[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4018 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4018

To amend title 38, United States Code, to make improvements in judicial 
   review of administrative decisions of the Department of Veterans 
                                Affairs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 20, 2002

Mr. Evans (for himself, Mr. Reyes, Mr. Gutierrez, Ms. Brown of Florida, 
Ms. Berkley, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Udall of New Mexico, Mr. Pascrell, and Ms. 
Carson of Indiana) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                   the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to make improvements in judicial 
   review of administrative decisions of the Department of Veterans 
                                Affairs.

    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 Judicial Review Improvement 
Act of 2002''.

SEC. 2. STANDARD FOR REVERSAL OF ERRONEOUS FINDINGS OF FACT.

    (a) Change to ``Clearly Erroneous'' Standard.--Section 7261 of 
title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(4)--
                    (A) by inserting ``adverse to a claimant'' after 
                ``material fact''; and
                    (B) by striking ``is clearly erroneous'' and 
                inserting ``is not supported by a preponderance of the 
                evidence''; and
            (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
    ``(b) In making the determinations under subsection (a), the Court 
shall review the record of proceedings before the Secretary and the 
Board, as provided for in section 5107(b) and section 7252(b) of this 
title.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
apply with respect to any action brought under chapter 72 of title 38, 
United States Code, that is not final under section 7291 of such title 
as of after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. JURISDICTION OF COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS.

    Section 7252 of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b), by inserting ``under subsection 
        (a)'' in the second sentence after ``The extent of the 
        review'';
            (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 
        subsection (c):
    ``(c) If the Court determines that the Secretary has unlawfully 
withheld or unreasonably delayed action on a claim or has failed to 
plead or otherwise defend in accordance with the rules of the Court, 
the Court may enter a default judgment against the Secretary. A default 
judgment may not be entered against the Secretary unless the Secretary 
has been provided notice of such a proposed judgment and the Court 
finds that the claim or right to relief has been established.''.

SEC. 4. JURISDICTION OF COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT TO 
              REVIEW DECISIONS OF THE COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS 
              CLAIMS.

    (a) Expansion of Jurisdiction.--Section 7292 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``review of the 
                decision''; and
                    (B) by inserting before the period at the end of 
                the first sentence the following: ``, or (2) with 
                respect to any question of law, or of an application of 
                the law to the facts, that was relied on by the Court 
                in making the decision''
            (2) in subsection (d)(2)--
                    (A) by striking ``(A)''; and
                    (B) by striking ``, or (B)'' and all that follows 
                through ``particular case''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
apply with respect to any case for which an appeal is filed with the 
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on or after the 
date of the enactment of this Act or for which an appeal was filed with 
that court before such date and which is not final under section 7291 
of title 38, United States Code, as of that date.

SEC. 5. CODIFICATION OF REQUIREMENT FOR EXPEDITIOUS TREATMENT OF CASES 
              ON REMAND.

    (a) Cases Remanded by Board of Veterans' Appeals.--(1) Chapter 51 
of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end of 
subchapter I the following new section:
``Sec. 5109B. Expedited treatment of remanded claims
    ``The Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary to 
provide for the expeditious treatment by the appropriate regional 
office of the Veterans Benefits Administration of any claim that is 
remanded to that office by the Board of Veterans' Appeals.''.
    (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 5109A the 
following new item:

``5109B. Expedited treatment of remanded claims.''.
    (b) Cases Remanded by Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.--(1) 
Chapter 71 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new section:
``Sec. 7112. Expedited treatment of remanded claims
    ``The Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary to 
provide for the expeditious treatment by the Board of any claim that is 
remanded to the Secretary by the Court of Appeals for Veterans 
Claims.''.
    (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is 
amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``7112. Expedited treatment of remanded claims.''.
    (c) Repeal of Source Section.--Section 302 of the Veterans' 
Benefits Improvement Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-446; 108 Stat. 4658; 
38 U.S.C. 5101 note) is repealed.

SEC. 6. AUTHORITY FOR COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS TO ORDER 
              PAYMENT OF INTERIM BENEFITS ON REMANDED CLAIMS.

    (a) Authority To Order Payment.--Section 7267 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(d)(1) Whenever the Court remands to the Secretary a case 
involving a claim for compensation, dependency and indemnity 
compensation, or pension, the Court may include in its order remanding 
the case an order that if the remanded claim is not decided by the 
Secretary within 180 days of the date of the remand, the Secretary 
shall pay interim benefits under that claim in such amount as may be 
provided in the court order, not in excess of the amount specified in 
the claim (or the amount for the rating specified in the claim). 
Payments pursuant to such an order shall commence effective with the 
next month beginning after the end of such 180-day period and shall 
terminate as provided in the Court order, but not later than the last 
day of the month in which the final decision resolving the claim is 
made.
    ``(2) An order of the Court under paragraph (1) for the payment of 
interim benefits is final and is not subject to review by any other 
court.
    ``(3) In a case for which interim benefits are paid pursuant to an 
order under paragraph (1)--
            ``(A) if benefits are awarded as part of the final decision 
        on the claim, the amount of interim benefits paid for any month 
        shall be deducted from the amount of any retroactive benefit 
        otherwise payable for that month under the final decision on 
        the claim; and
            ``(B) if benefits are not awarded as part of the final 
        decision on the claim, the amount of interim benefits paid 
        shall not be considered to be an overpayment and shall not 
        otherwise be subject to recovery by the United States.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply with respect to any action brought under chapter 72 of title 38, 
United States Code, that is not final under section 7291 of such title 
as of the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 7. AUTHORITY FOR COURT TO EXTEND TIME TO FILE NOTICE OF APPEAL.

    (a) Authority.--Section 7266(a) of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(5) The Court, upon a showing of excusable neglect or good cause, 
may extend the time for filing a notice of appeal. A copy of any motion 
for such an extension of time for filing shall be provided to the 
Secretary and to any other party to the case in accordance with the 
Court's rules of practice and procedure.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall not 
apply to any case for which the time for filing a notice of appeal 
under section 7266 of title 38, United States Code, has elapsed before 
the date of the enactment of this Act.
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