[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 797 Reported in House (RH)]






                                                  Union Calendar No. 28
110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 797

                          [Report No. 110-57]

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

                             March 20, 2007

    Additional sponsors: Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Johnson of 
  Georgia, Mr. Gutierrez, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Fattah, Ms. Kilpatrick, Ms. 
   Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mr. Walz of Minnesota, Ms. Corrine Brown of 
 Florida, Mr. Doyle, Mr. Davis of Alabama, Mr. Higgins, Mr. Cummings, 
  Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Peterson of Minnesota, Mr. Reyes, Mr. Carney, Ms. 
Carson, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Ryan of Wisconsin, Mr. Kind, Mr. Yarmuth, Mr. 
  McCotter, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. 
Jones of North Carolina, Mr. Holden, Mr. Payne, Mr. Space, Ms. Hirono, 
Ms. McCollum of Minnesota, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Mr. Kagen, Mr. McDermott, 
 Mr. Manzullo, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Michaud, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. 
Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, 
  Ms. Matsui, Mr. Holt, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. DeGette, Mr. Murtha, Mr. 
Wexler, Mr. Baker, Mr. Kline of Minnesota, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. 
Hare, Mr. Buyer, Mr. Stearns, Mr. Lamborn, Mr. Buchanan, Mr. McNerney, 
                             and Mr. Ortiz

                             March 20, 2007

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 
          on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]
    [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on 
                           February 5, 2007]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 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, 2012.''.
    (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.

SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO 
              PROVIDE AN EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE ALLOWANCE TO PERSONS 
              PERFORMING QUALIFYING WORK-STUDY ACTIVITIES.

    Section 3485(a)(4) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 
striking ``June 30, 2007'' each place it appears and inserting ``June 
30, 2009''.

SEC. 4. PROVISION OF BRONZE REPRESENTATION OF THE LETTER ``V'' FOR 
              GRAVE OF ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL BURIED IN PRIVATE CEMETERY 
              IN LIEU OF GOVERNMENT-PROVIDED HEADSTONE OR MARKER.

    Section 2306(d) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(5) In lieu of furnishing a headstone or marker under this 
subsection, the Secretary may furnish, if requested, a bronze 
representation of the letter `V' to be attached to a headstone or 
marker furnished at private expense. The Secretary shall make such 
representation available in two sizes for such purpose.''.
            Amend the title so as to read: ``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, to provide for the use of the National Directory of 
        New Hires for income verification purposes, to extend the 
        authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide an 
        educational assistance allowance for qualifying work study 
        activities, and to authorize the provision of bronze 
        representations of the letter `V' for the graves of eligible 
        individuals buried in private cemeteries in lieu of Government-
        provided headstones or markers.''.
                                                  Union Calendar No. 28

110th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 797

                          [Report No. 110-57]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             March 20, 2007

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 
          on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed