[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 151 (Tuesday, September 19, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4602-S4603]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 1252. Mr. KENNEDY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
to amendment SA 1092 proposed by Mrs. Murray (for herself and Ms. 
Collins) to the bill H.R. 4366, making appropriations for military 
construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies 
for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes; 
which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        At the end of division A, insert the following:

       TITLE V--IMPROVING REVIEW OF CLAIMS FOR VETERANS BENEFITS

     SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``Preserving Lawful 
     Utilization of Services for Veterans Act of 2023'' or the 
     ``PLUS for Veterans Act of 2023''.

     SEC. 502. CLARIFICATION OF PREPARATION, PRESENTATION, OR 
                   PROSECUTION OF A CLAIM UNDER A LAW ADMINISTERED 
                   BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

       Section 5901 of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) by striking ``Except'' and inserting the following:
       ``(a) In General.--Except''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(b) Exclusion.--The administration of a medical 
     examination, or the writing of a report based on such 
     examination, described in section 5125 of this title, does 
     not constitute the preparation, presentation, or prosecution 
     of a claim described in subsection (a).''.

     SEC. 503. AGENTS AND ATTORNEYS IN CLAIMS UNDER LAWS 
                   ADMINISTERED BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS: 
                   RECOGNITION; SUSPENSION.

       Section 5904 of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(1)--
       (A) by inserting ``(A)'' before ``Except''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
       ``(B)(i) The Secretary shall determine whether to recognize 
     under subparagraph (A) an agent or attorney who applies for 
     such recognition not later than 90 days after the Secretary 
     receives such application.
       ``(ii) If the Secretary cannot verify whether the agent or 
     attorney meets the qualifications and standards prescribed 
     under paragraph (2) before the end of such 90 days, the 
     Secretary shall recognize the agent or attorney under such 
     subparagraph.
       ``(C) The Secretary may not refuse to recognize under 
     subparagraph (A) an agent or attorney solely on the basis 
     that such agent or attorney charges a claimant a fee for 
     services rendered in the preparation, presentation, or 
     prosecution of a claim.
       ``(D) The Secretary may suspend under subsection (b) an 
     agent or attorney described in subparagraph (E) without 
     regard to the notice and opportunity for a hearing under such 
     subsection.
       ``(E) An agent or attorney described in this subparagraph 
     is an agent or attorney--
       ``(i) recognized pursuant to subparagraph (B)(ii); and
       ``(ii) whom the Secretary determines, after the 90-day 
     period described in such subparagraph, does not meet the 
     qualifications and standards prescribed under paragraph 
     (2).''; and
       (2) in subsection (b)--
       (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (9) as 
     subparagraphs (A) through (I), respectively;
       (B) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), as 
     redesignated, by inserting ``(1)'' before ``The Secretary''; 
     and
       (C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(2) Not later than one year after the date of the 
     enactment of the Preserving Lawful Utilization of Services 
     for Veterans Act of 2023 and annually thereafter, 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 report regarding the number of 
     individuals suspended under this subsection or denied 
     recognition under subsection (a), disaggregated by the 
     reasons for such suspension or denial and whether the 
     individual is--
       ``(A) a representative of an organization recognized under 
     section 5902 of this title;
       ``(B) an agent; or
       ``(C) an attorney.''.

     SEC. 504. FEES ALLOWABLE FOR REPRESENTATION OF VETERANS FOR 
                   CLAIMS UNDER LAWS ADMINISTERED BY SECRETARY OF 
                   VETERANS AFFAIRS.

       (a) Fees.--Section 5904 of title 38, United States Code, as 
     amended by section 503, is further amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(5), by striking ``preparation, 
     presentation, and prosecution of a claim before the 
     Department'' and inserting ``course of representation 
     described in subsection (c)(2)'';
       (2) in subsection (c)--
       (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting ``Flat Fee 
     Agreements.--'' after ``(c)'';
       (B) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
       ``(1)(A) In a case other than a case described in paragraph 
     (2), a fee agreement between a claimant and an agent or 
     attorney, with respect to the preparation, presentation, or 
     prosecution of a claim under a law administered by the 
     Secretary, shall be a fee agreement under--
       ``(i) this paragraph, using a standard agreement form 
     prescribed by the Secretary;
       ``(ii) subsection (d); or
       ``(iii) subsection (e).
       ``(B) A fee agreement under this paragraph is one under 
     which the total amount payable by the claimant to the agent 
     or attorney with respect to the claim--
       ``(i) may not exceed $12,500 (as adjusted from time to time 
     under subparagraph (C)); and
       ``(ii) is contingent on whether the claim is resolved in a 
     manner favorable to the claimant.
       ``(C) Effective on October 1 of each year (beginning in the 
     first fiscal year after the date of the enactment of the 
     Preserving Lawful Utilization of Services for Veterans Act of 
     2023), the Secretary shall increase the dollar amount in 
     effect under clause (i) of subparagraph (B) by a percentage 
     equal to the percentage by which the Consumer Price Index for 
     all urban consumers (U.S. city average) increased during the 
     12-month period ending with the last month for which Consumer 
     Price Index data is available. In the event that such 
     Consumer Price Index does not increase during such period, 
     the Secretary shall maintain the dollar amount in effect 
     under such clause during the previous fiscal year.
       ``(D) The limitation under subparagraph (B)(i) does not 
     apply to any fee charged, allowed, or paid for services 
     provided with respect to proceedings before a court.
       ``(E) For purposes of subparagraph (B)(ii), a claim shall 
     be considered to have been resolved in a manner favorable to 
     the claimant if all or any part of the relief sought is 
     granted.
       ``(F) The form prescribed by the Secretary under 
     subparagraph (A)(i) shall include the following notifications 
     to the claimant:
       ``(i) That organizations recognized under section 5902 of 
     this title furnish services concerning claims under laws 
     administered by the Secretary, at no cost to claimants.
       ``(ii) That the claimant may select a private physician for 
     a medical examination described in section 5125 of this title 
     regarding the claim.
       ``(iii) That such agent or attorney may not refer the 
     claimant to a private physician described in clause (ii) with 
     whom the agent or attorney has a business relationship 
     regarding the claim.'';
       (C) in paragraph (2), by striking ``referred to in 
     paragraph (1) of this subsection'' and inserting ``regarding 
     a claim under a law administered by the Secretary'';
       (D) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ``to paragraph (2)'' 
     and inserting ``to paragraph (1) or (2)''; and
       (E) by striking paragraph (4); and
       (3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(e) Payment of Fees Out of an Award or Increased Award.--
     (1) When a claimant and an agent or attorney have entered 
     into a fee agreement described in paragraph (2), the total 
     fee payable to the agent or attorney (including all ancillary 
     fees) may not exceed the amount that is equal to the product 
     of five and the amount of the monthly increase of benefits 
     awarded on the basis of the claim.
       ``(2) A fee agreement referred to in paragraph (1) is one 
     under which the total amount of the fee payable to the agent 
     or attorney--
       ``(A) is to be paid to the agent or attorney by the 
     claimant, after commencement of the monthly period of payment 
     of monetary benefits based on an award or increased award (as 
     defined in section 5111(d) of this title); and
       ``(B) is contingent on whether the matter is resolved in a 
     manner favorable to the claimant.
       ``(3) For the purposes of this subsection, a claim shall be 
     considered to have been resolved in a manner favorable to the 
     claimant if all or any part of the relief sought is 
     granted.''.
       (b) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall prescribe 
     regulations to carry out the amendments made by this section.

     SEC. 505. REINSTATEMENT OF PENALTIES FOR CHARGING VETERANS 
                   UNAUTHORIZED FEES RELATING TO CLAIMS UNDER LAWS 
                   ADMINISTERED BY THE SECRETARY OF VETERANS 
                   AFFAIRS.

       (a) In General.--Section 5905 of title 38, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) in the section heading, by striking ``Penalty'' and 
     inserting ``Penalties'';
       (2) by striking ``Whoever'' and inserting the following:
       ``(a) Withholding of Benefits.--Whoever''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(b) Charging of Unauthorized Fees.--Except as provided in 
     sections 5904 or 1984 of this title, whoever directly or 
     indirectly solicits, contracts for, charges, or receives, or 
     attempts to solicit, contract for, charge, or receive, any 
     fee or compensation with respect to the preparation, 
     presentation, or

[[Page S4603]]

     prosecution of any claim for benefits under a law 
     administered by the Secretary shall be fined as provided in 
     title 18, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 59 of such title is amended by striking 
     the item relating to section 5905 and inserting the following 
     new item:

``5905. Penalties for certain acts.''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall take effect one year after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act.
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