Washington, DC - "The ‘Catch-22’ that veterans filing cclaims for service-connected compensation benefits have faced this year may be close to an end," said Congressman Lane Evans of Illinois, Democratic Leader of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. "We’ve added some additional useful ideas to the legislation I introduced last year, we’ve got wide-spread bipartisan support, and the House Veterans Affairs Committee has adopted it. We’re an important step closer to eliminating this obstacle for America’s disabled veterans."

A July 14, 1999, ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in Morton v. West overturned the long-standing responsibility of the VA to assist veterans in developing claims for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits. Under the Court ruling, VA is now prohibited from assisting veterans with claims for VA benefits until after the veterans establish that their claims are "well grounded."

"It has been a classic ‘Catch-22’," Evans says. "If you can prove you’ve got a good case, the VA will help you prove you’ve got a good case. If you need help, they can’t help you." The legislation approved today is based upon the Evans "Duty to Assist Veterans Act," which received unanimous support from the Nation’s principal veterans service organizations at a May 18 hearing of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Evans used several cases to illustrate the ‘Catch-22’ veterans have faced. The VA has rejected as "not well-grounded" the claims of veterans who applied for service-connected compensation immediately after leaving military service, even when the disability was the reason the veteran was discharged from military service.  In other cases, VA has also rejected as "not well-grounded" the claims of former prisoners of war who applied for a service-connected disability which federal law presumes is due to military service. VA has even rejected as "not well-grounded" the claim of a veteran who was diagnosed with Hepatitis C -- a chronic condition that never goes away -- during military service.

Last summer, Evans introduced his Duty to Assist Veterans Act, H.R. 3193, which received very strong support -- 186 bipartisan cosponsors. The Evans bill inspired bipartisan legislation, H.R. 4864, the "Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000," introduced this week.

The nation’s principal veterans service organizations have supported the removal of the well-grounded claim requirement and other reforms implemented by the bill. The new bill incorporates input from the veterans service organizations and the VA.

The bipartisan bill adopted by the committee addresses what Evans sees as the most serious concerns expressed by the veterans organizations.

The new bill clarifies who is a claimant, and assures that a veteran whose status needs to be verified can have his or her claim considered.
The bill also clarifies how to handle incomplete applications, and creates notice requirements that should help claimants understand what information is needed to establish their claim.
It preserves the one-year period during which a claimant must submit evidence.
The bill makes clear that the burden of proof belongs ultimately to the veteran making the claim, except when otherwise provided, such as certain medical conditions presumed under law to be service connected.
It puts a 2-year post-enactment limit on veterans requesting re-adjudication of claims that became final after the Morton case was decided.
The new bill keeps the thrust of Congressman Evans’ original legislation, under which the VA would be required to assist any veteran who submits a claim for veterans’ benefits to develop information pertinent to a decision on the claim. That assistance would include:

requesting information from military and VA records;
informing the veteran of the information and evidence needed to fully develop the claim;
telling the veteran if the VA is unable to obtain pertinent evidence, such as service medical records; and,
providing the claimant an opportunity to submit evidence VA has been unable to obtain.
The Court said in its Morton decision that if Congress didn’t agree with its interpretation, Congress could eliminate the "well-grounded claim" requirement. "The Court made a mistake," Evans said. "Assistance in establishing a benefits claim is critical if service-disabled veterans are to receive a fair decision. We need legislation now to make clear VA’s duty to assist our veterans."
 

SOURCE:
House Committee on Veterans Affairs
July 20, 2000