I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7144 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the processing of veterans 
benefits by the Department of Veterans Affairs, to limit the authority 
of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to recover overpayments made by 
the Department and other amounts owed by veterans to the United 
States, to improve the due process accorded veterans with respect to 
such recovery, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 16, 2018 
Mr. DELANEY (for himself, Mr. TROTT, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mr. COFFMAN, 
Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. FOSTER, 
Mr. RASKIN, Mr. KILMER, and Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia) 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 
processing of veterans benefits by the Department of 
Veterans Affairs, to limit the authority of the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs to recover overpayments made by 
the Department and other amounts owed by veterans 
to the United States, to improve the due process ac-
corded veterans with respect to such recovery, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veteran Debt Fairness 
Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY 
OF 
VETERANS 
AFFAIRS 
TO 
RECOVER 
AMOUNTS 
OWED 
BY 
VETERANS 
TO 
THE 
UNITED STATES. 
(a) INDEBTEDNESS OFFSETS.—Section 5314 of title 
38, United States Code, is amended as follows: 
(1) In subsection (a)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘AUTHORITY TO OFFSET; 
LIMITATIONS.—(1)’’ before ‘‘Subject to’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘subsections (b) and (d) of 
this section and’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (2) 
and (3) of this subsection, subsections (b) and 
(d) of this section, and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(2) The Secretary may make a deduction under 
paragraph (1) only if— 
‘‘(A) the indebtedness to the United States de-
scribed in that paragraph— 
‘‘(i) is the result of an error, a misrepre-
sentation, or fraud by the person described in 
that paragraph; 
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‘‘(ii) in the case of an error by the person 
described in that paragraph, is less than five 
years old; 
‘‘(iii) is not in dispute under regulations 
prescribed pursuant to subsection (d)(2)(A); 
and 
‘‘(iv) exceeds $2,500; and 
‘‘(B) the Secretary determines that the amount 
of the indebtedness exceeds the cost to the Depart-
ment to recover the indebtedness. 
‘‘(3) The Secretary may not make a deduction under 
paragraph (1) to a payment under chapter 11 or 15 of 
this title that exceeds the lesser of— 
‘‘(A) 25 percent of the payment; and 
‘‘(B) a percentage that the Secretary deter-
mines is the greatest percentage that would not 
cause a hardship to the recipient.’’. 
(2) In subsection (b)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘Deductions may not be 
made’’ and inserting ‘‘NOTICE REQUIRED.—No 
deduction may be made’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘unless the Secretary’’ and 
inserting ‘‘until after’’; 
(C) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 
follows: 
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‘‘(1) the Secretary has made reasonable efforts to no-
tify the person of the person’s right— 
‘‘(A) to dispute the existence or amount of such 
indebtedness under regulations prescribed pursuant 
to subsection (d)(2)(A); 
‘‘(B) to request a waiver of such indebtedness 
under section 5302 of this title; and 
‘‘(C) in the case of a payment under chapter 11 
or 15 of this title, to request the Secretary make a 
determination under subsection (a)(3)(B);’’; and 
(D) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘the 
Secretary’’ before ‘‘has made’’; and 
(E) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(3) the day that is 90 calendar days after the day 
the Secretary sends notice to the person of the indebted-
ness and of the proposed deduction.’’. 
(3) In subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘INAPPLICA-
BILITY OF STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS TO ADMINIS-
TRATIVE ACTIONS.—’’ before ‘‘Notwithstanding’’. 
(4) In subsection (d)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘REGULATIONS.—(1)’’ be-
fore ‘‘The Secretary’’ ; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
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‘‘(2) The regulations under paragraph (1) shall in-
clude administrative processes by which a person described 
in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) may— 
‘‘(A) dispute the existence or amount of indebt-
edness described in that paragraph; and 
‘‘(B) request that the Secretary make a deter-
mination under paragraph (3)(B) of such subsection. 
‘‘(3) The regulations under paragraph (1) shall direct 
the Secretary to ensure that each dispute under paragraph 
(2)(A) is adjudicated not later than 120 days after the 
initiation of such dispute. 
‘‘(4) The regulations under paragraph (1) may not 
permit the Secretary to submit to any debt collector (as 
defined in section 803 of the Fair Debt Collection Prac-
tices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692a)) any debt in dispute under 
paragraph (2)(A). 
‘‘(5) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 
prohibit a person from seeking relief from a court of com-
petent jurisdiction.’’. 
(b) LIMITATIONS ON INTEREST AND FEES CHARGED 
DURING PERIOD OF DISPUTE.—Section 5315 of such title 
is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(1), in the first sentence by 
striking ‘‘or (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘(B) for any period 
during which the existence or amount of the indebt-
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edness is being disputed under regulations pre-
scribed pursuant to section 5314(d) of this title, or 
(C)’’; and 
(2) in subsection (c)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘The admin-
istrative’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(2) No administrative costs may be charged under 
this section with respect to indebtedness described in sub-
section (a) while the existence or amount of the indebted-
ness is being disputed under section 5314(d) of this title.’’. 
(c) LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY TO SUE TO COL-
LECT CERTAIN DEBTS.—Section 5316(a) of title 38, 
United States, is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘paragraphs 
(2) and (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (2), (3), and 
(4)’’; 
(2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para-
graph (4); and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing new paragraph (3): 
‘‘(3) No suit may be filed under this section to re-
cover any indebtedness more than five years old.’’. 
(d) REPAIR OF CREDIT.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 53 of such title is 
amended by adding at the end the following new sec-
tion: 
‘‘§ 5320. Correction of erroneous information sub-
mitted to consumer reporting agencies 
‘‘(a) CORRECTING ERRORS BY THE DEPARTMENT.— 
In any case in which the Secretary finds that the Depart-
ment has submitted erroneous information to a consumer 
reporting agency about the indebtedness of any person 
who has been determined by the Secretary to be indebted 
to the United States by virtue of the participation of that 
person in a benefits program administered by the Sec-
retary, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(1) instruct the consumer reporting agency to 
remove such erroneous information from the con-
sumer report of such person or take such other ac-
tion as may be required to ensure that such erro-
neous information is not included in the report of 
such person; and 
‘‘(2) transmit to the consumer reporting agency 
such information as the consumer reporting agency 
may require to take such appropriate actions. 
‘‘(b) CORRECTING ERRORS BY DEBT COLLECTORS.— 
In any case in which the Secretary finds that a debt col-
lector acting on behalf of the Department has submitted 
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erroneous information to a consumer reporting agency 
about the indebtedness of any person who has been deter-
mined by the Secretary to be indebted to the United States 
by virtue of the participation of that person in a benefits 
program administered by the Secretary, the Secretary 
shall instruct the debt collector to request the consumer 
reporting agency remove such erroneous information from 
the consumer report of such person or take such other 
action as may be required to ensure such erroneous infor-
mation is not included in the report of such person. 
‘‘(c) NOTICE.—Not later than 60 days after the date 
on which the Secretary issues an instruction under sub-
section (a)(1) or (b) with respect to a person, the Sec-
retary shall notify the person that the Secretary issued 
such instruction. 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The terms ‘consumer report’ and ‘con-
sumer reporting agency’ have the meanings given 
such terms in section 603 of the Fair Credit Report-
ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a). 
‘‘(2) The term ‘debt collector’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 803 of the Fair Debt Col-
lection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692a).’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions at the beginning of chapter 53 of such title is 
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amended by adding at the end the following new 
item: 
‘‘5320. Correction of erroneous information submitted to consumer reporting 
agencies.’’. 
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 
of this Act and shall apply with respect to deductions 
made under section 5314 of such title, administrative 
costs under section 5315 of such title, and suits filed 
under section 5316 of such title on or after such date. 
SEC. 3. IMPROVED PROCESSING OF BENEFITS BY DEPART-
MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall improve the 
information technology of the Department of Veterans Af-
fairs (including the eBenefits system or successor system) 
as may be necessary to achieve the following: 
(1) NOTIFICATION OF DEBTS INCURRED.—The 
Secretary shall provide a notification to a person 
who— 
(A) is entitled to a payment from the Sec-
retary under a benefits program administered 
by the Secretary; 
(B) incurs a debt to the United States 
under that benefits program; and 
(C) elects to receive such notifications. 
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(2) REVIEW OF INFORMATION REGARDING DE-
PENDENTS.—A person entitled to a payment from 
the Secretary under a benefits program administered 
by the Secretary may review information relating to 
dependents of that person. 
(3) TRACKING METRICS.—The Secretary shall 
be able to track— 
(A) the number and amount of payments 
made by the Secretary to a person entitled to 
a payment from the Secretary under a benefits 
program administered by the Secretary who in-
curs a debt to the United States under such 
program; 
(B) the average debt to the United States 
incurred by a person described in subparagraph 
(A); 
(C) how frequently the Secretary approves 
and denies applications for relief under section 
5302(a) of title 38, United States Code; and 
(D) such other metrics the Secretary deter-
mines appropriate. 
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SEC. 4. AUDIT OF ERRONEOUS PAYMENTS BY VETERANS 
BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION; PLAN OF COR-
RECTION. 
(a) AUDIT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs shall complete an audit to determine the following: 
(1) The frequency by which the Department of 
Veterans Affairs makes an error that results in a 
payment to a person by virtue of such person’s par-
ticipation in a benefits program administered by the 
Secretary that such person is not entitled to or in 
an amount that exceeds the amount to which the 
person is entitled. 
(2) Whether and to what degree vacant posi-
tions in the Veterans Benefits Administration affect 
such frequency. 
(b) PLAN.—Not later than 30 days after the comple-
tion of the audit under subsection (a), the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Vet-
erans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives 
a plan and description of resources necessary to align in-
formation technology systems to ensure that errors de-
scribed in subsection (a)(1) are not the result of commu-
nication or absence of communication between information 
technology systems. 
Æ 
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