[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4084 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4084

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to require a study on the 
  Department of Veterans Affairs schedule for rating disabilities, to 
  provide for the treatment of claims under laws administered by the 
 Secretary of Veterans Affairs in the case of the death of a claimant, 
to require an annual report on the workload of the Court of Appeals for 
                Veteran Claims, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 6, 2007

Mr. Hall of New York introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                 to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 38, United States Code, to require a study on the 
  Department of Veterans Affairs schedule for rating disabilities, to 
  provide for the treatment of claims under laws administered by the 
 Secretary of Veterans Affairs in the case of the death of a claimant, 
to require an annual report on the workload of the Court of Appeals for 
                Veteran Claims, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans Quality of Life Study Act 
of 2007''.

SEC. 2. STUDY ON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS SCHEDULE FOR RATING 
              DISABILITIES.

    (a) Study Required.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the 
enactment, the Secretary shall contract with the Institute of Medicine, 
or other appropriate entity, to conduct a study analyzing the extent to 
which the schedule for rating disabilities prescribed by the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs pursuant to section 1155 of title 38, United States 
Code, accounts for or should be amended or expanded to account, 
measure, and compensate for loss of quality of life to veterans due to 
a disability resulting from a personal injury suffered, physical or 
mental, or disease contracted in the line of duty, or for aggravation 
of a preexisting injury suffered or disease contracted in the line of 
duty.
    (b) Contents of Study.--The study which will be completed by the 
Institute of Medicine, or other appropriate entity, within 180 days 
after contracting with the Secretary shall be carried out pursuant to 
subsection (a) and shall--
            (1) examine--
                    (A) the extent to which the schedule for rating 
                disabilities, as in effect on the date of the enactment 
                of this Act, accounts for loss of quality of life; and
                    (B) specific approaches and instruments for 
                measuring--
                            (i) the effect of a service-connected 
                        disability on a veteran's quality of life, 
                        including the veteran's psychological state, 
                        loss of physical integrity, and social 
                        inadaptability; and
                            (ii) the ways in which quality of life 
                        disability compensation is managed under 
                        various other disability programs of Federal 
                        and State governments and in other countries;
            (2) include recommendations with respect to--
                    (A) the appropriate standards for determining 
                whether a service-connected disability has caused a 
                loss in the veterans' quality of life;
                    (B) the means for determining the appropriate level 
                of compensation for loss of quality of life; and
                    (C) the practicability of implementing quality of 
                life evaluations in the course of providing the 
                benefits relating to disability compensation and 
                pension administered by the Secretary of Veterans 
                Affairs;
            (3) take into account advice and information received 
        through consultations carried out with public and private 
        entities, veteran service organizations, agencies, advocacy 
        groups, and, if necessary, other consultants, with particular 
        attention paid to how to manage any changes for veterans who 
        are receiving disability compensation under chapter 11 of title 
        38, United States Code, as of the date of the enactment of this 
        Act; and
            (4) include such other matters as the Secretary and the 
        entity carrying out the study determine are appropriate.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 60 days after the completion of the 
study required under subsection (a), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall submit to Congress a report that includes the following:
            (1) The Secretary's recommendations with respect to the 
        findings and conclusions of the study regarding accounting for 
        the loss of quality of life in the schedule for rating 
        disabilities prescribed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
        pursuant to section 1155 of title 38, United States Code.
            (2) The Secretary's recommendations with respect to 
        compensation that should be paid by the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs to veterans for loss of quality of life and the basis 
        for determining the amount of any such compensation.

SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF CLAIMS UPON DEATH OF CLAIMANT.

    (a) Treatment of Beneficiary of Veteran's Accrued Benefits as 
Claimant for Purposes of Incomplete Claims Upon Death of Veteran.--
Title 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 
5121 the following:
``Sec. 5121A. Death of claimant
    ``If a veteran who is a claimant dies while a pending claim is 
awaiting final adjudication for any benefit under a law administered by 
the Secretary, the person who would receive any accrued benefits due to 
the veteran under section 5121(a)(2) of this title shall be treated as 
the claimant for the purposes of processing to completion the pending 
claim. If the person who would receive such accrued benefits does not 
want to be treated as the claimant under this subsection, that person 
may designate to be treated as the claimant under this subsection the 
person who would receive such benefits upon the death of the person who 
would otherwise be treated as the claimant under the preceding 
sentence.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to the claim of any veteran who dies on or after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORTS ON WORKLOAD OF UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS 
              FOR VETERANS CLAIMS.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter III of chapter 72 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 7288. Annual report
    ``The chief judge of the Court shall annually submit to the 
Committee on Veterans Affairs' of the Senate and the Committee on 
Veterans Affairs' of the House of Representatives a report summarizing 
the workload of the Court during the last fiscal year that ended before 
the submission of such report. Such report shall include, with respect 
to such fiscal year, the following information:
            ``(1) The number of appeals filed.
            ``(2) The number of petitions filed.
            ``(3) The number of applications filed under section 2412 
        of title 28.
            ``(4) The number and type of dispositions, including 
        settlements.
            ``(5) The median time from filing to disposition.
            ``(6) The number of oral arguments.
            ``(7) The number and status of pending appeals and 
        petitions and of applications described in paragraph (3).
            ``(8) A summary of any service performed by recalled 
        retired judges during the fiscal year.
            ``(9) The number of decisions or dispositions rendered by a 
        single judge, multi-judge panels and the full Court.
            ``(10) The number of cases pending longer than 18 
        months.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 72 of such title is amended by inserting after the item related 
to section 7287, the following new item:

``7288. Annual report.''.

SEC. 5. REPORT ON EXPANSION OF FACILITIES FOR UNITED STATES COURT OF 
              APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims 
        is currently located in the District of Columbia in a 
        commercial office building that is also occupied by other 
        Federal tenants.
            (2) In February 2006, the General Services Administration 
        provided Congress with a preliminary feasibility analysis of a 
        dedicated Veterans Courthouse and Justice Center that would 
        house the Court and other entities that work with the Court.
            (3) In February 2007, the Court notified Congress that the 
        ``most cost-effective alternative appears to be leasing 
        substantial additional space in the current location'', which 
        would ``require relocating other current government tenants'' 
        from that building.
            (4) The February 2006 feasibility report of the General 
        Services Administration does not include an analysis of whether 
        it would be feasible or desirable to locate a Veterans 
        Courthouse and Justice Center at the current location of the 
        Court.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims 
        should be provided with appropriate office space to meet its 
        needs, as well as to provide the image, security, and stature 
        befitting a court that provides justice to the veterans of the 
        United States; and
            (2) in providing that space, Congress should avoid undue 
        disruption, inconvenience, or cost to other Federal entities.
    (c) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of General 
        Services shall submit to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of 
        the Senate and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House 
        of Representatives a report on the feasibility of--
                    (A) leasing additional space for the United States 
                Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims within the 
                building where the Court was located on the date of the 
                enactment of this Act; and
                    (B) using the entirety of such building as a 
                Veterans Courthouse and Justice Center.
            (2) Contents.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall 
        include a detailed analysis of the following:
                    (A) The impact that the matter analyzed in 
                accordance with paragraph (1) would have on Federal 
                tenants of the building used by the Court.
                    (B) Whether it would be feasible to relocate such 
                Federal tenants into office space that offers similar 
                or preferable cost, convenience, and usable square 
                footage.
                    (C) If relocation of such Federal tenants is found 
                to be feasible and desirable, an analysis of what steps 
                should be taken to convert the building into a Veterans 
                Courthouse and Justice Center and a time line for such 
                conversion.
                    (D) If relocation is not desirable, then the cost 
                of constructing a new facility for the use as a 
                Veterans Courthouse and Justice Center.
            (3) Comment period.--The Administrator shall provide an 
        opportunity to such Federal tenants--
                    (A) before the completion of the report required by 
                paragraph (1), to comment on the subject of the report 
                required by such paragraph; and
                    (B) before the Administrator submits the report 
                required by paragraph (1) to the congressional 
                committees specified in such paragraph, to comment on a 
                draft of such report.
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