Veteran Fraud Reimbursement Act

Veteran Fraud Reimbursement Act

This bill modifies the procedures by which the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reissues misused benefits to a beneficiary, including by requiring the VA to establish methods and timing with respect to determining whether an instance of misuse by a fiduciary is the result of negligence by the VA.

Under the bill, the VA may not withhold the reissuing of a benefit payment by reason of a pending determination regarding the VA's negligence in relation to the instance of misuse by a fiduciary. Additionally, the VA is not required to make a determination regarding its negligence for each instance of misuse by a fiduciary, of all or part of an individual's benefit paid to such fiduciary.

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4016 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4016

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the repayment by the 
   Secretary of Veterans Affairs of benefits misused by a fiduciary.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 12, 2023

 Mr. Connolly (for himself and Mr. Ciscomani) introduced the following 
     bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the repayment by the 
   Secretary of Veterans Affairs of benefits misused by a fiduciary.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veteran Fraud Reimbursement Act''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT TO REPAYMENT BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OF 
              CERTAIN MISUSED BENEFITS.

    Section 6107 of title 38, United States Code, is amended to read as 
follows:
``Sec. 6107. Reissuance of benefits
    ``(a) Reissuance of Misused Benefits.--(1) In any case in which a 
fiduciary misuses all or part of an individual's benefit paid to such 
fiduciary, the Secretary shall pay to the beneficiary or the 
beneficiary's successor fiduciary an amount equal to the amount of such 
benefit so misused.
    ``(2) In any case in which the Secretary reissues a benefit payment 
(in whole or in part) under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall make a 
good faith effort to obtain recoupment from the fiduciary to whom the 
payment was originally made.
    ``(3) In any case in which the Secretary obtains recoupment from a 
fiduciary who has misused benefits, the Secretary shall promptly remit 
payment of the recouped amounts to the beneficiary or the beneficiary's 
successor fiduciary, as the case may be, to the extent that such 
amounts have not been paid under paragraph (1).
    ``(b) Limitation on Total Amount Paid.--The total of the amounts 
paid to a beneficiary or the beneficiary's successor fiduciary under 
this section may not exceed the total benefit amount misused by the 
fiduciary with respect to that beneficiary.
    ``(c) Oversight of Negligence.--(1) The Secretary shall establish 
methods and timing with respect to determining whether an instance of 
misuse by a fiduciary, of all or part of an individual's benefit paid 
to such fiduciary, is the result of negligence by the Secretary.
    ``(2) The Secretary may not withhold the reissuing of a benefit 
payment under subsection (a)(1) by reason of a pending determination 
under paragraph (1).
    ``(3) The Secretary is not required to make a determination under 
paragraph (1) for each instance of misuse by a fiduciary, of all or 
part of an individual's benefit paid to such fiduciary.''.
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