounded down to the next lower dollar.

13 TITLE II—BOARD OF VETERANS’

14 APPEALS ADMINISTRATION

15 SEC. 201. APPOINTMENT, PAY COMPARABILITY, AND PER16 FORMANCE REVIEWS FOR MEMBERS OF THE

17 BOARD OF VETERANS’ APPEALS.

18 (a) MEMBERS OTHER THAN CHAIRMAN.—(1) Chapter

19 71 is amended by inserting after section 7101 the following

20 new section:

21 ‘‘§ 7101A. Members of Board: appointment; pay; per22 formance review

23 ‘‘(a) The members of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals

24 other than the Chairman (and including the Vice Chair25 man) shall be appointed by the Secretary, with the approval
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1 of the President, based upon recommendations of the Chair2 man.

3 ‘‘(b) Members of the Board (other than the Chairman

4 and any member of the Board who is a member of the Sen5 ior Executive Service) shall, in accordance with regulations

6 prescribed by the Secretary, be paid basic pay at rates

7 equivalent to the rates payable under section 5372 of title

8 5.

9 ‘‘(c)(1)(A) The Chairman shall establish a panel to re10 view the performance of members of the Board. The panel

11 shall be comprised of the Chairman and two other members

12 of the Board (other than the Vice Chairman). The Chair13 man shall periodically rotate membership on the panel so

14 as to ensure that each member of the Board (other than

15 the Vice Chairman) serves as a member of the panel for

16 and within a reasonable period.

17 ‘‘(B) Not less than one year after the job performance

18 standards under subsection (f) are initially established, and

19 not less often than once every three years thereafter, the per20 formance review panel shall determine, with respect to each

21 member of the Board (other than the Chairman or a mem22 ber who is a member of the Senior Executive Service),

23 whether that member’s job performance as a member of the

24 Board meets the performance standards for a member of
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1 the Board established under subsection (f). Each such deter2 mination shall be in writing.

3 ‘‘(2) If the determination of the performance review

4 panel in any case is that the member’s job performance as

5 a member of the Board meets the performance standards

6 for a member of the Board established under subsection (f),

7 the Chairman shall recertify the member’s appointment as

8 a member of the Board.

9 ‘‘(3) If the determination of the performance review

10 panel in any case is that the member’s job performance does

11 not meet the performance standards for a member of the

12 Board established under subsection (f), the Chairman shall,

13 based upon the individual circumstances, either—

14 ‘‘(A) grant the member a conditional

15 recertification; or

16 ‘‘(B) recommend to the Secretary that the mem17 ber be noncertified.

18 ‘‘(4) In the case of a member of the Board who is

19 granted a conditional recertification under paragraph

20 (3)(A) or (5)(A), the performance review panel shall review

21 the member’s job performance record and make a further

22 determination under paragraph (1) concerning that mem23 ber not later than one year after the date of the conditional

24 recertification. If the determination of the performance re25 view panel at that time is that the member’s job perform-
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1 ance as a member of the Board still does not meet the per2 formance standards for a member of the Board established

3 under subsection (f), the Chairman shall recommend to the

4 Secretary that the member be noncertified.

5 ‘‘(5) In a case in which the Chairman recommends to

6 the Secretary under paragraph (3) or (4) that a member

7 be noncertified, the Secretary, after considering the rec8 ommendation of the Chairman, may either—

9 ‘‘(A) grant the member a conditional

10 recertification; or

11 ‘‘(B) determine that the member should be

12 noncertified.

13 ‘‘(d)(1) If the Secretary, based upon the recommenda14 tion of the Chairman, determines that a member of the

15 Board should be noncertified, that member’s appointment

16 as a member of the Board shall be terminated and that

17 member shall be removed from the Board.

18 ‘‘(2) Upon removal from the Board under paragraph

19 (1), a member of the Board (other than the Chairman) who

20 was a career or career-conditional employee in the civil

21 service before commencement of service as a member of the

22 Board shall revert to the civil service grade and series held

23 by the member immediately before the appointment of the

24 member to the Board.
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1 ‘‘(e)(1) A member of the Board (other than the Chair2 man or a member of the Senior Executive Service) may

3 be removed as a member of the Board by reason of job per4 formance only as provided in subsections (c) and (d). Such

5 a member may be removed by the Secretary, upon the rec6 ommendation of the Chairman, for any other reason as de7 termined by the Secretary.

8 ‘‘(2) In the case of a removal of a member under this

9 section for a reason other than job performance that would

10 be covered by section 7521 of title 5 in the case of an admin11 istrative law judge, the removal of the member of the Board

12 shall be carried out subject to the same requirements as

13 apply to removal of an administrative law judge under that

14 section. Section 554(a)(2) of title 5 shall not apply to a

15 removal action under this subsection. In such a removal ac16 tion, a member shall have the rights set out in section

17 7513(b) of that title.

18 ‘‘(f) The Chairman, subject to the approval of the Sec19 retary, shall establish standards for the performance of the

20 job of a member of the Board (other than the Chairman

21 or a member of the Senior Executive Service). Those stand22 ards shall establish objective and fair criteria for evaluation

23 of the job performance of a member of the Board.
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1 ‘‘(g) The Secretary shall prescribe procedures for the

2 administration of this section, including deadlines and time

3 schedules for different actions under this section.’’.

4 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chap5 ter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section

6 7101 the following new item:

‘‘7101A. Members of Board: appointment; pay; performance review.’’.

7 (b) SAVE PAY PROVISION.—The rate of basic pay pay8 able to an individual who is a member of the Board of Vet9 erans’ Appeals on the date of the enactment of this Act may

10 not be reduced by reason of the amendments made by this

11 section to a rate below the rate payable to such individual

12 on the day before such date.

13 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 7101A(b) of title 38,

14 United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall take

15 effect on the first day of the first pay period beginning after

16 December 31, 1994.

17 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 7101(b) is

18 amended—

19 (1) by striking out paragraph (2);

20 (2) by designating as paragraph (2) the text in

21 paragraph (1) beginning ‘‘The Chairman may be re22 moved’’; and

23 (3) by striking out ‘‘Members (including the

24 Chairman)’’ in paragraph (3) and inserting in lieu

25 thereof ‘‘The Chairman’’.
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1 SEC. 202. DEADLINE FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF PERFORM2 ANCE EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR BOARD

3 MEMBERS.

4 (a) DEADLINE.—The job performance standards re5 quired to be established by section 7101A(f) of title 38, Unit6 ed States Code, as added by section 201(a), shall be estab7 lished not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment

8 of this Act.

9 (b) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—

10 Not later than the date on which the standards referred to

11 in subsection (a) take effect, the Secretary of Veterans Af12 fairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs

13 of the Senate and House of Representatives a report describ14 ing the standards established by the Chairman of the Board

15 of Veterans’ Appeals.

16 SEC. 203. CONTINUATION IN OFFICE OF CHAIRMAN PEND17 ING APPOINTMENT OF SUCCESSOR.

18 Section 7101(b)(3) is amended by adding at the end

19 the following new sentence: ‘‘If, upon the expiration of the

20 term of office for which the Chairman was appointed, the

21 position of Chairman would become vacant, the individual

22 serving as Chairman may, with the approval of the Sec23 retary, continue to serve as Chairman until either ap24 pointed to another term or a successor is appointed, but

25 not beyond the end of the Congress during which the term

26 of office expired.’’.
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1 TITLE III—ADJUDICATION

2 IMPROVEMENTS

3 SEC. 301. ACCEPTANCE OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTATION FOR

4 CLAIMS PURPOSES.

5 (a) STATEMENTS OF CLAIMANT TO BE ACCEPTED AS

6 PROOF OF RELATIONSHIPS.—Chapter 51 is amended by

7 adding at the end the following new section:

8 ‘‘§ 5124. Acceptance of claimant’s statement as proof

9 of relationship

10 ‘‘(a) For purposes of benefits under laws administered

11 by the Secretary, the Secretary may accept the written

12 statement of a claimant as proof of the existence of any

13 relationship specified in subsection (b) for the purpose of

14 acting on such individual’s claim for benefits.

15 ‘‘(b) Subsection (a) applies to proof of the existence of

16 any of the following relationships between a claimant and

17 another person:

18 ‘‘(1) Marriage.

19 ‘‘(2) Dissolution of a marriage.

20 ‘‘(3) Birth of a child.

21 ‘‘(4) Death of any family member.

22 ‘‘(c) The Secretary may require the submission of doc23 umentation in support of the claimant’s statement if—

24 ‘‘(1) the claimant does not reside within a State;
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1 ‘‘(2) the statement on its face raises a question

2 as to its validity;

3 ‘‘(3) there is conflicting information of record; or

4 ‘‘(4) there is reasonable indication, in the state5 ment or otherwise, of fraud or misrepresentation.’’.

6 (b) REPORTS OF EXAMINATIONS BY PRIVATE PHYSI7 CIANS.—Such chapter, as amended by subsection (a), is fur8 ther amended by adding at the end the following new

9 section:

10 ‘‘§ 5125. Acceptance of reports of private physician

11 examinations

12 ‘‘For purposes of establishing any claim for benefits

13 under chapter 11 or 15 of this title, a report of a medical

14 examination administered by a private physician that is

15 provided by a claimant in support of a claim for benefits

16 under that chapter may be accepted without a requirement

17 for confirmation by an examination by a physician em18 ployed by the Veterans Health Administration if the report

19 is sufficiently complete to be adequate for the purpose of

20 adjudicating such claim.’’.

21 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at

22 the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the

23 end the following new items:

‘‘5124. Acceptance of claimant’s statement as proof of relationship.

‘‘5125. Acceptance of reports of private physician examinations.’’.
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1 SEC. 302. EXPEDITED TREATMENT OF REMANDED CLAIMS.

2 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall take such ac3 tions as may be necessary to provide for the expeditious

4 treatment, by the Board of Veterans’ Appeals and by the

5 regional offices of the Veterans Benefits Administration, of

6 any claim that has been remanded by the Board of Veter7 ans’ Appeals or by the United States Court of Veterans Ap8 peals for additional development or other appropriate ac9 tion.

10 SEC. 303. SCREENING OF APPEALS.

11 Section 7107 is amended—

12 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking out ‘‘Each

13 case’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Except as pro14 vided in subsection (f), each case’’; and

15 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub16 section:

17 ‘‘(f) Nothing in this section shall preclude the screening

18 of cases for purposes of—

19 ‘‘(1) determining the adequacy of the record for

20 decisional purposes; or

21 ‘‘(2) the development, or attempted development,

22 of a record found to be inadequate for decisional

23 purposes.’’.
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1 SEC. 304. REPORT ON FEASIBILITY OF REORGANIZATION OF

2 ADJUDICATION DIVISIONS IN VBA REGIONAL

3 OFFICES.

4 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment

5 of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit

6 to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and

7 House of Representatives a report addressing the feasibility

8 and impact of a reorganization of the adjudication divi9 sions located within the regional offices of the Veterans Ben10 efits Administration to a number of such divisions that

11 would result in improved efficiency in the processing of

12 claims filed by veterans, their survivors, or other eligible

13 persons for benefits administered by the Secretary.

14 TITLE IV—VETERANS’ CLAIMS

15 ADJUDICATION COMMISSION

16 SEC. 401. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.—There is here18 by established a commission to be known as the Veterans’

19 Claims Adjudication Commission (hereinafter in this title

20 referred to as the ‘‘commission’’).

21 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—(1) The commission shall be com22 posed of nine members, appointed by the Secretary of Veter23 ans Affairs as follows:

24 (A) One member shall be appointed from among

25 former officials of the Department of Veterans Affairs

26 (or the Veterans’ Administration).
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1 (B) Two members shall be appointed from

2 among individuals in the private sector who have ex3 pertise in the adjudication of claims relating to in4 surance or similar benefits.

5 (C) Two members shall be appointed from among

6 individuals employed in the Federal Government

7 (other than the Department of Veterans Affairs) who

8 have expertise in the adjudication of claims for bene9 fits under Federal law other than under laws admin10 istered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

11 (D) Two members shall be appointed from

12 among individuals recommended to the Secretary by

13 representatives of veterans service organizations.

14 (E) One member shall be appointed based on a

15 recommendation of the American Bar Association or

16 a similar private organization from among individ17 uals who have expertise in the field of administrative

18 law.

19 (F) One member shall be appointed from among

20 current officials of the Department of Veterans Af21 fairs.

22 (2) The appointment of members of the commission

23 under this subsection shall be made not later than February

24 1, 1995.
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1 (c) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.—Members

2 of the commission shall be appointed for the life of the com3 mission. A vacancy in the commission shall not affect its

4 powers, but shall be filled in the same manner as the origi5 nal appointment.

6 (d) INITIAL MEETING.—The commission shall hold its

7 first meeting not later than 30 days after the date on which

8 all members of the commission have been appointed.

9 (e) MEETINGS.—The commission shall meet at the call

10 of the chairman.

11 (f) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the com12 mission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may

13 hold hearings.

14 (g) CHAIRMAN.—The Secretary shall designate a mem15 ber of the commission (other than the commission member

16 who is a current official of the Department of Veterans Af17 fairs) to be chairman of the commission.

18 SEC. 402. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The commission shall carry out a

20 study of the Department of Veterans Affairs system for the

21 disposition of claims for veterans benefits.

22 (b) PURPOSE OF STUDY.—The purpose of the study is

23 to evaluate the Department of Veterans Affairs system for

24 the disposition of claims for veterans benefits in order to

25 determine the following:
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1 (1) The efficiency of current processes and proce2 dures under the system for the adjudication, resolu3 tion, review, and final disposition of claims for veter4 ans benefits, including the effect of judicial review on

5 the system, and means of increasing the efficiency of

6 the system.

7 (2) Means of reducing the number of claims

8 under the system for which final disposition is pend9 ing.

10 (3) Means of enhancing the ability of the Depart11 ment of Veterans Affairs to achieve final determina12 tion regarding claims under the system in a prompt

13 and appropriate manner.

14 (c) CONTENTS OF STUDY.—The study to be carried out

15 by the commission under this section is a comprehensive

16 evaluation and assessment of the Department of Veterans

17 Affairs system for the disposition of claims for veterans ben18 efits (as defined in section 406) and of the system for the

19 delivery of such benefits, together with any related issues

20 that the commission determines are relevant to the study.

21 The study shall include an evaluation and assessment of

22 the following:

23 (1) The preparation and submission of claims by

24 veterans under the system.
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1 (2) The processes and procedures under the sys2 tem for the disposition of claims, including—

3 (A) the scope and nature of the review un4 dertaken with respect to a claim at each stage in

5 the claims disposition process, including the role

6 of hearings throughout the process;

7 (B) the number, Federal employment grade,

8 and experience and qualifications required of the

9 persons undertaking such review at each such

10 stage;

11 (C) opportunities for the submittal of new

12 evidence; and

13 (D) the availability of alternative means of

14 completing claims.

15 (3) The effect on the system of the participation

16 of attorneys, members of veterans service organiza17 tions, and other advocates on behalf of veterans.

18 (4) The effect on the system of actions taken by

19 the Secretary to modernize the information manage20 ment system of the Department, including the use of

21 electronic data management systems.

22 (5) The effect on the system of any work per23 formance standards used by the Secretary at regional

24 offices of the Department and at the Board of Veter25 ans’ Appeals.
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1 (6) The extent of the implementation in the sys2 tem of the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Panel

3 on Claims Processing submitted to the Committees on

4 Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Rep5 resentatives on December 2, 1993, and the effect of

6 such implementation on the system.

7 (7) The effectiveness in improving the system of

8 any pilot programs carried out by the Secretary at

9 regional offices of the Department and of efforts by

10 the Secretary to implement such programs throughout

11 the system.

12 (8) The effectiveness of the quality control prac13 tices and quality assurance practices under the sys14 tem in achieving the goals of such practices.

15 (d) COOPERATION OF SECRETARY.—Upon the request

16 of the chairman of the commission, the Secretary shall,

17 within 30 days of such request, submit to the commission,

18 and to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate

19 and House of Representatives, such information as the

20 chairman shall determine is necessary for the commission

21 to carry out the study required under this section.

22 (e) REPORTS.—(1) Not later than one year after the

23 date of the enactment of this Act, the commission shall sub24 mit to the Secretary and to the Committees on Veterans’

25 Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a pre-
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1 liminary report on the study required under subsection (c).

2 The report shall contain the preliminary findings and con3 clusions of the commission with respect to the evaluation

4 and assessment required under the study.

5 (2) Not later than 18 months after such date, the com6 mission shall submit to the Secretary and to such commit7 tees a report on such study. The report shall include the

8 following:

9 (A) The findings and conclusions of the commis10 sion, including its findings and conclusions with re11 spect to the matters referred to in subsection (c).

12 (B) The recommendations of the commission for

13 means of improving the Department of Veterans Af14 fairs system for the disposition of claims for veterans

15 benefits.

16 (C) Such other information and recommenda17 tions with respect to the system as the commission

18 considers appropriate.

19 SEC. 403. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

20 (a) HEARINGS.—The commission may hold such hear21 ings, sit and act at such times and places, take such testi22 mony, and receive such evidence as the commission consid23 ers advisable to carry out the purposes of this title.

24 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—In ad25 dition to the information referred to in section 402(d), the
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1 commission may secure directly from any Federal depart2 ment or agency such information as the commission consid3 ers necessary to carry out the provisions of this title. Upon

4 request of the chairman of the commission, the head of such

5 department or agency shall furnish such information to the

6 commission.

7 (c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The commission may use the

8 United States mails in the same manner and under the

9 same conditions as other departments and agencies of the

10 Federal Government.

11 (d) GIFTS.—The commission may accept, use, and dis12 pose of gifts or donations of services or property.

13 SEC. 404. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.

14 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Each member of

15 the commission who is not an officer or employee of the

16 Federal Government shall be compensated at a rate equal

17 to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay pre18 scribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section

19 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (including

20 travel time) during which such member is engaged in the

21 performance of the duties of the commission. All members

22 of the commission who are officers or employees of the Unit23 ed States shall serve without compensation in addition to

24 that received for their services as officers or employees of

25 the United States.
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1 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the commis2 sion shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem

3 in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of

4 agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United

5 States Code, while away from their homes or regular places

6 of business in the performance of services for the commis7 sion.

8 (c) STAFF.—(1) The chairman of the commission may,

9 without regard to the civil service laws and regulations, ap10 point an executive director and such other personnel as may

11 be necessary to enable the commission to perform its duties.

12 The appointment of an executive director shall be subject

13 to approval by the commission.

14 (2) The chairman of the commission may fix the com15 pensation of the executive director and other personnel with16 out regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter

17 III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relating

18 to classification of positions and General Schedule pay

19 rates, except that the rate of pay for the executive director

20 and other personnel may not exceed the rate payable for

21 level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such

22 title.

23 (d) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Upon re24 quest of the chairman of the commission, the head of any

25 Federal department or agency may detail, on a
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1 nonreimbursable basis, any personnel of the department or

2 agency to the commission to assist it in carrying out its

3 duties.

4 (e) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT5 TENT SERVICES.—The chairman of the commission may

6 procure temporary and intermittent services under section

7 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates for individ8 uals which do not exceed the daily equivalent of the annual

9 rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive

10 Schedule under section 5316 of such title.

11 SEC. 405. TERMINATION OF THE COMMISSION.

12 The commission shall terminate 90 days after the date

13 on which the commission submits its report under section

14 402(e)(2).

15 SEC. 406. DEFINITIONS.

16 For the purposes of this title:

17 (1) The term ‘‘Department of Veterans Affairs

18 system for the disposition of claims for veterans bene19 fits’’ means the processes and procedures of the De20 partment of Veterans Affairs for the adjudication, res21 olution, review, and final disposition of claims for

22 benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary.

23 (2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of

24 Veterans Affairs.
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1 (3) The term ‘‘veterans service organizations’’

2 means any organization approved by the Secretary

3 under section 5902(a) of title 38, United States Code.

4 SEC. 407. FUNDING.

5 (a) FISCAL YEAR 1995.—From amounts appropriated

6 to the Department of Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 1995

7 for the payment of compensation and pension, the amount

8 of $400,000 is hereby made available for the activities of

9 the commission under this title.

10 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Any sums appropriated to the

11 commission shall remain available until expended.

12 TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS

13 PROVISIONS

14 SEC. 501. RESTATEMENT OF INTENT OF CONGRESS CON15 CERNING COVERAGE OF RADIATION-EX16 POSED VETERANS COMPENSATION ACT OF

17 1988.

18 (a) RESTATEMENT OF ABSENCE OF STATUTORY LIMI19 TATION TO UNITED STATES TESTS.—Clause (i) of section

20 1112(c)(3)(B) is amended by inserting ‘‘(without regard to

21 whether the nation conducting the test was the United

22 States or another nation)’’ after ‘‘nuclear device’’.

23 (b) PROOF OF SERVICE CONNECTION OF DISABILITIES

24 RELATING TO EXPOSURE TO IONIZING RADIATION.—(1)

25 Section 1113(b) is amended—
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1 (A) by striking out ‘‘title or’’ and inserting in

2 lieu thereof ‘‘title,’’; and

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘, or section 5 of Public Law

4 98–542 (38 U.S.C. 1154 note)’’ after ‘‘of this section’’.

5 (2) The amendments made by paragraph (1) shall

6 apply with respect to applications for veterans benefits that

7 are submitted to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs after the

8 date of the enactment of this Act.

9 SEC. 502. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY TO MAINTAIN RE10 GIONAL OFFICE IN THE PHILIPPINES.

11 Section 315(b) is amended by striking out ‘‘December

12 31, 1994’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘December 31,

13 1999’’.

14 SEC. 503. RENOUNCEMENT OF BENEFIT RIGHTS.

15 Section 5306 is amended by adding at the end the fol16 lowing new subsection:

17 ‘‘(c) Notwithstanding subsection (b), if a new applica18 tion for pension under chapter 15 of this title or for depend19 ency and indemnity compensation for parents under section

20 1315 of this title is filed within one year after renouncement

21 of that benefit, such application shall not be treated as an

22 original application and benefits will be payable as if the

23 renouncement had not occurred.’’.
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1 SEC. 504. CLARIFICATION OF PAYMENT OF ATTORNEY FEES

2 UNDER CONTINGENT FEE AGREEMENTS.

3 (a) CLARIFICATION.—Subparagraph (A) of section

4 5904(d)(2) is amended to read as follows:

5 ‘‘(A) A fee agreement referred to in paragraph (1) is

6 one under which the total amount of the fee payable to the

7 attorney—

8 ‘‘(i) is to be paid to the attorney by the Sec9 retary directly from any past-due benefits awarded on

10 the basis of the claim; and

11 ‘‘(ii) is contingent on whether or not the matter

12 is resolved in a manner favorable to the claimant.’’.

13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub14 section (a) shall apply with respect to fee agreements en15 tered into on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

16 SEC. 505. CODIFICATION OF HERBICIDE-EXPOSURE PRE17 SUMPTIONS ESTABLISHED ADMINISTRA18 TIVELY.

19 Section 1116(a)(2) is amended by adding at the end

20 the following new subparagraphs:

21 ‘‘(D) Hodgkin’s disease becoming manifest to a

22 degree of disability of 10 percent or more.

23 ‘‘(E) Porphyria cutanea tarda becoming mani24 fest to a degree of disability of 10 percent or more

25 within a year after the last date on which the veteran
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1 performed active military, naval, or air service in the

2 Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam era.

3 ‘‘(F) Respiratory cancers (cancer of the lung,

4 bronchus, larynx, or trachea) becoming manifest to a

5 degree of 10 percent or more within 30 years after the

6 last date on which the veteran performed active mili7 tary, naval, or air service in the Republic of Vietnam

8 during the Vietnam era.

9 ‘‘(G) Multiple myeloma becoming manifest to a

10 degree of disability of 10 percent or more.’’.

11 SEC. 506. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN INCOME OF ALASKA NA12 TIVES FOR PURPOSES OF NEEDS-BASED BEN13 EFITS.

14 Any receipt by an individual from a Native Corpora15 tion under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43

16 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) of cash, stock, land, or other interests

17 referred to in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of section

18 29(c) of that Act (43 U.S.C. 1626(c)) (whether such receipt

19 is attributable to the disposition of real property, profits

20 from the operation of real property, or otherwise) shall not

21 be countable as income for purposes of any law adminis22 tered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
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1 SEC. 507. ELIMINATION OF REQUIREMENT FOR PAYMENT

2 OF CERTAIN BENEFITS IN PHILIPPINE PESOS.

3 (a) GENERAL RULE.—The second sentence of each of

4 subsections (a) and (b) of section 107 is amended—

5 (1) by striking out ‘‘rate in pesos as is equiva6 lent to’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘rate of’’; and

7 (2) by striking out ‘‘rate in Philippine pesos as

8 is equivalent to’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘rate

9 of’’.

10 (b) SURVIVORS’ AND DEPENDENTS’ EDUCATIONAL AS11 SISTANCE.—Sections 3532(d) and 3565(b)(1) are amended

12 by striking out ‘‘a rate in Philippine pesos equivalent to’’

13 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘the rate of’’.

14 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this

15 section shall apply with respect to payments made after De16 cember 31, 1994.

17 SEC. 508. STUDY OF HEALTH CONSEQUENCES FOR FAMILY

18 MEMBERS OF ATOMIC VETERANS OF EXPO19 SURE OF ATOMIC VETERANS TO IONIZING RA20 DIATION.

21 (a) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT.—The Secretary of Vet22 erans Affairs shall enter into an agreement with the Medical

23 Follow-Up Agency of the Institute of the Medicine of the

24 National Academy of Sciences under which that agency

25 shall convene a panel of appropriate individuals to carry

26 out the evaluation described in subsection (b).
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1 (b) EVALUATION OF FEASIBILITY OF STUDY.—(1) The

2 panel convened under subsection (a) shall evaluate the fea3 sibility of carrying out a study as described in subsection

4 (c).

5 (2) The panel shall submit the results of the evaluation

6 under paragraph (1) to the Secretary not later than 180

7 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. The Sec8 retary shall promptly notify the Committees on Veterans’

9 Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives of

10 such results.

11 (c) DESCRIPTION OF STUDY TO BE EVALUATED.—The

12 study referred to in subsection (b) (the feasibility of which

13 is to be evaluated under that subsection by the panel con14 vened under subsection (a)) is one which would determine

15 the nature and extent, if any, of the relationship between

16 the exposure of veterans described in subsection (d) to ioniz17 ing radiation and the following:

18 (1) Genetic defects and illnesses in the children

19 and grandchildren of such veterans.

20 (2) Untoward pregnancy outcomes experienced

21 by the wives of such veterans, including premature

22 births, stillbirths, miscarriages, neonatal illnesses and

23 deaths.
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1 (3) Periparturient diseases of the mother which

2 are the direct result of such untoward pregnancy out3 comes.

4 (d) COVERED VETERANS.—Subsection (c) applies to—

5 (1) any veteran who was exposed (as determined

6 by the Secretary) to ionizing radiation as a result

7 of—

8 (A) participation while on active duty in

9 the Armed Forces in an atmospheric nuclear test

10 that included the detonation of a nuclear device;

11 (B) service in the Armed Forces with the

12 United States occupation force of Hiroshima or

13 Nagasaki, Japan, before July 1, 1946; or

14 (C) internment or detention as a prisoner of

15 war of Japan before that date in circumstances

16 providing the opportunity for exposure to ioniz17 ing radiation comparable to the exposure of indi18 viduals who served with such occupation force

19 before that date; and

20 (2) any other veteran who the Secretary des21 ignates for coverage under the study.
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1 SEC. 509. CENTER FOR MINORITY VETERANS AND CENTER

2 FOR WOMEN VETERANS.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 is amended by striking

4 out section 317 and inserting in lieu thereof the following

5 new sections:

6 ‘‘§ 317. Center for Minority Veterans

7 ‘‘(a) There is in the Department a Center for Minority

8 Veterans. There is at the head of the Center a Director.

9 ‘‘(b) The Director shall be a noncareer appointee in

10 the Senior Executive Service. The Director shall be ap11 pointed for a term of six years.

12 ‘‘(c) The Director reports directly to the Secretary or

13 the Deputy Secretary concerning the activities of the Center.

14 ‘‘(d) The Director shall perform the following functions

15 with respect to veterans who are minorities:

16 ‘‘(1) Serve as principal adviser to the Secretary

17 on the adoption and implementation of policies and

18 programs affecting veterans who are minorities.

19 ‘‘(2) Make recommendations to the Secretary, the

20 Under Secretary for Health, the Under Secretary for

21 Benefits, and other Department officials for the estab22 lishment or improvement of programs in the Depart23 ment for which veterans who are minorities are eligi24 ble.

25 ‘‘(3) Promote the use of benefits authorized by

26 this title by veterans who are minorities and the con-
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1 duct of outreach activities to veterans who are mi2 norities, in conjunction with outreach activities car3 ried out under chapter 77 of this title.

4 ‘‘(4) Disseminate information and serve as a re5 source center for the exchange of information regard6 ing innovative and successful programs which im7 prove the services available to veterans who are mi8 norities.

9 ‘‘(5) Conduct and sponsor appropriate social

10 and demographic research on the needs of veterans

11 who are minorities and the extent to which programs

12 authorized under this title meet the needs of those vet13 erans, without regard to any law concerning the col14 lection of information from the public.

15 ‘‘(6) Analyze and evaluate complaints made by

16 or on behalf of veterans who are minorities about the

17 adequacy and timeliness of services provided by the

18 Department and advise the appropriate official of the

19 Department of the results of such analysis or evalua20 tion.

21 ‘‘(7) Consult with, and provide assistance and

22 information to, officials responsible for administering

23 Federal, State, local, and private programs that assist

24 veterans, to encourage those officials to adopt policies
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1 which promote the use of those programs by veterans

2 who are minorities.

3 ‘‘(8) Advise the Secretary when laws or policies

4 have the effect of discouraging the use of benefits by

5 veterans who are minorities.

6 ‘‘(9) Publicize the results of medical research

7 which are of particular significance to veterans who

8 are minorities.

9 ‘‘(10) Perform such other duties consistent with

10 this section as the Secretary shall prescribe.

11 ‘‘(e) The Secretary shall ensure that the Director is fur12 nished sufficient resources to enable the Director to carry

13 out the functions of the Center in a timely manner.

14 ‘‘(f) The Secretary shall include in documents submit15 ted to Congress by the Secretary in support of the Presi16 dent’s budget for each fiscal year—

17 ‘‘(1) detailed information on the budget for the

18 Center;

19 ‘‘(2) the Secretary’s opinion as to whether the re20 sources (including the number of employees) proposed

21 in the budget for that fiscal year are adequate to en22 able the Center to comply with its statutory and regu23 latory duties; and
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1 ‘‘(3) a report on the activities and significant

2 accomplishments of the Center during the preceding

3 fiscal year.

4 ‘‘§ 318. Center for Women Veterans

5 ‘‘(a) There is in the Department a Center for Women

6 Veterans. There is at the head of the Center a Director.

7 ‘‘(b) The Director shall be a noncareer appointee in

8 the Senior Executive Service. The Director shall be ap9 pointed for a term of six years.

10 ‘‘(c) The Director reports directly to the Secretary or

11 the Deputy Secretary concerning the activities of the Center.

12 ‘‘(d) The Director shall perform the following functions

13 with respect to veterans who are women:

14 ‘‘(1) Serve as principal adviser to the Secretary

15 on the adoption and implementation of policies and

16 programs affecting veterans who are women.

17 ‘‘(2) Make recommendations to the Secretary, the

18 Under Secretary for Health, the Under Secretary for

19 Benefits, and other Department officials for the estab20 lishment or improvement of programs in the Depart21 ment for which veterans who are women are eligible.

22 ‘‘(3) Promote the use of benefits authorized by

23 this title by veterans who are women and the conduct

24 of outreach activities to veterans who are women, in
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1 conjunction with outreach activities carried out under

2 chapter 77 of this title.

3 ‘‘(4) Disseminate information and serve as a re4 source center for the exchange of information regard5 ing innovative and successful programs which im6 prove the services available to veterans who are

7 women.

8 ‘‘(5) Conduct and sponsor appropriate social

9 and demographic research on the needs of veterans

10 who are women and the extent to which programs au11 thorized under this title meet the needs of those veter12 ans, without regard to any law concerning the collec13 tion of information from the public.

14 ‘‘(6) Analyze and evaluate complaints made by

15 or on behalf of veterans who are women about the

16 adequacy and timeliness of services provided by the

17 Department and advise the appropriate official of the

18 Department of the results of such analysis or evalua19 tion.

20 ‘‘(7) Consult with, and provide assistance and

21 information to, officials responsible for administering

22 Federal, State, local, and private programs that assist

23 veterans, to encourage those officials to adopt policies

24 which promote the use of those programs by veterans

25 who are women.
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1 ‘‘(8) Advise the Secretary when laws or policies

2 have the effect of discouraging the use of benefits by

3 veterans who are women.

4 ‘‘(9) Publicize the results of medical research

5 which are of particular significance to veterans who

6 are women.

7 ‘‘(10) Advise the Secretary and other appro8 priate officials on the effectiveness of the Department’s

9 efforts to accomplish the goals of section 492B of the

10 Public Health Service Act (relating to the inclusion

11 of women and minorities in clinical research) and of

12 particular health conditions affecting womens’ health

13 which should be studied as part of the Department’s

14 medical research program and promote cooperation

15 between the Department and other sponsors of medi16 cal research of potential benefit to veterans who are

17 women.

18 ‘‘(11) Provide support and administrative serv19 ices to the Advisory Committee on Women Veterans

20 established under section 542 of this title.

21 ‘‘(12) Perform such other duties consistent with

22 this section as the Secretary shall prescribe.

23 ‘‘(e) The Secretary shall ensure that the Director is fur24 nished sufficient resources to enable the Director to carry

25 out the functions of the Center in a timely manner.
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1 ‘‘(f) The Secretary shall include in documents submit2 ted to Congress by the Secretary in support of the Presi3 dent’s budget for each fiscal year—

4 ‘‘(1) detailed information on the budget for the

5 Center;

6 ‘‘(2) the Secretary’s opinion as to whether the re7 sources (including the number of employees) proposed

8 in the budget for that fiscal year are adequate to en9 able the Center to comply with its statutory and regu10 latory duties; and

11 ‘‘(3) a report on the activities and significant

12 accomplishments of the Center during the preceding

13 fiscal year.’’.

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at

15 the beginning of such chapter is amended by striking out

16 the item relating to section 317 and and inserting in lieu

17 thereof the following new items:

‘‘317. Center for Minority Veterans.

‘‘318. Center for Women Veterans.’’.

18 SEC. 510. ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON MINORITY VETERANS.

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subchapter III of chapter 5 is

20 amended by adding at the end the following new section:

21 ‘‘§ 544. Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans

22 ‘‘(a)(1) The Secretary shall establish an advisory com23 mittee to be known as the Advisory Committee on Minority
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1 Veterans (hereinafter in this section referred to as ‘the Com2 mittee’).

3 ‘‘(2)(A) The Committee shall consist of members ap4 pointed by the Secretary from the general public, includ5 ing—

6 ‘‘(i) representatives of veterans who are minority

7 group members;

8 ‘‘(ii) individuals who are recognized authorities

9 in fields pertinent to the needs of veterans who are

10 minority group members;

11 ‘‘(iii) veterans who are minority group members

12 and who have experience in a military theater of op13 erations; and

14 ‘‘(iv) veterans who are minority group members

15 and who do not have such experience.

16 ‘‘(B) The Committee shall include, as ex officio mem17 bers, the following:

18 ‘‘(i) The Secretary of Labor (or a representative

19 of the Secretary of Labor designated by the Secretary

20 after consultation with the Assistant Secretary of

21 Labor for Veterans’ Employment).

22 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary of Defense (or a representa23 tive of the Secretary of Defense designated by the Sec24 retary of Defense).
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1 ‘‘(iii) The Secretary of the Interior (or a rep2 resentative of the Secretary of the Interior designated

3 by the Secretary of the Interior).

4 ‘‘(iv) The Secretary of Commerce (or a represent5 ative of the Secretary of Commerce designated by the

6 Secretary of Commerce).

7 ‘‘(v) The Secretary of Health and Human Serv8 ices (or a representative of the Secretary of Health

9 and Human Services designated by the Secretary of

10 Health and Human Services).

11 ‘‘(vi) The Under Secretary for Health and the

12 Under Secretary for Benefits, or their designees.

13 ‘‘(C) The Secretary may invite representatives of other

14 departments and agencies of the United States to partici15 pate in the meetings and other activities of the Committee.

16 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall determine the number, terms

17 of service, and pay and allowances of members of the Com18 mittee appointed by the Secretary, except that a term of

19 service of any such member may not exceed three years. The

20 Secretary may reappoint any such member for additional

21 terms of service.

22 ‘‘(4) The Committee shall meet as often as the Sec23 retary considers necessary or appropriate, but not less often

24 than twice each fiscal year.
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1 ‘‘(b) The Secretary shall, on a regular basis, consult

2 with and seek the advice of the Committee with respect to

3 the administration of benefits by the Department for veter4 ans who are minority group members, reports and studies

5 pertaining to such veterans and the needs of such veterans

6 with respect to compensation, health care, rehabilitation,

7 outreach, and other benefits and programs administered by

8 the Department.

9 ‘‘(c)(1) Not later than July 1 of each year, the Commit10 tee shall submit to the Secretary a report on the programs

11 and activities of the Department that pertain to veterans

12 who are minority group members. Each such report shall

13 include—

14 ‘‘(A) an assessment of the needs of veterans who

15 are minority group members with respect to com16 pensation, health care, rehabilitation, outreach, and

17 other benefits and programs administered by the De18 partment;

19 ‘‘(B) a review of the programs and activities of

20 the Department designed to meet such needs; and

21 ‘‘(C) such recommendations (including rec22 ommendations for administrative and legislative ac23 tion) as the Committee considers appropriate.

24 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall, within 60 days after receiv25 ing each report under paragraph (1), submit to Congress
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1 a copy of the report, together with any comments concern2 ing the report that the Secretary considers appropriate.

3 ‘‘(3) The Committee may also submit to the Secretary

4 such other reports and recommendations as the Committee

5 considers appropriate.

6 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall submit with each annual re7 port submitted to the Congress pursuant to section 529 of

8 this title a summary of all reports and recommendations

9 of the Committee submitted to the Secretary since the pre10 vious annual report of the Secretary submitted pursuant

11 to such section.

12 ‘‘(d) In this section, the term ‘minority group member’

13 means an individual who is—

14 ‘‘(1) Asian American;

15 ‘‘(2) Black;

16 ‘‘(3) Hispanic;

17 ‘‘(4) Native American (including American In18 dian, Alaskan Native, and Native Hawaiian); or

19 ‘‘(5) Pacific-Islander American.

20 ‘‘(e) The Committee shall cease to exist December 31,

21 1997.’’.

22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at

23 the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding after

24 the item relating to section 543 the following new item:

‘‘544. Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans.’’.
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1 SEC. 511. MAILING OF NOTICES OF APPEAL TO THE COURT

2 OF VETERANS APPEALS.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7266(a) is amended to read

4 as follows:

5 ‘‘(a)(1) In order to obtain review by the Court of Veter6 ans Appeals of a final decision of the Board of Veterans’

7 Appeals, a person adversely affected by such decision shall

8 file a notice of appeal with the Court within 120 days after

9 the date on which notice of the decision is mailed pursuant

10 to section 7104(e) of this title.

11 ‘‘(2) An appellant shall file a notice of appeal under

12 this section by delivering or mailing the notice to the Court.

13 ‘‘(3) A notice of appeal shall be deemed to be received

14 by the Court as follows:

15 ‘‘(A) On the date of receipt by the Court, if the

16 notice is delivered.

17 ‘‘(B) On the date of the United States Post Serv18 ice postmark stamped on the cover in which the notice

19 is posted, if the notice is properly addressed to the

20 Court and is mailed.

21 ‘‘(4) For a notice of appeal mailed to the Court to be

22 deemed to be received under paragraph (3)(B) on a particu23 lar date, the United States Postal Service postmark on the

24 cover in which the notice is posted must be legible. The

25 Court shall determine the legibility of any such postmark
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1 and the Court’s determination as to legibility shall be final

2 and not subject to review by any other Court.’’.

3 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by sub4 section (a) shall take effect on the date of the enactment

5 of this Act and shall apply to notices of appeal that are

6 delivered or mailed to the United States Court of Veterans

7 Appeals on or after that date.

8 TITLE VI—EDUCATION AND

9 TRAINING PROGRAMS

10 SEC. 601. FLIGHT TRAINING.

11 (a) ACTIVE DUTY PROGRAM.—Section 3034(d) is

12 amended—

13 (1) by striking out paragraph (2);

14 (2) by striking out ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(d)’’; and

15 (3) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B),

16 and (C) as paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively.

17 (b) POST-VIETNAM ERA.—Section 3241(b) is amend18 ed—

19 (1) by striking out paragraph (2);

20 (2) by striking out ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(b)’’; and

21 (3) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B),

22 and (C) as paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively.

23 (c) RESERVE PROGRAM.—Section 2136(c) of title 10,

24 United States Code, is amended—

25 (1) by striking out paragraph (2);
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1 (2) by striking out ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(c)’’; and

2 (3) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B),

3 and (C) as paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively.

4 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this

5 section shall take effect as of October 1, 1994.

6 SEC. 602. TRAINING AND REHABILITATION FOR VETERANS

7 WITH SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITIES.

8 (a) REHABILITATION RESOURCES.—Section 3115 is

9 amended—

10 (1) in subsection (a)—

11 (A) in paragraph (1)—

12 (i) by striking out ‘‘or’’ after ‘‘(includ13 ing the Department of Veterans Affairs),’’;

14 and

15 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or of any federally

16 recognized Indian tribe,’’ after ‘‘financial

17 assistance,’’; and

18 (B) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘any

19 federally recognized Indian tribe,’’ after ‘‘con20 tributions,’’; and

21 (2) by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(c) For purposes of this section, the term ‘federally

23 recognized Indian tribe’ means any Indian tribe, band, na24 tion, pueblo, or other organized group or community, in25 cluding any Alaska Native village or regional corporation
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1 as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native

2 Claims Settlement Act, which is recognized as eligible for

3 the special programs and services provided by the United

4 States to Indians because of their status as Indians.’’.

5 (b) ALLOWANCES.—Section 3108(c)(2) is amended by

6 inserting ‘‘or federally recognized Indian tribe’’ after ‘‘local

7 government agency’’.

8 (c) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—(1) Section 404(b) of

9 the Veterans’ Benefits Act of 1992 (106 Stat. 4338) is

10 amended by striking out the period at the end and inserting

11 in lieu thereof ‘‘, but shall not apply to veterans and other

12 persons who originally applied for assistance under chapter

13 31 of title 38, United States Code, before November 1,

14 1990.’’.

15 (2) The amendment made by paragraph (1) shall take

16 effect as of October 29, 1992.

17 SEC. 603. ALTERNATIVE TEACHER CERTIFICATION PRO18 GRAMS.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3452(c) is amended by add20 ing at the end the following: ‘‘For the period ending on Sep21 tember 30, 1996, such term includes any entity that pro22 vides training required for completion of any State-ap23 proved alternative teacher certification program (as deter24 mined by the Secretary).’’.
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1 (b) CLARIFYING AMENDMENT.—Section 3002 is

2 amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

3 ‘‘(8) The term ‘educational institution’ has the mean4 ing given such term in section 3452(c) of this title.’’.

5 SEC. 604. EDUCATION OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The first sentence of section 3476

7 is amended to read as follows: ‘‘An eligible veteran may

8 not enroll in any course offered by an educational institu9 tion not located in a State unless that educational institu10 tion is an approved institution of higher learning and the

11 course is approved by the Secretary.’’.

12 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub13 section (a) shall apply with respect to courses approved on

14 or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

15 SEC. 605. CORRESPONDENCE COURSES.

16 (a) APPROVAL OF PROGRAMS OF EDUCATION.—(1)

17 Section 3672 is amended by adding at the end the following

18 new subsection:

19 ‘‘(e) A program of education exclusively by correspond20 ence, and the correspondence portion of a combination cor21 respondence-residence course leading to a vocational objec22 tive, that is offered by an educational institution (as de23 fined in section 3452(c) of this title) may be approved only

24 if (1) the educational institution is accredited by an entity

25 recognized by the Secretary of Education, and (2) at least
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1 50 percent of those pursuing such a program or course re2 quire six months or more to complete the program or

3 course.’’.

4 (2)(A) Section 3675(a)(2)(B) is amended by striking

5 out ‘‘A State’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Except as pro6 vided in section 3672(e) of this title, a State’’.

7 (B) Section 3680(a) is amended—

8 (i) by inserting ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph

9 (2);

10 (ii) by striking out ‘‘; or’’ at the end of para11 graph (3) and inserting in lieu thereof a period; and

12 (iii) by striking out paragraph (4).

13 (C) Section 3686(c) is amended by striking out ‘‘(other

14 than one subject to the provisions of section 3676 of this

15 title)’’.

16 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by sub17 section (a) shall apply with respect to programs of edu18 cation exclusively by correspondence and to correspondence19 residence courses commencing more than 90 days after the

20 date of the enactment of this Act.

21 SEC. 606. STATE APPROVING AGENCIES.

22 (a) REIMBURSEMENT.—(1) Section 3674(a)(4) is

23 amended by striking out ‘‘$12,000,000’’ each place it ap24 pears and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘$13,000,000’’.
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1 (2) The amendments made by subsection (a) shall

2 apply with respect to services provided under such section

3 after September 30, 1994.

4 (b) ELIMINATION OF REQUIREMENT FOR QUARTERLY

5 REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Section 3674(a)(3) is amended—

6 (1) by striking out subparagraph (B); and

7 (2) by striking out ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(3)’’.

8 (c) EVALUATION OF AGENCY PERFORMANCE.—Section

9 3674A is amended—

10 (1) in subsection (a)—

11 (A) by striking out paragraph (3); and

12 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and

13 (5) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; and

14 (2) in subsection (b)—

15 (A) by striking out ‘‘subsection (a)(5) of

16 this section’’ both places it appears and inserting

17 in lieu thereof ‘‘subsection (a)(4)’’; and

18 (B) by inserting ‘‘of this title’’ after ‘‘section

19 3674(a)’’ both places it appears.

20 SEC. 607. MEASUREMENT OF COURSES.

21 Section 3688(b) is amended—

22 (1) by striking out ‘‘this chapter or’’ and insert23 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘this chapter,’’; and

24 (2) by inserting before the period at the end

25 thereof the following: ‘‘, or chapter 106 of title 10’’.
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1 SEC. 608. VETERANS’ ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON EDU2 CATION.

3 Section 3692 is amended—

4 (1) in the first sentence of subsection (a)—

5 (A) by striking out ‘‘34,’’; and

6 (B) by inserting ‘‘and chapter 106 of title

7 10’’ before the period at the end;

8 (2) in the first sentence of subsection (b), by

9 striking out ‘‘this chapter’’ and all that follows

10 through ‘‘of this title’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

11 ‘‘this chapter, chapter 30, 32, and 35 of this title, and

12 chapter 106 of title 10’’; and

13 (3) in subsection (c), by striking out ‘‘December

14 31, 1994’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘December 31,

15 2003’’.

16 SEC. 609. CONTRACT EDUCATIONAL AND VOCATIONAL

17 COUNSELING.

18 (a) PAYMENT LIMITATION.—Section 3697(b) is

19 amended by striking out ‘‘$5,000,000’’ and inserting in lieu

20 thereof ‘‘$6,000,000’’.

21 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub22 section (a) shall take effect on October 1, 1994.

23 SEC. 610. SERVICE MEMBERS OCCUPATIONAL CONVERSION

24 AND TRAINING ACT OF 1992.

25 (a) PERIOD OF TRAINING.—(1) Section 4485(d) of the

26 Service Members Occupational Conversion and Training
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1 Act of 1992 (106 Stat. 2759; 10 U.S.C. 1143 note) is

2 amended by striking out ‘‘or more than 18 months’’.

3 (2)(A) Section 4486(d)(2) of such Act (102 Stat. 2760;

4 10 U.S.C. 1143 note) is amended by striking out the period

5 at the end thereof and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

6 ‘‘in the community for the entire period of training of the

7 eligible person.’’.

8 (B) The amendment made by subparagraph (A) shall

9 apply with respect to programs of training under the Serv10 ice Members Occupational Conversion and Training Act of

11 1992 beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.

12 (b) PAYMENTS.—Section 4487 of such Act (106 Stat.

13 2762; 10 U.S.C. 1143 note) is amended—

14 (1) in subsection (a)(1)—

15 (A) by striking out ‘‘subparagraph (B)’’ in

16 subparagraph (A) and inserting in lieu thereof

17 ‘‘subparagraphs (B) and (C)’’;

18 (B) by inserting before the period at the end

19 of subparagraph (A) the following: ‘‘but in no

20 event to exceed hours equivalent to 18 months of

21 training’’; and

22 (C) by adding at the end the following new

23 subparagraph:

24 ‘‘(C) Assistance may be paid under this subtitle on be25 half of an eligible person to that person’s employer for
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1 training under two or more programs of job training under

2 this subtitle if such employer has not received (or is not

3 due) on that person’s behalf assistance in an amount aggre4 gating the applicable amount set forth in subparagraph

5 (B).’’; and

6 (2) in subsection (b)(3), by inserting before the

7 period at the end thereof ‘‘, or upon the completion

8 of the 18th month of training under the last training

9 program approved for the person’s pursuit with that

10 employer under this subtitle, whichever is earlier’’.

11 (c) ENTRY INTO PROGRAM OF JOB TRAINING.—Sec12 tion 4488(a) of such Act (106 Stat. 2764; 10 U.S.C. 1143

13 note) is amended by striking out the third sentence thereof

14 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘The eligible person may begin

15 such program of job training with the employer on the day

16 that notice is transmitted to such official by means pre17 scribed by such official. However, assistance under this sub18 title may not be provided to the employer if such official,

19 within two weeks after the date on which such notice is

20 transmitted, disapproves the eligible person’s entry into

21 that program of job training in accordance with this sec22 tion.’’.
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1 TITLE VII—EMPLOYMENT

2 PROGRAMS

3 SEC. 701. JOB COUNSELING, TRAINING, AND PLACEMENT.

4 (a) DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF LABOR FOR

5 VETERANS’ EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING.—Section

6 4102A(a) is amended—

7 (1) by striking out ‘‘(1)’’ and ‘‘(2)’’ and insert8 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘(A)’’ and ‘‘(B)’’, respectively;

9 (2) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(a)’’; and

10 (3) by adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(2) There shall be within the Department of Labor

12 a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Em13 ployment and Training. The Deputy Assistant Secretary

14 shall perform such functions as the Assistant Secretary of

15 Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training prescribes.

16 The Deputy Assistant Secretary shall be a veteran.’’.

17 (b) DVOP SPECIALISTS COMPENSATION RATES.—Sec18 tion 4103A(a)(1) is amended by striking out ‘‘a rate not

19 less than the rate prescribed for an entry level professional’’

20 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘rates comparable to those

21 paid other professionals performing essentially similar du22 ties’’.

23 (c) SPECIAL UNEMPLOYMENT STUDY.—Subsection (a)

24 of section 4110A is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(a)(1) The Secretary, through the Bureau of Labor

2 Statistics, shall conduct a study every two years of unem3 ployment among each of the following categories of veterans:

4 ‘‘(A) Special disabled veterans.

5 ‘‘(B) Veterans of the Vietnam era who served in

6 the Vietnam theater of operations during the Vietnam

7 era.

8 ‘‘(C) Veterans who served on active duty during

9 the Vietnam era who did not serve in the Vietnam

10 theater of operations.

11 ‘‘(D) Veterans who served on active duty after

12 the Vietnam era.

13 ‘‘(E) Veterans discharged or released from active

14 duty within four years of the applicable study.

15 ‘‘(2) Within each of the categories of veterans specified

16 in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall include a separate

17 category for women who are veterans.

18 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall promptly submit to Congress

19 a report on the results of each study under paragraph (1).’’.

20 SEC. 702. EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING OF VETERANS.

21 (a) FEDERAL CONTRACTS.—Section 4212(a) is

22 amended by striking out ‘‘all of its suitable employment

23 openings,’’ in clause (1) of the third sentence and inserting

24 in lieu thereof ‘‘all of its employment openings except that

25 the contractor may exclude openings for executive and top
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1 management positions, positions which are to be filled from

2 within the contractor’s organization, and positions lasting

3 three days or less,’’.

4 (b) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR VETERANS

5 UNDER FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING PRO6 GRAMS.—Section 4213 is amended—

7 (1) by striking out ‘‘chapters 11, 13, 31, 34, 35,

8 and 36 of this title by an eligible veteran and’’ and

9 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘chapters 11, 13, 30, 31, 35,

10 and 36 of this title by an eligible veteran,’’;

11 (2) by inserting ‘‘and any amounts received by

12 an eligible person under chapter 106 of title 10,’’ after

13 ‘‘chapters 13 and 35 of such title, and’’; and

14 (3) by striking out ‘‘the needs or qualifications

15 of participants in’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘eli16 gibility under’’.

17 SEC. 703. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO ERISA RELATING

18 TO THE UNIFORMED SERVICES EMPLOYMENT

19 AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS ACT OF 1994.

20 (a) PERIOD OF CONTINUATION COVERAGE.—Section

21 602(2)(A) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act

22 of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1162(2)(A)) is amended by adding at

23 the end the following new clause:

24 ‘‘(vi) SPECIAL RULE FOR ABSENCE

25 FROM EMPLOYMENT BY REASON OF SERVICE
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1 IN THE UNIFORMED SERVICES.—In the case

2 of a qualifying event described in section

3 603(2), resulting in an absence from em4 ployment by reason of service in the uni5 formed services to which section 4317 of

6 title 38, United States Code, applies, if the

7 covered employee makes an election under

8 such section 4317, the date which is the ear9 lier of—

10 ‘‘(I) 18 months after the date of

11 the qualifying event, or

12 ‘‘(II) the day after the date on

13 which the covered employee fails to

14 apply for or return to a position of

15 employment, as determined under sec16 tion 4312(e) of such title 38.’’.

17 (b) PREMIUM REQUIREMENTS.—Section 602(3) of

18 such Act (29 U.S.C. 1162(3)) is amended—

19 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B)

20 as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively;

21 (2) by striking ‘‘The plan may require’’ and in22 serting the following:

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The plan may require’’;
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1 (3) by adjusting the left-hand margination of

2 subparagraph (A) and clauses (i) and (ii) thereof (as

3 redesignated by paragraphs (1) and (2)) accordingly;

4 (4) in the last sentence of subparagraph (A) (as

5 redesignated), by striking ‘‘subparagraph (A) of this

6 paragraph’’ and inserting ‘‘clause (i) of this subpara7 graph’’; and

8 (5) by adding at the end the following new sub9 paragraph:

10 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR ABSENCE FROM

11 EMPLOYMENT BY REASON OF SERVICE IN THE

12 UNIFORMED SERVICES.—

13 ‘‘(i) LIMITATION ON EMPLOYEE PRE14 MIUM.—In the case of a qualifying event de15 scribed in section 603(2), resulting in an

16 absence from employment by reason of serv17 ice in the uniformed services to which sec18 tion 4317 of title 38, United States Code,

19 applies, if the covered employee makes an

20 election under such section 4317 and the

21 covered employee performed such service for

22 less than 31 days, the portion of the pre23 mium which the covered employee is re24 quired to pay may not exceed the portion (if

25 any) of the premium which the covered em-
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1 ployee would have been required to pay but

2 for the qualifying event.

3 ‘‘(ii) TREATMENT OF MULTIEMPLOYER

4 PLANS.—In the case of a group health plan

5 that is a multiemployer plan, any liability

6 under the plan for the portion of the pre7 mium payable by the employer shall be allo8 cated by the plan in such manner as the

9 plan sponsor shall provide, except that, if

10 the plan sponsor does not so provide, such

11 liability shall be allocated by the plan—

12 ‘‘(I) to the last employer employ13 ing the covered employee before the pe14 riod served by the covered employee in

15 the uniformed services, or

16 ‘‘(II) if such last employer is no

17 longer functional, to the plan.’’.

18 (c) ENFORCEMENT OF CONTINUATION COVERAGE RE19 QUIREMENTS.—Section 607 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1167)

20 is amended by adding at the end the following new para21 graph:

22 ‘‘(6) ENFORCEMENT OF PROVISIONS RELATING

23 TO ABSENCE FROM EMPLOYMENT BY REASON OF

24 SERVICE IN THE UNIFORMED SERVICES.—For pur25 poses of part 5, the provisions of section 4317 of title
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1 38, United States Code (as in effect on the effective

2 date of this paragraph) shall be treated as provisions

3 of this title to the extent such provisions relate to

4 group health plans covered under this title. The rem5 edies provided pursuant to this paragraph shall be in

6 addition to remedies otherwise available under such

7 title 38. An action or proceeding commenced under

8 part 5 shall not preclude further recourse to remedies

9 otherwise available under such title 38. The Secretary

10 shall ensure that covered employees and other quali11 fied beneficiaries commencing actions or proceedings

12 under part 5 are informed of remedies also available

13 under such title 38.’’.

14 (d) ENFORCEMENT OF RULES RELATING TO PENSION

15 PLAN COVERAGE.—Section 204 of such Act (29 U.S.C.

16 1054) is amended—

17 (1) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection

18 (j); and

19 (2) by inserting after subsection (h) the following

20 new subsection:

21 ‘‘(i) ENFORCEMENT OF PROVISIONS RELATING TO AB22 SENCE FROM EMPLOYMENT BY REASON OF SERVICE IN THE

23 UNIFORMED SERVICES.—For purposes of part 5, the provi24 sions of section 4318 of title 38, United States Code (as

25 in effect on the effective date of this subsection) shall be
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1 treated as provisions of this title to the extent such provi2 sions relate to pension plans covered under this title. The

3 remedies provided pursuant to this subsection shall be in

4 addition to remedies otherwise available under such title

5 38. An action or proceeding commenced under part 5 shall

6 not preclude further recourse to remedies otherwise available

7 under such title 38. The Secretary shall ensure that partici8 pants and beneficiaries commencing actions or proceedings

9 under part 5 are informed of remedies also available under

10 such title 38.’’.

11 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE AND TRANSITION RULES.—

12 (1) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made

13 by this section shall take effect as if included in the

14 enactment of section 2 of the Uniformed Services Em15 ployment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.

16 (2) TRANSITION RULES.—Section 8 of the Uni17 formed Services Employment and Reemployment

18 Rights Act of 1994 shall apply with respect to the

19 amendments made by this section in the same manner

20 and to the same extent as such section applies with

21 respect to sections 4317 and 4318 of title 38, United

22 States Code (as amended by such Act).
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1 TITLE VIII—CEMETERIES AND

2 MEMORIAL AFFAIRS

3 SEC. 801. ELIGIBILITY FOR BURIAL IN NATIONAL CEME4 TERIES OF SPOUSES WHO PREDECEASE VET5 ERANS.

6 Section 2402(5) is amended by inserting ‘‘spouse,’’

7 after ‘‘The’’.

8 SEC. 802. RESTORATION OF BURIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR

9 UNREMARRIED SPOUSES.

10 Section 2402(5), as amended by section 801, is further

11 amended by inserting after ‘‘surviving spouse’’ the follow12 ing: ‘‘(which for purposes of this chapter includes an

13 unremarried surviving spouse who had a subsequent remar14 riage which was terminated by death or divorce)’’.

15 SEC. 803. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA16 TIONS FOR STATE CEMETERY GRANT PRO17 GRAM.

18 Paragraph (2) of section 2408(a) is amended by strik19 ing out ‘‘nine’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘fourteen’’.

20 SEC. 804. AUTHORITY TO USE FLAT GRAVE MARKERS AT

21 THE WILLAMETTE NATIONAL CEMETERY, OR22 EGON.

23 Notwithstanding section 2404(c)(2) of title 38, United

24 States Code, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may provide
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1 for flat grave markers at the Willamette National Cemetery,

2 Oregon.

3 TITLE IX—HOUSING PROGRAMS

4 SEC. 901. ELIGIBILITY.

5 (a) RESERVISTS DISCHARGED BECAUSE OF A SERV6 ICE-CONNECTED DISABILITY.—Section 3701(b)(5)(A) is

7 amended—

8 (1) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ before ‘‘who has’’; and

9 (2) by striking out the period at the end and in10 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘, or (ii) who was discharged

11 or released from the Selected Reserve before complet12 ing 6 years of service because of a service-connected

13 disability.’’.

14 (b) SURVIVING SPOUSES OF RESERVISTS WHO DIED

15 WHILE IN ACTIVE MILITARY, NAVAL, OR AIR SERVICE.—

16 The second sentence of section 3701(b)(2) is amended—

17 (1) by inserting ‘‘or service in the Selected Re18 serve’’ after ‘‘duty’’ each place it appears; and

19 (2) by striking out ‘‘spouse shall’’ and inserting

20 in lieu thereof ‘‘deceased spouse shall’’.

21 SEC. 902. REVISION IN COMPUTATION OF AGGREGATE

22 GUARANTY.

23 Section 3702(b) is amended—
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1 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by

2 striking out ‘‘loan, if—’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

3 ‘‘loan under the following circumstances:’’;

4 (2) in paragraph (1)—

5 (A) by striking out ‘‘the property’’ at the be6 ginning of subparagraph (A) and inserting in

7 lieu thereof ‘‘The property’’;

8 (B) by striking out the semicolon at the end

9 and inserting in lieu thereof a period;

10 (3) in paragraph (2)—

11 (A) by striking out ‘‘a veteran-transferee’’

12 at the beginning and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘A

13 veteran-transferee’’;

14 (B) by striking out ‘‘; or’’ at the end and

15 inserting in lieu thereof a period;

16 (4) in paragraph (3), by striking out ‘‘the loan’’

17 at the beginning of subparagraph (A) and inserting

18 in lieu thereof ‘‘The loan’’;

19 (5) by inserting after paragraph (3) the follow20 ing new paragraph:

21 ‘‘(4) In a case not covered by paragraph (1) or

22 (2)—

23 ‘‘(A) the loan has been repaid in full and,

24 if the Secretary has suffered a loss on the loan,

25 the loss has been paid in full; or
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1 ‘‘(B) the Secretary has been released from

2 liability as to the loan and, if the Secretary has

3 suffered a loss on the loan, the loss has been paid

4 in full.’’;

5 (6) in the last sentence, by striking out ‘‘clause

6 (1) of the preceding sentence’’ and inserting in lieu

7 thereof ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; and

8 (7) by adding at the end the following new sen9 tence: ‘‘The authority of the Secretary under this sub10 section to exclude an amount of guaranty or insur11 ance housing loan entitlement previously used by a

12 veteran may be exercised only once for that veteran

13 under the authority of paragraph (4).’’.

14 SEC. 903. PUBLIC AND COMMUNITY WATER AND SEWERAGE

15 SYSTEMS.

16 Section 3704 is amended—

17 (1) by striking out subsection (e); and

18 (2) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as

19 subsections (e) and (f), respectively.

20 SEC. 904. AUTHORITY TO GUARANTEE HOME REFINANCE

21 LOANS FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY IMPROVE22 MENTS.

23 (a) LOANS.—Section 3710(a) is amended by inserting

24 after paragraph (10) the following new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(11) To refinance in accordance with subsection

2 (e) an existing loan guaranteed, insured, or made

3 under this chapter, and to improve the dwelling se4 curing such loan through energy efficiency improve5 ments, as provided in subsection (d).’’.

6 (b) AMOUNT OF GUARANTY.—Section 3710(e)(1) is

7 amended—

8 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A),

9 by inserting ‘‘or for the purpose specified in sub10 section (a)(11)’’ after ‘‘subsection (a)(8)’’; and

11 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking out ‘‘may

12 not exceed’’ and all that follows in such subparagraph

13 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘may not exceed—

14 ‘‘(i) an amount equal to the sum of the bal15 ance of the loan being refinanced and such clos16 ing costs (including any discount permitted pur17 suant to section 3703(c)(3)(A) of this title) as

18 may be authorized by the Secretary (under regu19 lations which the Secretary shall prescribe) to be

20 included in the loan; or

21 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a loan for the purpose

22 specified in subsection (a)(11), an amount equal

23 to the sum of the amount referred to with respect

24 to the loan under clause (i) and the amount

25 specified under subsection (d)(2);’’.
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1 (c) FEE.—Section 3729(a)(2)(E) is amended by in2 serting ‘‘3710(a)(11),’’ after ‘‘3710(a)(9)(B)(i),’’.

3 SEC. 905. AUTHORITY TO GUARANTEE LOANS TO REFI4 NANCE ADJUSTABLE RATE MORTGAGES TO

5 FIXED RATE MORTGAGES.

6 Section 3710(e)(1)(A) is amended by inserting before

7 the semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘or, in a case in

8 which the loan is a fixed rate loan and the loan being refi9 nanced is an adjustable rate loan, the loan bears interest

10 at a rate that is agreed upon by the veteran and the mortga11 gee’’.

12 SEC. 906. MANUFACTURED HOME LOAN INSPECTIONS.

13 (a) CERTIFICATION OF CONFORMITY WITH STAND14 ARDS.—Paragraph (2) of subsection (h) of section 3712 is

15 amended to read as follows:

16 ‘‘(2) Any manufactured housing unit properly dis17 playing a certification of conformity to all applicable Fed18 eral manufactured home construction and safety standards

19 pursuant to section 616 of the National Manufactured

20 Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974

21 (42 U.S.C. 5415) shall be deemed to meet the standards re22 quired by paragraph (1).’’.

23 (b) REPEAL OF INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS.—Sub24 section (j) of such section is amended by striking out ‘‘in
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1 the case of’’ the first place it appears and all that follows

2 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘in the case of—

3 ‘‘(1) manufactured homes constructed by a man4 ufacturer who fails or is unable to discharge the man5 ufacturer’s obligations under the warranty;

6 ‘‘(2) manufactured homes which are determined

7 by the Secretary not to conform to the standards pro8 vided for in subsection (h); or

9 ‘‘(3) a manufacturer of manufactured homes who

10 has engaged in procedures or practices determined by

11 the Secretary to be unfair or prejudicial to veterans

12 or the Government.’’.

13 (c) ELIMINATION OF REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—

14 Subsection (l) of such section is amended—

15 (1) by striking out ‘‘the results of inspections re16 quired by subsection (h) of this section,’’; and

17 (2) by striking out ‘‘of this section,’’.

18 SEC. 907. PROCEDURES ON DEFAULT.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (7) of section 3732(c)

20 is amended—

21 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A),

22 by striking out ‘‘that was the minimum amount for

23 which, under applicable State law, the property was

24 permitted to be sold at the liquidation sale’’;

25 (2) in subparagraph (A)—
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1 (A) by striking out ‘‘the Secretary may ac2 cept conveyance of the property to the United

3 States for a price not exceeding’’ and inserting

4 in lieu thereof ‘‘(i) the amount was the mini5 mum amount for which, under applicable State

6 law, the property was permitted to be sold at the

7 liquidation sale, the holder shall have the option

8 to convey the property to the United States in

9 return for payment by the Secretary of an

10 amount equal to’’; and

11 (B) by striking out ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘loan;’’ and

12 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘or’’;

13 (C) by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(ii) there was no minimum amount for which

15 the property had to be sold at the liquidation sale

16 under applicable State law, the holder shall have the

17 option to convey the property to the United States in

18 return for payment by the Secretary of an amount

19 equal to the lesser of such net value or total indebted20 ness; and’’; and

21 (3) in subparagraph (B), by striking out ‘‘para22 graph (6)(B)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘para23 graph (6)’’.

24 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (6) of

25 such section is amended—
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1 (1) by striking out ‘‘either’’;

2 (2) by striking out ‘‘sale or acquires’’ and all

3 that follows through ‘‘(B) the’’ and inserting in lieu

4 thereof ‘‘sale, the’’; and

5 (3) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as

6 clauses (A) and (B), respectively.

7 SEC. 908. MINIMUM ACTIVE-DUTY SERVICE REQUIREMENT.

8 Subparagraph (F) of section 5303A(b)(3) is amended

9 by inserting ‘‘or chapter 37’’ after ‘‘chapter 30’’ in the mat10 ter preceding clause (i).

11 TITLE X—HOMELESS VETERANS

12 PROGRAMS

13 SEC. 1001. REPORTS ON ACTIVITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT

14 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO ASSIST HOMELESS

15 VETERANS.

16 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.—(1) Not later than April 15 of

17 each year, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit

18 to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and

19 House of Representatives a report on the activities of the

20 Department of Veterans Affairs during the year preceding

21 the report under programs of the Department for the provi22 sion of assistance to homeless veterans.

23 (2) The report shall—

24 (A) set forth the number of homeless veterans

25 provided assistance under those programs;
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1 (B) describe the cost to the Department of pro2 viding such assistance under those programs; and

3 (C) provide any other information on those pro4 grams and on the provision of such assistance that

5 the Secretary considers appropriate.

6 (b) BI-ANNUAL REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall

7 include in the report submitted under subsection (a)(1) in

8 1995, and every two years thereafter, an evaluation of the

9 effectiveness of the programs of the Department in provid10 ing assistance to homeless veterans.

11 (c) CONFORMING REPEAL.—Section 10 of Public Law

12 102–590 (106 Stat. 5141; 37 U.S.C. 7721 note) is repealed.

13 SEC. 1002. REPORT ON ASSESSMENT AND PLANS FOR RE14 SPONSE TO NEEDS OF HOMELESS VETERANS.

15 (a) UPDATE OF ASSESSMENT.—Subsection (b) of sec16 tion 107 of the Veterans’ Medical Programs Amendments

17 of 1992 (Public Law 102–405; 106 Stat. 1977; 38 U.S.C.

18 527 note) is amended by adding at the end the following

19 new paragraph:

20 ‘‘(6) The Secretary shall require that the directors re21 ferred to in paragraph (1) update the assessment required

22 under that paragraph during each of 1995, 1996, and

23 1997.’’.

24 (b) REPORTS ON ASSESSMENTS AND PLAN.—Sub25 section (i) of such section (106 Stat. 1978) is amended—
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1 (1) by striking out ‘‘REPORT.—’’ and inserting

2 in lieu thereof ‘‘REPORTS.—(1)’’; and

3 (2) by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(2) Not later than December 31, 1994, the Secretary

5 shall submit to such committees a report that—

6 ‘‘(A) describes the results of the assessment car7 ried out under subsection (b);

8 ‘‘(B) sets forth the lists developed under para9 graph (1) of subsection (c); and

10 ‘‘(C) describes the progress, if any, made by the

11 directors of the medical centers and the directors of

12 the benefits offices referred to in such subsection (c) in

13 developing the plan referred to in paragraph (2) of

14 such subsection (c).

15 ‘‘(3) Not later than December 31 of each of 1995, 1996,

16 and 1997, the Secretary shall submit to such committees

17 a report that describes the update to the assessment that

18 is carried out under subsection (b)(6) in the year preceding

19 the report.’’.

20 SEC. 1003. INCREASE IN NUMBER OF DEMONSTRATION PRO21 GRAMS UNDER HOMELESS VETERANS COM22 PREHENSIVE SERVICE PROGRAMS ACT OF

23 1992.

24 Section 2(b) of the Homeless Veterans Comprehensive

25 Service Programs Act of 1992 (38 U.S.C. 7721 note) is
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1 amended in the first sentence by striking out ‘‘four’’ and

2 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘eight’’.

3 SEC. 1004. REMOVAL OF FUNDING REQUIREMENT OF HOME4 LESS VETERANS COMPREHENSIVE SERVICE

5 PROGRAMS ACT OF 1992.

6 Section 12 of the Homeless Veterans Comprehensive

7 Service Programs Act of 1992 (38 U.S.C. 7721 note) is

8 amended by striking out the second sentence.

9 SEC. 1005. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

10 It is the sense of Congress that—

11 (1) of the funds appropriated for any fiscal year

12 to support Federal programs which are designed to

13 assist homeless individuals, a share more closely ap14 proximating the proportion of the population of

15 homeless individuals who are veterans should be ap16 propriated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for

17 programs to assist homeless veterans that are admin18 istered by that Secretary;

19 (2) of the Federal grants made available to assist

20 community organizations that assist homeless indi21 viduals, a share of such grants more closely approxi22 mating the proportion of the population of homeless

23 individuals who are veterans should be provided to

24 community organizations that provide assistance pri25 marily to homeless veterans; and
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1 (3) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should take

2 such actions as are necessary to ensure that Federal

3 agencies that provide assistance, either directly or in4 directly, to homeless individuals, including homeless

5 veterans, are aware of and encouraged to make appro6 priate referrals to facilities of the Department of Vet7 erans Affairs for benefits and services, such as health

8 care, substance abuse treatment, counseling, and in9 come assistance.

10 TITLE XI—REDUCTIONS IN DE11 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AF12 FAIRS PERSONNEL

13 SEC. 1101. FINDINGS.

14 Congress makes the following findings:

15 (1) Under proposals for national health care re16 form, the Department of Veterans Affairs will be re17 quired to provide health care services to veterans on

18 a competitive basis with other health care providers.

19 (2) The elimination of positions from the De20 partment that the Office of Management and Budget

21 has scheduled to occur in fiscal years 1995 through

22 1999 would prevent the Department from meeting the

23 responsibilities of the Department to provide health

24 care to veterans under law and from maintaining the
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1 quality of health care that is currently provided to

2 veterans.

3 SEC. 1102. REQUIREMENT FOR MINIMUM NUMBER OF FULL4 TIME EQUIVALENT POSITIONS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 7 is amended by adding

6 at the end the following new section:

7 ‘‘§ 712. Full-time equivalent positions: limitation on

8 reduction

9 ‘‘(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the

10 number of full-time equivalent positions in the Department

11 of Veterans Affairs during the period beginning on the date

12 of the enactment of this section and ending on September

13 30, 1999, may not (except as provided in subsection (c))

14 be less than 224,377.

15 ‘‘(b) In determining the number of full-time equivalent

16 positions in the Department of Veterans Affairs during a

17 fiscal year for purposes of ensuring under section 5(b) of

18 the Federal Workforce Restructuring Act of 1994 (Public

19 Law 103–226; 108 Stat. 115; 5 U.S.C. 3101 note) that the

20 total number of full-time equivalent positions in all agen21 cies of the Federal Government during a fiscal year covered

22 by that section does not exceed the limit prescribed for that

23 fiscal year under that section, the total number of full-time

24 equivalent positions in the Department of Veterans Affairs

25 during that fiscal year shall be the number equal to—
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1 ‘‘(1) the number of such positions in the Depart2 ment during that fiscal year, reduced by

3 ‘‘(2) the sum of—

4 ‘‘(A) the number of such positions in the

5 Department during that fiscal year that are

6 filled by employees whose salaries and benefits

7 are paid primarily from funds other than appro8 priated funds; and

9 ‘‘(B) the number of such positions held dur10 ing that fiscal year by persons involved in medi11 cal care cost recovery activities under section

12 1729 of this title.

13 ‘‘(c) The Secretary shall not be required to make a re14 duction in the number of full-time equivalent positions in

15 the Department unless such reduction—

16 ‘‘(1) is necessary due to a reduction in funds

17 available to the Department; or

18 ‘‘(2) is required under a law that is enacted after

19 the date of the enactment of this section and that re20 fers specifically to this section.

21 ‘‘(d) The Secretary shall submit to the Committees on

22 Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representa23 tives an annual report, through the year 2000, on the num24 ber and type of full-time equivalent positions in the Depart25 ment that are reduced under this section. The report shall
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1 include a justification for the reductions and shall be sub2 mitted with the materials provided in support of the budget

3 for the Department contained in the President’s budget sub4 mitted to Congress for a fiscal year pursuant to section

5 1105 of title 31.’’.

6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at

7 the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the

8 end the following new item:

‘‘712. Full-time equivalent positions: limitation on reduction.’’.

9 SEC. 1103. ENHANCED AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT FOR NEC10 ESSARY SERVICES.

11 Section 8110(c) is amended by striking out paragraph

12 (7) and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

13 ‘‘(7) Paragraphs (1) through (6) shall not be in effect

14 during fiscal years 1995 through 1999.

15 ‘‘(8) During the period covered by paragraph (7),

16 whenever an activity at a Department health-care facility

17 is converted from performance by Federal employees to per18 formance by employees of a contractor of the Government,

19 the Secretary shall—

20 ‘‘(A) require in the contract for the performance

21 of such activity that the contractor, in hiring employ22 ees for the performance of the contract, give priority

23 to former employees of the Department who have been

24 displaced by the award of the contract; and
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1 ‘‘(B) provide to such former employees of the De2 partment all possible assistance in obtaining other

3 Federal employment or entrance into job training

4 and retraining programs.

5 ‘‘(9) The Secretary shall include in the Secretary’s an6 nual report to Congress under section 529 of this title, for

7 each fiscal year covered by paragraph (7), a report on the

8 use during the year covered by the report of contracting9 out authority made available by reason of paragraph (7).

10 The Secretary shall include in each such report a descrip11 tion of each use of such authority, together with the ration12 ale for the use of such authority and the effect of the use

13 of such authority on patient care and on employees of the

14 Department.’’.

15 SEC. 1104. STUDY.

16 (a) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs

17 shall enter into an agreement with an appropriate non-Fed18 eral entity under which the entity shall carry out a study

19 of the feasibility and advisability of alternative organiza20 tional structures, such as the establishment of a wholly21 owned Government corporation or a Government-sponsored

22 enterprise, for the effective provision of health care services

23 to veterans.

24 (b) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—The Secretary shall

25 submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate
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1 and House of Representatives a report on the study required

2 under subsection (a). The report shall be submitted not later

3 than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

4 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS.—There is hereby au5 thorized to be appropriated for the Department of Veterans

6 Affairs the sum of $1,000,000 for the purposes of carrying

7 out the study required under subsection (a).

8 TITLE XII—TECHNICAL AND

9 CLERICAL AMENDMENTS

10 SEC. 1201. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 38, UNITED STATES

11 CODE.

12 (a) REFERENCES TO ‘‘SECRETARY’’ AND ‘‘DEPART13 MENT’’.—Title 38, United States Code, is amended as fol14 lows:

15 (1) Paragraph (1) of section 101 is amended to

16 read as follows:

17 ‘‘(1) The terms ‘Secretary’ and ‘Department’ mean the

18 Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Veter19 ans Affairs, respectively.’’.

20 (2) Section 1532(c) is amended by striking out

21 ‘‘Secretary’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Veterans’

22 Administration’’.

23 (3) Section 3745(a) is amended by striking out

24 ‘‘Secretary’’ after ‘‘consult with the’’ and inserting in

25 lieu thereof ‘‘Administrator’’.
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1 (4) Section 4102A(e) is amended by striking out

2 ‘‘Regional Secretary’’ both places it appears and in3 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘Regional Administrator’’.

4 (5) Section 4110(d)(9) is amended by striking

5 out ‘‘Secretary of the Small Business Administration’’

6 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Administrator of the

7 Small Business Administration’’.

8 (b) REFERENCES TO DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE AND

9 SURGERY.—

10 (1) The following sections of title 38, United

11 States Code, are amended by striking out ‘‘Depart12 ment of Medicine and Surgery’’ each place it appears

13 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Veterans Health Ad14 ministration’’: sections 3120(a), 3120(f), 3121(a)(3),

15 7603(a), 7603(c)(1)(B), 7604(1)(B), 7604(2)(D),

16 7612(c)(1)(B), 7615, 7616(b)(2), 7616(c), 7622(b)(1),

17 7622(c)(2)(A), 7623(b), 7635(a)(1), 7635(a)(2), and

18 8110(a).

19 (2) Section 7622(c)(2)(B) of such title is amend20 ed by striking out ‘‘such Department’’ and inserting

21 in lieu thereof ‘‘the Veterans Health Administration’’.

22 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO CON23 VERSION OF POSITIONS OF CHIEF MEDICAL DIRECTOR AND

24 CHIEF BENEFITS DIRECTOR TO UNDER SECRETARY POSI-
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1 TIONS.—Title 38, United States Code, is amended as fol2 lows:

3 (1) Section 305 is amended—

4 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking out ‘‘a

5 Under Secretary’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

6 ‘‘an Under Secretary’’; and

7 (B) in subsection (d)(2)(F), by striking out

8 ‘‘Under Secretary’’ the second place it appears

9 and all that follows through the closing paren10 thesis and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Chief Medi11 cal Director of the Veterans’ Administration)’’.

12 (2) Section 306 is amended—

13 (A) in subsection (a), by striking out ‘‘a

14 Under Secretary’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

15 ‘‘an Under Secretary’’; and

16 (B) in subsection (d)(2)(F), by striking out

17 ‘‘Under Secretary’’ the second place it appears

18 and all that follows through the closing paren19 thesis and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Chief Bene20 fits Director of the Veterans’ Administration)’’.

21 (3) Section 7306 is amended—

22 (A) in subsection (a)—

23 (i) in paragraph (3), by striking out

24 ‘‘Assistant Chief Medical Directors’’ and in-
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1 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘Assistant Under

2 Secretaries for Health’’;

3 (ii) by redesignating the last three

4 paragraphs as paragraphs (8), (7), and (9)

5 respectively;

6 (iii) by reversing the order in which

7 the penultimate and antepenultimate para8 graphs appear; and

9 (iv) in paragraph (8), as so redesig10 nated, by striking out ‘‘Chief Medical Direc11 tor’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Under

12 Secretary for Health’’;

13 (B) in subsection (b), by striking out ‘‘As14 sistant Chief Medical Directors’’ in the matter

15 preceding paragraph (1) and inserting in lieu

16 thereof ‘‘Assistant Under Secretaries for Health’’;

17 and

18 (C) in subsection (c), by striking out ‘‘and

19 (7)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘and (8)’’.

20 (4) Section 7314(d) is amended—

21 (A) in paragraph (1)—

22 (i) by striking out ‘‘the Chief Medical

23 Director and the Secretary to carry out’’

24 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘the Secretary
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1 and the Under Secretary for Health in car2 rying out’’; and

3 (ii) by striking out ‘‘the Assistant

4 Chief Medical Director described in section

5 7306(b)(3)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

6 ‘‘the Assistant Under Secretary for Health

7 described in section 7306(b)(3)’’; and

8 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking out ‘‘As9 sistant Chief Medical Director’’ both places it

10 appears and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Assistant

11 Under Secretary’’.

12 (5) Section 7318 is amended by striking out

13 ‘‘Chief Medical Director’’ each place it appears and

14 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Under Secretary for

15 Health’’.

16 (6) Section 7440(1) is amended by striking out

17 ‘‘Chief Medical Director’s’’ and inserting in lieu

18 thereof ‘‘Under Secretary for Health’s’’.

19 (7) Section 7451(g)(1) is amended by striking

20 out ‘‘Chief Medical Director’s’’ and inserting in lieu

21 thereof ‘‘Under Secretary for Health’s’’.

22 (d) CROSS REFERENCE AMENDMENTS TO PROVISIONS

23 OF TITLE 38.—Title 38, United States Code, is amended

24 as follows:
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1 (1) Section 115 is amended by striking out ‘‘sec2 tions 230’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘sections 314,

3 315, 316,’’.

4 (2) Section 1710(f)(3)(E) is amended by striking

5 out ‘‘section 1712(f)’’ and ‘‘section 1712(f)(4)’’ insert6 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘section 1712(a)’’ and ‘‘section

7 1712(f)’’, respectively.

8 (3) Section 1712 is amended—

9 (A) in subsection (i)(5), by striking out

10 ‘‘section 1722(a)(1)(C)’’ and inserting in lieu

11 thereof ‘‘section 1722(a)(3)’’; and

12 (B) in subsection (j), by striking out ‘‘Sec13 tion 4116’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Section

14 7316’’.

15 (4) Section 3018A(d)(3) is amended by striking

16 out ‘‘section 3015(e)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

17 ‘‘section 3015(f)’’.

18 (5) Section 3018B(d)(3) is amended by striking

19 out ‘‘section 3015(e)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

20 ‘‘section 3015(f)’’.

21 (6) Section 3032(f)(3) is amended by striking

22 out ‘‘(c), or (d)(1)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘(d),

23 or (e)(1)’’.

24 (7) Section 3035(b) is amended—
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1 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking out ‘‘sec2 tion 3015(c)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘sec3 tion 3015(d)’’; and

4 (B) in paragraph (3)(C), by striking out

5 ‘‘section 3015(e)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

6 ‘‘section 3015(f)’’.

7 (8) Section 3103(b)(3) is amended by striking

8 out ‘‘section 3102(1)(A)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

9 ‘‘section 3102(1)(A)(i)’’.

10 (9) Section 3106(a) is amended by striking out

11 ‘‘section 3102(1)(A) or (B)’’ and inserting in lieu

12 thereof ‘‘clause (i) or (ii) of section 3102(1)(A)’’.

13 (10) Section 3113(a) is amended by striking out

14 ‘‘section 3102(1)(B) and (2)’’ and inserting in lieu

15 thereof ‘‘subparagraphs (A)(ii) and (B) of section

16 3102(1)’’.

17 (11) Section 3120(b) is amended by striking out

18 ‘‘section 3012(1)(A)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

19 ‘‘section 3102(1)(A)(i)’’.

20 (12) Section 3241(c) is amended by striking out

21 ‘‘1663,’’.

22 (13) Section 3735(a)(1)(A) is amended by strik23 ing out ‘‘section 3402’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

24 ‘‘section 5902’’.
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1 (14) Section 4103(c)(2) is amended by striking

2 out ‘‘subchapter IV of chapter 3’’ and inserting in

3 lieu thereof ‘‘subchapter II of chapter 77’’.

4 (15) Section 5104(a) is amended by striking out

5 ‘‘section 211(a)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section

6 511’’.

7 (16) Section 8103(d)(6)(A) is amended by strik8 ing out ‘‘section 230(c)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

9 ‘‘section 316’’.

10 (17) Section 8110(c)(3)(B) is amended by strik11 ing out ‘‘section 213 or 4117’’ and inserting in lieu

12 thereof ‘‘section 513 or 7409’’.

13 (18) Section 8135(a)(3) is amended by striking

14 out ‘‘section 8134(2)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

15 ‘‘section 8134(a)(2)’’.

16 (19) Section 8155(a) is amended by striking out

17 ‘‘section 4112’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section

18 7312’’.

19 (20) Section 8201(c) is amended by striking out

20 ‘‘section 4112(a)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘sec21 tion 7312(a)’’.

22 (e) PUNCTUATION, CAPITALIZATION, SPELLING,

23 ETC.—Title 38, United States Code, is amended as follows:
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1 (1) Section 111(b)(3)(B) is amended by striking

2 out ‘‘the Department facility’’ and inserting in lieu

3 thereof ‘‘a Department facility’’.

4 (2) Sections 305(d)(2)(F) and 306(d)(2)(F) are

5 amended by striking out ‘‘Commission’’ and inserting

6 in lieu thereof ‘‘commission’’.

7 (3) Section 312(a) is amended by striking out

8 ‘‘(5 U.S.C. App. 3)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘(5

9 U.S.C. App.)’’.

10 (4) Section 317(b)(2) is amended by striking out

11 ‘‘provided, by the’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘pro12 vided by, the’’.

13 (5) Section 711(d) is amended by striking out

14 ‘‘Committees’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘commit15 tees’’.

16 (6) Section 1116(a)(1)(B) is amended by strik17 ing out ‘‘(1)’’ and ‘‘(2)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

18 ‘‘(i)’’ and ‘‘(ii)’’, respectively.

19 (7) Section 1722A(a)(1) is amended by striking

20 out the closing parenthesis after ‘‘veteran’’ in the first

21 sentence.

22 (8) Section 1969(e) is amended—

23 (A) by striking out ‘‘sections 1971 (a) and

24 (c)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘subsections

25 (a) and (c) of section 1971’’; and
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1 (B) by striking out ‘‘sections 1971 (d) and

2 (e)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘subsections (d)

3 and (e) of section 1971’’.

4 (9) Section 1977(f) is amended by striking out

5 ‘‘sections 1971 (d) and (e)’’ and inserting in lieu

6 thereof ‘‘subsections (d) and (e) of section 1971’’.

7 (10) Section 3011(f)(1) is amended by striking

8 out ‘‘whose length’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘the

9 length of which’’.

10 (11) Section 3018B(d) is amended—

11 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking out

12 ‘‘(a)(2)(D) of this subsection’’ and inserting in

13 lieu thereof ‘‘(a)(2)(D) of this section’’; and

14 (B) in paragraph (3)—

15 (i) by striking out ‘‘such Account’’ and

16 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘such account’’;

17 and

18 (ii) by striking out ‘‘this chapter’’ and

19 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘this title’’.

20 (12) Section 3688(a)(6) is amended by inserting

21 a comma after ‘‘3241(a)(2)’’.

22 (13) Section 3706 is amended by striking out ‘‘of

23 this chapter’’ the second and third places it appears

24 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘of this title’’.

25 (14) Section 3712 is amended—
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1 (A) in subsection (c)(3)—

2 (i) by inserting ‘‘of’’ in subparagraph

3 (D) after ‘‘subparagraph (B)’’; and

4 (ii) by striking out ‘‘of this subsection’’

5 in subparagraph (E) and inserting in lieu

6 thereof ‘‘of this paragraph’’; and

7 (B) in subsection (m), by striking out ‘‘sec8 tion 3704(d) and section 3721 of this chapter’’

9 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘sections 3704(d)

10 and 3721 of this title’’.

11 (15) Section 3713(b) is amended in the last sen12 tence by striking out ‘‘subsection 5302(b) of this title,

13 if eligible thereunder’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

14 ‘‘section 5302(b) of this title, if the veteran is eligible

15 for relief under that section’’.

16 (16) Section 5702 is amended—

17 (A) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘Any person

18 desiring’’;

19 (B) by striking out ‘‘custody of’’ and all

20 that follows through ‘‘stating’’ and inserting in

21 lieu thereof ‘‘custody of the Secretary that may

22 be disclosed under section 5701 of this title must

23 submit to the Secretary an application in writ24 ing for such copy. The application shall state’’;

25 and
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1 (C) in subsection (c), by striking out ‘‘is au2 thorized to fix’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

3 ‘‘may establish’’.

4 (17) Section 6101(a) is amended by inserting a

5 comma after ‘‘title 18’’.

6 (18) Section 6103(d)(1) is amended in the second

7 sentence—

8 (A) by striking out ‘‘(a)’’ and ‘‘(b)’’ and in9 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘(A)’’ and ‘‘(B)’’, respec10 tively; and

11 (B) by striking out ‘‘prior to’’ and inserting

12 in lieu thereof ‘‘before’’.

13 (19) Section 6105(c) is amended—

14 (A) in the first sentence, by striking out

15 ‘‘clauses (2), (3), or (4) of subsection (b) of this

16 section’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘paragraph

17 (2), (3), or (4) of subsection (b)’’;

18 (B) in the second sentence, by striking out

19 ‘‘clause (1) of that subsection’’ and inserting in

20 lieu thereof ‘‘paragraph (1) of subsection (b)’’;

21 and

22 (C) by transposing the two sentences of that

23 subsection (as so amended).
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1 (20) Section 7312(d) is amended by striking out

2 ‘‘the advisory groups activities’’ and inserting in lieu

3 thereof ‘‘the activities of the advisory group’’.

4 (21) Section 7408(a) is amended by striking out

5 ‘‘civil-service’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘civil

6 service’’.

7 (22) Sections 7433(b)(3)(A) and 7435(b)(3)(A)

8 are amended by striking out ‘‘nation-wide’’ and in9 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘nationwide’’.

10 (23) Section 7451(d)(3)(C)(i)(I) is amended by

11 striking out ‘‘labor market area’’ and inserting in

12 lieu thereof ‘‘labor-market area’’.

13 (24) Section 7453 is amended by striking out

14 ‘‘subsections’’ in subsections (f) and (g) and inserting

15 in lieu thereof ‘‘subsection’’.

16 (25) Section 7601(a) is amended by striking out

17 the comma at the end of paragraph (1) and inserting

18 in lieu thereof a semicolon.

19 (26) Section 7604 is amended by striking out

20 ‘‘subchapters’’ in paragraphs (1)(A), (2)(D), and (5)

21 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘subchapter’’.

22 (27) Section 8126 is amended—

23 (A) in subsection (e)(1)(A), by striking out

24 ‘‘1–year’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘one25 year’’; and
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1 (B) in subsection (f)(2), by striking out ‘‘,

2 and’’ and inserting in lieu thereof a period.

3 (f) DATE OF ENACTMENT REFERENCES.—Title 38,

4 United States Code, is amended as follows:

5 (1) Section 1922A(b) is amended by striking out

6 ‘‘insurance not later than’’ and all that follows

7 through ‘‘that the Department’’ and inserting in lieu

8 thereof ‘‘insurance. Such application must be filed not

9 later than (1) October 31, 1993, or (2) the end of the

10 one-year period beginning on the date on which the

11 Secretary’’.

12 (2) Sections 3011(e) and 3012(f) are amended by

13 striking out ‘‘the end of the 24–month period begin14 ning on the date of the enactment of this subsection’’

15 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘October 28, 1994,’’.

16 (3) Section 3018B(a)(2)(A) is amended by strik17 ing out ‘‘the date of enactment of this section’’ and

18 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘October 23, 1992,’’.

19 (4) Section 3702(a)(2)(E) is amended by strik20 ing out ‘‘For the 7–year period beginning on the date

21 of enactment of this subparagraph,’’ and inserting in

22 lieu thereof ‘‘For the period beginning on October 28,

23 1992, and ending on October 27, 1999,’’.
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1 (5) Section 6103(d)(2) is amended by striking

2 out ‘‘the date of enactment of this amendatory Act’’

3 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘June 30, 1972’’.

4 (6) Section 8126 is amended—

5 (A) in subsection (e)(1)(A), by striking out

6 ‘‘30 days after the date of the enactment of this

7 section’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘December

8 4, 1992’’; and

9 (B) in subsection (g), by striking out ‘‘the

10 date of the enactment of this section’’ in para11 graphs (1) and (2) and inserting in lieu thereof

12 ‘‘November 4, 1992’’.

13 (g) OBSOLETE OR EXECUTED PROVISIONS.—Title 38,

14 United States Code, is amended as follows:

15 (1) Section 312(b) is amended by striking out

16 paragraph (3).

17 (2) Section 1524(a)(2) is amended by striking

18 out ‘‘Subject to paragraph (3) of this subsection, if’’

19 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘If’’.

20 (3) Section 4110(c)(1) is amended by striking

21 out ‘‘shall, within 90 days after the date of the enact22 ment of this section, appoint’’ and inserting in lieu

23 thereof ‘‘shall appoint’’.

24 (4)(A) Section 5505 is repealed.
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1 (B) The table of sections at the beginning of

2 chapter 55 is amended by striking out the item relat3 ing to section 5505.

4 (5) Section 7311 is amended by striking out sub5 sections (f) and (g).

6 (6) Section 7453(i)(3) is amended by striking

7 out ‘‘of title 5’’.

8 (7) Section 8110(c) is amended by striking out

9 paragraph (7).

10 (8) Section 8111(b) is amended—

11 (A) in paragraph (2)—

12 (i) by striking out ‘‘During fiscal years

13 1982 and 1983’’ in the second sentence and

14 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘During odd-num15 bered fiscal years’’;

16 (ii) by striking out ‘‘During fiscal year

17 1984’’ in the third sentence and inserting in

18 lieu thereof ‘‘During even-numbered fiscal

19 years’’; and

20 (iii) by striking out the fourth sen21 tence; and

22 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking out

23 ‘‘Within nine months of the date of the enact24 ment of this subsection and at such times there-
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1 after as’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘At such

2 times as’’.

3 (h) AMENDMENTS TO HEADINGS AND TABLES OF CON4 TENTS.—Title 38, United States Code, is amended as fol5 lows:

6 (1) The table of chapters before part I and the

7 table of chapters at the beginning of part III are

8 amended by striking out the item relating to chapter

9 42 and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

‘‘42. Employment and Training of Veterans ................................................. 4211’’.

10 (2) The heading of section 2106 is amended by

11 revising each word after the first word so that the ini12 tial letter of each such word is lower case.

13 (3) The item relating to subchapter III in the

14 table of sections at the beginning of chapter 73 is

15 amended to read as follows:

‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—PROTECTION OF PATIENT RIGHTS’’.

16 (4) The heading of section 7458 is amended to

17 read as follows:

18 ‘‘§ 7458. Recruitment and retention bonus pay’’.

19 (5) The heading of chapter 81 is amended by in20 serting ‘‘ENHANCED-USE’’ before ‘‘LEASES OF

21 REAL’’.

22 (6) The item relating to section 8126 in the table

23 of sections at the beginning of chapter 81 is amended

24 to read as follows:
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‘‘8126. Limitation on prices of drugs procured by Department and certain other

Federal agencies.’’.

1 (i) OTHER MISCELLANEOUS CORRECTIONS.—Title 38,

2 United States Code, is amended as follows:

3 (1) Section 1718(c)(1) is amended by inserting

4 ‘‘of Veterans Affairs’’ after ‘‘Department’’ in the first

5 sentence.

6 (2) Section 1922(b)(4) is amended by striking

7 out ‘‘Notwithstanding’’ and all that follows through

8 ‘‘title,’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Notwithstand9 ing section 1917 of this title,’’.

10 (3) Section 1969(d)(3) is amended by striking

11 out ‘‘‘General Operating Expenses, Department’’’ and

12 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘‘General Operating Ex13 penses, Department of Veterans Affairs’’’.

14 (4) Section 3018A(a)(1) is amended by striking

15 ‘‘after December 31, 1990,’’ and all that follows

16 through ‘‘whichever is later,’’ and inserting in lieu

17 thereof ‘‘after February 2, 1991,’’.

18 (5) Section 3121(a)(3) is amended by striking

19 out ‘‘Department of Veterans’ Benefits’’ and inserting

20 in lieu thereof ‘‘Veterans Benefits Administration’’.

21 (6) Section 3680(a)(C) is amended by striking

22 out ‘‘1 full’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘one full’’.

23 (7) Section 4110(e)(3)(B) is amended—
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1 (A) by striking out ‘‘, United States Code,’’;

2 and

3 (B) by striking out ‘‘the Board’’ and insert4 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘the advisory committee’’.

5 (8) Section 5110 is amended by striking out sub6 section (m).

7 (9) Section 7315(b)(2) is amended by striking

8 out ‘‘Department’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Vet9 erans’ Administration’’.

10 (10) Section 8111(f)(6) is amended by inserting

11 ‘‘of Defense’’ after ‘‘the Secretary’’ the second place it

12 appears.

13 (11) Section 8502(d) is amended by striking out

14 ‘‘General Post Fund, National Homes, Department,’’

15 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘General Post Fund, Na16 tional Homes, Department of Veterans Affairs,’’.

17 SEC. 1202. AMENDMENTS TO OTHER LAWS ADMINISTERED

18 BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

19 (a) PUBLIC LAW 102–54.—Effective as of June 13,

20 1991, and as if included in the enactment of Public Law

21 102–54, Public Law 102–54 is amended as follows:

22 (1) Section 13(e) (105 Stat. 275) is amended by

23 striking out ‘‘subsection (b)(10)’’ and inserting in lieu

24 thereof ‘‘subsection (c)(10)’’.
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1 (2) Section 15(a)(1)(A) (105 Stat. 289) is

2 amended by inserting ‘‘the first place it appears’’ be3 fore ‘‘in the first sentence’’.

4 (b) PUBLIC LAW 102–83.—Effective as of August 6,

5 1991, and as if included in the enactment of Public Law

6 102–83, section 4(a) of Public Law 102–83 (105 Stat. 403)

7 is amended as follows:

8 (1) Paragraph (2)(E) is amended by striking out

9 ‘‘Section 601(4)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Sec10 tion 601(3)’’.

11 (2) Paragraph (4) is amended by adding at the

12 end the following:

13 ‘‘(E) Sections 7314(b)(1) and 7315(b)(2).’’.

14 (c) PUBLIC LAW 102–86.—Section 403(b)(4) of the

15 Veterans’ Benefits Programs Improvement Act of 1991

16 (Public Law 102–86; 105 Stat. 423; 36 U.S.C. 493(b)(4))

17 is amended by striking out ‘‘section 235’’ and inserting in

18 lieu thereof ‘‘section 707’’.

19 (d) PUBLIC LAW 102–547.—Section 10(b)(2) of the

20 Veterans Home Loan Program Amendments of 1992 (106

21 Stat. 3643; 38 U.S.C. 3703 note) is amended by striking

22 out ‘‘paragraph 4’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘paragraph

23 (4)’’.

24 (e) PUBLIC LAW 102–585.—The Veterans Health Care

25 Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–585) is amended as follows:
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1 (1) Section 202 (38 U.S.C. 8111 note) is amend2 ed by striking out ‘‘the Chief Medical Director’’ and

3 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘the Under Secretary for

4 Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs’’.

5 (2) Section 511(c) (38 U.S.C. 7318 note) is

6 amended by striking out ‘‘Chief Medical Director’’

7 each place it appears and inserting in lieu thereof

8 ‘‘Under Secretary for Health’’.

9 SEC. 1203. AMENDMENTS TO OTHER LAWS.

10 (a) PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT.—The Public

11 Health Service Act is amended as follows:

12 (1) Section 502(b)(2)(D) (42 U.S.C. 290aa–

13 1(b)(2)(D)) is amended to read as follows:

14 ‘‘(D) the Under Secretary for Health of the

15 Department of Veterans Affairs;’’.

16 (2) Section 542(b)(2) (42 U.S.C. 290dd–1(b)(2))

17 is amended by striking out ‘‘Chief Medical Director’’

18 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Under Secretary for

19 Health’’.

20 (3) Section 2604(b)(2)(A) (42 U.S.C. 300ff–

21 14(b)(2)(A)) is amended by striking out ‘‘Veterans

22 Administration facilities’’ and inserting in lieu there23 of ‘‘Department of Veterans Affairs facilities’’.

24 (b) MISCELLANEOUS DEPARTMENT AND SECRETARY

25 REFERENCES.—Section 5102(c)(3) of title 5, United States
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1 Code, is amended by striking out the comma after ‘‘Depart2 ment of Veterans Affairs’’.

3 (c) MISCELLANEOUS CROSS-REFERENCE CORREC4 TIONS.—

5 (1) Section 1204(a)(1) of title 5, United States

6 Code, is amended by striking out ‘‘section 4323’’ and

7 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section 4303’’.

8 (2) Section 441(b)(2)(B) of the Job Training

9 Partnership Act (29 U.S.C. 1721(b)(2)(B)) is amend10 ed—

11 (A) by striking out ‘‘subchapter IV of chap12 ter 3’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘subchapter

13 II of chapter 77’’; and

14 (B) by striking out ‘‘sections 612A, 620A,

15 1787, and 2003A’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

16 ‘‘sections 1712A, 1720A, 3687, and 4103A’’.

17 (3) Section 107 of the Local Public Works Cap18 ital Development and Investment Act of 1976 (42

19 U.S.C. 6706) is amended by striking out ‘‘section

20 4211(2)(A)’’ and ‘‘section 2011(1)’’ inserting in lieu

21 thereof ‘‘section 4211(2)’’ and ‘‘section 4211(1)’’, re22 spectively.

23 (4) Section 4(g)(2) of the Employment Act of

24 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1022a(g)(2)) is amended—
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1 (A) by striking out ‘‘this subsection’’ and

2 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘this section’’; and

3 (B) by striking out ‘‘section 2011(1) or

4 (2)(A)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section

5 4211(1) or (2)’’.

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘An Act to amend

title 38, United States Code, to revise and improve veterans’ benefits programs, and for other purposes.’’.

Attest:

Secretary.
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