[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1598 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1598
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide improved benefits for
veterans who are former prisoners of war.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 13, 2005
Mr. Bilirakis (for himself, Mr. Evans, Mr. Filner, Ms. Hart, Mr. Foley,
Mr. Fossella, and Mr. Whitfield) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide improved benefits for
veterans who are former prisoners of war.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Prisoner of War Benefits Act of
2005''.
SEC. 2. IMPROVED VETERANS' BENEFITS FOR FORMER PRISONERS OF WAR.
(a) Repeal of Minimum Period of Internment for Presumption of
Service Connection for Certain Diseases.--Subsection (b) of section
1112 of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``; and'' at the end of
subparagraph (A) and inserting a period;
(B) by striking ``a former prisoner of war--'' and
all that follows through ``a disease specified in
paragraph (2)'' and inserting ``a former prisoner of
war, a disease specified in paragraph (2)''; and
(C) by striking subparagraph (B);
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking ``(3) The diseases
specified'' and all that follows through ``the following:'';
and
(3) by redesignating the subparagraphs (A) through (K)
following the matter stricken by paragraph (2) as subparagraphs
(F) through (P), respectively, of paragraph (2).
(b) Additional Diseases Presumed to Be Service Connected.--
Paragraph (2) of section 1112(b) of such title, as amended by
subsection (a)(3), is further amended by adding at the end the
following new subparagraphs:
``(Q) Heart disease.
``(R) Stroke.
``(S) Diabetes (type 2).
``(T) Osteoporosis.''.
(c) Authority for Administrative Determination of Presumption of
Service Connection for Additional Diseases.--
(1) Administrative determination.--Section 1112 of title
38, United States Code, as amended by subsections (a) and (b),
is further amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
``(d)(1) Subsection (b) applies with respect to any disease (in
addition to those specified in that subsection) that the Secretary
determines in regulations prescribed under this subsection warrants a
presumption of service-connection by reason of having positive
association with the experience of being a prisoner of war.
``(2)(A) Whenever the Secretary determines, on the basis of sound
medical and scientific evidence, that a positive association exists
between (i) the experience of being a prisoner of war, and (ii) the
occurrence of a disease in humans, the Secretary shall prescribe
regulations providing that a presumption of service connection is
warranted for that disease for the purposes of this section.
``(B) In making determinations for the purpose of this paragraph,
the Secretary shall take into account (i) recommendations received by
the Secretary from the Advisory Committee on Former Prisoners of War
established under section 541 of this title, and (ii) all other sound
medical and scientific information and analyses available to the
Secretary. In evaluating any study for the purpose of making such
determinations, the Secretary shall take into consideration whether the
results are statistically significant, are capable of replication, and
withstand peer review.
``(C) An association between the occurrence of a disease in humans
and the experience of being a prisoner of war shall be considered to be
positive for the purposes of this subsection if the credible evidence
for the association is equal to or outweighs the credible evidence
against the association.
``(3)(A) Not later than 60 days after the date on which the
Secretary receives a recommendation from the Advisory Committee on
Former Prisoners of War that a presumption of service connection be
established under this subsection for any disease, the Secretary shall
determine whether a presumption of service connection under this
subsection is warranted for that disease. If the Secretary determines
that such a presumption is warranted, the Secretary, not later than 60
days after making the determination, shall issue proposed regulations
setting forth the Secretary's determination.
``(B) If the Secretary determines that a presumption of service
connection is not warranted, the Secretary, not later than 60 days
after making the determination, shall publish in the Federal Register a
notice of that determination. The notice shall include an explanation
of the scientific basis for that determination. If the disease already
is included in regulations providing for a presumption of service
connection, the Secretary, not later than 60 days after publication of
the notice of a determination that the presumption is not warranted,
shall issue proposed regulations removing the presumption for the
disease.
``(C) Not later than 90 days after the date on which the Secretary
issues any proposed regulations under this subsection, the Secretary
shall issue final regulations. Such regulations shall be effective on
the date of issuance.
``(4) Whenever a disease is removed from regulations prescribed
under this section--
``(A) a veteran who was awarded compensation for such
disease on the basis of the presumption provided in subsection
(a) before the effective date of the removal shall continue to
be entitled to receive compensation on that basis; and
``(B) a survivor of a veteran who was awarded dependency
and indemnity compensation for the death of a veteran resulting
from such disease on the basis of such presumption shall
continue to be entitled to receive dependency and indemnity
compensation on such basis.
``(5) The Secretary shall carry out this subsection in consultation
with, and after taking into consideration the views of, the Advisory
Committee on Former Prisoners of War established under section 541 of
this title.''.
(2) Conforming Amendment.--Paragraph (1) of section 1112(b) of such
title, as amended by subsection (a), is further amended by inserting
``or prescribed under subsection (d)'' after ``a disease specified in
paragraph (2)''.
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