[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 130 (Tuesday, October 17, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1817-E1818]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   H.R. 5474 AMENDING TITLE 38 TO PROVIDE COMPENSATION FOR VETERANS 
           DISABLED BY TREATMENT OR VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION

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                           HON. PATSY T. MINK

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 17, 2000

  Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce an 
important piece of legislation. H.R. 5474 will allow veterans disabled 
by treatment or vocational rehabilitation to receive compensation from 
the day they were disabled while under VA care.
  The occurrence of medical malpractice in which veterans are disabled 
while under Veterans Affairs' care is rare compared with the total 
number of veterans served every year. In 1997, the last year in which 
data was available, there were 826,846 inpatients treated and 
32,640,000 outpatient visits at VA medical centers at a cost of $17.149 
billion. There are 173 VA medical centers, more than 391 outpatient and 
outreach clinics, 131 nursing home care units and 39 domiciliaries.
  Without this network of government run VA hospitals, clinics and 
nursing care units, many veterans would never receive the care 
available to them. However, it is clear that the care provided is not 
always of the highest quality. Worse than inadequate care are the 
instances in which veterans receive care that leaves them further 
disabled.
  Since 1990, 9,597 administrative malpractice claims were filed by 
Veterans with VA and 2,134 were settled. The total amount paid in 
claims settled was nearly $1.73 million.
  During the same time period, 2,064 veterans filed court claims 
against VA. 626 of these court claims were dismissed, the U.S. won 272, 
and plaintiffs won 129 court claims for a total of $65,858,110. 1,315 
VA court claims were settled out of court by VA, in the amount of 
$253,464,632.
  In 1958 Congress established Title 38, U.S.C. Sec. 1151, Benefits for 
Persons Disabled by Treatment or Vocational Rehabilitation. Along with 
Sec. 1151, Sec. 5110 of the same Title established the effective date 
of an award for disability incurred during treatment or vocational 
rehabilitation. These two sections ensured that veterans disabled by 
their treatment received compensation. This was the fair and right 
thing to do.
  A close review of these sections reveals an inconsistency. While the 
U.S. Code allowed compensation for veterans disabled by treatment or 
vocational rehabilitation, it established an arbitrary cut off date of 
one year to deny individuals full compensation.
  Individuals who are unable or not aware of this arbitrary application 
date for medical malpractice claims should not be denied full 
compensation for administrative reasons. Statutes of limitations like 
this are important for preserving the rights of individuals but the VA 
should be held to a different standard.

[[Page E1818]]

  Veterans who prove that they were disabled while under the care of 
Veterans Affairs should be compensated from the day of their injury 
regardless of their date of application.
  This bill will repeal U.S. Code Section 5110 which allows Veterans 
Affairs to avoid its responsibility to veterans it disables during 
treatment or vocational rehabilitation. H.R. 5474 also allows veterans 
who did not receive full and fair compensation from the date of their 
injury to receive this compensation upon enactment of this bill.
  I urge my colleagues to end this unfair practice by cosponsoring H.R. 
5474.

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