[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1399 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1399

  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

                             April 17, 1997

   Mr. Smith of New Jersey 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 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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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 military, 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 connection with 
examinations and treatment furnished to veterans and that is likely to 
be scientifically useful in determining the association, if any, 
between the disabilities of such veterans and sustained exposure to 
cold weather during 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 subchapter II the following new 
section:
``Sec. 319. Presumptions of service connection for injuries and 
              diseases associated with sustained exposure to cold 
              weather
    ``(a) For the purposes of section 310 of this title, and subject to 
section 313 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 military operation in the field was exposed to a period of 
qualifying cold weather shall be considered to have been incurred 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 injury 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 15 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 317 the 
following new item:

``319. 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 319 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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