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 purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Veteran Benefits Enhancement and Expansion Act of 

4 2020’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

6 this Act is as follows: 

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 Educational Assistance Program of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

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 Department 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 pension from the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 304. Overpayments of pension to veterans receiving pension from the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 305. Evaluation of additional actions for verifying direct deposit information provided by veterans on applications for veterans pension. 

Sec. 306. Annual report on efforts of Department of Veterans Affairs to address the financial exploitation of veterans receiving pension. 

Sec. 307. Notice regarding fees charged in connection with filing an application 

for veterans pension. 


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Sec. 308. Outreach plan for educating vulnerable veterans about potential financial 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 professionals to perform medical disability examinations for the Department 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. 

1 TITLE I—EDUCATION MATTERS 

2 SEC. 101. EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR FRY SCHOLAR3 SHIP TO CHILDREN AND SPOUSES OF CER4 TAIN DECEASED MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 

5 FORCES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) of section 3311 of 

7 title 38, United States Code, as amended by section 105 

8 of the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance 

9 Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–48), is further amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating paragraph (9) as para11 graph (11); and 

12 (2) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol13 lowing new paragraphs (9) and (10): 

14 ‘‘(9) An individual who is the child or spouse of 

15 a person who, on or after September 11, 2001, dies 

16 in line of duty while serving on duty other than ac17 tive duty as a member of the Armed Forces. 


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1 ‘‘(10) An individual who is the child or spouse 

2 of a member of the Selected Reserve who dies on or 

3 after September 11, 2001, while a member of the 

4 Selected Reserve from a service-connected dis5 ability.’’. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

7 (1) Subsection (f) of such section is amended 

8 by striking ‘‘paragraph (8)’’ each place it appears 

9 and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (8), (9), and (10)’’. 

10 (2) In section 3313(c)(1), by striking ‘‘(8), or 

11 (9)’’ and inserting ‘‘(8), (9), (10), or (11)’’. 

12 (3) In section 3317(a), in the second sentence, 

13 by striking ‘‘paragraphs (1), (2), (8), and (9)’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘paragraphs (1), (2), (8), (9), (10), and 

15 (11)’’. 

16 (4) Section 3322 of such title is amended— 

17 (A) in subsection (e), by striking both 

18 ‘‘sections 3311(b)(8) and 3319’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘section 3319 and paragraph (8), (9), or (10) 

20 of section 3311 of this title’’; 

21 (B) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘section 

22 3311(b)(8)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (8), (9), 

23 or (10) of section 3311 of this title’’; and 

24 (C) in subsection (h)(2), by striking ‘‘ei25 ther section 3311(b)(8) or chapter 35’’ and inVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4511.RS S4511

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1 serting ‘‘either chapter 35 or paragraph (8), 

2 (9), or (10) of section 3311’’. 

3 (c) APPLICABILITY DATE.—The amendments made 

4 by this section shall take effect immediately after the 

5 amendments made by section 105 of the Harry W. 

6 Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 

7 (Public Law 115–48) take effect and shall apply with re8 spect to a quarter, semester, or term, as applicable, com9 mencing on or after August 1, 2020. 

10 SEC. 102. PERIOD FOR ELECTION TO RECEIVE BENEFITS 

11 UNDER ALL-VOLUNTEER EDUCATIONAL AS12 SISTANCE PROGRAM OF DEPARTMENT OF 

13 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3011 of title 38, United 

15 States Code, is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘Any such 

17 election shall be made at the time the individual ini18 tially enters on active duty as a member of the 

19 Armed Forces’’ and inserting ‘‘Any such election 

20 shall be made during the 90-day period beginning on 

21 the day that is 180 days after the date on which the 

22 individual initially enters initial training’’; and 

23 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘that such 

24 individual is entitled to such pay’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘that begin after the date that is 270 days after the 


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1 date on which the individual initially enters initial 

2 training’’. 

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

4 subsection (a) shall take effect 180 days after the date 

5 of enactment of this Act. 

6 SEC. 103. PHASE OUT OF ALL-VOLUNTEER EDUCATIONAL 

7 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

8 Subsection (a)(1)(A) of section 3011 of title 38, 

9 United States Code, as amended by section 102, is further 

10 amended by striking ‘‘after June 30, 1985’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘during the period beginning July 1, 1985, and ending 

12 September 30, 2030’’. 

13 SEC. 104. REQUIREMENTS FOR IN-STATE TUITION. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3679(c) of title 38, 

15 United States Code, is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘less than 

17 three years before the date of enrollment in the 

18 course concerned’’; and 

19 (2) in paragraph (4)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘It shall’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘(A) It shall’’; and 

22 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

23 subparagraph: 

24 ‘‘(B) To the extent feasible, the Secretary shall make 

25 publicly available on the internet website of the DepartVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4511.RS S4511

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1 ment a database explaining any requirements described in 

2 subparagraph (A) that are established by a public institu3 tion of higher learning for an individual to be charged tui4 tion and fees at a rate that is equal to or less than the 

5 rate the institution charges for tuition and fees for resi6 dents of the State in which the institution is located. The 

7 Secretary shall disapprove a course of education provided 

8 by such an institution that does not provide the Sec9 retary— 

10 ‘‘(i) an initial explanation of such requirements; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(ii) not later than 90 days after the date on 

13 which any such requirements change, the updated 

14 requirements.’’. 

15 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by this 

16 section shall apply with respect to a quarter, semester, or 

17 term, as applicable, commencing on or after August 1, 

18 2020. 


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1 SEC. 105. EXPANSION OF AUTHORITY FOR CERTAIN QUALI2 FYING WORK-STUDY ACTIVITIES FOR PUR3 POSES OF THE EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 

4 PROGRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VET5 ERANS AFFAIRS TO INCLUDE OUTREACH 

6 SERVICES PROVIDED THROUGH CONGRES7 SIONAL OFFICES. 

8 Section 3485(a)(4) of title 38, United States Code, 

9 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub10 paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(K) The following activities carried out at the 

12 offices of Members of Congress for such Members: 

13 ‘‘(i) The distribution of information to 

14 members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and 

15 their dependents about the benefits and services 

16 under laws administered by the Secretary and 

17 other appropriate governmental and nongovern18 mental programs. 

19 ‘‘(ii) The preparation and processing of pa20 pers and other documents, including documents 

21 to assist in the preparation and presentation of 

22 claims for benefits under laws administered by 

23 the Secretary.’’. 


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1 TITLE II—BURIAL MATTERS 

2 SEC. 201. TRANSPORTATION OF DECEASED VETERANS TO 

3 VETERANS’ CEMETERIES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 2308 of 

5 title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘in 

6 a national cemetery’’ and inserting ‘‘in a national ceme7 tery or a covered veterans’ cemetery’’. 

8 (b) COVERED VETERANS’ CEMETERY DEFINED.— 

9 Section 2308 of such title is amended by adding at the 

10 end the following new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(c) COVERED VETERANS’ CEMETERY DEFINED.— 

12 In this section, the term ‘covered veterans’ cemetery’ 

13 means a veterans’ cemetery— 

14 ‘‘(1) in which a deceased veteran described in 

15 subsection (b) is eligible to be buried; and 

16 ‘‘(2) for which the Secretary has made a grant 

17 under section 2408 of this title.’’. 

18 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 2308 of 

19 such title is amended in the section heading by adding 

20 at the end the following: ‘‘or a veterans’ cemetery’’. 

21 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

22 at the beginning of chapter 23 of such title is amended 

23 by striking the item relating to section 2308 and inserting 

24 the following new item: 

‘‘2308. Transportation of deceased veteran to a national cemetery or a veterans’ 

cemetery.’’. 


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1 SEC. 202. INCREASE IN CERTAIN FUNERAL BENEFITS 

2 UNDER LAWS ADMINISTERED BY THE SEC3 RETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

4 (a) FUNERAL EXPENSES FOR NON-SERVICE-CON5 NECTED DISABILITIES.—Chapter 23 of title 38, United 

6 States Code, is amended as follows: 

7 (1) By transferring subsection (b) of section 

8 2302 to the end of section 2303 and redesignating 

9 such subsection as subsection (d). 

10 (2) By striking section 2302. 

11 (3) In section 2303— 

12 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

13 ‘‘Death in Department facility’’ and in14 serting ‘‘Death from non-service-con15 nected disability’’; and 

16 (B) in subsection (a)— 

17 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘a 

18 veteran dies in a facility described in para19 graph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘a veteran de20 scribed in paragraph (2) dies’’; 

21 (ii) by striking paragraph (2) and in22 serting the following new paragraph (2): 

23 ‘‘(2) A veteran described in this paragraph is a de24 ceased veteran who is not covered by section 2307 and 

25 who meets any of the following criteria: 

26 ‘‘(A) The deceased veteran dies in— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a facility of the Department (as de2 fined in section 1701(3) of this title) to which 

3 the deceased veteran was properly admitted for 

4 hospital, nursing home, or domiciliary care 

5 under section 1710 or 1711(a) of this title; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) an institution at which the deceased 

7 veteran was, at the time of death, receiving— 

8 ‘‘(I) hospital care in accordance with 

9 sections 1703A, 8111, and 8153 of this 

10 title; 

11 ‘‘(II) nursing home care under section 

12 1720 of this title; or 

13 ‘‘(III) nursing home care for which 

14 payments are made under section 1741 of 

15 this title. 

16 ‘‘(B) At the time of death, the deceased veteran 

17 (including a person who died during a period deemed 

18 to be active military, naval, or air service under sec19 tion 106(c) of this title) is in receipt of compensa20 tion under chapter 11 of this title (or but for the re21 ceipt of retirement pay would have been entitled to 

22 such compensation) or was in receipt of pension 

23 under chapter 15 of this title. 

24 ‘‘(C) The Secretary determines— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the deceased veteran (including a per2 son who died during a period deemed to be ac3 tive military, naval, or air service under section 

4 106(c) of this title) has no next of kin or other 

5 person claiming the body of the deceased vet6 eran; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) that there are not available sufficient 

8 resources to cover burial and funeral ex9 penses.’’; 

10 (iii) in subsection (b)— 

11 (I) in the matter preceding para12 graph (1), by striking ‘‘section 2302 

13 of this title and’’; and 

14 (II) in paragraph (2), by striking 

15 ‘‘under section 2302 of this title or’’; 

16 and 

17 (iv) in subsection (d), as added by 

18 paragraph (1) of this subsection, by strik19 ing ‘‘Except as’’ and inserting ‘‘With re20 spect to a deceased veteran described in 

21 subparagraph (B) or (C) of subsection 

22 (a)(2), except as’’. 

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

24 (1) TITLE 38.—Such title is amended as fol25 lows: 


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1 (A) In section 2304, by striking ‘‘Applica2 tions for payments under section 2302 of this 

3 title’’ and inserting ‘‘Applications for payments 

4 under section 2303 of this title regarding vet5 erans described in subparagraph (B) or (C) of 

6 subsection (a)(2) of such section’’. 

7 (B) In section 2307, by striking ‘‘sections 

8 2302 and 2303(a)(1) and (b)(2) of this title’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘subsections (a)(1) and (b)(2) of 

10 section 2303 of this title’’. 

11 (C) In section 2308— 

12 (i) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘pur13 suant to section 2302 or 2307 of this 

14 title,’’ and inserting ‘‘pursuant to section 

15 2303 of this title regarding veterans de16 scribed in subparagraph (B) or (C) of sub17 section (a)(2) of such section, or pursuant 

18 to section 2307 of this title,’’; and 

19 (ii) in subsection (b)(3)— 

20 (I) by striking ‘‘section 2302’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘section 2303’’; and 

22 (II) by striking ‘‘subsection 

23 (a)(2)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

24 (a)(2)(C)’’. 


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1 (D) In section 113(c)(1), by striking 

2 ‘‘2302,’’. 

3 (E) In section 5101(a)(1)(B)(i), by strik4 ing ‘‘2302’’ and inserting ‘‘2303’’. 

5 (2) EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE.—Section 11 

6 of the Military Selective Service Act (50 U.S.C. 

7 3810) is amended by striking ‘‘section 2302(a) of 

8 title 38’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2303 of title 38, 

9 United States Code, regarding veterans described in 

10 subparagraph (B) or (C) of subsection (a)(2) of such 

11 section’’. 

12 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

13 at the beginning of chapter 23 of such title is amended 

14 by striking the items relating to sections 2302 and 2303 

15 and inserting the following new item: 

‘‘2303. Death from non-service-connected disability; plot allowance.’’. 

16 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

17 this Act shall apply to deaths that occur on or after the 

18 date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

19 this Act. 

20 SEC. 203. OUTER BURIAL RECEPTACLES FOR EACH NEW 

21 GRAVE IN CEMETERIES THAT ARE THE SUB22 JECTS OF CERTAIN GRANTS MADE BY THE 

23 SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

24 Section 2306(e) of title 38, United States Code, is 

25 amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ‘‘, or in 

2 a cemetery that is the subject of a grant to a State 

3 or a tribal organization under section 2408 of this 

4 title,’’ after ‘‘National Cemetery Administration’’; 

5 and 

6 (2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 

7 following new paragraph (2): 

8 ‘‘(2)(A) The use of outer burial receptacles in a ceme9 tery under the control of the National Cemetery Adminis10 tration or in a cemetery that is the subject of a grant to 

11 a State or a tribal organization under section 2408 of this 

12 title shall be in accordance with regulations or procedures 

13 approved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

14 ‘‘(B) The use of outer burial receptacles in Arlington 

15 National Cemetery shall be in accordance with regulations 

16 or procedures approved by the Secretary of the Army. 

17 ‘‘(C) The use of outer burial receptacles in a national 

18 cemetery administered by the National Park Service shall 

19 be in accordance with regulations or procedures approved 

20 by the Secretary of the Interior.’’. 


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1 SEC. 204. PROVISION OF INSCRIPTIONS FOR SPOUSES AND 

2 CHILDREN ON CERTAIN HEADSTONES AND 

3 MARKERS FURNISHED BY THE SECRETARY 

4 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2306 of title 38, United 

6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(j)(1) In addition to any other authority under this 

9 section, in the case of an individual whose grave is not 

10 in a covered cemetery (as that term is defined in sub11 section (f)(2)) and for whom the Secretary has furnished 

12 a headstone or marker under subsection (a) or (d), the 

13 Secretary, if feasible and upon request, may replace the 

14 headstone or marker to add an inscription for the sur15 viving spouse or eligible dependent child of such individual 

16 following the death of the surviving spouse or eligible de17 pendent child. 

18 ‘‘(2) If the spouse or eligible dependent child of an 

19 individual referred to in paragraph (1) predeceases the in20 dividual, the Secretary may, if feasible and upon request, 

21 include an inscription for the spouse or dependent child 

22 on the headstone or marker furnished for the individual 

23 under subsection (a) or (d).’’. 

24 (b) APPLICATION.—Subsection (j) of section 2306 of 

25 title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), 


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1 shall apply with respect to an individual who dies on or 

2 after October 1, 2021. 

3 TITLE III—REPRESENTATION 

4 AND FINANCIAL EXPLOI5 TATION MATTERS 

6 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

7 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Financial Refuge for 

8 Every Elderly Veteran Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘FREE Vet9 eran Act of 2020’’. 

10 SEC. 302. PENALTIES FOR REPRESENTING VETERANS AS 

11 AGENTS AND ATTORNEYS WITHOUT REC12 OGNITION BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS AF13 FAIRS. 

14 (a) PENALTIES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 5905 of title 38, 

16 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘§ 5905. Penalty for certain acts 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Whoever commits any of the fol19 lowing acts shall be fined as provided in title 18, or impris20 oned for not more than one year, or both: 

21 ‘‘(1) Undertakes or attempts to undertake any 

22 work in furtherance of the preparation, presentation, 

23 or prosecution of a claim under a law administered 

24 by the Secretary— 


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1 ‘‘(A) without recognition by the Secretary 

2 under sections 5902 through 5904 of this title; 

3 or 

4 ‘‘(B) while suspended or excluded under 

5 section 5904(b) of this title. 

6 ‘‘(2) Unlawfully withholds from any claimant or 

7 beneficiary any part of a benefit or claim under the 

8 laws administered by the Secretary that is allowed 

9 and due to the claimant or beneficiary. 

10 ‘‘(b) SEEKING RECOGNITION.—Subsection (a)(1)(A) 

11 shall not be construed to include the seeking of recognition 

12 from the Secretary to prepare, present, or prosecute a 

13 claim under a law administered by the Secretary. 

14 ‘‘(c) LEGAL INTERNS, LAW STUDENTS, AND PARA15 LEGALS.—Subsection (a)(1)(A) shall not apply to a legal 

16 intern, a law student, or a paralegal undertaking or at17 tempting to undertake work in furtherance of the prepara18 tion, presentation, or prosecution of a claim under a law 

19 administered by the Secretary to the degree that such 

20 legal intern, law student, or paralegal is doing so— 

21 ‘‘(1) on behalf of or under the supervision of an 

22 attorney recognized by the Secretary under sections 

23 5902 through 5904 of this title; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) in a manner that is consistent with the 

2 Model Rules of Professional Conduct of the Amer3 ican Bar Association.’’. 

4 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

5 by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to acts 

6 committed after the date that is 180 days after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act. 

8 (b) BIENNIAL REVIEWS BY GENERAL COUNSEL OF

9 THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.—Section 

10 5904 of such title is amended by adding at the end the 

11 following new subsection: 

12 ‘‘(e) BIENNIAL REVIEWS BY GENERAL COUNSEL.— 

13 (1) Not less frequently than once every two years, the 

14 General Counsel of the Department shall submit to Con15 gress a report on activities under this section. 

16 ‘‘(2) Each report submitted under subparagraph (A) 

17 shall include, for the period covered by the report, the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(A) A discussion of the rates generally charged 

20 for services covered by this section. 

21 ‘‘(B) A discussion of the requests made by 

22 claimants under subsection (c)(3)(A). 

23 ‘‘(C) A discussion of the fees reduced under 

24 such subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(D) The number of claims for benefits under 

2 laws administered by the Secretary that were pre3 pared, presented, or prosecuted by an individual act4 ing as an agent or attorney who did so while not rec5 ognized under this section.’’. 

6 SEC. 303. PLAN TO ADDRESS THE FINANCIAL EXPLOI7 TATION OF VETERANS RECEIVING PENSION 

8 FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF9 FAIRS. 

10 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF METHOD FOR SOLICITATION

11 AND COLLECTION OF INFORMATION.—Not later than one 

12 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec13 retary of Veterans Affairs shall develop a method for sys14 tematically soliciting and collecting information on com15 plaints received, referrals made, and actions taken by the 

16 pension management centers of the Department of Vet17 erans Affairs and any other relevant components of the 

18 Department, in cases of potential financial exploitation of 

19 individuals receiving pension under chapter 15 of title 38, 

20 United States Code. 

21 (b) PLAN TO ASSESS AND ADDRESS FINANCIAL EX22 PLOITATION OF VETERANS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 

24 and periodically update a plan— 


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1 (A) to regularly assess the information so2 licited and collected under subsection (a) to 

3 identify trends of potential financial exploitation 

4 of the individuals described in subsection (a) 

5 across the Department; and 

6 (B) to outline actions that the Department 

7 can take to improve education and training to 

8 address those trends. 

9 (2) SUBMISSION OF PLAN.—Not later than one 

10 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

11 not less frequently than once every two years there12 after, the Secretary shall submit the plan most re13 cently developed or updated under paragraph (1) 

14 to— 

15 (A) the Comptroller General of the United 

16 States; and 

17 (B) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

18 and the Special Committee on Aging of the 

19 Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

20 of the House of Representatives. 

21 SEC. 304. OVERPAYMENTS OF PENSION TO VETERANS RE22 CEIVING PENSION FROM THE DEPARTMENT 

23 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

24 (a) GUIDANCE AND TRAINING FOR CLAIMS PROC25 ESSORS.—As the Secretary considers necessary, but not 


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1 less frequently than once every three years, the Under Sec2 retary for Benefits of the Department of Veterans Affairs 

3 shall update guidance and training curriculum for the 

4 processors of claims for pension under chapter 15 of title 

5 38, United States Code, regarding the evaluation of ques6 tionable medical expenses on applications for pension, in7 cluding by updating such guidance with respect to what 

8 constitutes a questionable medical expense and by includ9 ing examples of such expenses. 

10 (b) IDENTIFICATION AND TRACKING.—The Under 

11 Secretary shall develop a method for identifying and track12 ing the number of individuals who have received overpay13 ments of pension under chapter 15 of title 38, United 

14 States Code. 

15 (c) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one year after 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act, and not later than 

17 October 31 of each fiscal year beginning thereafter, the 

18 Under Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that 

19 includes, for the period covered by the report— 

20 (1) the number of individuals who received 

21 overpayments of pension under chapter 15 of title 

22 38, United States Code; and 

23 (2) the reason for each overpayment. 


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1 SEC. 305. EVALUATION OF ADDITIONAL ACTIONS FOR 

2 VERIFYING DIRECT DEPOSIT INFORMATION 

3 PROVIDED BY VETERANS ON APPLICATIONS 

4 FOR VETERANS PENSION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for Benefits 

6 of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall— 

7 (1) conduct an evaluation of the feasibility and 

8 advisability of requiring the processors of claims for 

9 pension under chapter 15 of title 38, United States 

10 Code, to take additional actions to verify that the di11 rect deposit information provided by an individual on 

12 an application for pension is for the appropriate re13 cipient; and 

14 (2) identify such legislative or administrative 

15 actions as the Under Secretary considers appropriate 

16 to ensure that payments of pension are provided to 

17 the correct recipients. 

18 (b) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 240 days 

20 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

21 Under Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 

22 on the evaluation and identification under subsection 

23 (a). 

24 (2) CONTENTS.—The report required by para25 graph (1) shall include the following: 


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1 (A) The findings of the Under Secretary 

2 with respect to the evaluation conducted under 

3 subsection (a)(1). 

4 (B) The actions identified under subsection 

5 (a)(2). 

6 (C) A plan for implementing any adminis7 trative actions identified under subsection 

8 (a)(2). 

9 (D) A rationale for not implementing any 

10 actions evaluated under paragraph (1) of sub11 section (a) but not identified under paragraph 

12 (2) of such subsection. 

13 SEC. 306. ANNUAL REPORT ON EFFORTS OF DEPARTMENT 

14 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO ADDRESS THE FI15 NANCIAL EXPLOITATION OF VETERANS RE16 CEIVING PENSION. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than once 

18 each year, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit 

19 to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 

20 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep21 resentatives a report on efforts to address the financial 

22 exploitation of individuals receiving pension under chapter 

23 15 of title 38, United States Code. 


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1 (b) CONTENTS.—Each report required by subsection 

2 (a) shall include, for the period covered by the report, the 

3 following: 

4 (1) The number of individuals who received 

5 pension under chapter 15 of title 38, United States 

6 Code, who have been referred by any component of 

7 the Department of Veterans Affairs to the Office of 

8 Inspector General of the Department as likely or 

9 proven victims of financial exploitation. 

10 (2) The number of referrals and reports relat11 ing to the financial exploitation of such individuals 

12 made by the Department of Veterans Affairs to— 

13 (A) the Consumer Sentinel Network of the 

14 Federal Trade Commission; and 

15 (B) the Department of Justice. 

16 (3) A description of the actions taken as a re17 sult of such referrals and reports against— 

18 (A) individuals recognized by the Secretary 

19 as agents or attorneys under section 5904 of 

20 title 38, United States Code; and 

21 (B) individuals not so recognized. 


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1 SEC. 307. NOTICE REGARDING FEES CHARGED IN CONNEC2 TION WITH FILING AN APPLICATION FOR 

3 VETERANS PENSION. 

4 The Under Secretary for Benefits of the Department 

5 of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that every paper or elec6 tronic document relating to the receipt of pension under 

7 chapter 15 of title 38, United States Code, that is avail8 able to individuals who apply for such pension, including 

9 educational forms about or applications for such pension, 

10 includes a notice that the Department does not charge any 

11 fee in connection with the filing of an application for such 

12 pension. 

13 SEC. 308. OUTREACH PLAN FOR EDUCATING VULNERABLE 

14 VETERANS ABOUT POTENTIAL FINANCIAL EX15 PLOITATION RELATING TO THE RECEIPT OF 

16 PENSION. 

17 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.—The Under Secretary 

18 for Benefits of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall 

19 develop, in collaboration with veterans service organiza20 tions, an outreach plan for educating vulnerable individ21 uals about potential financial exploitation relating to the 

22 receipt of pension under chapter 15 of title 38, United 

23 States Code. 

24 (b) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 

25 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under 

26 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ AfVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4511.RS S4511

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1 fairs and the Special Committee on Aging of the Senate 

2 and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 

3 Representatives the plan developed under subsection (a). 

4 (c) VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATION DEFINED.— 

5 In this section, the term ‘‘veterans service organization’’ 

6 means an organization recognized by the Secretary of Vet7 erans Affairs for the representation of veterans under sec8 tion 5902 of title 38, United States Code. 

9 TITLE IV—OTHER MATTERS 

10 SEC. 401. ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN MEMBERS OF THE RE11 SERVE COMPONENTS OF THE ARMED 

12 FORCES FOR HOME LOANS FROM THE SEC13 RETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

14 (a) EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF VETERAN FOR

15 PURPOSES OF HOME LOANS.—Section 3701(b) of title 38, 

16 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

17 following new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(7) The term ‘veteran’ also includes, for pur19 poses of home loans, an individual who performed 

20 active service (as that term is defined in section 101 

21 of title 10) for a period— 

22 ‘‘(A) of not less than 90 cumulative days; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(B) that includes 30 consecutive days.’’. 


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1 (b) EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY.—Section 

2 3702(a)(2) of such title is amended by adding at the end 

3 the following new subparagraph: 

4 ‘‘(G) Each individual described in section 

5 3701(b)(7) of this title.’’. 

6 SEC. 402. EXTENSION OF CERTAIN HOUSING LOAN FEES. 

7 Section 3729(b)(2) of title 38, United States Code, 

8 is amended by striking ‘‘October 1, 2029’’ each place it 

9 appears and inserting ‘‘October 1, 2030’’. 

10 SEC. 403. CLARIFICATION OF LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS 

11 FOR CONTRACTOR MEDICAL PROFES12 SIONALS TO PERFORM MEDICAL DISABILITY 

13 EXAMINATIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF 

14 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

15 Subsection (c) of section 504 of the Veterans’ Bene16 fits Improvements Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–275; 38 

17 U.S.C. 5101 note) is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(c) LICENSURE OF CONTRACT HEALTH CARE PRO19 FESSIONALS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any law 

21 regarding the licensure of health care professionals, 

22 a health care professional described in paragraph (2) 

23 may conduct an examination pursuant to a contract 

24 entered into under subsection (a) at any location in 

25 any State, the District of Columbia, or a CommonVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4511.RS S4511

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1 wealth, territory, or possession of the United States, 

2 so long as the examination is within the scope of the 

3 authorized duties under such contract. 

4 ‘‘(2) HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL DE5 SCRIBED.—A health care professional described in 

6 this paragraph is a physician, physician assistant, 

7 nurse practitioner, audiologist, or psychologist, 

8 who— 

9 ‘‘(A) has a current unrestricted license to 

10 practice the health care profession of the physi11 cian, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, au12 diologist, or psychologist, as the case may be; 

13 ‘‘(B) is not barred from practicing such 

14 health care profession in any State, the District 

15 of Columbia, or a Commonwealth, territory, or 

16 possession of the United States; and 

17 ‘‘(C) is performing authorized duties for 

18 the Department of Veterans Affairs pursuant to 

19 a contract entered into under subsection (a).’’. 

20 SEC. 404. MEDAL OF HONOR SPECIAL PENSION FOR SUR21 VIVING SPOUSES. 

22 (a) CODIFICATION OF CURRENT RATE OF SPECIAL

23 PENSION.—Subsection (a) of section 1562 of title 38, 

24 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘$1,000’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘$1,388.68’’. 


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1 (b) SPECIAL PENSION FOR SURVIVING SPOUSES.— 

2 (1) SURVIVING SPOUSE BENEFIT.—Such sub3 section is further amended— 

4 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(a)’’; and 

5 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

6 paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(2)(A) Except as provided in subparagraphs (B) 

8 and (C), the Secretary shall pay special pension under this 

9 section to the surviving spouse of a person whose name 

10 has been entered on the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast 

11 Guard Medal of Honor Roll and a copy of whose certificate 

12 has been delivered to the Secretary under section 1134a(d) 

13 of title 10. 

14 ‘‘(B) No special pension shall be paid to a surviving 

15 spouse of a person under this section unless such surviving 

16 spouse was married to such person— 

17 ‘‘(i) for one year or more prior to the veteran’s 

18 death; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) for any period of time if a child was born 

20 of the marriage, or was born to them before the 

21 marriage. 

22 ‘‘(C) No special pension shall be paid to a surviving 

23 spouse of a person under this section if such surviving 

24 spouse is eligible for or receiving benefits under section 

25 1311 or 1318 of this title.’’. 


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1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Such section is amend3 ed— 

4 (i) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘or 

5 married to more than one person who has 

6 been awarded a medal of honor,’’ after 

7 ‘‘honor,’’; and 

8 (ii) in subsection (f)(1), by striking 

9 ‘‘this section’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 

10 (1) of subsection (a), or under paragraph 

11 (2) of such subsection in the case of a 

12 posthumous entry on the Army, Navy, Air 

13 Force, and Coast Guard Medal of Honor 

14 Roll,’’. 

15 (B) SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO

16 MARRIAGES.—Section 103(d)(5) of such title is 

17 amended by adding at the end the following 

18 new subparagraph: 

19 ‘‘(E) Section 1562(a)(2), relating to Medal of 

20 Honor special pension.’’. 

21 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

22 by this subsection shall apply with respect to pay23 ment of pension under section 1562 of title 38, 

24 United States Code, for months beginning after the 

25 date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 405. MODERNIZATION OF SERVICE-DISABLED VET2 ERANS INSURANCE. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF MODERNIZED PROGRAM.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 19 of title 38, 

5 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

6 section 1922A the following new section: 

7 ‘‘§ 1922B. Service-disabled veterans insurance 

8 ‘‘(a) INSURANCE.—(1) Beginning January 1, 2023, 

9 the Secretary shall carry out a service-disabled veterans 

10 insurance program under which a veteran is granted in11 surance by the United States against the death of such 

12 individual occurring while such insurance is in force. 

13 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may only issue whole-life policies 

14 under the insurance program under paragraph (1). 

15 ‘‘(3) The Secretary may not grant insurance to a vet16 eran under paragraph (1) unless— 

17 ‘‘(A) the veteran submits the application for 

18 such insurance before the veteran attains 81 years 

19 of age; or 

20 ‘‘(B) with respect to a veteran who has attained 

21 81 years of age— 

22 ‘‘(i) the veteran filed a claim for compensa23 tion under chapter 11 of this title before attain24 ing such age; 

25 ‘‘(ii) based on such claim, and after the 

26 veteran attained such age, the Secretary first 


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1 determines that the veteran has a service-con2 nected disability; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) the veteran submits the application 

4 for such insurance during the two-year period 

5 following the date of such determination. 

6 ‘‘(4)(A) A veteran enrolled in the insurance program 

7 under paragraph (1) may elect to be insured in any of 

8 the following amounts: 

9 ‘‘(i) $10,000. 

10 ‘‘(ii) $20,000. 

11 ‘‘(iii) $30,000. 

12 ‘‘(iv) $40,000. 

13 ‘‘(v) In accordance with subparagraph (B), 

14 a maximum amount greater than $40,000. 

15 ‘‘(B) The Secretary may establish a maximum 

16 amount to be insured under paragraph (1) that is greater 

17 than $40,000 if the Secretary— 

18 ‘‘(i) determines that such maximum amount 

19 and the premiums for such amount— 

20 ‘‘(I) are administratively and actuarially 

21 sound for the insurance program under para22 graph (1); and 

23 ‘‘(II) will not result in such program oper24 ating at a loss; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) publishes in the Federal Register, and sub2 mits to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

3 Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 

4 the House of Representatives, such maximum 

5 amount and determination. 

6 ‘‘(5)(A)(i) Insurance granted under this section shall 

7 be on a nonparticipating basis and all premiums and other 

8 collections therefor shall be credited directly to a revolving 

9 fund in the Treasury of the United States. 

10 ‘‘(ii) Any payments on such insurance shall be made 

11 directly from such fund. 

12 ‘‘(B)(i) The Secretary of the Treasury may invest in 

13 and sell and retire special interest-bearing obligations of 

14 the United States for the account of the revolving fund 

15 under subparagraph (A). 

16 ‘‘(ii) Such obligations issued for that purpose shall— 

17 ‘‘(I) have maturities fixed with due regard for 

18 the needs of the fund; and 

19 ‘‘(II) bear interest at a rate equal to the aver20 age market yield (computed by the Secretary of the 

21 Treasury on the basis of market quotations as of the 

22 end of the calendar month preceding the date of 

23 issue) on all marketable interest-bearing obligations 

24 of the United States then forming a part of the pub25 lic debt which are not due or callable until after the 


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1 expiration of four years from the end of such cal2 endar month; except that where such average mar3 ket yield is not a multiple of one-eighth of 1 per cen4 tum, the rate of interest of such obligation shall be 

5 the multiple of one-eighth of 1 per centum nearest 

6 such market yield. 

7 ‘‘(6)(A) Administrative support financed by the ap8 propriations for ‘General Operating Expenses, Depart9 ment of Veterans Affairs’ and ‘Information Technology 

10 Systems, Department of Veterans Affairs’ for the insur11 ance program under paragraph (1) shall be paid from pre12 miums credited to the fund under paragraph (5). 

13 ‘‘(B) Such payment for administrative support shall 

14 be reimbursed for that fiscal year from funds that are 

15 available on such insurance after claims have been paid. 

16 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—A veteran is eligible to enroll in 

17 the insurance program under subsection (a)(1) if the vet18 eran has a service-connected disability, without regard 

19 to— 

20 ‘‘(1) whether such disability is compensable 

21 under chapter 11 of this title; or 

22 ‘‘(2) whether the veteran meets standards of 

23 good health required for other life insurance policies. 


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1 ‘‘(c) ENROLLMENT AND WAITING PERIOD.—(1) An 

2 eligible veteran may enroll in the insurance program under 

3 subsection (a)(1) at any time. 

4 ‘‘(2) The life insurance policy of a veteran who enrolls 

5 in the insurance program under subsection (a)(1) does not 

6 go into force unless— 

7 ‘‘(A) a period of two years elapses following the 

8 date of such enrollment; and 

9 ‘‘(B) the veteran pays the premiums required 

10 during such two-year period. 

11 ‘‘(3)(A) If a veteran dies during the two-year period 

12 described in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall pay to the 

13 beneficiary of the veteran the amount of premiums paid 

14 by the veteran under this section, plus interest. 

15 ‘‘(B) The Secretary— 

16 ‘‘(i) for the initial year of the insurance pro17 gram under subsection (a)(1)— 

18 ‘‘(I) shall set such interest at a rate of one 

19 percent; and 

20 ‘‘(II) may adjust such rate during such 

21 year based on program performance, except 

22 that the interest rate may not be less than zero 

23 percent; 

24 ‘‘(ii) for the second and each subsequent year 

25 of the program, shall calculate such interest at an 


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1 annual rate equal to the rate of return on the revolv2 ing fund under subsection (a)(5) for the calendar 

3 year preceding the year of the veteran’s death, ex4 cept that the interest rate may not be less than zero 

5 percent; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) on an annual basis, shall publish on the 

7 internet website of the Department the average in8 terest rate calculated under clause (ii) for the pre9 ceding calendar year. 

10 ‘‘(d) PREMIUMS.—(1) The Secretary shall establish 

11 a schedule of basic premium rates by age per $10,000 of 

12 insurance under subsection (a)(1) consistent with basic 

13 premium rates generally charged for guaranteed accept14 ance life insurance policies by private life insurance com15 panies. 

16 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may adjust such schedule after 

17 the first policy year in a manner consistent with the gen18 eral practice of guaranteed acceptance life insurance poli19 cies issued by private life insurance companies. 

20 ‘‘(3) Section 1912 of this title shall not apply to life 

21 insurance policies under subsection (a)(1), and the Sec22 retary may not otherwise waive premiums for such insur23 ance policies. 


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1 ‘‘(e) BENEFICIARIES.—(1) A veteran who enrolls in 

2 the insurance program under subsection (a)(1) may des3 ignate a beneficiary of the life insurance policy. 

4 ‘‘(2) If a veteran enrolled in the insurance program 

5 under subsection (a)(1) does not designate a beneficiary 

6 under paragraph (1) before the veteran dies, or if a des7 ignated beneficiary predeceases the veteran, the Secretary 

8 shall determine the beneficiary in the following order: 

9 ‘‘(A) The surviving spouse of the veteran. 

10 ‘‘(B) The children of the veteran and descend11 ants of deceased children by representation. 

12 ‘‘(C) The parents of the veteran or the sur13 vivors of the parents. 

14 ‘‘(D) The duly appointed executor or adminis15 trator of the estate of the veteran. 

16 ‘‘(E) Other next of kin of the veteran entitled 

17 under the laws of domicile of the veteran at the time 

18 of the death of the veteran. 

19 ‘‘(f) CLAIMS.—(1) If the deceased veteran designated 

20 a beneficiary under subsection (e)(1)— 

21 ‘‘(A) the designated beneficiary is the only per22 son who may file a claim for payment under sub23 section (g) during the one-year period beginning on 

24 the date of the death of the veteran; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) if the designated beneficiary does not file 

2 a claim for the payment during the period described 

3 in paragraph (1), or if payment to the designated 

4 beneficiary within that period is prohibited by Fed5 eral statute or regulation, a beneficiary described in 

6 subsection (e)(2) may file a claim for such payment 

7 during the one-year period following the period de8 scribed in subparagraph (A) as if the designated 

9 beneficiary had predeceased the veteran. 

10 ‘‘(2) If the deceased veteran did not designate a bene11 ficiary under subsection (e)(1), or if the designated bene12 ficiary predeceased the veteran, a beneficiary described in 

13 subsection (e)(2) may file a claim for payment under sub14 section (g) during the two-year period beginning on the 

15 date of the death of the veteran. 

16 ‘‘(3) If, on the date that is two years after the date 

17 of the death of the veteran, no claim for payment has been 

18 filed by any beneficiary pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2), 

19 and the Secretary has not received notice that any such 

20 claim will be so filed during the subsequent one-year pe21 riod, the Secretary may make the payment to a claimant 

22 whom the Secretary determines to be equitably entitled to 

23 such payment. 

24 ‘‘(g) PAYMENTS.—(1) In a case described in sub25 section (f)— 


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1 ‘‘(A) in paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall 

2 pay the designated beneficiary not later than 90 

3 days after the designated beneficiary files a complete 

4 and acceptable claim for payment; 

5 ‘‘(B) in paragraph (1)(B) or (2), the Secretary 

6 shall make any payment not later than one year 

7 after the end of the period described in the applica8 ble such paragraph, if the Secretary receives a com9 plete and acceptable claim for payment in accord10 ance with the applicable such paragraph; or 

11 ‘‘(C) in paragraph (3), the Secretary shall make 

12 any payment not later than one year after the end 

13 of the period described in such paragraph. 

14 ‘‘(2) In a case where the Secretary has not made an 

15 insurance payment under this section during the applica16 ble period specified in paragraph (1) by reason of a bene17 ficiary not yet having filed a claim, or the Secretary not 

18 yet making a determination under subsection (f)(3), the 

19 Secretary may make the payment after such applicable pe20 riod. 

21 ‘‘(3) Notwithstanding section 1917 of this title, the 

22 Secretary shall make an insurance payment under this 

23 section in a lump sum. 


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1 ‘‘(4) The Secretary may not make an insurance pay2 ment under this section if such payment will escheat to 

3 a State. 

4 ‘‘(5) Any payment under this subsection shall be a 

5 bar to recovery by any other person.’’. 

6 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec7 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 

8 by inserting after the item relating to section 1922A 

9 the following new item: 

‘‘1922B. Service-disabled veterans insurance.’’. 

10 (b) SUNSET OF PREVIOUS PROGRAM AND TRANSI11 TION.— 

12 (1) S–DVI.—Section 1922 of such title is 

13 amended by adding at the end the following new 

14 subsection: 

15 ‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary may not accept any application 

16 by a veteran to be insured under this section after Decem17 ber 31, 2022. 

18 ‘‘(2)(A) During the period beginning January 1, 

19 2023, and ending December 31, 2025, a veteran who is 

20 insured under this section may elect to instead be insured 

21 under section 1922B of this title based on the age of the 

22 veteran at the time of such election. 

23 ‘‘(B)(i) A veteran who elects under subparagraph (A) 

24 to be insured under section 1922B of this title shall be 


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1 subject to the two-year waiting period specified in sub2 section (c) of such section. 

3 ‘‘(ii) If the veteran dies during such period, the Sec4 retary shall pay the beneficiary under this section, and, 

5 if applicable, under section 1922A, plus the amount of 

6 premiums paid by the veteran under such section 1922B, 

7 plus interest. 

8 ‘‘(3) Except as provided by paragraph (2)(B), a vet9 eran may not be insured under this section and section 

10 1922B simultaneously.’’. 

11 (2) SUPPLEMENTAL S–DVI.—Section 1922A(b) 

12 of such title is amended by adding after the period 

13 the following: ‘‘The Secretary may not accept any 

14 such application after December 31, 2022. Except 

15 as provided by section 1922(d)(2)(B), a veteran may 

16 not have supplemental insurance under this section 

17 and be insured under section 1922B simulta18 neously.’’. 

19 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Chapter 19 of 

20 such title is amended— 

21 (1) in the section heading of section 1922, by 

22 striking ‘‘Service’’ and inserting ‘‘Legacy serv23 ice’’; 


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1 (2) in the section heading of section 1922A, by 

2 striking ‘‘Supplemental’’ and inserting ‘‘Leg3 acy supplemental’’; and 

4 (3) in the table of sections at the beginning of 

5 such chapter by striking the items relating to sec6 tions 1922 and 1922A and inserting the following 

7 new items: 

‘‘1922. Legacy service disabled veterans’ insurance. 

‘‘1922A. Legacy supplemental service disabled veterans’ insurance for totally 

disabled veterans.’’. 

8 SEC. 406. PUBLICATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF DISABILITY 

9 BENEFIT QUESTIONNAIRE FORMS OF DE10 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5101 of title 38, United 

12 States Code, is amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub14 section (e); and 

15 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol16 lowing new subsection (d): 

17 ‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary shall publish in a central loca18 tion on the internet website of the Department disability 

19 benefit questionnaire forms of the Department for the 

20 submittal of evidence from non-Department medical pro21 viders regarding a disability of a claimant. 

22 ‘‘(2) Subject to section 6103 of this title, if the Sec23 retary updates a form described in paragraph (1), the Sec24 retary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) accept the previous version of the form 

2 filed by a claimant if— 

3 ‘‘(i) the claimant provided to the non-De4 partment medical provider the previous version 

5 of the form before the date on which the up6 dated version of the form was made available; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(ii) the claimant files the previous version 

9 of the form during the one-year period following 

10 the date the form was completed by the non11 Department medical provider; 

12 ‘‘(B) request from the claimant any other infor13 mation that the updated version of the form re14 quires; and 

15 ‘‘(C) apply the laws and regulations required to 

16 adjudicate the claim as if the claimant filed the up17 dated version of the form. 

18 ‘‘(3) The Secretary may waive any interagency ap19 proval process required to approve a modification to a dis20 ability benefit questionnaire form if such requirement only 

21 applies by reason of the forms being made public.’’. 

22 (b) REPORTS BY INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE DE23 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.—Not less frequently 

24 than once each year through 2023, the Inspector General 

25 of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall submit to 


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1 Congress a report on the findings of the Inspector General 

2 with respect to the use of the forms published under sec3 tion 5101(d)(1) of such title, as added by subsection (a). 

4 (c) INITIAL FORM.—The Secretary of Veterans Af5 fairs shall begin carrying out section 5101(d)(1) of such 

6 title, as added by subsection (a), by publishing, as de7 scribed in such section, the form described in such section 

8 that was in effect on January 1, 2020. 

9 (d) ALTERNATE PROCESS.— 

10 (1) ASSESSMENT AND REPORT.—Subject to 

11 paragraph (2), not later than 180 days after the 

12 date of the enactment of this act, the Secretary 

13 shall— 

14 (A) assess the feasibility and advisability of 

15 replacing disability benefit questionnaire forms 

16 that are used by non-Department medical pro17 viders to submit to the Secretary evidence re18 garding a disability of a claimant for benefits 

19 under laws administered by the Secretary, with 

20 another consistent process that considers evi21 dence equally, whether provided by a Depart22 ment or a non-Department medical provider; 

23 and 

24 (B) submit to Congress— 


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1 (i) a report on the findings of the Sec2 retary with respect to the assessment con3 ducted under subparagraph (A); and 

4 (ii) a plan to replace the disability 

5 benefit questionnaire forms as described in 

6 subparagraph (A). 

7 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary may only 

8 determine under paragraph (1)(A) that replacing the 

9 forms described in such paragraph is feasibility and 

10 advisable if the Secretary certifies that— 

11 (A) it is in the best interest of veterans to 

12 do so; 

13 (B) the replacement process would include 

14 all the medical information needed to adjudicate 

15 a claim for benefits under laws administered by 

16 the Secretary; and 

17 (C) the new process will ensure that all 

18 medical information provided will be considered 

19 equally, whether it is provided by a Department 

20 medical provider or a non-Department medical 

21 provider. 

22 (3) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara24 graph (B), if the Secretary determines under 

25 paragraph (1)(A) that replacing the forms as 


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1 described in such paragraph is feasible and ad2 visable, the Secretary shall, not later than two 

3 years after the date on which the Secretary 

4 submits the report under paragraph (1)(B)(i), 

5 replace the forms as described in paragraph 

6 (1)(A). 

7 (B) REPORTS BY INSPECTOR GENERAL OF

8 THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.—If 

9 the Secretary replaces the forms under sub10 paragraph (A), the Inspector General of the 

11 Department of Veterans Affairs shall, not fre12 quently than once each year, submit to Con13 gress an report on the process that replaced 

14 forms that ascertains whether the process prop15 erly protects veterans. 

16 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec17 tion or section 5101(d) of such title, as added by sub18 section (a), may be construed to require the Secretary to 

19 develop any new information technology system or other20 wise require the Secretary to make any significant changes 

21 to the internet website of the Department. 

22 SEC. 407. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

23 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

24 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

25 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 


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1 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

2 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

3 by the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, pro4 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

5 vote on passage. 

6 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Vet8 eran Benefits Enhancement and Expansion Act of 2020’’. 

9 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

10 this Act is as follows: 

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 Educational 

Assistance Program of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

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 Department of Veterans Affairs to include outreach services provided 

through congressional offices. 

Sec. 106. Restoration of entitlement to rehabilitation programs for veterans affected by school closure or disapproval. 

Sec. 107. Technical correction to clarify eligibility for participation in Yellow 

Ribbon Program of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

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. 

Sec. 205. Aid to counties for establishment, expansion, and improvement of veterans’ cemeteries. 

Sec. 206. Increase in maximum amount of grants to States, counties, and tribal 

organizations for operating and maintaining veterans’ cemeteries. 


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Sec. 207. Provision of urns for remains of certain veterans whose cremated remains are not interred in certain cemeteries. 

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 pension 

from the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 304. Overpayments of pension to veterans receiving pension from the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 305. Evaluation of additional actions for verifying direct deposit information provided by veterans on applications for veterans pension. 

Sec. 306. Annual report on efforts of Department of Veterans Affairs to address 

the financial exploitation of veterans receiving pension. 

Sec. 307. Notice regarding fees charged in connection with filing an application 

for veterans pension. 

Sec. 308. Outreach plan for educating vulnerable veterans about potential financial 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. Reducing loan fees for certain veterans affected by major disasters. 

Sec. 403. Extension of certain housing loan fees. 

Sec. 404. Collection of overpayments of specially adapted housing assistance. 

Sec. 405. Revision of definition of Vietnam era for purposes of the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 406. Matters relating to Department of Veterans Affairs medical disability 

examinations. 

Sec. 407. Medal of Honor special pension for surviving spouses. 

Sec. 408. Modernization of service-disabled veterans insurance. 

Sec. 409. Publication and acceptance of disability benefit questionnaire forms of 

Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 410. Preference for offerors employing veterans. 

Sec. 411. Elimination of period of eligibility for training and rehabilitation for 

certain veterans with service-connected disabilities. 

Sec. 412. Clarification of termination of leases of premises and motor vehicles of 

servicemembers who incur catastrophic injury or illness or die 

while in military service. 

Sec. 413. Clarification of delivery of notice of termination of leases of premises 

and motor vehicles for purposes of relief under Servicemembers 

Civil Relief Act. 

Sec. 414. Technical correction regarding extension of lease protections for 

servicemembers under stop movement orders in response to local, 

national, or global emergency. 

Sec. 415. Termination of contracts for telephone, multichannel video programming, or internet access service by certain individuals under 

Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. 

Sec. 416. Extension of certain employment and reemployment rights to members 

of the National Guard who perform State active duty. 

Sec. 417. Repayment of misused benefits. 


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Sec. 418. Study regarding the accessibility of websites of the Department of Veterans Affairs to individuals with disabilities. 

Sec. 419. Determination of budgetary effects. 

1 TITLE I—EDUCATION MATTERS 

2 SEC. 101. EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR FRY SCHOLAR3 SHIP TO CHILDREN AND SPOUSES OF CER4 TAIN DECEASED MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 

5 FORCES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) of section 3311 of 

7 title 38, United States Code, as amended by section 105 

8 of the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance 

9 Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–48), is further amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating paragraph (9) as para11 graph (11); and 

12 (2) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol13 lowing new paragraphs (9) and (10): 

14 ‘‘(9) An individual who is the child or spouse of 

15 a person who, on or after September 11, 2001, dies 

16 in line of duty while serving on duty other than ac17 tive duty as a member of the Armed Forces. 

18 ‘‘(10) An individual who is the child or spouse 

19 of a member of the Selected Reserve who dies on or 

20 after September 11, 2001, while a member of the Se21 lected Reserve from a service-connected disability.’’. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Title 38, United 

23 States Code, is amended as follows: 


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1 (1) In section 3311(f), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

2 (8)’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘paragraphs 

3 (8), (9), and (10)’’. 

4 (2) In section 3313(c)(1), by striking ‘‘(8), or 

5 (9)’’ and inserting ‘‘(8), (9), (10), or (11)’’. 

6 (3) In section 3317(a), in the second sentence, by 

7 striking ‘‘paragraphs (1), (2), (8), and (9)’’ and in8 serting ‘‘paragraphs (1), (2), (8), (9), (10), and (11)’’. 

9 (4) In section 3322— 

10 (A) in subsection (e), by striking both ‘‘sec11 tions 3311(b)(8) and 3319’’ and inserting ‘‘sec12 tion 3319 and paragraph (8), (9), or (10) of sec13 tion 3311 of this title’’; 

14 (B) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘section 

15 3311(b)(8)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (8), (9), 

16 or (10) of section 3311 of this title’’; and 

17 (C) in subsection (h)(2), by striking ‘‘either 

18 section 3311(b)(8) or chapter 35’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘either chapter 35 or paragraph (8), (9), or (10) 

20 of section 3311’’. 

21 (c) APPLICABILITY DATE.—The amendments made by 

22 this section shall take effect immediately after the amend23 ments made by section 105 of the Harry W. Colmery Vet24 erans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 (Public Law 115– 

25 48) take effect and shall apply with respect to a quarter, 


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1 semester, or term, as applicable, commencing on or after 

2 August 1, 2021. 

3 SEC. 102. PERIOD FOR ELECTION TO RECEIVE BENEFITS 

4 UNDER ALL-VOLUNTEER EDUCATIONAL AS5 SISTANCE PROGRAM OF DEPARTMENT OF 

6 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3011 of title 38, United 

8 States Code, is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘Any such 

10 election shall be made at the time the individual ini11 tially enters on active duty as a member of the Armed 

12 Forces’’ and inserting ‘‘Any such election shall be 

13 made during the 90-day period beginning on the day 

14 that is 180 days after the date on which the indi15 vidual initially enters initial training’’; and 

16 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘that such 

17 individual is entitled to such pay’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘that begin after the date that is 270 days after the 

19 date on which the individual initially enters initial 

20 training’’. 

21 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by sub22 section (a) shall take effect on the date that is two years 

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 103. PHASE OUT OF ALL-VOLUNTEER EDUCATIONAL 

2 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

3 Subsection (a)(1)(A) of section 3011 of title 38, United 

4 States Code, as amended by section 102, is further amended 

5 by striking ‘‘after June 30, 1985’’ and inserting ‘‘during 

6 the period beginning July 1, 1985, and ending September 

7 30, 2030’’. 

8 SEC. 104. REQUIREMENTS FOR IN-STATE TUITION. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3679(c) of title 38, United 

10 States Code, is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘less than 

12 three years before the date of enrollment in the course 

13 concerned’’; and 

14 (2) in paragraph (4)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘It shall’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘(A) It shall’’; and 

17 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

18 subparagraph: 

19 ‘‘(B) To the extent feasible, the Secretary shall make 

20 publicly available on the internet website of the Department 

21 a database explaining any requirements described in sub22 paragraph (A) that are established by a public institution 

23 of higher learning for an individual to be charged tuition 

24 and fees at a rate that is equal to or less than the rate 

25 the institution charges for tuition and fees for residents of 

26 the State in which the institution is located. The Secretary 


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1 shall disapprove a course of education provided by such an 

2 institution that does not provide the Secretary— 

3 ‘‘(i) an initial explanation of such requirements; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(ii) not later than 90 days after the date on 

6 which any such requirements change, the updated re7 quirements.’’. 

8 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by this sec9 tion shall apply with respect to a quarter, semester, or term, 

10 as applicable, commencing on or after August 1, 2021. 

11 SEC. 105. EXPANSION OF AUTHORITY FOR CERTAIN QUALI12 FYING WORK-STUDY ACTIVITIES FOR PUR13 POSES OF THE EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 

14 PROGRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VET15 ERANS AFFAIRS TO INCLUDE OUTREACH 

16 SERVICES PROVIDED THROUGH CONGRES17 SIONAL OFFICES. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3485(a)(4) of title 38, 

19 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

20 following new subparagraph: 

21 ‘‘(K) The following activities carried out at the 

22 offices of Members of Congress for such Members: 

23 ‘‘(i) The distribution of information to 

24 members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and 

25 their dependents about the benefits and services 


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1 under laws administered by the Secretary and 

2 other appropriate governmental and nongovern3 mental programs. 

4 ‘‘(ii) The preparation and processing of pa5 pers and other documents, including documents 

6 to assist in the preparation and presentation of 

7 claims for benefits under laws administered by 

8 the Secretary.’’. 

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub10 section (a) shall take effect on August 1, 2021. 

11 SEC. 106. RESTORATION OF ENTITLEMENT TO REHABILITA12 TION PROGRAMS FOR VETERANS AFFECTED 

13 BY SCHOOL CLOSURE OR DISAPPROVAL. 

14 (a) ENTITLEMENT.—Section 3699 of title 38, United 

15 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘chapter 30,’’ each time 

16 it appears and inserting ‘‘chapter 30, 31,’’. 

17 (b) PAYMENT OF SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCES.—Sec18 tion 3680(a)(2)(B) of title 38, United States Code, is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) by inserting ‘‘or a subsistence allowance de21 scribed in section 3108’’ before ‘‘, during’’; and 

22 (2) by inserting ‘‘or allowance’’ after ‘‘such a sti23 pend’’. 


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1 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 7 of the Stu2 dent Veteran Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 (134 Stat. 

3 634; Public Law 116–140) is hereby repealed. 

4 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

5 section shall apply as if included in the enactment of section 

6 109 of the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assist7 ance Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–48; 131 Stat. 978). 

8 SEC. 107. TECHNICAL CORRECTION TO CLARIFY ELIGI9 BILITY FOR PARTICIPATION IN YELLOW RIB10 BON PROGRAM OF DEPARTMENT OF VET11 ERANS AFFAIRS. 

12 Section 3317(a) of title 38, United States Code, is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘the full cost of established 

15 charges (as specified in section 3313)’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘the full cost of tuition and fees for a program of edu17 cation’’; and 

18 (2) by striking ‘‘those established charges’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘such tuition and fees’’. 

20 TITLE II—BURIAL MATTERS 

21 SEC. 201. TRANSPORTATION OF DECEASED VETERANS TO 

22 VETERANS’ CEMETERIES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 2308 of 

24 title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘in 


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1 a national cemetery’’ and inserting ‘‘in a national cemetery 

2 or a covered veterans’ cemetery’’. 

3 (b) COVERED VETERANS’ CEMETERY DEFINED.—Sec4 tion 2308 of such title is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following new subsection: 

6 ‘‘(c) COVERED VETERANS’ CEMETERY DEFINED.—In 

7 this section, the term ‘covered veterans’ cemetery’ means a 

8 veterans’ cemetery— 

9 ‘‘(1) in which a deceased veteran described in 

10 subsection (b) is eligible to be buried; 

11 ‘‘(2) that— 

12 ‘‘(A) is owned by a State; or 

13 ‘‘(B) is on trust land owned by, or held in 

14 trust for, a tribal organization; and 

15 ‘‘(3) for which the Secretary has made a grant 

16 under section 2408 of this title.’’. 

17 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 2308 of such 

18 title is amended in the section heading by adding at the 

19 end the following: ‘‘or a covered veterans’ ceme20 tery’’. 

21 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at 

22 the beginning of chapter 23 of such title is amended by 

23 striking the item relating to section 2308 and inserting the 

24 following new item: 

‘‘2308. Transportation of deceased veteran to a national cemetery or a covered veterans’ cemetery.’’. 


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1 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

2 section shall take effect on the date that is two years after 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 202. INCREASE IN CERTAIN FUNERAL BENEFITS 

5 UNDER LAWS ADMINISTERED BY THE SEC6 RETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

7 (a) FUNERAL EXPENSES FOR NON-SERVICE-CON8 NECTED DISABILITIES.—Chapter 23 of title 38, United 

9 States Code, is amended as follows: 

10 (1) By transferring subsection (b) of section 2302 

11 to the end of section 2303 and redesignating such sub12 section as subsection (d). 

13 (2) By striking section 2302. 

14 (3) In section 2303— 

15 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

16 ‘‘Death in Department facility’’ and in17 serting ‘‘Death from non-service-con18 nected disability’’; and 

19 (B) in subsection (a)— 

20 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘a 

21 veteran dies in a facility described in para22 graph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘a veteran de23 scribed in paragraph (2) dies’’; 

24 (ii) by striking paragraph (2) and in25 serting the following new paragraph (2): 


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1 ‘‘(2) A veteran described in this paragraph is a de2 ceased veteran who is not covered by section 2307 of this 

3 title and who meets any of the following criteria: 

4 ‘‘(A) The deceased veteran dies in— 

5 ‘‘(i) a facility of the Department (as defined 

6 in section 1701(3) of this title) to which the de7 ceased veteran was properly admitted for hos8 pital, nursing home, or domiciliary care under 

9 section 1710 or 1711(a) of this title; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) an institution at which the deceased 

11 veteran was, at the time of death, receiving— 

12 ‘‘(I) hospital care in accordance with 

13 sections 1703A, 8111, and 8153 of this 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 sec22 tion 106(c) of this title) is in receipt of compensation 

23 under chapter 11 of this title (or but for the receipt 

24 of retirement pay would have been entitled to such 


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1 compensation) or was in receipt of pension under 

2 chapter 15 of this title. 

3 ‘‘(C) The Secretary determines— 

4 ‘‘(i) the deceased veteran (including a per5 son who died during a period deemed to be ac6 tive military, naval, or air service under section 

7 106(c) of this title) has no next of kin or other 

8 person claiming the body of the deceased veteran; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(ii) that there are not available sufficient 

11 resources to cover burial and funeral expenses.’’; 

12 (iii) in subsection (b)— 

13 (I) in the matter preceding para14 graph (1), by striking ‘‘section 2302 of 

15 this title and’’; and 

16 (II) in paragraph (2), by striking 

17 ‘‘under section 2302 of this title or’’; 

18 and 

19 (iv) in subsection (d), as added by 

20 paragraph (1) of this subsection, by striking 

21 ‘‘Except as’’ and inserting ‘‘With respect to 

22 a deceased veteran described in subpara23 graph (B) or (C) of subsection (a)(2), except 

24 as’’. 

25 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) TITLE 38.—Such title is amended as follows: 

2 (A) In section 2304, by striking ‘‘Applica3 tions for payments under section 2302 of this 

4 title’’ and inserting ‘‘Applications for payments 

5 under section 2303 of this title regarding vet6 erans described in subparagraph (B) or (C) of 

7 subsection (a)(2) of such section’’. 

8 (B) In section 2307, by striking ‘‘sections 

9 2302 and 2303(a)(1) and (b)(2) of this title’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘subsections (a)(1) and (b)(2) of sec11 tion 2303 of this title’’. 

12 (C) In section 2308— 

13 (i) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘pur14 suant to section 2302 or 2307 of this title,’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘pursuant to section 2303 of 

16 this title regarding veterans described in 

17 subparagraph (B) or (C) of subsection 

18 (a)(2) of such section, or pursuant to section 

19 2307 of this title,’’; and 

20 (ii) in subsection (b)(3)— 

21 (I) by striking ‘‘section 2302’’ and 

22 inserting ‘‘section 2303’’; and 

23 (II) by striking ‘‘subsection 

24 (a)(2)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

25 (a)(2)(C)’’. 


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1 (D) In section 113(c)(1), by striking 

2 ‘‘2302,’’. 

3 (E) In section 5101(a)(1)(B)(i), by striking 

4 ‘‘2302’’ and inserting ‘‘2303’’. 

5 (2) EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE.—Section 11 of 

6 the Military Selective Service Act (50 U.S.C. 3810) is 

7 amended by striking ‘‘section 2302(a) of title 38’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘section 2303 of title 38, United States 

9 Code, regarding veterans described in subparagraph 

10 (B) or (C) of subsection (a)(2) of such section’’. 

11 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at 

12 the beginning of chapter 23 of such title is amended by 

13 striking the items relating to sections 2302 and 2303 and 

14 inserting the following new item: 

‘‘2303. Death from non-service-connected disability; plot allowance.’’. 

15 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

16 Act shall apply to deaths that occur on or after the date 

17 that is two years after the date of the enactment of this 

18 Act. 

19 SEC. 203. OUTER BURIAL RECEPTACLES FOR EACH NEW 

20 GRAVE IN CEMETERIES THAT ARE THE SUB21 JECTS OF CERTAIN GRANTS MADE BY THE 

22 SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2306(e) of title 38, United 

24 States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ‘‘, or in a 

2 cemetery that is the subject of a grant to a State or 

3 a tribal organization under section 2408 of this title,’’ 

4 after ‘‘National Cemetery Administration’’; and 

5 (2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 

6 following new paragraph (2): 

7 ‘‘(2)(A) The use of outer burial receptacles in a ceme8 tery under the control of the National Cemetery Adminis9 tration or in a cemetery that is the subject of a grant to 

10 a State or a tribal organization under section 2408 of this 

11 title shall be in accordance with regulations or procedures 

12 approved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

13 ‘‘(B) The use of outer burial receptacles in Arlington 

14 National Cemetery shall be in accordance with regulations 

15 or procedures approved by the Secretary of the Army. 

16 ‘‘(C) The use of outer burial receptacles in a national 

17 cemetery administered by the National Park Service shall 

18 be in accordance with regulations or procedures approved 

19 by the Secretary of the Interior.’’. 

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

21 section shall take effect on the date that is two years after 

22 the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 204. PROVISION OF INSCRIPTIONS FOR SPOUSES AND 

2 CHILDREN ON CERTAIN HEADSTONES AND 

3 MARKERS FURNISHED BY THE SECRETARY OF 

4 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2306 of title 38, United 

6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 

7 new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(j)(1) In addition to any other authority under this 

9 section, in the case of an individual whose grave is not in 

10 a covered cemetery (as that term is defined in subsection 

11 (f)(2)) and for whom the Secretary has furnished a head12 stone or marker under subsection (a) or (d), the Secretary, 

13 if feasible and upon request, may replace the headstone or 

14 marker to add an inscription for the surviving spouse or 

15 eligible dependent child of such individual following the 

16 death of the surviving spouse or eligible dependent child. 

17 ‘‘(2) If the spouse or eligible dependent child of an in18 dividual referred to in paragraph (1) predeceases the indi19 vidual, the Secretary may, if feasible and upon request, in20 clude an inscription for the spouse or dependent child on 

21 the headstone or marker furnished for the individual under 

22 subsection (a) or (d).’’. 

23 (b) APPLICATION.—Subsection (j) of section 2306 of 

24 title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), 

25 shall apply with respect to an individual who dies on or 

26 after October 1, 2019. 


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1 SEC. 205. AID TO COUNTIES FOR ESTABLISHMENT, EXPAN2 SION, AND IMPROVEMENT OF VETERANS’ 

3 CEMETERIES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2408 of title 38, United 

5 States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) by inserting ‘‘or county’’ after ‘‘State’’ each 

7 place it appears; and 

8 (2) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

9 following new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(3)(A) The Secretary may make a grant to a county 

11 under this section only if— 

12 ‘‘(i)(I) the State in which the county is located 

13 does not have a veterans’ cemetery owned by the 

14 State; or 

15 ‘‘(II) the State in which the county is located did 

16 not apply for a grant under this section during the 

17 previous year; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) the county demonstrates in the application 

19 under paragraph (2), to the satisfaction of the Sec20 retary, that the county has the resources necessary to 

21 operate and maintain the veterans’ cemetery owned 

22 by the county. 

23 ‘‘(B) If a county and the State in which the county 

24 is located both apply for a grant under this section for the 

25 same year, the Secretary shall give priority to the State. 


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1 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to carry 

2 out this paragraph.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

4 (1) SECTION HEADING.—The heading of such sec5 tion is amended by inserting ‘‘, counties, and 

6 tribal organizations’’ after ‘‘States’’. 

7 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections 

8 at the beginning of chapter 24 of such title is amend9 ed by striking the item relating to section 2408 and 

10 inserting the following new item: 

‘‘2408. Aid to States, counties, and tribal organizations for establishment, expansion, and improvement of veterans’ cemeteries.’’. 

11 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

12 section shall take on effect on the date that is two years 

13 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 206. INCREASE IN MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF GRANTS TO 

15 STATES, COUNTIES, AND TRIBAL ORGANIZA16 TIONS FOR OPERATING AND MAINTAINING 

17 VETERANS’ CEMETERIES. 

18 Section 2408(e)(2) of title 38, United States Code, is 

19 amended by striking ‘‘$5,000,000’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘$10,000,000’’. 


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1 SEC. 207. PROVISION OF URNS FOR REMAINS OF CERTAIN 

2 VETERANS WHOSE CREMATED REMAINS ARE 

3 NOT INTERRED IN CERTAIN CEMETERIES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2306 of title 38, United 

5 States Code, as amended by section 204, is further amend6 ed— 

7 (1) by redesignating subsections (h), (i), and (j) 

8 as subsections (i), (j), and (k), respectively; and 

9 (2) by inserting after subsection (g) the following 

10 new subsection (h): 

11 ‘‘(h)(1) In lieu of furnishing a headstone or marker 

12 under this section to a deceased individual described in 

13 paragraph (3), the Secretary shall furnish, upon request 

14 and at the expense of the United States— 

15 ‘‘(A) an urn made of any material to signify the 

16 individual’s status as a veteran, in which the remains 

17 of such individual may be placed at private expense; 

18 or 

19 ‘‘(B) a commemorative plaque signifying the in20 dividual’s status as a veteran. 

21 ‘‘(2) If the Secretary provides an urn or commemora22 tive plaque for a veteran under paragraph (1), the Sec23 retary may not provide for such veteran— 

24 ‘‘(A) a headstone or marker under this section; 

25 or 


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1 ‘‘(B) any burial benefit under section 2402 of 

2 this title. 

3 ‘‘(3) A deceased individual described in this paragraph 

4 is an individual— 

5 ‘‘(A) who served in the Armed Forces on or after 

6 April 6, 1917; 

7 ‘‘(B) who is eligible for a headstone or marker 

8 furnished under subsection (d) (or would be so eligible 

9 but for the date of the death of the individual); and 

10 ‘‘(C) whose remains were cremated and not in11 terred in a national cemetery, a State veterans’ ceme12 tery, a tribal cemetery, or a private cemetery.’’. 

13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

14 section shall take on effect on the date that is two years 

15 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

16 TITLE III—REPRESENTATION 

17 AND FINANCIAL EXPLOI18 TATION MATTERS 

19 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

20 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Financial Refuge for 

21 Every Elderly Veteran Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘FREE Veteran 

22 Act of 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 302. PENALTIES FOR REPRESENTING VETERANS AS 

2 AGENTS AND ATTORNEYS WITHOUT REC3 OGNITION BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS AF4 FAIRS. 

5 (a) PENALTIES.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 5905 of title 38, 

7 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘§ 5905. Penalty for certain acts 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Whoever commits any of the fol10 lowing acts shall be fined as provided in title 18, or impris11 oned for not more than one year, or both: 

12 ‘‘(1) Undertakes or attempts to undertake any 

13 work in furtherance of the preparation, presentation, 

14 or prosecution of a claim under a law administered 

15 by the Secretary— 

16 ‘‘(A) without recognition by the Secretary 

17 under sections 5902 through 5904 of this title; or 

18 ‘‘(B) while suspended or excluded under sec19 tion 5904(b) of this title. 

20 ‘‘(2) Unlawfully withholds from any claimant or 

21 beneficiary any part of a benefit or claim under the 

22 laws administered by the Secretary that is allowed 

23 and due to the claimant or beneficiary. 

24 ‘‘(b) SEEKING RECOGNITION.—Subsection (a)(1)(A) 

25 shall not be construed to include the seeking of recognition 


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1 from the Secretary to prepare, present, or prosecute a claim 

2 under a law administered by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(c) LEGAL INTERNS, LAW STUDENTS, AND PARA4 LEGALS.—Subsection (a)(1)(A) shall not apply to a legal 

5 intern, a law student, or a paralegal undertaking or at6 tempting to undertake work in furtherance of the prepara7 tion, presentation, or prosecution of a claim under a law 

8 administered by the Secretary to the degree that such legal 

9 intern, law student, or paralegal is doing so— 

10 ‘‘(1) on behalf of or under the supervision of an 

11 attorney recognized by the Secretary under sections 

12 5902 through 5904 of this title; and 

13 ‘‘(2) in a manner that is consistent with the 

14 Model Rules of Professional Conduct of the American 

15 Bar Association.’’. 

16 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

17 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to acts com18 mitted after the date that is 180 days after the date 

19 of the enactment of this Act. 

20 (b) BIENNIAL REPORTS BY GENERAL COUNSEL.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than two years after 

22 the date of the enactment of this Act and not less fre23 quently than once every two years thereafter until the 

24 date that is seven years after the date of the enact25 ment of this Act, the General Counsel of the DepartVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00070 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S4511.RS S4511

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1 ment shall submit to Congress a report on activities 

2 that are carried out by persons in violation of section 

3 5905(a) of title 38, United States Code, as amended 

4 by subsection (a)(1). 

5 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under 

6 paragraph (1) shall include, for the period covered by 

7 the report, the following: 

8 (A) A discussion of the rates generally 

9 charged for services provided by persons in viola10 tion of section 5905(a) of title 38, United States 

11 Code. 

12 (B) The number of claims for benefits under 

13 laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans 

14 Affairs that were prepared, presented, or pros15 ecuted by a person acting as an agent or attor16 ney in violation of such section. 

17 SEC. 303. PLAN TO ADDRESS THE FINANCIAL EXPLOI18 TATION OF VETERANS RECEIVING PENSION 

19 FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF20 FAIRS. 

21 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF METHOD FOR SOLICITATION

22 AND COLLECTION OF INFORMATION.—Not later than one 

23 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec24 retary of Veterans Affairs shall develop a method for system25 atically soliciting and collecting information on complaints 


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1 received, referrals made, and actions taken by the pension 

2 management centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs 

3 and any other relevant components of the Department, in 

4 cases of potential financial exploitation of individuals re5 ceiving pension under chapter 15 of title 38, United States 

6 Code. 

7 (b) PLAN TO ASSESS AND ADDRESS FINANCIAL EX8 PLOITATION OF VETERANS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 

10 and periodically update a plan— 

11 (A) to regularly assess the information so12 licited and collected under subsection (a) to iden13 tify trends of potential financial exploitation of 

14 the individuals described in subsection (a) across 

15 the Department; and 

16 (B) to outline actions that the Department 

17 can take to improve education and training to 

18 address those trends. 

19 (2) SUBMISSION OF PLAN.—Not later than one 

20 year after the date of the enactment of this Act and 

21 not less frequently than once every two years there22 after until the date that is six years after the date of 

23 the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

24 the plan most recently developed or updated under 

25 paragraph (1) to— 


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1 (A) the Comptroller General of the United 

2 States; and 

3 (B) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and 

4 the Special Committee on Aging of the Senate 

5 and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

6 House of Representatives. 

7 SEC. 304. OVERPAYMENTS OF PENSION TO VETERANS RE8 CEIVING PENSION FROM THE DEPARTMENT 

9 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

10 (a) GUIDANCE AND TRAINING FOR CLAIMS PROC11 ESSORS.—As the Secretary of Veterans Affairs considers 

12 necessary, but not less frequently than once every three 

13 years until the date that is 10 years after the date of the 

14 enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary for Benefits of 

15 the Department of Veterans Affairs shall update guidance 

16 and training curriculum for the processors of claims for 

17 pension under chapter 15 of title 38, United States Code, 

18 regarding the evaluation of questionable medical expenses 

19 on applications for pension, including by updating such 

20 guidance with respect to what constitutes a questionable 

21 medical expense and by including examples of such ex22 penses. 

23 (b) IDENTIFICATION AND TRACKING.—The Under Sec24 retary shall develop a method for identifying and tracking 


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1 the number of individuals who have received overpayments 

2 of pension under chapter 15 of title 38, United States Code. 

3 (c) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one year after 

4 the date of the enactment of this Act and not later than 

5 October 31 of each fiscal year beginning thereafter until the 

6 date that is three years after the date of the enactment of 

7 this Act, the Under Secretary shall submit to Congress a 

8 report that includes, for the period covered by the report, 

9 the following: 

10 (1) The number of individuals who received over11 payments of pension under chapter 15 of title 38, 

12 United States Code. 

13 (2) The reason for each overpayment described in 

14 paragraph (1). 

15 (3) The number of veterans who had to repay 

16 overpayments described in paragraph (1). 

17 (4) The number of veterans for whom the Sec18 retary waived a requirement to repay an overpay19 ment described in paragraph (1). 

20 (5) The total dollar amount of overpayments de21 scribed in paragraph (1). 

22 (6) The total dollar amount of repayments of vet23 erans for overpayments described in paragraph (1). 

24 (7) The average dollar amount of repayments de25 scribed in paragraph (6). 


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1 SEC. 305. EVALUATION OF ADDITIONAL ACTIONS FOR 

2 VERIFYING DIRECT DEPOSIT INFORMATION 

3 PROVIDED BY VETERANS ON APPLICATIONS 

4 FOR VETERANS PENSION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for Benefits 

6 of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall— 

7 (1) conduct an evaluation of the feasibility and 

8 advisability of requiring the processors of claims for 

9 pension under chapter 15 of title 38, United States 

10 Code, to take additional actions to verify that the di11 rect deposit information provided by an individual 

12 on an application for pension is for the appropriate 

13 recipient; and 

14 (2) identify such legislative or administrative ac15 tions as the Under Secretary considers appropriate to 

16 ensure that payments of pension are provided to the 

17 correct recipients. 

18 (b) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 240 days after 

20 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Sec21 retary shall submit to Congress a report on the eval22 uation and identification under subsection (a). 

23 (2) CONTENTS.—The report required by para24 graph (1) shall include the following: 


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1 (A) The findings of the Under Secretary 

2 with respect to the evaluation conducted under 

3 subsection (a)(1). 

4 (B) The actions identified under subsection 

5 (a)(2). 

6 (C) A plan for implementing any adminis7 trative actions identified under subsection (a)(2). 

8 (D) A rationale for not implementing any 

9 actions evaluated under paragraph (1) of sub10 section (a) but not identified under paragraph 

11 (2) of such subsection. 

12 SEC. 306. ANNUAL REPORT ON EFFORTS OF DEPARTMENT 

13 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO ADDRESS THE FI14 NANCIAL EXPLOITATION OF VETERANS RE15 CEIVING PENSION. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act and not less frequently 

18 than once each year thereafter until the date that is four 

19 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec20 retary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee 

21 on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 

22 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 

23 on efforts to address the financial exploitation of individ24 uals receiving pension under chapter 15 of title 38, United 

25 States Code. 


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1 (b) CONTENTS.—Each report required by subsection 

2 (a) shall include, for the period covered by the report, the 

3 following: 

4 (1) The number of individuals who received pen5 sion under chapter 15 of title 38, United States Code, 

6 who have been referred by any component of the De7 partment of Veterans Affairs to the Office of Inspector 

8 General of the Department as likely or proven victims 

9 of financial exploitation. 

10 (2) The number of referrals and reports relating 

11 to the financial exploitation of such individuals made 

12 by the Department of Veterans Affairs to— 

13 (A) the Consumer Sentinel Network of the 

14 Federal Trade Commission; and 

15 (B) the Department of Justice. 

16 (3) A description of the actions taken as a result 

17 of such referrals and reports against— 

18 (A) individuals recognized by the Secretary 

19 as agents or attorneys under section 5904 of title 

20 38, United States Code; and 

21 (B) individuals not so recognized. 


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1 SEC. 307. NOTICE REGARDING FEES CHARGED IN CONNEC2 TION WITH FILING AN APPLICATION FOR VET3 ERANS PENSION. 

4 The Under Secretary for Benefits of the Department 

5 of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that every paper or elec6 tronic document relating to the receipt of pension under 

7 chapter 15 of title 38, United States Code, that is available 

8 to individuals who apply for such pension, including edu9 cational forms about or applications for such pension, in10 cludes a notice that the Department does not charge any 

11 fee in connection with the filing of an application for such 

12 pension. 

13 SEC. 308. OUTREACH PLAN FOR EDUCATING VULNERABLE 

14 VETERANS ABOUT POTENTIAL FINANCIAL EX15 PLOITATION RELATING TO THE RECEIPT OF 

16 PENSION. 

17 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.—The Under Secretary 

18 for Benefits of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall de19 velop, in collaboration with veterans service organizations, 

20 an outreach plan for educating vulnerable individuals 

21 about potential financial exploitation relating to the receipt 

22 of pension under chapter 15 of title 38, United States Code. 

23 (b) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 

24 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under 

25 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Af26 fairs and the Special Committee on Aging of the Senate 


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1 and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep2 resentatives the plan developed under subsection (a). 

3 (c) VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATION DEFINED.—In 

4 this section, the term ‘‘veterans service organization’’ means 

5 an organization recognized by the Secretary of Veterans Af6 fairs for the representation of veterans under section 5902 

7 of title 38, United States Code. 

8 TITLE IV—OTHER MATTERS 

9 SEC. 401. ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN MEMBERS OF THE RE10 SERVE COMPONENTS OF THE ARMED FORCES 

11 FOR HOME LOANS FROM THE SECRETARY OF 

12 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

13 (a) EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF VETERAN FOR PUR14 POSES OF HOME LOANS.—Section 3701(b) of title 38, 

15 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

16 following new paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(7) The term ‘veteran’ also includes, for pur18 poses of home loans, an individual who performed 

19 full-time National Guard duty (as that term is de20 fined in section 101 of title 10) for a period— 

21 ‘‘(A) of not less than 90 cumulative days; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B) that includes 30 consecutive days.’’. 


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1 (b) EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY.—Section 3702(a)(2) 

2 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following 

3 new subparagraph: 

4 ‘‘(G) Each individual described in section 

5 3701(b)(7) of this title.’’. 

6 (c) RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY.—The amendments 

7 made by this section shall apply with respect to full-time 

8 National Guard duty (as defined in section 101 of title 10, 

9 United States Code) performed before, on, or after the date 

10 of the enactment of this Act. 

11 SEC. 402. REDUCING LOAN FEES FOR CERTAIN VETERANS 

12 AFFECTED BY MAJOR DISASTERS. 

13 Section 3729(b)(4) of title 38, United States Code, is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) by amending subparagraph (D) to read as 

16 follows: 

17 ‘‘(D)(i) The term ‘initial loan’ means a loan to 

18 a veteran guaranteed under section 3710 or made 

19 under section 3711 of this title if the veteran has 

20 never obtained a loan guaranteed under section 3710 

21 or made under section 3711 of this title. 

22 ‘‘(ii) If a veteran has obtained a loan guaranteed 

23 under section 3710 or made under section 3711 of this 

24 title and the dwelling securing such loan was substan25 tially damaged or destroyed by a major disaster deVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00080 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S4511.RS S4511

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1 clared by the President under section 401 of the Rob2 ert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist3 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), the Secretary shall treat 

4 as an initial loan, as defined in clause (i), the next 

5 loan the Secretary guarantees or makes to such vet6 eran under section 3710 or 3711, respectively, if— 

7 ‘‘(I) such loan is guaranteed or made before 

8 the date that is three years after the date on 

9 which the dwelling was substantially damaged or 

10 destroyed; and 

11 ‘‘(II) such loan is only for repairs or con12 struction of the dwelling, as determined by the 

13 Secretary.’’; and 

14 (2) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘if the vet15 eran has previously obtained a loan guaranteed under 

16 section 3710 or made under section 3711 of this title’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘that is not an initial loan’’. 

18 SEC. 403. EXTENSION OF CERTAIN HOUSING LOAN FEES. 

19 Section 3729(b)(2) of title 38, United States Code, is 

20 amended by striking ‘‘October 1, 2029’’ each place it ap21 pears and inserting ‘‘October 1, 2030’’. 

22 SEC. 404. COLLECTION OF OVERPAYMENTS OF SPECIALLY 

23 ADAPTED HOUSING ASSISTANCE. 

24 Section 2102 of title 38, United States Code, is amend25 ed by adding at the end the following new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(g)(1) Whenever the Secretary finds that an overpay2 ment has been made to, or on behalf of, a person described 

3 in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall determine— 

4 ‘‘(A) the amounts to recover, if any; and 

5 ‘‘(B) who is liable to the United States for such 

6 overpayment. 

7 ‘‘(2) A person described in this paragraph is any of 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) An individual who applied for assistance— 

10 ‘‘(i) under this chapter; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) under chapter 31 of this title who is 

12 pursuing a rehabilitation program under such 

13 chapter in acquiring adaptations to a residence. 

14 ‘‘(B) An owner or seller of real estate used, or in15 tended to be used, in connection with assistance under 

16 this chapter. 

17 ‘‘(C) A builder, contractor, supplier, 

18 tradesperson, corporation, trust, partnership, or other 

19 person, who provided services or goods relating to as20 sistance under this chapter. 

21 ‘‘(D) An attorney, escrow agent, or financial in22 stitution, that receives, or holds in escrow, funds re23 lating to assistance under this chapter. 


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1 ‘‘(E) A surviving spouse, heir, assignee, or suc2 cessor in interest of or to, any person described in this 

3 paragraph. 

4 ‘‘(3)(A) Any overpayment referred to in this subsection 

5 may be recovered in the same manner as any other debt 

6 due the United States. 

7 ‘‘(B) In recovering the overpayment, the Secretary 

8 may charge administrative costs, fees, and interest, as ap9 propriate, in a manner similar to the authority under sec10 tion 5315 of this title. 

11 ‘‘(4)(A) The recovery of any overpayment referred to 

12 in this subsection may be waived by the Secretary. 

13 ‘‘(B) Waiver of any such overpayment as to a person 

14 described in paragraph (2) shall in no way release any 

15 other person described in such paragraph from liability. 

16 ‘‘(5) The Secretary shall waive recovery under this sub17 section of any overpayment to a person described in para18 graph (2)(A), or a dependent or survivor of such person, 

19 that arises from administrative error described in para20 graph (7)(A). 

21 ‘‘(6) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as 

22 precluding the imposition of any civil or criminal liability 

23 under this title or any other law. 


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1 ‘‘(7) The Secretary shall prescribe in regulations what 

2 constitutes an overpayment for the purposes of this sub3 section, which, at a minimum, shall include— 

4 ‘‘(A) administrative error that results in an in5 dividual receiving assistance to which that individual 

6 is not entitled; 

7 ‘‘(B) the failure of any person described in para8 graph (2) to— 

9 ‘‘(i) perform or allow to be performed any 

10 act relating to assistance under this chapter; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) compensate any party performing 

12 services or supplying goods relating to assistance 

13 under this chapter; and 

14 ‘‘(C) any disbursement of funds relating to as15 sistance under this chapter, that, in the sole discretion 

16 of the Secretary, constitutes a misuse of such assist17 ance. 

18 ‘‘(8) Prior to collecting an overpayment under this 

19 subsection, the Secretary shall provide to the person whom 

20 the Secretary has determined liable for such overpayment— 

21 ‘‘(A) notice of the finding by the Secretary of 

22 such overpayment; 

23 ‘‘(B) a reasonable opportunity for such person to 

24 remedy the circumstances that effectuated the over25 payment; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) a reasonable opportunity for such person to 

2 present evidence to the Secretary that an overpayment 

3 was not made. 

4 ‘‘(9) For the purposes of section 511 of this title, a 

5 decision to collect an overpayment from a person other than 

6 a person described in paragraph (2)(A), or a dependent or 

7 survivor of such person, may not be treated as a decision 

8 that affects the provision of benefits.’’. 

9 SEC. 405. REVISION OF DEFINITION OF VIETNAM ERA FOR 

10 PURPOSES OF THE LAWS ADMINISTERED BY 

11 THE SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

12 Section 101(29)(A) of title 38, United States Code, is 

13 amended by striking ‘‘February 28, 1961’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘November 1, 1955’’. 

15 SEC. 406. MATTERS RELATING TO DEPARTMENT OF VET16 ERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL DISABILITY EXAMI17 NATIONS. 

18 (a) TEMPORARY CLARIFICATION OF LICENSURE RE19 QUIREMENTS FOR CONTRACTOR MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS

20 TO PERFORM MEDICAL DISABILITY EXAMINATIONS FOR

21 THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS UNDER PILOT

22 PROGRAM FOR USE OF CONTRACT PHYSICIANS FOR DIS23 ABILITY EXAMINATIONS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (c) of section 504 

25 of the Veterans’ Benefits Improvements Act of 1996 


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1 (Public Law 104–275; 38 U.S.C. 5101 note) is 

2 amended to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(c) LICENSURE OF CONTRACT HEALTH CARE PRO4 FESSIONALS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any law re6 garding the licensure of health care professionals, a 

7 health care professional described in paragraph (2) 

8 may conduct an examination pursuant to a contract 

9 entered into under subsection (a) at any location in 

10 any State, the District of Columbia, or a Common11 wealth, territory, or possession of the United States, 

12 so long as the examination is within the scope of the 

13 authorized duties under such contract. 

14 ‘‘(2) HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL DE15 SCRIBED.—A health care professional described in 

16 this paragraph is a physician, physician assistant, 

17 nurse practitioner, audiologist, or psychologist, who— 

18 ‘‘(A) has a current unrestricted license to 

19 practice the health care profession of the physi20 cian, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, au21 diologist, or psychologist, as the case may be; 

22 ‘‘(B) is not barred from practicing such 

23 health care profession in any State, the District 

24 of Columbia, or a Commonwealth, territory, or 

25 possession of the United States; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) is performing authorized duties for the 

2 Department of Veterans Affairs pursuant to a 

3 contract entered into under subsection (a).’’. 

4 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the amendment 

5 made by paragraph (1) is to expand the license port6 ability for physicians assistants, nurse practitioners, 

7 audiologists, and psychologists to supplement the ca8 pacity of employees of the Department to provide 

9 medical examinations described in subsection (b). 

10 (3) SUNSET.—On the date that is three years 

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act, subsection 

12 (c) of such section shall read as it read on the day 

13 before the date of the enactment of this Act. 

14 (b) TEMPORARY HALT ON ELIMINATION OF MEDICAL

15 EXAMINER POSITIONS IN DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF16 FAIRS.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall imme17 diately suspend the efforts of the Secretary in effect on the 

18 day before the date of the enactment of this Act to eliminate 

19 medical examiner positions in the Department of Veterans 

20 Affairs until the number of individuals awaiting a medical 

21 examination with respect to medical disability of the indi22 viduals for benefits under laws administered by the Sec23 retary that are carried out through the Under Secretary for 

24 Benefits is equal to or less than the number of such individVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00087 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S4511.RS S4511

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1 uals who were awaiting such a medical examination with 

2 respect to such purposes on March 1, 2020. 

3 (c) REPORT ON PROVISION OF MEDICAL EXAMINA4 TIONS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

6 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

7 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con8 gress a report on the provision of medical examina9 tions described in subsection (b) by the Department. 

10 (2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under 

11 paragraph (1) shall cover the following: 

12 (A) How the Secretary will increase the ca13 pacity, efficiency, and timeliness of medical ex14 aminers of the Veterans Health Administration 

15 with respect to completing medical examinations 

16 described in subsection (a). 

17 (B) The total number of full-time equivalent 

18 employees among all medical and health care 

19 professions needed for the increases described in 

20 subparagraph (A). 

21 (C) An assessment regarding the importance 

22 of retaining a critical knowledge base within the 

23 Department for performing medical examina24 tions for veterans filing claims for compensation 

25 under chapters 11 and 13 of title 38, United 


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1 States Code, including with respect to military 

2 sexual trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, 

3 traumatic brain injury, and toxic exposure. 

4 (3) COLLABORATION.—The Secretary shall col5 laborate with the veterans community and stake6 holders in the preparation of the report required by 

7 paragraph (1). 

8 (4) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS

9 DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘appropriate 

10 committees of Congress’’ means— 

11 (A) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and 

12 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; 

13 and 

14 (B) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and 

15 the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 

16 Representatives. 

17 (d) COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES

18 REVIEW.— 

19 (1) REVIEW REQUIRED.—Not later than 360 

20 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

21 Comptroller General of the United States shall com22 mence a review of the implementation of the pilot 

23 program authorized under subsection (a) of section 

24 504 of the Veterans’ Benefits Improvements Act of 

25 1996 (Public Law 104–275; 38 U.S.C. 5101 note). 


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1 (2) ELEMENTS.—The review conducted under 

2 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

3 (A) An assessment of the use of subsection 

4 (c) of section 504 of such Act, as amended by 

5 subsection (a)(1) of this section. 

6 (B) Efforts to retain and recruit medical 

7 examiners as employees of the Department. 

8 (C) Use of telehealth for medical examina9 tions described in subsection (b) that are admin10 istered by the Department. 

11 (e) REPORT ON RECOMMENDATIONS OF COMPTROLLER

12 GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES.—Not later than 60 

13 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec14 retary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

15 of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 

16 the House of Representatives a report on how the Secretary 

17 will implement the recommendations of the Comptroller 

18 General of the United States regarding— 

19 (1) the monitoring of the training of providers of 

20 examinations pursuant to contracts under section 504 

21 of the Veterans’ Benefits Improvements Act of 1996 

22 (Public Law 104–275; 38 U.S.C. 5101 note); and 

23 (2) ensuring such providers receive such train24 ing. 


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1 (f) HOLDING UNDERPERFORMING CONTRACT MEDICAL

2 EXAMINERS ACCOUNTABLE.—The Secretary shall take such 

3 actions as may be necessary to hold accountable the pro4 viders of medical examinations pursuant to contracts under 

5 section 504 of the Veterans’ Benefits Improvements Act of 

6 1996 (Public Law 104–275; 38 U.S.C. 5101 note) who are 

7 underperforming in the meeting of the needs of veterans 

8 through the performance of medical examinations pursuant 

9 to such contracts. 

10 SEC. 407. MEDAL OF HONOR SPECIAL PENSION FOR SUR11 VIVING SPOUSES. 

12 (a) CODIFICATION OF CURRENT RATE OF SPECIAL

13 PENSION.—Subsection (a) of section 1562 of title 38, 

14 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘$1,000’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘$1,388.68’’. 

16 (b) SPECIAL PENSION FOR SURVIVING SPOUSES.— 

17 (1) SURVIVING SPOUSE BENEFIT.—Such sub18 section is further amended— 

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(a)’’; and 

20 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

21 paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(2)(A) Except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and 

23 (C), the Secretary shall pay special pension under this sec24 tion to the surviving spouse of a person whose name has 

25 been entered on the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast 


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1 Guard Medal of Honor Roll and a copy of whose certificate 

2 has been delivered to the Secretary under section 1134a(d) 

3 of title 10. 

4 ‘‘(B) No special pension shall be paid to a surviving 

5 spouse of a person under this section unless such surviving 

6 spouse was married to such person— 

7 ‘‘(i) for one year or more prior to the veteran’s 

8 death; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) for any period of time if a child was born 

10 of the marriage, or was born to them before the mar11 riage. 

12 ‘‘(C) No special pension shall be paid to a surviving 

13 spouse of a person under this section if such surviving 

14 spouse is receiving benefits under section 1311 or 1318 of 

15 this title.’’. 

16 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Such section is amend18 ed— 

19 (i) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘or 

20 married to more than one person who has 

21 been awarded a medal of honor,’’ after 

22 ‘‘honor,’’; and 

23 (ii) in subsection (f)(1), by striking 

24 ‘‘this section’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1) 

25 of subsection (a), or under paragraph (2) of 


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1 such subsection in the case of a posthumous 

2 entry on the Army, Navy, Air Force, and 

3 Coast Guard Medal of Honor Roll,’’. 

4 (B) SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO

5 MARRIAGES.—Section 103(d)(5) of such title is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following new 

7 subparagraph: 

8 ‘‘(E) Section 1562(a)(2), relating to Medal of 

9 Honor special pension.’’. 

10 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

11 by this subsection shall apply with respect to pay12 ment of pension under section 1562 of title 38, United 

13 States Code, for months beginning after the date of 

14 the enactment of this Act. 

15 SEC. 408. MODERNIZATION OF SERVICE-DISABLED VET16 ERANS INSURANCE. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF MODERNIZED PROGRAM.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 19 of title 38, United 

19 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 

20 1922A the following new section: 

21 ‘‘§ 1922B. Service-disabled veterans insurance 

22 ‘‘(a) INSURANCE.—(1) Beginning January 1, 2023, 

23 the Secretary shall carry out a service-disabled veterans in24 surance program under which a veteran is granted insurVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00093 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S4511.RS S4511

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1 ance by the United States against the death of such indi2 vidual occurring while such insurance is in force. 

3 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may only issue whole-life policies 

4 under the insurance program under paragraph (1). 

5 ‘‘(3) The Secretary may not grant insurance to a vet6 eran under paragraph (1) unless— 

7 ‘‘(A) the veteran submits the application for such 

8 insurance before the veteran attains 81 years of age; 

9 or 

10 ‘‘(B) with respect to a veteran who has attained 

11 81 years of age— 

12 ‘‘(i) the veteran filed a claim for compensa13 tion under chapter 11 of this title before attain14 ing such age; 

15 ‘‘(ii) based on such claim, and after the vet16 eran attained such age, the Secretary first deter17 mines that the veteran has a service-connected 

18 disability; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) the veteran submits the application 

20 for such insurance during the two-year period 

21 following the date of such determination. 

22 ‘‘(4)(A) A veteran enrolled in the insurance program 

23 under paragraph (1) may elect to be insured in any of the 

24 following amounts: 

25 ‘‘(i) $10,000. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) $20,000. 

2 ‘‘(iii) $30,000. 

3 ‘‘(iv) $40,000. 

4 ‘‘(v) In accordance with subparagraph (B), 

5 a maximum amount greater than $40,000. 

6 ‘‘(B) The Secretary may establish a maximum amount 

7 to be insured under paragraph (1) that is greater than 

8 $40,000 if the Secretary— 

9 ‘‘(i) determines that such maximum amount and 

10 the premiums for such amount— 

11 ‘‘(I) are administratively and actuarially 

12 sound for the insurance program under para13 graph (1); and 

14 ‘‘(II) will not result in such program oper15 ating at a loss; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) publishes in the Federal Register, and sub17 mits to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen18 ate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

19 House of Representatives, such maximum amount 

20 and determination. 

21 ‘‘(5)(A)(i) Insurance granted under this section shall 

22 be on a nonparticipating basis and all premiums and other 

23 collections therefor shall be credited directly to a revolving 

24 fund in the Treasury of the United States. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) Any payments on such insurance shall be made 

2 directly from such fund. 

3 ‘‘(B)(i) The Secretary of the Treasury may invest in 

4 and sell and retire special interest-bearing obligations of the 

5 United States for the account of the revolving fund under 

6 subparagraph (A). 

7 ‘‘(ii) Such obligations issued for that purpose shall— 

8 ‘‘(I) have maturities fixed with due regard for 

9 the needs of the fund; and 

10 ‘‘(II) bear interest at a rate equal to the average 

11 market yield (computed by the Secretary of the Treas12 ury on the basis of market quotations as of the end 

13 of the calendar month preceding the date of issue) on 

14 all marketable interest-bearing obligations of the 

15 United States then forming a part of the public debt 

16 which are not due or callable until after the expira17 tion of four years from the end of such calendar 

18 month; except that where such average market yield 

19 is not a multiple of one-eighth of one per centum, the 

20 rate of interest of such obligation shall be the multiple 

21 of one-eighth of one per centum nearest such market 

22 yield. 

23 ‘‘(6)(A) Administrative support financed by the appro24 priations for ‘General Operating Expenses, Department of 

25 Veterans Affairs’ and ‘Information Technology Systems, 


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1 Department of Veterans Affairs’ for the insurance program 

2 under paragraph (1) shall be paid from premiums credited 

3 to the fund under paragraph (5). 

4 ‘‘(B) Such payment for administrative support shall 

5 be reimbursed for that fiscal year from funds that are avail6 able on such insurance after claims have been paid. 

7 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—A veteran is eligible to enroll in 

8 the insurance program under subsection (a)(1) if the vet9 eran has a service-connected disability, without regard to— 

10 ‘‘(1) whether such disability is compensable 

11 under chapter 11 of this title; or 

12 ‘‘(2) whether the veteran meets standards of good 

13 health required for other life insurance policies. 

14 ‘‘(c) ENROLLMENT AND WAITING PERIOD.—(1) An eli15 gible veteran may enroll in the insurance program under 

16 subsection (a)(1) at any time. 

17 ‘‘(2) The life insurance policy of a veteran who enrolls 

18 in the insurance program under subsection (a)(1) does not 

19 go into force unless— 

20 ‘‘(A) a period of two years elapses following the 

21 date of such enrollment; and 

22 ‘‘(B) the veteran pays the premiums required 

23 during such two-year period. 

24 ‘‘(3)(A) If a veteran dies during the two-year period 

25 described in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall pay to the 


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1 beneficiary of the veteran the amount of premiums paid by 

2 the veteran under this section, plus interest. 

3 ‘‘(B) The Secretary— 

4 ‘‘(i) for the initial year of the insurance program 

5 under subsection (a)(1)— 

6 ‘‘(I) shall set such interest at a rate of one 

7 percent; and 

8 ‘‘(II) may adjust such rate during such 

9 year based on program experience, except that 

10 the interest rate may not be less than zero per11 cent; 

12 ‘‘(ii) for the second and each subsequent year of 

13 the program, shall calculate such interest at an an14 nual rate equal to the rate of return on the revolving 

15 fund under subsection (a)(5) for the calendar year 

16 preceding the year of the veteran’s death, except that 

17 the interest rate may not be less than zero percent; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(iii) on an annual basis, shall publish on the 

20 internet website of the Department the average inter21 est rate calculated under clause (ii) for the preceding 

22 calendar year. 

23 ‘‘(d) PREMIUMS.—(1) The Secretary shall establish a 

24 schedule of basic premium rates by age per $10,000 of in25 surance under subsection (a)(1) consistent with basic preVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00098 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S4511.RS S4511

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1 mium rates generally charged for guaranteed acceptance life 

2 insurance policies by private life insurance companies. 

3 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may adjust such schedule after the 

4 first policy year in a manner consistent with the general 

5 practice of guaranteed acceptance life insurance policies 

6 issued by private life insurance companies. 

7 ‘‘(3) Section 1912 of this title shall not apply to life 

8 insurance policies under subsection (a)(1), and the Sec9 retary may not otherwise waive premiums for such insur10 ance policies. 

11 ‘‘(e) BENEFICIARIES.—(1) A veteran who enrolls in the 

12 insurance program under subsection (a)(1) may designate 

13 a beneficiary of the life insurance policy. 

14 ‘‘(2) If a veteran enrolled in the insurance program 

15 under subsection (a)(1) does not designate a beneficiary 

16 under paragraph (1) before the veteran dies, or if a des17 ignated beneficiary predeceases the veteran, the Secretary 

18 shall determine the beneficiary in the following order: 

19 ‘‘(A) The surviving spouse of the veteran. 

20 ‘‘(B) The children of the veteran and descendants 

21 of deceased children by representation. 

22 ‘‘(C) The parents of the veteran or the survivors 

23 of the parents. 

24 ‘‘(D) The duly appointed executor or adminis25 trator of the estate of the veteran. 


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1 ‘‘(E) Other next of kin of the veteran entitled 

2 under the laws of domicile of the veteran at the time 

3 of the death of the veteran. 

4 ‘‘(f) CLAIMS.—(1) If the deceased veteran designated 

5 a beneficiary under subsection (e)(1)— 

6 ‘‘(A) the designated beneficiary is the only per7 son who may file a claim for payment under sub8 section (g) during the one-year period beginning on 

9 the date of the death of the veteran; and 

10 ‘‘(B) if the designated beneficiary does not file a 

11 claim for the payment during the period described in 

12 paragraph (1), or if payment to the designated bene13 ficiary within that period is prohibited by Federal 

14 statute or regulation, a beneficiary described in sub15 section (e)(2) may file a claim for such payment dur16 ing the one-year period following the period described 

17 in subparagraph (A) as if the designated beneficiary 

18 had predeceased the veteran. 

19 ‘‘(2) If the deceased veteran did not designate a bene20 ficiary under subsection (e)(1), or if the designated bene21 ficiary predeceased the veteran, a beneficiary described in 

22 subsection (e)(2) may file a claim for payment under sub23 section (g) during the two-year period beginning on the date 

24 of the death of the veteran. 


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1 ‘‘(3) If, on the date that is two years after the date 

2 of the death of the veteran, no claim for payment has been 

3 filed by any beneficiary pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2), 

4 and the Secretary has not received notice that any such 

5 claim will be so filed during the subsequent one-year period, 

6 the Secretary may make the payment to a claimant whom 

7 the Secretary determines to be equitably entitled to such 

8 payment. 

9 ‘‘(g) PAYMENTS.—(1) In a case described in subsection 

10 (f)— 

11 ‘‘(A) in paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall 

12 pay the designated beneficiary not later than 90 days 

13 after the designated beneficiary files a complete and 

14 valid claim for payment; 

15 ‘‘(B) in paragraph (1)(B) or (2), the Secretary 

16 shall make any payment not later than one year after 

17 the end of the period described in the applicable such 

18 paragraph, if the Secretary receives a complete and 

19 valid claim for payment in accordance with the ap20 plicable such paragraph; or 

21 ‘‘(C) in paragraph (3), the Secretary shall make 

22 any payment not later than one year after the end of 

23 the period described in such paragraph, if the Sec24 retary receives a complete and valid claim for pay25 ment. 


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1 ‘‘(2) In a case where the Secretary has not made an 

2 insurance payment under this section during the applicable 

3 period specified in paragraph (1) by reason of a beneficiary 

4 not yet having filed a claim, or the Secretary not yet mak5 ing a determination under subsection (f)(3), the Secretary 

6 may make the payment after such applicable period. 

7 ‘‘(3) Notwithstanding section 1917 of this title, the 

8 Secretary shall make an insurance payment under this sec9 tion in a lump sum. 

10 ‘‘(4) The Secretary may not make an insurance pay11 ment under this section if such payment will escheat to a 

12 State. 

13 ‘‘(5) Any payment under this subsection shall be a bar 

14 to recovery by any other person.’’. 

15 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec16 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended by 

17 inserting after the item relating to section 1922A the 

18 following new item: 

‘‘1922B. Service-disabled veterans insurance.’’. 

19 (b) SUNSET OF PREVIOUS PROGRAM AND TRANSI20 TION.— 

21 (1) S–DVI.—Section 1922 of such title is 

22 amended by adding at the end the following new sub23 section: 


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1 ‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary may not accept any application 

2 by a veteran to be insured under this section after December 

3 31, 2022. 

4 ‘‘(2)(A) During the period beginning January 1, 2023, 

5 and ending December 31, 2025, a veteran who is insured 

6 under this section may elect to instead be insured under 

7 section 1922B of this title based on the age of the veteran 

8 at the time of such election. 

9 ‘‘(B)(i) A veteran who elects under subparagraph (A) 

10 to be insured under section 1922B of this title shall be sub11 ject to the two-year waiting period specified in subsection 

12 (c) of such section. 

13 ‘‘(ii) If the veteran dies during such period, the Sec14 retary shall pay the beneficiary under this section, and, if 

15 applicable, under section 1922A, plus the amount of pre16 miums paid by the veteran under such section 1922B, plus 

17 interest. 

18 ‘‘(3) Except as provided by paragraph (2)(B), a vet19 eran may not be insured under this section and section 

20 1922B simultaneously.’’. 

21 (2) SUPPLEMENTAL S–DVI.—Section 1922A(b) of 

22 such title is amended by adding after the period at 

23 the end the following: ‘‘The Secretary may not accept 

24 any such application after December 31, 2022. Except 

25 as provided by section 1922(d)(2)(B), a veteran may 


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1 not have supplemental insurance under this section 

2 and be insured under section 1922B simultaneously.’’. 

3 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Chapter 19 of such 

4 title is amended— 

5 (1) in the section heading of section 1922, by 

6 striking ‘‘Service’’ and inserting ‘‘Legacy serv7 ice’’; 

8 (2) in the section heading of section 1922A, by 

9 striking ‘‘Supplemental’’ and inserting ‘‘Legacy 

10 supplemental’’; and 

11 (3) in the table of sections at the beginning of 

12 such chapter by striking the items relating to sections 

13 1922 and 1922A and inserting the following new 

14 items: 

‘‘1922. Legacy service disabled veterans’ insurance. 

‘‘1922A. Legacy supplemental service disabled veterans’ insurance for totally disabled veterans.’’. 

15 SEC. 409. PUBLICATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF DISABILITY 

16 BENEFIT QUESTIONNAIRE FORMS OF DE17 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5101 of title 38, United 

19 States Code, is amended— 

20 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection 

21 (e); and 

22 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following 

23 new subsection (d): 


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1 ‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary shall publish in a central loca2 tion on the internet website of the Department disability 

3 benefit questionnaire forms of the Department for the sub4 mittal of evidence from non-Department medical providers 

5 regarding a disability of a claimant. 

6 ‘‘(2) Subject to section 6103 of this title, if the Sec7 retary updates a form described in paragraph (1), the Sec8 retary shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) accept the previous version of the form filed 

10 by a claimant if— 

11 ‘‘(i) the claimant provided to the non-De12 partment medical provider the previous version 

13 of the form before the date on which the updated 

14 version of the form was made available; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the claimant files the previous version 

16 of the form during the one-year period following 

17 the date the form was completed by the non-De18 partment medical provider; 

19 ‘‘(B) request from the claimant any other infor20 mation that the updated version of the form requires; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(C) apply the laws and regulations required to 

23 adjudicate the claim as if the claimant filed the up24 dated version of the form. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The Secretary may waive any interagency ap2 proval process required to approve a modification to a dis3 ability benefit questionnaire form if such requirement only 

4 applies by reason of the forms being made public.’’. 

5 (b) REPORTS BY INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE DE6 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.—Not less frequently 

7 than once each year through 2023, the Inspector General 

8 of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Con9 gress a report on the findings of the Inspector General with 

10 respect to the use of the forms published under section 

11 5101(d)(1) of such title, as added by subsection (a). 

12 (c) INITIAL FORM.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

13 shall begin carrying out section 5101(d)(1) of such title, as 

14 added by subsection (a), by publishing, as described in such 

15 section, the form described in such section that was in effect 

16 on January 1, 2020. 

17 (d) ALTERNATE PROCESS.— 

18 (1) ASSESSMENT AND REPORT.—Subject to para19 graph (2), not later than 180 days after the date of 

20 the enactment of this act, the Secretary shall— 

21 (A) assess the feasibility and advisability of 

22 replacing disability benefit questionnaire forms 

23 that are used by non-Department medical pro24 viders to submit to the Secretary evidence re25 garding a disability of a claimant for benefits 


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1 under laws administered by the Secretary, with 

2 another consistent process that considers evidence 

3 equally, whether provided by a Department or a 

4 non-Department medical provider; and 

5 (B) submit to Congress— 

6 (i) a report on the findings of the Sec7 retary with respect to the assessment con8 ducted under subparagraph (A); and 

9 (ii) a plan to replace the disability 

10 benefit questionnaire forms as described in 

11 subparagraph (A). 

12 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary may only 

13 determine under paragraph (1)(A) that replacing the 

14 forms described in such paragraph is feasible and ad15 visable if the Secretary certifies that— 

16 (A) it is in the best interest of veterans to 

17 do so; 

18 (B) the replacement process would include 

19 all the medical information needed to adjudicate 

20 a claim for benefits under laws administered by 

21 the Secretary; and 

22 (C) the new process will ensure that all 

23 medical information provided will be considered 

24 equally, whether it is provided by a Department 


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1 medical provider or a non-Department medical 

2 provider. 

3 (3) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subparagraph 

5 (B), if the Secretary determines under para6 graph (1)(A) that replacing the forms as de7 scribed in such paragraph is feasible and advis8 able, the Secretary shall, not later than two 

9 years after the date on which the Secretary sub10 mits the report under paragraph (1)(B)(i), re11 place the forms as described in paragraph 

12 (1)(A). 

13 (B) REPORTS BY INSPECTOR GENERAL OF

14 THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.—If 

15 the Secretary replaces the forms under subpara16 graph (A), the Inspector General of the Depart17 ment of Veterans Affairs shall, not less frequently 

18 than once each year, submit to Congress a report 

19 on the process that replaced such forms that as20 certains whether the process properly protects 

21 veterans. 

22 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section 

23 or section 5101(d) of such title, as added by subsection (a), 

24 may be construed to require the Secretary to develop any 

25 new information technology system or otherwise require the 


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1 Secretary to make any significant changes to the internet 

2 website of the Department. 

3 SEC. 410. PREFERENCE FOR OFFERORS EMPLOYING VET4 ERANS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 81 of title 

6 38, United States Code, is amended by adding after section 

7 8128 the following new section: 

8 ‘‘§ 8129. Preference for offerors employing veterans 

9 ‘‘(a) PREFERENCE.—(1) In awarding a contract for 

10 the procurement of goods or services, the Secretary may give 

11 a preference to offerors that employ veterans on a full-time 

12 basis. 

13 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall determine such preference 

14 based on the percentage of the full-time employees of the 

15 offeror who are veterans. 

16 ‘‘(b) ENFORCEMENT PENALTIES FOR MISREPRESENTA17 TION.—(1) Any offeror that is determined by the Secretary 

18 to have willfully and intentionally misrepresented the vet19 eran status of the employees of the offeror for purposes of 

20 subsection (a) may be debarred from contracting with the 

21 Department for a period of not less than five years. 

22 ‘‘(2) If the Secretary carries out a debarment under 

23 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) commence debarment action against the of25 feror by not later than 30 days after determining that 


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1 the offeror willfully and intentionally misrepresented 

2 the veteran status of the employees of the offeror as 

3 described in paragraph (1); and 

4 ‘‘(B) complete debarment actions against such of5 feror by not later than 90 days after such determina6 tion. 

7 ‘‘(3) The debarment of an offeror under paragraph (1) 

8 includes the debarment of all principals in the offeror for 

9 a period of not less than five years.’’. 

10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at 

11 the beginning of chapter 81 of such title is amended by in12 serting after the item relating to section 8128 the following 

13 new item: 

‘‘8129. Preference for offerors employing veterans.’’. 

14 SEC. 411. ELIMINATION OF PERIOD OF ELIGIBILITY FOR 

15 TRAINING AND REHABILITATION FOR CER16 TAIN VETERANS WITH SERVICE-CONNECTED 

17 DISABILITIES. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3103 of title 38, United 

19 States Code, is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘or (e)’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘(e), or (g)’’; and 

22 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub23 section: 


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1 ‘‘(g) Subsection (a) shall not apply to a veteran who 

2 was discharged or released from active military, naval, or 

3 air service on or after January 1, 2013.’’. 

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 6(c) of the 

5 Student Veteran Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 (134 

6 Stat. 633; Public Law 116–140) is amended by striking 

7 paragraph (1). 

8 SEC. 412. CLARIFICATION OF TERMINATION OF LEASES OF 

9 PREMISES AND MOTOR VEHICLES OF 

10 SERVICEMEMBERS WHO INCUR CATA11 STROPHIC INJURY OR ILLNESS OR DIE WHILE 

12 IN MILITARY SERVICE. 

13 (a) CATASTROPHIC INJURIES AND ILLNESSES.—Para14 graph (4) of section 305(a) of the Servicemembers Civil Re15 lief Act (50 U.S.C. 3955(a)), as added by section 545 of 

16 the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 

17 2020 (Public Law 116–92), is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(4) CATASTROPHIC INJURY OR ILLNESS OF LES19 SEE.— 

20 ‘‘(A) TERMINATION.—If the lessee on a lease 

21 described in subsection (b) incurs a catastrophic 

22 injury or illness during a period of military 

23 service or while performing covered service, dur24 ing the one-year period beginning on the date on 

25 which the lessee incurs such injury or illness— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the lessee may terminate the lease; 

2 or 

3 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a lessee who lacks 

4 the mental capacity to contract or to man5 age his or her own affairs (including dis6 bursement of funds without limitation) due 

7 to such injury or illness, the spouse or de8 pendent of the lessee may terminate the 

9 lease. 

10 ‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(i) CATASTROPHIC INJURY OR ILL12 NESS.—The term ‘catastrophic injury or ill13 ness’ has the meaning given that term in 

14 section 439(g) of title 37, United States 

15 Code. 

16 ‘‘(ii) COVERED SERVICE.—The term 

17 ‘covered service’ means full-time National 

18 Guard duty, active Guard and Reserve 

19 duty, or inactive-duty training (as such 

20 terms are defined in section 101(d) of title 

21 10, United States Code).’’. 

22 (b) DEATHS.—Paragraph (3) of such section is amend23 ed by striking ‘‘The spouse of the lessee’’ and inserting ‘‘The 

24 spouse or dependent of the lessee’’. 


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1 SEC. 413. CLARIFICATION OF DELIVERY OF NOTICE OF TER2 MINATION OF LEASES OF PREMISES AND 

3 MOTOR VEHICLES FOR PURPOSES OF RELIEF 

4 UNDER SERVICEMEMBERS CIVIL RELIEF ACT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 305(c)(2) of the 

6 Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. 3955(c)(2)) is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

9 end; 

10 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period 

11 and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

12 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub13 paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(D) by electronic means, including— 

15 ‘‘(i) the direct delivery of material to 

16 an electronic address designated by the les17 sor (or the lessor’s grantee) or the lessor’s 

18 agent (or the agent’s grantee); 

19 ‘‘(ii) the posting of material to a 

20 website or other internet or electronic-based 

21 information repository to which access has 

22 been granted to the lessee, the lessor (or the 

23 lessor’s grantee), or the lessor’s agent (or the 

24 agent’s grantee); and 

25 ‘‘(iii) other electronic means reason26 ably calculated to ensure actual receipt of 


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1 the material by the lessor (or the lessor’s 

2 grantee) or the lessor’s agent (or the agent’s 

3 grantee).’’. 

4 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by sub5 section (a) shall apply to delivery of notice of lease termi6 nations on or after the date the enactment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 414. TECHNICAL CORRECTION REGARDING EXTEN8 SION OF LEASE PROTECTIONS FOR 

9 SERVICEMEMBERS UNDER STOP MOVEMENT 

10 ORDERS IN RESPONSE TO LOCAL, NATIONAL, 

11 OR GLOBAL EMERGENCY. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 305(b) of the 

13 Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. 3955(b)), as 

14 amended by Public Law 116–158, is further amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (1)(C)(ii), by striking ‘‘Sec16 retary of Defense’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary con17 cerned’’; and 

18 (2) in paragraph (2)(C)(ii), by striking ‘‘Sec19 retary of Defense’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary con20 cerned’’. 

21 (b) RETROACTIVE APPLICATION.—The amendments 

22 made by this section shall apply to stop movement orders 

23 issued on or after March 1, 2020. 


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1 SEC. 415. TERMINATION OF CONTRACTS FOR TELEPHONE, 

2 MULTICHANNEL VIDEO PROGRAMMING, OR 

3 INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE BY CERTAIN IN4 DIVIDUALS UNDER SERVICEMEMBERS CIVIL 

5 RELIEF ACT. 

6 Section 305A(a) of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act 

7 (50 U.S.C. 3956(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 

8 following new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL INDIVIDUALS COVERED.—For 

10 purposes of this section, the following individuals 

11 shall be treated as a servicemember covered by para12 graph (1): 

13 ‘‘(A) A spouse or dependent of a service14 member who dies while in military service or a 

15 spouse or dependent of a member of a reserve 

16 component of the Armed Forces who dies while 

17 performing duty described in subparagraph (C). 

18 ‘‘(B) A spouse or dependent of a service19 member who incurs a catastrophic injury or ill20 ness (as that term is defined in section 439(g) of 

21 title 37, United States Code), if the servicemem22 ber incurs the catastrophic injury or illness 

23 while in military service or performing duty de24 scribed in subparagraph (C). 

25 ‘‘(C) A member of a reserve component of 

26 the Armed Forces performing military service or 


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1 performing full-time National Guard duty, ac2 tive Guard and Reserve duty, or inactive-duty 

3 training (as such terms are defined in section 

4 101(d) of title 10, United States Code).’’. 

5 SEC. 416. EXTENSION OF CERTAIN EMPLOYMENT AND RE6 EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS TO MEMBERS OF THE 

7 NATIONAL GUARD WHO PERFORM STATE AC8 TIVE DUTY. 

9 Section 4303 of title 38, United States Code, is amend10 ed— 

11 (1) in paragraph (13), by inserting ‘‘State active 

12 duty for a period of 14 days or more, State active 

13 duty in response to a national emergency declared by 

14 the President under the National Emergencies Act (50 

15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), State active duty in response to 

16 a major disaster declared by the President under sec17 tion 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

18 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170),’’ after 

19 ‘‘full-time National Guard duty,’’; 

20 (2) by redesignating paragraph (15) as para21 graph (16); and 

22 (3) by inserting after paragraph (14) the fol23 lowing new paragraph (15): 


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1 ‘‘(15) The term ‘State active duty’ means train2 ing or other duty, other than inactive duty, performed 

3 by a member of the National Guard of a State— 

4 ‘‘(A) not under section 502 of title 32 or 

5 under title 10; 

6 ‘‘(B) in service to the Governor of a State; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(C) for which the member is not entitled to 

9 pay from the Federal Government.’’. 

10 SEC. 417. REPAYMENT OF MISUSED BENEFITS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6107(b) of title 38, United 

12 States Code, is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘In any case 

14 in which a fiduciary described in paragraph (2)’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘In any case not covered by subsection (a) 

16 in which a fiduciary’’; 

17 (2) by striking paragraph (2); and 

18 (3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para19 graph (2). 

20 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by sub21 section (a) shall apply with respect to any determination 

22 by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs made on or after the 

23 date of the enactment of this Act regarding the misuse of 

24 benefits by a fiduciary. 


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1 SEC. 418. STUDY REGARDING THE ACCESSIBILITY OF 

2 WEBSITES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VET3 ERANS AFFAIRS TO INDIVIDUALS WITH DIS4 ABILITIES. 

5 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

6 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Af7 fairs shall conduct a study of all websites of the Department 

8 of Veterans Affairs to determine whether such websites are 

9 accessible to individuals with disabilities in accordance 

10 with section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 

11 U.S.C. 794d). 

12 (b) REPORT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

14 completing the study under subsection (a), the Sec15 retary shall submit to Congress a report on such 

16 study. 

17 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para18 graph (1) shall include the following: 

19 (A) A list of each website described in sub20 section (a) that is not accessible to individuals 

21 with disabilities in accordance with section 508 

22 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 

23 794d). 

24 (B) For each website identified in the list 

25 under paragraph (1)— 


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1 (i) a description of the barriers to 

2 bringing such website into compliance with 

3 the requirements of section 508 of the Reha4 bilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d), in5 cluding barriers relating to staffing; and 

6 (ii) the plan of the Secretary to bring 

7 such website into compliance with the re8 quirements of such section. 

9 (c) WEBSITE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

10 ‘‘website’’ includes the following: 

11 (1) A file attached to a website. 

12 (2) A web-based application. 

13 (3) A kiosk at a medical facility of the Depart14 ment of Veterans Affairs, the use of which is required 

15 to check in for scheduled appointments. 

16 SEC. 419. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

17 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

18 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

19 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement titled 

20 ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this Act, 

21 submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the 

22 Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, provided that 

23 such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on pas24 sage. 


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Calendar No. 603 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4511 

A BILL 

To make certain improvements in the laws administers, and for other purposes. ing to education, burial benefits, and other mat- tered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs relatDECEMBER 8, 2020 

Reported with an amendment 


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