
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document affected by Public Law 106-419 Section 305]
[CITE: 38USC1154]

 
                      TITLE 38--VETERANS' BENEFITS
 
                        PART II--GENERAL BENEFITS
 
   CHAPTER 11--COMPENSATION FOR SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITY OR DEATH
 
             SUBCHAPTER VI--GENERAL COMPENSATION PROVISIONS
 
Sec. 1154. Consideration to be accorded time, place, and 
        circumstances of service
        
    (a) The Secretary shall include in the regulations pertaining to 
service-connection of disabilities (1) additional provisions in effect 
requiring that in each case where a veteran is seeking service-
connection for any disability due consideration shall be given to the 
places, types, and circumstances of such veteran's service as shown by 
such veteran's service record, the official history of each organization 
in which such veteran served, such veteran's medical records, and all 
pertinent medical and lay evidence, and (2) the provisions required by 
section 5 of the Veterans' Dioxin and Radiation Exposure Compensation 
Standards Act (Public Law 98-542; 98 Stat. 2727).
    (b) In the case of any veteran who engaged in combat with the enemy 
in active service with a military, naval, or air organization of the 
United States during a period of war, campaign, or expedition, the 
Secretary shall accept as sufficient proof of service-connection of any 
disease or injury alleged to have been incurred in or aggravated by such 
service satisfactory lay or other evidence of service incurrence or 
aggravation of such injury or disease, if consistent with the 
circumstances, conditions, or hardships of such service, notwithstanding 
the fact that there is no official record of such incurrence or 
aggravation in such service, and, to that end, shall resolve every 
reasonable doubt in favor of the veteran. Service-connection of such 
injury or disease may be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence to 
the contrary. The reasons for granting or denying service-connection in 
each case shall be recorded in full.

(Pub. L. 85-857, Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1124, Sec. 354; Pub. L. 94-433, 
title IV, Sec. 404(20), Sept. 30, 1976, 90 Stat. 1379; Pub. L. 98-542, 
Sec. 4, Oct. 24, 1984, 98 Stat. 2727; Pub. L. 102-54, Sec. 14(b)(1), 
June 13, 1991, 105 Stat. 282; renumbered Sec. 1154 and amended Pub. L. 
102-83, Secs. 4(b)(1), (2)(E), 5(a), Aug. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 404-406.)

                       References in Text

    Section 5 of the Veterans' Dioxin and Radiation Exposure 
Compensation Standards Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is set out 
below.


                               Amendments

    1991--Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 5(a), renumbered section 354 of this 
title as this section.
    Pub. L. 102-54, Sec. 14(b)(1)(A), inserted a comma after ``place'' 
in section catchline.
    Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted 
``Secretary'' for ``Administrator''.
    Pub. L. 102-54, Sec. 14(b)(1)(B), inserted before period at end 
``(Public Law 98-542; 98 Stat. 2727)''.
    Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted 
``Secretary'' for ``Administrator''.
    1984--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98-542 designated existing provisions as 
cl. (1) and added cl. (2).
    1976--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94-433 substituted ``such veteran's'' for 
``his'' in three places and ``such veteran'' for ``he''.


                    Effective Date of 1976 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 94-433 effective Oct. 1, 1976, see section 406 
of Pub. L. 94-433, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.


                       Ionizing Radiation Registry

    Pub. L. 99-576, title II, Sec. 232, Oct. 28, 1986, 100 Stat. 3264, 
as amended by Pub. L. 102-83, Secs. 5(c)(2), 6(h), Aug. 6, 1991, 105 
Stat. 406, 408, provided that:
    ``(a) Establishment of Registry.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall establish and maintain a special record to be known as the 
`Ionizing Radiation Registry' (hereinafter in this section referred to 
as the `Registry').
    ``(b) Content of Registry.--Except as provided in subsection (c), 
the Registry shall include the following information:
        ``(1) A list containing the name of each veteran who was exposed 
    to ionizing radiation under the conditions described in section 
    1710(e)(1)(B) of title 38, United States Code, and who--
            ``(A) applies for hospital or nursing home care from the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs under chapter 17 of such title;
            ``(B) files a claim for compensation under chapter 11 of 
        such title on the basis of a disability which may be associated 
        with the exposure to ionizing radiation; or
            ``(C) dies and is survived by a spouse, child, or parent who 
        files a claim for dependency and indemnity compensation under 
        chapter 13 of such title on the basis of the exposure of such 
        veteran to ionizing radiation.
        ``(2) Medical data relating to each veteran listed in the 
    Registry, including--
            ``(A) the veteran's medical history, latest health status 
        recorded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, physical 
        examinations, and clinical findings; and
            ``(B) a statement describing birth defects, if any, in the 
        natural children of the veteran.
        ``(3) Data on claims for the compensation referred to in 
    paragraph (1), including decisions and determinations of the 
    Department of Veterans Affairs relating to such claims.
        ``(4) An estimate of the dose of radiation to which each veteran 
    listed in the Registry was exposed under the conditions described in 
    section 1710(e)(1)(B) of such title.
    ``(c) Veterans Submitting Claims Before Date of Enactment.--If in 
the case of a veteran described in subsection (b)(1) the application or 
claim referred to in such subsection was submitted or filed before 
October 28, 1986, the Secretary shall include in the Registry, to the 
extent feasible, such veteran's name and the data and information 
described in subsection (b) relating to the veteran.
    ``(d) Consolidation of Existing Information.--(1) For the purpose of 
establishing and maintaining the Registry, the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs shall compile and consolidate--
        ``(A) relevant information maintained by the Veterans Benefits 
    Administration and the Veterans Health Administration of the 
    Department of Veterans Affairs;
        ``(B) relevant information maintained by the Defense Nuclear 
    Agency of the Department of Defense; and
        ``(C) any relevant information maintained by any other element 
    of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense.
    ``(2) With respect to a veteran whose name is included in the 
Registry and for whom the information in the Registry is not complete, 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall include information described in 
paragraph (1) with respect to that veteran (A) to the extent that such 
information is reasonably available in records of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs or Department of Defense, or (B) if such information is 
submitted by the veteran after October 28, 1986.
    ``(e) Department of Defense Information.--The Secretary of Defense 
shall furnish to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs such information 
maintained by the Department of Defense as the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs considers necessary to establish and maintain the Registry.
    ``(f) Definition.--For the purpose of this section, the term 
`veteran' has the meaning given that term in section 101(2) of title 38, 
United States Code, and includes a person who died in the active 
military, naval, or air service.
    ``(g) Effective Date.--The Registry shall be established not later 
than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 28, 
1986].''


    Veterans' Dioxin and Radiation Exposure Compensation Standards; 
             Congressional Findings and Statement of Purpose

    Sections 1-3 of Pub. L. 98-542, as amended by Pub. L. 102-4, 
Sec. 10(a), (b), Feb. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 19, provided that:


                              ``short title

    ``Section 1. This Act [amending this section, enacting provisions 
set out as notes under this section, and amending provisions set out as 
notes under this section and section 1116 of this title] may be cited as 
the `Veterans' Dioxin and Radiation Exposure Compensation Standards 
Act'.


                               ``findings

    ``Sec. 2. The Congress makes the following findings:
        ``(1) Veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam during the 
    Vietnam era and veterans who participated in atmospheric nuclear 
    tests or the American occupation of Hiroshima or Nagasaki, Japan, 
    are deeply concerned about possible long-term health effects of 
    exposure to herbicides containing dioxin or to ionizing radiation.
        ``(2) There is scientific and medical uncertainty regarding such 
    long-term adverse health effects.
        ``(3) In section 102 of Public Law 97-22 [see Tables for 
    classification], the Congress responded to that uncertainty by 
    authorizing priority medical care at Veterans' Administration [now 
    Department of Veterans Affairs] facilities for any disability of a 
    veteran who may have been so exposed (even though there is 
    insufficient medical evidence linking such disability with such 
    exposure) unless the disability is found to have resulted from a 
    cause other than the exposure.
        ``(4) The Congress has further responded to that medical and 
    scientific uncertainty by requiring, in section 307 of Public Law 
    96-151 [set out as a note under section 1116 of this title] and 
    section 601 of Public Law 98-160 [set out below], the conduct of 
    thorough epidemiological studies of the health effects experienced 
    by veterans in connection with exposure both to herbicides 
    containing dioxin and (if not determined to be scientifically 
    infeasible) to radiation, and by requiring in Public Law 97-414 [see 
    Tables for classification], the development of radioepidemiological 
    tables setting forth the probabilities of causation between various 
    cancers and exposure to radiation.
        ``(5) There is some evidence that most types of leukemia, 
    malignancies of the thyroid, female breast, lung, bone, liver, and 
    skin, and polycythemia vera are associated with exposure to certain 
    levels of ionizing radiation.
        ``(6) As of the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 24, 
    1984], there are sixty-six federally sponsored research projects 
    being conducted relating to herbicides containing dioxin, at a cost 
    to the Federal Government in excess of $130,000,000 and, as of 1981, 
    federally sponsored research projects relating to ionizing radiation 
    were costing the Federal Government more than $115,000,000.
        ``(7) The initial results of one project--an epidemiological 
    study, conducted by the United States Air Force School of Aerospace 
    Medicine, of the health status of the `Ranch Hand' veterans who 
    carried out the loading and aerial spraying of herbicides containing 
    dioxin in Vietnam and in the process came into direct skin contact 
    with such herbicides in their most concentrated liquid form--were 
    released on February 24, 1984, and contained the conclusion `that 
    there is insufficient evidence to support a cause and effect 
    relationship between herbicide exposure and adverse health in the 
    Ranch Hand group at this time'.
        ``(8) The `film badges' which were originally issued to members 
    of the Armed Forces in connection with the atmospheric nuclear test 
    program have previously constituted a primary source of dose 
    information for veterans (and survivors of veterans) filing claims 
    for Veterans' Administration [now Department of Veterans Affairs] 
    disability compensation or dependency and indemnity compensation in 
    connection with exposure to radiation.
        ``(9) These film badges often provide an incomplete measure of 
    radiation exposure, since they were not capable of recording 
    inhaled, ingested, or neutron doses (although the Defense Nuclear 
    Agency currently has the capability to reconstruct individual 
    estimates of such doses), were not issued to most of the 
    participants in nuclear tests, often provided questionable readings 
    because they were shielded during the detonation, and were worn for 
    only limited periods during and after each nuclear detonation.
        ``(10) Standards governing the reporting of dose estimates in 
    connection with radiation-related claims for Veterans' 
    Administration [now Department of Veterans Affairs] disability 
    compensation vary among the several branches of the Armed Forces, 
    and no uniform minimum standards exist.
        ``(11) The Veterans' Administration [now Department of Veterans 
    Affairs] has not promulgated permanent regulations setting forth 
    specific guidelines, standards, and criteria for the adjudication of 
    claims for Veterans' Administration disability compensation based on 
    exposure to herbicides containing dioxin or to ionizing radiation.
        ``(12) Such claims (especially those involving health effects 
    with long latency periods) present adjudicatory issues which are 
    significantly different from issues generally presented in claims 
    based upon the usual types of injuries incurred in military service.
        ``(13) It has always been the policy of the Veterans' 
    Administration [now Department of Veterans Affairs] and is the 
    policy of the United States, with respect to individual claims for 
    service connection of diseases and disabilities, that when, after 
    consideration of all evidence and material of record, there is an 
    approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding the 
    merits of an issue material to the determination of a claim, the 
    benefit of the doubt in resolving each such issue shall be given to 
    the claimant.


                                ``purpose

    ``Sec. 3. The purpose of this Act is to ensure that Veterans' 
Administration [now Department of Veterans Affairs] disability 
compensation is provided to veterans who were exposed to ionizing 
radiation in connection with atmospheric nuclear tests or in connection 
with the American occupation of Hiroshima or Nagasaki, Japan, for all 
disabilities arising after that service that are connected, based on 
sound scientific and medical evidence, to such service (and that 
Veterans' Administration dependency and indemnity compensation is 
provided to survivors of those veterans for all deaths resulting from 
such disabilities).''
    [Amendment by Pub. L. 102-4 to sections 2 and 3 of Pub. L. 98-542, 
set out above, effective at the end of the six-month period beginning on 
Feb. 6, 1991, except as otherwise provided, see section 10(e) of Pub. L. 
102-4, set out below under sections 5 to 7 of Pub. L. 98-542.]


   Requirement for and Content of Regulations; Advisory Committee on 
   Environmental Standards; Nuclear Radiation Matters Involving Other 
                                Agencies

    Sections 5-7 of Pub. L. 98-542, as amended by Pub. L. 100-321, 
Sec. 2(c), May 20, 1988, 102 Stat. 486; Pub. L. 102-4, Sec. 10(c), (d), 
Feb. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 19, 20; Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 5(c)(2), Aug. 6, 
1991, 105 Stat. 406, provided that:


              ``requirement for and content of regulations

    ``Sec. 5. (a) In carrying out the responsibilities of the 
Administrator of Veterans' Affairs [now Secretary of Veterans Affairs] 
under section 1154(a)(2) [formerly 354(a)(2)] of title 38, United States 
Code, and in order to promote consistency in claims processing and 
decisions, the Administrator shall prescribe regulations to--
        ``(1) establish guidelines and (where appropriate) standards and 
    criteria for the resolution of claims for benefits under laws 
    administered by the Veterans' Administration [now Department of 
    Veterans Affairs] where the criteria for eligibility for a benefit 
    include a requirement that a death or disability be service 
    connected and the claim of service connection is based on a 
    veteran's exposure during service in connection with such veteran's 
    participation in atmospheric nuclear tests or with the American 
    occupation of Hiroshima or Nagasaki, Japan, prior to July 1, 1946, 
    to ionizing radiation from the detonation of a nuclear device; and
        ``(2) ensure that, with respect to those claims, the policy of 
    the United States described in section 2(13) [set out above] is 
    carried out.
    ``(b)(1)(A) The guidelines required to be established in regulations 
prescribed under this section shall include guidelines governing the 
evaluation of the findings of scientific studies relating to the 
possible increased risk of adverse health effects of exposure to 
ionizing radiation. Those guidelines shall require that, in the 
evaluation of those studies, the Administrator [now Secretary] shall 
take into account whether the results are statistically significant, are 
capable of replication, and withstand peer review.
    ``(B) The evaluations described in subparagraph (A) shall be made by 
the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs [now Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs] after receiving the advice of the Scientific Council of the 
Veterans' Advisory Committee on Environmental Hazards (established under 
section 6). Those evaluations shall be published in the notice section 
of the Federal Register.
    ``(C) The standards and criteria required to be established in 
regulations prescribed under this section shall include provisions 
governing the use in the adjudication of individual claims of the 
Administrator's [now Secretary's] evaluations made under subparagraph 
(B).
    ``(2)(A)(i) In prescribing regulations under this section, the 
Administrator [now Secretary] (after receiving the advice of the 
Advisory Committee and of the Scientific Council of the Veterans' 
Advisory Committee on Environmental Hazards regarding the diseases 
described in subparagraph (B)) shall make determinations, based on sound 
medical and scientific evidence, with respect to each disease described 
in subparagraph (B) as to whether service connection shall, subject to 
division (ii) of this subparagraph, be granted in the adjudication of 
individual cases. In making determinations regarding such diseases, the 
Administrator shall give due regard to the need to maintain the policy 
of the United States with respect to the resolution of contested issues 
as set forth in section 2(13) [set out above]. The Administrator shall 
set forth in such regulations such determinations, with any 
specification (relating to exposure or other relevant matter) of 
limitations on the circumstances under which service connection shall be 
granted, and shall implement such determinations in accordance with such 
regulations.
    ``(ii) If the Administrator [now Secretary] makes a determination, 
pursuant to this subparagraph, that service connection shall be granted 
in the case of a disease described in subparagraph (B), the 
Administrator shall specify in such regulations that, in the 
adjudication of individual cases, service connection shall not be 
granted where there is sufficient affirmative evidence to the contrary 
or evidence to establish that an intercurrent injury or disease which is 
a recognized cause of the described disease has been suffered between 
the date of separation from service and the onset of such disease or 
that the disability is due to the veteran's own willful misconduct.
    ``(iii) With regard to each disease described in subparagraph (B), 
the Administrator [now Secretary] shall include in the regulations 
prescribed under this section provisions specifying the factors to be 
considered in adjudicating issues relating to whether or not service 
connection should be granted in individual cases and the circumstances 
governing the granting of service connection for such disease.
    ``(B) The diseases referred to in subparagraph (A) are those 
specified in section 2(5) [set out above] and any other disease with 
respect to which the Administrator [now Secretary] finds (after 
receiving and considering the advice of the Scientific Council 
established under section 6(d)(2)) that there is sound scientific or 
medical evidence indicating a connection to exposure to ionizing 
radiation, in the case of a veteran who was exposed to ionizing 
radiation in connection with such veteran's participation in an 
atmospheric nuclear test or with the American occupation of Hiroshima or 
Nagasaki, Japan, before July 1, 1946.
    ``(3) The regulations prescribed under this section shall include--
        ``(A) specification of the maximum period of time after exposure 
    to such ionizing radiation for the development of those diseases; 
    and
        ``(B) a requirement that a claimant filing a claim based upon a 
    veteran's exposure to ionizing radiation from the detonation of a 
    nuclear device may not be required to produce evidence 
    substantiating the veteran's exposure during active military, naval, 
    or air service if the information in the veteran's service records 
    and other records of the Department of Defense is not inconsistent 
    with the claim that the veteran was present where and when the 
    claimed exposure occurred.
    ``(c)(1) The Administrator of Veterans' Affairs [now Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs] shall develop the regulations required by this section 
(and any amendment to those regulations) through a public review and 
comment process in accordance with the provisions of section 553 of 
title 5, United States Code. That process may include consideration by 
the Administrator of the recommendations of the Veterans' Advisory 
Committee on Environmental Hazards and the Scientific Council thereof 
(established under section 6) with respect to the proposed regulations, 
and that process shall include consideration by the Administrator of the 
recommendations of the Committee and the Council with respect to the 
final regulations and proposed and final amendments to such regulations. 
The period for public review and comment shall be completed not later 
than ninety days after the proposed regulations or proposed amendments 
are published in the Federal Register.
    ``(2)(A) Not later than one hundred and eighty days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 24, 1984], the Administrator [now 
Secretary] shall develop and publish in the Federal Register a proposed 
version of the regulations required to be prescribed by this section.
    ``(B) Not later than three hundred days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act [Oct. 24, 1984], the Administrator [now Secretary] 
shall publish in the Federal Register the final regulations (together 
with explanations of the bases for the guidelines, standards, and 
criteria contained therein) required to be prescribed by this section.


              ``advisory committee on environmental hazards

    ``Sec. 6. (a) The advisory committee referred to in subsections (b) 
and (c) of section 5, to be known as the Veterans' Advisory Committee on 
Environmental Hazards (hereinafter in this section referred to as the 
`Committee') shall consist of nine members appointed by the 
Administrator of Veterans' Affairs [now Secretary of Veterans Affairs] 
after requesting and considering recommendations from veteran 
organizations, including--
        ``(1) six individuals (of whom none may be members of the Armed 
    Forces on active duty or employees of the Veterans' Administration 
    [now Department of Veterans Affairs] or the Department of Defense 
    and not more than three may be employees of other Federal 
    departments or agencies), appointed, after requesting and 
    considering the recommendations of the heads of Federal entities 
    with particular expertise in biomedical and environmental science, 
    including--
            ``(A) three individuals who are recognized medical or 
        scientific authorities in fields pertinent to understanding the 
        health effects of exposure to ionizing radiation; and
            ``(B) three individuals who are recognized medical or 
        scientific authorities in fields, such as epidemiology and other 
        scientific disciplines, pertinent to determining and assessing 
        the health effects of exposure to ionizing radiation in exposed 
        populations; and
        ``(2) three individuals from the general public, including at 
    least one disabled veteran, having a demonstrated interest in and 
    experience relating to veterans' concerns regarding exposure to 
    ionizing radiation.
    ``(b) The Committee shall include, as ex officio, nonvoting members, 
the Chief Medical Director and the Chief Benefits Director of the 
Veterans' Administration [now Under Secretary for Health and Under 
Secretary for Benefits of the Department of Veterans Affairs], or their 
designees.
    ``(c) The Committee shall submit to the Administrator [now 
Secretary] any recommendations it considers appropriate for 
administrative or legislative action.
    ``(d)(1) The six members of the Committee described in subsection 
(a)(1) shall, in addition to serving as members of the Committee, 
constitute a Scientific Council of the Committee (hereinafter in this 
section referred to as the `Council').
    ``(2) The Council shall have responsibility for evaluating 
scientific studies relating to possible adverse health effects of 
exposure to ionizing radiation.
    ``(3) The Council shall make findings and evaluations regarding 
pertinent scientific studies and shall submit to the Committee, the 
Administrator [now Secretary], and the Committees on Veterans' Affairs 
of the Senate and House of Representatives directly periodic reports on 
such findings and evaluations.
    ``(e) The Administrator [now Secretary] shall designate one of the 
members to chair the Committee and another member to chair the Council.
    ``(f) The Administrator [now Secretary] shall determine the terms of 
service and pay and allowances of members of the Committee, except that 
a term of service of any member may not exceed three years. The 
Administrator may reappoint any member for additional terms of service.
    ``(g) The Administrator [now Secretary] shall provide administrative 
support services and fiscal support for the Committee.


          ``nuclear radiation matters involving other agencies

    ``Sec. 7. (a) In connection with the duties of the Director of the 
Defense Nuclear Agency, as Department of Defense Executive Agent for the 
Nuclear Test Personnel Review Program, relating to the preparation of 
radiation dose estimates with regard to claims for Veterans' 
Administration [now Department of Veterans Affairs] disability 
compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation under chapters 11 
and 13, respectively, of title 38, United States Code--
        ``(1) the Secretary of Defense shall prescribe guidelines (and 
    any amendment to those guidelines) through a public review and 
    comment process in accordance with the provisions of section 553 of 
    title 5, United States Code--
            ``(A) specifying the minimum standards governing the 
        preparation of radiation dose estimates in connection with 
        claims for such compensation,
            ``(B) making such standards uniformly applicable to the 
        several branches of the Armed Forces, and
            ``(C) requiring that each such estimate furnished to the 
        Veterans' Administration [now Department of Veterans Affairs] 
        and to any veteran or survivor include information regarding all 
        material aspects of the radiation environment to which the 
        veteran was exposed and which form the basis of the claim, 
        including inhaled, ingested, and neutron doses; and
        ``(2) the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the 
    Director of the National Institutes of Health, shall--
            ``(A) conduct a review of the reliability and accuracy of 
        scientific and technical devices and techniques (such as `whole 
        body counters') which may be useful in determining previous 
        radiation exposure;
            ``(B) submit to the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs [now 
        Secretary of Veterans Affairs] and the Committees on Veterans' 
        Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate, not 
        later than July 1, 1985, a report regarding the results of such 
        review, including information concerning the availability of 
        such devices and techniques, the categories of exposed 
        individuals as to whom use of such devices and techniques may be 
        appropriate, and the reliability and accuracy of dose estimates 
        which may be derived from such devices and techniques; and
            ``(C) enter into an interagency agreement with the 
        Administrator of Veterans' Affairs [now Secretary of Veterans 
        Affairs] for the purpose of assisting the Administrator in 
        identifying agencies or other entities capable of furnishing 
        services involving the use of such devices and techniques.
    ``(b) The Administrator of Veterans' Affairs [now Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs], in resolving material differences between a radiation 
dose estimate, from a credible source, submitted by a veteran or 
survivor and a radiation dose estimate prepared and transmitted by the 
Director of the Defense Nuclear Agency, shall provide for the 
preparation of a radiation dose estimate by an independent expert, who 
shall be selected by the Director of the National Institutes of Health 
and who shall not be affiliated with the Defense Nuclear Agency, and the 
Administrator shall provide for the consideration of such independent 
estimate in connection with the adjudication of the claim for Veterans' 
Administration [now Department of Veterans Affairs] compensation.''
    [Pub. L. 102-4, Sec. 10(e), Feb. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 20, as amended 
by Pub. L. 102-86, title V, Sec. 503(b)(2), Aug. 14, 1991, 105 Stat. 
425, provided that:
    [``(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the amendments made by 
this section [amending sections 2 and 3 of Pub. L. 98-542, set out 
above, and sections 5 and 6 of Pub. L. 98-542, set out above] shall take 
effect at the end of the two-month period beginning on the date of the 
enactment of the Veterans' Benefits Programs Improvement Act of 1991 
[Aug. 14, 1991].
    [``(2)(A) If the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines before the 
end of such period that the Environmental Hazards Advisory Committee 
established under section 6 of Public Law 98-542 (38 U.S.C. 354 note) 
[set out above] has completed its responsibilities under that section 
and the directives of the Secretary pursuant to the Nehmer case court 
order, the amendments made by this section shall take effect as of the 
date of such determination.
    [``(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the term `Nehmer case court 
order' means the court order dated May 2, 1989, in the case of Nehmer v. 
Department of Veterans Affairs, in the United States district court for 
the northern district of California (civil action docket number C-86-
6160 TEH).
    [``(3) If the Secretary makes a determination under paragraph (2), 
the Secretary shall promptly publish in the Federal Register a notice 
that such determination has been made and that such amendments have 
thereby taken effect as of the date of such determination.'']


 Identification of Activities Involving Exposure to Ionizing Radiation 
                         Before January 1, 1970

    Section 10 of Pub. L. 98-542, as added by Pub. L. 102-578, Sec. 3, 
Oct. 30, 1992, 106 Stat. 4774, provided that:
    ``(a) In General.--(1) In order to determine whether activities 
(other than the tests or occupation activities referred to in section 
5(a)(1)(B) [probably means section 5(a)(1), set out above]) resulted in 
the exposure of veterans to ionizing radiation during the service of 
such veterans that occurred before January 1, 1970, and whether adverse 
health effects have been observed or may have resulted from such 
exposure in a significant number of such veterans, the Advisory 
Committee established under section 6 [set out above] shall--
        ``(A) review all available scientific studies and other relevant 
    information relating to the exposure of such veterans to ionizing 
    radiation during such service;
        ``(B) identify any activity during which significant numbers of 
    veterans received exposure; and
        ``(C) on the basis of such review, submit to the Secretary of 
    Veterans Affairs a report containing the recommendation of the 
    Advisory Committee on the feasibility and appropriateness for the 
    purpose of the determination under this paragraph of any additional 
    investigation with respect to any activity of such veterans during 
    such service.
    ``(2) Upon the request of the Advisory Committee, the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs (after seeking such assistance from the Secretary of 
Defense as is necessary and appropriate) shall make available to the 
Advisory Committee records and other information relating to the service 
referred to in paragraph (1) that may assist the Advisory Committee in 
carrying out the review and recommendation referred to in that 
paragraph.
    ``(3) The Advisory Committee shall submit to the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs the report referred to in paragraph (1)(C) not later 
than August 1, 1993.
    ``(b) Investigation Plan and Report.--(1) Upon receipt of the report 
referred to in subparagraph (C) of subsection (a)(1), the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs shall--
        ``(A) identify which of the activities referred to in that 
    subparagraph, if any, that the Secretary intends to investigate more 
    fully for the purpose of making the determination referred to in 
    that subsection; and
        ``(B) prepare a plan (including a deadline for the plan) to 
    carry out that investigation and make that determination.
    ``(2) Not later than December 1, 1993, the Secretary shall submit to 
the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of 
Representatives a report containing--
        ``(A) a list of the activities identified by the Secretary 
    pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) and the basis of such identification;
        ``(B) a copy of the report of the Advisory Committee referred to 
    in subsection (a)(1)(C); and
        ``(C) the plan referred to in paragraph (1)(B).''


        Interim Benefits for Disability or Death in Certain Cases

    Section 9 of Pub. L. 98-542 provided for payment of interim monthly 
disability benefits to veterans who had served in Vietnam during Vietnam 
era and who had diseases chloracne and porphyria cutanea tarda which 
manifested themselves within one year after date of veteran's most 
recent departure from Vietnam, but with no such interim benefits to be 
paid after Sept. 30, 1986.


                   Radiation Exposure Study and Guide

    Pub. L. 98-160, title VI, Nov. 21, 1983, 97 Stat. 1006, as amended 
by Pub. L. 98-542, Sec. 8(b), Oct. 24, 1984, 98 Stat. 2732, provided for 
the conduct of an epidemiological study of long-term adverse health 
effects of exposure to ionizing radiation from detonation of nuclear 
devices in connection with tests of such devices or in connection with 
occupation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, between Sept. 11, 1945, and 
July 1, 1946, and provided for reports to Congress on studies made 
together with recommendations as to necessary legislation.
