“Section 3.318 of 38 C.F.R. provides veterans with 90 days of active, continuous service with presumptive service connection for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, thereby entitling a veteran who develops ALS to disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (Department or VA). 38 C.F.R. § 3.318. The presumption is not based on Congressional action, but rather is entirely a ‘regulatory creation.’ Appendix (App.) A at 3.”
“Petitioner Joseph J. Snyder, Sr., a U.S. Army veteran with 47 days of continuous, active service – who, because of an in-service injury, was unable to continue to serve – sought entitlement to VA disability benefits based on presumptive service connection for ALS. Since 2015, the VA has consistently denied him the benefit of the ALS presumption, leading Mr. Snyder, with representation by Paralyzed Veterans of America, to challenge these denials. Id. At both of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and the Federal Circuit, Mr. Snyder argued that the Department did not have the statutory authority to include a 90-day service requirement in the presumption of service connection and that the 90-day service requirement was arbitrary and capricious, as the rulemaking record did not support any specific length of service requirement. Id. at 2, 8. Both lower courts disagreed with Mr. Snyder’s analysis. Id. at 8, App. B at 1. Thus, the questions presented for review by this Court are:”
