[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8260 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.8260

                    One Hundred Seventeenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
          the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-two


                                 An Act


 
  To amend title 38, United States Code, to shorten the timeframe for 
   designation of benefits under Department of Veterans Affairs life 
    insurance programs, to improve the treatment of undisbursed life 
insurance benefits by the Department of Veterans Affairs, 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 ``Faster Payments to Veterans' 
Survivors Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. TIMEFRAME FOR DESIGNATION OF ALTERNATE BENEFICIARIES AND 
PAYMENT OF BENEFITS UNDER DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS LIFE INSURANCE 
PROGRAMS.
    (a) National Service Life Insurance.--Section 1917(f)(1) of title 
38, United States Code, is amended--
        (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``two years'' and 
    inserting ``one year''; and
        (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``four'' and inserting 
    ``two''.
    (b) United States Government Life Insurance.--Section 1952(c)(1) of 
such title is amended--
        (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``two years'' and 
    inserting ``one year''; and
        (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``four'' and inserting 
    ``two''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to the death of an insured person occurring on or 
after the date that is two years before the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
SEC. 3. BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION PROCESS UNDER DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
AFFAIRS LIFE INSURANCE PROGRAMS.
    (a) NSLI.--Section 1917 of title 38, United States Code, is amended 
by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
    ``(a)(1) A person who enrolls in insurance maturing on or after 
August 1, 1946, may designate a beneficiary of the insurance policy. 
The insured shall, subject to regulations, at all times have the right 
to change the beneficiary or beneficiaries of such insurance without 
the consent of such beneficiary or beneficiaries.
    ``(2) If a person enrolled in insurance maturing on or after August 
1, 1946, does not designate a beneficiary under paragraph (1) before 
the veteran dies, or if a designated beneficiary predeceases the 
veteran, the Secretary shall determine the beneficiary in the following 
order:
        ``(A) The surviving spouse of the insured person.
        ``(B) The children of the insured person and descendants of 
    deceased children by representation.
        ``(C) The parents of the insured person or the survivors of the 
    parents.
        ``(D) The duly appointed executor or administrator of the 
    estate of the insured person.
        ``(E) Other next of kin of the insured person entitled under 
    the laws of domicile of the insured person at the time of the death 
    of the insured person.''.
    (b) USGLI.--
        (1) In general.--Section 1949 of such title is amended to read 
    as follows:
``Sec. 1949. Beneficiaries
    ``(a) Designation.--A person who enrolls in United States 
Government life insurance may designate a beneficiary of the insurance 
policy. Subject to regulations, the insured person shall at all times 
have the right to change the beneficiary or beneficiaries of a United 
States Government life insurance policy without the consent of such 
beneficiary or beneficiaries.
    ``(b) Determination in Cases of Non-Designation.--If a person 
enrolled in United States Government life insurance does not designate 
a beneficiary under subsection (a) before the insured person dies, or 
if a designated beneficiary predeceases the insured person, the 
Secretary shall determine the beneficiary in the following order:
        ``(1) The surviving spouse of the insured person.
        ``(2) The children of the insured person and descendants of 
    deceased children by representation.
        ``(3) The parents of the insured person or the survivors of the 
    parents.
        ``(4) The duly appointed executor or administrator of the 
    estate of the insured person.
        ``(5) Other next of kin of the insured person entitled under 
    the laws of domicile of the insured person at the time of the death 
    of the insured person.''.
        (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning 
    of chapter 19 of such title is amended by striking the item 
    relating to section 1949 and inserting the following new item:
``1949. Beneficiaries.''.

    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to the death of an insured person occurring on or 
after the date that is two years before the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
SEC. 4. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS IMPROVEMENT OF TREATMENT OF 
UNDISBURSED LIFE INSURANCE BENEFITS.
    (a) Improvement of Processes.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall improve the processes and procedures of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs with respect to identifying, locating, and paying 
hard-to-find beneficiaries of life insurance policies issued under 
chapter 19 of title 38, United States Code, including by--
        (1) improving the search tools available on the website of the 
    Department;
        (2) conducting outreach to veterans, veterans service 
    organizations, and the general public with respect to such search 
    tools;
        (3) improving the processes for searching for information 
    relating to potential recipients through internal Department 
    sources and sources available through other Federal agencies, State 
    government agencies, and non-government entities; and
        (4) ensuring the Department has sufficient dedicated staff 
    whose primary responsibilities are identifying, locating, and 
    paying hard-to-find beneficiaries, with the goal of disbursing by 
    not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this 
    Act, all funds that, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, 
    are owed to a beneficiary of a life insurance policy issued under 
    chapter 19 of title 38, United States Code.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs should work with interagency partners to 
determine the types of records, reports, and other materials that may 
be required to identify, locate, and disburse undisbursed life 
insurance benefits to hard-to-find beneficiaries.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on 
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report 
on the progress of the Secretary in carrying out this section.
    (d) Undisbursed Life Insurance Benefits Defined.--The term 
``undisbursed life insurance benefits''--
        (1) means any amount of money that is owed to a beneficiary of 
    a life insurance policy issued under chapter 19 of title 38, United 
    States Code, and that has not been disbursed for a period of two 
    years or longer; and
        (2) does not include any amount of money that--
            (A) has not been disbursed due to a contested claim; or
            (B) is in dispute by two or more parties over who is the 
        entitled beneficiary.
SEC. 5. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
    The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying 
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by 
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO 
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional 
Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that 
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.