[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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