[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 797 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 797
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve compensation benefits
for veterans in certain cases of impairment of vision involving both
eyes, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 5, 2007
Ms. Baldwin (for herself, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Filner, Mr. Miller of
Florida, Ms. Herseth, Ms. Berkley, and Mr. Hall of New York) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans'
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve compensation benefits
for veterans in certain cases of impairment of vision involving both
eyes, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. ENHANCED COMPENSATION BENEFITS FOR VETERANS IN CERTAIN CASES
OF IMPAIRMENT OF VISION INVOLVING BOTH EYES.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Dr. James
Allen Veteran Vision Equity Act''.
(b) Enhanced Compensation.--Section 1160(a)(1) of title 38, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ``blindness'' both places it appears and
inserting ``impairment of vision''; and
(2) by inserting before the semicolon at the end the
following: ``, where the impairment in each eye is to a visual
acuity of 20/200 or less or of a peripheral field loss of 20
degrees or less''.
SEC. 2. USE OF NATIONAL DIRECTORY OF NEW HIRES FOR INCOME VERIFICATION
PURPOSES FOR CERTAIN VETERANS BENEFITS.
(a) Use of Information in National Directory of New Hires.--Chapter
53 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
``Sec. 5320. Use of National Directory of New Hires for income
verification purposes
``(a) Information From National Directory of New Hires.--(1) The
Secretary shall furnish to the Secretary of Health and Human Services,
on a quarterly basis or at such intervals as may be determined by the
Secretary, information in the custody of the Secretary for comparison
with information in the National Directory of New Hires maintained by
the Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to section 453 of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 653), in order to obtain the
information in such directory with respect to individuals under the age
of 65 who are applicants for or recipients of benefits or services
specified in subsection (d).
``(2) The Secretary shall seek information pursuant to this
subsection only to the extent essential to determining eligibility for
benefits and services specified in subsection (d) and the amount of
benefits specified in paragraphs (1) and (2) of that subsection for
individuals under the age of 65.
``(3)(A) The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in cooperation
with the Secretary, shall compare information in the National Directory
of New Hires with information in the custody of the Secretary furnished
pursuant to paragraph (1), and disclose information in that Directory
to the Secretary, in accordance with this subsection, for the purposes
specified in this subsection.
``(B) The Secretary of Health and Human Services may make a
disclosure in accordance with subparagraph (A) only to the extent that
the Secretary determines that such disclosure does not interfere with
the effective operation of the program under part D of title IV of the
Social Security Act.
``(4) The Secretary may use information resulting from a data match
pursuant to this subsection only for the purpose of determining
eligibility for benefits and services specified in subsection (d) and
the amount of benefits specified in paragraphs (1) and (2) of that
subsection.
``(5) The Secretary shall reimburse the Secretary of Health and
Human Services for the additional costs incurred by that Secretary in
furnishing information under this subsection. Such reimbursement shall
be at rates that the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines
to be reasonable (which rates shall include payment for the costs of
obtaining, verifying, maintaining, and comparing the information).
``(b) Notification to Beneficiaries.--The Secretary shall notify
each applicant for, or recipient of, a benefit or service specified in
subsection (d) that income information furnished by the applicant to
the Secretary may be compared with information obtained by the
Secretary from the Secretary of Health and Human Services under
subsection (a). The Secretary shall periodically transmit to recipients
of such benefits additional notifications of such matters.
``(c) Independent Verification Required.--The Secretary may not, by
reason of information obtained from the Secretary of Health and Human
Services under subsection (a) , terminate, deny, suspend, or reduce any
benefit or service described in subsection (d) until the Secretary
takes appropriate steps to verify independently information relating to
employment and employment income.
``(d) Covered Benefits and Services.--The benefits and services
specified in this subsection are the following:
``(1) Needs-based pension benefits provided under chapter
15 of this title or under any other law administered by the
Secretary.
``(2) Parents' dependency and indemnity compensation
provided under section 1315 of this title.
``(3) Health-care services furnished under subsections
(a)(2)(G), (a)(3), and (b) of section 1710 of this title.
``(4) Compensation paid under chapter 11 of this title at
the 100 percent rate based solely on unemployability and
without regard to the fact that the disability or disabilities
are not rated as 100 percent disabling under the rating
schedule.
``(e) Limitation With Respect to Individual Unemployability
Cases.--In the case of compensation described in subsection (d)(4), the
Secretary may independently verify or otherwise act upon wage or self-
employment information referred to in subsection (c) of this section
only if the Secretary finds that the amount and duration of the
earnings reported in that information clearly indicate that the
individual is not qualified for a rating of total disability.
``(f) Opportunity To Contest Findings.--The Secretary shall inform
the individual of the findings made by the Secretary on the basis of
verified information under subsection (c), and shall give the
individual an opportunity to contest such findings, in the same manner
as applies to other information and findings relating to eligibility
for the benefit or service involved.
``(g) Source of Funds for Administration of Section.--The Secretary
shall pay the expenses of carrying out this section from amounts
available to the Department for the payment of compensation and
pension.
``(h) Termination of Authority.--The authority of the Secretary to
obtain information from the Secretary of Health and Human Services
under subsection (a) expires on September 30, 2010.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of
such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item:
``5320. Use of National Directory of New Hires for income verification
purposes.''.
(c) Effective Date.--Section 5320 of title 38, United States Code,
as added by subsection (a), shall take effect 270 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act.
<all>