[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4219 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4219

   To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to assign a temporary 
     disability rating to certain members of the Armed Forces upon 
                  separation, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 15, 2007

Mr. Donnelly (for himself and Mr. Upton) introduced the following bill; 
        which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to assign a temporary 
     disability rating to certain members of the Armed Forces upon 
                  separation, 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 ``Immediate Benefits for Wounded 
Warriors Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. ASSIGNMENT OF TEMPORARY DISABILITY RATING TO CERTAIN MEMBERS OF 
              THE ARMED FORCES FOR PURPOSES OF LAWS ADMINISTERED BY 
              SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) In General.--For purposes of the laws administered by the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, at the request of an eligible member of 
the Armed Forces, the Secretary shall assign to that member a temporary 
disability rating of 30 percent upon the date of such member's 
separation from the Armed Forces, or in the case of an eligible member 
of the Armed Forces who has received a medical diagnosis of post 
traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury, upon receipt of 
such diagnosis.
    (b) Assignment of Permanent Disability Rating.--Upon the assignment 
of a permanent disability rating to an eligible member of the Armed 
Forces who has received a temporary disability rating under subsection 
(a)--
            (1) if such permanent disability rating is more than 30 
        percent, for each month that the member received a disability 
        compensation payment under chapter 11 of title 38, United 
        States Code, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall make a 
        payment to the member in an amount equal to the difference 
        between the amount the member actually received for that month 
        and the amount the member would have received if the member had 
        been assigned the member's permanent disability rating; and
            (2) if such permanent disability rating is less than 30 
        percent, the member shall not be required to make any payment 
        to the Secretary for any benefit provided during the period of 
        time for which the member was assigned the temporary disability 
        rating.
    (c) Relation to Severance and Separation Pay.--A payment of 
disability compensation received by an eligible member of the Armed 
Forces who receives a temporary disability rating under subsection (a) 
is not subject to offset even though the member also receives 
separation pay under section 1174 of title 10, United States Code, or 
disability severance pay under section 1212 of such title.
    (d) Eligible Member of the Armed Forces.--For purposes of this Act, 
an eligible member of the Armed Forces is a member of the Armed Forces 
who--
            (1) served on active duty in support of Operation Iraqi 
        Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom;
            (2) has not received a disability rating from the Secretary 
        of Veterans Affairs for the disability for which the member 
        requests a temporary disability rating;
            (3) is not authorized for pre-stabilization benefits under 
        38 C.F.R. 4.28;
            (4) has submitted to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs a 
        claim for disability compensation under laws administered by 
        the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for the disability for which 
        the member requests the temporary disability rating but has not 
        received such compensation; and
            (5) is separated from the Armed Forces--
                    (A) pursuant to section 1201 of title 10, United 
                States Code; or
                    (B) under conditions other than dishonorable and 
                has--
                            (i) been determined by the Secretary of 
                        Defense to have a disability with a rating of 
                        at least 10 percent under the standard schedule 
                        of rating disabilities in use by the Department 
                        of Veterans Affairs at the time of the 
                        determination; or
                            (ii) received a medical diagnosis of post 
                        traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain 
                        injury.
    (e) Responsibilities of Secretary of Defense.--The Secretary of 
Defense shall--
            (1) not later than 30 days before the date on which the 
        Secretary anticipates that an eligible member of the Armed 
        Forces will separate from the Armed Forces, notify the 
        Secretary of Veterans Affairs of that date; and
            (2) before the date on which the Secretary anticipates that 
        an eligible member of the Armed Forces will separate from the 
        Armed Forces, transmit to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs the 
        medical and service records of that member.
    (f) Treatment of Anticipated Separation Date.--For purposes of 
providing benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs, the Secretary may use the anticipated date of 
separation provided to the Secretary under subsection (e)(1).
    (g) PTSD and TBI Registry.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
establish a post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury 
registry and shall include in the registry all eligible members of the 
Armed Forces who request a temporary disability rating under this 
section who have been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder or 
traumatic brain injury.
    (h) Termination.--The authority of the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs to assign a temporary disability rating under this section 
shall expire on the date that is five years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
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