[House Report 116-618]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
116th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 116-618
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SERVICEMEMBERS AND VETERANS INITIATIVE ACT OF 2020
_______
December 7, 2020.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Nadler, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 8354]
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 8354) to establish the Servicemembers and Veterans
Initiative within the Civil Rights Division of the Department
of Justice, and for other purposes, having considered the same,
reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that
the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 1
Background and Need for the Legislation.......................... 2
Hearings......................................................... 4
Committee Consideration.......................................... 4
Committee Votes.................................................. 4
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 5
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures and Congressional
Budget Office Cost Estimate.................................... 5
Duplication of Federal Programs.................................. 5
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 5
Advisory on Earmarks............................................. 5
Section-by-Section Analysis...................................... 5
Purpose and Summary
H.R. 8354, the ``Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative Act
of 2020,'' is a bipartisan bill that would permanently
establish the Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative (SVI)
within the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Civil Rights Division.
The Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative Act details SVI's
responsibilities to promote the legal interests of
servicemembers, veterans, and their families within the
Department of Justice. Among the responsibilities of the SVI
would be to make policy on behalf of the Attorney General on
legal issues that impact servicemembers, veterans, and their
families and appoint a liaison to the Assistant Attorney
General for the Criminal Division to coordinate Federal
prosecutions involving cases of fraud against servicemembers.
SVI currently has no formal statutory authorization. Its
existence, placement within DOJ, and assignment of personnel
has changed a number of times since DOJ initiated the effort.
Presently, SVI draws on personnel from multiple Civil Rights
Division sections, as well as from the Office of Justice
Programs. SVI and DOJ's efforts to protect servicemembers,
veterans, and their families have been successful and should
become a permanent element of the Civil Rights Division. Doing
this will provide for the permanent assignment of personnel.
Having an element within DOJ that can serve as the primary
representative to the Department of Defense and provide
recommendations to the Attorney General on policy or legal
changes would significantly enhance the federal government's
efforts to protect servicemembers.
Background and Need for the Legislation
Over the past decade, DOJ has focused attention and
resources on a number of efforts to defend the legal interests
of military servicemembers, veterans, and their families. Under
current DOJ regulation and policy, the SVI has three general
missions--to provide policy recommendations to the Attorney
General; to represent DOJ on servicemember and veterans issues;
and to enforce a series of applicable laws, including the
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
(USERRA),\1\ the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee
Voting Act (UOCAVA),\2\ the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
(SCRA),\3\ and the Military Lending Act (MLA).\4\\5\ On the
laws it enforces, the SVI offers legal information through
outreach, training, and educational events for military
members, veterans, and legal practitioners.\6\
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\1\The Uniformed Services Employment & Reemployment Rights Act,
Pub. L. 103-353 (Oct. 13, 1994), codified at 38 U.S.C. Sec. 4301 et seq
(2018).
\2\The Uniformed & Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, Pub. L.
99-410 (Aug. 28, 1986), codified at 42 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 1973ff--1973ff-
6, 39 U.S.C. Sec. 3406, 18 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 608-609 (2018).
\3\Soldiers' & Sailors' Relief Act, 54 Stat. 1178 (Oct. 17, 1940),
codified at 50 U.S.C. Sec. 3901 et seq. (2018).
\4\Military Lending Act of 2007, codified at 10 U.S.C. Sec. 987 et
seq. (2018).
\5\Dep't of Jus., About the Initiative, https://www.justice.gov/
servicemembers/about-initiative (last visited Sep. 26, 2020).
\6\See Erin Rogers, Delery visits Hood, Discusses New Initiative,
Ft. Hood Sentinel (Dec. 22, 2015), http://www.forthoodsentinel.com/
news/delery-visits-hood-discusses-new-initiative/article_0ae748cc-5361-
51d7-8348-646f02e33066.html.
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The SVI also assists with the identification of resources
for legal assistance, and maintains a website (accessible at
servicemembers.gov), which serves as an online tool for
servicemembers and veterans to access information about their
legal rights and available benefits. On its website, the
Initiative allows servicemembers to submit queries or complaint
forms directly to DOJ regarding USERRA-, UOCAVA-, and SCRA-
related rights. On a regular basis, the SVI initiates or
intervenes on behalf of servicemembers and veterans who are
victims of fraud.\7\
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\7\See Dep't Just., Off. Pub. Affairs, Justice Department Obtains
$20,000 Settlement Against Tampa, Florida Towing Company for Unlawfully
Selling Deployed Servicemember's Car (Sep. 20, 2020), https://
www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-obtains-20000-settlement-
against-tampa-florida-towing-company-unlawfully.
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A. BACKGROUND ON THE SERVICEMEMBERS AND VETERANS INITIATIVE
In the final months of his tenure, in December of 2014,
Attorney General Eric Holder established the Servicemembers and
Veterans Initiative.\8\ At the outset, the Servicemembers and
Veterans Initiative was a program within the Office of the
Associate Attorney General and primarily used personnel from
the Office of Justice Programs and the Civil Rights Division to
carry out its mission of supporting servicemembers, veterans,
and their families. In its first six months, the Initiative
convened a meeting with the Judge Advocates General of each
military service branch and civilian leaders from nearly all
the Cabinet departments to spotlight cases of fraud targeting
servicemembers and veterans as victims.
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\8\Military.com, Justice Department Announces Legal Support for
Military Communities (Nov. 2, 2016), https://www.military.com/benefits/
2016/11/02/scra-expansion-program-announced-by-justice-dept.html.
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Under Attorney General Loretta Lynch, the Initiative became
an independent component of DOJ and began enforcing USERRA,
UOCAVA, SCRA, and the Military Lending Act (MLA). In his first
year, Attorney General Jeff Sessions moved SVI into the Civil
Rights Division. Moving SVI to the Civil Rights Division placed
the Initiative in the Division from which most of its personnel
were detailed from, but it severed its direct link to the
Deputy Attorney General, who has responsibility over the
criminal elements of DOJ.
B. FRAUD INVOLVING SERVICEMEMBERS
Unfortunately, fraudulent schemes targeting military
servicemembers, veterans, and their families remain pervasive.
The number of fraud cases in which servicemembers and veterans
have been victimized is staggering. Between 2015 and 2019, the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received over 163,000 reports of
fraud involving military retirees and veterans, and over 12,000
reports of fraud from active duty servicemembers.\9\ In 2019,
the FTC found that the median loss to servicemembers and
veterans due to fraud was significantly higher than losses to
their civilian counterparts. While the median loss in fraud
cases reported by civilians was $658, the median loss for
active duty servicemembers was $775, and for military retirees
and veterans, it went up to a shameful $950 (an amount 70%
higher than the loss to civilians).\10\ One report identified
victims that were defrauded of up to $41,500.\11\ In another
matter, John Bash, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District
of Texas, referred to the scheme as ``the largest criminal case
ever involving identity theft of military affiliated
personnel.''\12\
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\9\Carol Kando-Pineda, Veterans, Servicemembers, and Fraud: By the
Numbers, FTC (Nov. 18, 2019), https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2019/
11/veterans-servicemembers-and-fraud-numbers.
\10\Id.
\11\Neil Vigdor, 5 Indicted in Identity Theft Scheme That Biked
Millions From Veterans, N.Y. Times (Aug. 23, 2019), https://
www.nytimes.com/2019/08/21/us/military-identity-theft-scheme.html.
\12\Id.
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In recent years, much of the attention on fraud targeting
servicemembers has focused on the provision of military housing
by private owners.\13\ Recent reports of substandard housing at
Fort Meade, Maryland, garnered national attention.\14\ In 2019,
a number of military families filed a class action lawsuit
alleging that housing provided to servicemembers by private
contractors contained, among other things, moldy walls and
rotting beams, causing detrimental financial and health
problems for residents.\15\ Just in the past few years, similar
cases have been identified in Texas and Oklahoma.\16\ Some of
these complaints include the falsification of maintenance
records and attempts to hide or misrepresent the detrimental
living conditions at homes leased to military servicemembers
and their families.\17\
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\13\Reuters, Ambushed at Home: The Hazardous, Squalid Housing of
American Military Families. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/
section/usa-military/.
\14\Aaron Gregg, Military Families Decry `Outrageous' Mold-Infested
Housing at Fort Meade, Wash. Post (Nov. 13, 2019), https://
www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/11/12/military-families-decry-
outrageous-mold-infested-housing-fort-meade/.
\15\Joshua Schneyer, U.S. Army Vows to Fix `Broken' Housing at Fort
Meade in Wake of Reuters Report, Reuters (Jan. 17, 2019), https://
www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-military-meade/u-s-army-vows-to-fix-
broken-housing-at-fort-meade-in-wake-of-reuters-report-idUSKCN1PB14O.
\16\CBS News, Military Housing Contractor Ignored Dangerous Filth &
Misled Air Force, Investigation Shows, (Jun. 18, 2019), https://
www.cbsnews.com/news/balfour-beatty-mold-ant-infestations-and-leaks-
inside-homes-managed-by-one-of-the-militarys-largest-housing/.
\17\CBS News, Military Housing Company Allegedly Falsified Records
as Families Lived with Roaches and Black Mold (Nov. 20, 2019), https://
www.cbsnews.com/news/balfour-beatty-falsified-maintenance-records-as-
military-families-lived-with-roaches-black-mold-former-employee/.
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The SCRA, which in the modern era has been used to protect
National Guard and Reserve servicemembers called to active
duty, has also been a means for DOJ to bring civil claims. In
2018, the DOJ filed a complaint against BMW Financial Services,
N.A. (``BMW'') for violating the SCRA by failing to refund up-
front lease payments to 492 servicemembers who lawfully
terminated their motor vehicle leases.\18\ The same day the
complaint was filed, BMW entered into a settlement agreement,
requiring the company to deposit over $2 million into an escrow
account for the purpose of compensating the servicemembers
whose rights were violated under the SCRA.\19\ This is just one
of dozens of civil actions the DOJ has filed, through the SVI,
to address allegations of fraud against servicemembers.
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\18\United States v. BMW Financial Services, N.A., L.L.C. (D.N.J.),
Civ. No. 2:18-cv-02495 (2018).
\19\SVI, Dep't of Just., Independence Day Message from the
Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative, https://www.justice.gov/file/
1077511/download (last visited Sep. 26, 2020).
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Hearings
The Committee has not had any hearings on the SVI or
related topics.
Committee Consideration
On September 29, 2020, the Committee met in open session
and ordered the bill, H.R. 5053, favorably reported, by a voice
vote, a quorum being present.
Committee Votes
In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that no
recorded votes occurred during the Committee's consideration of
H.R. 8354. The bill was favorably reported by a voice vote.
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures and Congressional Budget
Office Cost Estimate
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect
to requirements of clause (3)(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has requested
but not received a cost estimate for this bill from the
Director of Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The Committee
has requested but not received from the Director of the CBO a
statement as to whether this bill contains any new budget
authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase
or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures.
Duplication of Federal Programs
H.R. 8354 simply provides formal authorization to an
existing office that does not have statutory authorization.
This legislation is not otherwise duplicative of another
federal program, a program that was included in any report from
the Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to
section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program related to a
program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal
Domestic Assistance.
Performance Goals and Objectives
The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R.
5053 does not have any performance goals or measures.
Advisory on Earmarks
In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, H.R. 8354 does not contain any
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff
benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of rule XXI.
Section-by-Section Analysis
The following discussion describes the bill as reported by
the Committee.
Sec. 1. Short title. Section 1 sets forth the short title
of the bill as the ``Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative Act
of 2020.''
Sec. 2. Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative
(a) Establishment. This subsection provides for the
establishment of the Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative
within the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.
(b) Duties. This subsection details the purpose and
functions of the Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative. It
would:
(1) serve as legal and policy advisor to the Attorney
General on issues related to the Department of Justice's
enforcement of criminal and civil laws that impact military
servicemembers, veterans, and their families;
(2) create and provide policy recommendations for the
Attorney General related to the improvement of support for
servicemembers, veterans, and their families through Federal
law enforcement;
(3) serve as the liaison and point of contact between the
Department of Justice and military departments;
(4) serve as a counselor to the Assistant Attorney General
for the Office of Justice Programs to represent the interests
of servicemembers, veterans, and their families in funding
decisions;
(5) consult with the relevant components and personnel in
the Department of Justice for the promotion of civil legal aid
provisions to servicemembers, veterans, and their families;
(6) serve as a liaison to the Assistant Attorney General
for the Criminal Division and coordinate Federal prosecutions
involving cases of fraud against servicemembers; and
(7) enforce other Federal laws deemed relevant by the
Attorney General for the protection of servicemembers and
veterans.
[all]