1.Authority for certain individuals to sign
claims filed with Secretary of Veterans Affairs on behalf of claimants
(a)Section 5101 of title 38, United States
Code, is amended—
(1)in subsection (a)—
(A)by striking A specific
and
inserting (1) A specific
; and
(B)by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
(2)If an individual has not attained the age
of 18 years, is mentally incompetent, or is physically unable to sign a form, a
form filed under paragraph (1) for the individual may be signed by a court
appointed representative or a person who is responsible for the care of the
individual, including a spouse or other relative. If the individual is in the
care of an institution, the manager or principal officer of the institution may
sign the
form.
;
(2)in subsection (c)—
(A)in paragraph (1)—
(i)by inserting , signs a form on
behalf of a person to apply for,
after who applies for
;
and
(ii)by inserting , or TIN in the case
that the person is not an individual,
after of such
person
; and
(B)in paragraph (2), by inserting or
TIN
after social security number
each place it appears;
and
(3)by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
(d)In this section:
(1)The term mentally incompetent
with respect to an individual means that the individual lacks the mental
capacity—
(A)to provide substantially accurate
information needed to complete a form; or
(B)to certify that the statements made on a
form are true and complete.
(2)The term TIN has the meaning
given the term in section 7701(a)(41) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986.
.
(b)The amendments made by subsection (a) shall
apply with respect to claims filed on or after the date of the enactment of
this Act.