The Fred Hamilton Veterans' Lost Records Act authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to approve veterans' benefits claims based on alternative evidence when military or medical records have been damaged or lost while in federal custody. This affects veterans and former service members whose records were incomplete due to government record losses and who are seeking disability benefits or other VA benefits. Instead of requiring complete original records, the VA can now use alternative sources such as medical exams conducted shortly after discharge, statements from fellow service members, or the veteran's own account of their service-connected disabilities. The VA Secretary must develop regulations within one year of the law's enactment, in consultation with the Department of Defense and the National Archives, to establish guidelines for using these alternative sources of evidence. The law also removes time-based filing restrictions for these specific cases, allowing veterans to receive benefits effective from when they would have been eligible based on their original claim date rather than the date of approval.