[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2330 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2330

  To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide that undiagnosed 
 illnesses constitute diseases for purposes of entitlement of veterans 
  to disability compensation for service-connected diseases, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                July 27 (legislative day, July 20), 1994

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide that undiagnosed 
 illnesses constitute diseases for purposes of entitlement of veterans 
  to disability compensation for service-connected diseases, and for 
                            other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. CLARIFICATION OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN UNDIAGNOSED ILLNESS 
              AND DISEASE FOR PURPOSES OF ENTITLEMENT TO DISABILITY 
              COMPENSATION.

    (a) Wartime Disability Compensation.--Section 1110 of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(a)'' before ``For disability''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) For the purposes of this section, the term `disease', in the 
case of an individual, means any deviation from or interruption of the 
normal structure or function of any part, organ, or system of the body 
of the individual that is manifested by a symptom or sign (or symptoms 
or signs) the etiology, pathology, and prognosis for which is known or 
unknown.''.
    (b) Peacetime Disability Compensation.--Section 1131 of such title 
is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(a)'' before ``For disability''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) For the purposes of this section, the term `disease', in the 
case of an individual, means any deviation from or interruption of the 
normal structure or function of any part, organ, or system of the body 
of the individual that is manifested by a symptom or sign (or symptoms 
or signs) the etiology, pathology, and prognosis for which is known or 
unknown.''.
    (c) Consideration of Circumstances of Service.--Subsection (a) of 
section 1154 of such title is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a) The Secretary shall include in the regulations pertaining to 
service-connection of disabilities the following provisions:
            ``(1) Additional provisions requiring that due 
        consideration be given in each case where a veteran is seeking 
        service-connection for a disability and where such 
        consideration might materially assist the veteran in 
        establishing such service-connection to--
                    ``(A) the places, types, and circumstances of such 
                veteran's service as shown by such veteran's service 
                record, the official history of each organization in 
                which the veteran served, such veteran's medical 
                records, and all pertinent medical and lay evidence; 
                and
                    ``(B) the common or shared experiences, medical 
                symptoms or signs, or both, of other veterans 
                (including groups of veterans) who--
                            ``(i) were engaged in service similar to 
                        the service of such veteran; and
                            ``(ii) exhibit, or have exhibited since 
                        such service, medical symptoms or signs similar 
                        to the medical symptoms or signs of such 
                        veteran.
            ``(2) The provisions required by section 5 of the Veterans' 
        Dioxin and Radiation Exposure Compensation Standards Act (38 
        U.S.C. 1154 note).''.
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