[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 8, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E51]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT OF H.R. 241, THE VETERANS BENEFICIARY FAIRNESS 
                              ACT OF 2003

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 8, 2003

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing H.R. 
241, the Veterans Beneficiary Fairness Act of 2003. This legislation, 
which is cosponsored by my friend Lane Evans of Illinois, the Ranking 
Member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, will correct a deficiency 
in the law that negatively affects some surviving spouses of disabled 
veterans.
  Currently, if a veteran dies while a claim for VA benefits (other 
than insurance and servicemen's indemnity) is being processed, but 
before his or her claim becomes final, the surviving spouse is entitled 
to no more than two years of accrued benefits when the claim is decided 
in the veteran's favor. H.R. 241 would repeal this two-year limitation 
so that the veteran's survivor may receive the full amount of the award 
and not be penalized by VA's failure to resolve a claim in less than 
two years.
  Mr. Speaker, while VA has made great efforts to lower claims 
processing times, the fact remains that it can sometimes take more than 
2 years to correctly determine and adjudicate a claim. When this 
process takes an inordinate length of time, it is simply not fair to 
prevent veterans' survivors from receiving disability or pension 
benefit payments the veteran would have received if VA had been able to 
process claims in a timely fashion. H.R. 241 would ensure that a 
veteran's survivor would not suffer because the veteran died while 
waiting for the claim to be adjudicated.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my intention that the Veterans' Affairs Committee 
consider this bill as soon as possible during the 1st Session of the 
108th Congress. It is a matter of fairness and I urge all of my 
colleagues to join in this effort.

                          ____________________