H. R. 4864—2
claim. As part of that notice, the Secretary shall indicate which
portion of that information and evidence, if any, is to be provided
by the claimant and which portion, if any, the Secretary, in accord-
ance with section 5103A of this title and any other applicable
provisions of law, will attempt to obtain on behalf of the claimant.
‘‘(b) TIME LIMITATION.—(1) In the case of information or evi-
dence that the claimant is notified under subsection (a) is to be
provided by the claimant, if such information or evidence is not
received by the Secretary within 1 year from the date of such
notification, no benefit may be paid or furnished by reason of
the claimant’s application.
‘‘(2) This subsection shall not apply to any application or claim
for Government life insurance benefits.
‘‘§ 5103A. Duty to assist claimants
‘‘(a) DUTY TO ASSIST.—(1) The Secretary shall make reasonable
efforts to assist a claimant in obtaining evidence necessary to
substantiate the claimant’s claim for a benefit under a law adminis-
tered by the Secretary.
‘‘(2) The Secretary is not required to provide assistance to
a claimant under this section if no reasonable possibility exists
that such assistance would aid in substantiating the claim.
‘‘(3) The Secretary may defer providing assistance under this
section pending the submission by the claimant of essential informa-
tion missing from the claimant’s application.
‘‘(b) ASSISTANCE IN OBTAINING RECORDS.—(1) As part of the
assistance provided under subsection (a), the Secretary shall make
reasonable efforts to obtain relevant records (including private
records) that the claimant adequately identifies to the Secretary
and authorizes the Secretary to obtain.
‘‘(2) Whenever the Secretary, after making such reasonable
efforts, is unable to obtain all of the relevant records sought, the
Secretary shall notify the claimant that the Secretary is unable
to obtain records with respect to the claim. Such a notification
shall—
‘‘(A) identify the records the Secretary is unable to obtain;
‘‘(B) briefly explain the efforts that the Secretary made
to obtain those records; and
‘‘(C) describe any further action to be taken by the Sec-
retary with respect to the claim.
‘‘(3) Whenever the Secretary attempts to obtain records from
a Federal department or agency under this subsection or subsection
(c), the efforts to obtain those records shall continue until the
records are obtained unless it is reasonably certain that such records
do not exist or that further efforts to obtain those records would
be futile.
‘‘(c) OBTAINING RECORDS FOR COMPENSATION CLAIMS.—In the
case of a claim for disability compensation, the assistance provided
by the Secretary under subsection (b) shall include obtaining the
following records if relevant to the claim:
‘‘(1) The claimant’s service medical records and, if the claim-
ant has furnished the Secretary information sufficient to locate
such records, other relevant records pertaining to the claimant’s
active military, naval, or air service that are held or maintained
by a governmental entity.
‘‘(2) Records of relevant medical treatment or examination
of the claimant at Department health-care facilities or at the
H. R. 4864—3
expense of the Department, if the claimant furnishes informa-
tion sufficient to locate those records.
‘‘(3) Any other relevant records held by any Federal depart-
ment or agency that the claimant adequately identifies and
authorizes the Secretary to obtain.
‘‘(d) MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS FOR COMPENSATION CLAIMS.—(1)
In the case of a claim for disability compensation, the assistance
provided by the Secretary under subsection (a) shall include pro-
viding a medical examination or obtaining a medical opinion when
such an examination or opinion is necessary to make a decision
on the claim.
‘‘(2) The Secretary shall treat an examination or opinion as
being necessary to make a decision on a claim for purposes of
paragraph (1) if the evidence of record before the Secretary, taking
into consideration all information and lay or medical evidence
(including statements of the claimant)—
‘‘(A) contains competent evidence that the claimant has
a current disability, or persistent or recurrent symptoms of
disability; and
‘‘(B) indicates that the disability or symptoms may be asso-
ciated with the claimant’s active military, naval, or air service;
but
‘‘(C) does not contain sufficient medical evidence for the
Secretary to make a decision on the claim.
‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe regulations
to carry out this section.
‘‘(f ) RULE WITH RESPECT TO DISALLOWED CLAIMS.—Nothing
in this section shall be construed to require the Secretary to reopen
a claim that has been disallowed except when new and material
evidence is presented or secured, as described in section 5108 of
this title.
‘‘(g) OTHER ASSISTANCE NOT PRECLUDED.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed as precluding the Secretary from providing
such other assistance under subsection (a) to a claimant in substan-
tiating a claim as the Secretary considers appropriate.’’.
(b) REENACTMENT OF RULE FOR CLAIMANT’S LACKING A MAILING
ADDRESS.—Chapter 51 of such title is further amended by adding
at the end the following new section:
‘‘§ 5126. Benefits not to be denied based on lack of mailing
address
‘‘Benefits under laws administered by the Secretary may not
be denied a claimant on the basis that the claimant does not
have a mailing address.’’.
SEC. 4. DECISION ON CLAIM.
Section 5107 of title 38, United States Code, is amended to
read as follows:
‘‘§ 5107. Claimant responsibility; benefit of the doubt
‘‘(a) CLAIMANT RESPONSIBILITY.—Except as otherwise provided
by law, a claimant has the responsibility to present and support
a claim for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary.
‘‘(b) BENEFIT
OF
THE DOUBT.—The Secretary shall consider
all information and lay and medical evidence of record in a case
before the Secretary with respect to benefits under laws adminis-
tered by the Secretary. When there is an approximate balance
H. R. 4864—4
of positive and negative evidence regarding any issue material
to the determination of a matter, the Secretary shall give the
benefit of the doubt to the claimant.’’.
SEC. 5. PROHIBITION OF CHARGES FOR RECORDS FURNISHED BY
OTHER FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.
Section 5106 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘The cost of providing
information to the Secretary under this section shall be borne
by the department or agency providing the information.’’.
SEC. 6. CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.
The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 51 of title
38, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by inserting before the item relating to section 5101
the following new item:
‘‘5100. Definition of ‘claimant’.’’;
(2) by striking the items relating to sections 5102 and
5103 and inserting the following:
‘‘5102. Application forms furnished upon request; notice to claimants of incomplete
applications.
‘‘5103. Notice to claimants of required information and evidence.
‘‘5103A. Duty to assist claimants.’’;
(3) by striking the item relating to section 5107 and
inserting the following:
‘‘5107. Claimant responsibility; benefit of the doubt.’’;
and
(4) by adding at the end the following new item:
‘‘5126. Benefits not to be denied based on lack of mailing address.’’.
SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as specifically provided otherwise,
the provisions of section 5107 of title 38, United States Code,
as amended by section 4 of this Act, apply to any claim—
(1) filed on or after the date of the enactment of this
Act; or
(2) filed before the date of the enactment of this Act and
not final as of that date.
(b) RULE FOR CLAIMS THE DENIAL OF WHICH BECAME FINAL
AFTER THE COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS DECISION
IN THE MORTON CASE.—(1) In the case of a claim for benefits
denied or dismissed as described in paragraph (2), the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs shall, upon the request of the claimant or
on the Secretary’s own motion, order the claim readjudicated under
chapter 51 of such title, as amended by this Act, as if the denial
or dismissal had not been made.
(2) A denial or dismissal described in this paragraph is a
denial or dismissal of a claim for a benefit under the laws adminis-
tered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs that—
(A) became final during the period beginning on July 14,
1999, and ending on the date of the enactment of this Act;
and
(B) was issued by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs or
a court because the claim was not well grounded (as that
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term was used in section 5107(a) of title 38, United States
Code, as in effect during that period).
(3) A claim may not be readjudicated under this subsection
unless a request for readjudication is filed by the claimant, or
a motion is made by the Secretary, not later than 2 years after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
(4) In the absence of a timely request of a claimant under
paragraph (3), nothing in this Act shall be construed as establishing
a duty on the part of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to locate
and readjudicate a claim described in this subsection.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.