[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2237 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2237

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
     To amend title 38, United States Code, to modify and improve 
 authorities relating to compensation and pension benefits, education 
benefits, housing benefits, and other benefits for veterans, to improve 
  the administration of benefits for veterans, 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. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans Benefits 
Improvement Act of 2002''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. References to title 38, United States Code.
               TITLE I--COMPENSATION AND PENSION MATTERS

Sec. 101. Clarification of entitlement to wartime disability 
                            compensation for women veterans who have 
                            service-connected mastectomies.
Sec. 102. Compensation for hearing loss in paired organs.
Sec. 103. Authority for presumption of service connection for hearing 
                            loss associated with particular military 
                            occupational specialties.
Sec. 104. Modification of authorities on Medal of Honor Roll special 
                            pension.
Sec. 105. Applicability of prohibition on assignment of veterans 
                            benefits to agreements on future receipt of 
                            certain benefits.
Sec. 106. Extension of income verification authority.
                      TITLE II--EDUCATION MATTERS

Sec. 201. Three-year increase in aggregate annual amount available for 
                            State approving agencies for administrative 
                            expenses.
Sec. 202. Clarifying improvement of various education authorities.
                       TITLE III--HOUSING MATTERS

Sec. 301. Authority to guarantee adjustable rate mortgages and hybrid 
                            adjustable rate mortgages.
                    TITLE IV--OTHER BENEFITS MATTERS

Sec. 401. Treatment of duty of National Guard mobilized by States for 
                            homeland security activities as military 
                            service under Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil 
                            Relief Act of 1940.
Sec. 402. Prohibition on certain additional benefits for persons 
                            committing capital crimes.
Sec. 403. Procedures for disqualification of persons committing capital 
                            crimes for interment or memorialization in 
                            national cemeteries.
       TITLE V--JUDICIAL, PROCEDURAL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS

Sec. 501. Standard for reversal by Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims 
                            of erroneous finding of fact by Board of 
                            Veterans' Appeals.
Sec. 502. Review by Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit of 
                            decisions of law of Court of Appeals for 
                            Veterans Claims.
Sec. 503. Authority of Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims to award 
                            fees under Equal Access to Justice Act for 
                            non-attorney practitioners.
Sec. 504. Retroactive applicability of modifications of authority and 
                            requirements to assist claimants.

SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO TITLE 38, UNITED STATES CODE.

    Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an 
amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal 
of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to 
be made to a section or other provision of title 38, United States 
Code.

               TITLE I--COMPENSATION AND PENSION MATTERS

SEC. 101. CLARIFICATION OF ENTITLEMENT TO WARTIME DISABILITY 
              COMPENSATION FOR WOMEN VETERANS WHO HAVE SERVICE-
              CONNECTED MASTECTOMIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 1114(k) is amended by inserting ``of half 
or more of the tissue'' after ``anatomical loss'' the second place it 
appears.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, and shall apply 
with respect to months that begin on or after that date.

SEC. 102. COMPENSATION FOR HEARING LOSS IN PAIRED ORGANS.

    (a) Hearing Loss Required for Compensation.--Section 1160(a)(3) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``total deafness'' the first place it 
        appears and inserting ``deafness compensable to a degree of 10 
        percent or more''; and
            (2) by striking ``total deafness'' the second place it 
        appears and inserting ``deafness''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, and shall apply 
with respect to months that begin on or after that date.

SEC. 103. AUTHORITY FOR PRESUMPTION OF SERVICE CONNECTION FOR HEARING 
              LOSS ASSOCIATED WITH PARTICULAR MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL 
              SPECIALTIES.

    (a) In General.--(1) Subchapter II of chapter 11 is amended by 
adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 1119. Presumption of service connection for hearing loss 
              associated with particular military occupational 
              specialties
    ``(a) For purposes of section 1110 of this title, and subject to 
section 1113 of this title, hearing loss, tinnitus, or both of a 
veteran who served on active military, naval, or air service during a 
period specified by the Secretary under subsection (b)(1) and was 
assigned during the period of such service to a military occupational 
specialty or equivalent described in subsection (b)(2) shall be 
considered to have been incurred in or aggravated by such service, 
notwithstanding that there is no record of evidence of such hearing 
loss or tinnitus, as the case may be, during the period of such 
service.
    ``(b)(1) A period referred to in subsection (a) is a period, if 
any, that the Secretary determines in regulations prescribed under this 
section--
            ``(A) during which audiometric measures were consistently 
        not adequate to assess individual hearing threshold shift; or
            ``(B) with respect to service in a military occupational 
        specialty or equivalent described in paragraph (2), during 
        which hearing conservation measures to prevent individual 
        hearing threshold shift were unavailable or provided 
        insufficient protection for members assigned to such military 
        occupational specialty or equivalent.
    ``(2) A military occupational specialty or equivalent referred to 
in subsection (a) is a military occupational specialty or equivalent, 
if any, that the Secretary determines in regulations prescribed under 
this section in which individuals assigned to such military 
occupational specialty or equivalent in the active military, naval, or 
air service are or were likely to be exposed to a sufficiently high 
level of acoustic trauma as to result in permanent hearing loss, 
tinnitus, or both.
    ``(c) In making determinations for purposes of subsection (b), the 
Secretary shall take into account the report submitted to the Secretary 
by the National Academy of Sciences under section 103(c) of the 
Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 2002.
    ``(d)(1) Not later than 60 days after the date on which the 
Secretary receives the report referred to in subsection (c), the 
Secretary shall determine whether or not a presumption of service 
connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, or both is warranted for the 
hearing loss, tinnitus, or both, as the case may be, of individuals 
assigned to each military occupational specialty or equivalent, and 
during each period, identified by the National Academy of Sciences in 
such report as a military occupational specialty or equivalent in which 
individuals are or were likely to be exposed during such period to a 
sufficiently high level of acoustic trauma as to result in permanent 
hearing loss, tinnitus, or both to a degree which would be compensable 
as a service-connected disability under the laws administered by the 
Secretary.
    ``(2) If the Secretary determines under paragraph (1) that a 
presumption of service connection is warranted with respect to any 
military occupational specialty or equivalent described in that 
paragraph and hearing loss, tinnitus, or both, the Secretary shall, not 
later than 60 days after the date of the determination, issue proposed 
regulations setting forth the Secretary's determination.
    ``(3) If the Secretary determines under paragraph (1) that a 
presumption of service connection is not warranted with respect to any 
military occupational specialty or equivalent described in that 
paragraph and hearing loss, tinnitus, or both, the Secretary shall, not 
later than 60 days after the date of the determination--
            ``(A) publish the determination in the Federal Register; 
        and
            ``(B) submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the 
        Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the 
        determination, including a justification for the determination.
    ``(e) Any regulations issued under subsection (d)(2) shall take 
effect on the date provided for in such regulations. No benefit may be 
paid under this section for any month that begins before that date.''.
    (2) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 11 is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 1118 the following new 
item:

``1119. Presumption of service connection for hearing loss associated 
                            with particular military occupational 
                            specialties.''.
    (b) Presumption Rebuttable.--Section 1113 is amended by striking 
``or 1118'' each place it appears and inserting ``1118, or 1119''.
    (c) Assessment of Acoustic Trauma Associated With Various Military 
Occupational Specialties.--(1) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences, 
or another appropriate scientific organization, for the Academy to 
perform the activities specified in this subsection. The Secretary 
shall seek to enter into the agreement not later than 60 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.
    (2) Under the agreement under paragraph (1), the National Academy 
of Sciences shall--
            (A) review and assess available data on occupational 
        hearing loss;
            (B) from such data, identify the forms of acoustic trauma 
        that, if experienced by individuals in the active military, 
        naval, or air service, could cause or contribute to hearing 
        loss, hearing threshold shift, or tinnitus in such individuals;
            (C) in the case of each form of acoustic trauma identified 
        under subparagraph (B)--
                    (i) determine how much exposure to such form of 
                acoustic trauma is required to cause or contribute to 
                hearing loss, hearing threshold shift, or tinnitus, as 
                the case may be, and at what noise level; and
                    (ii) determine whether or not such hearing loss, 
                hearing threshold shift, or tinnitus, as the case may 
                be, is--
                            (I) immediate or delayed onset;
                            (II) cumulative;
                            (III) progressive; or
                            (IV) any combination of subclauses (I) 
                        through (III);
            (D) review and assess the completeness and adequacy of data 
        of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of 
        Defense on hearing threshold shift in a representative sample 
        of individuals who were discharged or released from service in 
        the Armed Forces following World War II, the Korean conflict, 
        and the Vietnam era, and in peacetime during the period from 
        the end of the Vietnam era to the beginning of the Persian Gulf 
        War, and during the Persian Gulf War, with such sample to be 
        selected so as to reflect an appropriate distribution of 
        individuals among the various Armed Forces;
            (E) identify each military occupational specialty or 
        equivalent, if any, in which individuals assigned to such 
        military occupational specialty or equivalent in the active 
        military, naval, or air service are or were likely to be 
        exposed to a sufficiently high level of acoustic trauma as to 
        result in permanent hearing loss, tinnitus, or both to a degree 
        which would be compensable as a service-connected disability 
        under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans 
        Affairs; and
            (F) assess when, if ever--
                    (i) audiometric measures became adequate to 
                evaluate individual hearing threshold shift; and
                    (ii) hearing conservation measures to prevent 
                individual hearing threshold shift were available and 
                provided sufficient protection for members assigned to 
                each military occupational specialty or equivalent 
                identified under subparagraph (E).
    (3) Not later than 180 days after the date of the entry into the 
agreement referred to in paragraph (1), the National Academy of 
Sciences shall submit to the Secretary a report on the activities of 
the National Academy of Sciences under the agreement, including the 
results of the activities required by subparagraphs (A) through (F) of 
paragraph (2).
    (4) For purposes of paragraph (2)(D), the terms ``World War II'', 
``Korean conflict'', ``Vietnam era'', and ``Persian Gulf War'' have the 
meanings given such terms in section 101 of title 38, United States 
Code.
    (d) Report on Administration of Benefits for Hearing Loss and 
Tinnitus.--(1) Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the 
Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the House of 
Representatives a report on the claims submitted to the Secretary for 
disability compensation or health care for hearing loss or tinnitus.
    (2) The report under paragraph (1) shall include the following:
            (A) The number of claims submitted to the Secretary in each 
        of 1999, 2000, and 2001 for disability compensation for hearing 
        loss, tinnitus, or both.
            (B) Of the claims referred to in subparagraph (A)--
                    (i) the number of claims for which disability 
                compensation was awarded, set forth by year;
                    (ii) the number of claims assigned each disability 
                rating; and
                    (iii) the total amount of disability compensation 
                paid on such claims during each such year.
            (C) The total cost to the Department of Veterans Affairs of 
        adjudicating the claims referred to in subparagraph (A), set 
        forth in terms of full-time employee equivalents (FTEEs).
            (D) The total number of veterans who sought treatment in 
        Department health care facilities in each of 1999, 2000, and 
        2001 for hearing-related disorders, set forth by--
                    (i) the number of veterans per year; and
                    (ii) the military occupational specialties or 
                equivalents of such veterans during their active 
                military, naval, or air service.
            (E) The health care furnished to veterans referred to in 
        subparagraph (D) for hearing-related disorders, including the 
        number of veterans furnished hearing aids and the cost of 
        furnishing such hearing aids.

SEC. 104. MODIFICATION OF AUTHORITIES ON MEDAL OF HONOR ROLL SPECIAL 
              PENSION.

    (a) Increase in Amount.--Subsection (a) of section 1562 is amended 
by striking ``$600'' and inserting ``$1,000, as adjusted from time to 
time under subsection (e)''.
    (b) Annual Adjustment.--That section is further amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(e) Effective as of December 1 each year, the Secretary shall 
increase the amount of monthly special pension payable under subsection 
(a) as of November 30 of such year by the same percentage as the 
percentage by which benefit amounts payable under title II of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.) are increased effective 
December 1 of such year as a result of a determination under section 
215(i) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 415(i)).''.
    (c) Effective Date.--(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect on the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and shall apply with respect to 
months that begin on or after that date.
    (2) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall not make any adjustment 
under subsection (e) of section 1562 of title 38, United States Code, 
as added by subsection (b) of this section, in 2002.
    (d) Payment of Lump Sum for Period Between Act of Valor and 
Commencement of Special Pension.--(1) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall pay, in a lump sum, to each person who is in receipt of special 
pension payable under section 1562 of title 38, United States Code, an 
amount equal to the total amount of special pension that the person 
would have received during the period beginning on the first day of the 
first month beginning after the date of the act for which the person 
was awarded the Medal of Honor and ending on the last day of the month 
preceding the month in which the person's special pension in fact 
commenced.
    (2) For each month of a period referred to in paragraph (1), the 
amount of special pension payable to a person shall be determined using 
the rate of special pension that was in effect for such month, and 
shall be payable only if the person would have been entitled to payment 
of special pension during such month under laws for eligibility for 
special pension in effect at the beginning of such month.

SEC. 105. APPLICABILITY OF PROHIBITION ON ASSIGNMENT OF VETERANS 
              BENEFITS TO AGREEMENTS ON FUTURE RECEIPT OF CERTAIN 
              BENEFITS.

    (a) In General.--Section 5301(a) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(a)'';
            (2) by designating the last sentence as paragraph (2) and 
        indenting such paragraph, as so designated, two ems from the 
        left margin; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(3)(A) For purposes of this subsection, in any case where a 
beneficiary entitled to compensation, pension, or dependency and 
indemnity compensation enters into an agreement with another person 
under which agreement such other person acquires for consideration the 
right to receive payment of such compensation, pension, or dependency 
and indemnity compensation, as the case may be, whether by payment from 
the beneficiary to such other person, deposit into an account from 
which such other person may make withdrawals, or otherwise, such 
agreement shall be deemed to be an assignment and is prohibited.
    ``(B) Any agreement or arrangement for collateral for security for 
an agreement that is prohibited under subparagraph (A) is also 
prohibited.
    ``(C)(i) Any person who enters into an agreement that is prohibited 
under subparagraph (A), or an agreement or arrangement that is 
prohibited under subparagraph (B), shall be fined under title 18, 
imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.
    ``(ii) This subparagraph does not apply to a beneficiary with 
respect to compensation, pension, or dependency and indemnity 
compensation to which the beneficiary is entitled under a law 
administered by the Secretary.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--Paragraph (3) of section 5301(a) of title 38, 
United States Code (as added by subsection (a) of this section), shall 
apply with respect to any agreement or arrangement described in such 
paragraph that is entered into on or after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
    (c) Outreach.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall, during the 
five-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, 
carry out a program of outreach to inform veterans and other recipients 
or potential recipients of compensation, pension, or dependency and 
indemnity compensation benefits under the laws administered by the 
Secretary of the prohibition on the assignment of such benefits under 
law. The program shall include information on various schemes to evade 
the prohibition, and means of avoiding such schemes.

SEC. 106. EXTENSION OF INCOME VERIFICATION AUTHORITY.

    (a) Title 38, United States Code.--Section 5317(g) is amended by 
striking ``September 30, 2008'' and inserting ``September 30, 2011''.
    (b) Internal Revenue Code.--Section 6103(l)(7)(D)(viii) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``September 30, 
2003'' and inserting ``September 30, 2011''.

                      TITLE II--EDUCATION MATTERS

SEC. 201. THREE-YEAR INCREASE IN AGGREGATE ANNUAL AMOUNT AVAILABLE FOR 
              STATE APPROVING AGENCIES FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.

    (a) Increase in Amount.--Section 3674(a)(4) is amended in the first 
sentence by striking ``fiscal years 2001 and 2002, $14,000,000'' and 
inserting ``fiscal years 2003, 2004, and 2005, $18,000,000''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect on October 1, 2002.

SEC. 202. CLARIFYING IMPROVEMENT OF VARIOUS EDUCATION AUTHORITIES.

    (a) Eligibility of Certain Additional Vietnam Era Veterans.--
Section 3011(a)(1)(C)(ii) is amended by striking ``on or''.
    (b) Accelerated Payment of Assistance for Education Leading to 
Employment in High Technology Industry.--(1) Subsection (b)(1) of 
section 3014A is amended by striking ``employment in a high technology 
industry'' and inserting ``employment in a high technology occupation 
in a high technology industry''.
    (2)(A) The heading for section 3014A is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 3014A. Accelerated payment of basic educational assistance for 
              education leading to employment in high technology 
              occupation in high technology industry''.
    (B) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 30 is amended 
by striking the item relating to section 3014A and inserting the 
following new item:

``3014A. Accelerated payment of basic educational assistance for 
                            education leading to employment in high 
                            technology occupation in high technology 
                            industry.''.
    (c) Source of Funds for Increased Usage of Entitlement Under 
Entitlement Transfer Authority.--Section 3035(b) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``paragraphs (2) and (3) 
        of this subsection,'' and inserting ``paragraphs (2), (3), and 
        (4),''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(4) Payments attributable to the increased usage of benefits as a 
result of transfers of entitlement to basic educational assistance 
under section 3020 of this title shall be made from the Department of 
Defense Educations Benefits Fund established under section 2006 of 
title 10 or from appropriations made to the Department of 
Transportation, as appropriate.''.
    (d) Licensing or Certification Tests.--(1) Section 3232(c)(1) is 
amended by striking ``a licensing'' and inserting ``a particular 
licensing''.
    (2) Section 3689 is amended--
            (A) in subsection (b)(1)(B), by inserting ``and with such 
        other standards as the Secretary may prescribe,'' after 
        ``practices,''; and
            (B) in subsection (c)(1)(A), by inserting ``and with such 
        other standards as the Secretary may prescribe,'' after 
        ``practices,''.
    (3) Section 3689(c)(1)(B) is amended by striking ``the test'' and 
inserting ``such test, or a test to certify or license in a similar or 
related occupation,''.
    (e) Period of Eligibility for Survivors' and Dependents' 
Assistance.--Section 3512(a) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``paragraph (4)'' in the 
        matter preceding subparagraph (A) and inserting ``paragraph (4) 
        or (5)'';
            (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), (6), and (7) as 
        paragraphs (5), (6), (7), and (8), respectively;
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new 
        paragraph (4):
            ``(4) if the person otherwise eligible under paragraph (3) 
        fails to elect a beginning date of entitlement in accordance 
        with that paragraph, the beginning date of the person's 
        entitlement shall be the date of the Secretary's decision that 
        the parent has a service-connected total disability permanent 
        in nature, or that the parent's death was service-connected, 
        whichever is applicable;''; and
            (4) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by striking 
        ``paragraph (4)'' and inserting ``paragraph (5)''.

                       TITLE III--HOUSING MATTERS

SEC. 301. AUTHORITY TO GUARANTEE ADJUSTABLE RATE MORTGAGES AND HYBRID 
              ADJUSTABLE RATE MORTGAGES.

    (a) Three-Year Extension of Authority To Guarantee Adjustable Rate 
Mortgages.--Subsection (a) of section 3707 is amended by striking 
``during fiscal years 1993, 1994, and 1995'' and inserting ``through 
fiscal year 2005''.
    (b) Authority To Guarantee Hybrid Adjustable Rate Mortgages.--That 
section is further amended--
            (1) in subsection (b), by striking ``Interest rate 
        adjustment provisions'' and inserting ``Except as provided in 
        subsection (c)(1), interest rate adjustment provisions'';
            (2) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections 
        (d) and (e), respectively; and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 
        subsection (c):
    ``(c) Adjustable rate mortgages that are guaranteed under this 
section shall include adjustable rate mortgages (commonly referred to 
as `hybrid adjustable rate mortgages') having interest rate adjustment 
provisions that--
            ``(1) are not subject to subsection (b)(1);
            ``(2) specify an initial rate of interest that is fixed for 
        a period of not less than the first three years of the mortgage 
        term;
            ``(3) provide for an initial adjustment in the rate of 
        interest by the mortgagee at the end of the period described in 
        paragraph (2); and
            ``(4) comply in such initial adjustment, and any subsequent 
        adjustment, with paragraphs (2) through (4) of subsection 
        (b).''.
    (c) Implementation of Authority To Guarantee Hybrid Adjustable Rate 
Mortgages.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall exercise the 
authority under section 3707 of title 38, United States Code, as 
amended by this section, to guarantee adjustable rate mortgages 
described in subsection (c) of such section 3707, as so amended, in 
advance of any rulemaking otherwise required to implement such 
authority.

                    TITLE IV--OTHER BENEFITS MATTERS

SEC. 401. TREATMENT OF DUTY OF NATIONAL GUARD MOBILIZED BY STATES FOR 
              HOMELAND SECURITY ACTIVITIES AS MILITARY SERVICE UNDER 
              SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' CIVIL RELIEF ACT OF 1940.

    Section 101(1) of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 
1940 (50 U.S.C. App. 511(1)) is amended--
            (1) in the first sentence--
                    (A) by striking ``and all'' and inserting ``all''; 
                and
                    (B) by inserting before the period the following: 
                ``, and all members of the National Guard on service 
                described in the following sentence''; and
            (2) in the second sentence, by inserting before the period 
        the following: ``, and shall include service in the National 
        Guard, pursuant to a call or order to duty by the Governor of a 
        State, upon the request of a Federal law enforcement agency and 
        with the concurrence of the Secretary of Defense, to perform 
        full-time duty under section 502(f) of title 32, United States 
        Code, for purposes of carrying out homeland security 
        activities''.

SEC. 402. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN ADDITIONAL BENEFITS FOR PERSONS 
              COMMITTING CAPITAL CRIMES.

    (a) Presidential Memorial Certificate.--Section 112 is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(c) A certificate may not be furnished under the program under 
subsection (a) on behalf of a deceased person described in section 
2411(b) of this title.''.
    (b) Flag to Drape Casket.--Section 2301 is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (h); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the following new 
        subsection (g):
    ``(g) A flag may not be furnished under this section on behalf of a 
deceased person described in section 2411(b) of this title.''.
    (c) Headstone or Marker for Grave.--Section 2306 is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(g)(1) A headstone or marker may not be furnished under 
subsection (a) for the unmarked grave of a person described in section 
2411(b) of this title.
    ``(2) A memorial headstone or marker may not be furnished under 
subsection (b) for the purpose of commemorating a person described in 
section 2411(b) of this title.
    ``(3) A marker may not be furnished under subsection (d) for the 
grave of a person described in section 2411(b) of this title.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to deaths occurring on or after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.

SEC. 403. PROCEDURES FOR DISQUALIFICATION OF PERSONS COMMITTING CAPITAL 
              CRIMES FOR INTERMENT OR MEMORIALIZATION IN NATIONAL 
              CEMETERIES.

    Section 2411(a)(2) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``The prohibition'' and inserting ``In the 
        case of a person described in subsection (b)(1) or (b)(2), the 
        prohibition''; and
            (2) by striking ``or finding under subsection (b)'' and 
        inserting ``referred to in subsection (b)(1) or (b)(2), as the 
        case may be,''.

       TITLE V--JUDICIAL, PROCEDURAL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS

SEC. 501. STANDARD FOR REVERSAL BY COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS 
              OF ERRONEOUS FINDING OF FACT BY BOARD OF VETERANS' 
              APPEALS.

    (a) Standard for Reversal.--Paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of 
section 7261 is amended by striking ``if the finding is clearly 
erroneous'' and inserting ``if the finding is adverse to the claimant 
and the Court determines that the finding is unsupported by substantial 
evidence of record, taking into account the Secretary's application of 
section 5107(b) of this title''.
    (b) Scope of Authority.--That subsection is further amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
        ``this chapter'' and inserting ``section 7252(a) of this 
        title''; and
            (2) in paragraph (4), as amended by subsection (a) of this 
        section, by inserting ``or reverse'' after ``set aside''.
    (c) Matters Relating to Findings of Material Fact.--That section is 
further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(e)(1) In making a determination on a finding of material fact 
under subsection (a)(4), the Court shall review the record of 
proceedings before the Secretary and the Board of Veterans' Appeals 
pursuant to section 7252(b) of this title.
    ``(2) A determination on a finding of material fact under 
subsection (a)(4) shall specify the evidence or material on which the 
Court relied in making such determination.''.
    (d) Applicability.--(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
    (2) The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b)(2) shall apply 
with respect to any appeal filed with the United States Court of 
Appeals for Veterans Claims--
            (A) on or after the date of the enactment of this Act; or
            (B) before the date of the enactment of this Act, but in 
        which a final decision has not been made under section 7291 of 
        title 38, United States Code, as of that date.

SEC. 502. REVIEW BY COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT OF 
              DECISIONS OF LAW OF COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS.

    (a) Review.--(1) Subsection (a) of section 7292 is amended in the 
first sentence by inserting after ``the validity of'' the following: 
``a decision of the Court on a rule of law or of''.
    (2) Subsection (c) of that section is amended--
            (A) in the first sentence, by inserting after ``the 
        validity of'' the following: ``a decision of the Court of 
        Appeals for Veterans Claims on a rule of law or of''; and
            (B) in the second sentence, by striking ``such court'' and 
        inserting ``the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit''.
    (b) Applicability.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, and shall apply 
with respect to any appeal--
            (1) filed with the United States Court of Appeals for the 
        Federal Circuit on or after the date of the enactment of this 
        Act; or
            (2) pending with the United States Court of Appeals for the 
        Federal Circuit as of the date of the enactment of this Act in 
        which a decision has not been rendered as of that date.

SEC. 503. AUTHORITY OF COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS TO AWARD 
              FEES UNDER EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT FOR NON-ATTORNEY 
              PRACTITIONERS.

    The authority of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans 
Claims to award reasonable fees and expenses of attorneys under section 
2412(d) of title 28, United States Code, shall include authority to 
award fees and expenses, in an amount determined appropriate by the 
United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, of individuals 
admitted to practice before the Court as non-attorney practitioners 
under subsection (b) or (c) of Rule 46 of the Rules of Practice and 
Procedure of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

SEC. 504. RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY OF MODIFICATIONS OF AUTHORITY AND 
              REQUIREMENTS TO ASSIST CLAIMANTS.

    (a) Retroactive Applicability.--Except as specifically provided 
otherwise, the provisions of sections 5102, 5103, 5103A, and 5126 of 
title 38, United States Code, as amended by section 3 of the Veterans 
Claims Assistance Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-475; 114 Stat. 2096), 
apply to any claim--
            (1) filed on or after November 9, 2000; or
            (2) filed before November 9, 2000, and not final as of that 
        date.
    (b) Readjudication of Certain Claims.--If the United States Court 
of Appeals for Veterans Claims, the United States Court of Appeals for 
the Federal Circuit, or the Supreme Court renders a decision during the 
period beginning on April 24, 2002, and ending on the date of the 
enactment of this Act holding that section 3(a) of the Veterans Claims 
Assistance Act of 2000 is not applicable to a case covered by the 
decision because such section 3(a) was not intended to be given 
retroactive effect, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall, upon 
request of the claimant or on the Secretary's own motion, order the 
claim readjudicated under chapter 51 of such title, as amended by the 
Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000, as if Board of Veterans' 
Appeals most recent denial of the claim concerned had not occurred.

            Passed the Senate September 26, 2002.

            Attest:

                                                             Secretary.
107th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 2237

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

     To amend title 38, United States Code, to modify and improve 
 authorities relating to compensation and pension benefits, education 
benefits, housing benefits, and other benefits for veterans, to improve 
  the administration of benefits for veterans, and for other purposes.