[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5167 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5167

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to protect ratings of service-
  connection for certain presumptive disabilities of Persian Gulf War 
 veterans participating in Department of Veterans Affairs health study.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 13, 2000

  Mrs. Capps introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to protect ratings of service-
  connection for certain presumptive disabilities of Persian Gulf War 
 veterans participating in Department of Veterans Affairs health study.

    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 Healthcare Fairness Act''.

SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF DISABILITY RATINGS FOR CERTAIN PERSIAN GULF WAR 
              VETERANS.

    (a) Preservation of Presumption of Service-Connection.--Section 
1117 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
the following new subsection:
    ``(g) In the case of a veteran in receipt of compensation for an 
illness that under this section or section 1118(c) of this title is 
presumed to be service-connected, if the veteran voluntarily 
participates in a health study sponsored by the Secretary and as a 
result of that participation is diagnosed as having a motor neuron 
disease and if, as a result of that diagnosis, the Secretary determines 
that a presumption of service connection for that illness is no longer 
warranted--
            ``(1) the veteran shall nevertheless continue to be 
        entitled to receive compensation under this section on the 
        basis of that presumption; and
            ``(2) a survivor of that veteran who was awarded dependency 
        and indemnity compensation for the death of the veteran 
        resulting from the disease that formed the basis for the 
        presumption shall nevertheless continue to be entitled to 
        receive dependency and indemnity compensation on that basis.''.
    (b) Restoration of Benefits.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall restore benefits under laws administered by the Secretary for any 
veteran or survivor covered by subsection (g) of section 1117 of title 
38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), whose benefits were 
terminated before the date of the enactment of this Act by reason of a 
diagnosis of a motor neuron disease. Any such restoration of benefits 
shall be retroactive to the date on which such benefits were 
terminated.
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