103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5244

AN ACT

To amend title 38, United States Code, to revise and improve

veterans’ benefits programs, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Veterans’ Benefits Improvements Act of 1994’’.

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

7 this Act is as follows:
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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.

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 RadiationExposed 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.
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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.

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.

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.
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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.

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

4 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi5 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a

6 section or 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 Vet11 erans’ 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 poten-
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1 tially toxic substances, including fumes and smoke

2 from military operations, oil well fires, diesel ex3 haust, paints, pesticides, depleted uranium, infec4 tious agents, investigational drugs and vaccines, and

5 indigenous diseases, and were also given multiple im6 munizations. It is not known whether these

7 servicemembers were exposed to chemical or biologi8 cal warfare agents. However, threats of enemy use

9 of chemical and biological warfare heightened the

10 psychological stress associated with the military

11 operation.

12 (2) Significant numbers of veterans of the Per13 sian Gulf War are suffering from illnesses, or are ex14 hibiting symptoms of illness, that cannot now be di15 agnosed or clearly defined. As a result, many of

16 these conditions or illnesses are not considered to be

17 service connected under current law for purposes of

18 benefits administered by the Department of Veter19 ans Affairs.

20 (3) The National Institutes of Health Tech21 nology Assessment Workshop on the Persian Gulf

22 Experience and Health, held in April 1994, con23 cluded that the complex biological, chemical, phys24 ical, and psychological environment of the Southwest

25 Asia theater of operations produced complex adverse
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1 health effects in Persian Gulf War veterans and that

2 no single disease entity or syndrome is apparent.

3 Rather, it may be that the illnesses suffered by those

4 veterans result from multiple illnesses with overlap5 ping symptoms and causes that have yet to be

6 defined.

7 (4) That workshop concluded that the informa8 tion concerning the range and intensity of exposure

9 to toxic substances by military personnel in the

10 Southwest Asia theater of operations is very limited

11 and that such information was collected only after a

12 considerable delay.

13 (5) In response to concerns regarding the

14 health-care needs of Persian Gulf War veterans, par15 ticularly those who suffer from illnesses or condi16 tions for which no diagnosis has been made, the

17 Congress, in Public Law 102–585, directed the es18 tablishment of a Persian Gulf War Veterans Health

19 Registry, authorized health examinations for veter20 ans of the Persian Gulf War, and provided for the

21 National Academy of Sciences to conduct a com22 prehensive review and assessment of information re23 garding the health consequences of military service

24 in the Persian Gulf theater of operations and to de25 velop recommendations on avenues for research re-
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1 garding such health consequences. In Public Law

2 103–210, the Congress authorized the Department

3 of Veterans Affairs to provide health care services on

4 a priority basis to Persian Gulf War veterans. The

5 Congress also provided in Public Law 103–160 (the

6 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year

7 1994) for the establishment of a specialized environ8 mental medical facility for the conduct of research

9 into the possible health effects of exposure to low

10 levels of hazardous chemicals, especially among Per11 sian Gulf veterans, and for research into the possible

12 health effects of battlefield exposure in such veterans

13 to depleted uranium.

14 (6) In response to concerns about the lack of

15 objective research on Gulf War illnesses, Congress

16 included research provisions in the National Defense

17 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995, which was

18 passed by the House and Senate in September 1994.

19 This legislation requires the Secretary of Defense to

20 provide research grants to non-Federal researchers

21 to support three types of studies of the Gulf War

22 syndrome. The first type of study will be an epide23 miological study or studies of the incidence, preva24 lence, and nature of the illness and symptoms and

25 the risk factors associated with symptoms or ill-
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1 nesses. This will include illnesses among spouses and

2 birth defects and illnesses among offspring born be3 fore and after the Gulf War. The second group of

4 studies shall be conducted to determine the health

5 consequences of the use of pyridostigmine bromide

6 as a pretreatment antidote enhancer during the Per7 sian Gulf War, alone or in combination with expo8 sure to pesticides, environmental toxins, and other

9 hazardous substances. The final group of studies

10 shall include clinical research and other studies on

11 the causes, possible transmission, and treatment of

12 Gulf War syndrome, and will include studies of vet13 erans and their spouses and children.

14 (7) Further research and studies must be un15 dertaken to determine the underlying causes of the

16 illnesses suffered by Persian Gulf War veterans and,

17 pending the outcome of such research, veterans who

18 are seriously ill as the result of such illnesses should

19 be given the benefit of the doubt and be provided

20 compensation benefits to offset the impairment in

21 earnings capacities they may be experiencing.

22 SEC. 103. PURPOSES.

23 The purposes of this title are—

24 (1) to provide compensation to Persian Gulf

25 War veterans who suffer disabilities resulting from
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1 illnesses that cannot now be diagnosed or defined,

2 and for which other causes cannot be identified;

3 (2) to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs

4 to develop at the earliest possible date case assess5 ment strategies and definitions or diagnoses of such

6 illnesses;

7 (3) to promote greater outreach to Persian Gulf

8 War veterans and their families to inform them of

9 ongoing research activities, as well as the services

10 and benefits to which they are currently entitled;

11 and

12 (4) to ensure that research activities and ac13 companying surveys of Persian Gulf War veterans

14 are appropriately funded and undertaken by the De15 partment of Veterans Affairs.

16 SEC. 104. DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICAL EVALUATION

17 PROTOCOL.

18 (a) UNIFORM MEDICAL EVALUATION PROTOCOL.—

19 (1) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall develop and

20 implement a uniform and comprehensive medical evalua21 tion protocol that will ensure appropriate medical assess22 ment, diagnosis, and treatment of Persian Gulf War veter23 ans who are suffering from illnesses the origins of which

24 are (as of the date of the enactment of this Act) unknown

25 and that may be attributable to service in the Southwest
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1 Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War.

2 The protocol shall include an evaluation of complaints re3 lating to illnesses involving the reproductive system.

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

5 end of the 120-day period beginning on the date of the

6 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, before the end

7 of such period, submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af8 fairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report

9 as to why such a protocol has not yet been developed.

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

11 under the protocol developed under this section is available

12 at all Department medical centers that have the capability

13 of providing the medical assessment, diagnosis, and treat14 ment required under the protocol.

15 (B) The Secretary may enter into contracts with non16 Department medical facilities for the provision of the eval17 uation under the protocol.

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

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

20 Secretary may provide the evaluation through a Depart21 ment medical center described in that subparagraph and,

22 in such a case, may provide the veteran the travel and

23 incidental expenses therefor pursuant to the provisions of

24 section 111 of title 38, United States Code.
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1 (4)(A) If the Secretary is unable to diagnose the

2 symptoms or illness of a veteran provided an evaluation,

3 or if the symptoms or illness of a veteran do not respond

4 to treatment provided by the Secretary, the Secretary may

5 use the authority in section 1703 of title 38, United States

6 Code, in order to provide for the veteran to receive diag7 nostic tests or treatment at a non-Department medical fa8 cility that may have the capability of diagnosing or treat9 ing the symptoms or illness of the veteran. The Secretary

10 may provide the veteran the travel and incidental expenses

11 therefor pursuant to the provisions of section 111 of title

12 38, United States Code.

13 (B) The Secretary shall request from each non-De14 partment medical facility that examines or treats a vet15 eran under this paragraph such information relating to

16 the diagnosis or treatment as the Secretary considers

17 appropriate.

18 (5) In each year after the implementation of the pro19 tocol, the Secretary shall enter into an agreement with the

20 National Academy of Sciences under which agreement ap21 propriate experts shall review the adequacy of the protocol

22 and its implementation by the Department of Veterans

23 Affairs.

24 (b) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER COMPREHENSIVE

25 CLINICAL EVALUATION PROTOCOLS.—The Secretary, in
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1 consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall ensure

2 that the information collected through the protocol de3 scribed in this section is collected and maintained in a

4 manner that permits the effective and efficient cross-ref5 erence of that information with information collected and

6 maintained through the comprehensive clinical protocols

7 of the Department of Defense for Persian Gulf War

8 veterans.

9 (c) CASE DEFINITIONS AND DIAGNOSES.—The Sec10 retary shall develop case definitions or diagnoses for ill11 nesses associated with the service described in subsection

12 (a)(1). The Secretary shall develop such definitions or di13 agnoses at the earliest possible date.

14 SEC. 105. OUTREACH TO PERSIAN GULF VETERANS.

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

16 shall implement a comprehensive outreach program to in17 form Persian Gulf War veterans and their families of the

18 medical care and other benefits that may be provided by

19 the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department

20 of Defense arising from service in the Persian Gulf War.

21 (b) NEWSLETTER.—(1) The outreach program shall

22 include a newsletter which shall be updated and distrib23 uted at least semi-annually and shall be distributed to the

24 veterans listed on the Persian Gulf War Veterans Health

25 Registry. The newsletter shall include summaries of the
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1 status and findings of Government sponsored research on

2 illnesses of Persian Gulf War veterans and their families,

3 as well as on benefits available to such individuals through

4 the Department of Veterans Affairs. The newsletter shall

5 be prepared in consultation with veterans service organiza6 tions.

7 (2) The requirement under this subsection for the

8 distribution of the newsletter shall terminate on December

9 31, 1999.

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

11 shall include establishment of a toll-free telephone number

12 to provide Persian Gulf War veterans and their families

13 information on the Persian Gulf War Veterans Health

14 Registry, health care and other benefits provided by the

15 Department of Veterans Affairs, and such other informa16 tion as the Secretary considers appropriate. Such toll-free

17 telephone number shall be established not later than 90

18 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

19 SEC. 106. COMPENSATION BENEFITS FOR DISABILITY RE20 SULTING FROM ILLNESS ATTRIBUTED TO

21 SERVICE DURING THE PERSIAN GULF WAR.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Chapter 11 is amended by

23 adding at the end of subchapter II the following new

24 section:
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1 ‘‘§ 1117. Compensation for disabilities occurring in

2 Persian Gulf War veterans

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

4 subchapter to any Persian Gulf veteran suffering from a

5 chronic disability resulting from an undiagnosed illness (or

6 combination of undiagnosed illnesses) that—

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

8 duty in the Armed Forces in the Southwest Asia

9 theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War;

10 or

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

12 or more within the presumptive period prescribed

13 under subsection (b).

14 ‘‘(b) The Secretary shall prescribe by regulation the

15 period of time following service in the Southwest Asia the16 ater of operations during the Persian Gulf War that the

17 Secretary determines is appropriate for presumption of

18 service connection for purposes of this section. The Sec19 retary’s determination of such period of time shall be

20 made following a review of any available credible medical

21 or scientific evidence and the historical treatment afforded

22 disabilities for which manifestation periods have been es23 tablished and shall take into account other pertinent cir24 cumstances regarding the experiences of veterans of the

25 Persian Gulf War.
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1 ‘‘(c)(1) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to

2 carry out this section.

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

4 ‘‘(A) A description of the period and geographi5 cal area or areas of military service in connection

6 with which compensation under this section may be

7 paid.

8 ‘‘(B) A description of the illnesses for which

9 compensation under this section may be paid.

10 ‘‘(C) A description of any relevant medical

11 characteristic (such as a latency period) associated

12 with each such illness.

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

14 subchapter is payable shall be considered to be service con15 nected for purposes of all other laws of the United States.

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

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

18 in the Armed Forces in the Southwest Asia theater of op19 erations during the Persian Gulf War.’’.

20 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such

21 chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating

22 to section 1116 the following new item:

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

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 1113 is

24 amended—
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1 (1) by striking out ‘‘section 1112 or 1116’’ in

2 the first and third place it appears and inserting in

3 lieu thereof ‘‘section 1112, 1116, or 1117’’;

4 (2) by striking out ‘‘title’’ the second place it

5 appears and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘title, or pay6 ments of compensation pursuant to section 1117 of

7 this title,’’; and

8 (3) by inserting ‘‘or disabilities’’ after ‘‘dis9 eases’’ both places it appears in subsection (a).

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

11 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans

12 Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af13 fairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report

14 stating whether or not the Secretary intends to pay com15 pensation as provided in section 1117 of title 38, United

16 States Code, as added by subsection (a).

17 (d) REGULATIONS.—If the Secretary states in the re18 port under subsection (c) that the Secretary intends to

19 pay compensation as provided in section 1117 of title 38,

20 United States Code, as added by subsection (a), the Sec21 retary shall, not later than 30 days after the date on which

22 such report is submitted, publish in the Federal Register

23 proposed regulations under subsections (b) and (c) of that

24 section.
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1 SEC. 107. EVALUATION OF HEALTH STATUS OF SPOUSES

2 AND CHILDREN OF PERSIAN GULF WAR VET3 ERANS.

4 (a) EVALUATION PROGRAM.—Subject to subsection

5 (c), the Secretary of the Veterans Affairs shall conduct

6 a study to evaluate the health status of spouses and chil7 dren of Persian Gulf War veterans. Under the study, the

8 Secretary shall provide for the conduct of diagnostic

9 testing and appropriate medical examinations of any

10 individual—

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

12 who—

13 (A) is listed in the Persian Gulf War Vet14 erans Registry established under section 702 of

15 Public Law 102–585; and

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

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

18 have suffered from, an illness or disorder (including

19 a birth defect, miscarriage, or stillbirth) which can20 not be disassociated from the veteran’s service in the

21 Southwest Asia theater of operations; and

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

23 the Secretary permission to include in the Registry

24 relevant medical data (including a medical history

25 and the results of diagnostic testing and medical ex26 aminations) and such other information as the Sec-
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1 retary considers relevant and appropriate with re2 spect to such individual.

3 Such testing and examinations shall be carried out so as

4 to gather such medical data as the Secretary considers rel5 evant and appropriate in order to determine the nature

6 and extent of the association, if any, between illness or

7 disorder of the spouse or child and the illness of the

8 veteran.

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

10 carried out during the period beginning on November 1,

11 1994, and ending on September 30, 1996.

12 (c) FUNDING LIMITATION.—The amount spent for

13 the program under subsection (a) may not exceed

14 $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

20 medical data through the development of standard proto21 cols and guidelines for such testing and examinations. If

22 such protocols and guidelines have not been adopted be23 fore the end of the 120-day period beginning on the date

24 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, before

25 the end of such period, submit to the Committees on Vet-
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1 erans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives

2 a report as to why such protocols and guidelines have not

3 yet been developed.

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

5 of diagnostic tests, medical histories, and medical exami6 nations conducted under subsection (a) shall be entered

7 into the Persian Gulf War Veterans Health Registry.

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

9 outreach activities as the Secretary determines necessary

10 to ensure that implementation of this section results in

11 sufficient information to enable the Secretary—

12 (1) to analyze the health status of large num13 bers of spouses and children of Persian Gulf veter14 ans; and

15 (2) to formulate research hypotheses regarding

16 possible association between illnesses or disorders

17 suffered by Persian Gulf veterans and illnesses or

18 disorders (including birth defects, miscarriages, and

19 stillbirths) suffered by their spouses and children.

20 (h) USE OUTSIDE DEPARTMENT OF STANDARD PRO21 TOCOLS AND GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall—

22 (1) make the standard protocols and guidelines

23 developed under this section available to any entity

24 which requests a copy of such protocols and guide25 lines; and
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1 (2) enter into the registry the results of any ex2 amination of the spouse or child of a veteran who

3 served in the Persian Gulf theater which a licensed

4 physician certifies was conducted using those stand5 ard protocols and guidelines.

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

7 submit to Congress no later than October 31, 1995, a re8 port on the Secretary’s implementation of this section.

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

10 the registry under this section and shall submit to Con11 gress, not later than March 1, 1997, a report on that anal12 ysis and on the Secretary’s recommendation for any fur13 ther legislation or studies regarding the health status of

14 spouses and children of Persian Gulf War veterans.

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

16 terms ‘‘child’’ and ‘‘spouse’’ have the meanings given

17 those terms in paragraphs (4) and (31), respectively, of

18 section 101 of title 38, United States Code.

19 SEC. 108. CLARIFICATION OF SCOPE OF HEALTH EXAMINA20 TIONS PROVIDED FOR VETERANS ELIGIBLE

21 FOR INCLUSION IN HEALTH-RELATED REG22 ISTRIES.

23 Section 703 of the Persian Gulf War Veterans’

24 Health Status Act (title VII of Public Law 102–585; 38

25 U.S.C. 527 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 ‘‘(includ11 ing 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 prob16 lems 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

2 STUDIES.

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 Vet6 erans Health Care Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–585) a

7 finding that there is a sound basis for an epidemiological

8 study or studies on the health consequences of service in

9 the Persian Gulf theater of operations during the Persian

10 Gulf War and recommends the conduct of such a study

11 or studies, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs is authorized

12 to carry out such study.

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

14 enter into an agreement with the Medical Follow-Up

15 Agency (MFUA) of the Institute of Medicine of the Na16 tional Academy of Sciences for (A) the review of proposals

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

18 oversight of such research, and (C) review of the research

19 findings.

20 (2) If the Secretary is unable to enter into an agree21 ment under paragraph (1) with the entity specified in that

22 paragraph, the Secretary shall enter into an agreement de23 scribed in that paragraph with another appropriate sci24 entific organization which does not have a connection to

25 the Department of Veterans Affairs. In such a case, the

26 Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af-
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1 fairs of the Senate and House of Representatives, at least

2 90 days before the date on which the agreement is entered

3 into, notice in writing identifying the organization with

4 which the Secretary intends to enter into the agreement.

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

6 agreements with the Secretary of Defense and the Sec7 retary of Health and Human Services to make available

8 for the purposes of any study described in subsection (a)

9 all data that the Secretary, in consultation with the Na10 tional Academy of Sciences and the contractor for the

11 study, considers relevant to the study.

12 (d) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap13 propriated to the Department such sums as are necessary

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

15 SEC. 111. COST-SAVINGS PROVISIONS.

16 (a) ELECTION OF DEATH PENSION BY SURVIVING

17 SPOUSE.—Section 1317 is amended—

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

19 in lieu thereof ‘‘(a) Except as provided in subsection

20 (b), no person’’; and

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

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

23 and indemnity compensation may elect to receive death

24 pension instead of such compensation.’’.
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1 (b) POLICY REGARDING COST-OF-LIVING ADJUST2 MENT IN COMPENSATION RATES FOR FISCAL YEAR

3 1995.—The fiscal year 1995 cost-of-living adjustments in

4 the rates of and limitations for compensation payable

5 under chapter 11 of title 38, United States Code, and of

6 dependency and indemnity compensation payable under

7 chapter 13 of such title will be no more than a percentage

8 equal to the percentage by which benefit amounts payable

9 under title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401

10 et seq.) are increased effective December 1, 1994, as a

11 result of a determination under section 215(i) of such Act

12 (42 U.S.C. 415(i)), with all increased monthly rates and

13 limitations (other than increased rates or limitations equal

14 to a whole dollar amount) rounded down to the next lower

15 dollar.

16 TITLE II—BOARD OF VETERANS’

17 APPEALS ADMINISTRATION

18 SEC. 201. APPOINTMENT, PAY COMPARABILITY, AND PER19 FORMANCE REVIEWS FOR MEMBERS OF THE

20 BOARD OF VETERANS’ APPEALS.

21 (a) MEMBERS OTHER THAN CHAIRMAN.—(1) Chap22 ter 71 is amended by inserting after section 7101 the fol23 lowing new section:
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1 ‘‘§ 7101A. Members of Board: appointment; pay; per2 formance review

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

4 other than the Chairman (and including the Vice Chair5 man) shall be appointed by the Secretary, with the ap6 proval of the President, based upon recommendations of

7 the Chairman.

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

9 and any member of the Board who is a member of the

10 Senior Executive Service) shall, in accordance with regula11 tions prescribed by the Secretary, be paid basic pay at

12 rates equivalent to the rates payable under section 5372

13 of title 5.

14 ‘‘(c)(1)(A) The Chairman shall establish a panel to

15 review the performance of members of the Board. The

16 panel shall be comprised of the Chairman and two other

17 members of the Board (other than the Vice Chairman).

18 The Chairman shall periodically rotate membership on the

19 panel so as to ensure that each member of the Board

20 (other than the Vice Chairman) serves as a member of

21 the panel for and within a reasonable period.

22 ‘‘(B) Not less than one year after the job perform23 ance standards under subsection (f) are initially estab24 lished, and not less often than once every three years

25 thereafter, the performance review panel shall determine,

26 with respect to each member of the Board (other than the
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1 Chairman or a member who is a member of the Senior

2 Executive Service), whether that member’s job perform3 ance as a member of the Board meets the performance

4 standards for a member of the Board established under

5 subsection (f). Each such determination shall be in writ6 ing.

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

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

9 as a member of the Board meets the performance stand10 ards for a member of the Board established under sub11 section (f), the Chairman shall recertify the member’s ap12 pointment as a member of the Board.

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

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

15 does not meet the performance standards for a member

16 of the Board established under subsection (f), the Chair17 man shall, based upon the individual circumstances,

18 either—

19 ‘‘(A) grant the member a conditional

20 recertification; or

21 ‘‘(B) recommend to the Secretary that the

22 member be noncertified.

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

24 granted a conditional recertification under paragraph

25 (3)(A) or (5)(A), the performance review panel shall re-
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1 view the member’s job performance record and make a

2 further determination under paragraph (1) concerning

3 that member not later than one year after the date of the

4 conditional recertification. If the determination of the per5 formance review panel at that time is that the member’s

6 job performance as a member of the Board still does not

7 meet the performance standards for a member of the

8 Board established under subsection (f), the Chairman

9 shall recommend to the Secretary that the member be

10 noncertified.

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

12 to the Secretary under paragraph (3) or (4) that a mem13 ber be noncertified, the Secretary, after considering the

14 recommendation of the Chairman, may either—

15 ‘‘(A) grant the member a conditional

16 recertification; or

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

18 noncertified.

19 ‘‘(d)(1) If the Secretary, based upon the rec20 ommendation of the Chairman, determines that a member

21 of the Board should be noncertified, that member’s ap22 pointment as a member of the Board shall be terminated

23 and that member shall be removed from the Board.

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

25 (1), a member of the Board (other than the Chairman)
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1 who was a career or career-conditional employee in the

2 civil service before commencement of service as a member

3 of the Board shall revert to the civil service grade and

4 series held by the member immediately before the appoint5 ment of the member to the Board.

6 ‘‘(e)(1) A member of the Board (other than the

7 Chairman or a member of the Senior Executive Service)

8 may be removed as a member of the Board by reason of

9 job performance only as provided in subsections (c) and

10 (d). Such a member may be removed by the Secretary,

11 upon the recommendation of the Chairman, for any other

12 reason as determined by the Secretary.

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

14 section for a reason other than job performance that would

15 be covered by section 7521 of title 5 in the case of an

16 administrative law judge, the removal of the member of

17 the Board shall be carried out subject to the same require18 ments as apply to removal of an administrative law judge

19 under that section. Section 554(a)(2) of title 5 shall not

20 apply to a removal action under this subsection. In such

21 a removal action, a member shall have the rights set out

22 in section 7513(b) of that title.

23 ‘‘(f) The Chairman, subject to the approval of the

24 Secretary, shall establish standards for the performance

25 of the job of a member of the Board (other than the Chair-
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1 man or a member of the Senior Executive Service). Those

2 standards shall establish objective and fair criteria for

3 evaluation of the job performance of a member of the

4 Board.

5 ‘‘(g) The Secretary shall prescribe procedures for the

6 administration of this section, including deadlines and

7 time schedules for different actions under this section.’’.

8 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such

9 chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating

10 to section 7101 the following new item:

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

11 (b) SAVE PAY PROVISION.—The rate of basic pay

12 payable to an individual who is a member of the Board

13 of Veterans’ Appeals on the date of the enactment of this

14 Act may not be reduced by reason of the amendments

15 made by this section to a rate below the rate payable to

16 such individual on the day before such date.

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

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

19 effect on the first day of the first pay period beginning

20 after December 31, 1994.

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

22 amended—

23 (1) by striking out paragraph (2);
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1 (2) by designating as paragraph (2) the text in

2 paragraph (1) beginning ‘‘The Chairman may be re3 moved’’; and

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

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

6 thereof ‘‘The Chairman’’.

7 SEC. 202. DEADLINE FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF PERFORM8 ANCE EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR BOARD

9 MEMBERS.

10 (a) DEADLINE.—The job performance standards re11 quired to be established by section 7101A(f) of title 38,

12 United States Code, as added by section 201(a), shall be

13 established not later than 90 days after the date of the

14 enactment of this Act.

15 (b) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT16 TEES.—Not later than the date on which the standards

17 referred to in subsection (a) take effect, the Secretary of

18 Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veter19 ans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives

20 a report describing the standards established by the Chair21 man of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals.

22 SEC. 203. CONTINUATION IN OFFICE OF CHAIRMAN PEND23 ING APPOINTMENT OF SUCCESSOR.

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

25 the following new sentence: ‘‘If, upon the expiration of the
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1 term of office for which the Chairman was appointed, the

2 position of Chairman would become vacant, the individual

3 serving as Chairman may, with the approval of the Sec4 retary, continue to serve as Chairman until either ap5 pointed to another term or a successor is appointed, but

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

7 of office expired.’’.

8 TITLE III—ADJUDICATION

9 IMPROVEMENTS

10 SEC. 301. ACCEPTANCE OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTATION FOR

11 CLAIMS PURPOSES.

12 (a) STATEMENTS OF CLAIMANT TO BE ACCEPTED

13 AS PROOF OF RELATIONSHIPS.—Chapter 51 is amended

14 by adding at the end the following new section:

15 ‘‘§ 5124. Acceptance of claimant’s statement as proof

16 of relationship

17 ‘‘(a) For purposes of benefits under laws adminis18 tered by the Secretary, the Secretary may accept the writ19 ten statement of a claimant as proof of the existence of

20 any relationship specified in subsection (b) for the purpose

21 of acting on such individual’s claim for benefits.

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

23 of any of the following relationships between a claimant

24 and another person:

25 ‘‘(1) Marriage.
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1 ‘‘(2) Dissolution of a marriage.

2 ‘‘(3) Birth of a child.

3 ‘‘(4) Death of any family member.

4 ‘‘(c) The Secretary may require the submission of

5 documentation in support of the claimant’s statement if—

6 ‘‘(1) the claimant does not reside within a

7 State;

8 ‘‘(2) the statement on its face raises a question

9 as to its validity;

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

11 or

12 ‘‘(4) there is reasonable indication, in the state13 ment or otherwise, of fraud or misrepresentation.’’.

14 (b) REPORTS OF EXAMINATIONS BY PRIVATE PHYSI15 CIANS.—Such chapter, as amended by subsection (a), is

16 further amended by adding at the end the following new

17 section:

18 ‘‘§ 5125. Acceptance of reports of private physician

19 examinations

20 ‘‘For purposes of establishing any claim for benefits

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

22 examination administered by a private physician that is

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

24 under that chapter may be accepted without a requirement

25 for confirmation by an examination by a physician em-
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1 ployed by the Veterans Health Administration if the re2 port is sufficiently complete to be adequate for the purpose

3 of adjudicating such claim.’’.

4 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

5 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding

6 at the end the following new items:

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

‘‘5125. Acceptance of reports of private physician examinations.’’.

7 SEC. 302. EXPEDITED TREATMENT OF REMANDED CLAIMS.

8 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall take such ac9 tions as may be necessary to provide for the expeditious

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

11 regional offices of the Veterans Benefits Administration,

12 of any claim that has been remanded by the Board of Vet13 erans’ Appeals or by the United States Court of Veterans

14 Appeals for additional development or other appropriate

15 action.

16 SEC. 303. SCREENING OF APPEALS.

17 Section 7107 is amended—

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

19 case’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Except as pro20 vided in subsection (f), each case’’; and

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

22 subsection:

23 ‘‘(f) Nothing in this section shall preclude the screen24 ing of cases for purposes of—
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1 ‘‘(1) determining the adequacy of the record for

2 decisional purposes; or

3 ‘‘(2) the development, or attempted develop4 ment, of a record found to be inadequate for

5 decisional purposes.’’.

6 SEC. 304. REPORT ON FEASIBILITY OF REORGANIZATION

7 OF ADJUDICATION DIVISIONS IN VBA RE8 GIONAL OFFICES.

9 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact10 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall

11 submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen12 ate and House of Representatives a report addressing the

13 feasibility and impact of a reorganization of the adjudica14 tion divisions located within the regional offices of the Vet15 erans Benefits Administration to a number of such divi16 sions that would result in improved efficiency in the proc17 essing of claims filed by veterans, their survivors, or other

18 eligible persons for benefits administered by the Secretary.

19 TITLE IV—VETERANS’ CLAIMS

20 ADJUDICATION COMMISSION

21 SEC. 401. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.—There is

23 hereby established a commission to be known as the Veter24 ans’ Claims Adjudication Commission (hereinafter in this

25 title referred to as the ‘‘commission’’).
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1 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—(1) The commission shall be

2 composed of nine members, appointed by the Secretary of

3 Veterans Affairs as follows:

4 (A) One member shall be appointed from

5 among former officials of the Department of Veter6 ans Affairs (or the Veterans’ Administration).

7 (B) Two members shall be appointed from

8 among individuals in the private sector who have ex9 pertise in the adjudication of claims relating to in10 surance or similar benefits.

11 (C) Two members shall be appointed from

12 among individuals employed in the Federal Govern13 ment (other than the Department of Veterans Af14 fairs) who have expertise in the adjudication of

15 claims for benefits under Federal law other than

16 under laws administered by the Secretary of Veter17 ans Affairs.

18 (D) Two members shall be appointed from

19 among individuals recommended to the Secretary by

20 representatives of veterans service organizations.

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

22 recommendation of the American Bar Association or

23 a similar private organization from among individ24 uals who have expertise in the field of administrative

25 law.
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1 (F) One member shall be appointed from

2 among current officials of the Department of Veter3 ans Affairs.

4 (2) The appointment of members of the commission

5 under this subsection shall be made not later than Feb6 ruary 1, 1995.

7 (c) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.—Mem8 bers of the commission shall be appointed for the life of

9 the commission. A vacancy in the commission shall not

10 affect its powers, but shall be filled in the same manner

11 as the original appointment.

12 (d) INITIAL MEETING.—The commission shall hold

13 its first meeting not later than 30 days after the date on

14 which all members of the commission have been appointed.

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

16 call of the chairman.

17 (f) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the com18 mission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number

19 may hold hearings.

20 (g) CHAIRMAN.—The Secretary shall designate a

21 member of the commission (other than the commission

22 member who is a current official of the Department of

23 Veterans Affairs) to be chairman of the commission.
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1 SEC. 402. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

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

3 a study of the Department of Veterans Affairs system for

4 the disposition of claims for veterans benefits.

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

6 is to evaluate the Department of Veterans Affairs system

7 for the disposition of claims for veterans benefits in order

8 to determine the following:

9 (1) The efficiency of current processes and pro10 cedures under the system for the adjudication, reso11 lution, review, and final disposition of claims for vet12 erans benefits, including the effect of judicial review

13 on the system, and means of increasing the effi14 ciency of the system.

15 (2) Means of reducing the number of claims

16 under the system for which final disposition is

17 pending.

18 (3) Means of enhancing the ability of the De19 partment of Veterans Affairs to achieve final deter20 mination regarding claims under the system in a

21 prompt and appropriate manner.

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

23 out by the commission under this section is a comprehen24 sive evaluation and assessment of the Department of Vet25 erans Affairs system for the disposition of claims for veter26 ans benefits (as defined in section 406) and of the system
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1 for the delivery of such benefits, together with any related

2 issues that the commission determines are relevant to the

3 study. The study shall include an evaluation and assess4 ment of the following:

5 (1) The preparation and submission of claims

6 by veterans under the system.

7 (2) The processes and procedures under the

8 system for the disposition of claims, including—

9 (A) the scope and nature of the review un10 dertaken with respect to a claim at each stage

11 in the claims disposition process, including the

12 role of hearings throughout the process;

13 (B) the number, Federal employment

14 grade, and experience and qualifications re15 quired of the persons undertaking such review

16 at each such stage;

17 (C) opportunities for the submittal of new

18 evidence; and

19 (D) the availability of alternative means of

20 completing claims.

21 (3) The effect on the system of the participa22 tion of attorneys, members of veterans service orga23 nizations, and other advocates on behalf of veterans.

24 (4) The effect on the system of actions taken

25 by the Secretary to modernize the information man-
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1 agement system of the Department, including the

2 use of electronic data management systems.

3 (5) The effect on the system of any work per4 formance standards used by the Secretary at re5 gional offices of the Department and at the Board

6 of Veterans’ Appeals.

7 (6) The extent of the implementation in the

8 system of the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon

9 Panel on Claims Processing submitted to the Com10 mittees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and

11 House of Representatives on December 2, 1993, and

12 the effect of such implementation on the system.

13 (7) The effectiveness in improving the system of

14 any pilot programs carried out by the Secretary at

15 regional offices of the Department and of efforts by

16 the Secretary to implement such programs through17 out the system.

18 (8) The effectiveness of the quality control

19 practices and quality assurance practices under the

20 system in achieving the goals of such practices.

21 (d) COOPERATION OF SECRETARY.—Upon the re22 quest of the chairman of the commission, the Secretary

23 shall, within 30 days of such request, submit to the com24 mission, and to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of

25 the Senate and House of Representatives, such informa-
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1 tion as the chairman shall determine is necessary for the

2 commission to carry out the study required under this

3 section.

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

5 date of the enactment of this Act, the commission shall

6 submit to the Secretary and to the Committees on Veter7 ans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives

8 a preliminary report on the study required under sub9 section (c). The report shall contain the preliminary find10 ings and conclusions of the commission with respect to the

11 evaluation and assessment required under the study.

12 (2) Not later than 18 months after such date, the

13 commission shall submit to the Secretary and to such com14 mittees a report on such study. The report shall include

15 the following:

16 (A) The findings and conclusions of the com17 mission, including its findings and conclusions with

18 respect to the matters referred to in subsection (c).

19 (B) The recommendations of the commission

20 for means of improving the Department of Veterans

21 Affairs system for the disposition of claims for veter22 ans benefits.

23 (C) Such other information and recommenda24 tions with respect to the system as the commission

25 considers appropriate.
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1 SEC. 403. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

2 (a) HEARINGS.—The commission may hold such

3 hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take such

4 testimony, and receive such evidence as the commission

5 considers advisable to carry out the purposes of this title.

6 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—In

7 addition to the information referred to in section 402(d),

8 the commission may secure directly from any Federal de9 partment or agency such information as the commission

10 considers necessary to carry out the provisions of this title.

11 Upon request of the chairman of the commission, the head

12 of such department or agency shall furnish such informa13 tion to the commission.

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

15 United States mails in the same manner and under the

16 same conditions as other departments and agencies of the

17 Federal Government.

18 (d) GIFTS.—The commission may accept, use, and

19 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property.

20 SEC. 404. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.

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

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

23 Federal Government shall be compensated at a rate equal

24 to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay pre25 scribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under sec26 tion 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (in-
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1 cluding travel time) during which such member is engaged

2 in the performance of the duties of the commission. All

3 members of the commission who are officers or employees

4 of the United States shall serve without compensation in

5 addition to that received for their services as officers or

6 employees of the United States.

7 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the com8 mission shall be allowed travel expenses, including per

9 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employ10 ees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title

11 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or

12 regular places of business in the performance of services

13 for the commission.

14 (c) STAFF.—(1) The chairman of the commission

15 may, without regard to the civil service laws and regula16 tions, appoint an executive director and such other person17 nel as may be necessary to enable the commission to per18 form its duties. The appointment of an executive director

19 shall be subject to approval by the commission.

20 (2) The chairman of the commission may fix the com21 pensation of the executive director and other personnel

22 without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub23 chapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code,

24 relating to classification of positions and General Schedule

25 pay rates, except that the rate of pay for the executive
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1 director and other personnel may not exceed the rate pay2 able for level V of the Executive Schedule under section

3 5316 of such title.

4 (d) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Upon

5 request of the chairman of the commission, the head of

6 any Federal department or agency may detail, on a

7 nonreimbursable basis, any personnel of the department

8 or agency to the commission to assist it in carrying out

9 its duties.

10 (e) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT11 TENT SERVICES.—The chairman of the commission may

12 procure temporary and intermittent services under section

13 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates for individ14 uals which do not exceed the daily equivalent of the annual

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

16 Schedule under section 5316 of such title.

17 SEC. 405. TERMINATION OF THE COMMISSION.

18 The commission shall terminate 90 days after the

19 date on which the commission submits its report under

20 section 402(e)(2).

21 SEC. 406. DEFINITIONS.

22 For the purposes of this title:

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

24 system for the disposition of claims for veterans ben25 efits’’ means the processes and procedures of the
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1 Department of Veterans Affairs for the adjudication,

2 resolution, review, and final disposition of claims for

3 benefits under the laws administered by the Sec4 retary.

5 (2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

6 of Veterans Affairs.

7 (3) The term ‘‘veterans service organizations’’

8 means any organization approved by the Secretary

9 under section 5902(a) of title 38, United States

10 Code.

11 SEC. 407. FUNDING.

12 (a) FISCAL YEAR 1995.—From amounts appro13 priated to the Department of Veterans Affairs for fiscal

14 year 1995 for the payment of compensation and pension,

15 the amount of $400,000 is hereby made available for the

16 activities of the commission under this title.

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

18 commission shall remain available until expended.
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1 TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS

2 PROVISIONS

3 SEC. 501. RESTATEMENT OF INTENT OF CONGRESS CON4 CERNING COVERAGE OF RADIATION-EX5 POSED VETERANS COMPENSATION ACT OF

6 1988.

7 (a) RESTATEMENT OF ABSENCE OF STATUTORY

8 LIMITATION TO UNITED STATES TESTS.—Clause (i) of

9 section 1112(c)(3)(B) is amended by inserting ‘‘(without

10 regard to whether the nation conducting the test was the

11 United States or another nation)’’ after ‘‘nuclear device’’.

12 (b) PROOF OF SERVICE CONNECTION OF DISABIL13 ITIES RELATING TO EXPOSURE TO IONIZING RADI14 ATION.—(1) Section 1113(b) is amended—

15 (A) by striking out ‘‘title or’’ and inserting in

16 lieu thereof ‘‘title,’’; and

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

18 98–542 (38 U.S.C. 1154 note)’’ after ‘‘of this

19 section’’.

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

21 apply with respect to applications for veterans benefits

22 that are submitted to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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1 SEC. 502. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY TO MAINTAIN RE2 GIONAL OFFICE IN THE PHILIPPINES.

3 Section 315(b) is amended by striking out ‘‘Decem4 ber 31, 1994’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘December 31,

5 1999’’.

6 SEC. 503. RENOUNCEMENT OF BENEFIT RIGHTS.

7 Section 5306 is amended by adding at the end the

8 following new subsection:

9 ‘‘(c) Notwithstanding subsection (b), if a new applica10 tion for pension under chapter 15 of this title or for de11 pendency and indemnity compensation for parents under

12 section 1315 of this title is filed within one year after

13 renouncement of that benefit, such application shall not

14 be treated as an original application and benefits will be

15 payable as if the renouncement had not occurred.’’.

16 SEC. 504. CLARIFICATION OF PAYMENT OF ATTORNEY FEES

17 UNDER CONTINGENT FEE AGREEMENTS.

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

19 5904(d)(2) is amended to read as follows:

20 ‘‘(A) A fee agreement referred to in paragraph (1)

21 is one under which the total amount of the fee payable

22 to the attorney—

23 ‘‘(i) is to be paid to the attorney by the Sec24 retary directly from any past-due benefits awarded

25 on the basis of the claim; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) is contingent on whether or not the matter

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

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

4 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to fee agreements

5 entered into on or after the date of the enactment of this

6 Act.

7 SEC. 505. CODIFICATION OF HERBICIDE-EXPOSURE PRE8 SUMPTIONS ESTABLISHED ADMINISTRA9 TIVELY.

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

11 the following new subparagraphs:

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

13 degree of disability of 10 percent or more.

14 ‘‘(E) Porphyria cutanea tarda becoming mani15 fest to a degree of disability of 10 percent or more

16 within a year after the last date on which the vet17 eran performed active military, naval, or air service

18 in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam era.

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

20 bronchus, larynx, or trachea) becoming manifest to

21 a degree of 10 percent or more within 30 years after

22 the last date on which the veteran performed active

23 military, naval, or air service in the Republic of Viet24 nam during the Vietnam era.
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1 ‘‘(G) Multiple myeloma becoming manifest to a

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

3 SEC. 506. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN INCOME OF ALASKA NA4 TIVES FOR PURPOSES OF NEEDS-BASED

5 BENEFITS.

6 Any receipt by an individual from a Native Corpora7 tion under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43

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

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

10 29(c) of that Act (43 U.S.C. 1626(c)) (whether such re11 ceipt is attributable to the disposition of real property,

12 profits from the operation of real property, or otherwise)

13 shall not be countable as income for purposes of any law

14 administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

15 SEC. 507. ELIMINATION OF REQUIREMENT FOR PAYMENT

16 OF CERTAIN BENEFITS IN PHILIPPINE

17 PESOS.

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

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

20 (1) by striking out ‘‘rate in pesos as is equiva21 lent to’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘rate of’’; and

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

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

24 of’’.
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1 (b) SURVIVORS’ AND DEPENDENTS’ EDUCATIONAL

2 ASSISTANCE.—Sections 3532(d) and 3565(b)(1) are

3 amended by striking out ‘‘a rate in Philippine pesos equiv4 alent to’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘the rate of’’.

5 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

6 this section shall apply with respect to payments made

7 after December 31, 1994.

8 SEC. 508. STUDY OF HEALTH CONSEQUENCES FOR FAMILY

9 MEMBERS OF ATOMIC VETERANS OF EXPO10 SURE OF ATOMIC VETERANS TO IONIZING

11 RADIATION.

12 (a) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT.—The Secretary of

13 Veterans Affairs shall enter into an agreement with the

14 Medical Follow-Up Agency of the Institute of the Medicine

15 of the National Academy of Sciences under which that

16 agency shall convene a panel of appropriate individuals to

17 carry out the evaluation described in subsection (b).

18 (b) EVALUATION OF FEASIBILITY OF STUDY.—(1)

19 The panel convened under subsection (a) shall evaluate the

20 feasibility of carrying out a study as described in sub21 section (c).

22 (2) The panel shall submit the results of the evalua23 tion under paragraph (1) to the Secretary not later than

24 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. The

25 Secretary shall promptly notify the Committees on Veter-
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1 ans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representa2 tives of such results.

3 (c) DESCRIPTION OF STUDY TO BE EVALUATED.—

4 The study referred to in subsection (b) (the feasibility of

5 which is to be evaluated under that subsection by the

6 panel convened under subsection (a)) is one which would

7 determine the nature and extent, if any, of the relationship

8 between the exposure of veterans described in subsection

9 (d) to ionizing radiation and the following:

10 (1) Genetic defects and illnesses in the children

11 and grandchildren of such veterans.

12 (2) Untoward pregnancy outcomes experienced

13 by the wives of such veterans, including premature

14 births, stillbirths, miscarriages, neonatal illnesses

15 and deaths.

16 (3) Periparturient diseases of the mother which

17 are the direct result of such untoward pregnancy

18 outcomes.

19 (d) COVERED VETERANS.—Subsection (c) applies

20 to—

21 (1) any veteran who was exposed (as deter22 mined by the Secretary) to ionizing radiation as a

23 result of—

24 (A) participation while on active duty in

25 the Armed Forces in an atmospheric nuclear
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1 test that included the detonation of a nuclear

2 device;

3 (B) service in the Armed Forces with the

4 United States occupation force of Hiroshima or

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

6 (C) internment or detention as a prisoner

7 of war of Japan before that date in cir8 cumstances providing the opportunity for expo9 sure to ionizing radiation comparable to the ex10 posure of individuals who served with such oc11 cupation force before that date; and

12 (2) any other veteran who the Secretary des13 ignates for coverage under the study.

14 SEC. 509. CENTER FOR MINORITY VETERANS AND CENTER

15 FOR WOMEN VETERANS.

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

17 out section 317 and inserting in lieu thereof the following

18 new sections:

19 ‘‘§ 317. Center for Minority Veterans

20 ‘‘(a) There is in the Department a Center for Minor21 ity Veterans. There is at the head of the Center a Direc22 tor.

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

24 the Senior Executive Service. The Director shall be ap25 pointed for a term of six years.
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1 ‘‘(c) The Director reports directly to the Secretary

2 or the Deputy Secretary concerning the activities of the

3 Center.

4 ‘‘(d) The Director shall perform the following func5 tions with respect to veterans who are minorities:

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

7 on the adoption and implementation of policies and

8 programs affecting veterans who are minorities.

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

10 the Under Secretary for Health, the Under Sec11 retary for Benefits, and other Department officials

12 for the establishment or improvement of programs in

13 the Department for which veterans who are minori14 ties are eligible.

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

16 this title by veterans who are minorities and the con17 duct of outreach activities to veterans who are mi18 norities, in conjunction with outreach activities car19 ried out under chapter 77 of this title.

20 ‘‘(4) Disseminate information and serve as a re21 source center for the exchange of information re22 garding innovative and successful programs which

23 improve the services available to veterans who are

24 minorities.
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1 ‘‘(5) Conduct and sponsor appropriate social

2 and demographic research on the needs of veterans

3 who are minorities and the extent to which programs

4 authorized under this title meet the needs of those

5 veterans, without regard to any law concerning the

6 collection of information from the public.

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

8 or on behalf of veterans who are minorities about

9 the adequacy and timeliness of services provided by

10 the Department and advise the appropriate official

11 of the Department of the results of such analysis or

12 evaluation.

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

14 information to, officials responsible for administering

15 Federal, State, local, and private programs that as16 sist veterans, to encourage those officials to adopt

17 policies which promote the use of those programs by

18 veterans who are minorities.

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

20 have the effect of discouraging the use of benefits by

21 veterans who are minorities.

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

23 which are of particular significance to veterans who

24 are minorities.
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1 ‘‘(10) Perform such other duties consistent with

2 this section as the Secretary shall prescribe.

3 ‘‘(e) The Secretary shall ensure that the Director is

4 furnished sufficient resources to enable the Director to

5 carry out the functions of the Center in a timely manner.

6 ‘‘(f) The Secretary shall include in documents sub7 mitted to Congress by the Secretary in support of the

8 President’s budget for each fiscal year—

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

10 Center;

11 ‘‘(2) the Secretary’s opinion as to whether the

12 resources (including the number of employees) pro13 posed in the budget for that fiscal year are adequate

14 to enable the Center to comply with its statutory

15 and regulatory duties; and

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

17 accomplishments of the Center during the preceding

18 fiscal year.

19 ‘‘§ 318. Center for Women Veterans

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

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

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

23 the Senior Executive Service. The Director shall be ap24 pointed for a term of six years.
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1 ‘‘(c) The Director reports directly to the Secretary

2 or the Deputy Secretary concerning the activities of the

3 Center.

4 ‘‘(d) The Director shall perform the following func5 tions with respect to veterans who are women:

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

7 on the adoption and implementation of policies and

8 programs affecting veterans who are women.

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

10 the Under Secretary for Health, the Under Sec11 retary for Benefits, and other Department officials

12 for the establishment or improvement of programs in

13 the Department for which veterans who are women

14 are eligible.

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

16 this title by veterans who are women and the con17 duct of outreach activities to veterans who are

18 women, in conjunction with outreach activities car19 ried out under chapter 77 of this title.

20 ‘‘(4) Disseminate information and serve as a re21 source center for the exchange of information re22 garding innovative and successful programs which

23 improve the services available to veterans who are

24 women.
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1 ‘‘(5) Conduct and sponsor appropriate social

2 and demographic research on the needs of veterans

3 who are women and the extent to which programs

4 authorized under this title meet the needs of those

5 veterans, without regard to any law concerning the

6 collection of information from the public.

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

8 or on behalf of veterans who are women about the

9 adequacy and timeliness of services provided by the

10 Department and advise the appropriate official of

11 the Department of the results of such analysis or

12 evaluation.

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

14 information to, officials responsible for administering

15 Federal, State, local, and private programs that as16 sist veterans, to encourage those officials to adopt

17 policies which promote the use of those programs by

18 veterans who are women.

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

20 have the effect of discouraging the use of benefits by

21 veterans who are women.

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

23 which are of particular significance to veterans who

24 are women.
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1 ‘‘(10) Advise the Secretary and other appro2 priate officials on the effectiveness of the Depart3 ment’s efforts to accomplish the goals of section

4 492B of the Public Health Service Act (relating to

5 the inclusion of women and minorities in clinical re6 search) and of particular health conditions affecting

7 womens’ health which should be studied as part of

8 the Department’s medical research program and

9 promote cooperation between the Department and

10 other sponsors of medical research of potential bene11 fit to veterans who are women.

12 ‘‘(11) Provide support and administrative serv13 ices to the Advisory Committee on Women Veterans

14 established under section 542 of this title.

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

16 this section as the Secretary shall prescribe.

17 ‘‘(e) The Secretary shall ensure that the Director is

18 furnished sufficient resources to enable the Director to

19 carry out the functions of the Center in a timely manner.

20 ‘‘(f) The Secretary shall include in documents sub21 mitted to Congress by the Secretary in support of the

22 President’s budget for each fiscal year—

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

24 Center;
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1 ‘‘(2) the Secretary’s opinion as to whether the

2 resources (including the number of employees) pro3 posed in the budget for that fiscal year are adequate

4 to enable the Center to comply with its statutory

5 and regulatory duties; and

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

7 accomplishments of the Center during the preceding

8 fiscal year.’’.

9 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

10 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by striking

11 out the item relating to section 317 and inserting in lieu

12 thereof the following new items:

‘‘317. Center for Minority Veterans.

‘‘318. Center for Women Veterans.’’.

13 SEC. 510. ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON MINORITY VETERANS.

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subchapter III of chapter 5

15 is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

16 ‘‘§ 544. Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans

17 ‘‘(a)(1) The Secretary shall establish an advisory

18 committee to be known as the Advisory Committee on Mi19 nority Veterans (hereinafter in this section referred to as

20 ‘the Committee’).

21 ‘‘(2)(A) The Committee shall consist of members

22 appointed by the Secretary from the general public,

23 including—
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1 ‘‘(i) representatives of veterans who are minor2 ity group members;

3 ‘‘(ii) individuals who are recognized authorities

4 in fields pertinent to the needs of veterans who are

5 minority group members;

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

7 and who have experience in a military theater of op8 erations; and

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

10 and who do not have such experience.

11 ‘‘(B) The Committee shall include, as ex officio mem12 bers, the following:

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

14 of the Secretary of Labor designated by the Sec15 retary after consultation with the Assistant Sec16 retary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment).

17 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary of Defense (or a representa18 tive of the Secretary of Defense designated by the

19 Secretary of Defense).

20 ‘‘(iii) The Secretary of the Interior (or a rep21 resentative of the Secretary of the Interior des22 ignated by the Secretary of the Interior).

23 ‘‘(iv) The Secretary of Commerce (or a rep24 resentative of the Secretary of Commerce designated

25 by the Secretary of Commerce).
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1 ‘‘(v) The Secretary of Health and Human Serv2 ices (or a representative of the Secretary of Health

3 and Human Services designated by the Secretary of

4 Health and Human Services).

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

6 Under Secretary for Benefits, or their designees.

7 ‘‘(C) The Secretary may invite representatives of

8 other departments and agencies of the United States to

9 participate in the meetings and other activities of the

10 Committee.

11 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall determine the number,

12 terms of service, and pay and allowances of members of

13 the Committee appointed by the Secretary, except that a

14 term of service of any such member may not exceed three

15 years. The Secretary may reappoint any such member for

16 additional terms of service.

17 ‘‘(4) The Committee shall meet as often as the Sec18 retary considers necessary or appropriate, but not less

19 often than twice each fiscal year.

20 ‘‘(b) The Secretary shall, on a regular basis, consult

21 with and seek the advice of the Committee with respect

22 to the administration of benefits by the Department for

23 veterans who are minority group members, reports and

24 studies pertaining to such veterans and the needs of such

25 veterans with respect to compensation, health care, reha-
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1 bilitation, outreach, and other benefits and programs ad2 ministered by the Department.

3 ‘‘(c)(1) Not later than July 1 of each year, the Com4 mittee shall submit to the Secretary a report on the pro5 grams and activities of the Department that pertain to

6 veterans who are minority group members. Each such re7 port shall include—

8 ‘‘(A) an assessment of the needs of veterans

9 who are minority group members with respect to

10 compensation, health care, rehabilitation, outreach,

11 and other benefits and programs administered by

12 the Department;

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

14 the Department designed to meet such needs; and

15 ‘‘(C) such recommendations (including rec16 ommendations for administrative and legislative ac17 tion) as the Committee considers appropriate.

18 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall, within 60 days after receiv19 ing each report under paragraph (1), submit to Congress

20 a copy of the report, together with any comments concern21 ing the report that the Secretary considers appropriate.

22 ‘‘(3) The Committee may also submit to the Sec23 retary such other reports and recommendations as the

24 Committee considers appropriate.
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1 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall submit with each annual re2 port submitted to the Congress pursuant to section 529

3 of this title a summary of all reports and recommendations

4 of the Committee submitted to the Secretary since the pre5 vious annual report of the Secretary submitted pursuant

6 to such section.

7 ‘‘(d) In this section, the term ‘minority group mem8 ber’ means an individual who is—

9 ‘‘(1) Asian American;

10 ‘‘(2) Black;

11 ‘‘(3) Hispanic;

12 ‘‘(4) Native American (including American In13 dian, Alaskan Native, and Native Hawaiian); or

14 ‘‘(5) Pacific-Islander American.

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

16 1997.’’.

17 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

18 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding

19 after the item relating to section 543 the following new

20 item:

‘‘544. Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans.’’.

21 SEC. 511. MAILING OF NOTICES OF APPEAL TO THE COURT

22 OF VETERANS APPEALS.

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

24 read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(a)(1) In order to obtain review by the Court of Vet2 erans Appeals of a final decision of the Board of Veterans’

3 Appeals, a person adversely affected by such decision shall

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

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

6 to section 7104(e) of this title.

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

8 this section by delivering or mailing the notice to the

9 Court.

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

11 by the Court as follows:

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

13 notice is delivered.

14 ‘‘(B) On the date of the United States Post

15 Service postmark stamped on the cover in which the

16 notice is posted, if the notice is properly addressed

17 to the Court and is mailed.

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

19 be deemed to be received under paragraph (3)(B) on a

20 particular date, the United States Postal Service postmark

21 on the cover in which the notice is posted must be legible.

22 The Court shall determine the legibility of any such post23 mark and the Court’s determination as to legibility shall

24 be final and not subject to review by any other Court.’’.
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1 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by sub2 section (a) shall take effect on the date of the enactment

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

4 delivered or mailed to the United States Court of Veterans

5 Appeals on or after that date.

6 TITLE VI—EDUCATION AND

7 TRAINING PROGRAMS

8 SEC. 601. FLIGHT TRAINING.

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

10 amended—

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

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

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

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

15 (b) POST-VIETNAM ERA.—Section 3241(b) is amend16 ed—

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

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

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

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

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

22 United States Code, is amended—

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

24 (2) by striking out ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(c)’’; and
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1 (3) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B),

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

3 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

4 this section shall take effect as of October 1, 1994.

5 SEC. 602. TRAINING AND REHABILITATION FOR VETERANS

6 WITH SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITIES.

7 (a) REHABILITATION RESOURCES.—Section 3115 is

8 amended—

9 (1) in subsection (a)—

10 (A) in paragraph (1)—

11 (i) by striking out ‘‘or’’ after ‘‘(includ12 ing the Department of Veterans Affairs),’’;

13 and

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

15 recognized Indian tribe,’’ after ‘‘financial

16 assistance,’’; and

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

18 federally recognized Indian tribe,’’ after ‘‘con19 tributions,’’; and

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

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

22 recognized Indian tribe’ means any Indian tribe, band, na23 tion, pueblo, or other organized group or community, in24 cluding any Alaska Native village or regional corporation

25 as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native
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1 Claims Settlement Act, which is recognized as eligible for

2 the special programs and services provided by the United

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

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

5 by inserting ‘‘or federally recognized Indian tribe’’ after

6 ‘‘local government agency’’.

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

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

9 amended by striking out the period at the end and insert10 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘, but shall not apply to veterans and

11 other persons who originally applied for assistance under

12 chapter 31 of title 38, United States Code, before Novem13 ber 1, 1990.’’.

14 (2) The amendment made by paragraph (1) shall

15 take effect as of October 29, 1992.

16 SEC. 603. ALTERNATIVE TEACHER CERTIFICATION

17 PROGRAMS.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3452(c) is amended by

19 adding at the end the following: ‘‘For the period ending

20 on September 30, 1996, such term includes any entity that

21 provides training required for completion of any State-ap22 proved alternative teacher certification program (as deter23 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 para3 graph:

4 ‘‘(8) The term ‘educational institution’ has the mean5 ing given such term in section 3452(c) of this title.’’.

6 SEC. 604. EDUCATION OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES.

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

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

9 not enroll in any course offered by an educational institu10 tion not located in a State unless that educational institu11 tion is an approved institution of higher learning and the

12 course is approved by the Secretary.’’.

13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

14 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to courses approved

15 on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

16 SEC. 605. CORRESPONDENCE COURSES.

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

18 Section 3672 is amended by adding at the end the follow19 ing new subsection:

20 ‘‘(e) A program of education exclusively by cor21 respondence, and the correspondence portion of a com22 bination correspondence-residence course leading to a vo23 cational objective, that is offered by an educational institu24 tion (as defined in section 3452(c) of this title) may be

25 approved only if (1) the educational institution is accred-
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1 ited by an entity recognized by the Secretary of Education,

2 and (2) at least 50 percent of those pursuing such a pro3 gram or course require six months or more to complete

4 the program or course.’’.

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

6 out ‘‘A State’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Except as

7 provided in section 3672(e) of this title, a State’’.

8 (B) Section 3680(a) is amended—

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

10 (2);

11 (ii) by striking out ‘‘; or’’ at the end of para12 graph (3) and inserting in lieu thereof a period; and

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

14 (C) Section 3686(c) is amended by striking out

15 ‘‘(other than one subject to the provisions of section 3676

16 of this title)’’.

17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

18 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to programs of edu19 cation exclusively by correspondence and to correspond20 ence-residence courses commencing more than 90 days

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act.

22 SEC. 606. STATE APPROVING AGENCIES.

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

24 amended by striking out ‘‘$12,000,000’’ each place it ap25 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 QUAR5 TERLY REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Section 3674(a)(3) is

6 amended—

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

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

9 (c) EVALUATION OF AGENCY PERFORMANCE.—Sec10 tion 3674A is amended—

11 (1) in subsection (a)—

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

13 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and

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

15 (2) in subsection (b)—

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

17 this section’’ both places it appears and insert18 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘subsection (a)(4)’’; and

19 (B) by inserting ‘‘of this title’’ after ‘‘sec20 tion 3674(a)’’ both places it appears.

21 SEC. 607. MEASUREMENT OF COURSES.

22 Section 3688(b) is amended—

23 (1) by striking out ‘‘this chapter or’’ and insert24 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘this chapter,’’; and
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1 (2) by inserting before the period at the end

2 thereof the following: ‘‘, or chapter 106 of title 10’’.

3 SEC. 608. VETERANS’ ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON

4 EDUCATION.

5 Section 3692 is amended—

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

7 (A) by striking out ‘‘34,’’; and

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

9 10’’ before the period at the end;

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

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

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

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

14 and chapter 106 of title 10’’; and

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

16 31, 1994’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘December

17 31, 2003’’.

18 SEC. 609. CONTRACT EDUCATIONAL AND VOCATIONAL

19 COUNSELING.

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

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

22 lieu thereof ‘‘$6,000,000’’.

23 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

24 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 1994.
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1 SEC. 610. SERVICE MEMBERS OCCUPATIONAL CONVERSION

2 AND TRAINING ACT OF 1992.

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

4 the Service Members Occupational Conversion and Train5 ing Act of 1992 (106 Stat. 2759; 10 U.S.C. 1143 note)

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

7 (2)(A) Section 4486(d)(2) of such Act (102 Stat.

8 2760; 10 U.S.C. 1143 note) is amended by striking out

9 the period at the end thereof and inserting in lieu thereof

10 the following: ‘‘in the community for the entire period of

11 training of the eligible person.’’.

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

13 apply with respect to programs of training under the Serv14 ice Members Occupational Conversion and Training Act

15 of 1992 beginning after the date of the enactment of this

16 Act.

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

18 2762; 10 U.S.C. 1143 note) is amended—

19 (1) in subsection (a)(1)—

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

21 subparagraph (A) and inserting in lieu thereof

22 ‘‘subparagraphs (B) and (C)’’;

23 (B) by inserting before the period at the

24 end of subparagraph (A) the following: ‘‘but in

25 no event to exceed hours equivalent to 18

26 months of training’’; and
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1 (C) by adding at the end the following new

2 subparagraph:

3 ‘‘(C) Assistance may be paid under this subtitle on

4 behalf of an eligible person to that person’s employer for

5 training under two or more programs of job training under

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

7 due) on that person’s behalf assistance in an amount ag8 gregating the applicable amount set forth in subparagraph

9 (B).’’; and

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

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

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

13 program approved for the person’s pursuit with that

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

15 (c) ENTRY INTO PROGRAM OF JOB TRAINING.—Sec16 tion 4488(a) of such Act (106 Stat. 2764; 10 U.S.C. 1143

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

18 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘The eligible person may

19 begin such program of job training with the employer on

20 the day that notice is transmitted to such official by means

21 prescribed by such official. However, assistance under this

22 subtitle may not be provided to the employer if such offi23 cial, within two weeks after the date on which such notice

24 is transmitted, disapproves the eligible person’s entry into
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1 that program of job training in accordance with this

2 section.’’.

3 TITLE VII—EMPLOYMENT

4 PROGRAMS

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

6 (a) DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF LABOR FOR

7 VETERANS’ EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING.—Section

8 4102A(a) is amended—

9 (1) by striking out ‘‘(1)’’ and ‘‘(2)’’ and insert10 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘(A)’’ and ‘‘(B)’’, respectively;

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

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

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

14 a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Em15 ployment and Training. The Deputy Assistant Secretary

16 shall perform such functions as the Assistant Secretary

17 of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training pre18 scribes. The Deputy Assistant Secretary shall be a vet19 eran.’’.

20 (b) DVOP SPECIALISTS COMPENSATION RATES.—

21 Section 4103A(a)(1) is amended by striking out ‘‘a rate

22 not less than the rate prescribed for an entry level profes23 sional’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘rates comparable to

24 those paid other professionals performing essentially simi25 lar duties’’.
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1 (c) SPECIAL UNEMPLOYMENT STUDY.—Subsection

2 (a) of section 4110A is amended to read as follows:

3 ‘‘(a)(1) The Secretary, through the Bureau of Labor

4 Statistics, shall conduct a study every two years of unem5 ployment among each of the following categories of

6 veterans:

7 ‘‘(A) Special disabled veterans.

8 ‘‘(B) Veterans of the Vietnam era who served

9 in the Vietnam theater of operations during the

10 Vietnam era.

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

12 the Vietnam era who did not serve in the Vietnam

13 theater of operations.

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

15 the Vietnam era.

16 ‘‘(E) Veterans discharged or released from ac17 tive duty within four years of the applicable study.

18 ‘‘(2) Within each of the categories of veterans speci19 fied in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall include a sepa20 rate category for women who are veterans.

21 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall promptly submit to Con22 gress a report on the results of each study under para23 graph (1).’’.
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1 SEC. 702. EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING OF VETERANS.

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

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

4 openings,’’ in clause (1) of the third sentence and insert5 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘all of its employment openings except

6 that the contractor may exclude openings for executive

7 and top management positions, positions which are to be

8 filled from within the contractor’s organization, and posi9 tions lasting three days or less,’’.

10 (b) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR VETERANS

11 UNDER FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING PRO12 GRAMS.—Section 4213 is amended—

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

14 35, and 36 of this title by an eligible veteran and’’

15 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘chapters 11, 13, 30,

16 31, 35, and 36 of this title by an eligible veteran,’’;

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

18 an eligible person under chapter 106 of title 10,’’

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

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

21 of participants in’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘eli22 gibility under’’.
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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

5 VETERANS.

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 fur11 ther amended by inserting after ‘‘surviving spouse’’ the

12 following: ‘‘(which for purposes of this chapter includes

13 an unremarried surviving spouse who had a subsequent

14 remarriage which was terminated by death or divorce)’’.

15 SEC. 803. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA16 TIONS FOR STATE CEMETERY GRANT

17 PROGRAM.

18 Paragraph (2) of section 2408(a) is amended by

19 striking out ‘‘nine’’ and inserting in lieu

20 thereof ‘‘fourteen’’.

21 SEC. 804. AUTHORITY TO USE FLAT GRAVE MARKERS AT

22 THE WILLAMETTE NATIONAL CEMETERY,

23 OREGON.

24 Notwithstanding section 2404(c)(2) of title 38, Unit25 ed States Code, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may
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1 provide for flat grave markers at the Willamette National

2 Cemetery, 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

10 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘, or (ii) who was dis11 charged or released from the Selected Reserve before

12 completing 6 years of service because of a service13 connected 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

6 beginning of subparagraph (A) and inserting in

7 lieu thereof ‘‘The property’’;

8 (B) by striking out the semicolon at the

9 end 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

13 ‘‘A 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

4 paid 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

10 subsection to exclude an amount of guaranty or in11 surance housing loan entitlement previously used by

12 a veteran may be exercised only once for that vet13 eran 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 insert24 ing after paragraph (10) the following new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(11) To refinance in accordance with sub2 section (e) an existing loan guaranteed, insured, or

3 made under this chapter, and to improve the dwell4 ing securing such loan through energy efficiency im5 provements, 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 subpara13 graph and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘may not ex14 ceed—

15 ‘‘(i) an amount equal to the sum of the

16 balance of the loan being refinanced and such

17 closing costs (including any discount permitted

18 pursuant to section 3703(c)(3)(A) of this title)

19 as may be authorized by the Secretary (under

20 regulations which the Secretary shall prescribe)

21 to be included in the loan; or

22 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a loan for the purpose

23 specified in subsection (a)(11), an amount equal

24 to the sum of the amount referred to with re-
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1 spect to the loan under clause (i) and the

2 amount specified under subsection (d)(2);’’.

3 (c) FEE.—Section 3729(a)(2)(E) is amended by in4 serting ‘‘3710(a)(11),’’ after ‘‘3710(a)(9)(B)(i),’’.

5 SEC. 905. AUTHORITY TO GUARANTEE LOANS TO REFI6 NANCE ADJUSTABLE RATE MORTGAGES TO

7 FIXED RATE MORTGAGES.

8 Section 3710(e)(1)(A) is amended by inserting before

9 the semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘or, in a case in

10 which the loan is a fixed rate loan and the loan being refi11 nanced is an adjustable rate loan, the loan bears interest

12 at a rate that is agreed upon by the veteran and the

13 mortgagee’’.

14 SEC. 906. MANUFACTURED HOME LOAN INSPECTIONS.

15 (a) CERTIFICATION OF CONFORMITY WITH STAND16 ARDS.—Paragraph (2) of subsection (h) of section 3712

17 is amended to read as follows:

18 ‘‘(2) Any manufactured housing unit properly dis19 playing a certification of conformity to all applicable Fed20 eral manufactured home construction and safety stand21 ards pursuant to section 616 of the National Manufac22 tured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of

23 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5415) shall be deemed to meet the stand24 ards required by paragraph (1).’’.
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1 (b) REPEAL OF INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS.—Sub2 section (j) of such section is amended by striking out ‘‘in

3 the case of’’ the first place it appears and all that follows

4 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘in the case of—

5 ‘‘(1) manufactured homes constructed by a

6 manufacturer who fails or is unable to discharge the

7 manufacturer’s obligations under the warranty;

8 ‘‘(2) manufactured homes which are determined

9 by the Secretary not to conform to the standards

10 provided for in subsection (h); or

11 ‘‘(3) a manufacturer of manufactured homes

12 who has engaged in procedures or practices deter13 mined by the Secretary to be unfair or prejudicial to

14 veterans or the Government.’’.

15 (c) ELIMINATION OF REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—

16 Subsection (l) of such section is amended—

17 (1) by striking out ‘‘the results of inspections

18 required by subsection (h) of this section,’’; and

19 (2) by striking out ‘‘of this section,’’.

20 SEC. 907. PROCEDURES ON DEFAULT.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (7) of section 3732(c)

22 is amended—

23 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A),

24 by striking out ‘‘that was the minimum amount for
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1 which, under applicable State law, the property was

2 permitted to be sold at the liquidation sale’’;

3 (2) in subparagraph (A)—

4 (A) by striking out ‘‘the Secretary may ac5 cept conveyance of the property to the United

6 States for a price not exceeding’’ and inserting

7 in lieu thereof ‘‘(i) the amount was the mini8 mum amount for which, under applicable State

9 law, the property was permitted to be sold at

10 the liquidation sale, the holder shall have the

11 option to convey the property to the United

12 States in return for payment by the Secretary

13 of an amount equal to’’; and

14 (B) by striking out ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘loan;’’

15 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘or’’;

16 (C) by adding at the end the following:

17 ‘‘(ii) there was no minimum amount for which

18 the property had to be sold at the liquidation sale

19 under applicable State law, the holder shall have the

20 option to convey the property to the United States

21 in return for payment by the Secretary of an

22 amount equal to the lesser of such net value or total

23 indebtedness; and’’; and
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1 (3) in subparagraph (B), by striking out ‘‘para2 graph (6)(B)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

3 ‘‘paragraph (6)’’.

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (6) of

5 such section is amended—

6 (1) by striking out ‘‘either’’;

7 (2) by striking out ‘‘sale or acquires’’ and all

8 that follows through ‘‘(B) the’’ and inserting in lieu

9 thereof ‘‘sale, the’’; and

10 (3) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as

11 clauses (A) and (B), respectively.

12 SEC. 908. MINIMUM ACTIVE-DUTY SERVICE REQUIREMENT.

13 Subparagraph (F) of section 5303A(b)(3) is amended

14 by inserting ‘‘or chapter 37’’ after ‘‘chapter 30’’ in the

15 matter preceding clause (i).

16 TITLE X—HOMELESS VETERANS

17 PROGRAMS

18 SEC. 1001. REPORTS ON ACTIVITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT

19 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO ASSIST HOMELESS

20 VETERANS.

21 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.—(1) Not later than April 15

22 of each year, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall sub23 mit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate

24 and House of Representatives a report on the activities

25 of the Department of Veterans Affairs during the year
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1 preceding the report under programs of the Department

2 for the provision of assistance to homeless veterans.

3 (2) The report shall—

4 (A) set forth the number of homeless veterans

5 provided assistance under those programs;

6 (B) describe the cost to the Department of pro7 viding such assistance under those programs; and

8 (C) provide any other information on those pro9 grams and on the provision of such assistance that

10 the Secretary considers appropriate.

11 (b) BI-ANNUAL REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall

12 include in the report submitted under subsection (a)(1)

13 in 1995, and every two years thereafter, an evaluation of

14 the effectiveness of the programs of the Department in

15 providing assistance to homeless veterans.

16 (c) CONFORMING REPEAL.—Section 10 of Public

17 Law 102–590 (106 Stat. 5141; 37 U.S.C. 7721 note) is

18 repealed.

19 SEC. 1002. REPORT ON ASSESSMENT AND PLANS FOR RE20 SPONSE TO NEEDS OF HOMELESS VETERANS.

21 (a) UPDATE OF ASSESSMENT.—Subsection (b) of

22 section 107 of the Veterans’ Medical Programs Amend23 ments of 1992 (Public Law 102–405; 106 Stat. 1977; 38

24 U.S.C. 527 note) is amended by adding at the end the

25 following new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(6) The Secretary shall require that the directors

2 referred to in paragraph (1) update the assessment re3 quired under that paragraph during each of 1995, 1996,

4 and 1997.’’.

5 (b) REPORTS ON ASSESSMENTS AND PLAN.—Sub6 section (i) of such section (106 Stat. 1978) is amended—

7 (1) by striking out ‘‘REPORT.—’’ and inserting

8 in lieu thereof ‘‘REPORTS.—(1)’’; and

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

10 ‘‘(2) Not later than December 31, 1994, the Sec11 retary shall submit to such committees a report that—

12 ‘‘(A) describes the results of the assessment

13 carried out under subsection (b);

14 ‘‘(B) sets forth the lists developed under para15 graph (1) of subsection (c); and

16 ‘‘(C) describes the progress, if any, made by the

17 directors of the medical centers and the directors of

18 the benefits offices referred to in such subsection (c)

19 in developing the plan referred to in paragraph (2)

20 of such subsection (c).

21 ‘‘(3) Not later than December 31 of each of 1995,

22 1996, and 1997, the Secretary shall submit to such com23 mittees a report that describes the update to the assess24 ment that is carried out under subsection (b)(6) in the

25 year preceding the report.’’.
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1 SEC. 1003. INCREASE IN NUMBER OF DEMONSTRATION

2 PROGRAMS UNDER HOMELESS VETERANS

3 COMPREHENSIVE SERVICE PROGRAMS ACT

4 OF 1992.

5 Section 2(b) of the Homeless Veterans Comprehen6 sive Service Programs Act of 1992 (38 U.S.C. 7721 note)

7 is amended in the first sentence by striking out ‘‘four’’

8 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘eight’’.

9 SEC. 1004. REMOVAL OF FUNDING REQUIREMENT OF

10 HOMELESS VETERANS COMPREHENSIVE

11 SERVICE PROGRAMS ACT OF 1992.

12 Section 12 of the Homeless Veterans Comprehensive

13 Service Programs Act of 1992 (38 U.S.C. 7721 note) is

14 amended by striking out the second sentence.

15 SEC. 1005. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

16 It is the sense of Congress that—

17 (1) of the funds appropriated for any fiscal year

18 to support Federal programs which are designed to

19 assist homeless individuals, a share more closely ap20 proximating the proportion of the population of

21 homeless individuals who are veterans should be ap22 propriated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for

23 programs to assist homeless veterans that are ad24 ministered by that Secretary;

25 (2) of the Federal grants made available to as26 sist community organizations that assist homeless
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1 individuals, a share of such grants more closely ap2 proximating the proportion of the population of

3 homeless individuals who are veterans should be pro4 vided to community organizations that provide as5 sistance primarily to homeless veterans; and

6 (3) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should

7 take such actions as are necessary to ensure that

8 Federal agencies that provide assistance, either di9 rectly or indirectly, to homeless individuals, includ10 ing homeless veterans, are aware of and encouraged

11 to make appropriate referrals to facilities of the De12 partment of Veterans Affairs for benefits and serv13 ices, such as health care, substance abuse treatment,

14 counseling, and income assistance.

15 TITLE XI—REDUCTIONS IN DE16 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AF17 FAIRS PERSONNEL

18 SEC. 1101. FINDINGS.

19 Congress makes the following findings:

20 (1) Under proposals for national health care re21 form, the Department of Veterans Affairs will be re22 quired to provide health care services to veterans on

23 a competitive basis with other health care providers.

24 (2) The elimination of positions from the De25 partment that the Office of Management and Budg-
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1 et has scheduled to occur in fiscal years 1995

2 through 1999 would prevent the Department from

3 meeting the responsibilities of the Department to

4 provide health care to veterans under law and from

5 maintaining the quality of health care that is cur6 rently provided to veterans.

7 SEC. 1102. REQUIREMENT FOR MINIMUM NUMBER OF

8 FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT POSITIONS.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 7 is amended by adding

10 at the end the following new section:

11 ‘‘§ 712. Full-time equivalent positions: limitation on

12 reduction

13 ‘‘(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the

14 number of full-time equivalent positions in the Depart15 ment of Veterans Affairs during the period beginning on

16 the date of the enactment of this section and ending on

17 September 30, 1999, may not (except as provided in sub18 section (c)) be less than 224,377.

19 ‘‘(b) In determining the number of full-time equiva20 lent positions in the Department of Veterans Affairs dur21 ing a fiscal year for purposes of ensuring under section

22 5(b) of the Federal Workforce Restructuring Act of 1994

23 (Public Law 103–226; 108 Stat. 115; 5 U.S.C. 3101 note)

24 that the total number of full-time equivalent positions in

25 all agencies of the Federal Government during a fiscal
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1 year covered by that section does not exceed the limit pre2 scribed for that fiscal year under that section, the total

3 number of full-time equivalent positions in the Depart4 ment of Veterans Affairs during that fiscal year shall be

5 the number equal to—

6 ‘‘(1) the number of such positions in the De7 partment during that fiscal year, reduced by

8 ‘‘(2) the sum of—

9 ‘‘(A) the number of such positions in the

10 Department during that fiscal year that are

11 filled by employees whose salaries and benefits

12 are paid primarily from funds other than appro13 priated funds; and

14 ‘‘(B) the number of such positions held

15 during that fiscal year by persons involved in

16 medical care cost recovery activities under sec17 tion 1729 of this title.

18 ‘‘(c) The Secretary shall not be required to make a

19 reduction in the number of full-time equivalent positions

20 in the Department unless such reduction—

21 ‘‘(1) is necessary due to a reduction in funds

22 available to the Department; or

23 ‘‘(2) is required under a law that is enacted

24 after the date of the enactment of this section and

25 that refers specifically to this section.
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1 ‘‘(d) The Secretary shall submit to the Committees

2 on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Rep3 resentatives an annual report, through the year 2000, on

4 the number and type of full-time equivalent positions in

5 the Department that are reduced under this section. The

6 report shall include a justification for the reductions and

7 shall be submitted with the materials provided in support

8 of the budget for the Department contained in the Presi9 dent’s budget submitted to Congress for a fiscal year pur10 suant to section 1105 of title 31.’’.

11 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

12 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding

13 at the end the following new item:

‘‘712. Full-time equivalent positions: limitation on reduction.’’.

14 SEC. 1103. ENHANCED AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT FOR NEC15 ESSARY SERVICES.

16 Section 8110(c) is amended by striking out para17 graph (7) and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

18 ‘‘(7) Paragraphs (1) through (6) shall not be in effect

19 during fiscal years 1995 through 1999.

20 ‘‘(8) During the period covered by paragraph (7),

21 whenever an activity at a Department health-care facility

22 is converted from performance by Federal employees to

23 performance by employees of a contractor of the Govern24 ment, the Secretary shall—
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1 ‘‘(A) require in the contract for the perform2 ance of such activity that the contractor, in hiring

3 employees for the performance of the contract, give

4 priority to former employees of the Department who

5 have been displaced by the award of the contract;

6 and

7 ‘‘(B) provide to such former employees of the

8 Department all possible assistance in obtaining other

9 Federal employment or entrance into job training

10 and retraining programs.

11 ‘‘(9) The Secretary shall include in the Secretary’s

12 annual report to Congress under section 529 of this title,

13 for each fiscal year covered by paragraph (7), a report

14 on the use during the year covered by the report of con15 tracting-out authority made available by reason of para16 graph (7). The Secretary shall include in each such report

17 a description of each use of such authority, together with

18 the rationale for the use of such authority and the effect

19 of the use of such authority on patient care and on em20 ployees of the Department.’’.

21 SEC. 1104. STUDY.

22 (a) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of Veterans Af23 fairs shall enter into an agreement with an appropriate

24 non-Federal entity under which the entity shall carry out

25 a study of the feasibility and advisability of alternative or-
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1 ganizational structures, such as the establishment of a

2 wholly-owned Government corporation or a Government3 sponsored enterprise, for the effective provision of health

4 care services to veterans.

5 (b) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—The Secretary shall

6 submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen7 ate and House of Representatives a report on the study

8 required under subsection (a). The report shall be submit9 ted not later than one year after the date of the enactment

10 of this Act.

11 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS.—There is hereby au12 thorized to be appropriated for the Department of Veter13 ans Affairs the sum of $1,000,000 for the purposes of car14 rying out the study required under subsection (a).

15 TITLE XII—TECHNICAL AND

16 CLERICAL AMENDMENTS

17 SEC. 1201. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 38, UNITED STATES

18 CODE.

19 (a) REFERENCES TO ‘‘SECRETARY’’ AND ‘‘DEPART20 MENT’’.—Title 38, United States Code, is amended as fol21 lows:

22 (1) Paragraph (1) of section 101 is amended to

23 read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(1) The terms ‘Secretary’ and ‘Department’ mean

2 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Department of

3 Veterans Affairs, respectively.’’.

4 (2) Section 1532(c) is amended by striking out

5 ‘‘Secretary’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Veterans’

6 Administration’’.

7 (3) Section 3745(a) is amended by striking out

8 ‘‘Secretary’’ after ‘‘consult with the’’ and inserting

9 in lieu thereof ‘‘Administrator’’.

10 (4) Section 4102A(e) is amended by striking

11 out ‘‘Regional Secretary’’ both places it appears and

12 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Regional Administrator’’.

13 (5) Section 4110(d)(9) is amended by striking

14 out ‘‘Secretary of the Small Business Administra15 tion’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Administrator of

16 the Small Business Administration’’.

17 (b) REFERENCES TO DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE

18 AND SURGERY.—

19 (1) The following sections of title 38, United

20 States Code, are amended by striking out ‘‘Depart21 ment of Medicine and Surgery’’ each place it ap22 pears and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Veterans Health

23 Administration’’: sections 3120(a), 3120(f),

24 3121(a)(3), 7603(a), 7603(c)(1)(B), 7604(1)(B),

25 7604(2)(D), 7612(c)(1)(B), 7615, 7616(b)(2),
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1 7616(c), 7622(b)(1), 7622(c)(2)(A), 7623(b),

2 7635(a)(1), 7635(a)(2), and 8110(a).

3 (2) Section 7622(c)(2)(B) of such title is

4 amended by striking out ‘‘such Department’’ and

5 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘the Veterans Health

6 Administration’’.

7 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO CON8 VERSION OF POSITIONS OF CHIEF MEDICAL DIRECTOR

9 AND CHIEF BENEFITS DIRECTOR TO UNDER SECRETARY

10 POSITIONS.—Title 38, United States Code, is amended as

11 follows:

12 (1) Section 305 is amended—

13 (A) in subsection (a)(1), 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 Medi20 cal Director of the Veterans’ Administration)’’.

21 (2) Section 306 is amended—

22 (A) in subsection (a), by striking out ‘‘a

23 Under Secretary’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

24 ‘‘an Under Secretary’’; and
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1 (B) in subsection (d)(2)(F), by striking out

2 ‘‘Under Secretary’’ the second place it appears

3 and all that follows through the closing paren4 thesis and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Chief Bene5 fits Director of the Veterans’ Administration)’’.

6 (3) Section 7306 is amended—

7 (A) in subsection (a)—

8 (i) in paragraph (3), by striking out

9 ‘‘Assistant Chief Medical Directors’’ and

10 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Assistant Under

11 Secretaries for Health’’;

12 (ii) by redesignating the last three

13 paragraphs as paragraphs (8), (7), and (9)

14 respectively;

15 (iii) by reversing the order in which

16 the penultimate and antepenultimate para17 graphs appear; and

18 (iv) in paragraph (8), as so redesig19 nated, by striking out ‘‘Chief Medical Di20 rector’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

21 ‘‘Under Secretary for Health’’;

22 (B) in subsection (b), by striking out ‘‘As23 sistant Chief Medical Directors’’ in the matter

24 preceding paragraph (1) and inserting in lieu
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1 thereof ‘‘Assistant Under Secretaries for

2 Health’’; and

3 (C) in subsection (c), by striking out ‘‘and

4 (7)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘and (8)’’.

5 (4) Section 7314(d) is amended—

6 (A) in paragraph (1)—

7 (i) by striking out ‘‘the Chief Medical

8 Director and the Secretary to carry out’’

9 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘the Secretary

10 and the Under Secretary for Health in car11 rying out’’; and

12 (ii) by striking out ‘‘the Assistant

13 Chief Medical Director described in section

14 7306(b)(3)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

15 ‘‘the Assistant Under Secretary for Health

16 described in section 7306(b)(3)’’; and

17 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking out ‘‘As18 sistant Chief Medical Director’’ both places it

19 appears and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Assistant

20 Under Secretary’’.

21 (5) Section 7318 is amended by striking out

22 ‘‘Chief Medical Director’’ each place it appears and

23 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Under Secretary for

24 Health’’.
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1 (6) Section 7440(1) is amended by striking out

2 ‘‘Chief Medical Director’s’’ and inserting in lieu

3 thereof ‘‘Under Secretary for Health’s’’.

4 (7) Section 7451(g)(1) is amended by striking

5 out ‘‘Chief Medical Director’s’’ and inserting in lieu

6 thereof ‘‘Under Secretary for Health’s’’.

7 (d) CROSS REFERENCE AMENDMENTS TO PROVI8 SIONS OF TITLE 38.—Title 38, United States Code, is

9 amended as follows:

10 (1) Section 115 is amended by striking out

11 ‘‘sections 230’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘sec12 tions 314, 315, 316,’’.

13 (2) Section 1710(f)(3)(E) is amended by strik14 ing out ‘‘section 1712(f)’’ and ‘‘section 1712(f)(4)’’

15 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section 1712(a)’’ and ‘‘sec16 tion 1712(f)’’, respectively.

17 (3) Section 1712 is amended—

18 (A) in subsection (i)(5), by striking out

19 ‘‘section 1722(a)(1)(C)’’ and inserting in lieu

20 thereof ‘‘section 1722(a)(3)’’; and

21 (B) in subsection (j), by striking out ‘‘Sec22 tion 4116’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Sec23 tion 7316’’.
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1 (4) Section 3018A(d)(3) is amended by striking

2 out ‘‘section 3015(e)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

3 ‘‘section 3015(f)’’.

4 (5) Section 3018B(d)(3) is amended by striking

5 out ‘‘section 3015(e)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

6 ‘‘section 3015(f)’’.

7 (6) Section 3032(f)(3) is amended by striking

8 out ‘‘(c), or (d)(1)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

9 ‘‘(d), or (e)(1)’’.

10 (7) Section 3035(b) is amended—

11 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking out ‘‘sec12 tion 3015(c)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘sec13 tion 3015(d)’’; and

14 (B) in paragraph (3)(C), by striking out

15 ‘‘section 3015(e)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

16 ‘‘section 3015(f)’’.

17 (8) Section 3103(b)(3) is amended by striking

18 out ‘‘section 3102(1)(A)’’ and inserting in lieu there19 of ‘‘section 3102(1)(A)(i)’’.

20 (9) Section 3106(a) is amended by striking out

21 ‘‘section 3102(1)(A) or (B)’’ and inserting in lieu

22 thereof ‘‘clause (i) or (ii) of section 3102(1)(A)’’.

23 (10) Section 3113(a) is amended by striking

24 out ‘‘section 3102(1)(B) and (2)’’ and inserting in
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1 lieu thereof ‘‘subparagraphs (A)(ii) and (B) of sec2 tion 3102(1)’’.

3 (11) Section 3120(b) is amended by striking

4 out ‘‘section 3012(1)(A)’’ and inserting in lieu there5 of ‘‘section 3102(1)(A)(i)’’.

6 (12) Section 3241(c) is amended by striking

7 out ‘‘1663,’’.

8 (13) Section 3735(a)(1)(A) is amended by

9 striking out ‘‘section 3402’’ and inserting in lieu

10 thereof ‘‘section 5902’’.

11 (14) Section 4103(c)(2) is amended by striking

12 out ‘‘subchapter IV of chapter 3’’ and inserting in

13 lieu thereof ‘‘subchapter II of chapter 77’’.

14 (15) Section 5104(a) is amended by striking

15 out ‘‘section 211(a)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

16 ‘‘section 511’’.

17 (16) Section 8103(d)(6)(A) is amended by

18 striking out ‘‘section 230(c)’’ and inserting in lieu

19 thereof ‘‘section 316’’.

20 (17) Section 8110(c)(3)(B) is amended by

21 striking out ‘‘section 213 or 4117’’ and inserting in

22 lieu thereof ‘‘section 513 or 7409’’.

23 (18) Section 8135(a)(3) is amended by striking

24 out ‘‘section 8134(2)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

25 ‘‘section 8134(a)(2)’’.
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1 (19) Section 8155(a) is amended by striking

2 out ‘‘section 4112’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

3 ‘‘section 7312’’.

4 (20) Section 8201(c) is amended by striking

5 out ‘‘section 4112(a)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

6 ‘‘section 7312(a)’’.

7 (e) PUNCTUATION, CAPITALIZATION, SPELLING,

8 ETC.—Title 38, United States Code, is amended as

9 follows:

10 (1) Section 111(b)(3)(B) is amended by strik11 ing out ‘‘the Department facility’’ and inserting in

12 lieu thereof ‘‘a Department facility’’.

13 (2) Sections 305(d)(2)(F) and 306(d)(2)(F) are

14 amended by striking out ‘‘Commission’’ and insert15 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘commission’’.

16 (3) Section 312(a) is amended by striking out

17 ‘‘(5 U.S.C. App. 3)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

18 ‘‘(5 U.S.C. App.)’’.

19 (4) Section 317(b)(2) is amended by striking

20 out ‘‘provided, by the’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

21 ‘‘provided by, the’’.

22 (5) Section 711(d) is amended by striking out

23 ‘‘Committees’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘commit24 tees’’.
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1 (6) Section 1116(a)(1)(B) is amended by strik2 ing out ‘‘(1)’’ and ‘‘(2)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

3 ‘‘(i)’’ and ‘‘(ii)’’, respectively.

4 (7) Section 1722A(a)(1) is amended by striking

5 out the closing parenthesis after ‘‘veteran’’ in the

6 first sentence.

7 (8) Section 1969(e) is amended—

8 (A) by striking out ‘‘sections 1971 (a) and

9 (c)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘subsections

10 (a) and (c) of section 1971’’; and

11 (B) by striking out ‘‘sections 1971 (d) and

12 (e)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘subsections

13 (d) and (e) of section 1971’’.

14 (9) Section 1977(f) is amended by striking out

15 ‘‘sections 1971 (d) and (e)’’ and inserting in lieu

16 thereof ‘‘subsections (d) and (e) of section 1971’’.

17 (10) Section 3011(f)(1) is amended by striking

18 out ‘‘whose length’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

19 ‘‘the length of which’’.

20 (11) Section 3018B(d) is amended—

21 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking out

22 ‘‘(a)(2)(D) of this subsection’’ and inserting in

23 lieu thereof ‘‘(a)(2)(D) of this section’’; and

24 (B) in paragraph (3)—
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1 (i) by striking out ‘‘such Account’’

2 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘such ac3 count’’; and

4 (ii) by striking out ‘‘this chapter’’ and

5 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘this title’’.

6 (12) Section 3688(a)(6) is amended by insert7 ing a comma after ‘‘3241(a)(2)’’.

8 (13) Section 3706 is amended by striking out

9 ‘‘of this chapter’’ the second and third places it ap10 pears and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘of this title’’.

11 (14) Section 3712 is amended—

12 (A) in subsection (c)(3)—

13 (i) by inserting ‘‘of’’ in subparagraph

14 (D) after ‘‘subparagraph (B)’’; and

15 (ii) by striking out ‘‘of this sub16 section’’ in subparagraph (E) and inserting

17 in lieu thereof ‘‘of this paragraph’’; and

18 (B) in subsection (m), by striking out

19 ‘‘section 3704(d) and section 3721 of this chap20 ter’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘sections

21 3704(d) and 3721 of this title’’.

22 (15) Section 3713(b) is amended in the last

23 sentence by striking out ‘‘subsection 5302(b) of this

24 title, if eligible thereunder’’ and inserting in lieu
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1 thereof ‘‘section 5302(b) of this title, if the veteran

2 is eligible for relief under that section’’.

3 (16) Section 5702 is amended—

4 (A) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘Any person

5 desiring’’;

6 (B) by striking out ‘‘custody of’’ and all

7 that follows through ‘‘stating’’ and inserting in

8 lieu thereof ‘‘custody of the Secretary that may

9 be disclosed under section 5701 of this title

10 must submit to the Secretary an application in

11 writing for such copy. The application shall

12 state’’; and

13 (C) in subsection (c), by striking out ‘‘is

14 authorized to fix’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

15 ‘‘may establish’’.

16 (17) Section 6101(a) is amended by inserting a

17 comma after ‘‘title 18’’.

18 (18) Section 6103(d)(1) is amended in the sec19 ond sentence—

20 (A) by striking out ‘‘(a)’’ and ‘‘(b)’’ and

21 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘(A)’’ and ‘‘(B)’’, re22 spectively; and

23 (B) by striking out ‘‘prior to’’ and insert24 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘before’’.

25 (19) Section 6105(c) is amended—
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1 (A) in the first sentence, by striking out

2 ‘‘clauses (2), (3), or (4) of subsection (b) of this

3 section’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘para4 graph (2), (3), or (4) of subsection (b)’’;

5 (B) in the second sentence, by striking out

6 ‘‘clause (1) of that subsection’’ and inserting in

7 lieu thereof ‘‘paragraph (1) of subsection (b)’’;

8 and

9 (C) by transposing the two sentences of

10 that subsection (as so amended).

11 (20) Section 7312(d) is amended by striking

12 out ‘‘the advisory groups activities’’ and inserting in

13 lieu thereof ‘‘the activities of the advisory group’’.

14 (21) Section 7408(a) is amended by striking

15 out ‘‘civil-service’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘civil

16 service’’.

17 (22) Sections 7433(b)(3)(A) and 7435(b)(3)(A)

18 are amended by striking out ‘‘nation-wide’’ and in19 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘nationwide’’.

20 (23) Section 7451(d)(3)(C)(i)(I) is amended by

21 striking out ‘‘labor market area’’ and inserting in

22 lieu thereof ‘‘labor-market area’’.

23 (24) Section 7453 is amended by striking out

24 ‘‘subsections’’ in subsections (f) and (g) and insert25 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘subsection’’.
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1 (25) Section 7601(a) is amended by striking

2 out the comma at the end of paragraph (1) and in3 serting in lieu thereof a semicolon.

4 (26) Section 7604 is amended by striking out

5 ‘‘subchapters’’ in paragraphs (1)(A), (2)(D), and (5)

6 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘subchapter’’.

7 (27) Section 8126 is amended—

8 (A) in subsection (e)(1)(A), by striking out

9 ‘‘1–year’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘one10 year’’; and

11 (B) in subsection (f)(2), by striking out ‘‘,

12 and’’ and inserting in lieu thereof a period.

13 (f) DATE OF ENACTMENT REFERENCES.—Title 38,

14 United States Code, is amended as follows:

15 (1) Section 1922A(b) is amended by striking

16 out ‘‘insurance not later than’’ and all that follows

17 through ‘‘that the Department’’ and inserting in lieu

18 thereof ‘‘insurance. Such application must be filed

19 not later than (1) October 31, 1993, or (2) the end

20 of the one-year period beginning on the date on

21 which the Secretary’’.

22 (2) Sections 3011(e) and 3012(f) are amended

23 by striking out ‘‘the end of the 24–month period be24 ginning on the date of the enactment of this sub-
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1 section’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘October 28,

2 1994,’’.

3 (3) Section 3018B(a)(2)(A) is amended by

4 striking out ‘‘the date of enactment of this section’’

5 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘October 23, 1992,’’.

6 (4) Section 3702(a)(2)(E) is amended by strik7 ing out ‘‘For the 7–year period beginning on the

8 date of enactment of this subparagraph,’’ and insert9 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘For the period beginning on Oc10 tober 28, 1992, and ending on October 27, 1999,’’.

11 (5) Section 6103(d)(2) is amended by striking

12 out ‘‘the date of enactment of this amendatory Act’’

13 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘June 30, 1972’’.

14 (6) Section 8126 is amended—

15 (A) in subsection (e)(1)(A), by striking out

16 ‘‘30 days after the date of the enactment of this

17 section’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Decem18 ber 4, 1992’’; and

19 (B) in subsection (g), by striking out ‘‘the

20 date of the enactment of this section’’ in para21 graphs (1) and (2) and inserting in lieu thereof

22 ‘‘November 4, 1992’’.

23 (g) OBSOLETE OR EXECUTED PROVISIONS.—Title

24 38, United States Code, is amended as follows:
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1 (1) Section 312(b) is amended by striking out

2 paragraph (3).

3 (2) Section 1524(a)(2) is amended by striking

4 out ‘‘Subject to paragraph (3) of this subsection, if’’

5 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘If’’.

6 (3) Section 4110(c)(1) is amended by striking

7 out ‘‘shall, within 90 days after the date of the en8 actment of this section, appoint’’ and inserting in

9 lieu thereof ‘‘shall appoint’’.

10 (4)(A) Section 5505 is repealed.

11 (B) The table of sections at the beginning of

12 chapter 55 is amended by striking out the item re13 lating to section 5505.

14 (5) Section 7311 is amended by striking out

15 subsections (f) and (g).

16 (6) Section 7453(i)(3) is amended by striking

17 out ‘‘of title 5’’.

18 (7) Section 8110(c) is amended by striking out

19 paragraph (7).

20 (8) Section 8111(b) is amended—

21 (A) in paragraph (2)—

22 (i) by striking out ‘‘During fiscal

23 years 1982 and 1983’’ in the second sen24 tence and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘During

25 odd-numbered fiscal years’’;
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1 (ii) by striking out ‘‘During fiscal year

2 1984’’ in the third sentence and inserting

3 in lieu thereof ‘‘During even-numbered fis4 cal years’’; and

5 (iii) by striking out the fourth sen6 tence; and

7 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking out

8 ‘‘Within nine months of the date of the enact9 ment of this subsection and at such times

10 thereafter as’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘At

11 such times as’’.

12 (h) AMENDMENTS TO HEADINGS AND TABLES OF

13 CONTENTS.—Title 38, United States Code, is amended as

14 follows:

15 (1) The table of chapters before part I and the

16 table of chapters at the beginning of part III are

17 amended by striking out the item relating to chapter

18 42 and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

‘‘42. Employment and Training of Veterans ............................................ 4211’’.

19 (2) The heading of section 2106 is amended by

20 revising each word after the first word so that the

21 initial letter of each such word is lower case.

22 (3) The item relating to subchapter III in the

23 table of sections at the beginning of chapter 73 is

24 amended to read as follows:

‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—PROTECTION OF PATIENT RIGHTS’’.
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1 (4) The heading of section 7458 is amended to

2 read as follows:

3 ‘‘§ 7458. Recruitment and retention bonus pay’’.

4 (5) The heading of chapter 81 is amended by

5 inserting ‘‘ENHANCED-USE’’ before ‘‘LEASES OF

6 REAL’’.

7 (6) The item relating to section 8126 in the

8 table of sections at the beginning of chapter 81 is

9 amended to read as follows:

‘‘8126. Limitation on prices of drugs procured by Department and certain other

Federal agencies.’’.

10 (i) OTHER MISCELLANEOUS CORRECTIONS.—Title

11 38, United States Code, is amended as follows:

12 (1) Section 1718(c)(1) is amended by inserting

13 ‘‘of Veterans Affairs’’ after ‘‘Department’’ in the

14 first sentence.

15 (2) Section 1922(b)(4) is amended by striking

16 out ‘‘Notwithstanding’’ and all that follows through

17 ‘‘title,’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Notwithstand18 ing section 1917 of this title,’’.

19 (3) Section 1969(d)(3) is amended by striking

20 out ‘‘General Operating Expenses, Department’’ and

21 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘General Operating Ex22 penses, Department of Veterans Affairs’’.

23 (4) Section 3018A(a)(1) is amended by striking

24 ‘‘after December 31, 1990,’’ and all that follows
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1 through ‘‘whichever is later,’’ and inserting in lieu

2 thereof ‘‘after February 2, 1991,’’.

3 (5) Section 3121(a)(3) is amended by striking

4 out ‘‘Department of Veterans’ Benefits’’ and insert5 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘Veterans Benefits Administra6 tion’’.

7 (6) Section 3680(a)(C) is amended by striking

8 out ‘‘1 full’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘one full’’.

9 (7) Section 4110(e)(3)(B) is amended—

10 (A) by striking out ‘‘, United States

11 Code,’’; and

12 (B) by striking out ‘‘the Board’’ and in13 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘the advisory commit14 tee’’.

15 (8) Section 5110 is amended by striking out

16 subsection (m).

17 (9) Section 7315(b)(2) is amended by striking

18 out ‘‘Department’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

19 ‘‘Veterans’ Administration’’.

20 (10) Section 8111(f)(6) is amended by inserting

21 ‘‘of Defense’’ after ‘‘the Secretary’’ the second place

22 it appears.

23 (11) Section 8502(d) is amended by striking

24 out ‘‘General Post Fund, National Homes, Depart25 ment,’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘General Post
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1 Fund, National Homes, Department of Veterans

2 Affairs,’’.

3 SEC. 1202. AMENDMENTS TO OTHER LAWS ADMINISTERED

4 BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

5 (a) PUBLIC LAW 102–54.—Effective as of June 13,

6 1991, and as if included in the enactment of Public Law

7 102–54, Public Law 102–54 is amended as follows:

8 (1) Section 13(e) (105 Stat. 275) is amended

9 by striking out ‘‘subsection (b)(10)’’ and inserting in

10 lieu thereof ‘‘subsection (c)(10)’’.

11 (2) Section 15(a)(1)(A) (105 Stat. 289) is

12 amended by inserting ‘‘the first place it appears’’ be13 fore ‘‘in the first sentence’’.

14 (b) PUBLIC LAW 102–83.—Effective as of August 6,

15 1991, and as if included in the enactment of Public Law

16 102–83, section 4(a) of Public Law 102–83 (105 Stat.

17 403) is amended as follows:

18 (1) Paragraph (2)(E) is amended by striking

19 out ‘‘Section 601(4)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

20 ‘‘Section 601(3)’’.

21 (2) Paragraph (4) is amended by adding at the

22 end the following:

23 ‘‘(E) Sections 7314(b)(1) and

24 7315(b)(2).’’.
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1 (c) PUBLIC LAW 102–86.—Section 403(b)(4) of the

2 Veterans’ Benefits Programs Improvement Act of 1991

3 (Public Law 102–86; 105 Stat. 423; 36 U.S.C. 493(b)(4))

4 is amended by striking out ‘‘section 235’’ and inserting

5 in lieu thereof ‘‘section 707’’.

6 (d) PUBLIC LAW 102–547.—Section 10(b)(2) of the

7 Veterans Home Loan Program Amendments of 1992 (106

8 Stat. 3643; 38 U.S.C. 3703 note) is amended by striking

9 out ‘‘paragraph 4’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘para10 graph (4)’’.

11 (e) PUBLIC LAW 102–585.—The Veterans Health

12 Care Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–585) is amended as

13 follows:

14 (1) Section 202 (38 U.S.C. 8111 note) is

15 amended by striking out ‘‘the Chief Medical Direc16 tor’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘the Under Sec17 retary for Health of the Department of Veterans Af18 fairs’’.

19 (2) Section 511(c) (38 U.S.C. 7318 note) is

20 amended by striking out ‘‘Chief Medical Director’’

21 each place it appears and inserting in lieu thereof

22 ‘‘Under Secretary for Health’’.

23 SEC. 1203. AMENDMENTS TO OTHER LAWS.

24 (a) PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT.—The Public

25 Health Service Act is amended as follows:
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1 (1) Section 502(b)(2)(D) (42 U.S.C. 290aa–

2 1(b)(2)(D)) is amended to read as follows:

3 ‘‘(D) the Under Secretary for Health of

4 the Department of Veterans Affairs;’’.

5 (2) Section 542(b)(2) (42 U.S.C. 290dd–

6 1(b)(2)) is amended by striking out ‘‘Chief Medical

7 Director’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Under Sec8 retary for Health’’.

9 (3) Section 2604(b)(2)(A) (42 U.S.C. 300ff–

10 14(b)(2)(A)) is amended by striking out ‘‘Veterans

11 Administration facilities’’ and inserting in lieu there12 of ‘‘Department of Veterans Affairs facilities’’.

13 (b) MISCELLANEOUS DEPARTMENT AND SECRETARY

14 REFERENCES.—Section 5102(c)(3) of title 5, United

15 States Code, is amended by striking out the comma after

16 ‘‘Department of Veterans Affairs’’.

17 (c) MISCELLANEOUS CROSS-REFERENCE CORREC18 TIONS.—

19 (1) Section 1204(a)(1) of title 5, United States

20 Code, is amended by striking out ‘‘section 4323’’

21 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section 4303’’.

22 (2) Section 441(b)(2)(B) of the Job Training

23 Partnership Act (29 U.S.C. 1721(b)(2)(B)) is

24 amended—
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1 (A) by striking out ‘‘subchapter IV of

2 chapter 3’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘sub3 chapter II of chapter 77’’; and

4 (B) by striking out ‘‘sections 612A, 620A,

5 1787, and 2003A’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

6 ‘‘sections 1712A, 1720A, 3687, and 4103A’’.

7 (3) Section 107 of the Local Public Works Cap8 ital Development and Investment Act of 1976 (42

9 U.S.C. 6706) is amended by striking out ‘‘section

10 4211(2)(A)’’ and ‘‘section 2011(1)’’ inserting in lieu

11 thereof ‘‘section 4211(2)’’ and ‘‘section 4211(1)’’,

12 respectively.

13 (4) Section 4(g)(2) of the Employment Act of

14 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1022a(g)(2)) is amended—

15 (A) by striking out ‘‘this subsection’’ and

16 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘this section’’; and

17 (B) by striking out ‘‘section 2011(1) or

18 (2)(A)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section

19 4211(1) or (2)’’.

Passed the House of Representatives October 7,

1994.

Attest:

Clerk.
103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5244

AN ACT

To amend title 38, United States Code, to revise

other purposes.and improve veterans’ benefits programs, and for