[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 13 (Tuesday, January 20, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H937-H939]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
VETERANS SCAM AND FRAUD EVASION ACT OF 2025
Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 1663) 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, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1663
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 2025'' or the ``VSAFE Act of 2025''.
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. 326. Veterans Scam and Fraud Evasion Officer
``(a) Establishment.--There is in the Department a Veterans
Scam and Fraud Evasion Officer, who shall--
``(1) be responsible for fraud and scam prevention,
reporting, and incident response plans at the Department; and
``(2) serve as a central point of contact to direct
veterans to resources to prevent and mitigate fraud and
scams.
``(b) Responsibilities.--The Veterans Scam and Fraud
Evasion Officer shall carry out the following
responsibilities:
``(1) Providing comprehensive communication from the
Secretary to employees of the Department 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
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survivors on how to identify, report, and avoid fraud and
scam attempts.
``(3) Promoting the VSAFE Fraud Hotline and VSAFE.gov
website of the Department (and any successor resources) 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) Coordinating with the Inspector General of the
Department and 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) develop a whole-of-Government view within the
Department to improve fraud prevention efforts within the
Department;
``(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, local, and tribal governments, as necessary, to
improve understanding of potential fraud and scam risks to
veterans.
``(c) Full-Time Employees.--Nothing in this section
authorizes an increase in the number of full-time employees
otherwise authorized for the Department.
``(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall
be construed to limit the authority of the Office of
Inspector General of the Department as otherwise provided in
this title or in chapter 4 of title 5 (commonly referred to
as the Inspector General Act of 1978).
``(e) Sunset.--The requirements and authorities of this
section shall terminate on September 30, 2030.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the
following new item:
``326. Veterans Scam and Fraud Evasion Officer.''.
SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF CERTAIN LIMITS ON PAYMENTS OF PENSION.
Section 5503(d)(7) of title 38, United States Code, is
amended by striking ``January 31, 2033'' and inserting
``March 31, 2033''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Bost) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois.
General Leave
Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have
5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R.
1663, as amended.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Illinois?
There was no objection.
Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1663, as amended,
offered by Representative Calvert from California.
This bill would protect veterans from scams and fraud that may target
the benefits they earned through service. Too many veterans, along with
their families, caregivers, and survivors, are being hit with savvy
fraud schemes designed to steal personal information, drain bank
accounts, and even redirect VA benefits to bad actors. When these scams
happen, veterans often don't know where to turn inside the Federal
system.
The VSAFE Act would take direct action to fix this issue. This bill
would add dedicated veterans scam and fraud evasion officer positions
at the Department of Veterans Affairs. This would rightfully build up
VA's fraud prevention and response efforts across VA, so this problem
is treated like a real threat, not just an afterthought.
Representative Calvert's bill would also require VA to improve
communications during urgent fraud incidents, so veterans and their
families are not left in the dark while scammers continue to strike. By
building up VA's existing antifraud tools, adding new ones where
necessary, we can combat fraud head-on.
Mr. Speaker, at the end of the day, veterans should never lose their
hard-earned benefits because the system failed to protect them from
criminals. The VSAFE Act should strengthen the accountability, improve
prevention, and give veterans the support and protection they deserve.
This bill takes an important step toward safeguarding veterans and
strengthening trust in the VA system, and I am proud to support it.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 1663, as
amended, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in hesitant support of H.R. 1663, the
Veterans Scam And Fraud Evasion, or VSAFE, Act, as amended.
I fully support the intention of this bill and strongly encourage the
Department to fully resource the VSAFE program established under
President Biden. However, the actions taken by the Trump administration
over the last year will significantly hinder the great work that has
been accomplished by the VSAFE Task Force, the Federal Trade
Commission, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is,
unfortunately, more pressing than ever.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, veterans reported some of
the highest numbers of fraud complaints and greatest total losses in
2024, amounting to nearly $600 million. Veterans also continually face
higher losses than their civilian counterparts, with median losses
reported around $700, which is over $200 higher than the general
population.
Both the FTC and CFPB have done important work in identifying the
most pressing scams and fraudulent activities that target veterans and
their families. These include scams like credit card fraud, investment
schemes, and imposter scams, which seek to impersonate government
officials, technology support, or even love interests to collect money
or gain access to veterans' personal systems.
They have also identified the threat of multilevel marketing schemes
and other ``business opportunities,'' like Amway, Mary Kay, and
Herbalife, who regularly target veterans, servicemembers, and their
families under the guise of patriotism, flexible hours, and financial
independence.
I applaud my colleague, Representative Delia Ramirez, for offering an
amendment to require specific trainings on these tactics to provide
veterans and their families with clear, actionable guidance to protect
their hard-earned benefits. It is unfortunate that this commonsense
amendment was voted down by the Republican members of our committee.
Lastly, I find it ironic that these same Republican colleagues want
to advance this legislation while our President actively dismantles the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, one of the only agencies set up
to protect military and veteran consumers. This is ironic.
Since its inception in 2008, the CFPB has returned more than $21
billion--that is billion with a b--back to consumers, which includes
hundreds of millions of dollars to servicemembers and veterans impacted
by violations of the Military Lending Act. Unfortunately, President
Trump has determined that those who served our Nation no longer deserve
protections against bad actors who seek to profit off their benefits.
As fraudsters' ability to create more complex scams and become more
convincing in their deceit thanks to emerging technologies like
artificial intelligence, the time to create informed and resourced
tools is now.
H.R. 1663 marks a step in the right direction, but I urge my
congressional colleagues to do more to help protect our Nation's
veterans against these scams.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Someday, I would like to carry on this floor from our committee a
bill that is actually sponsored by a Republican that my colleague can
actually find totally good. We come out here every time, and he finds
all the excuses of why this is bad, this is bad, and this is bad. This
is a really good bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from
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California (Mr. Calvert), the person who has worked very hard on this
bill to make sure it deals with the fraud that is out there.
{time} 1640
Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, through their service and sacrifice, our
veterans willingly put themselves in harm's way to ensure the security
of our country. It is our turn to ensure that they are protected from
scams and fraud. That is why I introduced H.R. 1663, the Veterans Scam
And Fraud Evasion Act, or VSAFE Act.
The sophistication and frequency of scams and fraud targeting our
veterans are constantly increasing. According to a report from the
Federal Trade Commission, U.S. veterans and military retirees reported
$350 million in total fraud losses in 2023.
While a number of departments and staff work in an uncoordinated
manner to combat fraud within the VA and other agencies, the VSAFE Act
will establish a comprehensive effort that will assist our veterans by
establishing a veterans scam and fraud evasion officer in the
Department of Veterans Affairs who is responsible for all fraud
prevention efforts.
By providing veterans with more consistent guidance on how to
identify, report, and avoid fraud and scam attempts, we can reduce the
occurrences that are occurring.
I thank Chairman Mike Bost and all the cosponsors of this bill for
their support. I encourage all of my colleagues to protect our veterans
by supporting the VSAFE Act.
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to
close.
In response to the chairman, let me just say that I did say that this
bill was a step in the right direction, a step that could be a big leap
if we all got behind bigger initiatives and called upon this
administration to stop diminishing and diluting the power of the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The results of protecting military servicemembers and veterans by
that particular agency are undisputed, and it became particularly
impactful when it was in full force. The philosophy of this
administration has been to diminish the authority and reach of the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as well as the Federal Trade
Commission, and our veterans are suffering.
In spite of this very small step we are taking with this bill, it is
insufficient to take on the enormous challenge of fighting fraudsters
in this country who will take advantage of those who have laid their
lives on the line for all of us.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I
intend to vote ``yes.'' I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to
close. I encourage all Members to support this piece of legislation. I
think it is a wonderful piece of legislation. It is way overdue.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 1663, 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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