[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 31 (Thursday, March 11, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E355]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT FOR H.R. 3936

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 11, 2004

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, today, along with Mr. Evans, 
and Mr. Skelton, I am introducing H.R. 3936, a bill to authorize the 
U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, now located in commercial 
office space in the District of Columbia, to seek a new location in the 
greater national capital region. This measure would also express the 
sense of Congress that a dedicated Veterans Courthouse and Justice 
Center should be provided for the court and the veterans it serves. It 
would be located, if possible, on one of three small parking lots next 
to I-395 on the Pentagon Reservation.
  The court, created by statute in 1988, is an independent Article I 
judicial tribunal that for the first time gave our Nation's veterans 
the right to judicial review of the Department of Veterans (VA) 
benefits decisions on their disability, pension, education and other 
claims. It should, like all other article I courts, have a permanent 
courthouse.
  In addition to the court, occupants of the new Courthouse would be 
members of those constituencies that regularly practice before the 
court, for example, the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program, the 
National Veterans Legal Services Program, and the appellate attorneys 
of veterans service organizations. The court and the offices of its 
constituents pay over $3.7 million per year for their rent. The General 
Services Administration anticipates that the court's rental costs will 
increase substantially in the not-too-distant future, so it would be 
desirable to relocate the court on a government-owned site, if 
possible.
  H.R. 3936 would also require the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs and the Administrator of General Services to submit 
a joint report to the House and Senate Committees on Armed Services and 
Veterans' Affairs on the feasibility of locating a new Veterans 
Courthouse and Justice Center at an appropriate site owned by the 
United States that is part of or near the Pentagon Reservation.
  Mr. Speaker, given the past, present, and future sacrifices of the 
many men and women of our Armed Forces, I cannot imagine a better use 
for one of the present parking lots near the Pentagon, than a stand-
alone, dedicated Veterans Courthouse and Justice Center to embody the 
gratitude and respect this Nation has for the service of every veteran.
  I invite my colleagues to cosponsor this legislation as a first step 
toward a Veterans Courthouse and Justice Center for the U.S. Court of 
Appeals for Veterans Claims.

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