[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 653 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 653

To amend title 38, United States Code, to allow the sworn affidavit of 
  a veteran who served in combat during the Korean War or an earlier 
conflict to be accepted as proof of service-connection of a disease or 
  injury alleged to have been incurred or aggravated by such service.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 24, 2007

Mr. Reynolds (for himself and Mrs. Maloney 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 allow the sworn affidavit of 
  a veteran who served in combat during the Korean War or an earlier 
conflict to be accepted as proof of service-connection of a disease or 
  injury alleged to have been incurred or aggravated by such service.

    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 ``Joseph I. Hoover Combat Veteran 
Affidavit Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. SWORN AFFIDAVIT OF KOREAN CONFLICT AND EARLIER COMBAT VETERANS 
              TO BE ACCEPTED AS PROOF OF SERVICE-CONNECTION OF DISEASE 
              OR INJURY ALLEGED TO HAVE BEEN INCURRED OR AGGRAVATED 
              DURING COMBAT.

    (a) In General.--Section 1154(b) of title 38, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(b)'';
            (2) by inserting ``after July 27, 1953,'' after ``in active 
        service'';
            (3) by designating the third sentence as paragraph (3) and 
        in that paragraph inserting ``under paragraph (1) or (2)'' 
        after ``in each case''; and
            (4) by inserting after paragraph (1), as designated by 
        paragraph (1) of this subsection, the following new paragraph:
    ``(2) In the case of any veteran who engaged in combat with the 
enemy in active service on or before July 27, 1953, with a military, 
naval, or air organization of the United States during a period of war, 
campaign, or expedition, if there is no clear and convincing evidence 
to the contrary the Secretary shall accept as sufficient proof of 
service-connection of any disease or injury alleged to have been 
incurred in or aggravated by such service the sworn affidavit of the 
veteran attesting to the service-connection of such disease or injury, 
notwithstanding the fact that there is no official record of such 
incurrence or aggravation in such service.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
apply with respect to affidavits submitted after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
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