H6086 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE September 19, 2012 

town and complete work and work together for the betterment of the American people, the way we are doing with 

these three resolutions. 

With that, I yield back the balance of 

my time. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 

the balance of my time. 

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. Speaker, I 

am pleased to support H. Res. 526, which 

calls for the establishment of a democratic and 

prosperous Republic of Georgia and a peaceful and just resolution of Georgia’s conflict with 

its breakaway regions, Abkhazia and South 

Ossetia. 

Our country has always backed Georgia’s 

territorial integrity. After Russia’s 2008 invasion of Georgia, Moscow essentially truncated 

Georgia by recognizing the independence of 

Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Tellingly, no 

other OSCE state—not even former Soviet republics economically dependent on Russia— 

has followed Moscow’s example, understanding well the danger of the precedent. 

Secretary Clinton has designated Russia’s policy in Abkhazia and South Ossetia as ‘‘occupation.’’ Indeed, Moscow has pursued the ongoing militarization of these regions, which are 

clearly Georgian territory. 

In a remarkable admission, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on August 8 that Russia had a contingency plan as early as 2006– 

2007 for war with Georgia and that Moscow 

had even trained militiamen in South Ossetia. 

As Georgia’s Foreign Ministry notes, Putin’s 

acknowledgement contradicts ‘‘Russia’s earlier 

assertions that its 2008 military attack was in 

response to a surprise attack from Georgia 

and that its invasion was meant to prevent 

genocide and protect Russian citizens. It also 

underscores the premeditated nature of the invasion and highlights Moscow’s utter disregard 

for international law.’’ 

The United States will continue to back 

Georgia’s territorial integrity. I stand with Georgia’s Government in calling on Russia to remove its occupying forces and pledge not to 

use force against Georgia. I also note with 

concern the troubling military exercises Russia 

has scheduled to coincide with Georgia’s parliamentary elections in October in a blatant attempt at intimidation. 

The upcoming election will be a critical moment in Georgia’s democratic development. I 

hope the OSCE will be able to assess the 

election as free and fair. The United States 

stands ready to help Georgia progress towards democracy, as H. Res. 526 demonstrates. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

question is on the motion offered by 

the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. 

ROS-LEHTINEN) that the House suspend 

the rules and agree to the resolution, 

H. Res. 526, as amended. 

The question was taken; and (twothirds being in the affirmative) the 

rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was agreed to. 

A motion to reconsider was laid on 

the table. 

f 

CONFIRMING FULL OWNERSHIP 

RIGHTS TO ARTIFACTS FROM 

ASTRONAUTS’ SPACE MISSIONS 

Mr. HALL. Mr. Speaker, I move to 

suspend the rules and pass the bill 

(H.R. 4158) to confirm full ownership 

rights for certain United States astronauts to artifacts from the astronauts’ 

space missions. 

The Clerk read the title of the bill. 

The text of the bill is as follows: 

H.R. 4158 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in 

Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. DEFINITION OF ARTIFACT. 

For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘artifact’’ means, with respect to an astronaut 

described in section 2(a), any expendable 

item utilized in missions for the Mercury, 

Gemini, or Apollo programs through the 

completion of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project 

not expressly required to be returned to the 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration at the completion of the mission and 

other expendable, disposable, or personal-use 

items utilized by such astronaut during participation in any such program. The term includes personal logs, checklists, flight manuals, prototype and proof test articles used in 

training, and disposable flight hardware 

salvaged from jettisoned lunar modules. The 

term does not include lunar rocks and other 

lunar material. 

SEC. 2. FULL OWNERSHIP OF ARTIFACTS. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—A United States astronaut who participated in any of the Mercury, 

Gemini, or Apollo programs through the 

completion of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, 

who received an artifact during his participation in any such program, shall have full 

ownership of and clear title to such artifact. 

(b) NO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CLAIM.—The 

Federal Government shall have no claim or 

right to ownership, control, or use of any artifact in possession of an astronaut as described in subsection (a) or any such artifact 

that was subsequently transferred, sold, or 

assigned to a third party by an astronaut described in subsection (a). 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 

Texas (Mr. HALL) and the gentlewoman 

from Texas (Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON) each will control 20 minutes. 

The Chair recognizes the gentleman 

from Texas. 

GENERAL LEAVE

Mr. HALL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 

have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 4158, the bill 

now under consideration. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there 

objection to the request of the gentleman from Texas? 

There was no objection. 

Mr. HALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. 

I want to begin by thanking members 

of the Science, Space, and Technology 

Committee, Republicans and Democrats, for their bipartisan support of 

this legislation. I especially want to 

commend my good friends LAMAR

SMITH and EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON for 

their help and for their early support. 

H.R. 4158 would confirm full ownership rights to our Nation’s first generation of astronauts who flew during the 

Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo era and 

who received or were allowed to retain 

artifacts, mementos, and other personal equipment from their missions. 

H.R. 4158 covers all flights beginning in 

1961 through the Apollo-Soyuz Test 

Project, which flew in July of 1975. 

From the first days of our manned 

spaceflight program through the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, at the conclusion of a mission NASA managers routinely allowed astronauts to keep mementos of their flights. In some instances, astronauts were also given 

certain pieces of expendable equipment. The range of items included 

space suit emblems, expendable space 

suits, checklists, flight manuals, and 

disposable flight hardware salvaged 

from the jettisoned lunar landers. 

A majority of these items have been 

in the personal possession of the astronauts for 40 years or more. Over the 

last decade, NASA has begun to challenge the astronauts’ ownership of 

these mementos. This issue was first 

brought to my attention late last year. 

I was surprised to learn that NASA 

had, on an irregular basis, intervened 

several times to claim ownership. 

Early this year, NASA Administrator 

Bolden met with a small group of astronauts to discuss the agency’s artifacts policy. Following the meeting, 

through NASA’s press office, Administrator Bolden issued a statement saying: 

These are American heroes, fellow astronauts, and personal friends who have acted 

in good faith, and we have committed to 

work together to find the right policy. 

He went on to say: 

I believe there have been fundamental misunderstandings and unclear policies regarding items from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, 

and Skylab programs, and NASA appreciates 

the position of the astronauts, museums, 

learning institutions, and others who have 

these historic artifacts in personal and private collections. 

This bill seeks to eliminate in any 

further ambiguity about Apollo-era artifacts that were received by the astronauts. It simply says that astronauts 

who flew through the end of the Apollo 

program will be granted full right of 

ownership of any artifacts received 

from their missions. If we don’t pass 

this bill, the artifacts and the astronauts face huge financial risks arising 

from donations, gifts, and sales already 

completed. 

These men are heroes. They’re great 

heroes. Sadly, we had to say good-bye 

to one of these heroes just last week. 

They took extraordinary risks to establish American preeminence in space 

and, by doing so, helped our country 

become a world leader. I think it’s a 

miscarriage of justice that today 

NASA should seek return of these very 

same mementos and keepsakes. 

I reserve the balance of my time. 

[From NASA News, Jan. 9, 2012] 

NASA ADMINISTRATOR MEETS WITH APOLLO

ASTRONAUTS; AGENCY WILL WORK COOPERATIVELY TO RESOLVE ARTIFACT OWNERSHIP

ISSUES

(By David Weaver and Bob Jacobs) 

WASHINGTON, DC.—The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Charles 

Bolden regarding the ownership of early 

space exploration mementos and artifacts: 

‘‘Earlier today, I had a good meeting with 

former Apollo astronauts Jim Lovell, Gene 


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September 19, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H6087 

Cernan, Charlie Duke, Rusty Schweickart 

and other representatives of former astronauts and agency personnel, where we discussed how to resolve the misunderstandings 

and ownership questions regarding flight mementos and other artifacts. 

‘‘These are American heroes, fellow astronauts, and personal friends who have acted 

in good faith, and we have committed to 

work together to find the right policy and 

legal paths forward to address outstanding 

ownership questions. 

‘‘I believe there have been fundamental 

misunderstandings and unclear policies regarding items from the Mercury, Gemini, 

Apollo and Skylab programs, and NASA appreciates the position of the astronauts, museums, learning institutions and others who 

have these historic artifacts in personal and 

private collections. 

‘‘We also appreciate their patience and will 

explore all policy, legislative and other legal 

means to resolve these questions expeditiously and clarify ownership of these mementos, and ensure that appropriate artifacts are preserved and available for display 

to the American people.’’ 

AUGUST 16, 2012. 

Hon. RALPH M. HALL, 

Chairman, Committee on Science, Space, and 

Technology, House of Representatives, 

Washington, DC. 

DEAR CONGRESSMAN HALL: The recent discourse by NASA and the Congress regarding 

the disposition of artifacts carried on U.S. 

space flights in the possession of U.S. astronauts has come to my attention and resulted 

in a discussion between myself and Ms. 

Shana Dale of your office. She requested 

that I write a brief summary of the policy we 

utilized to deal with the issue of personal 

items to be carried by the flight crews that 

would later be disseminated or given as gifts 

to their family, friends and or associates. 

This policy also dealt with personal articles 

and other equipment used by the astronauts 

during the flight. 

It should be noted that this policy was in 

effect during all of the Mercury, Gemini, 

Apollo and Skylab programs. However, after 

the questionable behavior of the astronauts 

regarding other carried articles to be sold or 

distributed for financial gain on the flight of 

Apollo 15, the policy was revised and more 

stringently administered by the NASA management. 

Donald K. Slayton, Assistant Director for 

Flight Crew Operations was the principal 

NASA manager for implementing this policy 

with the approval of the Director of the 

Manned Spacecraft Center (later the Johnson Space Center) and after Apollo 15 the 

concurrence of the NASA Administrator. 

The enclosure summarizes the policy discussed above. 

Respectfully, 

CHRISTOPHER C. KRAFT, JR., 

Retired Director, 

NASA Johnson Space Center. 

AUGUST 16, 2012. 

A summary of the NASA policy regarding 

the astronauts permission to carry personal 

mementos on the space vehicles they flew 

and the disposition of equipment on board 

these vehicles deemed by NASA to be expendable. 

Starting with Project Mercury, NASA astronauts were granted permission to carry 

specific mementos on the spacecraft they 

flew. These items were required to be listed 

and approved by the Director of Flight Crew 

Operations. The items had to be within a 

given weight limit and submitted for proper 

wrapping and storage by the pad support 

technicians. The astronauts were allowed to 

disseminate these mementos as they so desired. 

As the space program advanced from Mercury through Apollo the requirements for 

carrying mementos was altered to assure the 

weight and the safety met the specific requirements of each program. Further, the 

Apollo 1 accident demanded a more stringent 

review of the items and their containment 

because of the sensitivity of the materials 

involved relative to combustibility and 

outgasing. 

When the flights increased in orbital time 

and certain personal items became expendable the astronauts were granted permission 

to retain certain personal items such as 

shaving equipment, underwear, thermal 

cooling under garments, notebooks and even 

heavily used and expendable space suits. 

As the complexity of the spacecraft increased, certain items on board the vehicles 

had particular relevance and meaning to the 

astronauts and they requested and received 

permission to keep these pieces of equipment 

on a case by case basis. In many cases this 

required a review by agencies such as the 

Smithsonian Institute since they had the 

over all responsibility for the U.S. of retaining the equipment that had historical significance. Such items as hand controllers, 

hand held cameras and computers were in 

this category. 

It should be noted that in all of the space 

flights made, items such as flags, plaques 

and so forth were carried for use by NASA 

and the U.S. government. These items received a wide distribution and in some cases 

were given to the astronauts who flew the 

flight by request for many purposes including gifts to NASA personnel. 

Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of 

Texas. I yield myself such time as I 

may consume. 

I rise in support of H.R. 4158, to confirm full ownership rights for certain 

United States astronauts to artifacts 

from the astronauts’ space missions, 

and I thank the leadership of Mr. HALL

and all of the cosponsors. 

This is a necessary bill which will 

protect our iconic early astronauts 

from needless harassment. This bill 

will ensure that any U.S. astronaut 

who participated in the historic Mercury, Gemini, or the Apollo programs 

will be able to keep the space artifacts 

which are still in their possession from 

those missions. 

At the time of these missions, it was 

accepted practice that astronauts 

could keep expendable equipment like 

checklists and hygiene kits as mementos of their missions. However, this 

was an informal policy, and those astronauts lacked paperwork establishing ownership over these items. 

This bill will protect those astronauts from any claims made by the 

Federal Government regarding any of 

these artifacts. Further, the bill protects our national interest by ensuring 

that any lunar rocks or other lunar 

material remain property of the United 

States. 

While I do support this bill and its 

passage today, I would be remiss if I 

didn’t express my concern about a possible omission. This bill does not cover 

any of the shuttle-era astronauts. The 

first American woman in space and the 

first African American in space were 

both exclusively shuttle-era astronauts, and there were many other notable astronauts during this era. 

b 1530 

I think these astronauts are no less 

national heroes than the Apollo-era astronauts and also no less deserving of 

that protection. 

Now, I understand this is a more difficult issue since NASA has not been 

able to identify when its own internal 

policies changed regarding astronaut 

artifacts. But I do think we need to figure that out and then address those astronauts’ situation as soon as possible. 

I do want to thank Mr. HALL for his 

leadership and for working with all of 

us on this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time. 

Mr. HALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 

minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. PALAZZO), the chairman of 

the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee. 

Mr. PALAZZO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in 

strong support of H.R. 4158. This legislation will resolve a conflict that has 

emerged within NASA over the last 

decade regarding the ownership of artifacts from the Mercury, Gemini, and 

Apollo programs. Left unresolved, as 

Chairman HALL pointed out, astronauts, their families, and those to 

whom they transferred, donated, or 

sold artifacts may not have clear title 

to them. If NASA persists in its efforts 

to reacquire these items that were initially received by the astronauts 40 

years or more ago, significant financial 

consequences could befall them. 

In the 1960s, as NASA began the Mercury program, agency managers allowed astronauts to carry a small number of mementos in their spacecraft. As 

the spacecraft became larger and larger and mission duration increased, the 

agency’s policy evolved to allow astronauts to retain expendable personal 

gear such as shaving equipment, undergarments, notebooks, and expendable 

space suits. 

During the lunar landing phase of the 

Apollo program, the policy further 

changed to allow astronauts to retrieve 

from the lunar lander certain pieces of 

hardware that would have been destroyed had it remained in the lander. 

With full knowledge and consent of 

program managers, the astronauts 

were allowed to fly personal mementos 

as well as retain certain pieces of 

equipment. It is incredible to me that 

NASA now wants to penalize those who 

acted in good faith by attempting to 

retrieve these items. 

H.R. 4158 is a necessary bill to bring 

closure to the debate and uncertainty 

regarding ownership of a small class of 

space artifacts. I urge all Members to 

support this legislation. 

Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of 

Texas. Mr. Speaker, I have no further 

requests for time, and I yield back the 

balance of my time. 

Mr. HALL. Mr. Speaker, I have no 

further requests for time, and I yield 

back the balance of my time. 

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I want to 

thank my good friend and Texas colleague, 

Science, Space and Technology Committee 

Chairman RALPH HALL, for taking the lead on 


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this bill and bringing it to the floor today. My 

hope is that after the House passes this bill 

the Senate will act quickly and send it to the 

President for his signature. 

The problem this bill addresses is to confirm 

the ownership of mementoes the Apollo astronauts received from their journeys. I was first 

contacted one year ago about this problem by 

my constituent, Apollo 16 moonwalker Charlie 

Duke, who now lives in New Braunfels, Texas 

and also chairs the Astronaut Scholarship 

Foundation. 

The Scholarship Foundation is one of the 

beneficiaries from the sale of such artifacts, 

and they have provided over $3 million in 

scholarships to college students studying 

science and engineering so they too can aspire to be astronauts. 

At the end of the Apollo program, these 

mementoes were deemed to be of little value, 

and NASA was simply going to throw many of 

these items in the trash heap of history— 

checklists with scribbled equations and calculations in the margins, a camera and other 

personal effects the Apollo astronauts were offered to keep for themselves. 

However, in the intervening 40 years, these 

mementoes took on a greater historical context, just like mementoes from past wars or famous people take on greater significance. Unfortunately, over-zealous NASA and the Justice Department lawyers recently started filing 

law suits against Apollo astronauts—our 

American heroes—and started questioning 

their integrity. 

This is wrong. And this bill clarifies the ownership of these artifacts in the possession of 

our astronauts. 

Chairman HALL, thank you for doing the 

right thing—once again—for our astronauts. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

question is on the motion offered by 

the gentleman from Texas (Mr. HALL) 

that the House suspend the rules and 

pass the bill, H.R. 4158. 

The question was taken. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the 

opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being 

in the affirmative, the ayes have it. 

Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of 

Texas. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand 

the yeas and nays. 

The yeas and nays were ordered. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. 

f 

VETERANS FIDUCIARY REFORM 

AND HONORING NOBLE SERVICE 

ACT 

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, 

I move to suspend the rules and pass 

the bill (H.R. 5948) to amend title 38, 

United States Code, to improve the supervision of fiduciaries of veterans 

under the laws administered by the 

Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for 

other purposes, as amended. 

The Clerk read the title of the bill. 

The text of the bill is as follows: 

H.R. 5948 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in 

Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

the ‘‘Veterans Fiduciary Reform and Honoring Noble Service Act’’. 

(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Improvement of fiduciaries for veterans. 

Sec. 3. Establishment of Place of Remembrance at Arlington National 

Cemetery. 

Sec. 4. Furnishing caskets and urns for deceased veterans with no known 

next of kin. 

Sec. 5. Improved communication between 

Department of Veterans Affairs 

and medical examiners and funeral directors. 

Sec. 6. Report on compliance of Department 

of Veterans Affairs with industry standards for caskets and 

urns. 

Sec. 7. Exclusion of persons convicted of 

committing certain sex offenses 

from interment or memorialization in national cemeteries, Arlington National Cemetery, and 

certain State veterans’ cemeteries and from receiving certain funeral honors. 

Sec. 8. Veterans freedom of conscience protection. 

Sec. 9. Provision of access to case-tracking 

information. 

Sec. 10. Notification by the Secretary of 

Veterans Affairs of individuals 

whose sensitive personal information is involved in a data 

breach. 

Sec. 11. Limitation on bonuses for Department of Veterans Affairs employees who violate Federal 

civil laws or regulations. 

Sec. 12. Limitation on awards and bonuses 

to employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT OF FIDUCIARIES FOR VETERANS. 

(a) APPOINTMENT AND SUPERVISION.— 

(1) Section 5502 of title 38, United States 

Code, is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘§ 5502. Appointment of fiduciaries 

‘‘(a) APPOINTMENT.—(1) Where it appears to 

the Secretary that the interest of the beneficiary would be served thereby, payment of 

benefits under any law administered by the 

Secretary may be made directly to the beneficiary or to a relative or some other fiduciary for the use and benefit of the beneficiary, regardless of any legal disability on 

the part of the beneficiary. 

‘‘(2) When in the opinion of the Secretary, 

a temporary fiduciary is needed in order to 

protect the benefits provided to the beneficiary under any law administered by the 

Secretary while a determination of incompetency is being made or appealed or a fiduciary is appealing a determination of misuse, 

the Secretary may appoint one or more temporary fiduciaries for a period not to exceed 

120 days. If a final decision has not been 

made within 120 days, the Secretary may not 

continue the appointment of the fiduciary 

without obtaining a court order for appointment of a guardian, conservator, or other fiduciary under the authority provided in section 5502(b) of this title. 

‘‘(b) APPEALS.—(1) If the Secretary determines a beneficiary to be mentally incompetent for purposes of appointing a fiduciary 

under this chapter, the Secretary shall provide such beneficiary with a written statement detailing the reasons for such determination. 

‘‘(2) A beneficiary whom the Secretary has 

determined to be mentally incompetent for 

purposes of appointing a fiduciary under this 

chapter may appeal such determination. 

‘‘(c) MODIFICATION.—(1) A beneficiary for 

whom the Secretary appoints a fiduciary 

under this chapter may, at any time, request 

the Secretary to— 

‘‘(A) remove the fiduciary so appointed; 

and 

‘‘(B) have a new fiduciary appointed. 

‘‘(2) The Secretary shall comply with a request under paragraph (1) unless the Secretary determines that the request is not 

made in good faith. 

‘‘(3) The Secretary shall ensure that any 

removal or new appointment of a fiduciary 

under paragraph (1) does not delay or interrupt the beneficiary’s receipt of benefits administered by the Secretary. 

‘‘(d) INDEPENDENCE.—A fiduciary appointed 

by the Secretary shall operate independently 

of the Department to determine the actions 

that are in the interest of the beneficiary. 

‘‘(e) PREDESIGNATION.—A veteran may predesignate a fiduciary by— 

‘‘(1) submitting written notice to the Secretary of the predesignated fiduciary; or 

‘‘(2) submitting a form provided by the 

Secretary for such purpose. 

‘‘(f) APPOINTMENT OF NON-PREDESIGNATED

FIDUCIARY.—If a beneficiary designates an 

individual to serve as a fiduciary under subsection (e) and the Secretary appoints an individual not so designated as the fiduciary 

for such beneficiary, the Secretary shall notify such beneficiary of— 

‘‘(1) the reason why such designated individual was not appointed; and 

‘‘(2) the ability of the beneficiary to modify the appointed fiduciary under subsection 

(c). 

‘‘(g) PRIORITY OF APPOINTMENT.—In appointing a fiduciary under this chapter, if a 

beneficiary does not designate a fiduciary 

pursuant to subsection (e), to the extent possible the Secretary shall appoint a person 

who is— 

‘‘(1) a relative of the beneficiary; 

‘‘(2) appointed as guardian of the beneficiary by a court of competent jurisdiction; 

or 

‘‘(3) authorized to act on behalf of the beneficiary under a durable power of attorney.’’. 

(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of 

sections at the beginning of chapter 55 of 

title 38, United States Code, is amended by 

striking the item relating to section 5502 and 

inserting the following: 

‘‘5502. Appointment of fiduciaries.’’. 

(b) SUPERVISION.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 55 of title 38, 

United States Code, is amended by inserting 

after section 5502, as amended by subsection 

(a)(1), the following new section: 

‘‘§ 5502A. Supervision of fiduciaries 

‘‘(a) COMMISSION.—(1)(A) In a case in which 

the Secretary determines that a commission 

is necessary in order to obtain the services of 

a fiduciary in the best interests of a beneficiary, the Secretary may authorize a fiduciary appointed by the Secretary to obtain 

from the monthly benefits provided to the 

beneficiary a reasonable commission for fiduciary services rendered, but the commission for any month may not exceed the lesser of the following amounts: 

‘‘(i) The amount that equals three percent 

of the monthly monetary benefits under laws 

administered by the Secretary paid on behalf 

of the beneficiary to the fiduciary. 

‘‘(ii) $35. 

‘‘(B) A commission paid under this paragraph may not be derived from any award to 

a beneficiary regarding back pay or retroactive benefits payments. 

‘‘(C) A commission may not be authorized 

for a fiduciary who receives any other form 

of remuneration or payment in connection 

with rendering fiduciary services for benefits 

under this title on behalf of the beneficiary. 

‘‘(D) In accordance with section 6106 of this 

title, a commission may not be paid to a fiduciary if the Secretary determines that the 


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