[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 94 (Thursday, June 7, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3383-S3385]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2569. Mr. BROWN (for himself and Mr. Tester) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 2282 submitted by Mr.
Inhofe (for himself and Mr. McCain) and intended to be proposed to the
bill H.R. 5515, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2019 for
military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle F of title X, add the following:
SEC. ___. IMPROVING PROCESSING OF VETERANS BENEFITS BY
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
(a) Notification of Debts Incurred.--The Secretary of
Veterans Affairs shall make such changes to such information
technology systems of the Department of Veterans Affairs,
including the eBenefits system or successor system, as may be
necessary so that a
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person who is entitled to a payment from the Department by
virtue of the person's participation in a benefits program
administered by the Secretary will receive, at the request of
the person, a notice from the Department (by electronic mail
or other mechanism) whenever such person incurs a debt to the
United States by virtue of such participation.
(b) Updating Dependent Information.--The Secretary shall
make such changes to such information technology systems of
the Department, including the eBenefits system or successor
system, as may be necessary so that whenever the Secretary
records in such systems information about a dependent of a
person, the person is able to review and revise such
information.
(c) Tracking of Metrics.--The Secretary shall make such
changes to such information technology systems of the
Department as may be necessary to track the following:
(1) The number and amount of payments made by the
Department to persons as part of a benefits program
administered by the Secretary which result in the persons
incurring a debt to the United States by virtue of such
payments.
(2) The average debt to the United States incurred by a
person by virtue of a payment described in paragraph (1).
(3) The frequency by which applications for relief under
section 5302(a) of title 38, United States Code, are approved
and denied.
(4) Such other metrics as the Secretary considers
appropriate.
SEC. ___. REFORMS RELATING TO RECOVERY BY DEPARTMENT OF
VETERANS AFFAIRS OF AMOUNTS OWED BY VETERANS TO
THE UNITED STATES.
(a) Indebtedness Offsets.--
(1) Limitation on scope of authority.--Subsection (a) of
section 5314 of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
(A) by striking ``to subsections (b) and (d) of this
section'' and inserting ``to paragraphs (2) through (6) of
this subsection, subsections (b) and (e) of this section,'';
and
(B) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(2) The Secretary may only deduct under paragraph (1) an
amount of the indebtedness of a veteran, the estate of a
veteran, or a spouse or child of a veteran who is deceased if
the indebtedness is a result of one or more of the following:
``(A) An error made by the veteran, estate, spouse, or
child, as the case may be.
``(B) Fraud perpetrated by the veteran, estate, spouse, or
child, as the case may be.
``(C) A misrepresentation made by the veteran, estate,
spouse, or child, as the case may be.
``(3)(A) The Secretary may not deduct under paragraph (1)
from any payment made under chapter 11 or 15 of this title
more than the lessor of--
``(i) 25 percent; or
``(ii) such other percent as the Secretary determines,
pursuant to a request made under subparagraph (B), is the
greatest percent that would not cause a hardship to the
recipient of the payment.
``(B) A person whose future payments are to be reduced
under paragraph (1) may request, via the administrative
process prescribed under subsection (c), the Secretary make a
determination under subparagraph (A)(ii) of this paragraph.
``(4) The Secretary may not deduct under paragraph (1) any
amount relating to an indebtedness that was incurred by a
veteran more than five years previously.
``(5) The Secretary may not deduct under paragraph (1) any
amount relating to an indebtedness while the existence or
amount of such indebtedness is being disputed under
subsection (c).
``(6) The Secretary may not deduct under paragraph (1) any
amount if the Secretary determines that the cost that would
be incurred by the Department to recover such amount would
exceed the amount to be recovered.''.
(2) Due process.--
(A) Minimum period for notice and secondary review.--
Subsection (b) of such section is amended--
(i) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
``(1) has made reasonable efforts to notify such person of
such person's right--
``(A) to dispute through prescribed administrative
processes the existence or amount of such indebtedness;
``(B) to request a waiver of such indebtedness under
section 5302 of this title; and
``(C) to request the Secretary make a determination under
subsection (a)(3)(A)(ii).'';
(ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ``; and'' and inserting
a semicolon; and
(iii) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following
new paragraphs:
``(3) has notified such person, not later than 90 days
before making any of such deductions--
``(A) about the proposed deductions; and
``(B) detailed information about the indebtedness,
including, in the case of an overpayment, an itemized list of
each overpayment and the specific reason for the overpayment;
and
``(4) in any case in which the Secretary determines the
amount of indebtedness of a person exceeds $2,500, the
Secretary completes a secondary review to ensure that the
determination is accurate and the indebtedness is subject to
offset under this section.''.
(B) Adjudication of disputes.--
(i) In general.--Such section is amended--
(I) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections
(d) and (e); and
(II) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new
subsection (c):
``(c)(1) The Secretary shall prescribe an administrative
process for--
``(A) the dispute of the existence or amount of an
indebtedness subject to subsection (a); and
``(B) making requests under paragraph (3)(B) of such
subsection.
``(2) The Secretary shall ensure that each dispute under
paragraph (1)(A) is adjudicated not later than 120 days after
the dispute is filed.
``(3) The Secretary may not submit to any debt collector
(as defined in section 803 of the Fair Debt Collection
Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692a)) any debt pending
adjudication under the process prescribed under paragraph
(1).
``(4) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to
prohibit a person from seeking relief from a court of
competent jurisdiction.''.
(ii) Limitations on interest and fees charged during period
of dispute.--Section 5315 of such title is amended--
(I) in subsection (b)(1), in the first sentence by striking
``or (B)'' and inserting ``(B) for any period during which
the existence or amount of the indebtedness is being disputed
under section 5314(c) of this title, or (C)''; and
(II) in subsection (c)--
(aa) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``The administrative'';
and
(bb) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(2) No administrative costs may be charged under this
section with respect to an indebtedness described in
subsection (a) while the existence or amount of the
indebtedness is being disputed under section 5314(c) of this
title.''.
(3) Effective date.--This subsection and the amendments
made by this subsection shall take effect on the date of the
enactment of this Act and shall apply with respect to
deductions made under section 5314 of such title on or after
such date.
(b) Limitation on Authority To Sue To Collect Certain
Debts.--
(1) In general.--Section 5316(a) of title 38, United
States, is amended--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``(2) and (3)'' and
inserting ``(2), (3), and (4)'';
(B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new
paragraph (3):
``(3) No suit may be filed under this section to recover
any indebtedness incurred more than five years previously.''.
(2) Effective date.--This subsection and the amendments
made by this subsection shall take effect on the date of the
enactment of this Act and shall apply with respect to suits
filed under section 5316 of such title on or after such date.
(c) Repair of Credit.--
(1) In general.--Chapter 53 of such title is amended by
adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 5320. Correction of erroneous information submitted to
consumer reporting agencies
``(a) Correcting Errors by the Department.--In any case in
which the Secretary finds that the Department has submitted
erroneous information to a consumer reporting agency about
the indebtedness of any person who has been determined by the
Secretary to be indebted to the United States by virtue of
such person's participation in a benefits program
administered by the Secretary, the Secretary shall--
``(1) instruct the consumer reporting agency to remove such
erroneous information from the consumer report of such person
or take such other action as may be required to ensure that
such erroneous information is not included in the report of
such person; and
``(2) transmit to the consumer reporting agency such
information as the consumer reporting agency may require to
take such appropriate actions.
``(b) Correcting Errors by Debt Collectors.--In any case in
which the Secretary finds that a debt collector acting on
behalf of the Department has submitted erroneous information
to a consumer reporting agency about the indebtedness of any
person who has been determined by the Secretary to be
indebted to the United States by virtue of such person's
participation in a benefits program administered by the
Secretary, the Secretary shall instruct the debt collector to
request the consumer reporting agency remove such erroneous
information from the consumer report of such person or take
such other action as may be required to ensure such erroneous
information is not included in the report of such person.''
``(c) Notice.--Not later than 60 days after the date on
which the Secretary issues an instruction under subsection
(a)(1) or (b) with respect to a person, the Secretary shall
notify the person that the Secretary issued such instruction.
``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The terms `consumer report' and `consumer reporting
agency' have the meanings given such terms in section 603 of
the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a).
``(2) The term `debt collector' has the meaning given such
term in section 803 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
(15 U.S.C. 1692a).''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of chapter 53 of such title is amended by adding at
the end the following new item:
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``5320. Correction of erroneous information submitted to consumer
reporting agencies.''.
(d) Audit.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall complete an audit to determine the following:
(1) The frequency by which the Department of Veterans
Affairs makes an error that results in a payment to a person
by virtue of such person's participation in a benefits
program administered by the Secretary that such person is not
entitled to or in an amount that exceeds the amount to which
the person is entitled.
(2) Whether and to what degree vacant positions in the
Veterans Benefits Administration affect such errors.
(e) Plan.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of
Representatives a plan and description of resource
requirements necessary to align information technology
systems to ensure that errors described in subsection (d)(1)
are not the result of communication or absence of
communication between information technology systems.
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