[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1289 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1289

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to modify the salary and terms 
of judges of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, to 
modify authorities for the recall of retired judges of such court, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 3, 2007

   Mr. Craig introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to modify the salary and terms 
of judges of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, to 
modify authorities for the recall of retired judges of such court, 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' Justice Assurance Act of 
2007''.

SEC. 2. REPEAL OF TERM LIMITS FOR JUDGES OF THE UNITED STATES COURT OF 
              APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS.

    (a) In General.--Section 7253(c) of title 38, United States Code, 
is amended to read as follows:
    ``(c) Term of Office.--(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
judges of the Court shall hold office during good behavior.
    ``(2) In the case of an individual who is serving a term of office 
as a judge of the Court on the date of the enactment of the Veterans' 
Justice Assurance Act of 2007, such term shall be 15 years. A judge who 
is nominated by the President for appointment to an additional term on 
the Court without a break in service and whose term of office expires 
while that nomination is pending before the Senate may continue in 
office for up to 1 year while that nomination is pending.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 7296(b)(2) of such title is 
amended by striking ``A judge who'' and inserting ``A judge who was 
appointed before the date of the enactment of the Veterans' Justice 
Assurance Act of 2007 and who''.

SEC. 3. INCREASED SALARY FOR CHIEF JUDGE OF UNITED STATES COURT OF 
              APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS.

    Section 7253(e) of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``Each judge''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(2) The annual salary rate under paragraph (1) for a judge shall 
be increased by $7,000 during any period that such judge is serving as 
chief judge of the Court.''.

SEC. 4. PROVISIONS RELATING TO RECALL OF RETIRED JUDGES OF THE UNITED 
              STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS.

    (a) Elimination of Limit on Service of Retired Judges Who 
Voluntarily Serve More Than 90 Days.--Section 7257(b)(2) of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended by striking ``or for more than a total 
of 180 days (or the equivalent) during any calendar year''.
    (b) New Judges Recalled After Retirement Receive Pay of Current 
Judges Only During Periods of Recall.--
            (1) In general.--Section 7296(c) of such title is amended 
        by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
    ``(1)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), in the case of a 
judge who retires under subsection (b) of this section and elects under 
subsection (d) of this section to receive retired pay under this 
subsection, the retired pay of the judge shall (except as provided in 
paragraph (2) of this subsection and section 7257(d)(2) of this title) 
be the rate of pay applicable to that judge at the time of retirement 
(disregarding any increase in salary provided in accordance with 
section 7253(e)(2) of this title).
    ``(B) A judge who was appointed before the date of the enactment of 
the Veterans' Justice Assurance Act of 2007 and who retires under 
subsection (b) of this section and elects under subsection (d) of this 
section to receive retired pay under this subsection shall (except as 
provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection) receive retired pay as 
follows:
            ``(i) In the case of a judge who is a recall-eligible 
        retired judge under section 7257 of this title or who was a 
        recall-eligible retired judge under that section and was 
        removed from recall status under subsection (b)(4) of that 
        section by reason of disability, the retired pay of the judge 
        shall be the pay of a judge of the court.
            ``(ii) In the case of a judge who at the time of retirement 
        did not provide notice under section 7257 of this title of 
        availability for service in a recalled status, the retired pay 
        of the judge shall be the rate of pay applicable to that judge 
        at the time of retirement.
            ``(iii) In the case of a judge who was a recall-eligible 
        retired judge under section 7257 of this title and was removed 
        from recall status under subsection (b)(3) of that section, the 
        retired pay of the judge shall be the pay of the judge at the 
        time of the removal from recall status.''.
            (2) Pay during period of recall.--Section 7257(d) of such 
        title is amended to read as follows:
    ``(d)(1) The pay of a recall-eligible retired judge to whom section 
7296(c)(1)(B) of this title applies is the pay specified in that 
section.
    ``(2) A judge who is recalled under this section who retired under 
chapter 83 or 84 of title 5 or to whom section 7296(c)(1)(A) of this 
title applies shall be paid, during the period for which the judge 
serves in recall status, pay at the rate of pay in effect under section 
7253(e) of this title for a judge performing active service, less the 
amount of the judge's annuity under the applicable provisions of 
chapter 83 or 84 of title 5 or the judge's annuity under section 
7296(c)(1)(A) of this title, whichever is applicable.''.
            (3) Notice.--The last sentence of section 7257(a)(1) of 
        such title is amended to read as follows: ``Such a notice 
        provided by a retired judge to whom section 7296(c)(1)(B) of 
        this title applies is irrevocable.''.
    (c) Limitation on Involuntary Recalls.--Section 7257(b)(3) of such 
title is amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: 
``This paragraph shall not apply to--
            ``(A) a judge to whom section 7296(c)(1)(A) of this title 
        applies; or
            ``(B) a judge to whom section 7296(c)(1)(B) of this title 
        applies and who has, in the aggregate, served at least five 
        years (or the equivalent) of recalled service on the Court 
        under this section.''.
    (d) Establishment of Caseload Thresholds for Determining When To 
Recall Retired Judges.--Section 7257(b) of such title is amended by 
adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(5) For purposes of paragraph (1), the chief judge shall 
establish guidelines for determining whether recall-eligible retired 
judges should be recalled on either a voluntary or involuntary basis, 
taking into account such factors as the number of active judges, 
temporary or prolonged increases or decreases in caseload, and the 
complexity of the caseload. In establishing such guidelines, the chief 
judge shall, to the extent practicable, consult with the following:
            ``(A) Organizations recognized by the Secretary for the 
        representation of veterans under section 5902 of this title.
            ``(B) The bar association of the Court.
            ``(C) The Secretary.
            ``(D) Such persons or entities the chief judge considers 
        appropriate.''.

SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL DISCRETION IN IMPOSITION OF PRACTICE AND 
              REGISTRATION FEES.

    Section 7285(a) of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in the first sentence, by inserting ``reasonable'' 
        after ``impose a'';
            (2) in the second sentence, by striking ``, except that 
        such amount may not exceed $30 per year''; and
            (3) in the third sentence, by inserting ``reasonable'' 
        after ``impose a''.

SEC. 6. 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
    ``(a) In General.--The chief judge of the Court shall submit 
annually to the appropriate committees of Congress a report summarizing 
the workload of the Court for 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.
            ``(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 and an analysis of 
        whether any of the caseload guidelines established under 
        section 7257(b)(5) of this title were met during the fiscal 
        year.
    ``(b) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this section, 
the term `appropriate committees of Congress' means the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs 
of the House of Representatives.''.
    (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. 7. 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.
            (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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