SHIELD for Veterans Act

II Calendar No. 555 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5245 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 Received; read twice and placed on the calendar AN ACT 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. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stopping Harm and 4 Implementing Enhanced Lead-time for Debts for Veterans 5 Act’’ or the ‘‘SHIELD for Veterans Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5245.PCS H5245 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 5245 PCS SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF DEBT ARISING FROM OVERPAY- 1 MENT DUE TO DELAY IN PROCESSING BY THE 2 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 3 (a) BAR TO RECOVERY.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 53 of title 38, 5 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 6 section 5302A the following new section: 7 ‘‘§ 5302B. Prohibition of debt arising from overpay- 8 ment due to delay in processing 9 ‘‘(a) LIMITATION.—No individual may incur a debt 10 to the United States that— 11 ‘‘(1) arises from any program or benefit admin- 12 istered by the Under Secretary for Benefits; and 13 ‘‘(2) is attributable to the failure of an em- 14 ployee or official of the Department to process infor- 15 mation provided by or on behalf of that individual 16 within applicable timeliness standards established by 17 the Secretary. 18 ‘‘(b) NOTICE TO BENEFICIARY.—If the Secretary de- 19 termines that the Secretary has made an overpayment to 20 an individual, the Secretary shall provide notice to the in- 21 dividual of the overpayment. Such notice shall include an 22 explanation of the right of the individual to dispute the 23 overpayment or to request a waiver of indebtedness. 24 ‘‘(c) DELAY ON COLLECTION.—The Secretary may 25 not take any action under section 3711 of title 31 regard- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5245.PCS H5245 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 5245 PCS ing an overpayment described in a notice under subsection 1 (b) until the date that is 90 days after the date the Sec- 2 retary issues such notice.’’. 3 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec- 4 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 5 by inserting after the item relating to section 5302A 6 the following new item: 7 ‘‘5302B. Prohibition of debt arising from overpayment due to delay in proc- essing.’’. (3) DEADLINE.—The Secretary of Veterans Af- 8 fairs shall prescribe regulations to establish stand- 9 ards under section 5302B(a)(2) of such title, as 10 added by subsection (a), not later than 180 days 11 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 12 (b) PLAN FOR IMPROVED NOTIFICATION AND COM- 13 MUNICATION OF DEBTS.—Not later than 180 days after 14 the date of the enactment of this Act, and one year there- 15 after, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to 16 Congress a report on the improvement of the notification 17 of and communication with individuals who receive over- 18 payments made by the Secretary. Such report shall include 19 each of the following: 20 (1) The plan of the Secretary to carry out each 21 of the following: 22 (A) The development and implementation 23 of a mechanism by which individuals enrolled in 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5245.PCS H5245 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 5245 PCS the patient enrollment system under section 1 1705 of title 38, United States Code, may view 2 their monthly patient medical statements elec- 3 tronically. 4 (B) The development and implementation 5 of a mechanism by which individuals eligible for 6 benefits under the laws administered by the 7 Secretary may receive electronic correspondence 8 relating to debt and overpayment information. 9 (C) The development and implementation, 10 by not later than October 1, 2022, of a mecha- 11 nism by which individuals eligible for benefits 12 under the laws administered by the Secretary 13 may access information related to Department 14 of Veterans Affairs debt electronically. 15 (D) The improvement and clarification of 16 Department communications relating to over- 17 payments and debt collection, including letters 18 and electronic correspondence. The Secretary 19 shall develop such improvements and clarifica- 20 tions in consultation with veterans service orga- 21 nizations and other relevant non-governmental 22 organizations. 23 (E) The development and implementation, 24 by not later than October 1, 2022, of a mecha- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5245.PCS H5245 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 5245 PCS nism by which veterans may update their de- 1 pendency information electronically. 2 (2) A description of the current efforts and 3 plans for improving the accuracy of payments to in- 4 dividuals entitled to benefits under the laws adminis- 5 tered by the Secretary, including specific data 6 matching agreements. 7 (3) A description of steps to be taken to im- 8 prove the identification of underpayments to such in- 9 dividuals and to improve Department procedures 10 and policies to ensure that such individuals who are 11 underpaid receive adequate compensation payments. 12 (4) A list of actions completed, implementation 13 steps, and timetables for each requirement described 14 in paragraphs (1) through (3). 15 (5) A description of any new legislative author- 16 ity required to complete any such requirement. 17 SEC. 3. THRESHOLD FOR REPORTING DEBTS TO CON- 18 SUMER REPORTING AGENCIES. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 53 of title 38, United 20 States Code, is amended by adding after section 5319 the 21 following new section: 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5245.PCS H5245 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 5245 PCS ‘‘§ 5320. Threshold for reporting debts to consumer 1 reporting agencies 2 ‘‘The Secretary shall prescribe regulations that estab- 3 lish the minimum amount of a claim or debt, arising from 4 a benefit administered by the Under Secretary for Bene- 5 fits or Under Secretary for Health, that the Secretary will 6 report to a consumer reporting agency under section 3711 7 of title 31.’’. 8 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 9 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 10 after the item relating to section 5319 the following new 11 item: 12 ‘‘5320. Threshold for reporting debts to consumer reporting agencies.’’. (c) DEADLINE.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 13 shall prescribe regulations under section 5320 of such 14 title, as added by subsection (a), not later than 180 days 15 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 16 SEC. 4. REMOVAL OF DEPENDENTS FROM AWARD OF COM- 17 PENSATION OR PENSION. 18 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that— 19 (1) a veteran may remove any dependent from 20 an award of compensation or pension to the veteran 21 using the eBenefits system of the Department of 22 Veterans Affairs, or a successor system; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5245.PCS H5245 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 5245 PCS (2) such removal takes effect not later than 60 1 days after the date on which the veteran makes such 2 removal. 3 SEC. 5. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 4 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 5 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 6 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 7 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 8 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 9 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro- 10 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 11 vote on passage. 12 Passed the House of Representatives September 23, 2020. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5245.PCS H5245 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS Calendar No. 555 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5245 AN ACT 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 Vet- erans Affairs by reason of delays in processing of certain information, and for other purposes. SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 Received; read twice and placed on the calendar VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H5245.PCS H5245 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS