Veteran Benefits Enhancement and Expansion Act of 2020

II Calendar No. 603 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4511 To make certain improvements in the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs relating to education, burial benefits, and other matters, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES AUGUST 6, 2020 Mr. MORAN (for himself, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. ROUNDS, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. DAINES, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. RUBIO, and Mr. HOEVEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs DECEMBER 8, 2020 Reported by Mr. MORAN, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To make certain improvements in the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs relating to education, burial benefits, and other matters, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4511.RS S4511 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4511 RS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2 ‘‘Veteran Benefits Enhancement and Expansion Act of 3 2020’’. 4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 5 this Act is as follows: 6 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—EDUCATION MATTERS Sec. 101. Expansion of eligibility for Fry Scholarship to children and spouses of certain deceased members of the Armed Forces. Sec. 102. Period for election to receive benefits under All-Volunteer Edu- cational Assistance Program of Department of Veterans Af- fairs. Sec. 103. Phase out of All-Volunteer Educational Assistance Program. Sec. 104. Requirements for in-State tuition. Sec. 105. Expansion of authority for certain qualifying work-study activities for purposes of the educational assistance programs of the Depart- ment of Veterans Affairs to include outreach services provided through congressional offices. TITLE II—BURIAL MATTERS Sec. 201. Transportation of deceased veterans to veterans’ cemeteries. Sec. 202. Increase in certain funeral benefits under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 203. Outer burial receptacles for each new grave in cemeteries that are the subjects of certain grants made by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 204. Provision of inscriptions for spouses and children on certain headstones and markers furnished by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. TITLE III—REPRESENTATION AND FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION MATTERS Sec. 301. Short title. Sec. 302. Penalties for representing veterans as agents and attorneys without recognition by Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 303. Plan to address the financial exploitation of veterans receiving pen- sion from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 304. Overpayments of pension to veterans receiving pension from the De- partment of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 305. Evaluation of additional actions for verifying direct deposit informa- tion provided by veterans on applications for veterans pension. Sec. 306. Annual report on efforts of Department of Veterans Affairs to ad- dress the financial exploitation of veterans receiving pension. Sec. 307. Notice regarding fees charged in connection with filing an application for veterans pension. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6411 E:\BILLS\S4511.RS S4511 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4511 RS Sec. 308. Outreach plan for educating vulnerable veterans about potential fi- nancial exploitation relating to the receipt of pension. TITLE IV—OTHER MATTERS Sec. 401. Eligibility of certain members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces for home loans from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 402. Extension of certain housing loan fees. Sec. 403. Clarification of licensure requirements for contractor medical profes- sionals to perform medical disability examinations for the De- partment of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 404. Medal of Honor special pension for surviving spouses. Sec. 405. Modernization of service-disabled veterans insurance. Sec. 406. Publication and acceptance of disability benefit questionnaire forms of Department of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 407. Determination of budgetary effects. TITLE I—EDUCATION MATTERS 1 SEC. 101. EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR FRY SCHOLAR- 2 SHIP TO CHILDREN AND SPOUSES OF CER- 3 TAIN DECEASED MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 4 FORCES. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) of section 3311 of 6 title 38, United States Code, as amended by section 105 7 of the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance 8 Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–48), is further amended— 9 (1) by redesignating paragraph (9) as para- 10 graph (11); and 11 (2) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol- 12 lowing new paragraphs (9) and (10): 13 ‘‘(9) An individual who is the child or spouse of 14 a person who, on or after September 11, 2001, dies 15 in line of duty while serving on duty other than ac- 16 tive duty as a member of the Armed Forces. 17 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4511.RS S4511 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4511 RS ‘‘(10) An individual who is the child or spouse 1 of a member of the Selected Reserve who dies on or 2 after September 11, 2001, while a member of the 3 Selected Reserve from a service-connected dis- 4 ability.’’. 5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 6 (1) Subsection (f) of such section is amended 7 by striking ‘‘paragraph (8)’’ each place it appears 8 and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (8), (9), and (10)’’. 9 (2) In section 3313(c)(1), by striking ‘‘(8), or 10 (9)’’ and inserting ‘‘(8), (9), (10), or (11)’’. 11 (3) In section 3317(a), in the second sentence, 12 by striking ‘‘paragraphs (1), (2), (8), and (9)’’ and 13 inserting ‘‘paragraphs (1), (2), (8), (9), (10), and 14 (11)’’. 15 (4) Section 3322 of such title is amended— 16 (A) in subsection (e), by striking both 17 ‘‘sections 3311(b)(8) and 3319’’ and inserting 18 ‘‘section 3319 and paragraph (8), (9), or (10) 19 of section 3311 of this title’’; 20 (B) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘section 21 3311(b)(8)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (8), (9), 22 or (10) of section 3311 of this title’’; and 23 (C) in subsection (h)(2), by striking ‘‘ei- 24 ther section 3311(b)(8) or chapter 35’’ and in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4511.RS S4511 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4511 RS serting ‘‘either chapter 35 or paragraph (8), 1 (9), or (10) of section 3311’’. 2 (c) APPLICABILITY DATE.—The amendments made 3 by this section shall take effect immediately after the 4 amendments made by section 105 of the Harry W. 5 Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 6 (Public Law 115–48) take effect and shall apply with re- 7 spect to a quarter, semester, or term, as applicable, com- 8 mencing on or after August 1, 2020. 9 SEC. 102. PERIOD FOR ELECTION TO RECEIVE BENEFITS 10 UNDER ALL-VOLUNTEER EDUCATIONAL AS- 11 SISTANCE PROGRAM OF DEPARTMENT OF 12 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3011 of title 38, United 14 States Code, is amended— 15 (1) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘Any such 16 election shall be made at the time the individual ini- 17 tially enters on active duty as a member of the 18 Armed Forces’’ and inserting ‘‘Any such election 19 shall be made during the 90-day period beginning on 20 the day that is 180 days after the date on which the 21 individual initially enters initial training’’; and 22 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘that such 23 individual is entitled to such pay’’ and inserting 24 ‘‘that begin after the date that is 270 days after the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4511.RS S4511 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4511 RS date on which the individual initially enters initial 1 training’’. 2 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 3 subsection (a) shall take effect 180 days after the date 4 of enactment of this Act. 5 SEC. 103. PHASE OUT OF ALL-VOLUNTEER EDUCATIONAL 6 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 7 Subsection (a)(1)(A) of section 3011 of title 38, 8 United States Code, as amended by section 102, is further 9 amended by striking ‘‘after June 30, 1985’’ and inserting 10 ‘‘during the period beginning July 1, 1985, and ending 11 September 30, 2030’’. 12 SEC. 104. REQUIREMENTS FOR IN-STATE TUITION. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3679(c) of title 38, 14 United States Code, is amended— 15 (1) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘less than 16 three years before the date of enrollment in the 17 course concerned’’; and 18 (2) in paragraph (4)— 19 (A) by striking ‘‘It shall’’ and inserting 20 ‘‘(A) It shall’’; and 21 (B) by adding at the end the following new 22 subparagraph: 23 ‘‘(B) To the extent feasible, the Secretary shall make 24 publicly available on the internet website of the Depart- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4511.RS S4511 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4511 RS ment a database explaining any requirements described in 1 subparagraph (A) that are established by a public institu- 2 tion of higher learning for an individual to be charged tui- 3 tion and fees at a rate that is equal to or less than the 4 rate the institution charges for tuition and fees for resi- 5 dents of the State in which the institution is located. The 6 Secretary shall disapprove a course of education provided 7 by such an institution that does not provide the Sec- 8 retary— 9 ‘‘(i) an initial explanation of such requirements; 10 and 11 ‘‘(ii) not later than 90 days after the date on 12 which any such requirements change, the updated 13 requirements.’’. 14 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by this 15 section shall apply with respect to a quarter, semester, or 16 term, as applicable, commencing on or after August 1, 17 2020. 18 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4511.RS S4511 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4511 RS SEC. 105. EXPANSION OF AUTHORITY FOR CERTAIN QUALI- 1 FYING WORK-STUDY ACTIVITIES FOR PUR- 2 POSES OF THE EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 3 PROGRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VET- 4 ERANS AFFAIRS TO INCLUDE OUTREACH 5 SERVICES PROVIDED THROUGH CONGRES- 6 SIONAL OFFICES. 7 Section 3485(a)(4) of title 38, United States Code, 8 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub- 9 paragraph: 10 ‘‘(K) The following activities carried out at the 11 offices of Members of Congress for such Members: 12 ‘‘(i) The distribution of information to 13 members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and 14 their dependents about the benefits and services 15 under laws administered by the Secretary and 16 other appropriate governmental and nongovern- 17 mental programs. 18 ‘‘(ii) The preparation and processing of pa- 19 pers and other documents, including documents 20 to assist in the preparation and presentation of 21 claims for benefits under laws administered by 22 the Secretary.’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4511.RS S4511 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4511 RS TITLE II—BURIAL MATTERS 1 SEC. 201. TRANSPORTATION OF DECEASED VETERANS TO 2 VETERANS’ CEMETERIES. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 2308 of 4 title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘in 5 a national cemetery’’ and inserting ‘‘in a national ceme- 6 tery or a covered veterans’ cemetery’’. 7 (b) COVERED VETERANS’ CEMETERY DEFINED.— 8 Section 2308 of such title is amended by adding at the 9 end the following new subsection: 10 ‘‘(c) COVERED VETERANS’ CEMETERY DEFINED.— 11 In this section, the term ‘covered veterans’ cemetery’ 12 means a veterans’ cemetery— 13 ‘‘(1) in which a deceased veteran described in 14 subsection (b) is eligible to be buried; and 15 ‘‘(2) for which the Secretary has made a grant 16 under section 2408 of this title.’’. 17 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 2308 of 18 such title is amended in the section heading by adding 19 at the end the following: ‘‘or a veterans’ cemetery’’. 20 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 21 at the beginning of chapter 23 of such title is amended 22 by striking the item relating to section 2308 and inserting 23 the following new item: 24 ‘‘2308. Transportation of deceased veteran to a national cemetery or a veterans’ cemetery.’’. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6411 E:\BILLS\S4511.RS S4511 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4511 RS SEC. 202. INCREASE IN CERTAIN FUNERAL BENEFITS 1 UNDER LAWS ADMINISTERED BY THE SEC- 2 RETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 3 (a) FUNERAL EXPENSES FOR NON-SERVICE-CON- 4 NECTED DISABILITIES.—Chapter 23 of title 38, United 5 States Code, is amended as follows: 6 (1) By transferring subsection (b) of section 7 2302 to the end of section 2303 and redesignating 8 such subsection as subsection (d). 9 (2) By striking section 2302. 10 (3) In section 2303— 11 (A) in the section heading, by striking 12 ‘‘Death in Department facility’’ and in- 13 serting ‘‘Death from non-service-con- 14 nected disability’’; and 15 (B) in subsection (a)— 16 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘a 17 veteran dies in a facility described in para- 18 graph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘a veteran de- 19 scribed in paragraph (2) dies’’; 20 (ii) by striking paragraph (2) and in- 21 serting the following new paragraph (2): 22 ‘‘(2) A veteran described in this paragraph is a de- 23 ceased veteran who is not covered by section 2307 and 24 who meets any of the following criteria: 25 ‘‘(A) The deceased veteran dies in— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4511.RS S4511 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4511 RS ‘‘(i) a facility of the Department (as de- 1 fined in section 1701(3) of this title) to which 2 the deceased veteran was properly admitted for 3 hospital, nursing home, or domiciliary care 4 under section 1710 or 1711(a) of this title; or 5 ‘‘(ii) an institution at which the deceased 6 veteran was, at the time of death, receiving— 7 ‘‘(I) hospital care in accordance with 8 sections 1703A, 8111, and 8153 of this 9 title; 10 ‘‘(II) nursing home care under section 11 1720 of this title; or 12 ‘‘(III) nursing home care for which 13 payments are made under section 1741 of 14 this title. 15 ‘‘(B) At the time of death, the deceased veteran 16 (including a person who died during a period deemed 17 to be active military, naval, or air service under sec- 18 tion 106(c) of this title) is in recei [Text truncated for display. 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