H.R. 3670, A bill to extend for persons affected by Hurricane Katrina the time for appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims of certain decisions of the Board of Veterans Appeals that are rendered during the period from June 1, 2005, through N

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H.R. 3670 would extend the time period that a person who lived in an area that was affected by Hurricane Katrina could appeal a decision rendered by the Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) between June 1, 2005, and November 30, 2005, with the Court of Appeals for Veterans' Claims (CAVC). Under current law, an appellant has 120 days from the date of final decision from the BVA to file an appeal with the CAVC. Under normal procedures, the CAVC dismisses claims filed after that deadline. However, on September 9, 2005, the CAVC issued an order suspending until further notice that deadline for appellants affected by the U.S. Postal Service's suspension of mail service to designated zip codes within the regions affected by Hurricane Katrina. Furthermore, the court ordered that parties affected by Hurricane Katrina residing outside the identified zip codes may request appropriate relief on a case-by-case basis. H.R. 3670 would extend that filing deadline to 240 days if the appellant had a decision rendered by the BVA between June 1, 2005, and November 30, 2005, and the appellant resided in a county that was identified as being adversely affected by Hurricane Katrina by the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the appellant's claim is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regional offices in New Orleans, Louisiana, or Jackson, Mississippi.