II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1271 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide improved benefits for 

veterans who are former prisoners of war. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 20, 2005 

Mrs. MURRAY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide improved 

benefits for veterans who are former prisoners of war. 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prisoner of War Bene5 fits Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. IMPROVED VETERANS’ BENEFITS FOR FORMER 

7 PRISONERS OF WAR. 

8 (a) REPEAL OF MINIMUM INTERNMENT PERIOD FOR

9 PRESUMPTION OF SERVICE CONNECTION; ADDITIONAL
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1 SERVICE CONNECTED DISEASES.—Section 1112(b) of 

2 title 38, United States Code, is amended— 

3 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

4 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘; 

5 and’’ and inserting a period; 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘a former prisoner of 

7 war—’’ and all that follows through ‘‘a disease 

8 specified in paragraph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘a 

9 former prisoner of war, a disease specified in 

10 paragraph (2) or prescribed by the Secretary 

11 under subsection (d)’’; and 

12 (C) by striking subparagraph (B); and 

13 (2) in paragraph (3)— 

14 (A) by striking the matter preceding sub15 paragraph (A); 

16 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

17 through (K) as subparagraphs (F) through (P), 

18 respectively, of paragraph (2); and 

19 (C) by adding after subparagraph (P), as 

20 redesignated, the following: 

21 ‘‘(Q) Heart disease. 

22 ‘‘(R) Stroke. 

23 ‘‘(S) Diabetes (type 2). 

24 ‘‘(T) Osteoporosis.’’. 
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1 (b) AUTHORITY FOR ADMINISTRATIVE DETERMINA2 TION OF PRESUMPTION OF SERVICE CONNECTION FOR

3 ADDITIONAL DISEASES.—Section 1112 of title 38, United 

4 States Code, as amended by subsection (a), is further 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(d)(1) Subsection (b) applies with respect to any 

7 disease (in addition to those specified in that subsection) 

8 that the Secretary determines, in regulations prescribed 

9 under this subsection, warrants a presumption of service 

10 connection because of a positive association with the expe11 rience of being a prisoner of war. 

12 ‘‘(2)(A) If the Secretary determines, on the basis of 

13 sound medical and scientific evidence, that a positive asso14 ciation exists between the experience of being a prisoner 

15 of war and the occurrence of a disease in humans, the 

16 Secretary shall issue regulations providing that a pre17 sumption of service connection is warranted for that dis18 ease for the purposes of this section. 

19 ‘‘(B) In making determinations under subparagraph 

20 (A), the Secretary shall consider— 

21 ‘‘(i) recommendations received from the Advi22 sory Committee on Former Prisoners of War, estab23 lished under section 541 of this title; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) any other relevant medical and scientific 

25 information and analyses resulting from studies that 
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1 are statistically significant, capable of replication, 

2 and able to withstand peer review. 

3 ‘‘(C) For purposes of this subsection, a positive asso4 ciation exists between the occurrence of a disease in hu5 mans and the experience of being a prisoner of war if the 

6 credible evidence for the association is equal to or out7 weighs the credible evidence against the association. 

8 ‘‘(3)(A) Not later than 60 days after the date on 

9 which the Secretary receives a recommendation from the 

10 Advisory Committee on Former Prisoners of War that a 

11 presumption of service connection be established under 

12 this subsection for any disease, the Secretary shall deter13 mine whether a presumption of service connection under 

14 this subsection is warranted for that disease. 

15 ‘‘(B) Not later than 60 days after determining that 

16 a presumption of service connection is warranted, the Sec17 retary shall issue proposed regulations setting forth the 

18 Secretary’s determination. 

19 ‘‘(C) Not later than 60 days after determining that 

20 a presumption of service connection is not warranted, the 

21 Secretary shall publish notice of that determination in the 

22 Federal Register. The notice shall include an explanation 

23 of the scientific basis for that determination. If the disease 

24 is already included in regulations providing for a presump25 tion of service connection, the Secretary, not later than 
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1 60 days after publication of such notice, shall issue pro2 posed regulations removing the presumption for the dis3 ease. 

4 ‘‘(D) Not later than 90 days after the date on which 

5 the Secretary issues proposed regulations under this sub6 section, the Secretary shall issue final regulations, which 

7 shall be effective as of the date of issuance. 

8 ‘‘(4) If a disease is removed from regulations pre9 scribed under this section— 

10 ‘‘(A) a veteran who was awarded compensation 

11 for such disease on the basis of a presumption under 

12 subsection (a) before the effective date of the re13 moval shall continue to receive compensation on that 

14 basis; and 

15 ‘‘(B) a survivor of a veteran who was awarded 

16 dependency and indemnity compensation for the 

17 death of the veteran resulting from such disease on 

18 the basis of such presumption shall continue to re19 ceive dependency and indemnity compensation on 

20 such basis. 

21 ‘‘(5) In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary 

22 shall consult with, and consider the views of, the Advisory 

23 Committee on Former Prisoners of War.’’. 

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