103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1908

AN ACT

To provide for a study of the processes and procethe disposition of claims for veterans benefits. dures of the Department of Veterans Affairs for
103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1908

AN ACT

To provide for a study of the processes and procedures

of the Department of Veterans Affairs for the disposition

of claims for veterans benefits.

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 ‘‘Veterans’ Claims Adju5 dication Improvement Act of 1994’’.
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1 TITLE I—STUDY OF CLAIMS

2 ADJUDICATION

3 SEC. 101. STUDY OF SYSTEM OF DEPARTMENT OF VETER4 ANS AFFAIRS FOR DISPOSITION OF CLAIMS

5 FOR VETERANS BENEFITS.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrative Conference of

7 the United States shall carry out a study of the Depart8 ment of Veterans Affairs system for the disposition of

9 claims for veterans benefits. The Administrative Con10 ference shall carry out the study in accordance with this

11 title.

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

13 required under this title shall be to evaluate the Depart14 ment of Veterans Affairs system for the disposition of

15 claims for veterans benefits in order to determine—

16 (1) the efficiency of processes and procedures

17 under the system for the adjudication, resolution, re18 view, and final disposition of claims for veterans

19 benefits and means of increasing such efficiency, in20 cluding the effect of judicial review on such system;

21 (2) means of reducing the number of claims

22 under the system for which final disposition is pend23 ing; and

24 (3) means of enhancing the ability of the De25 partment of Veterans Affairs to dispose of claims
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1 under the system in a prompt and appropriate man2 ner.

3 (c) CONTENTS OF STUDY.—The study of the Depart4 ment of Veterans Affairs system for the disposition of

5 claims for veterans benefits under this title shall include

6 an evaluation and assessment of the following:

7 (1) The historical development of the system,

8 including the effect on such development of the pro9 vision under the Veterans’ Judicial Review Act (divi10 sion A of Public Law 100–687; 102 Stat. 4105) of

11 authority for judicial review of claims disposed of

12 under the system.

13 (2) The preparation and submission of claims

14 by veterans under the system.

15 (3) The processes and procedures under the

16 system for the disposition of claims, including—

17 (A) the scope and nature of the respon18 sibility of the Secretary to assist veterans in the

19 development of claims;

20 (B) the scope and nature of the hearings

21 provided for at each stage in the claims disposi22 tion process under the system (including hear23 ings de novo, hearings before travelling mem24 bers of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, hear25 ings that are expedited for reason of illness or
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1 financial need, and hearings that permit the

2 transmission of evidence or testimony by elec3 tronic means);

4 (C) the scope and nature of the review un5 dertaken with respect to a claim at each stage

6 in the claims disposition process;

7 (D) the number, Federal employment

8 grade, and experience and qualifications re9 quired of the persons undertaking such review

10 at each such stage;

11 (E) the effect on such review of the obliga12 tion of the Secretary to afford claimants with

13 the benefit of the doubt when there is an ap14 proximate balance of positive and negative evi15 dence with respect to a claim;

16 (F) opportunities for the submittal of new

17 evidence; and

18 (G) the availability of alternative means of

19 disposing of claims.

20 (4) The effect on the system of the participa21 tion of attorneys, members of veterans service orga22 nizations, and other advocates on behalf of veterans.

23 (5) The effect on the system of actions taken

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

2 utilization of electronic data management systems.

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

6 of Veterans’ Appeals.

7 (7) 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 (8) 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 (9) 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) CONSULTATION WITH NON-DEPARTMENT ENTI22 TIES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the

23 Administrative Conference of the United States shall,

24 upon request, provide opportunities in the conduct of the

25 study under this title for consultation with appropriate
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1 representatives of veterans service organizations and of

2 other organizations and entities that represent veterans

3 before the Department of Veterans Affairs.

4 (e) COOPERATION OF SECRETARY.—(1) Not later

5 than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,

6 the Secretary shall submit to the Administrative Con7 ference of the United States, and to the Committees on

8 Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representa9 tives, such information as the Chairman of the Adminis10 trative Conference shall determine necessary to carry out

11 the study required under this title.

12 (2) The information referred to in paragraph (1)

13 shall include information on the claims disposed of by the

14 Department of Veterans Affairs during the 5-year period

15 ending on September 30, 1993, including the following:

16 (A) The total number of claims finally disposed

17 of during that period.

18 (B) The number of claims finally disposed of

19 during each fiscal year of that period.

20 (C) The number of claims referred to in sub21 paragraph (A) that were allowed by the Secretary

22 solely on the basis of information contained in the

23 initial claim for benefits.

24 (D) The number of claims referred to in sub25 paragraph (A) that were allowed by a regional office
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1 of the Department at each of the various stages in

2 the claims disposition process.

3 (E) The number of claims referred to in sub4 paragraph (A) that were allowed by the Board of

5 Veterans’ Appeals.

6 (F) The number of claims referred to in sub7 paragraph (E) that were reopened after a final deci8 sion by the Board of Veterans’ Appeals.

9 (f) REPORTS ON STUDY.—(1) Not later than 1 year

10 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis11 trative Conference of the United States shall submit to

12 the Secretary and to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs

13 of the Senate and House of Representatives a preliminary

14 report on the study required under subsection (c). The re15 port shall contain the preliminary findings and conclusions

16 of the Administrative Conference with respect to the eval17 uation and assessment required under the study.

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

19 Administrative Conference shall submit to the Secretary

20 and to such committees a report on such study. The report

21 shall include the following:

22 (A) The findings and conclusions of the Admin23 istrative Conference, including its findings and con24 clusions with respect to the matters referred to in

25 subsection (c).
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1 (B) The recommendations of the Administrative

2 Conference for means of improving of the Depart3 ment of Veterans Affairs system for the disposition

4 of claims for veterans benefits.

5 (C) Such other information and recommenda6 tions with respect to the system as the Administra7 tive Conference considers appropriate.

8 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

9 authorized to be appropriated $150,000 to the Depart10 ment of Veterans Affairs for payment to the Administra11 tive Conference of the United States under section 1535

12 of title 31, United States Code, of the cost of carrying

13 out the study and report required under this title.

14 (h) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this title:

15 (1) The term ‘‘Administrative Conference of the

16 United States’’ means the Administrative Conference

17 provided for under subchapter V of chapter 5 of title

18 5, United States Code.

19 (2) The term ‘‘Department of Veterans Affairs

20 system for the disposition of claims for veterans ben21 efits’’ means the processes and procedures of the

22 Department of Veterans Affairs for the adjudication,

23 resolution, review, and final disposition of claims for

24 benefits under the laws administered by the Sec25 retary.
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1 (3) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

2 of Veterans Affairs.

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

4 means any organization approved by the Secretary

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

6 Code.

7 TITLE II—IMPROVEMENTS TO

8 CLAIMS ADJUDICATION

9 SEC. 201. ELIMINATION OF REQUIREMENT FOR ANNUAL IN10 COME QUESTIONNAIRES.

11 Section 1506 of title 38, United States Code, is

12 amended—

13 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking out ‘‘shall’’

14 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘may’’; and

15 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking out ‘‘file a re16 vised report’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘notify

17 the Secretary’’.

18 SEC. 202. DOCUMENTS TO BE ACCEPTED AS PROOF OF RE19 LATIONSHIPS.

20 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Sec21 retary of Veterans Affairs shall accept from a claimant

22 a photocopy of an appropriate document as proof of the

23 existence of a marriage, the dissolution of a marriage, the

24 birth of a child, or the death of any family member for

25 the purpose of acting on such individual’s claim for bene-
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1 fits under any law administered by the Secretary. The Sec2 retary may require the submission of additional docu3 mentation in support of any document submitted pursuant

4 to this section if the document on its face raises a question

5 as to its validity, or there is reasonable indication, in the

6 document or otherwise, of fraud or misrepresentation.

7 SEC. 203. ACCEPTANCE OF PRIVATE PHYSICIAN EXAMINA8 TIONS.

9 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for pur10 poses of establishing a claim for disability compensation

11 under chapter 11 of title 38, United States Code, or a

12 claim for pension under chapter 15 of such title, a medical

13 examination report of a private physician provided by a

14 claimant in support of a claim for benefits may be accept15 ed without confirmation by an examination by a physician

16 employed by the Veterans Health Administration if such

17 report contains sufficient clinical data to support the diag18 nosis of a disability or to provide a reliable basis for an

19 evaluation of the degree of any such disability.

20 SEC. 204. TRANSFER OF MILITARY SERVICE MEDICAL

21 RECORDS.

22 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact23 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall

24 submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen25 ate and House of Representatives a report setting forth
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1 the status of an agreement between the Secretary and the

2 Secretary of Defense to provide for the immediate transfer

3 from the Department of Defense to the Department of

4 Veterans Affairs of the medical records of members of the

5 Armed Forces upon the separation of such members from

6 active duty.

7 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS

8 SEC. 301. SERVICE CONNECTION FOR CERTAIN DISABIL9 ITIES RELATING TO EXPOSURE TO IONIZING

10 RADIATION.

11 Section 5 of the Veterans’ Dioxin and Radiation Ex12 posure Compensation Standards Act (Public Law 98–542;

13 98 Stat. 2725; 38 U.S.C. 1154 note) is amended by add14 ing at the end the following new subsection:

15 ‘‘(d) The regulations prescribed under this section

16 may not prohibit, or be construed to prohibit, a veteran

17 from establishing pursuant to section 1110 or 1131 of title

18 38, United States Code, service connection for a disease

19 or disability that the veteran claims to be the result of

20 the veteran’s exposure to ionizing radiation during a pe21 riod of service referred to in subsection (a)(1), notwith22 standing that such regulations do not specify that the dis23 ease or disability is a radiogenic disease.’’.
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1 SEC. 302. ADJUDICATION AND RESOLUTION OF CERTAIN

2 CLAIMS RELATING TO MEDICAL MAL3 PRACTICE.

4 (a) ADJUDICATION AND RESOLUTION OF CLAIMS.—

5 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall—

6 (1) take appropriate actions to determine

7 whether the injury (or aggravation of an injury) of

8 any veteran as the result of the treatment of the vet9 eran was the result of medical malpractice on the

10 part of the Department of Veterans Affairs (and not

11 of the veteran’s own willful misconduct); and

12 (2) in the case of any injury so determined,

13 provide appropriate compensation to the veteran in

14 accordance with section 1151 of title 38, United

15 States Code.

16 (b) STATEMENT OF INTENT AND CONSTRUCTION.—

17 Congress enacts the requirement set forth in subsection

18 (a) in order to ensure the adjudication and resolution of

19 certain claims following the decision in Gardner v.

20 Derwinski, 1 Vet.App. 584 (1991), aff’d, sub nom. Brown

21 v. Gardner, 5 F.3d 1456 (Fed. Cir. 1993), cert. granted,

22 62 U.S.L.W. 3657 (U.S. Apr. 4, 1994) (No. 93–1128).

23 The requirement may not be construed as an expression

24 of Congressional intent to limit the claims subject to adju25 dication under section 1151 of title 38, United States
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1 Code, to claims related to injuries resulting from medical

2 malpractice.

3 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

4 (1) The term ‘‘treatment’’, in the case of a vet5 eran, means any examination, hospitalization, medi6 cal or surgical treatment, or course of vocational re7 habilitation under chapter 31 of title 38, United

8 States Code, that is provided to the veteran by the

9 Department of Veterans Affairs.

10 (2) The term ‘‘medical malpractice’’ means any

11 carelessness, negligence, error in judgment, lack of

12 proper medical skill, or similar instance of indicated

13 fault in the treatment of a veteran.

Passed the Senate August 19 (legislative day, August 18), 1994.

Attest:

Secretary.
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