[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1904 Reported in Senate (RS)]

                                                       Calendar No. 413

103d CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 1904

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the organization and 
             procedures of the Board of Veterans' Appeals.

_______________________________________________________________________

               April 14 (legislative day, April 11), 1994

                        Reported with amendments





                                                       Calendar No. 413
103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1904

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the organization and 
             procedures of the Board of Veterans' Appeals.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

              March 8 (legislative day, February 22), 1994

Mr. Rockefeller (for himself, Mr. Murkowski, Mr. DeConcini, Mr. Graham, 
Mr. Akaka, Mr. Daschle, Mr. Campbell, and Mr. Wellstone) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                           Veterans' Affairs

               April 14 (legislative day, April 11), 1994

              Reported by Mr. Rockefeller, with amendments
  [Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the organization and 
             procedures of the Board of Veterans' Appeals.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. ORGANIZATION AND PROCEDURES OF BOARD OF VETERANS' APPEALS.

    (a) Number of Members.--Subsection (a) of section 7101 of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended by striking out ``(not more than 65)''.
    (b) Acting and Temporary Members.--(1) Such section is further 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) by striking out paragraph (1) and inserting in 
                lieu thereof the following new paragraph (1):
    ``(1)(A) The Chairman may from time to time designate one or more 
employees of the Department to serve as acting members of the Board. 
Except as provided in subparagraph (B), any such designation shall be 
for a period not to exceed 90 days, as determined by the Chairman.
    ``(B) An individual designated as an acting member of the Board may 
continue to serve as an acting member of the Board in the making of any 
determination on a proceeding for which the individual was designated 
as an acting member of the Board, notwithstanding the termination of 
the period of designation of the individual as an acting member of the 
Board under subparagraph (A) or (C).
    ``(C) An individual may not serve as an acting member of the Board 
for more than 270 days during any 1-year period.'';
                    (B) by striking out paragraph (2);
                    (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph 
                (2); and
                    (D) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated, by 
                striking out ``the number of temporary Board members'' 
                and all that follows through the period at the end and 
                inserting in lieu thereof ``the number of acting 
                members of the Board designated under such paragraph 
                (1) during the year for which the report is made.''; 
                and
            (2) in subsection (e), by striking out ``a temporary or'' 
        and inserting in lieu thereof ``an''.
    (c) Report on Board Activities.--Subsection (d) of such section is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by striking out ``and'' at the end of 
                subparagraph (D);
                    (B) by striking out the period at the end of 
                subparagraph (E) and inserting in lieu thereof ``; 
                and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                subparagraph:
            ``(F) the number of employees of the Department designated 
        under subsection (c)(1) of this section to serve as acting 
        members of the Board during that year and the number of cases 
        in which each such member participated during that year.''; and
            (2) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking out ``as required by 
        section 7103(d) of this title''.
    (d) Appeals Decisions.--(1) Chapter 71 of such title is amended by 
striking out sections 7102 and 7103 and inserting in lieu thereof the 
following new sections 7102 and 7103:
``Sec. 7102. Decisions by the Board
    ``A proceeding instituted before the Board may be assigned to one 
or more members of the Board. A proceeding assigned to more than one 
member shall be assigned to a panel of not less than three members of 
the Board. A member or panel assigned a proceeding shall make a 
determination thereon, including any motion filed in connection 
therewith. The member or panel, as the case may be, shall make a report 
under section 7104(d) of this title on any such determination, which 
report shall constitute the final disposition of the proceeding by the 
member or panel.
``Sec. 7103. Reconsideration; correction of obvious errors
    ``(a) Subject to subsections (b) and (c) of this section, the 
decision of the Board determining a matter under section 7102 of this 
title is final.
    ``(b) The Chairman may order reconsideration of the decision in a 
case in accordance with subsection (c) of this section. Such an order 
may be made on the Chairman's initiative or upon motion of the 
claimant.
    ``(c)(1) Upon the order of the Chairman for reconsideration of a 
decision in a case, the case shall be referred--
            ``(A) in the case of a matter originally heard by a single 
        member of the Board, to a panel of not less than three members 
        of the Board.
            ``(B) in the case of a matter originally heard by a panel 
        of members of the Board, to an enlarged panel of the Board.
    ``(2) A panel referred to in paragraph (1) of this subsection may 
not include the member or members who made the original decision 
subject to reconsideration.
    ``(3) A panel reconsidering a matter under this subsection shall 
render its decision after reviewing the entire record before the Board. 
The decision of a majority of the members of the panel shall be final.
    ``(d) The Board on its own motion may correct an obvious error in 
the record, without regard to whether there has been a motion or order 
for reconsideration.''.
    (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is 
amended by striking out the items relating to sections 7102 and 7103 
and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

``7102. Decisions by the Board.
``7103. Reconsideration; correction of obvious errors.''.
    (e) Procedures Relating to Appeals.--(1)(A) Section 7107 of such 
title is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 7107. Appeals: dockets; hearings
    ``(a)(1) All cases received pursuant to application for review on 
appeal shall be considered and decided in regular order according to 
their places upon the docket.
    ``(2) A case referred to in paragraph (1) of this subsection may, 
for cause shown, be advanced on motion for earlier consideration and 
determination. Any such motion shall set forth succinctly the grounds 
upon which it is based and may not be granted unless the case involves 
interpretation of law of general application affecting other claims, or 
for other sufficient cause shown.
    ``(b) The Board shall decide any appeal only after affording the 
appellant an opportunity for a hearing.
    ``(c) A hearing docket shall be maintained and formal recorded 
hearings shall be held by such member or members of the Board as the 
Chairman may designate. Such member or members designated by the 
Chairman to conduct the hearing shall participate in making the final 
determination of the claim.
    ``(d)(1) An appellant may request a hearing before the Board at its 
principal location or at a -r-e-g-i-o-n-a-l -o-f-f-i-c-e -o-f -t-h-e 
-D-e-p-a-r-t-m-e-n-t location within the area served by a regional 
office of the Department.
    ``(2)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, 
hearings requested within an area served by a regional office of the 
Department shall be scheduled in the order in which requests for 
-s-u-c-h -h-e-a-r-i-n-g-s hearings within that area are received by the 
Department.
    ``(B) In a case in which the Secretary is aware that the appellant 
is seriously ill or is under severe financial hardship, a hearing may 
be scheduled at a time earlier than would be provided for under 
subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.
    ``(e)(1) At the request of the Chairman, the Secretary may provide 
suitable facilities and equipment to the Board or other components of 
the Department to enable an appellant located at a facility within the 
area served by a regional office to participate, through voice 
transmission or through picture and voice transmission, by electronic 
or other means, in a hearing with a Board member or members sitting at 
the Board's principal location.
    ``(2) When such facilities and equipment are available, the 
Chairman may afford the appellant an opportunity to participate in a 
hearing before the Board through the use of such facilities and 
equipment in lieu of a hearing held by personally appearing before a 
Board member or panel as provided in subsection (d) of this section. 
Any such hearing shall be conducted in the same manner as, and shall be 
considered the equivalent of, a personal hearing. If the appellant 
declines to participate in a hearing through the use of such facilities 
and equipment, the opportunity of the appellant to a hearing as 
provided in such subsection (d) shall not be affected.''.
    (B) The item relating to section 7107 in the table of sections at 
the beginning of chapter 71 of such title is amended to read as 
follows:

``7107. Appeals: dockets; hearings.''.
    (2)(A) Section 7110 of such title is repealed.
    (B) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 71 of such 
title is amended by striking out the item relating to section 7110.
    (f) Technical Correction.--Section 7104(a) of such title is amended 
by striking out ``211(a)'' and inserting in lieu thereof ``511(a)''.