[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6452 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6452

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish in the Department 
of Veterans Affairs a Veterans Scam and Fraud Evasion Officer, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 17, 2023

    Ms. Stefanik (for herself, Mr. Bost, Mr. Cole, and Mr. Wittman) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish in the Department 
of Veterans Affairs a Veterans Scam and Fraud Evasion Officer, 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 ``Veterans Scam and Fraud Evasion Act 
of 2023'' or the ``VSAFE Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. VETERANS SCAM AND FRAUD EVASION OFFICER.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 3 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 325. Veterans Scam and Fraud Evasion Officer
    ``(a) Establishment.--There is in the Department a Veterans Scam 
and Fraud Evasion Officer, who shall be responsible for fraud and scam 
prevention, reporting, and incident response plans at the Department.
    ``(b) Responsibilities.--The Veterans Scam and Fraud Evasion 
Officer shall carry out the following responsibilities:
            ``(1) Providing comprehensive communication from the 
        Department to Department employees and veterans, their 
        families, caregivers, and survivors during strategic and time-
        sensitive fraud and scam incidents.
            ``(2) Establishing consistent guidance across the 
        enterprise for employees as well as veterans, their families, 
        caregivers, and survivors on how to identify, report, and avoid 
        fraud and scam attempts.
            ``(3) Promoting the Veteran Identity Health Theft Helpline 
        of the Department (and any successor resource) and identifying 
        other identity theft resources available to veterans, their 
        families, caregivers, and survivors, including with respect to 
        actions made by the Secretary to protect the identities of 
        veterans and their beneficiaries.
            ``(4) Developing methods to monitor fraud and scam metrics 
        within the Department to--
                    ``(A) provide internal and external reporting;
                    ``(B) enable advanced data analytics; and
                    ``(C) facilitate proactive and robust fraud and 
                scam trend identification.
            ``(5) Developing comprehensive training plans for 
        Department employees fielding fraud and scam inquiries and 
        reports.
            ``(6) Coordinate with other Federal departments and 
        agencies, including the Executive Office of the President, the 
        Office of Management and Budget, the Internal Revenue Service, 
        the Department of Justice, the Department of State, the 
        Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Department of 
        Defense, the Department of Education, the Social Security 
        Administration, and other relevant agencies to--
                    ``(A) create a whole-of-Government view within the 
                Department with respect to the fraud prevention efforts 
                at other Federal departments and agencies;
                    ``(B) identify the proper avenues for veterans to 
                report fraud attempts and receive assistance; and
                    ``(C) identify opportunities for coordination with 
                such departments and agencies.
            ``(7) Consulting with veterans service organizations and 
        State and local governments, as necessary, to improve the 
        understanding of fraud and scam risks within the Department.
    ``(c) Full-time Employees.--Nothing in this section authorizes an 
increase in the number of full-time employees otherwise authorized for 
the Department.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``325. Veterans Scam and Fraud Evasion Officer.''.
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