(A) by striking ‘‘SPECIAL RULES’’ in the 
subsection heading and all that follows through 
‘‘is subject to’’ in paragraph (1) and inserting 
‘‘SPECIAL RULE FOR CHAPTER 61 DISABILITY 
RETIREES.—In the case of a qualified retiree 
who is retired under chapter 61 of this title, the 
retired pay of the member is subject to’’; and 
(B) by striking paragraph (2). 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect as of January 1, 2006, and 
shall apply to payments for months beginning on or after 
that date. 
SEC. 203. INTERIM PAYMENTS UNDER CERTAIN VETERANS 
CLAIMS WHEN DECISION IS DELAYED FOL-
LOWING REMAND. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Chapter 53 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘SEC. 5320. INTERIM BENEFITS UNDER CERTAIN RE-
MANDED CASES. 
‘‘(a) INTERIM BENEFITS.—When a claim for benefits 
under the jurisdiction of the Secretary is remanded by the 
United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims or 
by the Board for Veterans’ Appeals in a case involving 
a claim under chapters 11, 13 or 15 of this title and to
which sections 5109B or 7112 of this title applies, if the 
Secretary does not make a decision on the matter within 
180 days of the date of the remand decision, then until 
such matter is finally decided, the Secretary shall pay an 
interim benefit in the amount of $500 per month to each 
claimant under the claim. Such payments shall commence 
as of the first month beginning after the end of such 180- 
day period. 
‘‘(b) EFFECT ON INTERIM BENEFIT PAYMENTS OF 
FINAL DECISION ON CLAIM.—When a claim with respect 
to which interim benefits are being paid under subsection 
(b) is finally decided— 
‘‘(1) if the final decision is to award benefits, 
the amounts paid as interim benefits shall be consid-
ered to be an advance payment of benefits owed for 
any period before the date of such final decision (ex-
cept that if the total amount of interim benefits paid 
is greater than the amount of retroactive benefits, 
the amount of the difference shall not be considered 
to be an overpayment for any purpose); and 
‘‘(2) if the final decision is not to award bene-
fits, the amounts paid as interim benefits shall not 
be considered to be an overpayment for any pur-
pose.’’.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such 
chapter is amended by adding at the end the following 
new item: 
‘‘Sec. 5320. Interim benefits under certain remanded cases.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 5320 of title 38, 
United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall 
apply with respect to any decision remanded by the Court 
of Appeals for Veterans Claims or the Board of Veterans’ 
Appeals on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs shall submit to Congress a report on measures the 
Secretary intends to take to expedite the processing of re-
manded claims for veterans benefits. 
Subtitle B—Outreach 
SEC. 211. RESCISSION OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF-
FAIRS MEMORANDUM. 
(a) RESCISSION
OF MEMORANDUM.—The memo-
randum of the Department of Veterans Affairs dated July 
18, 2002, from the Deputy Under Secretary for Health 
for Operations and Management with the subject ‘‘Status 
of VHA Enrollment and Associated Issues’’ is hereby re-
scinded. Marketing activities of directors of health service 
networks (known as ‘‘Veterans Integrated Service Net-
works’’) of the Department of Veterans Affairs to enroll