[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5931 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5931
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the due process
accorded veterans with respect to recovery of overpayments made by the
Department and other amounts owed by veterans to the United States, to
improve the processing of veterans benefits by the Department of
Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 9, 2021
Mr. Kim of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. Hill) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans'
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the due process
accorded veterans with respect to recovery of overpayments made by the
Department and other amounts owed by veterans to the United States, to
improve the processing of veterans benefits by the Department of
Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``VA Overpayment Accountability Act''.
SEC. 2. REPAIR OF CREDIT.
(a) In General.--Chapter 53 of title 38, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 5320A. Correction of erroneous information submitted to consumer
reporting agencies
``(a) Correcting Errors by the Department.--In any case in which
the Secretary finds that the Department has submitted erroneous
information to a consumer reporting agency about the indebtedness of
any person who has been determined by the Secretary to be indebted to
the United States by virtue of the participation of that person in a
benefits program administered by the Secretary, the Secretary shall--
``(1) instruct the consumer reporting agency to remove such
erroneous information from the consumer report of such person
or take such other action as may be required to ensure that
such erroneous information is not included in the report of
such person; and
``(2) transmit to the consumer reporting agency such
information as the consumer reporting agency may require to
take such appropriate actions.
``(b) Correcting Errors by Debt Collectors.--In any case in which
the Secretary finds that a debt collector acting on behalf of the
Department has submitted erroneous information to a consumer reporting
agency about the indebtedness of any person who has been determined by
the Secretary to be indebted to the United States by virtue of the
participation of that person in a benefits program administered by the
Secretary, the Secretary shall instruct the debt collector to request
the consumer reporting agency remove such erroneous information from
the consumer report of such person or take such other action as may be
required to ensure such erroneous information is not included in the
report of such person.
``(c) Notice.--Not later than 60 days after the date on which the
Secretary issues an instruction under subsection (a)(1) or (b) with
respect to a person, the Secretary shall notify the person that the
Secretary issued such instruction.
``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The terms `consumer report' and `consumer reporting
agency' have the meanings given such terms in section 603 of
the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a).
``(2) The term `debt collector' has the meaning given such
term in section 803 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
(15 U.S.C. 1692a).''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of
such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item:
``5320A. Correction of erroneous information submitted to consumer
reporting agencies.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply with
respect to deductions made under section 5314 of such title,
administrative costs under section 5315 of such title, and suits filed
under section 5316 of such title on or after such date.
SEC. 3. IMPROVED PROCESSING OF BENEFITS BY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall improve the information
technology of the Department of Veterans Affairs (including the
eBenefits system or successor system) as may be necessary to achieve
the following:
(1) Notification of debts incurred.--The Secretary shall
provide a notification to a person who--
(A) is entitled to a payment from the Secretary
under a benefits program administered by the Secretary;
(B) incurs a debt to the United States under that
benefits program; and
(C) elects to receive such notifications.
(2) Review of information regarding dependents.--A person
entitled to a payment from the Secretary under a benefits
program administered by the Secretary may review information
relating to dependents of that person.
(3) Tracking metrics.--The Secretary shall be able to
track--
(A) the number and amount of payments made by the
Secretary to a person entitled to a payment from the
Secretary under a benefits program administered by the
Secretary who incurs a debt to the United States under
such program;
(B) the average debt to the United States incurred
by a person described in subparagraph (A);
(C) how frequently the Secretary approves and
denies applications for relief under section 5302(a) of
title 38, United States Code; and
(D) such other metrics the Secretary determines
appropriate.
SEC. 4. AUDIT OF ERRONEOUS PAYMENTS BY VETERANS BENEFITS
ADMINISTRATION; PLAN OF CORRECTION.
(a) Audit.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall complete an audit
to determine the following:
(1) The frequency by which the Department of Veterans
Affairs makes an error that results in a payment to a person by
virtue of such person's participation in a benefits program
administered by the Secretary that such person is not entitled
to or in an amount that exceeds the amount to which the person
is entitled.
(2) Whether and to what degree vacant positions in the
Veterans Benefits Administration affect such frequency.
(b) Plan.--Not later than 30 days after the completion of the audit
under subsection (a), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to
the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of
Representatives a plan and description of resources necessary to align
information technology systems to ensure that errors described in
subsection (a)(1) are not the result of communication or absence of
communication between information technology systems.
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