the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412. The appellant is the surviving spouse of veteran Randall A. Pandry. On October 4, 2000, the appellant had filed a Notice of Appeal from a July 7, 2000, decision of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA or Board) that denied her claims for service connection for the cause of the veteran’s death and for entitlement to dependent’s educational assistance. Subsequent to that BVA decision, the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 (VCAA), Pub.L. No. 106-475, 114 Stat. 2096 (Nov. 9, 2000), was enacted. Among other things, the VCAA eliminated the well-grounded-claim requirement and modified the Secretary’s duties to notify and assist claimants. See generally VCAA, §§ 3, 4, 7; see also Holliday v. Principi, 14 Vet.App. 280, 284-86 (2001) (<HOLDING>). On November 20, 2000, the Secretary filed a
holding that the act is not retroactive holding all sections of vcaa retroactive holding inter alia that all provisions of vcaa were retroactively applicable to claims pending at time of enactment of vcaa holding that the act is retroactive holding retroactive application