[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 36 (Thursday, March 10, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E447]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               FAIR ACCESS TO VETERANS BENEFITS, H.R. 810

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 10, 2011

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, the Fair Access to Veterans Benefits Access 
Act of 2011, H.R. 810, is a bill that would help our veterans who file 
appeals before the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. This 
legislation would require the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans' 
Claims to hear appeals of administrative decisions by veterans denying 
them benefits when circumstances beyond their control render them 
unable to meet the deadline for filing an appeal.
  This legislation would extend the 120-day limit for the filing of an 
appeal to the Court of Veterans Appeals after a final decision of the 
Board of Veterans' Appeals upon a showing of good cause for such time 
as justice may require. The bill considers as good cause the inability 
of a veteran to file within the 120-day period due to a service-
connected disability. The bill would make such extension applicable to 
appeals of final Board decisions issued on or after July 24, 2008. This 
bill also requires the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims to 
reinstate untimely appeals already dismissed as a result of the court's 
failure to toll the filing period for good cause.
  Under the current system, the veterans' appellate processes are very 
difficult to navigate especially since so many veterans are pro se at 
that stage. Additionally, as TBI and PTSD are the signature disability 
of the current conflicts of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation 
New Dawn, many veterans are also filing claims and appeals while 
suffering from a physical or mental disability. The adherence to rigid 
filing deadlines by the CAVC potentially has resulted in the denial of 
benefits for many veterans. My bill seeks to rectify this issue by 
allowing the veteran to show ``good cause'' for missing the filing 
deadline if related to the veteran's service-connected disability. It 
is clear to me that Congress intended to allow equitable tolling when 
it created the veterans' court.
  The VSO community wholeheartedly supports this legislation and its 
costs are likely discretionary. I urge my colleagues to support this 
bill without delay to give these veterans the access to justice that 
they deserve.

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