ELIGIBILITY OF VETERANS 65 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER FOR VETERANS’ PENSION BENEFITS.

SEC. 207. ELIGIBILITY OF VETERANS 65 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER FOR VETERANS’ PENSION BENEFITS. (a) In General.—(1) Subchapter II of chapter 15 is amended by inserting after section 1512 the following new section: “§ 1513. Veterans 65 years of age and older “(a) The Secretary shall pay to each veteran of a period of war who is 65 years of age or older and who meets the service requirements of section 1521 of this title (as prescribed in subsection (j) of that section) pension at the rates prescribed by 1521 of this title and under the conditions (other than the permanent and total disability requirement) applicable to pension paid under that section. “(b) If a veteran is eligible for pension under both this section and section 1521 of this title, pension shall be paid to the veteran only under section 1521 of this title.”. (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1512 the following new item: “1513. Veterans 65 years of age and older.”. (b) Conforming Amendments.—(1) Section 1521(f)(1) is amended by inserting “or the age and service requirements prescribed in section 1513 of this title,” after “of this section,”. (2) Section 1522(a) is amended by inserting “1513 or” after “under section”. (c) Effective Date.—The amendments made by this section shall take effect as of September 17, 2001.