I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8627 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to modify certain requirements 

relating to the recovery by the Department of Veterans Affairs of overpayments made to eligible persons or veterans relating to educational 

assistance under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans 

Affairs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 5, 2024 

Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to modify certain 

requirements relating to the recovery by the Department 

of Veterans Affairs of overpayments made to eligible 

persons or veterans relating to educational assistance 

under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans 

Affairs, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Student Veteran Debt 

5 Relief Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. OVERPAYMENTS TO ELIGIBLE PERSONS OR VET2 ERANS. 

3 Section 3685 of title 38, United States Code, is 

4 amended by adding at the end the following new sub5 sections: 

6 ‘‘(f)(1) If the Secretary finds that an overpayment 

7 has been made to a veteran or eligible person relating to 

8 educational assistance under a law administered by the 

9 Secretary, the overpayment shall not constitute a liability 

10 for the veteran, eligible person, or educational institution 

11 if the veteran, eligible person, or educational institution 

12 demonstrates to the Secretary that— 

13 ‘‘(A) the Department made an error with re14 spect to the eligibility of the veteran or eligible per15 son for educational assistance under the laws admin16 istered by the Secretary; or 

17 ‘‘(B) the Department of Defense provided in18 correct information to the Department of Veterans 

19 Affairs with respect to the eligibility of the veteran 

20 or eligible person for educational assistance under 

21 such laws. 

22 ‘‘(2)(A) If the Secretary finds that an overpayment 

23 has been made to a veteran or eligible person relating to 

24 educational assistance under a law administered by the 

25 Secretary and determines, in consultation with an edu26 cational institution where the veteran or eligible person is 


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1 pursuing a course or program of education using such as2 sistance, that liability for the overpayment would be likely 

3 to result in the inability of the veteran or eligible person 

4 to continue pursuit of the course or program, the Sec5 retary shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) review the liability to determine if the li7 ability is eligible for a hardship waiver; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) if the liability is not eligible, make an at9 tempt to recover the overpayment from the veteran 

10 or eligible person. 

11 ‘‘(B) If the Secretary is unable to recover an overpay12 ment from a veteran or eligible person under subpara13 graph (A)(ii), the Secretary shall— 

14 ‘‘(i) provide to the Under Secretary for Benefits 

15 evidence of the attempt to recover the overpayment; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(ii) establish with the veteran or eligible per18 son a payment plan under which the veteran or eligi19 ble person agrees to repay the amount of the over20 payment to the Secretary. 

21 ‘‘(g) The Secretary may not recover an overpayment 

22 under this section unless— 

23 ‘‘(1) the overpayment occurs and is identified 

24 on or after January 5, 2021; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) the overpayment is identified, and the edu2 cational institution is notified of the overpayment, 

3 not more than ten years after the overpayment oc4 curs.’’. 

Æ 


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