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[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5245 Engrossed in House (EH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5245

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 
  To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for a bar on the 
recovery of certain payments or overpayments made by the Department of 
     Veterans Affairs by reason of delays in processing of certain 
                  information, 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 ``Stopping Harm and Implementing 
Enhanced Lead-time for Debts for Veterans Act'' or the ``SHIELD for 
Veterans Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF DEBT ARISING FROM OVERPAYMENT DUE TO DELAY IN 
              PROCESSING BY THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) Bar to Recovery.--
            (1) In general.--Chapter 53 of title 38, United States 
        Code, is amended by inserting after section 5302A the following 
        new section:
``Sec. 5302B. Prohibition of debt arising from overpayment due to delay 
              in processing
    ``(a) Limitation.--No individual may incur a debt to the United 
States that--
            ``(1) arises from any program or benefit administered by 
        the Under Secretary for Benefits; and
            ``(2) is attributable to the failure of an employee or 
        official of the Department to process information provided by 
        or on behalf of that individual within applicable timeliness 
        standards established by the Secretary.
    ``(b) Notice to Beneficiary.--If the Secretary determines that the 
Secretary has made an overpayment to an individual, the Secretary shall 
provide notice to the individual of the overpayment. Such notice shall 
include an explanation of the right of the individual to dispute the 
overpayment or to request a waiver of indebtedness.
    ``(c) Delay on Collection.--The Secretary may not take any action 
under section 3711 of title 31 regarding an overpayment described in a 
notice under subsection (b) until the date that is 90 days after the 
date the Secretary issues such notice.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the 
        item relating to section 5302A the following new item:

``5302B. Prohibition of debt arising from overpayment due to delay in 
                            processing.''.
            (3) Deadline.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
        prescribe regulations to establish standards under section 
        5302B(a)(2) of such title, as added by subsection (a), not 
        later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
        Act.
    (b) Plan for Improved Notification and Communication of Debts.--Not 
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 
one year thereafter, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to 
Congress a report on the improvement of the notification of and 
communication with individuals who receive overpayments made by the 
Secretary. Such report shall include each of the following:
            (1) The plan of the Secretary to carry out each of the 
        following:
                    (A) The development and implementation of a 
                mechanism by which individuals enrolled in the patient 
                enrollment system under section 1705 of title 38, 
                United States Code, may view their monthly patient 
                medical statements electronically.
                    (B) The development and implementation of a 
                mechanism by which individuals eligible for benefits 
                under the laws administered by the Secretary may 
                receive electronic correspondence relating to debt and 
                overpayment information.
                    (C) The development and implementation, by not 
                later than October 1, 2022, of a mechanism by which 
                individuals eligible for benefits under the laws 
                administered by the Secretary may access information 
                related to Department of Veterans Affairs debt 
                electronically.
                    (D) The improvement and clarification of Department 
                communications relating to overpayments and debt 
                collection, including letters and electronic 
                correspondence. The Secretary shall develop such 
                improvements and clarifications in consultation with 
                veterans service organizations and other relevant non-
                governmental organizations.
                    (E) The development and implementation, by not 
                later than October 1, 2022, of a mechanism by which 
                veterans may update their dependency information 
                electronically.
            (2) A description of the current efforts and plans for 
        improving the accuracy of payments to individuals entitled to 
        benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary, 
        including specific data matching agreements.
            (3) A description of steps to be taken to improve the 
        identification of underpayments to such individuals and to 
        improve Department procedures and policies to ensure that such 
        individuals who are underpaid receive adequate compensation 
        payments.
            (4) A list of actions completed, implementation steps, and 
        timetables for each requirement described in paragraphs (1) 
        through (3).
            (5) A description of any new legislative authority required 
        to complete any such requirement.

SEC. 3. THRESHOLD FOR REPORTING DEBTS TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 53 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by adding after section 5319 the following new section:
``Sec. 5320. Threshold for reporting debts to consumer reporting 
              agencies
    ``The Secretary shall prescribe regulations that establish the 
minimum amount of a claim or debt, arising from a benefit administered 
by the Under Secretary for Benefits or Under Secretary for Health, that 
the Secretary will report to a consumer reporting agency under section 
3711 of title 31.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by adding after the item relating to section 
5319 the following new item:

``5320. Threshold for reporting debts to consumer reporting 
                            agencies.''.
    (c) Deadline.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall prescribe 
regulations under section 5320 of such title, as added by subsection 
(a), not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.

SEC. 4. REMOVAL OF DEPENDENTS FROM AWARD OF COMPENSATION OR PENSION.

    The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that--
            (1) a veteran may remove any dependent from an award of 
        compensation or pension to the veteran using the eBenefits 
        system of the Department of Veterans Affairs, or a successor 
        system; and
            (2) such removal takes effect not later than 60 days after 
        the date on which the veteran makes such removal.

SEC. 5. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

    The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying 
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by 
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO 
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional 
Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that 
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

            Passed the House of Representatives September 23, 2020.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
116th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 5245

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

  To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for a bar on the 
recovery of certain payments or overpayments made by the Department of 
     Veterans Affairs by reason of delays in processing of certain 
                  information, and for other purposes.
```