WHAT THE LAW DOINCongress, in plain words

The law › Title 38, Veterans' Benefits › Chapter 51

38 U.S.C. 5103A: Duty to assist claimants

Created in 2000 by Public Law 106-475. Changed by 3 later laws. No bill we track in this Congress changes it.

4 other sections of the Code cite this one, including 38 U.S.C. 1164, 38 U.S.C. 1168, 38 U.S.C. 5103, 38 U.S.C. 5108.

This Congress

No bill we track in the 119th Congress changes this section.

    How it got here

    2021

    • Pub. L. 116–283 substituted "air, or space service" for "or air service". (William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021) Law text · (c), (d)

    2017

    • Pub. L. 115–55, §2(d)(2), added subsec. (e). Former subsec. (e) redesignated (g). Law text · (e)
    • Pub. L. 115–55, §2(d)(2), added subsec. (f). Former subsec. (f) redesignated (h). Law text · (f)
    • Pub. L. 115–55, §2(c), substituted "readjudicate" for "reopen" and "relevant" for "material". Law text · (f)
    • Pub. L. 115–55, §2(d)(1), redesignated subsecs. (e) to (g) as (g) to (i), respectively. Law text · (g), (h), (i)

    2012

    • Pub. L. 112–154, §505(a), amended subsec. (b) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: (Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012) Law text · (b)
    • Pub. L. 112–154, §505(b), amended subsec. (c) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: "In the case of a claim for disability compensation, the assistance provided by the Secretary under subsection (b) shall include obtaining the following records if relevant to the claim: (Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012) Law text · (c)

    Text, outline and history from the official U.S. Code (2024 edition) on GovInfo, published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel. Changes made after that edition appear under This Congress.