Jay Rockefeller: “I am today introducing this legislation which attempts to ensure there will be a sufficient number of judges on the U.S.…”

“I am today introducing this legislation which attempts to ensure there will be a sufficient number of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims so as to decide the appeals of our Nation's veterans for disability claims. In addition, this bill would terminate the Notice of Disagreement requirement in the current law which acts as a bar to appealing cases to the court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, CAVC, originally named the Court of Veterans' Appeals, was created in 1988 in the Veterans Judicial Review Act, VJRA, to provide judicial review to veterans' claims for benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. It is comprised of one chief judge and six associate judges. At the court's inception, the terms for judges on the court were not staggered. The original chief judge and six associate judges were appointed to 15-year terms within 16 months of one another from 1989 to 1991. A new judge was appointed in 1997 to fill a vacancy created by the death of one of the originally appointed judges. The chief judge retired in 2000 and his seat has not yet been filled. By 2005, the terms of five of the remaining judges will end. Because the judges' terms were not staggered, it is very likely that there will be simultaneous vacant seats.”