116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5245 
AN ACT 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for a 
bar on the recovery of certain payments or overpayments 
made by the Department of Veterans Affairs by reason 
of delays in processing of certain information, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stopping Harm and 
Implementing Enhanced Lead-time for Debts for Veterans 
Act’’ or the ‘‘SHIELD for Veterans Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF DEBT ARISING FROM OVERPAY-
MENT DUE TO DELAY IN PROCESSING BY THE 
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 
(a) BAR TO RECOVERY.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Chapter 53 of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after 
section 5302A the following new section: 
‘‘§ 5302B. Prohibition of debt arising from overpay-
ment due to delay in processing 
‘‘(a) LIMITATION.—No individual may incur a debt 
to the United States that— 
‘‘(1) arises from any program or benefit admin-
istered by the Under Secretary for Benefits; and 
‘‘(2) is attributable to the failure of an em-
ployee or official of the Department to process infor-
mation provided by or on behalf of that individual 
within applicable timeliness standards established by 
the Secretary. 
‘‘(b) NOTICE TO BENEFICIARY.—If the Secretary de-
termines that the Secretary has made an overpayment to 
an individual, the Secretary shall provide notice to the in-
dividual of the overpayment. Such notice shall include an
explanation of the right of the individual to dispute the 
overpayment or to request a waiver of indebtedness. 
‘‘(c) DELAY ON COLLECTION.—The Secretary may 
not take any action under section 3711 of title 31 regard-
ing an overpayment described in a notice under subsection 
(b) until the date that is 90 days after the date the Sec-
retary issues such notice.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 5302A 
the following new item: 
‘‘5302B. Prohibition of debt arising from overpayment due to delay in proc-
essing.’’. 
(3) DEADLINE.—The Secretary of Veterans Af-
fairs shall prescribe regulations to establish stand-
ards under section 5302B(a)(2) of such title, as 
added by subsection (a), not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) PLAN FOR IMPROVED NOTIFICATION AND COM-
MUNICATION OF DEBTS.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, and one year there-
after, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to 
Congress a report on the improvement of the notification 
of and communication with individuals who receive over-
payments made by the Secretary. Such report shall include 
each of the following:
(1) The plan of the Secretary to carry out each 
of the following: 
(A) The development and implementation 
of a mechanism by which individuals enrolled in 
the patient enrollment system under section 
1705 of title 38, United States Code, may view 
their monthly patient medical statements elec-
tronically. 
(B) The development and implementation 
of a mechanism by which individuals eligible for 
benefits under the laws administered by the 
Secretary may receive electronic correspondence 
relating to debt and overpayment information. 
(C) The development and implementation, 
by not later than October 1, 2022, of a mecha-
nism by which individuals eligible for benefits 
under the laws administered by the Secretary 
may access information related to Department 
of Veterans Affairs debt electronically. 
(D) The improvement and clarification of 
Department communications relating to over-
payments and debt collection, including letters 
and electronic correspondence. The Secretary 
shall develop such improvements and clarifica-
tions in consultation with veterans service orga-
nizations and other relevant non-governmental 
organizations. 
(E) The development and implementation, 
by not later than October 1, 2022, of a mecha-
nism by which veterans may update their de-
pendency information electronically. 
(2) A description of the current efforts and 
plans for improving the accuracy of payments to in-
dividuals entitled to benefits under the laws adminis-
tered by the Secretary, including specific data 
matching agreements. 
(3) A description of steps to be taken to im-
prove the identification of underpayments to such in-
dividuals and to improve Department procedures 
and policies to ensure that such individuals who are 
underpaid receive adequate compensation payments. 
(4) A list of actions completed, implementation 
steps, and timetables for each requirement described 
in paragraphs (1) through (3). 
(5) A description of any new legislative author-
ity required to complete any such requirement.
SEC. 3. THRESHOLD FOR REPORTING DEBTS TO CON-
SUMER REPORTING AGENCIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 53 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding after section 5319 the 
following new section: 
‘‘§ 5320. Threshold for reporting debts to consumer 
reporting agencies 
‘‘The Secretary shall prescribe regulations that estab-
lish the minimum amount of a claim or debt, arising from 
a benefit administered by the Under Secretary for Bene-
fits or Under Secretary for Health, that the Secretary will 
report to a consumer reporting agency under section 3711 
of title 31.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 
after the item relating to section 5319 the following new 
item: 
‘‘5320. Threshold for reporting debts to consumer reporting agencies.’’. 
(c) DEADLINE.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall prescribe regulations under section 5320 of such 
title, as added by subsection (a), not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 4. REMOVAL OF DEPENDENTS FROM AWARD OF COM-
PENSATION OR PENSION. 
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that—
(1) a veteran may remove any dependent from 
an award of compensation or pension to the veteran 
using the eBenefits system of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs, or a successor system; and 
(2) such removal takes effect not later than 60 
days after the date on which the veteran makes such 
removal. 
SEC. 5. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 
shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 
titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 
Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 
by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro-
vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 
vote on passage. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 23, 
2020. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5245 
AN ACT 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide 
for a bar on the recovery of certain payments or 
overpayments made by the Department of Vet-
erans Affairs by reason of delays in processing of 
certain information, and for other purposes.