Title: Protect Veterans from Financial Fraud Act of 2019
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Protect Veterans from Financial Fraud Act of 2019
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to pay a beneficiary (or beneficiary's successor fiduciary) the amount of the misused benefit when any fiduciary has misused all or part of an individual's benefit. Specifically, the bill requires this payment in any case not involving negligent failure by the VA to investigate or monitor a fiduciary but where a fiduciary misuses all or part of an individual's benefit. The bill removes the stipulation that the fiduciary (1) not be an individual, or (2) serve at least 10 beneficiaries for the VA to repay misused benefits.
An adverse determination by the VA of a veteran's mental capacity to manage VA monetary benefits may be appealed in accordance with provisions governing the Board of Veterans' Appeals and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 592 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 592

To amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure that the Secretary of 
     Veterans Affairs repays the misused benefits of veterans with 
fiduciaries, to establish an appeals process for determinations by the 
  Secretary of Veterans Affairs of veterans' mental capacity, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 16, 2019

  Ms. Brownley of California introduced the following bill; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure that the Secretary of 
     Veterans Affairs repays the misused benefits of veterans with 
fiduciaries, to establish an appeals process for determinations by the 
  Secretary of Veterans Affairs of veterans' mental capacity, and for 
                            other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protect Veterans from Financial 
Fraud Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. REPAYMENT OF MISUSED BENEFITS.

    (a) In General.--Section 6107(b) of title 38, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``In any case in which a 
        fiduciary described in paragraph (2)'' and inserting ``In any 
        case not covered by subsection (a) in which a fiduciary'';
            (2) by striking paragraph (2); and
            (3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (2).
    (b) Application.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall apply 
with respect to the misuse of benefits by a fiduciary occurring on or 
after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. APPEALS FOR DETERMINATIONS OF MENTAL CAPACITY.

    Section 5501A of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``The Secretary'' and inserting ``(a) In 
        General.--The Secretary''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(b) Appeals.--A determination under subsection (a) may be 
appealed in accordance with chapters 71 and 72 of this title.''.
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