[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1318 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1318

  To amend title 38, United States Code, to repeal the authority for 
agent or attorney representation in veterans benefits cases before the 
                    Department of Veterans Affairs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 5, 2007

Mr. Lewis of Kentucky introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                 to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 38, United States Code, to repeal the authority for 
agent or attorney representation in veterans benefits cases before the 
                    Department of Veterans Affairs.

    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 ``Veterans' Benefits Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. REPEAL OF AUTHORITY FOR AGENT OR ATTORNEY REPRESENTATION IN 
              VETERANS BENEFITS CASES BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
              AFFAIRS.

    (a) Repeal.--Title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in section 5904--
                    (A) in subsection (a)--
                            (i) by striking ``(1) Except as provided in 
                        paragraph (4), the Secretary'' and inserting 
                        ``The Secretary'';
                            (ii) by striking paragraphs (2) through 
                        (6); and
                            (iii) by inserting after the period at the 
                        end the following new sentence: ``The Secretary 
                        may require that individuals, before being 
                        recognized under this section, show that they 
                        are of good moral character and in good repute, 
                        are qualified to render claimants valuable 
                        service, and otherwise are competent to assist 
                        claimants in presenting claims.''; and
                    (B) in subsection (b)--
                            (i) by striking paragraphs (6) through (9);
                            (ii) in paragraph (4), by inserting ``or'' 
                        after the semicolon; and
                            (iii) in paragraph (5), by striking the 
                        semicolon and inserting a period;
            (2) in section 5902(b)--
                    (A) by striking ``(1)'';
                    (B) by striking paragraph (2); and
                    (C) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as 
                paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively; and
            (3) in section 5903--
                    (A) by striking subsection (b); and
                    (B) by striking ``(a) In General--''.
    (b) Repeal of Modification of Date for Commencement of Services.--
            (1) In general.--Effective as provided in paragraph (2), 
        subsection (c) of section 5904 of such title is amended--
                    (A) by striking paragraph (3) and redesignating 
                paragraph (4) as paragraph (3);
                    (B) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking ``a notice of disagreement 
                        is filed with respect to'' and inserting ``the 
                        Board of Veterans' Appeals first makes a final 
                        decision in'';
                            (ii) by inserting after ``in the case.'' 
                        the following new sentence: ``Such a fee may be 
                        charged, allowed, or paid in the case of 
                        services provided after such date only if an 
                        agent or attorney is retained with respect to 
                        such case before the end of the one-year period 
                        beginning on that date.'';
                            (iii) in the last sentence, by striking 
                        ``fees charged, allowed, or paid for''; and
                            (iv) by striking ``paragraph (4)'' and 
                        inserting ``paragraph (3)''; and
                    (C) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) by striking ``after a notice of 
                        disagreement is filed with respect to the 
                        case'' and inserting ``after the Board first 
                        makes a final decision in the case'';
                            (ii) by striking ``with the Secretary 
                        pursuant to regulations prescribed by the 
                        Secretary'' and inserting ``with the Board at 
                        such time as may be specified by the Board''; 
                        and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following 
                        new sentences: ``The Board, upon its own motion 
                        or the request of either party, may review such 
                        a fee agreement and may order a reduction in 
                        the fee called for in the agreement if the 
                        Board finds that the fee is excessive or 
                        unreasonable. A finding or order of the Board 
                        under the preceding sentence may be reviewed by 
                        the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans 
                        Claims under section 7263(d) of this title.''
    (c) Repeal of Repeal of Penalty.--Section 5905 is amended by 
inserting after ``Whoever'' the following: ``(1) directly or indirectly 
solicits, contracts for, charges, or receives, or attempts to solicit, 
contract for, charge, or receive, any fee or compensation except as 
provided in sections 5904 or 1984 of this title, or (2)''.
    (d) Conforming Repeals.--Section 101 of the Veterans Benefits, 
Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-
461) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c), by striking paragraph (2); and
            (2) by striking subsections (h) and (i).
                                 <all>