I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1438 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to exempt reimbursements of certain 

medical expenses and other payments related to accident, theft, loss, 

or casualty loss from determinations of annual income with respect 

to pensions for veterans and surviving spouses and children of veterans, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 9, 2013 

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida (for himself, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MICA, Mr. 

COHEN, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. BASS, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mrs. 

CHRISTENSEN, Mr. WELCH, Mr. GRAYSON, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New 

York, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, 

Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico, Mr. 

CUMMINGS, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. GARCIA, Mr. 

GUTIERREZ, Ms. GABBARD, and Ms. BROWN of Florida) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to exempt reimbursements of certain medical expenses and other payments 

related to accident, theft, loss, or casualty loss from 

determinations of annual income with respect to pensions 

for veterans and surviving spouses and children of veterans, 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, 


sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 1438 IH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Pensions 

3 Protection Act of 2013’’. 

4 SEC. 2. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN REIMBURSEMENTS OF 

5 MEDICAL EXPENSES AND OTHER PAYMENTS 

6 FROM DETERMINATION OF ANNUAL INCOME 

7 WITH RESPECT TO PENSIONS FOR VETERANS 

8 AND SURVIVING SPOUSES AND CHILDREN OF 

9 VETERANS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (5) of section 1503(a) 

11 of title 38, United States Code, is amended to read as 

12 follows: 

13 ‘‘(5) payments regarding— 

14 ‘‘(A) reimbursements of any kind (includ15 ing insurance settlement payments) for— 

16 ‘‘(i) expenses related to the repay17 ment, replacement, or repair of equipment, 

18 vehicles, items, money, or property result19 ing from— 

20 ‘‘(I) any accident (as defined by 

21 the Secretary), but the amount ex22 cluded under this subclause shall not 

23 exceed the greater of the fair market 

24 value or reasonable replacement value 

25 of the equipment or vehicle involved at 


sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 1438 IH

1 the time immediately preceding the 

2 accident; 

3 ‘‘(II) any theft or loss (as defined 

4 by the Secretary), but the amount ex5 cluded under this subclause shall not 

6 exceed the greater of the fair market 

7 value or reasonable replacement value 

8 of the item or the amount of the 

9 money (including legal tender of the 

10 United States or of a foreign country) 

11 involved at the time immediately pre12 ceding the theft or loss; or 

13 ‘‘(III) any casualty loss (as de14 fined by the Secretary), but the 

15 amount excluded under this subclause 

16 shall not exceed the greater of the fair 

17 market value or reasonable replace18 ment value of the property involved at 

19 the time immediately preceding the 

20 casualty loss; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) medical expenses resulting from 

22 any accident, theft, loss, or casualty loss 

23 (as defined by the Secretary), but the 

24 amount excluded under this clause shall 

25 not exceed the costs of medical care proVerDate Mar 15 2010 16:14 Apr 12, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1438.IH H1438

sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 1438 IH

1 vided to the victim of the accident, theft, 

2 loss, or casualty loss; and 

3 ‘‘(B) pain and suffering (including insur4 ance settlement payments and general damages 

5 awarded by a court) related to an accident, 

6 theft, loss, or casualty loss, but the amount ex7 cluded under this subparagraph shall not exceed 

8 an amount determined by the Secretary on a 

9 case-by-case basis;’’. 

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

11 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date that is 180 

12 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS