[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 165 (Wednesday, September 23, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H4752-H4754]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STOPPING HARM AND IMPLEMENTING ENHANCED LEAD-TIME FOR DEBTS FOR
VETERANS ACT
Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 5245) to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for
a bar on the recovery of certain payments or overpayments made by the
Department of Veterans Affairs by reason of delays in processing of
certain information, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5245
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 ``Stopping Harm and
Implementing Enhanced Lead-time for Debts for Veterans Act''
or the ``SHIELD for Veterans Act''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF DEBT ARISING FROM OVERPAYMENT DUE TO
DELAY IN PROCESSING BY THE DEPARTMENT OF
VETERANS AFFAIRS.
(a) Bar to Recovery.--
[[Page H4753]]
(1) In general.--Chapter 53 of title 38, United States
Code, is amended by inserting after section 5302A the
following new section:
``Sec. 5302B. Prohibition of debt arising from overpayment
due to delay in processing
``(a) Limitation.--No individual may incur a debt to the
United States that--
``(1) arises from any program or benefit administered by
the Under Secretary for Benefits; and
``(2) is attributable to the failure of an employee or
official of the Department to process information provided by
or on behalf of that individual within applicable timeliness
standards established by the Secretary.
``(b) Notice to Beneficiary.--If the Secretary determines
that the Secretary has made an overpayment to an individual,
the Secretary shall provide notice to the individual of the
overpayment. Such notice shall include an explanation of the
right of the individual to dispute the overpayment or to
request a waiver of indebtedness.
``(c) Delay on Collection.--The Secretary may not take any
action under section 3711 of title 31 regarding an
overpayment described in a notice under subsection (b) until
the date that is 90 days after the date the Secretary issues
such notice.''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the
item relating to section 5302A the following new item:
``5302B. Prohibition of debt arising from overpayment due to delay in
processing.''.
(3) Deadline.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
prescribe regulations to establish standards under section
5302B(a)(2) of such title, as added by subsection (a), not
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
(b) Plan for Improved Notification and Communication of
Debts.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and one year thereafter, the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Congress a report on the
improvement of the notification of and communication with
individuals who receive overpayments made by the Secretary.
Such report shall include each of the following:
(1) The plan of the Secretary to carry out each of the
following:
(A) The development and implementation of a mechanism by
which individuals enrolled in the patient enrollment system
under section 1705 of title 38, United States Code, may view
their monthly patient medical statements electronically.
(B) The development and implementation of a mechanism by
which individuals eligible for benefits under the laws
administered by the Secretary may receive electronic
correspondence relating to debt and overpayment information.
(C) The development and implementation, by not later than
October 1, 2022, of a mechanism by which individuals eligible
for benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary may
access information related to Department of Veterans Affairs
debt electronically.
(D) The improvement and clarification of Department
communications relating to overpayments and debt collection,
including letters and electronic correspondence. The
Secretary shall develop such improvements and clarifications
in consultation with veterans service organizations and other
relevant non-governmental organizations.
(E) The development and implementation, by not later than
October 1, 2022, of a mechanism by which veterans may update
their dependency information electronically.
(2) A description of the current efforts and plans for
improving the accuracy of payments to individuals entitled to
benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary,
including specific data matching agreements.
(3) A description of steps to be taken to improve the
identification of underpayments to such individuals and to
improve Department procedures and policies to ensure that
such individuals who are underpaid receive adequate
compensation payments.
(4) A list of actions completed, implementation steps, and
timetables for each requirement described in paragraphs (1)
through (3).
(5) A description of any new legislative authority required
to complete any such requirement.
SEC. 3. THRESHOLD FOR REPORTING DEBTS TO CONSUMER REPORTING
AGENCIES.
(a) In General.--Chapter 53 of title 38, United States
Code, is amended by adding after section 5319 the following
new section:
``Sec. 5320. Threshold for reporting debts to consumer
reporting agencies
``The Secretary shall prescribe regulations that establish
the minimum amount of a claim or debt, arising from a benefit
administered by the Under Secretary for Benefits or Under
Secretary for Health, that the Secretary will report to a
consumer reporting agency under section 3711 of title 31.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of such chapter is amended by adding after the item
relating to section 5319 the following new item:
``5320. Threshold for reporting debts to consumer reporting
agencies.''.
(c) Deadline.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
prescribe regulations under section 5320 of such title, as
added by subsection (a), not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. REMOVAL OF DEPENDENTS FROM AWARD OF COMPENSATION OR
PENSION.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that--
(1) a veteran may remove any dependent from an award of
compensation or pension to the veteran using the eBenefits
system of the Department of Veterans Affairs, or a successor
system; and
(2) such removal takes effect not later than 60 days after
the date on which the veteran makes such removal.
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.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Takano) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. David P.
Roe) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
General Leave
Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 5245, as amended.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5245, as amended, the
Stopping Harm and Implementing Enhanced Lead-Time for Debts for
Veterans Act, or the SHIELD for Veterans Act. It would create important
steps to improve how VA handles overpayments made to veterans. The
Department's process for collecting overpayments that it makes must be
fair and reasonable and consider the potential hardships when an error
is discovered. This legislation does just that.
Further, the legislation would make overpayments less common by
improving the information available to beneficiaries and modernize how
veterans can provide updates to VA on their eligibility and status.
The SHIELD Act was sponsored by Chairman Chris Pappas, who leads our
Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. The bill was developed based
on hearings Chairman Pappas held during the session. The subcommittee
also conducted extensive oversight of VA collections.
Finally, the legislation takes into account the experiences and input
of veterans service organizations that help veterans navigate what is
an overly complex current collections process that leaves many
understandably frustrated.
I also appreciate the bipartisan nature of this bill. Our oversight
was conducted with the minority that also offered improvements to the
bill, which were incorporated into the current language.
I support this bill, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. I thank
Mr. Pappas for sponsoring this important legislation and urge my
colleagues to support H.R. 5245, as amended.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such
time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5245, as amended, the
SHIELD for Veterans Act.
This bill would prohibit the Department of Veterans Affairs from
collecting on debts from the Veterans Benefits Administration that
arise out of VA's failure to process changes in a veteran's entitlement
to benefits within certain timeliness standards.
Veterans should not face financial hardships due to delays or errors
made by VA, nor should Congress accept that forgiving debts is a long-
term solution. Rather, we need to strive to eliminate the creation of
the debt in the first place.
H.R. 5245 would do that by addressing one of the major root causes of
debt.
Certainly, veterans can add dependents to their compensation or
pension award using VA's eBenefits online tool, and that change is
effective immediately. However, VA does not allow for the immediate
removal of dependents using that same tool.
[[Page H4754]]
Because the removal of a veteran dependent requires a manual review,
a debt is often created because VA's lengthy review process results in
overpayments to veterans that, by law, VA must attempt to recoup.
I thank my good friend and fellow veteran, the ranking member of the
Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, Congressman
Mike Bost from Illinois, for amending this bill while it was being
considered in committee to require VA to establish a process to allow a
veteran to remove a dependent through eBenefits as seamlessly as they
add a dependent. This would remove the bureaucratic and archaic hurdles
of the current paper-based process and reduce the creation of debts.
The remainder of the bill would streamline and improve VBA's debt
collection process, so veterans have a transparent understanding of
their rights and how to dispute debts when they do occur.
I thank the chairman and ranking member of the Subcommittee on
Oversight and Investigation, Congressman Chris Pappas from New
Hampshire and General Jack Bergman from Michigan, for their work on
this bill. I also thank Chairman Pappas for amending the bill that we
reported out of the committee to address late-identified CBO scoring
issues.
I believe that our bipartisan efforts produced a policy that is good
for veterans and taxpayers alike, and I encourage my colleagues to join
me in supporting this bill today.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
New Hampshire (Mr. Pappas), my good friend, the chairman of the
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and also the author of
this important piece of legislation.
Mr. PAPPAS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Takano and Ranking Member Roe for
their words, as well as for their efforts to help us get to yes on this
important piece of legislation.
I rise in support of H.R. 5245, a bill I introduced along with my
colleague, Congressman Max Rose, to fix some major problems directly
affecting our veterans.
Last year, I heard from one of my constituents, New Hampshire veteran
Jeff Varney, who contacted my office for assistance. Jeff, like
thousands of other veterans across the country, is facing tremendous
financial hardship due to VA errors.
Jeff was in disbelief when the VA informed him that he needed to
repay years of benefit overpayments because of an apparent error that
VA made decades ago.
So after a lifetime of service, and through no fault of his own, Jeff
was told he is on the hook for more than $11,000, even though VA
produced no accounting of how these debts were accrued.
Unfortunately, Jeff is not alone in this experience, and too many of
our veterans are badly surprised when they receive letters saying they
owe the VA money. Sometimes these debts reach thousands of dollars.
During the hearings held by our Oversight and Investigations
Subcommittee, we heard from veterans service organizations about the
pain and hardship that these surprises may bring.
Last fiscal year, the VA collected $1.6 billion in debts from
veterans. Sometimes these debts result from mistakes in disability
payouts, changes in eligibility, or simple accounting errors that place
an undue, unexpected financial burden on our veterans.
It is long past the time to clean this issue up. That is why today I
am asking my colleagues to support the SHIELD for Veterans Act, which
reforms VA debt collection processes and ensures we are making good on
the promises we have made to our veterans.
The SHIELD Act prevents VA from collecting overpayments that came as
a result of their own delays in processing and requires the VA to
provide our veterans notice of an overpayment and their plan to collect
it. It also requires VA to notify veterans of their ability to dispute
the overpayment or request a waiver.
Under this bill, VA will issue a report to Congress on a plan to
improve communications with our veterans on the debt issue.
The last thing that my constituent needs, and other constituents
need, is to be hounded by debt collectors, especially if they have done
everything right.
This is a bipartisan, commonsense bill, and I really want to thank
the majority and minority staff for their work. I thank my ranking
member, General Bergman, as well as Congressman Bost, for their
contributions to helping make this bill better.
It is simply unacceptable that VA's mistakes or inefficiencies are
going to hurt the men and women that they are supposed to serve
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I encourage my
colleagues to support this commonsense bill. It is one of the most
common things we hear in our office, about an outrageous debt that a
veteran owes back that they didn't know they owed because of a
bureaucratic snafu. We have all heard these cases.
I thank my colleagues for bringing this up. We should have done this
years ago.
Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I, too, urge passage of this commonsense
solution. I very much also appreciate the bipartisan agreement that we
have reached that this is, indeed, a problem we should have fixed many
years ago.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 5245,
as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 5245, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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