FOR RELEASE: February 19, 2002

Evans’ Legislation Would Allow Family Members
 To Continue VA Claims When Veteran Dies 
While Claim Is Pending 

Bill would end practice of dismissing 
claims when veteran dies 

Washington, DC – Lane Evans of Illinois, Democratic Leader of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, has introduced H.R. 3733, the Veterans’ Claims Continuation Act.  Evans said, "The Veterans’ Claims Continuation Act” would permit family members to continue a veteran’s claims for benefits   when a veteran dies while a claim is pending before the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or on appeal to a court.”  

In introducing the bill, Evans cited a particularly outrageous case, Marlow v. West, in which the United States Court of Appeals was constrained to deny benefits to a survivor, because the veteran died before he could be paid all of the retroactive benefits which VA had wrongfully denied.  In the Marlow case, VA had corrected the error, but only after it was too late to pay benefits under current law.  In criticizing the VA’s erroneous denial of benefits for decades, the Court stated in Marlow: “This is a case that causes one to understand the frustration of Charles Dickens’ character Mr. Bumble, when he proclaimed, ‘The law is an ass, an idiot.’”  “If a particular law is an idiot, it should be changed”, said Evans.  While the Veterans’ Claims Continuation Act will not provide benefits for Mrs. Marlow, it will allow future families to receive benefits which were erroneously denied, if a claim was pending at the time of the claimant’s death.

Older veterans have complained that VA uses delaying tactics, hoping that the veteran will die before the claim is allowed.  Although, Evans has found no evidence to support this allegation, the inability of family members to continue the claim and the limitation on any benefits payable to a two-year period in current law, may erroneously give veterans this impression.  Evans also notes that recent initiatives of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to expedite processing of claims of older veterans should reduce the number of claims pending at the death of the claimant. 

Elimination of the two-year limit on payment of benefits has been recommended by veterans’ service organizations in The Independent Budget for Fiscal Year 2003, a document which presents policy positions and budget recommendations on programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs.  Congressman Evans was joined by the Ranking Member of the Benefits Subcommittee, Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) in introducing the bill. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

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