I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 631
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide a presumption of service 
connection for injuries classified as cold weather injuries which occur 
in veterans who while engaged in military operations had sustained 
exposure to cold weather. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 5, 2003
Mr. STUPAK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide a pre-
sumption of service connection for injuries classified as 
cold weather injuries which occur in veterans who while 
engaged in military operations had sustained exposure 
to cold weather.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Cold Weather 
Injury Compensation Act’’.
SEC. 2. COLD WEATHER INJURY REGISTRY. 
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish and 
maintain a registry of veterans who while in active mili-
tary, naval, or air service were exposed for a significant 
period of time to sustained periods of extremely cold 
weather. The Secretary shall use the registry to compile 
and analyze, on a continuing basis, all clinical data that 
is obtained by the Department of Veterans Affairs in con-
nection with examinations and treatment furnished to vet-
erans and that is likely to be scientifically useful in deter-
mining the association, if any, between the disabilities of 
such veterans and sustained exposure to cold weather dur-
ing military operations. 
SEC. 3. PRESUMPTION OF SERVICE CONNECTION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Chapter 11 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end of sub-
chapter II the following new section: 
‘‘§ 1119. Presumptions of service connection for inju-
ries and diseases associated with sus-
tained exposure to cold weather 
‘‘(a) For the purposes of section 1110 of this title, 
and subject to section 1113 of this title, a cold-weather 
injury becoming manifest in a veteran who during active 
military, naval, or air service and while engaged in a mili-
tary operation in the field was exposed to a period of quali-
fying cold weather shall be considered to have been in-
curred in or aggravated by such service, notwithstanding 
that there is no record of evidence of such disease during 
the period of such service. 
‘‘(b) For purposes of this section, a cold-weather in-
jury is any injury or disease that the Secretary determines 
in regulations prescribed under this section has a positive 
association with sustained exposure to cold weather. 
‘‘(c) For purposes of this section, the term ‘qualifying 
cold weather’ means a period of seven consecutive days 
or more during which the mean average temperature was 
32 degrees or lower.’’. 
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such 
chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating 
to section 1118 the following new item:
‘‘1119. Presumptions of service connection for injuries and diseases associated 
with sustained exposure to cold weather.’’.
(b) DEADLINE
FOR INITIAL REGULATIONS.—The 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall prescribe the initial 
regulations for purposes of subsection (b) of section 1119 
of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection 
(a), not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act.
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