Cosponsor H.R. 3193, the Duty to Assist Veterans Act

Dear Colleague:

The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) has recently described H.R. 3193 of as one of the "most important pieces of veterans' rights legislation to be considered by the 106th Congress."  I  welcome this strong support from the DAV and invite you to become a cosponsor of H.R. 3193, the Duty to Assist Veterans Act.

Under current VA practice, VA simply denies a veteran’s claim for service-connected compensation benefits as "not well-grounded" if the veteran does not provide medical and military information which shows a current disability is related to military service. While it can routinely take six months or longer for a veteran to obtain military records from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) or other military information repository, the VA allows the veteran 30 days to provide this required information.

After a claim is denied because it is not well-grounded, within one year the veteran can submit an appeal or provide evidence to well ground the claim. Each time the veteran submits additional evidence, VA will be required to make a new determination as to whether or not that evidence is sufficient to well-ground the claim. Under H.R. 3193, VA would be required to assist veterans in obtaining the evidence necessary to establish their eligibility for benefits before deciding the claim.

I invite you to join with the other Members, listed below, who have already become a cosponsor of H.R. 3193, one of the "most important pieces of veterans' rights legislation to be considered by the 106^th Congress." If you would like to become a cosponsor of H.R. 3193 or have questions regarding this legislation, please contact Mary Ellen McCarthy or Beth Kilker at 225-9756.

Sincerely,

LANE EVANS
Ranking Democratic Member