[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3499 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3499

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to require fiduciaries of 
individuals receiving benefits under laws administered by the Secretary 
  of Veterans Affairs to authorize the Secretary to obtain financial 
records with respect to such individuals for purposes of administering 
                   such laws, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 16, 2010

   Mr. Akaka introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 38, United States Code, to require fiduciaries of 
individuals receiving benefits under laws administered by the Secretary 
  of Veterans Affairs to authorize the Secretary to obtain financial 
records with respect to such individuals for purposes of administering 
                   such laws, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fiduciary Benefits Oversight Act of 
2010''.

SEC. 2. ACCESS BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO FINANCIAL RECORDS OF 
              INDIVIDUALS REPRESENTED BY FIDUCIARIES AND RECEIVING 
              BENEFITS UNDER LAWS ADMINISTERED BY SECRETARY.

    Section 5502 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(f)(1) The Secretary may require any person appointed or 
recognized as a fiduciary for a Department beneficiary under this 
section to provide authorization for the Secretary to obtain (subject 
to the cost reimbursement requirements of section 1115(a) of the Right 
to Financial Privacy Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3415)) from any financial 
institution any financial record held by the institution with respect 
to the fiduciary or the beneficiary whenever the Secretary determines 
that the financial record is necessary--
            ``(A) for the administration of a program administered by 
        the Secretary; or
            ``(B) in order to safeguard the beneficiary's benefits 
        against neglect, misappropriation, misuse, embezzlement, or 
        fraud.
    ``(2) Notwithstanding section 1104(a)(1) of such Act (12 U.S.C. 
3404(a)(1)), an authorization provided by a fiduciary under paragraph 
(1) with respect to a beneficiary shall remain effective until the 
earliest of--
            ``(A) the approval by a court or the Secretary of a final 
        accounting of payment of benefits under any law administered by 
        the Secretary to a fiduciary on behalf of such beneficiary;
            ``(B) in the absence of any evidence of neglect, 
        misappropriation, misuse, embezzlement, or fraud, the express 
        revocation by the fiduciary of the authorization in a written 
        notification to the Secretary; or
            ``(C) the date that is three years after the date of the 
        authorization.
    ``(3)(A) An authorization obtained by the Secretary pursuant to 
this subsection shall be considered to meet the requirements of the 
Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3401 et seq.) for 
purposes of section 1103(a) of such Act (12 U.S.C. 3403(a)), and need 
not be furnished to the financial institution, notwithstanding section 
1104(a) of such Act (12 U.S.C. 3404(a)), if the Secretary provides a 
copy of the authorization to the financial institution.
    ``(B) The certification requirements of section 1103(b) of such Act 
(12 U.S.C. 3403(b)) shall not apply to requests by the Secretary 
pursuant to an authorization provided under this subsection.
    ``(C) A request for a financial record by the Secretary pursuant to 
an authorization provided by a fiduciary under this subsection is 
deemed to meet the requirements of section 1104(a)(3) of such Act (12 
U.S.C. 3404(a)(3)) and the matter in section 1102 of such Act (12 
U.S.C. 3402) that precedes paragraph (1) of such section if such 
request identifies the fiduciary and the beneficiary concerned.
    ``(D) The Secretary shall inform any person who provides 
authorization under this subsection of the duration and scope of the 
authorization.
    ``(E) If a fiduciary of a Department beneficiary refuses to 
provide, or revokes, any authorization to permit the Secretary to 
obtain from any financial institution any financial record concerning 
benefits paid by the Secretary for such beneficiary, the Secretary may, 
on that basis, revoke the appointment or the recognition of the 
fiduciary for such beneficiary and for any other Department beneficiary 
for whom such fiduciary has been appointed or recognized. If the 
appointment or recognition of a fiduciary is revoked, benefits may be 
paid as provided in subsection (d).
    ``(4) For purposes of section 1113(d) of such Act (12 U.S.C. 
3413(d)), a disclosure pursuant to this subsection shall be considered 
a disclosure pursuant to a Federal statute.
    ``(5) In this subsection:
            ``(A) The term `fiduciary' includes any person appointed or 
        recognized to receive payment of benefits under any law 
        administered by the Secretary on behalf of a Department 
        beneficiary.
            ``(B) The term `financial institution' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 1101 of such Act (12 U.S.C. 3401), 
        except that such term shall also include any benefit 
        association, insurance company, safe deposit company, money 
        market mutual fund, or similar entity authorized to do business 
        in any State.
            ``(C) The term `financial record' has the meaning given 
        such term in such section.''.
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