II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1289 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to modify the salary and terms 

of judges of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, 

to modify authorities for the recall of retired judges of such court, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 3, 2007 

Mr. CRAIG 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 modify the salary 

and terms of judges of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, to modify authorities for the 

recall of retired judges of such court, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans’ Justice As5 surance Act of 2007’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REPEAL OF TERM LIMITS FOR JUDGES OF THE 

2 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR 

3 VETERANS CLAIMS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7253(c) of title 38, 

5 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(c) TERM OF OFFICE.—(1) Except as provided in 

7 paragraph (2), judges of the Court shall hold office during 

8 good behavior. 

9 ‘‘(2) In the case of an individual who is serving a 

10 term of office as a judge of the Court on the date of the 

11 enactment of the Veterans’ Justice Assurance Act of 

12 2007, such term shall be 15 years. A judge who is nomi13 nated by the President for appointment to an additional 

14 term on the Court without a break in service and whose 

15 term of office expires while that nomination is pending be16 fore the Senate may continue in office for up to 1 year 

17 while that nomination is pending.’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 7296(b)(2) 

19 of such title is amended by striking ‘‘A judge who’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘A judge who was appointed before the date of 

21 the enactment of the Veterans’ Justice Assurance Act of 

22 2007 and who’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. INCREASED SALARY FOR CHIEF JUDGE OF UNITED 

2 STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS 

3 CLAIMS. 

4 Section 7253(e) of title 38, United States Code, is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘Each judge’’; 

7 and 

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

9 paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(2) The annual salary rate under paragraph (1) for 

11 a judge shall be increased by $7,000 during any period 

12 that such judge is serving as chief judge of the Court.’’. 

13 SEC. 4. PROVISIONS RELATING TO RECALL OF RETIRED 

14 JUDGES OF THE UNITED STATES COURT OF 

15 APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS. 

16 (a) ELIMINATION OF LIMIT ON SERVICE OF RETIRED

17 JUDGES WHO VOLUNTARILY SERVE MORE THAN 90 

18 DAYS.—Section 7257(b)(2) of title 38, United States 

19 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘or for more than a total 

20 of 180 days (or the equivalent) during any calendar year’’. 

21 (b) NEW JUDGES RECALLED AFTER RETIREMENT

22 RECEIVE PAY OF CURRENT JUDGES ONLY DURING PERI23 ODS OF RECALL.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 7296(c) of such title 

25 is amended by striking paragraph (1) and inserting 

26 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), in 

2 the case of a judge who retires under subsection (b) of 

3 this section and elects under subsection (d) of this section 

4 to receive retired pay under this subsection, the retired 

5 pay of the judge shall (except as provided in paragraph 

6 (2) of this subsection and section 7257(d)(2) of this title) 

7 be the rate of pay applicable to that judge at the time 

8 of retirement (disregarding any increase in salary provided 

9 in accordance with section 7253(e)(2) of this title). 

10 ‘‘(B) A judge who was appointed before the date of 

11 the enactment of the Veterans’ Justice Assurance Act of 

12 2007 and who retires under subsection (b) of this section 

13 and elects under subsection (d) of this section to receive 

14 retired pay under this subsection shall (except as provided 

15 in paragraph (2) of this subsection) receive retired pay 

16 as follows: 

17 ‘‘(i) In the case of a judge who is a recall-eligi18 ble retired judge under section 7257 of this title or 

19 who was a recall-eligible retired judge under that 

20 section and was removed from recall status under 

21 subsection (b)(4) of that section by reason of dis22 ability, the retired pay of the judge shall be the pay 

23 of a judge of the court. 

24 ‘‘(ii) In the case of a judge who at the time of 

25 retirement did not provide notice under section 7257 


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1 of this title of availability for service in a recalled 

2 status, the retired pay of the judge shall be the rate 

3 of pay applicable to that judge at the time of retire4 ment. 

5 ‘‘(iii) In the case of a judge who was a recall6 eligible retired judge under section 7257 of this title 

7 and was removed from recall status under subsection 

8 (b)(3) of that section, the retired pay of the judge 

9 shall be the pay of the judge at the time of the re10 moval from recall status.’’. 

11 (2) PAY DURING PERIOD OF RECALL.—Section 

12 7257(d) of such title is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(d)(1) The pay of a recall-eligible retired judge to 

14 whom section 7296(c)(1)(B) of this title applies is the pay 

15 specified in that section. 

16 ‘‘(2) A judge who is recalled under this section who 

17 retired under chapter 83 or 84 of title 5 or to whom sec18 tion 7296(c)(1)(A) of this title applies shall be paid, dur19 ing the period for which the judge serves in recall status, 

20 pay at the rate of pay in effect under section 7253(e) of 

21 this title for a judge performing active service, less the 

22 amount of the judge’s annuity under the applicable provi23 sions of chapter 83 or 84 of title 5 or the judge’s annuity 

24 under section 7296(c)(1)(A) of this title, whichever is ap25 plicable.’’. 


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1 (3) NOTICE.—The last sentence of section 

2 7257(a)(1) of such title is amended to read as fol3 lows: ‘‘Such a notice provided by a retired judge to 

4 whom section 7296(c)(1)(B) of this title applies is 

5 irrevocable.’’. 

6 (c) LIMITATION ON INVOLUNTARY RECALLS.—Sec7 tion 7257(b)(3) of such title is amended by adding at the 

8 end the following new sentence: ‘‘This paragraph shall not 

9 apply to— 

10 ‘‘(A) a judge to whom section 7296(c)(1)(A) of 

11 this title applies; or 

12 ‘‘(B) a judge to whom section 7296(c)(1)(B) of 

13 this title applies and who has, in the aggregate, 

14 served at least five years (or the equivalent) of re15 called service on the Court under this section.’’. 

16 (d) ESTABLISHMENT OF CASELOAD THRESHOLDS

17 FOR DETERMINING WHEN TO RECALL RETIRED

18 JUDGES.—Section 7257(b) of such title is amended by 

19 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(5) For purposes of paragraph (1), the chief judge 

21 shall establish guidelines for determining whether recall22 eligible retired judges should be recalled on either a vol23 untary or involuntary basis, taking into account such fac24 tors as the number of active judges, temporary or pro25 longed increases or decreases in caseload, and the comVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:39 May 04, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1289.IS S1289

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1 plexity of the caseload. In establishing such guidelines, the 

2 chief judge shall, to the extent practicable, consult with 

3 the following: 

4 ‘‘(A) Organizations recognized by the Secretary 

5 for the representation of veterans under section 

6 5902 of this title. 

7 ‘‘(B) The bar association of the Court. 

8 ‘‘(C) The Secretary. 

9 ‘‘(D) Such persons or entities the chief judge 

10 considers appropriate.’’. 

11 SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL DISCRETION IN IMPOSITION OF PRAC12 TICE AND REGISTRATION FEES. 

13 Section 7285(a) of title 38, United States Code, is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘reason16 able’’ after ‘‘impose a’’; 

17 (2) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘, except 

18 that such amount may not exceed $30 per year’’; 

19 and 

20 (3) in the third sentence, by inserting ‘‘reason21 able’’ after ‘‘impose a’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORTS ON WORKLOAD OF UNITED 

2 STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS 

3 CLAIMS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 72 of 

5 title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following new section: 

7 ‘‘§ 7288. Annual report 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The chief judge of the Court 

9 shall submit annually to the appropriate committees of 

10 Congress a report summarizing the workload of the Court 

11 for the last fiscal year that ended before the submission 

12 of such report. Such report shall include, with respect to 

13 such fiscal year, the following information: 

14 ‘‘(1) The number of appeals filed. 

15 ‘‘(2) The number of petitions filed. 

16 ‘‘(3) The number of applications filed under 

17 section 2412 of title 28. 

18 ‘‘(4) The number and type of dispositions. 

19 ‘‘(5) The median time from filing to disposition. 

20 ‘‘(6) The number of oral arguments. 

21 ‘‘(7) The number and status of pending appeals 

22 and petitions and of applications described in para23 graph (3). 

24 ‘‘(8) A summary of any service performed by 

25 recalled retired judges during the fiscal year and an 

26 analysis of whether any of the caseload guidelines 


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1 established under section 7257(b)(5) of this title 

2 were met during the fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(b) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE4 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘appropriate committees 

5 of Congress’ means the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

6 of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 

7 the House of Representatives.’’. 

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

9 at the beginning of chapter 72 of such title is amended 

10 by inserting after the item related to section 7287, the 

11 following new item: 

‘‘7288. Annual report.’’. 

12 SEC. 7. REPORT ON EXPANSION OF FACILITIES FOR 

13 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR 

14 VETERANS CLAIMS. 

15 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

16 (1) The United States Court of Appeals for 

17 Veterans Claims is currently located in the District 

18 of Columbia in a commercial office building that is 

19 also occupied by other Federal tenants. 

20 (2) In February 2006, the General Services Ad21 ministration provided Congress with a preliminary 

22 feasibility analysis of a dedicated Veterans Court23 house and Justice Center that would house the 

24 Court and other entities that work with the Court. 


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1 (3) In February 2007, the Court notified Con2 gress that the ‘‘most cost-effective alternative ap3 pears to be leasing substantial additional space in 

4 the current location’’, which would ‘‘require relo5 cating other current government tenants’’ from that 

6 building. 

7 (4) The February 2006 feasibility report of the 

8 General Services Administration does not include an 

9 analysis of whether it would be feasible or desirable 

10 to locate a Veterans Courthouse and Justice Center 

11 at the current location of the Court. 

12 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con13 gress that— 

14 (1) the United States Court of Appeals for Vet15 erans Claims should be provided with appropriate of16 fice space to meet its needs, as well as to provide the 

17 image, security, and stature befitting a court that 

18 provides justice to the veterans of the United States; 

19 and 

20 (2) in providing that space, Congress should 

21 avoid undue disruption, inconvenience, or cost to 

22 other Federal entities. 

23 (c) REPORT.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

25 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the AdVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:39 May 04, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1289.IS S1289

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1 ministrator of General Services shall submit to the 

2 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 

3 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 

4 Representatives a report on the feasibility of— 

5 (A) leasing additional space for the United 

6 States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims 

7 within the building where the Court was located 

8 on the date of the enactment of this Act; and 

9 (B) using the entirety of such building as 

10 a Veterans Courthouse and Justice Center. 

11 (2) CONTENTS.—The report required by para12 graph (1) shall include a detailed analysis of the fol13 lowing: 

14 (A) The impact that the matter analyzed 

15 in accordance with paragraph (1) would have 

16 on Federal tenants of the building used by the 

17 Court. 

18 (B) Whether it would be feasible to relo19 cate such Federal tenants into office space that 

20 offers similar or preferable cost, convenience, 

21 and usable square footage. 

22 (C) If relocation of such Federal tenants is 

23 found to be feasible and desirable, an analysis 

24 of what steps should be taken to convert the 


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1 building into a Veterans Courthouse and Jus2 tice Center and a time line for such conversion. 

3 (3) COMMENT PERIOD.—The Administrator 

4 shall provide an opportunity to such Federal ten5 ants— 

6 (A) before the completion of the report re7 quired by paragraph (1), to comment on the 

8 subject of the report required by such para9 graph; and 

10 (B) before the Administrator submits the 

11 report required by paragraph (1) to the con12 gressional committees specified in such para13 graph, to comment on a draft of such report. 

Æ 


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