[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 45 (Thursday, April 21, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 21, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
           BOARD OF VETERANS' APPEALS AMENDMENTS ACT OF 1994

  Mr. KENNEDY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 413, S. 1904, a 
bill relating to the Board of Veterans' Appeals.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate 
consideration of the bill?
  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill 
(S. 1904) to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the 
organization and procedures of the Board of Veterans' Appeals, which 
had been reported from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, with 
amendments; as follows:

       (The parts of the bill intended to be stricken are shown in 
     boldface brackets and the part of the bill intended to be 
     inserted are shown in italic.)

                                S. 1904

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. ORGANIZATION AND PROCEDURES OF BOARD OF VETERANS' 
                   APPEALS.

       (a) Number of Members.--Subsection (a) of section 7101 of 
     title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking out 
     ``(not more than 65)''.
       (b) Acting and Temporary Members.--(1) Such section is 
     further amended--
       (1) in subsection (c)--
       (A) by striking out paragraph (1) and inserting in lieu 
     thereof the following new paragraph (1):
       ``(1)(A) The Chairman may from time to time designate one 
     or more employees of the Department to serve as acting 
     members of the Board. Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
     any such designation shall be for a period not to exceed 90 
     days, as determined by the Chairman.
       ``(B) An individual designated as an acting member of the 
     Board may continue to serve as an acting member of the Board 
     in the making of any determination on a proceeding for which 
     the individual was designated as an acting member of the 
     Board, notwithstanding the termination of the period of 
     designation of the individual as an acting member of the 
     Board under subparagraph (A) or (C).
       ``(C) An individual may not serve as an acting member of 
     the Board for more than 270 days during any 1-year period.'';
       (B) by striking out paragraph (2);
       (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (2); and
       (D) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated, by striking out 
     ``the number of temporary Board members'' and all that 
     follows through the period at the end and inserting in lieu 
     thereof ``the number of acting members of the Board 
     designated under such paragraph (1) during the year for which 
     the report is made.''; and
       (2) in subsection (e), by striking out ``a temporary or'' 
     and inserting in lieu thereof ``an''.
       (c) Report on Board Activities.--Subsection (d) of such 
     section is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2)--
       (A) by striking out ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (D);
       (B) by striking out the period at the end of subparagraph 
     (E) and inserting in lieu thereof ``; and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
       ``(F) the number of employees of the Department designated 
     under subsection (c)(1) of this section to serve as acting 
     members of the Board during that year and the number of cases 
     in which each such member participated during that year.''; 
     and
       (2) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking out ``as required by 
     section 7103(d) of this title''.
       (d) Appeals Decisions.--(1) Chapter 71 of such title is 
     amended by striking out sections 7102 and 7103 and inserting 
     in lieu thereof the following new sections 7102 and 7103:

     ``Sec. 7102. Decisions by the Board

       ``A proceeding instituted before the Board may be assigned 
     to one or more members of the Board. A proceeding assigned to 
     more than one member shall be assigned to a panel of not less 
     than three members of the Board. A member or panel assigned a 
     proceeding shall make a determination thereon, including any 
     motion filed in connection therewith. The member or panel, as 
     the case may be, shall make a report under section 7104(d) of 
     this title on any such determination, which report shall 
     constitute the final disposition of the proceeding by the 
     member or panel.

     ``Sec. 7103. Reconsideration; correction of obvious errors

       ``(a) Subject to subsections (b) and (c) of this section, 
     the decision of the Board determining a matter under section 
     7102 of this title is final.
       ``(b) The Chairman may order reconsideration of the 
     decision in a case in accordance with subsection (c) of this 
     section. Such an order may be made on the Chairman's 
     initiative or upon motion of the claimant.
       ``(c)(1) Upon the order of the Chairman for reconsideration 
     of a decision in a case, the case shall be referred--
       ``(A) in the case of a matter originally heard by a single 
     member of the Board, to a panel of not less than three 
     members of the Board.
       ``(B) in the case of a matter originally heard by a panel 
     of members of the Board, to an enlarged panel of the Board.
       ``(2) A panel referred to in paragraph (1) of this 
     subsection may not include the member or members who made the 
     original decision subject to reconsideration.
       ``(3) A panel reconsidering a matter under this subsection 
     shall render its decision after reviewing the entire record 
     before the Board. The decision of a majority of the members 
     of the panel shall be final.
       ``(d) The Board on its own motion may correct an obvious 
     error in the record, without regard to whether there has been 
     a motion or order for reconsideration.''.
       (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter 
     is amended by striking out the items relating to sections 
     7102 and 7103 and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

``7102. Decisions by the Board.
``7103. Reconsideration; correction of obvious errors.''.

       (e) Procedures Relating to Appeals.--(1)(A) Section 7107 of 
     such title is amended to read as follows:

     ``Sec. 7107. Appeals: dockets; hearings

       ``(a)(1) All cases received pursuant to application for 
     review on appeal shall be considered and decided in regular 
     order according to their places upon the docket.
       ``(2) A case referred to in paragraph (1) of this 
     subsection may, for cause shown, be advanced on motion for 
     earlier consideration and determination. Any such motion 
     shall set forth succinctly the grounds upon which it is based 
     and may not be granted unless the case involves 
     interpretation of law of general application affecting other 
     claims, or for other sufficient cause shown.
       ``(b) The Board shall decide any appeal only after 
     affording the appellant an opportunity for a hearing.
       ``(c) A hearing docket shall be maintained and formal 
     recorded hearings shall be held by such member or members of 
     the Board as the Chairman may designate. Such member or 
     members designated by the Chairman to conduct the hearing 
     shall participate in making the final determination of the 
     claim.
       ``(d)(1) An appellant may request a hearing before the 
     Board at its principal location or at a [regional office of 
     the Department] location within the area served by a regional 
     office of the Department.
       ``(2)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this 
     paragraph, hearings requested within an area served by a 
     regional office of the Department shall be scheduled in the 
     order in which requests for [such hearings] hearings within 
     that area are received by the Department.
       ``(B) In a case in which the Secretary is aware that the 
     appellant is seriously ill or is under severe financial 
     hardship, a hearing may be scheduled at a time earlier than 
     would be provided for under subparagraph (A) of this 
     paragraph.
       ``(e)(1) At the request of the Chairman, the Secretary may 
     provide suitable facilities and equipment to the Board or 
     other components of the Department to enable an appellant 
     located at a facility within the area served by a regional 
     office to participate, through voice transmission or through 
     picture and voice transmission, by electronic or other means, 
     in a hearing with a Board member or members sitting at the 
     Board's principal location.
       ``(2) When such facilities and equipment are available, the 
     Chairman may afford the appellant an opportunity to 
     participate in a hearing before the Board through the use of 
     such facilities and equipment in lieu of a hearing held by 
     personally appearing before a Board member or panel as 
     provided in subsection (d) of this section. Any such hearing 
     shall be conducted in the same manner as, and shall be 
     considered the equivalent of, a personal hearing. If the 
     appellant declines to participate in a hearing through the 
     use of such facilities and equipment, the opportunity of the 
     appellant to a hearing as provided in such subsection (d) 
     shall not be affected.''.
       (B) The item relating to section 7107 in the table of 
     sections at the beginning of chapter 71 of such title is 
     amended to read as follows:

``7107. Appeals: dockets; hearings.''.

       (2)(A) Section 7110 of such title is repealed.
       (B) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 71 of 
     such title is amended by striking out the item relating to 
     section 7110.
       (f) Technical Correction.--Section 7104(a) of such title is 
     amended by striking out ``211(a)'' and inserting in lieu 
     thereof ``511(a)''.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Madam President, as chairman of the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs, I am delighted that the Senate is considering S. 
1904, a bill to improve the organization and procedures of the Board of 
Veterans' Appeals [BVA]. I urge my colleagues to give their unanimous 
support to this bill, which would amend certain provisions of title 38, 
United States Code, affecting the operation and procedures of the Board 
of Veterans' Appeals.


                               Background

  Madam President, as everyone familiar with VA knows, the adjudication 
system of the Department of Veterans Affairs is currently in a crisis 
situation, both at the regional office level and at the BVA. A number 
of factors have led to the present problems, and the entire system--
which is in dire need of fundamental change--will only deteriorate 
further if the problems are not addressed.
  Madam President, my fundamental goal as chairman of the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs is to ensure that any veteran or other beneficiary 
who seeks any VA benefit--compensation, pension, education benefits, 
health care, or whatever--receives the quality services from VA that he 
or she deserves. VA's mission is to serve this Nation's veterans and 
their families. We in Congress have an obligation to see to it that the 
Department fulfills that mission at all levels of the claims process.
  A critical part of VA's mission is to make sure veterans and their 
families receive fair, efficient, and timely adjudication of their 
benefit claims. Timeliness is simply vital. Yet VA currently is not 
fulfilling that aspect of its responsibilities.
  Madam President, in 1988, after a long, difficult fight over the 
course of a decade, the 100th Congress finally gave veterans the 
fundamental, due process right to appeal the denial of VA benefits to a 
federal court. With the Veterans' Judicial Review Act of 1988 [VJRA], 
Public Law 100-687, Congress created the United States Court of 
Veterans Appeals, for the express purpose of reviewing decisions of the 
Board. Until that time, the Board had been the veteran's ``court of 
last resort.''
  Judicial review of VA benefit decisions is a right veterans long 
deserved, and the VJRA is true landmark legislation. However, it was 
never contemplated that judicial review would provide an ultimate and 
final resolution of the problems that existed in the VA claims process. 
In fact, the enactment of judicial review actually served as more of a 
beginning than an ending. The decisions of the court repeatedly have 
illustrated the necessity for judicial review by showing the many 
deficiencies of the VA adjudication system--a unique system that 
developed in a somewhat piecemeal fashion over the years.

  The decisions of the court also have made it evident that some 
changes must be made in order to achieve long-term improvements in the 
system. Previously, I have said that judicial review was just one step 
in an evolution of the VA adjudication system. That is certainly true, 
but I believe that it would be even more accurate to say that not only 
was judicial review a step in this process of evolution, but a step 
that has served as a catalyst for many extremely positive and crucial 
changes in the system, all of which are advances in the system's 
development.
  The VA system was designed to be informal and nonadversarial and was 
not subject to court review until 1988. Many aspects of this system 
were intended to be beneficial to veterans, such as procedures related 
to the development of claims and assistance to the claimant. However, 
as the court has recognized in numerous decisions, many of the elements 
were not being delivered as promised. For example, the court has 
repeatedly held that VA has not fulfilled its duty to assist the 
claimant in the development of the claim, has not demonstrated that it 
considered whether the claimant should be afforded the benefit of the 
doubt, and has failed to provide claimants with an adequate explanation 
for its denials.
  Furthermore, regardless of how nonadversarial a process is designed 
to be, if the reality is that it takes months or years to resolve a 
claim, the individual claimant is not being afforded proper treatment. 
To force a veteran to wait for more than 2 years for a BVA decision--
after he or she has already waited over 200 days for a regional office 
decision on the original claim--is unconscionable.
  Madam President, some within VA argue that the court is the sole 
source of the backlog problem. I wholeheartedly reject this argument. 
This point of view reflects a complete failure to accept responsibility 
for living up to existing statutory mandates--while simultaneously 
arguing that VA was fulfilling the requirements of governing law.
  I have often heard it said that the court's decisions obligate VA to 
provide more detailed explanations for decisions than before. While 
this certainly is true, the obligation to inform claimants of the 
reason underlying a decision is not a new requirement. VA has always 
had that obligation and routinely asserted that it met this 
responsibility in the years leading up to judicial review. The court 
has merely enforced VA's responsibilities under the law. The court's 
decisions have forced VA to be accountable for its decisions.

  Admittedly, BVA has born a tremendous share of the burden in the wake 
of judicial review. Not only must BVA review regional office decisions 
with a new eye toward whether they meet the requirements of the case 
law streaming from the court, but must also deal with a flow of remands 
of its own decisions from the court. The enormous change in its 
original appellate responsibility is illustrated in its rate of remands 
to the regional offices--55 percent as of March 31, 1994.
  Without a doubt, the Board is caught in the middle between the 
regional offices, where the claims process begins, and the court, which 
ultimately decides whether or not the administrative decisions were 
adequate and proper. However, this does not absolve the Board of its 
responsibility to provide adequate and timely decisions on appeal. As 
the administrative appellate body, BVA must make sure the regional 
offices have fulfilled their statutory duties to the claimant. However, 
the Board must also fulfill its own statutory obligations in its 
decisionmaking process--and the court serves as the ultimate check on 
whether it has lived up to those obligations.
  BVA currently has a backlog of nearly 40,000 cases. In fiscal year 
1993, the average time it took BVA to render a decision on appeal was 
466 days. Earlier this year, based on first quarter statistics, BVA 
estimated that by the end of fiscal year 1994, that time would increase 
to nearly 1,843 days--5 years. While a recent reestimate, based on 
information in the first and second quarters of fiscal year 1994, 
indicates the average response time will instead be approximately 830 
days, that is still completely unacceptable.


                      provisions of committee bill

  Madam President, BVA's current problems will require long-term, 
fundamental changes, but here are certain immediate changes Congress 
could institute that would allow the Board to begin to reduce its 
present backlog and improve its decisionmaking timeliness. That is the 
purpose of the pending measure which is intended to begin to address 
some of the present problems at the VA appellate level.
  We must work on permanent solutions to the problems faced by BVA, but 
in the interim, the measures in this bill offer some immediate, short-
term solutions to the ever-increasing average response time at the 
Board. Some of these provisions were specifically requested by the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Chairman of BVA. VA indicates 
that these provisions will allow BVA to become more productive and 
thereby immediately assist in the reduction of the time it currently 
takes the Board to make a decision on appeal.

  Section 1 of this bill would amend section 7101 of title 38, relating 
to the composition of the Board. This section would: remove the 65-
member limitation on the number of members that may be appointed to the 
Board; remove the current provision giving the Chairman of BVA 
authority to appoint temporary Board members; and move the authority to 
appoint acting members from current section 7102 to section 7101, while 
keeping intact the present limitation on the amount of time an 
individual can serve as an acting member. However, the provision would 
specifically allow acting members of the Board to complete work on any 
pending cases, notwithstanding that time limitation.
  Madam President, removing the 65-member limitation on the number of 
Board members that may be appointed means that the size of the Board 
may increase as necessary, restrained only by the appropriation of 
funds.
  Removing the authority of the Chairman to appoint temporary members 
simply amends the law to conform with current practice--BVA has 
informed the committee that the authority to appoint temporary members 
is not used. In light of the authority to appoint acting members, the 
appointment of temporary members apparently is unnecessary.
  Section 2 of this legislation would amend section 7102 of title 38 to 
allow the Chairman of BVA to assign an appeal to a single member or to 
a panel of members consisting of at least three members. Under current 
law, appeals have to be assigned to a panel of at least three members. 
According to VA, the authority to issue single-member decisions would 
increase Board productivity by 27 percent. In turn, this increase in 
productivity would contribute to a reduction in the time it takes BVA 
to make a decision on appeal. The Board has estimated that if this 
authority were to be fully effective in June 1994, the average response 
time would be reduced to 600 days by the end of May 1995, instead of 
almost 850 days, which BVA estimates it would be if the requirement of 
three-member decisions remains in effect.
  Madam President, I note that at a March 24 committee hearing on this 
legislation, some concerns were raised about allowing BVA to issue 
single-member decisions. The concerns related to fair and accountable 
decisionmaking by the Board and the protection of veteran's rights in 
the claims process. I acknowledge and understand these concerns. 
However, the urgency to reduce the backlog of cases and improve the 
timeliness of the decisionmaking process is currently so enormous that 
we must move ahead with the provision now. The Committee certainly will 
monitor the implementation of this authority very carefully.
  Amended section 7102 also would provide that reconsideration of a 
case must be assigned to a panel of members if the original appeal was 
decided by a single member, and to an enlarged panel of members if the 
original appeal was decided by a panel. In either case, the panel 
carrying out the reconsideration could not include any Board member who 
was involved in deciding the original appeal.
  Section 3 would amend the provisions governing BVA hearings to allow 
the Board to conduct hearings through the use of voice, or voice and 
picture transmission, by electronic or other means. The measure also 
would require that before BVA conducts the hearing through use of 
voice, or voice and picture transmission, the appellant must be given 
the opportunity to appear at a personal hearing before a Board member, 
either in a regional office or in Washington, DC, if the appellant so 
desires. Section 3 also would provide that if an appellant is seriously 
ill or is under severe financial hardship, the hearing may be held 
earlier than it otherwise would be. The provisions in this section are 
intended to help the process of getting a hearing move more easily and 
quickly.
  Madam President, the bill as reported reflects one change that 
addresses concerns raised by VA about the bill as introduced. As 
introduced, the bill would have resulted in an inadvertent problem 
regarding the docketing of hearings. An appellant may request a Board 
hearing either at the VA central office in Washington, DC, or before a 
traveling member of the Board at a location in an area served by a 
regional office. Current law requires that travel Board hearings be 
scheduled in the order in which the requests are received. The statute 
is silent as to hearings in Washington, DC. In an effort to clarify the 
law on this issue, the bill as introduced required that all hearings be 
scheduled in the order in which the requests for hearings are received. 
This would have resulted in an unworkable situation where there was 
only one hearing docket for the central office and for all of the 58 
regions.
  Madam President, in order to avoid any confusion or an unfair result, 
the bill has been amended to clarify that hearings in the field will be 
scheduled in the order that requests for hearings in that area are 
received. However, this change is based on information from BVA 
officials indicating that there currently are no problems with the 
scheduling of hearings at the BVA in Washington, DC. Should that 
situation change and call for an amendment in the law, we certainly 
would consider such an amendment.
  The language was also amended to clarify that an appellant may 
request a hearing at the central office in Washington, DC, or at a 
location within the area served by a regional office, rather than at 
the regional office specifically. The amendment does not reflect any 
change from current law, and allows BVA to maintain maximum flexibility 
in conducting hearings.

  Madam President, on February 10, 1994, I received a letter from 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Jesse Brown, requesting my assistance in 
the enactment of legislation that would help to alleviate the backlog 
of appeals at the Board. All three provisions requested by Secretary 
Brown are addressed in this legislation. Specifically, Secretary Brown 
asked for my assistance in the enactment of measures that would, first, 
remove the limit on the number of Board members; second, allow the 
Chairman of BVA to assign appeals to one member of the Board for 
disposition; and third, remove the limitation on the time an acting 
member may serve.
  This bill includes the first two of the statutory provisions 
requested by the Secretary, as well as a provision that addresses the 
concerns that led to his request for the third provision. With 
reference to the acting member issue, Secretary Brown apparently seeks 
that provision in an effort to avoid a problem that may arise when, 
after the BVA Chairman appoints acting members, the statutory time 
limitation expires while appeals which the acting member considered are 
still pending. This bill would allow acting members to complete all 
work on any pending cases, even if that would require them to work 
beyond the time limit.
  The amendments in S. 1904 are vitally important. My hope is that we 
can enact this legislation quickly so that veterans may begin to feel 
the effects of an improved appeals system as soon as possible. They 
deserve no less. They have a right to the efficient processing of their 
claims for the benefits they earned through their military service. I 
am committed to working over the long term to ensure this right, but in 
the meantime, I strongly believe the provisions in this bill are a step 
in the right direction. I urge all of my Senate colleagues to support 
this bill.
  I express my appreciation to the distinguished ranking Republican 
member of the Senate Committee, Mr. Murkowski, and all other members of 
the committee. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the 
Senate, as well as members of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, 
on these measures.
  Madam President, I urge the Senate to give its unanimous approval to 
this measure.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
committee amendments be deemed agreed to, en bloc, the bill be deemed 
read the third time, passed; that the motion to reconsider be laid upon 
the table, and that any statements appear at the appropriate place in 
the Record.
  So the bill (S. 1904), as amended, was deemed read the third time, 
and passed, as follows:

                                S. 1904

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. ORGANIZATION AND PROCEDURES OF BOARD OF VETERANS' 
                   APPEALS.

       (a) Number of Members.--Subsection (a) of section 7101 of 
     title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking out 
     ``(not more than 65)''.
       (b) Acting and Temporary Members.--(1) Such section is 
     further amended--
       (1) in subsection (c)--
       (A) by striking out paragraph (1) and inserting in lieu 
     thereof the following new paragraph (1):
       ``(1)(A) The Chairman may from time to time designate one 
     or more employees of the Department to serve as acting 
     members of the Board. Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
     any such designation shall be for a period not to exceed 90 
     days, as determined by the Chairman.
       ``(B) An individual designated as an acting member of the 
     Board may continue to serve as an acting member of the Board 
     in the making of any determination on a proceeding for which 
     the individual was designated as an acting member of the 
     Board, notwithstanding the termination of the period of 
     designation of the individual as an acting member of the 
     Board under subparagraph (A) or (C).
       ``(C) An individual may not serve as an acting member of 
     the Board for more than 270 days during any 1-year period.'';
       (B) by striking out paragraph (2);
       (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (2); and
       (D) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated, by striking out 
     ``the number of temporary Board members'' and all that 
     follows through the period at the end and inserting in lieu 
     thereof ``the number of acting members of the Board 
     designated under such paragraph (1) during the year for which 
     the report is made.''; and
       (2) in subsection (e), by striking out ``a temporary or'' 
     and inserting in lieu thereof ``an''.
       (c) Report on Board Activities.--Subsection (d) of such 
     section is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2)--
       (A) by striking out ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (D);
       (B) by striking out the period at the end of subparagraph 
     (E) and inserting in lieu thereof ``; and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
       ``(F) the number of employees of the Department designated 
     under subsection (c)(1) of this section to serve as acting 
     members of the Board during that year and the number of cases 
     in which each such member participated during that year.''; 
     and
       (2) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking out ``as required by 
     section 7103(d) of this title''.
       (d) Appeals Decisions.--(1) Chapter 71 of such title is 
     amended by striking out sections 7102 and 7103 and inserting 
     in lieu thereof the following new sections 7102 and 7103:

     ``Sec. 7102. Decisions by the Board

       ``A proceeding instituted before the Board may be assigned 
     to one or more members of the Board. A proceeding assigned to 
     more than one member shall be assigned to a panel of not less 
     than three members of the Board. A member or panel assigned a 
     proceeding shall make a determination thereon, including any 
     motion filed in connection therewith. The member or panel, as 
     the case may be, shall make a report under section 7104(d) of 
     this title on any such determination, which report shall 
     constitute the final disposition of the proceeding by the 
     member or panel.

     ``Sec. 7103. Reconsideration; correction of obvious errors

       ``(a) Subject to subsections (b) and (c) of this section, 
     the decision of the Board determining a matter under section 
     7102 of this title is final.
       ``(b) The Chairman may order reconsideration of the 
     decision in a case in accordance with subsection (c) of this 
     section. Such an order may be made on the Chairman's 
     initiative or upon motion of the claimant.
       ``(c)(1) Upon the order of the Chairman for reconsideration 
     of a decision in a case, the case shall be referred--
       ``(A) in the case of a matter originally heard by a single 
     member of the Board, to a panel of not less than three 
     members of the Board.
       ``(B) in the case of a matter originally heard by a panel 
     of members of the Board, to an enlarged panel of the Board.
       ``(2) A panel referred to in paragraph (1) of this 
     subsection may not include the member or members who made the 
     original decision subject to reconsideration.
       ``(3) A panel reconsidering a matter under this subsection 
     shall render its decision after reviewing the entire record 
     before the Board. The decision of a majority of the members 
     of the panel shall be final.
       ``(d) The Board on its own motion may correct an obvious 
     error in the record, without regard to whether there has been 
     a motion or order for reconsideration.''.
       (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter 
     is amended by striking out the items relating to sections 
     7102 and 7103 and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

``7102. Decisions by the Board.
``7103. Reconsideration; correction of obvious errors.''.

       (e) Procedures Relating to Appeals.--(1)(A) Section 7107 of 
     such title is amended to read as follows:

     ``Sec. 7107. Appeals: dockets; hearings

       ``(a)(1) All cases received pursuant to application for 
     review on appeal shall be considered and decided in regular 
     order according to their places upon the docket.
       ``(2) A case referred to in paragraph (1) of this 
     subsection may, for cause shown, be advanced on motion for 
     earlier consideration and determination. Any such motion 
     shall set forth succinctly the grounds upon which it is based 
     and may not be granted unless the case involves 
     interpretation of law of general application affecting other 
     claims, or for other sufficient cause shown.
       ``(b) The Board shall decide any appeal only after 
     affording the appellant an opportunity for a hearing.
       ``(c) A hearing docket shall be maintained and formal 
     recorded hearings shall be held by such member or members of 
     the Board as the Chairman may designate. Such member or 
     members designated by the Chairman to conduct the hearing 
     shall participate in making the final determination of the 
     claim.
       ``(d)(1) An appellant may request a hearing before the 
     Board at its principal location or at a location within the 
     area served by a regional office of the Department.
       ``(2)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this 
     paragraph, hearings requested within an area served by a 
     regional office of the Department shall be scheduled in the 
     order in which requests for hearings within that area are 
     received by the Department.
       ``(B) In a case in which the Secretary is aware that the 
     appellant is seriously ill or is under severe financial 
     hardship, a hearing may be scheduled at a time earlier than 
     would be provided for under subparagraph (A) of this 
     paragraph.
       ``(e)(1) At the request of the Chairman, the Secretary may 
     provide suitable facilities and equipment to the Board or 
     other components of the Department to enable an appellant 
     located at a facility within the area served by a regional 
     office to participate, through voice transmission or through 
     picture and voice transmission, by electronic or other means, 
     in a hearing with a Board member or members sitting at the 
     Board's principal location.
       ``(2) When such facilities and equipment are available, the 
     Chairman may afford the appellant an opportunity to 
     participate in a hearing before the Board through the use of 
     such facilities and equipment in lieu of a hearing held by 
     personally appearing before a Board member or panel as 
     provided in subsection (d) of this section. Any such hearing 
     shall be conducted in the same manner as, and shall be 
     considered the equivalent of, a personal hearing. If the 
     appellant declines to participate in a hearing through the 
     use of such facilities and equipment, the opportunity of the 
     appellant to a hearing as provided in such subsection (d) 
     shall not be affected.''.
       (B) The item relating to section 7107 in the table of 
     sections at the beginning of chapter 71 of such title is 
     amended to read as follows:

``7107. Appeals: dockets; hearings.''.

       (2)(A) Section 7110 of such title is repealed.
       (B) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 71 of 
     such title is amended by striking out the item relating to 
     section 7110.
       (f) Technical Correction.--Section 7104(a) of such title is 
     amended by striking out ``211(a)'' and inserting in lieu 
     thereof ``511(a)''.

                          ____________________