[House Report 106-959]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 106-959
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FOR THE RELIEF OF FRANCIS SCHOCHENMAIER AND MARY HUDSON
_______
October 11, 2000.--Referred to the Private Calendar and ordered to be
printed
_______
Mr. Smith of Texas, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 785]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the
bill (S. 785) for the relief of Francis Schochenmaier and Mary
Hudson, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary........................................ 1
Background and Need for the Legislation.................... 1
Committee Consideration.................................... 2
Committee Oversight Findings............................... 2
Committee on Government Reform Findings.................... 2
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures.................. 3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate.................. 3
Constitutional Authority Statement......................... 4
Purpose and Summary
S. 785 would provide relief to the widows of two veterans
whose benefits were erroneously calculated by the Department of
Veterans Affairs.
Background and Need for the Legislation
In the case of Frances Schochenmaier, her husband, a war
hero, suffered an injury during his military service and
received disability compensation from the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) from 1945 until 1995. The VA reevaluated
his disability and admitted that it made a clear and
unmistakable error in compensating him $60,567.58 less than he
deserved. However, just prior to the VA paying Mr.
Schochenmaier the amount due him, he passed away. Although
admitting their error, and acknowledging that recent law
allowed them some discretion when a ``clear and unmistakable
error'' had been made in a determination of benefits, they
determined that Mrs. Schochenmaier could not receive those
monies because survivors are restricted from receiving more
than 2 years worth of any awards for accrue benefits under a
separate part of the statute. The Schochenmaiers were depending
on those funds when Mr. Schochenmaier died and now Mrs.
Schochenmaier has been diagnosed with cancer making the need
for these monies owed to her and her husband even more
important.
This bill would allow Mrs. Schochenmaier to receive the
$60,567.58 owed her husband for his disability.
In the case of Mary Hudson, her husband filed a claim with
the VA in 1990 for a service-connected disability for hearing
loss and nerve damage incurred during World War II. Eight years
later, the Board of Veterans Appeals entered a favorable
decision on Mr. Hudson's claim, ruling that Mr. Hudson's
bilateral hearing loss and residuals of concussion were
service-connected. On January 12, 2000, the VA mailed a check
to Mr. Hudson in the amount of $97,253 for retroactive benefits
relating to his disability. Unfortunately, Mr. Hudson had died
4 days earlier. The benefits check was deposited by the
executor of Mr. Hudson's estate, and the monthly prospective
disability check issued on February 1 in the amount of $937 was
returned to the VA per their request.
Subsequently, the VA determined that Mrs. Hudson was not
eligible to receive the lump sum check for retroactive
disability benefits as a survivor under the same statute cited
in the Schochenmaier case and asked that the funds be returned.
Had the VA not delayed rendering a decision on Mr. Hudson's
case for 8 years, he and his wife would have received these
monies long before his death.
This bill would allow Mrs. Hudson to keep the $97,253
received by her and owed her husband for his disability.
Committee Consideration
On October 11, 2000, the Committee on the Judiciary met in
open session and ordered reported favorably the bill S. 785
without amendment by voice vote, a quorum being present.
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 2(l)(3)(A) of rule XI of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, the committee reports
that the findings and recommendations of the committee, based
on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
Committee on Government Reform Findings
No findings or recommendations of the Committee on
Government Reform and Oversight were received as referred to in
clause 2(l)(3)(D) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives.
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures
Clause 2(l)(3)(B) of House Rule XI is inapplicable because
this legislation does not provide new budgetary authority or
increased tax expenditures.
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
In compliance with clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the committee believes that
the bill would have no significant impact on the Federal
budget. This is based on the Congressional Budget Office cost
estimate on S. 785. That Congressional Budget Office cost
estimate follows:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, October 11, 2000.
Hon. Henry J. Hyde, Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 785, an act for the
relief of Francis Schochenmaier and Mary Hudson.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is John R.
Righter, who can be reached at 226-2860.
Sincerely,
Dan L. Crippen, Director.
Enclosure
cc:
Honorable John Conyers Jr.
Ranking Democratic Member
S. 785--An act for the relief of Francis Schochenmaier and Mary Hudson.
S. 785 would require that the Secretary of the Treasury pay
$60,567.58 to Francis Schochenmaier as compensation for the
underpayment of disability benefits owed to her husband as a
result of his military service in World War II. In addition,
the legislation would prohibit the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs from attempting to recover $97,253 from the estate of
Wallace Hudson. That recovery relates to disability benefits
that were provided after Mr. Hudson's death. Because S. 785
would affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go procedures would
apply.
On September 26, 2000, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for
S. 785, a bill for the relief of Francis Schochenmaier and Mary
Hudson, as reported by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on
September 21, 2000. The two versions of the legislation are
identical, as are our cost estimates.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is John R. Righter,
who can be reached at 226-2860. This estimate was approved by
Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget
Analysis.
Constitutional Authority Statement
Pursuant to rule XI, clause 2(1)(4) of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the committee finds the authority for
this legislation in the First Amendment of the Constitution.