Veteran Families Financial Support Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6013 To amend title 38, United States Code, to modernize service-disabled veterans insurance. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 28, 2020 Mr. BOST (for himself and Miss RICE of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To amend title 38, United States Code, to modernize service- disabled veterans insurance. 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 ‘‘Veteran Families Fi- 4 nancial Support Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. MODERNIZATION OF SERVICE-DISABLED VETERANS 6 INSURANCE. 7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF MODERNIZED PROGRAM.— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6013.IH H6013 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6013 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 19 of title 38, 1 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 2 section 1922A the following new section: 3 ‘‘§ 1922B. Service-disabled veterans insurance 4 ‘‘(a) INSURANCE.—(1) Beginning January 1, 2023, 5 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall carry out a service- 6 disabled veterans insurance program under which a vet- 7 eran is granted insurance by the United States against 8 the death of such individual occurring while such insur- 9 ance is in force. 10 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may only issue whole-life policies 11 under the insurance program under paragraph (1). 12 ‘‘(3) The Secretary may not grant insurance to a vet- 13 eran under paragraph (1) unless— 14 ‘‘(A) the veteran submits the application for 15 such insurance before the veteran attains 81 years 16 of age; or 17 ‘‘(B) with respect to a veteran who has attained 18 81 years of age— 19 ‘‘(i) the veteran filed a claim for compensa- 20 tion under chapter 11 of this title before attain- 21 ing such age; 22 ‘‘(ii) based on such claim, and after the 23 veteran attained such age, the Secretary first 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6013.IH H6013 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6013 IH determines that the veteran has a service-con- 1 nected disability; and 2 ‘‘(iii) the veteran submits the application 3 for such insurance during the two-year period 4 following the date of such determination. 5 ‘‘(4)(A) A veteran enrolled in the insurance program 6 under paragraph (1) may elect to be insured in any of 7 the following amounts: 8 ‘‘(i) $10,000. 9 ‘‘(ii) $20,000. 10 ‘‘(iii) $30,000. 11 ‘‘(iv) $40,000. 12 ‘‘(v) In accordance with subparagraph (B), a 13 maximum amount greater than $40,000. 14 ‘‘(B) The Secretary may establish a maximum 15 amount to be insured under paragraph (1) that is greater 16 than $40,000 if the Secretary— 17 ‘‘(i) determines that such maximum amount 18 and the premiums for such amount— 19 ‘‘(I) are administratively and actuarially 20 sound for the insurance program under para- 21 graph (1); and 22 ‘‘(II) will not result in such program oper- 23 ating at a loss; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6013.IH H6013 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6013 IH ‘‘(ii) publishes in the Federal Register, and sub- 1 mits to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the 2 House of Representatives and the Senate, such max- 3 imum amount and determination. 4 ‘‘(5) Insurance granted under this section shall be on 5 a nonparticipating basis and all premiums and other col- 6 lections therefor shall be credited directly to a revolving 7 fund in the Treasury of the United States, and any pay- 8 ments on such insurance shall be made directly from such 9 fund. 10 ‘‘(6) Administrative support financed by the appro- 11 priations for ‘General Operating Expenses, Department of 12 Veterans Affairs’ and ‘Information Technology Systems, 13 Department of Veterans Affairs’ for the insurance pro- 14 gram under paragraph (1) shall be paid from premiums 15 credited to the fund under paragraph (5). 16 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—A veteran is eligible to enroll in 17 the insurance program under subsection (a)(1) if the vet- 18 eran has a service-connected disability, without regard 19 to— 20 ‘‘(1) whether such disability is compensable 21 under chapter 11 of this title; or 22 ‘‘(2) whether the veteran meets standards of 23 good health required for other life insurance policies. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6013.IH H6013 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6013 IH ‘‘(c) ENROLLMENT AND WAITING PERIOD.—(1) A 1 veteran may enroll in the insurance program under sub- 2 section (a)(1) at any time. 3 ‘‘(2) The life insurance policy of a veteran who enrolls 4 in the insurance program under subsection (a)(1) does not 5 go into force unless— 6 ‘‘(A) a period of two years elapses following the 7 date of such enrollment; and 8 ‘‘(B) the veteran pays the premiums required 9 during such two-year period. 10 ‘‘(3) If a veteran dies during the two-year period de- 11 scribed in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall pay to the 12 beneficiary of the veteran the amount of premiums paid 13 by the veteran under this section, plus interest. The Sec- 14 retary shall calculate such interest at an annual rate equal 15 to the weekly average one-year constant maturity Treas- 16 ury yield, as published by the Board of Governors of the 17 Federal Reserve System, for the calendar week preceding 18 the date of the death. 19 ‘‘(d) PREMIUMS.—(1) The Secretary shall establish 20 a schedule of basic premium rates by age per $1,000 of 21 insurance under subsection (a)(1) consistent with the low- 22 est schedule of basic premium rates generally charged for 23 guaranteed acceptance life insurance policies by private 24 life insurance companies. The Secretary may adjust such 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6013.IH H6013 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6013 IH schedule after the first policy year in a manner consistent 1 with the general practice of guaranteed acceptance life in- 2 surance policies issued by private life insurance compa- 3 nies. 4 ‘‘(2) Section 1912 of this title shall not apply to life 5 insurance policies under subsection (a)(1), and the Sec- 6 retary may not otherwise waive premiums for such insur- 7 ance policies. 8 ‘‘(e) BENEFICIARIES.—(1) A veteran who enrolls in 9 the insurance program under subsection (a)(1) may assign 10 a beneficiary of the life insurance policy. 11 ‘‘(2) If a veteran enrolled in the insurance program 12 under subsection (a)(1) does not assign a beneficiary 13 under paragraph (1) before the veteran dies, or if an as- 14 signed beneficiary predeceases the veteran, the Secretary 15 shall determine the beneficiary in the following order: 16 ‘‘(A) The surviving spouse of the veteran. 17 ‘‘(B) The children of the veteran and descend- 18 ants of deceased children by representation. 19 ‘‘(C) The parents of the veteran or the sur- 20 vivors of the parents. 21 ‘‘(D) The duly appointed executor or adminis- 22 trator of the estate of the veteran. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6013.IH H6013 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6013 IH ‘‘(E) Other next of kin of the veteran entitled 1 under the laws of domicile of the veteran at the time 2 of the death of the veteran. 3 ‘‘(f) CLAIMS.—(1) If the deceased veteran assigned 4 a beneficiary under subsection (e)(1)— 5 ‘‘(A) the assigned beneficiary is the only person 6 who may file a claim for payment under subsection 7 (g) during the one-year period beginning on the date 8 of the death of the veteran; and 9 ‘‘(B) if the assigned beneficiary does not file a 10 claim for the payment during the period described in 11 paragraph (1), or if payment to the assigned bene- 12 ficiary within that period is prohibited by Federal 13 statute or regulation, a beneficiary described in sub- 14 section (e)(2) may file a claim for such payment 15 during the one-year period following the period de- 16 scribed in subparagraph (A) as if the assigned bene- 17 ficiary had predeceased the veteran. 18 ‘‘(2) If the deceased veteran did not assign a bene- 19 ficiary under subsection (e)(1), or if the assigned bene- 20 ficiary predeceased the veteran, a beneficiary described in 21 subsection (e)(2) may file a claim for payment under sub- 22 section (g) during the two-year period beginning on the 23 date of the death of the veteran. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6013.IH H6013 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6013 IH ‘‘(3) If, on the date that is two years after the date 1 of the death of the veteran, no claim for payment has been 2 filed by any beneficiary pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2), 3 and the Secretary has not received notice that any such 4 claim will be so filed during the subsequent one-year pe- 5 riod, the Secretary may make the payment to a claimant 6 whom the Secretary determines to be equitably entitled to 7 such payment. 8 ‘‘(g) PAYMENTS.—(1) In a case described in sub- 9 section (f)— 10 ‘‘(A) in paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall 11 pay the assigned beneficiary not later than 90 days 12 after the assigned beneficiary files a claim for pay- 13 ment; or 14 ‘‘(B) in paragraph (1)(B), (2), or (3), the Sec- 15 retary shall make any payment not later than one 16 year after the end of the period described in the ap- 17 plicable such paragraph. 18 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding section 1917 of this title, the 19 Secretary shall make an insurance payment under this 20 section in a lump sum. 21 ‘‘(3) Any payment under this subsection shall be a 22 bar to recovery by any other person.’’. 23 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec- 24 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6013.IH H6013 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6013 IH by inserting after the item relating to section 1922A 1 the following new item: 2 ‘‘1922B. Service-disabled veterans insurance.’’. (b) SUNSET OF PREVIOUS PROGRAM AND TRANSI- 3 TION.— 4 (1) S–DVI.—Section 1922 of such title is 5 amended by adding at the end the following new 6 subsection: 7 ‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary may not accept any application 8 by a veteran to be insured under this section after Decem- 9 ber 31, 2022. 10 ‘‘(2)(A) During the period beginning January 1, 11 2023, and ending December 31, 2025, a veteran who is 12 insured under this section may elect to instead be insured 13 under section 1922B of this title based on the age of the 14 veteran at the time of such election. 15 ‘‘(B) A veteran who elects under subparagraph (A) 16 to be insured under section 1922B of this title shall be 17 subject to the two-year waiting period specified in sub- 18 section (c) of such section. If the veteran dies during such 19 period, the Secretary shall pay the beneficiary under this 20 section, and, if applicable, under section 1922A, plus the 21 amount of premiums paid by the veteran under such sec- 22 tion 1922B, plus interest. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6013.IH H6013 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6013 IH ‘‘(3) Except as provided by paragraph (2)(B), a vet- 1 eran may not be insured under this section and section 2 1922B simultaneously.’’. 3 (2) SUPPLEMENTAL S–DVI.—Section 1922A(b) 4 of such title is amended by adding after the period 5 the following: ‘‘The Secretary may not accept any 6 such application after December 31, 2022. Except 7 as provided by section 1922(d)(2)(B), a veteran may 8 not have supplemental insurance under this section 9 and be insured under section 1922B simulta- 10 neously.’’. 11 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Chapter 19 of 12 such title is amended— 13 (1) in the section heading of section 1922, by 14 striking ‘‘Service’’ and inserting ‘‘Legacy serv- 15 ice’’; 16 (2) in the section heading of section 1922A, by 17 striking ‘‘Supplemental’’ and inserting ‘‘Leg- 18 acy supplemental’’; and 19 (3) in the table of sections at the beginning of 20 such chapter by striking the items relating to sec- 21 tions 1922 and 1922A and inserting the following 22 new items: 23 ‘‘1922. Legacy service disabled veterans’ insurance. ‘‘1922A. Legacy supplemental service disabled veterans’ insurance for totally disabled veterans.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6013.IH H6013 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS