Va Overpayment Accountability Act
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4360) 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.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 4360
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. 5320. 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 chapter 53 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new item: ``5320. 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.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. 4360.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4360, the VA Overpayment Accountability Act, introduced by Representative Kim.
This bill protects veterans by ensuring that the Department of Veterans Affairs reviews and updates its systems and policies to minimize overpayments in the future and mitigate negative effects on veterans.
Now, under certain circumstances, if the Department of Veterans Affairs makes accounting errors that result in overpayment of benefits, veterans are left saddled with debt. Then, within a short period of time, these veterans are required to pay these overpayments back to VA, placing an extraordinary financial burden on them.
The VA can, and sometimes does, withhold part of veterans' monthly benefit checks to recover overpayments, exacerbating these financial hardships.
In some cases, VA may send these debts to a debt collection agency, compounding veterans' financial stress.
If the information submitted by VA to a consumer reporting agency is incorrect either because VA later determines its payment was not in error or because VA decides to waive the debt, veterans may still suffer harm to their credit. This bill makes sure VA rights this wrong.
Under this legislation, VA would be required to instruct the consumer reporting agency to remove any erroneous information from veterans' consumer reports. And if VA employs a debt collection agency and that agency then reports erroneous information to a consumer reporting agency, VA must instruct the debt agency to fix the error.
Importantly, this bill also requires VA to maintain future tracking metrics. This information tracks the number of VA overpayments, average amount of overpayment, and how often VA grants and denies veterans' requests for relief from this debt.
As we know, VA's information technology system hinders its ability to manage erroneous or duplicate payments. That is why this legislation requires an audit of overpayments, so whether it is its staffing shortages or IT failures, data can guide VA and Congress on where resources should be directed.
I wholeheartedly support this legislation to financially protect veterans, because it is an essential step that we need to take to ensure that veterans are not forced to face severe consequences due to VA's mistakes.
Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4360, the VA Overpayment Accountability Act.
Veterans receive overpayments for many reasons. For example, a veteran may erroneously receive drill pay and disability compensation at the same time. A veteran may reduce their course load after their GI Bill payment has been sent from the Department of Veterans Affairs to the school, or a veterans' marital status may have changed, but they continue to receive additional compensation for dependents. As a result, VA creates a debt that the veteran must pay back.
In some instances, the veteran may be aware that he or she had been overpaid and that VA will most likely ask them to return the money, but in other circumstances, they may not.
I am concerned that many overpayments are caused by VA's negligence, not the veterans.
Unexpectedly receiving a debt notification letter can create big problems for veterans and their families, especially if they can't afford to pay VA back; therefore, it is critical that the VA has the tools it needs to effectively prevent overpayments, and that if certain types of overpayments are unavoidable, VA's recoupment process is fair and considerate for veterans.
This bill is sponsored by Congressman Andy Kim from New Jersey and is intended to ensure that veterans are not unduly harmed by VA's debt collection process.
Madam Speaker, I appreciate his leadership on this issue, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4360.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Kim), my good friend.
Mr. Speaker, I want to extend, again, my gratitude for the insightful and hard work that the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Kim) has done with this legislation to correct an injustice which has been occurring. I thank Congressman Kim for this very important legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I also want to extend my gratitude to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), whose district I have visited and whose medical center I have also visited. And I have to say that he runs a crack operation. That came out wrong.
He runs, not a crack operation, but amazing constituent services for his veterans.
You know, this unfortunate situation where the VA overpays veterans and then claws back those payments will be corrected by this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I want to say I have no further speakers and I am prepared to close.
Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee.
Mr. Speaker, I don't know about New Jersey and California, but a crack operation where we are is a good one, so I think I would take that as a compliment.
I thank Mr. Kim and my good friend Mr. Hill for their work on this.
It does create, as the chairman said, tremendous anxiety and problems for our veterans. It is needless. Many times, it is just a bureaucratic mistake. I think all of us have suffered those with the IRS or whomever, so this is a way to correct that. I thank these Members for bringing it up.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this bill, and I urge Members to.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 4360, and I yield back the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source