I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 894 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2013 

Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio (for himself, Mr. STIVERS, Ms. TITUS, and Mr. ROE

of Tennessee) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

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. 

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

3 SECTION 1. IMPROVEMENT OF FIDUCIARIES FOR VET4 ERANS. 

5 (a) APPOINTMENT AND SUPERVISION.— 

6 (1) Section 5502 of title 38, United States 

7 Code, is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘§ 5502. Appointment of fiduciaries 

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

3 Secretary that the interest of the beneficiary would be 

4 served thereby, payment of benefits under any law admin5 istered by the Secretary may be made directly to the bene6 ficiary or to a relative or some other fiduciary for the use 

7 and benefit of the beneficiary, regardless of any legal dis8 ability on the part of the beneficiary. 

9 ‘‘(2) When in the opinion of the Secretary, a tem10 porary fiduciary is needed in order to protect the benefits 

11 provided to the beneficiary under any law administered by 

12 the Secretary while a determination of incompetency is 

13 being made or appealed or a fiduciary is appealing a deter14 mination of misuse, the Secretary may appoint one or 

15 more temporary fiduciaries for a period not to exceed 120 

16 days. If a final decision has not been made within 120 

17 days, the Secretary may not continue the appointment of 

18 the fiduciary without obtaining a court order for appoint19 ment of a guardian, conservator, or other fiduciary under 

20 the authority provided in section 5502(b) of this title. 

21 ‘‘(b) APPEALS.—(1) If the Secretary determines a 

22 beneficiary to be mentally incompetent for purposes of ap23 pointing a fiduciary under this chapter, the Secretary shall 

24 provide such beneficiary with a written statement detailing 

25 the reasons for such determination. 


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1 ‘‘(2) A beneficiary whom the Secretary has deter2 mined to be mentally incompetent for purposes of appoint3 ing a fiduciary under this chapter may appeal such deter4 mination. 

5 ‘‘(c) MODIFICATION.—(1) A beneficiary for whom the 

6 Secretary appoints a fiduciary under this chapter may, at 

7 any time, request the Secretary to— 

8 ‘‘(A) remove the fiduciary so appointed; and 

9 ‘‘(B) have a new fiduciary appointed. 

10 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall comply with a request under 

11 paragraph (1) unless the Secretary determines that the 

12 request is not made in good faith. 

13 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall ensure that any removal or 

14 new appointment of a fiduciary under paragraph (1) does 

15 not delay or interrupt the beneficiary’s receipt of benefits 

16 administered by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(d) INDEPENDENCE.—A fiduciary appointed by the 

18 Secretary shall operate independently of the Department 

19 to determine the actions that are in the interest of the 

20 beneficiary. 

21 ‘‘(e) PREDESIGNATION.—A veteran may predesignate 

22 a fiduciary by— 

23 ‘‘(1) submitting written notice to the Secretary 

24 of the predesignated fiduciary; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) submitting a form provided by the Sec2 retary for such purpose. 

3 ‘‘(f) APPOINTMENT OF NON-PREDESIGNATED FIDU4 CIARY.—If a beneficiary designates an individual to serve 

5 as a fiduciary under subsection (e) and the Secretary ap6 points an individual not so designated as the fiduciary for 

7 such beneficiary, the Secretary shall notify such bene8 ficiary of— 

9 ‘‘(1) the reason why such designated individual 

10 was not appointed; and 

11 ‘‘(2) the ability of the beneficiary to modify the 

12 appointed fiduciary under subsection (c). 

13 ‘‘(g) PRIORITY OF APPOINTMENT.—In appointing a 

14 fiduciary under this chapter, if a beneficiary does not des15 ignate a fiduciary pursuant to subsection (e), to the extent 

16 possible the Secretary shall appoint a person who is— 

17 ‘‘(1) a relative of the beneficiary; 

18 ‘‘(2) appointed as guardian of the beneficiary 

19 by a court of competent jurisdiction; or 

20 ‘‘(3) authorized to act on behalf of the bene21 ficiary under a durable power of attorney.’’. 

22 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec23 tions at the beginning of chapter 55 of title 38, 

24 United States Code, is amended by striking the item 

25 relating to section 5502 and inserting the following: 

‘‘5502. Appointment of fiduciaries.’’. 


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1 (b) SUPERVISION.— 

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

3 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

4 section 5502, as amended by subsection (a)(1), the 

5 following new section: 

6 ‘‘§ 5502A. Supervision of fiduciaries 

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

8 Secretary determines that a commission is necessary in 

9 order to obtain the services of a fiduciary in the best inter10 ests of a beneficiary, the Secretary may authorize a fidu11 ciary appointed by the Secretary to obtain from the 

12 monthly benefits provided to the beneficiary a reasonable 

13 commission for fiduciary services rendered, but the com14 mission for any month may not exceed the lesser of the 

15 following amounts: 

16 ‘‘(i) The amount that equals three percent 

17 of the monthly monetary benefits under laws 

18 administered by the Secretary paid on behalf of 

19 the beneficiary to the fiduciary. 

20 ‘‘(ii) $35. 

21 ‘‘(B) A commission paid under this paragraph may 

22 not be derived from any award to a beneficiary regarding 

23 back pay or retroactive benefits payments. 

24 ‘‘(C) A commission may not be authorized for a fidu25 ciary who receives any other form of remuneration or payVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:25 Mar 02, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H894.IH H894

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1 ment in connection with rendering fiduciary services for 

2 benefits under this title on behalf of the beneficiary. 

3 ‘‘(D) In accordance with section 6106 of this title, 

4 a commission may not be paid to a fiduciary if the Sec5 retary determines that the fiduciary misused any benefit 

6 payments of a beneficiary. 

7 ‘‘(E) If the Secretary determines that the fiduciary 

8 has misused any benefit or payments of a beneficiary, the 

9 Secretary may revoke the fiduciary status of the fiduciary. 

10 ‘‘(2) Where, in the opinion of the Secretary, any fidu11 ciary receiving funds on behalf of a Department bene12 ficiary is acting in such a number of cases as to make 

13 it impracticable to conserve properly the estates or to su14 pervise the persons of the beneficiaries, the Secretary may 

15 refuse to make future payments in such cases as the Sec16 retary may deem proper. 

17 ‘‘(b) COURT.—Whenever it appears that any fidu18 ciary, in the opinion of the Secretary, is not properly exe19 cuting or has not properly executed the duties of the trust 

20 of such fiduciary or has collected or paid, or is attempting 

21 to collect or pay, fees, commissions, or allowances that are 

22 inequitable or in excess of those allowed by law for the 

23 duties performed or expenses incurred, or has failed to 

24 make such payments as may be necessary for the benefit 

25 of the ward or the dependents of the ward, then the SecVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:25 Mar 02, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H894.IH H894

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1 retary may appear, by the Secretary’s authorized attorney, 

2 in the court which has appointed such fiduciary, or in any 

3 court having original, concurrent, or appellate jurisdiction 

4 over said cause, and make proper presentation of such 

5 matters. The Secretary, in the Secretary’s discretion, may 

6 suspend payments to any such fiduciary who shall neglect 

7 or refuse, after reasonable notice, to render an account 

8 to the Secretary from time to time showing the application 

9 of such payments for the benefit of such incompetent or 

10 minor beneficiary, or who shall neglect or refuse to admin11 ister the estate according to law. The Secretary may re12 quire the fiduciary, as part of such account, to disclose 

13 any additional financial information concerning the bene14 ficiary (except for information that is not available to the 

15 fiduciary). The Secretary may appear or intervene by the 

16 Secretary’s duly authorized attorney in any court as an 

17 interested party in any litigation instituted by the Sec18 retary or otherwise, directly affecting money paid to such 

19 fiduciary under this section. 

20 ‘‘(c) PAYMENT OF CERTAIN EXPENSES.—Authority 

21 is hereby granted for the payment of any court or other 

22 expenses incident to any investigation or court proceeding 

23 for the appointment of any fiduciary or other person for 

24 the purpose of payment of benefits payable under laws ad25 ministered by the Secretary or the removal of such fiduVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:25 Mar 02, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H894.IH H894

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1 ciary and appointment of another, and of expenses in con2 nection with the administration of such benefits by such 

3 fiduciaries, or in connection with any other court pro4 ceeding hereby authorized, when such payment is author5 ized by the Secretary. 

6 ‘‘(d) TEMPORARY PAYMENT OF BENEFITS.—All or 

7 any part of any benefits the payment of which is sus8 pended or withheld under this section may, in the discre9 tion of the Secretary, be paid temporarily to the person 

10 having custody and control of the incompetent or minor 

11 beneficiary, to be used solely for the benefit of such bene12 ficiary, or, in the case of an incompetent veteran, may be 

13 apportioned to the dependent or dependents, if any, of 

14 such veteran. Any part not so paid and any funds of a 

15 mentally incompetent or insane veteran not paid to the 

16 chief officer of the institution in which such veteran is a 

17 patient nor apportioned to the veteran’s dependent or de18 pendents may be ordered held in the Treasury to the credit 

19 of such beneficiary. All funds so held shall be disbursed 

20 under the order and in the discretion of the Secretary for 

21 the benefit of such beneficiary or the beneficiary’s depend22 ents. Any balance remaining in such fund to the credit 

23 of any beneficiary may be paid to the beneficiary if the 

24 beneficiary recovers and is found competent, or if a minor, 

25 attains majority, or otherwise to the beneficiary’s fiduVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:25 Mar 02, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H894.IH H894

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1 ciary, or, in the event of the beneficiary’s death, to the 

2 beneficiary’s personal representative, except as otherwise 

3 provided by law; however, payment will not be made to 

4 the beneficiary’s personal representative if, under the law 

5 of the beneficiary’s last legal residence, the beneficiary’s 

6 estate would escheat to the State. In the event of the death 

7 of a mentally incompetent or insane veteran, all gratuitous 

8 benefits under laws administered by the Secretary depos9 ited before or after August 7, 1959, in the personal funds 

10 of patients trust fund on account of such veteran shall 

11 not be paid to the personal representative of such veteran, 

12 but shall be paid to the following persons living at the 

13 time of settlement, and in the order named: The surviving 

14 spouse, the children (without regard to age or marital sta15 tus) in equal parts, and the dependent parents of such 

16 veteran, in equal parts. If any balance remains, such bal17 ance shall be deposited to the credit of the applicable cur18 rent appropriation; except that there may be paid only so 

19 much of such balance as may be necessary to reimburse 

20 a person (other than a political subdivision of the United 

21 States) who bore the expenses of last sickness or burial 

22 of the veteran for such expenses. No payment shall be 

23 made under the two preceding sentences of this subsection 

24 unless claim therefor is filed with the Secretary within five 

25 years after the death of the veteran, except that, if any 


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1 person so entitled under said two sentences is under legal 

2 disability at the time of death of the veteran, such five3 year period of limitation shall run from the termination 

4 or removal of the legal disability. 

5 ‘‘(e) ESCHEATMENT.—Any funds in the hands of a 

6 fiduciary appointed by a State court or the Secretary de7 rived from benefits payable under laws administered by 

8 the Secretary, which under the law of the State wherein 

9 the beneficiary had last legal residence would escheat to 

10 the State, shall escheat to the United States and shall be 

11 returned by such fiduciary, or by the personal representa12 tive of the deceased beneficiary, less legal expenses of any 

13 administration necessary to determine that an escheat is 

14 in order, to the Department, and shall be deposited to the 

15 credit of the applicable revolving fund, trust fund, or ap16 propriation.’’. 

17 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec18 tions at the beginning of chapter 55 of title 38, 

19 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

20 the item relating to section 5502 the following new 

21 item: 

‘‘5502A. Supervision of fiduciaries.’’. 

22 (c) DEFINITION OF FIDUCIARY.—Section 5506 of 

23 title 38, United States Code is amended— 

24 (1) by striking ‘‘For purposes’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘(a) For purposes’’; and 


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1 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub2 section: 

3 ‘‘(b)(1) For purposes of subsection (a), the term ‘per4 son’ includes any— 

5 ‘‘(A) State or local government agency whose 

6 mission is to carry out income maintenance, social 

7 service, or health care-related activities; 

8 ‘‘(B) any State or local government agency with 

9 fiduciary responsibilities; or 

10 ‘‘(C) any nonprofit social service agency that 

11 the Secretary determines— 

12 ‘‘(i) regularly provides services as a fidu13 ciary concurrently to five or more individuals; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(ii) is not a creditor of any such indi16 vidual. 

17 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall maintain a list of State or 

18 local agencies and nonprofit social service agencies under 

19 paragraph (1) that are qualified to act as a fiduciary 

20 under this chapter. In maintaining such list, the Secretary 

21 may consult the lists maintained under section 807(h) of 

22 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1007(h)).’’. 

23 (d) QUALIFICATIONS.—Section 5507 of title 38, 

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


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1 ‘‘§ 5507. Inquiry, investigations, and qualification of 

2 fiduciaries 

3 ‘‘(a) INVESTIGATION.—Any certification of a person 

4 for payment of benefits of a beneficiary to that person as 

5 such beneficiary’s fiduciary under section 5502 of this title 

6 shall be made on the basis of— 

7 ‘‘(1) an inquiry or investigation by the Sec8 retary of the fitness of that person to serve as fidu9 ciary for that beneficiary to be conducted in advance 

10 of such certification and in accordance with sub11 section (b); 

12 ‘‘(2) adequate evidence that certification of that 

13 person as fiduciary for that beneficiary is in the in14 terest of such beneficiary (as determined by the Sec15 retary under regulations); 

16 ‘‘(3) adequate evidence that the person to serve 

17 as fiduciary protects the private information of a 

18 beneficiary in accordance with subsection (d)(1); and 

19 ‘‘(4) the furnishing of any bond that may be re20 quired by the Secretary, in accordance with sub21 section (f). 

22 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS OF INVESTIGATION.—(1) In con23 ducting an inquiry or investigation of a proposed fiduciary 

24 under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall conduct— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a face-to-face interview with the proposed 

2 fiduciary by not later than 30 days after the date on 

3 which such inquiry or investigation begins; and 

4 ‘‘(B) a background check of the proposed fidu5 ciary to— 

6 ‘‘(i) in accordance with paragraph (2), de7 termine whether the proposed fiduciary has 

8 been convicted of a crime; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) determine whether the proposed fidu10 ciary will serve the best interest of the bene11 ficiary, including by conducting a credit check 

12 of the proposed fiduciary and checking the 

13 records under paragraph (5). 

14 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall request information con15 cerning whether that person has been convicted of any of16 fense under Federal or State law. If that person has been 

17 convicted of such an offense, the Secretary may certify the 

18 person as a fiduciary only if the Secretary finds that the 

19 person is an appropriate person to act as fiduciary for the 

20 beneficiary concerned under the circumstances. 

21 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall conduct the background 

22 check described in paragraph (1)(B)— 

23 ‘‘(A) each time a person is proposed to be a fi24 duciary, regardless of whether the person is serving 

25 or has served as a fiduciary; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) at no expense to the beneficiary. 

2 ‘‘(4) Each proposed fiduciary shall disclose to the 

3 Secretary the number of beneficiaries that the fiduciary 

4 acts on behalf of. 

5 ‘‘(5) The Secretary shall maintain records of any per6 son who has— 

7 ‘‘(A) previously served as a fiduciary; and 

8 ‘‘(B) had such fiduciary status revoked by the 

9 Secretary. 

10 ‘‘(6)(A) If a fiduciary appointed by the Secretary is 

11 convicted of a crime described in subparagraph (B), the 

12 Secretary shall notify the beneficiary of such conviction 

13 by not later than 14 days after the date on which the Sec14 retary learns of such conviction. 

15 ‘‘(B) A crime described in this subparagraph is a 

16 crime— 

17 ‘‘(i) for which the fiduciary is convicted while 

18 serving as a fiduciary for any person; 

19 ‘‘(ii) that is not included in a report submitted 

20 by the fiduciary under section 5509(a) of this title; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(iii) that the Secretary determines could affect 

23 the ability of the fiduciary to act on behalf of the 

24 beneficiary. 


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1 ‘‘(c) INVESTIGATION OF CERTAIN PERSONS.—(1) In 

2 the case of a proposed fiduciary described in paragraph 

3 (2), the Secretary, in conducting an inquiry or investiga4 tion under subsection (a)(1), may carry out such inquiry 

5 or investigation on an expedited basis that may include 

6 giving priority to conducting such inquiry or investigation. 

7 Any such inquiry or investigation carried out on such an 

8 expedited basis shall be carried out under regulations pre9 scribed for purposes of this section. 

10 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) applies with respect to a proposed 

11 fiduciary who is— 

12 ‘‘(A) the parent (natural, adopted, or step13 parent) of a beneficiary who is a minor; 

14 ‘‘(B) the spouse or parent of an incompetent 

15 beneficiary; 

16 ‘‘(C) a person who has been appointed a fidu17 ciary of the beneficiary by a court of competent ju18 risdiction; 

19 ‘‘(D) being appointed to manage an estate 

20 where the annual amount of veterans benefits to be 

21 managed by the proposed fiduciary does not exceed 

22 $3,600, as adjusted pursuant to section 5312 of this 

23 title; or 


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1 ‘‘(E) a person who is authorized to act on be2 half of the beneficiary under a durable power of at3 torney. 

4 ‘‘(d) PROTECTION OF PRIVATE INFORMATION.—(1) 

5 A fiduciary shall take all reasonable precautions to— 

6 ‘‘(A) protect the private information of a bene7 ficiary, including personally identifiable information; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(B) securely conducts financial transactions. 

10 ‘‘(2) A fiduciary shall notify the Secretary of any ac11 tion of the fiduciary that compromises or potentially com12 promises the private information of a beneficiary. 

13 ‘‘(e) POTENTIAL MISUSE OF FUNDS.—(1) If the Sec14 retary has reason to believe that a fiduciary may be mis15 using all or part of the benefit of a beneficiary, the Sec16 retary shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) conduct a thorough investigation to deter18 mine the veracity of such belief; and 

19 ‘‘(B) if such veracity is established, transmit to 

20 the officials described in paragraph (2) a report of 

21 such investigation. 

22 ‘‘(2) The officials described in this paragraph are the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(A) The Attorney General. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Each head of a Federal department or 

2 agency that pays to a fiduciary or other person ben3 efits under any law administered by such depart4 ment of agency for the use and benefit of a minor, 

5 incompetent, or other beneficiary. 

6 ‘‘(f) BOND.—In requiring the furnishing of a bond 

7 under subsection (a)(4), the Secretary shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) ensure that any such bond is not paid 

9 using any funds of the beneficiary; and 

10 ‘‘(2) consider— 

11 ‘‘(A) the care a proposed fiduciary has 

12 taken to protect the interests of the beneficiary; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(B) the capacity of the proposed fiduciary 

15 to meet the financial requirements of the bond 

16 without sustaining hardship. 

17 ‘‘(g) LIST OF FIDUCIARIES.—Each regional office of 

18 the Veterans Benefits Administration shall maintain a list 

19 of the following: 

20 ‘‘(1) The name and contact information of each 

21 fiduciary, including address, telephone number, and 

22 email address. 

23 ‘‘(2) With respect to each fiduciary described in 

24 paragraph (1)— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the date of the most recent back2 ground check and credit check performed by the 

3 Secretary under this section; 

4 ‘‘(B) the date that any bond was paid 

5 under this section; 

6 ‘‘(C) the name, address, and telephone 

7 number of each beneficiary the fiduciary acts on 

8 behalf of; and 

9 ‘‘(D) the amount that the fiduciary con10 trols with respect to each beneficiary described 

11 in subparagraph (C).’’. 

12 (e) ANNUAL RECEIPT OF PAYMENTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 5509 of title 38, 

14 United States Code, is amended— 

15 (A) in subsection (a)—— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘may require a fidu17 ciary to file a’’ and inserting ‘‘, subject to 

18 regulations prescribed pursuant to sub19 section (f), shall require a fiduciary to file 

20 an annual’’; and 

21 (ii) by adding at the end the following 

22 new sentence: ‘‘The Secretary shall trans23 mit such annual report or accounting to 

24 the beneficiary and any legal guardian of 

25 such beneficiary.’’; 


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

2 subsections: 

3 ‘‘(c) MATTERS INCLUDED.—An annual report or ac4 counting under subsection (a) shall include the following: 

5 ‘‘(1) For each beneficiary that a fiduciary acts 

6 on behalf of— 

7 ‘‘(A) the amount of the benefits of the ben8 eficiary accrued during the year, the amount 

9 spent, and the amount remaining; and 

10 ‘‘(B) if the fiduciary serves the beneficiary 

11 with respect to benefits not administered by the 

12 Secretary, an accounting of all sources of bene13 fits or other income the fiduciary oversees for 

14 the beneficiary. 

15 ‘‘(2) A list of events that occurred during the 

16 year covered by the report that could affect the abil17 ity of the fiduciary to act on behalf of the bene18 ficiary, including— 

19 ‘‘(A) the fiduciary being convicted of any 

20 crime; 

21 ‘‘(B) the fiduciary declaring bankruptcy; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(C) any judgments entered against the fi24 duciary. 


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1 ‘‘(d) RANDOM AUDITS.—The Secretary shall annu2 ally conduct random audits of fiduciaries who receive a 

3 commission pursuant to subsection 5502A(a)(1) of this 

4 title. 

5 ‘‘(e) STATUS OF FIDUCIARY.—If a fiduciary includes 

6 in the annual report events described in subsection (c)(2), 

7 the Secretary may take appropriate action to adjust the 

8 status of the fiduciary as the Secretary determines appro9 priate, including by revoking the fiduciary status of the 

10 fiduciary. 

11 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—(1) In prescribing regulations 

12 to carry out this section, the Secretary, in consultation 

13 with the Under Secretary for Benefits and the Under Sec14 retary for Health, shall ensure that the care provided by 

15 a fiduciary described in paragraph (2) to a beneficiary is 

16 not diminished or otherwise worsened by the fiduciary 

17 complying with this section. 

18 ‘‘(2) A fiduciary described in this paragraph is a fidu19 ciary who, in addition to acting as a fiduciary for a bene20 ficiary, provides care to the beneficiary pursuant to this 

21 title (including such care provided under section 1720G 

22 of this title).’’; and 

23 (C) by striking the section heading and in24 serting the following: ‘‘Annual reports and 

25 accountings of fiduciaries’’. 


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1 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec2 tions at the beginning of chapter 55 of title 38, 

3 United States Code, is amended by striking the item 

4 relating to section 5509 and inserting the following 

5 new item: 

‘‘5509. Annual reports and accountings of fiduciaries.’’. 

6 (f) REPAYMENT OF MISUSED BENEFITS.—Section 

7 6107(a)(2)(C) of title 38, United States Code, is amended 

8 by inserting before the period the following: ‘‘, including 

9 by the Secretary not acting in accordance with section 

10 5507 of this title’’. 

11 (g) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Section 5510 of title 38, 

12 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘The Sec13 retary shall include in the Annual Benefits Report of the 

14 Veterans Benefits Administration or the Secretary’s An15 nual Performance and Accountability Report’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘Not later than July 1 of each year, the Secretary 

17 shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of 

18 the House of Representatives and the Senate a separate 

19 report containing’’. 

20 (h) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

21 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 

22 Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

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

24 the House of Representatives a comprehensive report on 


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1 the implementation of the amendments made by this Act, 

2 including— 

3 (1) detailed information on the establishment of 

4 new policies and procedures pursuant to such 

5 amendments and training provided on such policies 

6 and procedures; and 

7 (2) a discussion of whether the Secretary 

8 should provide fiduciaries with standardized finan9 cial software to simplify reporting requirements. 

Æ 


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