II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1064 

To provide for the improvement of the physical evaluation processes applicable 

to members of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 29, 2007 

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

to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To provide for the improvement of the physical evaluation 

processes applicable to members of the Armed Forces, 

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 ‘‘Restoring Disability 

5 Benefits for Injured and Wounded Warriors Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REVIEW AND ACTION ON CERTAIN DETERMINA7 TIONS OF THE PHYSICAL EVALUATION 

8 BOARD. 

9 (a) PANEL FOR REVIEWS.—Not later than 90 days 

10 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 


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1 of Defense shall appoint, from among individuals in the 

2 private sector who are qualified for such purpose, a panel 

3 of individuals to conduct the reviews required by sub4 section (b). 

5 (b) REVIEWS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The panel appointed under 

7 subsection (a) shall— 

8 (A) review— 

9 (i) each case before the Physical Eval10 uation Board of the Department of De11 fense in which such board determined to 

12 discharge, separate, or release a member of 

13 the Armed Forces without assigning a rat14 ing of disability to the member; and 

15 (ii) each case before the Physical 

16 Evaluation Board in which a member of 

17 the Armed Forces appealed the determina18 tion of such board regarding the rating of 

19 disability assigned to the member; 

20 (B) for each case so reviewed— 

21 (i) determine whether or not a liaison 

22 officer was assigned to the member of the 

23 Armed Forces concerned for such case; 

24 and 


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1 (ii) determine whether or not an at2 torney was assigned to the member of the 

3 Armed Forces concerned for such case; 

4 and 

5 (C) for each case so reviewed, determine 

6 whether or not the facts of the case warrant the 

7 re-opening of the case for purposes of assigning 

8 a rating of disability to the member of the 

9 Armed Forces concerned, or increasing a rating 

10 of disability previously assigned the member, as 

11 applicable, for purposes of the receipt of dis12 ability benefits. 

13 (2) COVERED CASES.—The review required by 

14 paragraph (1) shall be performed for each case de15 scribed in that paragraph in which a final deter16 mination was made by a board referred to in that 

17 paragraph during the period beginning on Sep18 tember 11, 2001, and ending on the date of the en19 actment of this Act. 

20 (3) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—The Sec21 retary shall make available to the panel appointed 

22 under subsection (a) such information as the panel 

23 shall require in order to conduct the reviews re24 quired by paragraph (1), including the case files of 

25 the Physical Evaluation Board. 


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1 (4) REPORTS.—Not later than 60 days after 

2 the date of the appointment of the panel required by 

3 subsection (a), and every 60 days thereafter until 

4 the completion of the reviews required by paragraph 

5 (1), the panel shall submit to the Secretary of De6 fense and the Secretary of the military department 

7 concerned a report on each case reviewed under 

8 paragraph (1) during the preceding 60 days, includ9 ing the results of each such review and the deter10 minations required with respect to such case under 

11 subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (1). 

12 (c) RE-EVALUATION OF CASES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the mili14 tary department concerned shall provide for a re15 evaluation by the Physical Evaluation Board of each 

16 case covered by a report under subsection (b)(4) in 

17 which the panel appointed under subsection (a) de18 termined, as specified in subsection (b)(1)(C), that 

19 the fact of such case warrant the re-opening of such 

20 case for purposes of assigning a rating of disability 

21 to the member of the Armed Forces concerned, or 

22 increasing a rating of disability previously assigned 

23 the member, as applicable, for purposes of the re24 ceipt of disability benefits. 


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1 (2) PROHIBITION ON REDUCTION OF RATING OF

2 DISABILITY.—A rating of disability subject to re3 evaluation under paragraph (1) may not be reduced 

4 as a result of the re-evaluation under that para5 graph. 

6 (3) GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES.—The re7 evaluation of cases under paragraph (1) shall be 

8 governed by such guidelines, and follow such proce9 dures, as the Secretary of Defense shall prescribe for 

10 purposes of that paragraph. Such guidelines shall 

11 prohibit a reduction of rating of disability pursuant 

12 to a re-evaluation under that paragraph. Such guide13 lines and procedures shall, to the extent practicable, 

14 apply uniformly across the military departments. 

15 (4) DEADLINE.—The re-evaluation of a case 

16 under paragraph (1) shall be completed not later 

17 than 180 days after the date of the receipt of a re18 port on such case under subsection (b)(4). 

19 (d) CORRECTION OF RECORDS.—If a result of the re20 evaluation of a case under subsection (c), the Physical 

21 Evaluation Board determines to assign a rating of dis22 ability to a member of the Armed Forces, or increase the 

23 rating previously assigned the member, as applicable, the 

24 Secretary of the military department concerned shall cor25 rect the record of the member, with the effective date of 


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1 such correction to be the date of the original determina2 tion under the case by the Physical Evaluation Board re3 garding the disability of the member. 

4 SEC. 3. REVIEW AND ACTION ON DETERMINATIONS ON 

5 BENEFITS UNDER TRAUMATIC 

6 SERVICEMEMBERS GROUP LIFE INSURANCE. 

7 (a) PANEL.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

8 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 

9 shall appoint, from among individuals in the private sector 

10 who are qualified for such purpose, a panel of individuals 

11 to carry out the actions required by subsection (b). 

12 (b) REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF DETERMINA13 TIONS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The panel appointed under 

15 subsection (a) shall— 

16 (A) review— 

17 (i) each case in which a member of 

18 the Armed Forces was denied traumatic 

19 injury protection under section 1980A of 

20 title 38, United States Code, for a quali21 fying loss claimed by the member; and 

22 (ii) each case in which a member of 

23 the Armed Forces appealed a determina24 tion of the amount of traumatic injury pro25 tection awarded the member under that 


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1 section for a qualifying loss claimed by the 

2 member; and 

3 (B) for each case so reviewed, determine 

4 whether or not the facts of the case warrant the 

5 re-opening of the case for purposes of paying 

6 traumatic injury protection to the member of 

7 the Armed Forces concerned, or increasing the 

8 amount of traumatic injury protection pre9 viously paid the member, as applicable, under 

10 that section for a qualifying loss claimed by the 

11 member. 

12 (2) COVERED CASES.—The review required by 

13 paragraph (1) shall be performed for each case de14 scribed in that paragraph in which a final deter15 mination on a claim for a qualifying loss under sec16 tion 1980A of title 38, United States Code, was 

17 made during the period beginning on May 11, 2005, 

18 and ending on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

19 (3) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—The Sec20 retary of Defense shall make available to the panel 

21 appointed under subsection (a) such information as 

22 the panel shall require in order to conduct the re23 views required by paragraph (1). 

24 (4) REPORTS.—Not later than 60 days after 

25 the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 60 


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1 days thereafter until the completion of the reviews 

2 required by paragraph (1), the panel appointed 

3 under subsection (a) shall submit to the Secretary of 

4 Defense a report on each case reviewed under para5 graph (1) during the preceding 60 days, including 

6 the results of each such review and the determina7 tion required with respect to such case under para8 graph (1)(B). 

9 (c) RE-EVALUATION OF CASES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense 

11 shall re-evaluate each case covered by a report under 

12 subsection (b)(4) in which the panel appointed under 

13 subsection (a) determines, as specified in subsection 

14 (b)(1)(B), that the facts of such case warrant the 

15 re-opening of such case for purposes of paying trau16 matic injury protection for the member of the Armed 

17 Forces concerned, or increasing the amount of trau18 matic injury protection previously paid the member, 

19 as applicable, under section 1980A of title 38, 

20 United States Code, for a qualifying loss claimed by 

21 the member. 

22 (2) PROHIBITION ON REDUCTION OF INSUR23 ANCE AWARD.—The amount of insurance awarded 

24 under section 1980A of title 38, United States Code, 

25 in any case subject to re-evaluation under paragraph 


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1 (1) may not be reduced as a result of the re-evalua2 tion under that paragraph. 

3 (3) GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES.—The re4 evaluation of cases under paragraph (1) shall be 

5 governed by such guidelines, and follow such proce6 dures, as the Secretary of Defense shall prescribe for 

7 purposes of that paragraph. Such guidelines and 

8 procedures shall, to the extent practicable, apply 

9 uniformly across the military departments. 

10 (4) DEADLINE.—The reconsideration of a case 

11 under paragraph (1) shall be completed not later 

12 than 180 days after the date of the receipt of a re13 port on such case under subsection (b)(4). 

14 (d) CORRECTION OF RECORDS.—If a result of the re15 consideration of a case under subsection (c), the Secretary 

16 of Defense determines to pay traumatic injury protection 

17 to a member of the Armed Forces, or increase the amount 

18 of traumatic injury protection previously paid the member, 

19 as applicable, under section 1980A of title 38, United 

20 States Code, for a qualifying loss claimed by the member, 

21 the Secretary shall correct the record of the member, with 

22 the effective date of such correction to be the date of the 

23 original determination under the case on the qualifying 

24 loss claimed by the member. 


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1 SEC. 4. ADEQUACY OF ASSIGNMENT OF JUDGE ADVOCATES 

2 TO PHYSICAL EVALUATION BOARD CASES. 

3 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the date 

4 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 

5 shall submit to Congress a report that includes the fol6 lowing: 

7 (1) An assessment whether or not the number 

8 of judge advocates assigned to cases before the 

9 Physical Evaluation Board is adequate to ensure 

10 that— 

11 (A) the judge advocates assigned such 

12 cases bear a reasonable caseload of such cases; 

13 and 

14 (B) the judge advocates assigned such 

15 cases contribute to the efficient and timely dis16 position of such cases by the board. 

17 (2) A recommendation of the number judge ad18 vocates to be assigned to such cases in order to best 

19 achieve each of the objectives set forth under para20 graph (1). 

21 (b) JUDGE ADVOCATE DEFINED.—In this section, 

22 the term ‘‘judge advocate’’ has the meaning given that 

23 term in section 801 of title 10, United States Code (article 

24 1 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice). 


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1 SEC. 5. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORTS ON DISABILITY 

2 CLAIMS PROCESSES. 

3 (a) REPORT ON EFFORTS TO ADDRESS CERTAIN DE4 FICIENCIES IN DISABILITY EVALUATION SYSTEMS OF THE

5 MILITARY DEPARTMENTS.— 

6 (1) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 

7 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

8 Comptroller General of the United States shall sub9 mit to Congress a report setting forth the assess10 ment of the Comptroller of the efforts of the Depart11 ment of Defense to address the deficiencies identi12 fied in the report of the Comptroller General entitled 

13 ‘‘Military Disability System: Improved Oversight 

14 Needed to Ensure Consistent and Timely Outcomes 

15 for Reserve and Active Duty Service Members’’ 

16 (GAO–06–362; March 2006). 

17 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para18 graph (1) shall address the efforts of the Depart19 ment regarding the following: 

20 (A) Harmonizing the procedures and prac21 tices of the military departments under their 

22 disability evaluation systems. 

23 (B) Monitoring the compliance of such dis24 ability evaluation systems with the policies and 

25 guidelines applicable to such systems. 


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1 (C) Improving oversight of such disability 

2 systems by the Disability Advisory Council, in3 cluding— 

4 (i) whether the council has reviewed 

5 the standardized disability rating system to 

6 classify the severity of medical impair7 ments; and 

8 (ii) whether the council has proposed 

9 improvements to or recertification of such 

10 systems. 

11 (D) Improving the collection and proc12 essing of information under such systems. 

13 (E) Improving data entry under such sys14 tems, including decreasing reported error rates 

15 and enhancing training programs for Army 

16 data processors. 

17 (F) Improving oversight of the training for 

18 staff of such systems. 

19 (G) Improving the availability of and ac20 cess to liaison officers to the Physical Evalua21 tion Board of each military department. 

22 (H) Improving utilization of line-of-duty 

23 determinations for members of the Armed 

24 Forces, including members of the regular 


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1 Armed Forces and members of the National 

2 Guard and Reserve. 

3 (I) Improving the quality of care and serv4 ices for wounded or injured members of the Na5 tional Guard and Reserve who are in medical 

6 holdover status and receiving medical treatment 

7 away from their homes and families. 

8 (J) Improving quality assurance mecha9 nisms to ensure that disability determination 

10 under such systems are consistent. 

11 (b) REPORT ON ADEQUACY OF SCHEDULE FOR RAT12 ING DISABILITIES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF13 FAIRS.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the en14 actment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 

15 States shall submit to Congress a report setting forth the 

16 assessment of the Comptroller General of the adequacy of 

17 the schedule for rating disabilities of the Department of 

18 Veterans Affairs in recognizing, and providing for appro19 priate compensation for, disabilities incurred or aggra20 vated in the Global War on Terror, including the following: 

21 (1) Traumatic brain injuries. 

22 (2) Amputations. 

23 (3) Spinal injuries. 

24 (4) Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

25 (5) Hearing loss. 


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1 (c) REPORT ON STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES OF

2 PHYSICAL EVALUATION BOARD.— 

3 (1) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 

4 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

5 Comptroller General of the United States shall sub6 mit to Congress a report setting forth the review 

7 and assessment of the Comptroller General of the 

8 standards and procedures of the Physical Evaluation 

9 Board of the Department of Defense. 

10 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para11 graph (1) shall include the following: 

12 (A) A description and assessment of the 

13 standards and procedures of the Physical Eval14 uation Board of the Department of Defense, in15 cluding standards and procedures relating to— 

16 (i) the qualification and selection of 

17 members of the board; 

18 (ii) the timeliness of proceedings; 

19 (iii) witness participation in pro20 ceedings; 

21 (iv) the participation of liaison officers 

22 in proceedings; 

23 (v) the availability of legal assistance 

24 for members of the Armed Forces seeking 

25 to appeal determinations of the board; and 


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1 (vi) other appropriate board matters. 

2 (B) Recommendations for such improve3 ments to such standards and procedures as the 

4 Comptroller General considers appropriate to 

5 enhance and improve the activities of the Phys6 ical Evaluation Board. 

Æ 


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