| 1 | 1 | | I |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 1471 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the processes by which |
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| 6 | 6 | | a veteran may appeal decisions affecting the provision of benefits under |
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| 7 | 7 | | the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for |
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| 8 | 8 | | other purposes. |
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| 9 | 9 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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| 10 | 10 | | FEBRUARY21, 2025 |
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| 11 | 11 | | Mr. G |
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| 12 | 12 | | OTTHEIMERintroduced the following bill; which was referred to the |
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| 13 | 13 | | Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the |
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| 14 | 14 | | Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in |
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| 15 | 15 | | each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- |
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| 16 | 16 | | tion of the committee concerned |
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| 17 | 17 | | A BILL |
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| 18 | 18 | | To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the |
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| 19 | 19 | | processes by which a veteran may appeal decisions affect- |
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| 20 | 20 | | ing the provision of benefits under the laws administered |
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| 21 | 21 | | by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other pur- |
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| 22 | 22 | | poses. |
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| 23 | 23 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 24 | 24 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 25 | 25 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 26 | 26 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘VA Appeals Reform 4 |
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| 27 | 27 | | Act of 2025’’. 5 |
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| 29 | 29 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 |
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| 30 | 30 | | •HR 1471 IH |
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| 31 | 31 | | SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO SYSTEM FOR ADJUDICATION 1 |
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| 32 | 32 | | OF CLAIMS FOR BENEFITS UNDER THE LAWS 2 |
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| 33 | 33 | | ADMINISTERED BY THE SECRETARY OF VET-3 |
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| 34 | 34 | | ERANS AFFAIRS. 4 |
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| 35 | 35 | | (a) D |
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| 36 | 36 | | UTYTOASSIST; SUPPLEMENTAL CLAIMS; EX-5 |
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| 37 | 37 | | PEDITEDTREATMENT OFCERTAINCLAIMS.—Chapter 51 6 |
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| 38 | 38 | | of title 38, United States Code, is amended— 7 |
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| 39 | 39 | | (1) in section 5103A— 8 |
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| 40 | 40 | | (A) by redesignating subsections (b) 9 |
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| 41 | 41 | | through (i) as subsections (c) through (j), re-10 |
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| 42 | 42 | | spectively; 11 |
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| 43 | 43 | | (B) by inserting after subsection (a) the 12 |
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| 44 | 44 | | following new subsection: 13 |
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| 45 | 45 | | ‘‘(b) A |
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| 46 | 46 | | SSISTANCEUPONREQUEST OF THE CLAIM-14 |
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| 47 | 47 | | ANT.—As part of the assistance provided under subsection 15 |
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| 48 | 48 | | (a), the Secretary shall, not later than 90 days after the 16 |
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| 49 | 49 | | claimant makes a request for assistance under this sub-17 |
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| 50 | 50 | | section, provide any of the following documents: 18 |
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| 51 | 51 | | ‘‘(1) The veteran’s claims file. 19 |
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| 52 | 52 | | ‘‘(2) A paginated copy of each component of 20 |
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| 53 | 53 | | each document in the evidence of record that the 21 |
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| 54 | 54 | | Secretary determines is relevant to the claim. 22 |
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| 55 | 55 | | ‘‘(3) The contact information of the individual 23 |
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| 56 | 56 | | adjudicating the claim. 24 |
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| 57 | 57 | | ‘‘(4) The contact information and curriculum 25 |
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| 58 | 58 | | vitae of any independent medical expert described in 26 |
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| 61 | 61 | | •HR 1471 IH |
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| 62 | 62 | | section 5109 of this title offering an advisory med-1 |
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| 63 | 63 | | ical opinion in connection with the claim. 2 |
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| 64 | 64 | | ‘‘(5) A copy of any correspondence relating to 3 |
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| 65 | 65 | | the claim between— 4 |
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| 66 | 66 | | ‘‘(A) one or more employees of the Depart-5 |
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| 67 | 67 | | ment; and 6 |
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| 68 | 68 | | ‘‘(B) an employee of the Department and 7 |
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| 69 | 69 | | any other individual. 8 |
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| 70 | 70 | | ‘‘(6) Upon the request of the claimant, a copy 9 |
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| 71 | 71 | | of any document relevant to the claim that the 10 |
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| 72 | 72 | | claimant adequately identifies and authorizes the 11 |
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| 73 | 73 | | Secretary to obtain that is in the possession of— 12 |
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| 74 | 74 | | ‘‘(A) the Secretary; or 13 |
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| 75 | 75 | | ‘‘(B) the head of any Federal department 14 |
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| 76 | 76 | | or agency.’’. 15 |
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| 77 | 77 | | (C) in subsection (f) (as so redesignated), 16 |
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| 78 | 78 | | by adding at the end the following new para-17 |
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| 79 | 79 | | graph: 18 |
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| 80 | 80 | | ‘‘(3) The duty of the Secretary to provide assistance 19 |
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| 81 | 81 | | under this section to a claimant with respect to a claim 20 |
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| 82 | 82 | | under this section shall continue until such time as the 21 |
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| 83 | 83 | | agency of original jurisdiction schedules a hearing to adju-22 |
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| 84 | 84 | | dicate the claim.’’; and 23 |
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| 85 | 85 | | (D) in subsection (i) (as so redesignated), 24 |
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| 86 | 86 | | by striking ‘‘except when new and relevant evi-25 |
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| 89 | 89 | | •HR 1471 IH |
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| 90 | 90 | | dence is presented or secured, as’’ and inserting 1 |
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| 91 | 91 | | ‘‘except as provided under the conditions’’; 2 |
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| 92 | 92 | | (2) in section 5104(b)— 3 |
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| 93 | 93 | | (A) in paragraph (2), by inserting before 4 |
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| 94 | 94 | | the period at the end ‘‘, including citations to 5 |
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| 95 | 95 | | applicable page numbers.’’; 6 |
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| 96 | 96 | | (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘, in-7 |
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| 97 | 97 | | cluded as an appendix’’ after ‘‘regulations’’; 8 |
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| 98 | 98 | | (C) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘denial’’ 9 |
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| 99 | 99 | | and all that follows through the end of the 10 |
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| 100 | 100 | | paragraph and inserting ‘‘denial— 11 |
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| 101 | 101 | | ‘‘(A) an identification of elements not sat-12 |
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| 102 | 102 | | isfied leading to the denial; and 13 |
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| 103 | 103 | | ‘‘(B) a summary of the rights of the vet-14 |
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| 104 | 104 | | eran to appeal such denial.’’; and 15 |
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| 105 | 105 | | (D) in paragraph (7), by inserting ‘‘, in-16 |
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| 106 | 106 | | cluding the diagnostic codes used in the deter-17 |
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| 107 | 107 | | mination of the disability percentage and a cita-18 |
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| 108 | 108 | | tion to the applicable regulation’’ after ‘‘com-19 |
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| 109 | 109 | | pensation’’; 20 |
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| 110 | 110 | | (3) in section 5104B, by amending subsection 21 |
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| 111 | 111 | | (c) to read as follows: 22 |
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| 112 | 112 | | ‘‘(c) E |
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| 113 | 113 | | VIDENTIARYRECORD FORREVIEW.—(1) In 23 |
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| 114 | 114 | | the course of a higher-level review, the veteran may sup-24 |
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| 117 | 117 | | •HR 1471 IH |
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| 118 | 118 | | plement the evidentiary record before the higher-level re-1 |
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| 119 | 119 | | viewer. 2 |
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| 120 | 120 | | ‘‘(2) If, during review of the agency of original juris-3 |
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| 121 | 121 | | diction decision, the higher-level reviewer identifies an 4 |
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| 122 | 122 | | error on the part of the agency of original jurisdiction that 5 |
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| 123 | 123 | | constitutes a failure to satisfy its duties under section 6 |
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| 124 | 124 | | 5103A of this title, and that error occurred prior to the 7 |
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| 125 | 125 | | agency of original jurisdiction decision being reviewed, the 8 |
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| 126 | 126 | | higher-level reviewer shall return the claim to the agency 9 |
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| 127 | 127 | | of original jurisdiction.’’; 10 |
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| 128 | 128 | | (4) in section 5108, by amending subsection (a) 11 |
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| 129 | 129 | | to read as follows: 12 |
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| 130 | 130 | | ‘‘(a) I |
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| 131 | 131 | | NGENERAL.—The Secretary shall readjudicate 13 |
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| 132 | 132 | | a supplemental claim, taking into consideration all of the 14 |
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| 133 | 133 | | evidence of record when, with respect to such supple-15 |
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| 134 | 134 | | mental claim— 16 |
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| 135 | 135 | | ‘‘(1) new and material evidence is presented or 17 |
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| 136 | 136 | | secured; 18 |
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| 137 | 137 | | ‘‘(2) the Board of Veterans Appeals identifies a 19 |
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| 138 | 138 | | clear and unmistakable error on the part of the 20 |
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| 139 | 139 | | agency of original jurisdiction; or 21 |
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| 140 | 140 | | ‘‘(3) a law or regulation enacted after the date 22 |
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| 141 | 141 | | of the denial of the original claim permits the vet-23 |
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| 142 | 142 | | eran to bring such supplemental claim.’’; 24 |
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| 145 | 145 | | •HR 1471 IH |
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| 146 | 146 | | (5) in section 5109A, by adding at the end the 1 |
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| 147 | 147 | | following new subsection: 2 |
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| 148 | 148 | | ‘‘(f) In this section, the term ‘clear and unmistakable 3 |
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| 149 | 149 | | error’ includes, with respect to a decision by the Secretary, 4 |
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| 150 | 150 | | any of the following: 5 |
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| 151 | 151 | | ‘‘(1) Any error of law, fact, or application of 6 |
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| 152 | 152 | | law to fact— 7 |
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| 153 | 153 | | ‘‘(A) that is manifest on the face of such 8 |
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| 154 | 154 | | decision; and 9 |
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| 155 | 155 | | ‘‘(B) affected the outcome of such decision. 10 |
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| 156 | 156 | | ‘‘(2) The misinterpretation or misapplication of 11 |
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| 157 | 157 | | a statute, regardless of whether such decision other-12 |
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| 158 | 158 | | wise complies with regulations issued by the Sec-13 |
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| 159 | 159 | | retary in effect as of the date of such decision. 14 |
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| 160 | 160 | | ‘‘(3) The misinterpretation or misapplication of 15 |
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| 161 | 161 | | an unambiguous regulation, regardless of whether 16 |
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| 162 | 162 | | such decision otherwise complies with the regulations 17 |
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| 163 | 163 | | described in paragraph (2).’’; and 18 |
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| 164 | 164 | | (6) by striking section 5109B and inserting the 19 |
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| 165 | 165 | | following new section 5109B: 20 |
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| 166 | 166 | | ‘‘§ 5109B. Expedited treatment of returned and re-21 |
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| 167 | 167 | | manded claims 22 |
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| 168 | 168 | | ‘‘(a) I |
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| 169 | 169 | | NGENERAL.—The Secretary shall take such 23 |
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| 170 | 170 | | actions as may be necessary to provide for the expeditious 24 |
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| 173 | 173 | | •HR 1471 IH |
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| 174 | 174 | | treatment by the Veterans Benefits Administration of any 1 |
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| 175 | 175 | | claim that is— 2 |
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| 176 | 176 | | ‘‘(1) returned by a higher-level adjudicator 3 |
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| 177 | 177 | | under section 5104B of this title; or 4 |
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| 178 | 178 | | ‘‘(2) remanded by the Board of Veterans’ Ap-5 |
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| 179 | 179 | | peals. 6 |
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| 180 | 180 | | ‘‘(b) D |
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| 181 | 181 | | EADLINE.—(1) Except as provided in para-7 |
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| 182 | 182 | | graph (2), with respect to any claim described in sub-8 |
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| 183 | 183 | | section (a), the Secretary shall take the actions under such 9 |
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| 184 | 184 | | subsection not later than 90 days after the date on 10 |
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| 185 | 185 | | which— 11 |
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| 186 | 186 | | ‘‘(A) a higher-level adjudicator returned such 12 |
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| 187 | 187 | | claim; or 13 |
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| 188 | 188 | | ‘‘(B) the Board of Veterans’ Appeals remanded 14 |
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| 189 | 189 | | such claim. 15 |
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| 190 | 190 | | ‘‘(2) The Board of may, upon motion of the claimant, 16 |
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| 191 | 191 | | extend the deadline under paragraph (1) if the Board de-17 |
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| 192 | 192 | | termines there is good cause for such extension.’’. 18 |
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| 193 | 193 | | (b) A |
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| 194 | 194 | | TTORNEYFEES FORFILING OFNOTICE OFIN-19 |
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| 195 | 195 | | TENTTOAPPEALCERTAINDECISIONS.—Section 5904(c) 20 |
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| 196 | 196 | | of title 38, United States Code is amended— 21 |
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| 197 | 197 | | (1) in paragraph (4)— 22 |
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| 198 | 198 | | (A) by striking the enumerator and insert-23 |
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| 199 | 199 | | ing ‘‘(4)(A)’’; and 24 |
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| 202 | 202 | | •HR 1471 IH |
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| 203 | 203 | | (B) by striking ‘‘under this paragraph’’ 1 |
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| 204 | 204 | | and inserting ‘‘under this subparagraph’’; and 2 |
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| 205 | 205 | | (2) by adding at the end, the following new sub-3 |
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| 206 | 206 | | paragraph: 4 |
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| 207 | 207 | | ‘‘(B) A reasonable fee, not to exceed the lesser of 5 |
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| 208 | 208 | | $200 or 20 percent of the initial payment from the claim-6 |
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| 209 | 209 | | ant to the attorney, may be charged or paid in connection 7 |
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| 210 | 210 | | with the filing of a notice of intent to appeal a decision 8 |
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| 211 | 211 | | by the Secretary under section 511 of this title affecting 9 |
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| 212 | 212 | | the provision of benefits to a claimant.’’. 10 |
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| 213 | 213 | | (c) A |
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| 214 | 214 | | PPOINTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW 11 |
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| 215 | 215 | | J |
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| 216 | 216 | | UDGES; PERFORMANCE REVIEWS; SCHEDULINGCON-12 |
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| 217 | 217 | | FERENCES.—Chapter 71 of title 38, United States Code, 13 |
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| 218 | 218 | | is amended as follows: 14 |
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| 219 | 219 | | (1) In section 7101— 15 |
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| 220 | 220 | | (A) in subsection (c)(1)— 16 |
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| 221 | 221 | | (i) by amending subparagraph (A) to 17 |
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| 222 | 222 | | read as follows: 18 |
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| 223 | 223 | | ‘‘(A) The Chairman may from time to time designate 19 |
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| 224 | 224 | | a retired officer of the Armed Forces who previously 20 |
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| 225 | 225 | | served as a military judge (as defined in section 801 of 21 |
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| 226 | 226 | | title 10 (article 1 of the Uniform Code of Military Jus-22 |
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| 227 | 227 | | tice)) to serve as an acting member of the Board. Except 23 |
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| 228 | 228 | | as provided in subparagraph (B), any such designation 24 |
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| 231 | 231 | | •HR 1471 IH |
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| 232 | 232 | | shall be for a period not to exceed 180 days, as determined 1 |
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| 233 | 233 | | by the Chairman.’’; and 2 |
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| 234 | 234 | | (ii) by adding at the end the following 3 |
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| 235 | 235 | | new subparagraph: 4 |
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| 236 | 236 | | ‘‘(E) An individual designated pursuant to subpara-5 |
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| 237 | 237 | | graph (A) shall complete a program of training with re-6 |
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| 238 | 238 | | spect to the laws administered by the Secretary that the 7 |
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| 239 | 239 | | Secretary determines appropriate.’’; and 8 |
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| 240 | 240 | | (B) in subsection (d)— 9 |
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| 241 | 241 | | (i) in subparagraph (F), by striking ‘‘; 10 |
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| 242 | 242 | | and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 11 |
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| 243 | 243 | | (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 12 |
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| 244 | 244 | | (G) as subparagraph (H); and 13 |
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| 245 | 245 | | (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 14 |
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| 246 | 246 | | (F), the following new subparagraph: 15 |
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| 247 | 247 | | ‘‘(G) the number of decisions of the Board re-16 |
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| 248 | 248 | | manded or returned to the Board, disaggregated by 17 |
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| 249 | 249 | | the Board member who issued the final decision so 18 |
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| 250 | 250 | | remanded or returned; and’’. 19 |
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| 251 | 251 | | (2) In section 7101A— 20 |
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| 252 | 252 | | (A) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘shall 21 |
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| 253 | 253 | | be’’ and all that follows through the end of the 22 |
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| 254 | 254 | | paragraph and inserting ‘‘shall be— 23 |
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| 255 | 255 | | ‘‘(A) an administrative law judge appointed 24 |
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| 256 | 256 | | under section 3105 of title 5; and 25 |
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| 259 | 259 | | •HR 1471 IH |
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| 260 | 260 | | ‘‘(B) a member in good standing of the bar of 1 |
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| 261 | 261 | | a State.’’; and 2 |
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| 262 | 262 | | (B) in subsection (c)(1)— 3 |
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| 263 | 263 | | (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 4 |
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| 264 | 264 | | ‘‘Not less than one year after the job per-5 |
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| 265 | 265 | | formance standards under subsection (f) 6 |
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| 266 | 266 | | are initially established, and not less often 7 |
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| 267 | 267 | | than once every three years thereafter’’ 8 |
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| 268 | 268 | | and inserting ‘‘Under the conditions de-9 |
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| 269 | 269 | | scribed in subparagraph (C)’’; and 10 |
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| 270 | 270 | | (ii) by adding at the end the following 11 |
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| 271 | 271 | | new subparagraph: 12 |
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| 272 | 272 | | ‘‘(C) The performance review panel shall review the 13 |
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| 273 | 273 | | job performance of a member of the Board— 14 |
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| 274 | 274 | | ‘‘(i) not less than one year after the job per-15 |
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| 275 | 275 | | formance standards under subsection (f) are initially 16 |
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| 276 | 276 | | established; 17 |
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| 277 | 277 | | ‘‘(ii) not less often than once every three years 18 |
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| 278 | 278 | | after such standards are established; and 19 |
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| 279 | 279 | | ‘‘(iii) when, during any 12-month period, the 20 |
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| 280 | 280 | | Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims or a higher 21 |
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| 281 | 281 | | authority remands to the Board more than 60 per-22 |
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| 282 | 282 | | cent of the decisions issued by such member.’’. 23 |
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| 283 | 283 | | (3) In section 7102— 24 |
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| 286 | 286 | | •HR 1471 IH |
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| 287 | 287 | | (A) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub-1 |
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| 288 | 288 | | section (d); and 2 |
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| 289 | 289 | | (B) by inserting after subsection (b) the 3 |
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| 290 | 290 | | following new subsection: 4 |
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| 291 | 291 | | ‘‘(c) In the case of a decision of the Board that is 5 |
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| 292 | 292 | | remanded to the Board by the Court of Appeals for Vet-6 |
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| 293 | 293 | | erans Claims or a higher authority, any subsequent pro-7 |
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| 294 | 294 | | ceeding associated with the decision so remanded may not 8 |
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| 295 | 295 | | be assigned to the member of the Board who issued such 9 |
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| 296 | 296 | | decision.’’. 10 |
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| 297 | 297 | | (4) In section 7105— 11 |
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| 298 | 298 | | (A) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘; sched-12 |
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| 299 | 299 | | uling conferences’’ after ‘‘Filing of ap-13 |
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| 300 | 300 | | peal’’; 14 |
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| 301 | 301 | | (B) by redesignating subsections (c) and 15 |
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| 302 | 302 | | (d) as subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and 16 |
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| 303 | 303 | | (C) by inserting after subsection (b) the 17 |
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| 304 | 304 | | following new subsection: 18 |
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| 305 | 305 | | ‘‘(c)(1) Not later than 90 days after a veteran files 19 |
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| 306 | 306 | | a notice of disagreement under subsection (a), the Board 20 |
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| 307 | 307 | | of Veterans Appeals shall hold, by picture and voice trans-21 |
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| 308 | 308 | | mission, a conference with such veteran and the represent-22 |
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| 309 | 309 | | ative of such veteran, if any, to schedule such hearing. 23 |
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| 310 | 310 | | ‘‘(2) During the conference under paragraph (1), the 24 |
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| 311 | 311 | | Board shall— 25 |
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| 314 | 314 | | •HR 1471 IH |
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| 315 | 315 | | ‘‘(A) provide the veteran— 1 |
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| 316 | 316 | | ‘‘(i) not fewer than 30 days for such vet-2 |
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| 317 | 317 | | eran to request a hearing; 3 |
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| 318 | 318 | | ‘‘(ii) not fewer than 30 days to secure 4 |
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| 319 | 319 | | counsel for such hearing; 5 |
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| 320 | 320 | | ‘‘(iii) not fewer than 60 days for such vet-6 |
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| 321 | 321 | | eran to submit to the Board the specific deter-7 |
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| 322 | 322 | | minations or findings of the Board with which 8 |
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| 323 | 323 | | the claimant disagrees; 9 |
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| 324 | 324 | | ‘‘(iv) not fewer than 120 days for such vet-10 |
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| 325 | 325 | | eran to submit evidence relating to the deter-11 |
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| 326 | 326 | | minations described in clause (iii); 12 |
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| 327 | 327 | | ‘‘(v) information relating to the rules gov-13 |
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| 328 | 328 | | erning an appeal under this chapter; and 14 |
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| 329 | 329 | | ‘‘(vi) contact information for a representa-15 |
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| 330 | 330 | | tive of the Board, including an electronic mail 16 |
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| 331 | 331 | | address; and 17 |
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| 332 | 332 | | ‘‘(B) schedule a tentative date for such hearing. 18 |
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| 333 | 333 | | ‘‘(3) The Secretary may, upon motion of the veteran, 19 |
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| 334 | 334 | | extend the deadlines described in clauses (i) through (iv) 20 |
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| 335 | 335 | | of subparagraph (A) for good cause, including the failure 21 |
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| 336 | 336 | | of the Secretary to provide requested relevant or material 22 |
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| 337 | 337 | | information.’’. 23 |
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| 338 | 338 | | (5) In section 7107— 24 |
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| 339 | 339 | | (A) in subsection (a)— 25 |
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| 342 | 342 | | •HR 1471 IH |
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| 343 | 343 | | (i) by striking ‘‘two separate dockets’’ 1 |
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| 344 | 344 | | each place it appears and inserting ‘‘one 2 |
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| 345 | 345 | | docket’’; and 3 |
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| 346 | 346 | | (ii) in paragraph (3)— 4 |
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| 347 | 347 | | (I) by striking ‘‘(A)’’; 5 |
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| 348 | 348 | | (II) by striking ‘‘, except that 6 |
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| 349 | 349 | | cases’’ and all that follows through 7 |
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| 350 | 350 | | ‘‘are assigned’’; and 8 |
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| 351 | 351 | | (III) by striking subparagraph 9 |
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| 352 | 352 | | (B); and 10 |
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| 353 | 353 | | (B) in subsection (e), by inserting ‘‘, if ap-11 |
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| 354 | 354 | | plicable’’ before the period at the end; and 12 |
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| 355 | 355 | | (C) by adding at the end the following new 13 |
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| 356 | 356 | | subsection: 14 |
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| 357 | 357 | | ‘‘(f) H |
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| 358 | 358 | | EARINGTRANSCRIPTS.—The Board, upon the 15 |
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| 359 | 359 | | request of the veteran and at no cost to such veteran, pro-16 |
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| 360 | 360 | | vide such veteran with a copy of the transcript of the hear-17 |
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| 361 | 361 | | ing and a digital recording of any picture and voice trans-18 |
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| 362 | 362 | | mission considered during such hearing.’’. 19 |
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| 363 | 363 | | (6) In section 7111, by adding at the end the 20 |
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| 364 | 364 | | following new subsection: 21 |
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| 365 | 365 | | ‘‘(g) In this section, the term ‘clear and unmistakable 22 |
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| 366 | 366 | | error’ includes, with respect to a decision of the Board, 23 |
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| 367 | 367 | | any of the following: 24 |
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| 370 | 370 | | •HR 1471 IH |
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| 371 | 371 | | ‘‘(1) Any error of law, fact, or application of 1 |
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| 372 | 372 | | law to fact— 2 |
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| 373 | 373 | | ‘‘(A) that is manifest on the face of such 3 |
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| 374 | 374 | | decision; and 4 |
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| 375 | 375 | | ‘‘(B) affected the outcome of such decision. 5 |
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| 376 | 376 | | ‘‘(2) The misinterpretation or misapplication of 6 |
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| 377 | 377 | | a statute, regardless of whether such decision other-7 |
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| 378 | 378 | | wise complies with regulations issued by the Sec-8 |
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| 379 | 379 | | retary in effect as of the date of such decision. 9 |
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| 380 | 380 | | ‘‘(3) The misinterpretation or misapplication of 10 |
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| 381 | 381 | | an unambiguous regulation, regardless of whether 11 |
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| 382 | 382 | | such decision otherwise complies with the regulations 12 |
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| 383 | 383 | | described in paragraph (2).’’; 13 |
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| 384 | 384 | | (7) By adding at the end the following new sec-14 |
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| 385 | 385 | | tion (and conforming the table of chapters at the be-15 |
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| 386 | 386 | | ginning of such chapter accordingly): 16 |
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| 387 | 387 | | ‘‘§ 7114. Program to establish electronic case manage-17 |
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| 388 | 388 | | ment and filing system 18 |
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| 389 | 389 | | ‘‘(a) I |
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| 390 | 390 | | NGENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish an 19 |
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| 391 | 391 | | electronic filing and case management system for the pur-20 |
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| 392 | 392 | | poses of processing appeals under this chapter. 21 |
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| 393 | 393 | | ‘‘(b) E |
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| 394 | 394 | | LEMENTS.—The system required by subsection 22 |
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| 395 | 395 | | (a) shall include— 23 |
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| 396 | 396 | | ‘‘(1) an internet database of documents relating 24 |
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| 397 | 397 | | to appeals under this chapter; 25 |
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| 400 | 400 | | •HR 1471 IH |
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| 401 | 401 | | ‘‘(2) subject to subsection (d), a mechanism by 1 |
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| 402 | 402 | | which attorneys approved by the Office of the Gen-2 |
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| 403 | 403 | | eral Counsel of the Department to represent a vet-3 |
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| 404 | 404 | | eran before the Board of Veterans Appeals may ac-4 |
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| 405 | 405 | | cess such internet database to an extent the Sec-5 |
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| 406 | 406 | | retary determines appropriate; and 6 |
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| 407 | 407 | | ‘‘(3) a mechanism by which a veteran, or the 7 |
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| 408 | 408 | | attorney or representative of a veteran, can submit 8 |
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| 409 | 409 | | to the Board of Veterans Appeals documents relat-9 |
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| 410 | 410 | | ing to an appeal under this chapter, in portable doc-10 |
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| 411 | 411 | | ument format or other commercially available for-11 |
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| 412 | 412 | | mat, through such internet database. 12 |
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| 413 | 413 | | ‘‘(c) T |
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| 414 | 414 | | RAINING.—Not later than one year after the 13 |
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| 415 | 415 | | date on which the Secretary establishes the program re-14 |
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| 416 | 416 | | quired by subsection (a), the Secretary shall make avail-15 |
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| 417 | 417 | | able to attorneys described in subsection (b)(2) training 16 |
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| 418 | 418 | | on such program. 17 |
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| 419 | 419 | | ‘‘(d) C |
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| 420 | 420 | | ERTIFICATION OF GOODSTANDING.—As a 18 |
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| 421 | 421 | | condition of access to the internet database described in 19 |
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| 422 | 422 | | subsection (b)(2), the Secretary may require an attorney 20 |
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| 423 | 423 | | to provide to the Secretary a certificate of good standing 21 |
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| 424 | 424 | | from a State court or Federal district court. 22 |
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| 425 | 425 | | ‘‘(e) R |
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| 426 | 426 | | EQUIREDCONSIDERATION.—In carrying out 23 |
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| 427 | 427 | | subsection (a), the Secretary shall consider the case man-24 |
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| 430 | 430 | | •HR 1471 IH |
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| 431 | 431 | | agement/electronic filing system (CM/ECF) administered 1 |
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| 432 | 432 | | by United States District Courts.’’. 2 |
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| 433 | 433 | | (d) D |
|---|
| 434 | 434 | | ISCLOSURE OFCERTAINMEDICALRECORDS.— 3 |
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| 435 | 435 | | Section 7332(b)(2) of title 38, United States Code, is 4 |
|---|
| 436 | 436 | | amended by adding at the end the following new subpara-5 |
|---|
| 437 | 437 | | graphs: 6 |
|---|
| 438 | 438 | | ‘‘(J) To the patient, and the attorney of such 7 |
|---|
| 439 | 439 | | patient, if any, for the purposes of using such record 8 |
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| 440 | 440 | | in connection with an appeal under chapter 71 of 9 |
|---|
| 441 | 441 | | this title. 10 |
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| 442 | 442 | | ‘‘(K) To the Court of Appeals for Veterans 11 |
|---|
| 443 | 443 | | Claims, for purposes of filing an appeal under chap-12 |
|---|
| 444 | 444 | | ter 72 of this title.’’. 13 |
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| 445 | 445 | | (e) D |
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| 446 | 446 | | EADLINE FORCERTAINMECHANISM.—The Sec-14 |
|---|
| 447 | 447 | | retary of Veterans Affairs shall establish the mechanism 15 |
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| 448 | 448 | | described in paragraph (3) of subsection (b) of section 16 |
|---|
| 449 | 449 | | 7112 of title 38, United States Code, as added by sub-17 |
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| 450 | 450 | | section (c)(7), by not later than 180 after the date of the 18 |
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| 451 | 451 | | enactment of this Act. 19 |
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| 452 | 452 | | SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF JURISDICTION OF UNITED STATES 20 |
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| 453 | 453 | | COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS 21 |
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| 454 | 454 | | AND UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS 22 |
|---|
| 455 | 455 | | FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT. 23 |
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| 456 | 456 | | (a) U |
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| 457 | 457 | | NITEDSTATESCOURT OFAPPEALS FORVET-24 |
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| 458 | 458 | | ERANSCLAIMS.— 25 |
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| 461 | 461 | | •HR 1471 IH |
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| 462 | 462 | | (1) EXPANSION.—Section 502 of title 38, 1 |
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| 463 | 463 | | United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘the 2 |
|---|
| 464 | 464 | | Federal Circuit’’ and inserting ‘‘Veterans Claims’’. 3 |
|---|
| 465 | 465 | | (2) S |
|---|
| 466 | 466 | | COPE OF REVIEW OF CERTAIN CLAIMS .— 4 |
|---|
| 467 | 467 | | Section 7261 of such title is amended— 5 |
|---|
| 468 | 468 | | (A) in paragraph (4) of subsection (a), by 6 |
|---|
| 469 | 469 | | striking ‘‘clearly erroneous’’ and inserting ‘‘ar-7 |
|---|
| 470 | 470 | | bitrary and capricious’’; 8 |
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| 471 | 471 | | (B) by striking subsection (c); 9 |
|---|
| 472 | 472 | | (C) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub-10 |
|---|
| 473 | 473 | | section (c); and 11 |
|---|
| 474 | 474 | | (D) in subsection (c) (as so redesignated), 12 |
|---|
| 475 | 475 | | by striking ‘‘shall review only questions raised 13 |
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| 476 | 476 | | as to compliance with and the validity of the 14 |
|---|
| 477 | 477 | | regulation’’ and inserting ‘‘shall review such de-15 |
|---|
| 478 | 478 | | cision and the accompanying findings of fact by 16 |
|---|
| 479 | 479 | | trial de novo’’. 17 |
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| 480 | 480 | | (b) U |
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| 481 | 481 | | NITEDSTATESCOURT OFAPPEALS FOR THE 18 |
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| 482 | 482 | | F |
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| 483 | 483 | | EDERALCIRCUIT.— 19 |
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| 484 | 484 | | (1) E |
|---|
| 485 | 485 | | XPANSION.—Section 1295(a) of title 28, 20 |
|---|
| 486 | 486 | | United States Code, is amended— 21 |
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| 487 | 487 | | (A) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘; and’’; 22 |
|---|
| 488 | 488 | | (B) in paragraph (14), by striking the pe-23 |
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| 489 | 489 | | riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 24 |
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| 492 | 492 | | •HR 1471 IH |
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| 493 | 493 | | (C) by adding at the end the following new 1 |
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| 494 | 494 | | paragraph: 2 |
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| 495 | 495 | | ‘‘(15) of an appeal from a final decision of the 3 |
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| 496 | 496 | | United States Court of Appeals for Veterans 4 |
|---|
| 497 | 497 | | Claims.’’. 5 |
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| 498 | 498 | | (2) R |
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| 499 | 499 | | EPEAL OF CERTAIN PROVISION .—Section 6 |
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| 500 | 500 | | 7292 of title 38, United States Code, is repealed. 7 |
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| 501 | 501 | | (3) C |
|---|
| 502 | 502 | | ONFORMING AMENDMENTS .—Section 7252 8 |
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| 503 | 503 | | of such title is amended by striking subsection (c). 9 |
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| 504 | 504 | | Æ |
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