PUBLIC LAW 102-83 —AUG. 6, 1991 105 STAT. 379 "(2) The Veterans Health Administration. "(3) The Veterans Benefits Administration. "(4) The National Cemetery System. "(5) The Board of Veterans' Appeals, "(6) The Veterans' Canteen Service. "(7) The Board of Contract Appeals. "(8) Such other offices and agencies as are established or designated by law or by the President or the Secretary. "(9) Any office, agency, or activity under the control or supervision of any element named in paragraphs (1) through (8). "§302. Seal "(a) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall cause a seal of office to be made for the Department of such device as the President shall approve. Judicial notice shall be taken of the seal. "(b) Copies of giny public document, record, or paper belonging to or in the files of the Department, when authenticated by the seal and certified by the Secretary (or by an officer or employee of the Department to whom authority has been delegated in writing by the Secretary), shall be evidence equal with the original thereof. "§ 303. Secretary of Veterans Affairs "There is a Secretary of Veterans Affairs, who is the head of the Department and is appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Secretary is responsible for the proper execution and administration of all laws administered by the Department and for the control, direction, and management of the Department. "§ 304. Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs "There is in the Department a Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs, who is appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Deputy Secretary shall perform such functions as the Secretary shall prescribe. Unless the President designates another officer of the Government, the Deputy Secretary shall be Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs during the absence or disability of the Secretary or in the event of a vacancy in the office of Secretary. "§ 305. Chief Medical Director "(a)(1) There is in the Department a Chief Medical Director, who is appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. "(2) The Chief Medical Director shall be a doctor of medicine and shall be appointed without regard to political affiliation or activity and solely— "(A) on the basis of demonstrated ability in the medical profession, in health-care administration and policy formulation, and in health-care fiscal management; and "(B) on the basis of substantial experience in connection with the programs of the Veterans Health Administration or programs of similar content and scope. "(b) The Chief Medical Director is the head of, and is directly responsible to the Secretary for the operation of, the Veterans Health Administration. "(c) The Chief Medical Director shall be appointed for a period of four years, with reappointment permissible for successive like peri-
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