Veteran Benefits Enhancement and Expansion Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7952 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 7, 2020 Mr. BOST (for himself, Mr. BERGMAN, Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. BARR, Mr. BANKS, Mr. LAMALFA, and Mr. KINZINGER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee concerned 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Veteran Benefits Enhancement and Expansion Act of 5 2020’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:46 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7952.IH H7952 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7952 IH (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title. 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 Secretary of Veterans Af- fairs. TITLE III—PENSION MATTERS Sec. 301. Plan to address the financial exploitation of veterans receiving pen- sion from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 302. Overpayments of pension to veterans receiving pension from the De- partment of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 303. Evaluation of additional actions for verifying direct deposit informa- tion provided by veterans on applications for veterans pension. Sec. 304. Annual report on efforts of Department of Veterans Affairs to ad- dress the financial exploitation of veterans receiving pension. Sec. 305. Notice regarding fees charged in connection with filing an application for veterans pension. Sec. 306. Outreach plan for educating vulnerable veterans about potential fi- nancial exploitation relating to the receipt of pension. Sec. 307. Penalties for representing veterans as agents and attorneys without recognition by Secretary of Veterans Affairs. TITLE IV—OTHER MATTERS Sec. 401. Medal of Honor special pension for surviving spouses. Sec. 402. Modernization of service-disabled veterans insurance. Sec. 403. Eligibility of certain members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces for home loans from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 404. Adjustment of housing loan fees. VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:46 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H7952.IH H7952 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7952 IH Sec. 405. Clarification of licensure requirements for contractor medical profes- sionals to perform medical disability examinations for the De- partment of Veterans Affairs. 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, is amended— 7 (1) by redesignating paragraph (10) as para- 8 graph (12); and 9 (2) by inserting after paragraph (9) the fol- 10 lowing new paragraphs (10) and (11): 11 ‘‘(10) An individual who is the child or spouse 12 of a person who dies on or after September 11, 13 2001, in the line of duty while serving on duty other 14 than active duty as a member of the Armed Forces. 15 ‘‘(11) An individual who is the child or spouse 16 of a member who dies on or after September 11, 17 2001, while serving in the Selected Reserve, from a 18 service-connected disability.’’. 19 (b) APPLICABILITY DATE.—The amendments made 20 by subsection (a) apply with respect to a quarter, semes- 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:46 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7952.IH H7952 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7952 IH ter, or term, as applicable, commencing on or after August 1 1, 2021. 2 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 3 (1) Subsection (f) of such section is amended 4 by striking ‘‘paragraph (9)’’ each place it appears 5 and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (9), (10), and (11)’’. 6 (2) Section 3322 of such title is amended— 7 (A) in subsection (e), by striking both 8 ‘‘sections 3311(b)(9) and 3319’’ and inserting 9 ‘‘section 3319 and paragraph (9), (10), or (11) 10 of section 3311 of this title’’; 11 (B) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘section 12 3311(b)(9)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (9), 13 (10), or (11) of section 3311 of this title’’; and 14 (C) in subsection (h)(2), by striking ‘‘ei- 15 ther section 3311(b)(9) or chapter 35’’ and in- 16 serting ‘‘either chapter 35 or paragraph (9), 17 (10), or (11) of section 3311’’. 18 SEC. 102. PERIOD FOR ELECTION TO RECEIVE BENEFITS 19 UNDER ALL-VOLUNTEER EDUCATIONAL AS- 20 SISTANCE PROGRAM OF DEPARTMENT OF 21 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3011 of title 38, United 23 States Code, is amended— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:46 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7952.IH H7952 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7952 IH (1) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘Any such 1 election shall be made at the time the individual ini- 2 tially enters on active duty as a member of the 3 Armed Forces’’ and inserting ‘‘Any such election 4 shall be made during the 90-day period beginning on 5 the day that is 180 days after the date on which the 6 individual initially enters initial training’’; and 7 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘that such 8 individual is entitled to such pay’’ and inserting 9 ‘‘that begin after the date that is 270 days after the 10 date on which the individual initially enters initial 11 training’’. 12 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 13 subsection (a) shall take effect 180 days after the date 14 of enactment of this Act. 15 SEC. 103. PHASE OUT OF ALL-VOLUNTEER EDUCATIONAL 16 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 17 Subsection (a)(1)(A) of section 3011 of title 38, 18 United States Code, as amended by section 1, is further 19 amended by striking ‘‘after June 30, 1985’’ and inserting 20 ‘‘during the period beginning July 1, 1985, and ending 21 September 30, 2030’’. 22 SEC. 104. REQUIREMENTS FOR IN-STATE TUITION. 23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3679(c) of title 38, 24 United States Code, is amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:46 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7952.IH H7952 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7952 IH (1) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘less than 1 three years before the date of enrollment in the 2 course concerned’’; and 3 (2) in paragraph (4)— 4 (A) by striking ‘‘It shall’’ and inserting 5 ‘‘(A) It shall’’; and 6 (B) by adding at the end the following new 7 subparagraph: 8 ‘‘(B) To the extent feasible, the Secretary shall make 9 publicly available on the internet website of the Depart- 10 ment a database explaining any requirements described in 11 subparagraph (A) that are established by a public institu- 12 tion of higher learning for an individual to be charged tui- 13 tion and fees at a rate that is equal to or less than the 14 rate the institution charges for tuition and fees for resi- 15 dents of the State in which the institution is located. The 16 Secretary shall disapprove a course of education provided 17 by such an institution that does not provide the Sec- 18 retary— 19 ‘‘(i) an initial explanation of such requirements; 20 and 21 ‘‘(ii) not later than 90 days after the date on 22 which any such requirements change, the updated 23 requirements.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:46 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7952.IH H7952 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7952 IH (b) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by this 1 section shall apply with respect to a quarter, semester, or 2 term, as applicable, commencing on or after August 1, 3 2021. 4 SEC. 105. EXPANSION OF AUTHORITY FOR CERTAIN QUALI- 5 FYING WORK-STUDY ACTIVITIES FOR PUR- 6 POSES OF THE EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 7 PROGRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VET- 8 ERANS AFFAIRS TO INCLUDE OUTREACH 9 SERVICES PROVIDED THROUGH CONGRES- 10 SIONAL OFFICES. 11 Section 3485(a)(4) of title 38, United States Code, 12 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub- 13 paragraph: 14 ‘‘(K) The following activities carried out at the 15 offices of Members of Congress for such Members: 16 ‘‘(i) The distribution of information to 17 members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and 18 their dependents about the benefits and services 19 under laws administered by the Secretary and 20 other appropriate governmental and nongovern- 21 mental programs. 22 ‘‘(ii) The preparation and processing of pa- 23 pers and other documents, including documents 24 to assist in the preparation and presentation of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:46 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7952.IH H7952 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7952 IH claims for benefits under laws administered by 1 the Secretary.’’. 2 TITLE II—BURIAL MATTERS 3 SEC. 201. TRANSPORTATION OF DECEASED VETERANS TO 4 VETERANS’ CEMETERIES. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 2308 of 6 title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘in 7 a national cemetery’’ and inserting ‘‘in a national ceme- 8 tery or a covered veterans’ cemetery’’. 9 (b) COVERED VETERANS’ CEMETERY DEFINED.— 10 Section 2308 of such title is amended by adding at the 11 end the following new subsection: 12 ‘‘(c) COVERED VETERANS’ CEMETERY DEFINED.— 13 In this section, the term ‘covered veterans’ cemetery’ 14 means a veterans’ cemetery— 15 ‘‘(1) in which a deceased veteran described in 16 subsection (b) is eligible to be buried; and 17 ‘‘(2) for which the Secretary has made a grant 18 under section 2408 of this title.’’. 19 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 2308 of 20 such title is amended in the section heading by adding 21 at the end the following: ‘‘or a veterans’ cemetery’’. 22 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 23 at the beginning of chapter 23 of such title is amended 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:46 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7952.IH H7952 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7952 IH by striking the item relating to section 2308 and inserting 1 the following new item: 2 ‘‘2308. Transportation of deceased veteran to a national cemetery or a veterans’ cemetery.’’. SEC. 202. INCREASE IN CERTAIN FUNERAL BENEFITS 3 UNDER LAWS ADMINISTERED BY THE SEC- 4 RETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 5 (a) FUNERAL EXPENSES FOR NON-SERVICE CON- 6 NECTED DISABILITIES.—Chapter 23 of title 38, United 7 States Code, is amended as follows: 8 (1) By transferring subsection (b) of section 9 2302 to the end of section 2303 and redesignating 10 it as subsection (d). 11 (2) By striking section 2302. 12 (3) In section 2303— 13 (A) in the section heading, by striking 14 ‘‘Death in Department facility’’ and in- 15 serting ‘‘Death from non-service-con- 16 nected disability’’; and 17 (B) in subsection (a)— 18 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘a 19 veteran dies in a facility described in para- 20 graph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘a veteran de- 21 scribed in paragraph (2) dies’’; 22 (ii) by striking paragraph (2) and in- 23 serting the following new paragraph: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:46 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7952.IH H7952 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7952 IH ‘‘(2) A veteran described in this paragraph is a de- 1 ceased veteran who is not covered by section 2307 and 2 who meets any of the following criteria: 3 ‘‘(A) The deceased veteran dies in— 4 ‘‘(i) a facility of the Department (as de- 5 fined in section 1701(3) of this title) to which 6 the deceased veteran was properly admitted for 7 hospital, nursing home, or domiciliary care 8 under section 1710 or 1711(a) of this title; or 9 ‘‘(ii) an institution at which the deceased 10 veteran was, at the time of death, receiving— 11 ‘‘(I) hospital care in accordance with 12 sections 1703A, 8111, and 8153 of this 13 title; 14 ‘‘(II) nursing home care under section 15 1720 of this title; or 16 ‘‘(III) nursing home care for which 17 payments are made under section 1741 of 18 this title. 19 ‘‘(B) At the time of death, the deceased veteran 20 (including a person who died during a period deemed 21 to be active military, naval, or air service under sec- 22 tion 106(c) of this title) is in receipt of compensa- 23 tion (or but for the receipt of retirement pay would 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:46 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7952.IH H7952 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7952 IH have been entitled to compensation) or was in re- 1 ceipt of pension. 2 ‘‘(C) The Secretary determines— 3 ‘‘(i) the deceased veteran (including a per- 4 son who died during a period deemed to be ac- 5 tive military, naval, or air service under section 6 106(c) of this title) has no next of kin or other 7 person claiming the body of the deceased vet- 8 eran; and 9 ‘‘(ii) that there are not available sufficient 10 resources to cover burial and funeral ex- 11 penses.’’; 12 (iii) in subsection (b)— 13 (I) by striking ‘‘section 2302 of 14 this title and’’; and 15 (II) by str [Text truncated for display. 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