Fair Access to Veterans Benefits Act of 2011

Fair Access to Veterans Benefits Act of 2011 - Extends the 120-day limit for the filing of an appeal to the Court of Veterans Appeals after a final decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals upon a showing of good cause for such time as justice may require. Considers as good cause the inability of a person to file within the 120-day period due to a service-connected disability.

Makes such extension applicable to appeals of final Board decisions issued on or after July 24, 2008.

[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 810 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 810

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the tolling of 
  the timing of review for appeals of final decisions of the Board of 
               Veterans' Appeals, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 18, 2011

  Mr. Filner introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the tolling of 
  the timing of review for appeals of final decisions of the Board of 
               Veterans' Appeals, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Fair Access to Veterans Benefits Act 
of 2011''.

SEC. 2. TOLLING OF TIMING OF REVIEW FOR APPEALS OF FINAL DECISIONS OF 
              BOARD OF VETERANS' APPEALS.

    (a) In General.--Section 7266(a) of title 38, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) by striking ``In order'' and inserting ``(1) Except as 
        provided in paragraph (2), in order''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(2)(A) The 120-day period described in paragraph (1) shall be 
extended upon a showing of good cause for such time as justice may 
require.
    ``(B) For purposes of this paragraph, it shall be considered good 
cause if a person was unable to file a notice of appeal within the 120-
day period because of the person's service-connected disability.''.
    (b) Applicability.--
            (1) In general.--Paragraph (2) of section 7266(a) of such 
        title, as added by subsection (a), shall apply to a notice of 
        appeal filed with respect to a final decision of the Board of 
        Veterans' Appeals that was issued on or after July 24, 2008.
            (2) Reinstatement.--Any petition for review filed with the 
        Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims that was dismissed by such 
        Court on or after July 24, 2008, as untimely, shall, upon the 
        filing of a petition by an adversely affected person filed not 
        later than six months after the date of the enactment of this 
        Act, be reinstated upon a showing that the petitioner had good 
        cause for filing the petition on the date it was filed.
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