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This bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to replace money that a fiduciary misuses from a veteran’s benefits. If a person or organization that manages a veteran’s benefits spends that money wrongly, the VA would have to pay the lost amount back to the veteran or to the veteran’s next appointed fiduciary. The VA would then try to collect that money back from the fiduciary who caused the loss. The bill also says the VA cannot wait to repay the veteran while it is still deciding whether the misuse happened because of VA negligence. It sets a cap so the total paid back cannot be more than the amount that was misused.
- If benefits are misused by a fiduciary, the VA must pay back the same amount to the beneficiary or to a successor fiduciary.
- The VA must make a good-faith effort to recover the money from the fiduciary who misused it, and if it gets that money back, it must send it to the beneficiary if it has not already done so.
- If the veteran has died before the repayment is made, the money would be paid under existing rules for unpaid benefits, but not to the fiduciary who misused the funds.
- The VA must set up a process to review whether misuse was caused by VA negligence, but that review cannot delay repayment.
Official Summaries
Veteran Fraud Reimbursement Act of 2025
This bill modifies the procedures by which the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reissues misused benefits to a beneficiary, including by requiring the VA to establish methods and timing with respect to determining whether an instance of misuse by a fiduciary is the result of negligence by the VA. The bill also provides that if a beneficiary predeceases a reissuance, the VA must pay the amount to a surviving beneficiary in the same method as certain other VA benefits are paid upon the death of a beneficiary.
Under the bill, the VA may not withhold the reissuing of a benefit payment by reason of a pending determination regarding the VA's negligence in relation to the instance of misuse by a fiduciary. Additionally, the VA is not required to make a determination regarding its negligence for each instance of misuse by a fiduciary of all or part of an individual's benefit paid to such fiduciary.
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 892 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 892
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the repayment by the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs of benefits misused by a fiduciary, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 6, 2025
Ms. Hirono (for herself, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Gallego, and Mr. Tuberville)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the repayment by the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs of benefits misused by a fiduciary, 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 ``Veteran Fraud Reimbursement Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT TO REPAYMENT BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OF
CERTAIN MISUSED BENEFITS.
Section 6107 of title 38, United States Code, is amended to read as
follows:
``Sec. 6107. Reissuance of benefits
``(a) Reissuance of Misused Benefits.--(1) In any case in which a
fiduciary misuses all or part of an individual's benefit paid to such
fiduciary, the Secretary shall pay to the beneficiary or the
beneficiary's successor fiduciary an amount equal to the amount of such
benefit so misused.
``(2) In any case in which the Secretary reissues a benefit payment
(in whole or in part) under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall make a
good faith effort to obtain recoupment from the fiduciary to whom the
payment was originally made.
``(3) In any case in which the Secretary obtains recoupment from a
fiduciary who has misused benefits, the Secretary shall promptly remit
payment of the recouped amounts to the beneficiary or the beneficiary's
successor fiduciary, as the case may be, to the extent that such
amounts have not been paid under paragraph (1).
``(b) Reissuance of Amounts in the Case of a Deceased
Beneficiary.--(1) If a beneficiary described in subsection (a)(1)
predeceases a payment under such subsection, the Secretary shall pay
such amount, subject to paragraph (2), to an individual or entity in
accordance with section 5121 of this title.
``(2) The Secretary may not make a payment under this subsection to
a fiduciary who misused benefits of the beneficiary.
``(c) Limitation on Total Amount Paid.--The total of the amounts
paid to a beneficiary or the beneficiary's successor fiduciary under
this section may not exceed the total benefit amount misused by the
fiduciary with respect to that beneficiary.
``(d) Oversight of Negligence.--(1) The Secretary shall establish
methods and timing with respect to determining whether an instance of
misuse by a fiduciary, of all or part of an individual's benefit paid
to such fiduciary, is the result of negligence by the Secretary.
``(2) The Secretary may not withhold the reissuing of a benefit
payment under subsection (a)(1) by reason of a pending determination
under paragraph (1).
``(3) The Secretary is not required to make a determination under
paragraph (1) for each instance of misuse by a fiduciary, of all or
part of an individual's benefit paid to such fiduciary.''.
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