- active duty
means—
- active duty for training
means— The term does not include duty performed as a temporary member of the Coast Guard Reserve.
- active military, naval, air, or space service
includes—
- agency of original jurisdiction
means the activity which entered the original determination with regard to a claim for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary.
- appropriations
has the meaning given that term in section 1511 of title 31.
- Armed Forces
means the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard, including the reserve components thereof.
- child
means (except for purposes of chapter 19 of this title (other than with respect to a child who is an insurable dependent under subparagraph (B) or (C) of section 1965(10) of such chapter) and section 8502(b) of this title) a person who is unmarried and— and who is a legitimate child, a legally adopted child, a stepchild who is a member of a veteran’s household or was a member at the time of the veteran’s death, or an illegitimate child but, as to the alleged father, only if acknowledged in writing signed by him, or if he has been judicially ordered to contribute to the child’s support or has been, before his death, judicially decreed to be the father of such child, or if he is otherwise shown by evidence satisfactory to the Secretary to be the father of such child.
- compensation
means a monthly payment made by the Secretary to a veteran because of service-connected disability, or to a surviving spouse, child, or parent of a veteran because of the service-connected death of the veteran occurring before January 1, 1957.
- covered accounts of the Department
means the following accounts of the Department of Veterans Affairs account:
- covered disease
means any of the following:
- dependency and indemnity compensation
means a monthly payment made by the Secretary to a surviving spouse, child, or parent (A) because of a service-connected death occurring after December 31, 1956, or (B) pursuant to the election of a surviving spouse, child, or parent, in the case of such a death occurring before January 1, 1957.
- discharge or release
includes (A) retirement from the active military, naval, air, or space service, and (B) the satisfactory completion of the period of active military, naval, air, or space service for which a person was obligated at the time of entry into such service in the case of a person who, due to enlistment or reenlistment, was not awarded a discharge or release from such period of service at the time of such completion thereof and who, at such time, would otherwise have been eligible for the award of a discharge or release under conditions other than dishonorable.
- eligible recipient
means the next of kin, a relative or friend upon request, or an authorized service representative acting on behalf of such relative or friend.
- eligible veteran
has the meaning given that term in section 1720G(a)(2) of this title.
- former prisoner of war
means a person who, while serving in the active military, naval air, or space service, was forcibly detained or interned in line of duty—
- Freely Associated States
means—
- inactive duty training
means— In the case of a member of the Army National Guard or Air National Guard of any State, such term means duty (other than full-time duty) under sections 316, 502, 503, 504, or 505 of title 32, or the prior corresponding provisions of law.
- Korean conflict
means the period beginning on June 27, 1950, and ending on January 31, 1955.
- Mexican border period
means the period beginning on May 9, 1916, and ending on April 5, 1917, in the case of a veteran who during such period served in Mexico, on the borders thereof, or in the waters adjacent thereto.
- multiyear contract
means a contract which by its terms is to remain in effect for a period which extends beyond the end of the fiscal year during which the contract is entered into but not beyond the end of the fourth fiscal year following such fiscal year.
- non-service-connected
means, with respect to disability or death, that such disability was not incurred or aggravated, or that the death did not result from a disability incurred or aggravated, in line of duty in the active military, naval, air, or space service.
- nonrecurring, unrecovered costs
means those costs reasonably incurred by the contractor in performing a multiyear contract which (as determined under regulations prescribed under subsection (d) of this section) are generally incurred on a one-time basis.
- nursing home care
means the accommodation of convalescents or other persons who are not acutely ill and not in need of hospital care, but who require nursing care and related medical services, if such nursing care and medical services are prescribed by, or are performed under the general direction of, persons duly licensed to provide such care.
- parent
means (except for purposes of chapter 19 of this title) a father, a mother, a father through adoption, a mother through adoption, or an individual who for a period of not less than one year stood in the relationship of a parent to a veteran at any time before the veteran’s entry into active military, naval, air, or space service or if two persons stood in the relationship of a father or a mother for one year or more, the person who last stood in the relationship of father or mother before the veteran’s last entry into active military, naval, air, or space service.
- pension
means a monthly or other periodic payment made by the Secretary to a veteran because of service, age, or non-service-connected disability, or to a surviving spouse or child of a veteran because of the non-service-connected death of the veteran.
- period of war
means the Spanish-American War, the Mexican border period, World War I, World War II, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam era, the Persian Gulf War, and the period beginning on the date of any future declaration of war by the Congress and ending on the date prescribed by Presidential proclamation or concurrent resolution of the Congress.
- Persian Gulf War
means the period beginning on August 2, 1990, and ending on the date thereafter prescribed by Presidential proclamation or by law.
- relevant evidence
means evidence that tends to prove or disprove a matter in issue.
- report
includes any certification, notification, or other communication in writing.
- Reserve
means a member of a reserve component of one of the Armed Forces.
- reserve component
means, with respect to the Armed Forces—
- Secretary concerned
means—
- sequestration
means a reduction in spending authority and loan guarantee commitments generally throughout the Government under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) or any other law.
- sequestration law
means a law enacted with respect to a sequestration under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) or any other law (under the procedures specified in that Act or otherwise).
- sequestration order
means an order of the President issued under part C of such Act.
- service-connected
means, with respect to disability or death, that such disability was incurred or aggravated, or that the death resulted from a disability incurred or aggravated, in line of duty in the active military, naval, air, or space service.
- Spanish-American War
(A) means the period beginning on April 21, 1898, and ending on July 4, 1902, (B) includes the Philippine Insurrection and the Boxer Rebellion, and (C) in the case of a veteran who served with the United States military forces engaged in hostilities in the Moro Province, means the period beginning on April 21, 1898, and ending on July 15, 1903.
- spouse
means a person of the opposite sex who is a wife or husband.
- State
means each of the several States, Territories, and possessions of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
- State home
means a home established by a State (other than a possession) or Indian tribe (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)) for veterans disabled by age, disease, or otherwise who by reason of such disability are incapable of earning a living.
- supplemental claim
means a claim for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary filed by a claimant who had previously filed a claim for the same or similar benefits on the same or similar basis.
- surviving spouse
means (except for purposes of chapter 19 of this title) a person who was the spouse of a veteran at the time of the veteran’s death, and who lived with the veteran continuously from the date of marriage to the date of the veteran’s death (except where there was a separation which was due to the misconduct of, or procured by, the veteran without the fault of the spouse) and who has not remarried.
- toxic exposure
includes the following:
- toxic-exposed veteran
means any veteran described in section 1710(e)(1) of this title.
- veteran
means a person who served in the active military, naval, air, or space service, and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable.
- veteran of any war
means any veteran who served in the active military, naval, air, or space service during a period of war.
- Vietnam era
means the following:
- World War I
(A) means the period beginning on April 6, 1917, and ending on November 11, 1918, and (B) in the case of a veteran who served with the United States military forces in Russia, means the period beginning on April 6, 1917, and ending on April 1, 1920.
- World War II
means (except for purposes of chapters 31 and 37 of this title) the period beginning on December 7, 1941, and ending on December 31, 1946.