[House Hearing, 115 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
H.R. 1721; H.R. 1900; H.R. 3122; H.R. 3656; H.R. 3657; AND, A DRAFT
BILL ENTITLED ``VETERANS FAIR DEBT NOTICE ACT OF 2017''
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON DISABILITY ASSISTANCE AND MEMORIAL AFFAIRS
of the
COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2017
__________
Serial No. 115-29
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov
_________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
30-375 WASHINGTON : 2018
COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS
DAVID P. ROE, Tennessee, Chairman
GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida, Vice- TIM WALZ, Minnesota, Ranking
Chairman Member
MIKE COFFMAN, Colorado MARK TAKANO, California
BRAD R. WENSTRUP, Ohio JULIA BROWNLEY, California
AMATA COLEMAN RADEWAGEN, American ANN M. KUSTER, New Hampshire
Samoa BETO O'ROURKE, Texas
MIKE BOST, Illinois KATHLEEN RICE, New York
BRUCE POLIQUIN, Maine J. LUIS CORREA, California
NEAL DUNN, Florida KILILI SABLAN, Northern Mariana
JODEY ARRINGTON, Texas Islands
JOHN RUTHERFORD, Florida ELIZABETH ESTY, Connecticut
CLAY HIGGINS, Louisiana SCOTT PETERS, California
JACK BERGMAN, Michigan
JIM BANKS, Indiana
JENNIFFER GONZALEZ-COLON, Puerto
Rico
Jon Towers, Staff Director
Ray Kelley, Democratic Staff Director
SUBCOMMITTEE ON DISABILITY ASSISTANCE AND MEMORIAL AFFAIRS
MIKE BOST, Illinois, Chairman
MIKE COFFMAN, Colorado ELIZABETH ESTY, Connecticut,
AMATA RADEWAGEN, America Samoa Ranking Member
JACK BERGMAN, Michigan JULIA BROWNLEY, California
JIM BANKS, Indiana KILILI SABLAN, Northern Mariana
Islands
Pursuant to clause 2(e)(4) of Rule XI of the Rules of the House, public
hearing records of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs are also
published in electronic form. The printed hearing record remains the
official version. Because electronic submissions are used to prepare
both printed and electronic versions of the hearing record, the process
of converting between various electronic formats may introduce
unintentional errors or omissions. Such occurrences are inherent in the
current publication process and should diminish as the process is
further refined.
C O N T E N T S
----------
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Page
H.R. 1721; H.R. 1900; H.R. 3122; H.R. 3656; H.R. 3657; And, A
Draft Bill Entitled ``Veterans Fair Debt Notice Act Of 2017''.. 1
OPENING STATEMENTS
Honorable Mike Bost, Chairman.................................... 1
Honorable Elizabeth Esty, Ranking Member......................... 2
WITNESSES
The Honorable Jim Banks, U.S. House of Representatives........... 2
The Honorable David Rouzer, U.S. House of Representatives........ 3
The Honorable Steve Stivers, U.S. House of Representatives....... 3
The Honorable Joyce Beatty, U.S. House of Representatives........ 4
The Honorable Chellie Pingree, U.S. House of Representatives..... 5
The Honorable Matt Cartwright, U.S. House of Representatives..... 10
Mr. Matthew T. Sullivan, Deputy Under Secretary for Finance and
Planning and Chief Financial Officer, National Cemetery
Administration, U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs........... 7
Prepared Statement........................................... 28
Accompanied by:
Ms. Roberta Lowe, Director, Office of Internal Controls,
Acting Director, Debt Management Center, Office of
Management, U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Ms. Cheryl Rawls, Director, Pension & Fiduciary Service,
Veterans Benefits Administration, U. S. Department of
Veterans Affairs
Ms. Elizabeth H. Curda, Director, Education, Workforce, and
Income Security Team, U.S. Government Accountability Office.... 8
Prepared Statement........................................... 31
Mr. Alex Zhang, Assistant Director, National Veterans Affairs and
Rehabilitation Division, The American Legion................... 15
Prepared Statement........................................... 36
Mr. LeRoy Acosta, Assistant National Legislative Director,
Disabled American Veterans..................................... 17
Prepared Statement........................................... 39
Mr. Blake Ortner, Deputy Government Relations Director, Paralyzed
Veterans of America............................................ 18
Prepared Statement........................................... 42
Ms. Kathleen Moakler, Director, Survivor Advocacy, Tragedy
Assistance Program for Survivors............................... 19
Prepared Statement........................................... 43
Mr. John Towles, Deputy Director, National Legislative
Service,Veterans of Foreign Wars............................... 21
Prepared Statement........................................... 46
STATEMENT FOR THE RECORD
COAL - Timeline CITYGovts Preservation........................... 48
QUESTIONS FOR THE RECORD
From Chairman Boost To VA........................................ 50
Questions With Answers From VA................................... 51
H.R. 1721; H.R. 1900; H.R. 3122; H.R. 3656; H.R. 3657; AND, A DRAFT
BILL ENTITLED ``VETERANS FAIR DEBT NOTICE ACT OF 2017''
----------
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on Veterans' Affairs,
Subcommittee on Disability Assistance
and Memorial Affairs,
Washington, D.C.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:30 a.m., in
Room 334, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Mike Bost,
[Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Bost, Coffman, Banks, and Esty.
Also present: Representatives Poliquin, and Cartwright.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HONORABLE MIKE BOST, CHAIRMAN
Mr. Bost. The Subcommittee will come to order.
Thank you for joining us today to discuss legislation
pending before the Subcommittee.
The six bills on today's agenda address issues that are
very important to veterans and their families. These bills
would extend eligibility for memorial headstones and markers to
family members whose remains are tragically not available for
burial or cremation; extend benefits to family of veterans who
are buried in tribal cemeteries; help protect vulnerable
veterans from financial fraud; require VA to improve the
notices they send to veterans who may have received an
overpayment; remind us of the important contributions made by
various cities to the World War efforts during World War II;
and determine whether Congress should designate a museum in
Columbus, Ohio as a National Veterans Memorial and Museum.
We have a full agenda today, so in the interest of time I
am going to keep everyone, including myself, to no more than
the 5 minutes that we have set aside. I appreciate that the
bills' sponsors have worked hard on these proposals and I am
looking forward to the discussions, how these bills will impact
veterans and their families.
Now I am going to turn it over to distinguish Ranking
Member Ms. Esty for her opening statements.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HONORABLE ELIZABETH ESTY, RANKING MEMBER
Ms. Esty. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is an honor to serve
as the Ranking Member of the Disability Assistance and Memorial
Affairs Committee, and as a Subcommittee we have already made
significant progress towards improving the disability benefits
system for all of our veterans. I am proud of our efforts to
work in a very bipartisan manner to create substantive
legislation that affects the lives of veterans and their
families across America, but we still have more work to do.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your willingness to work
across the aisle to listen to all Members of the Subcommittee,
Democrats and Republicans, and for hosting today's hearing with
a number of our distinguished colleagues, who have excellent
proposals that we are eager to work with you in bringing
forward in a way that can pass both the House, the Senate, and
get signed by the President.
Mr. Bost. Thank you, Ms. Esty.
I am honored to be joined this morning by several of our
colleagues who are going to be testifying about the bills they
have sponsored: Representative Jim Banks of Indiana;
Representative Bruce Poliquin of Maine; Representative David
Rouzer of North Carolina; Representative Steve Stivers of Ohio;
Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio; Representative Matt
Cartwright of Pennsylvania; and Representative Chellie Pingree
of Maine.
Welcome to all of you. I appreciate all of you taking the
time out of your day to be here with us for sponsoring
legislation that will help our Nation's veterans.
We will begin on our Committee colleagues that are here and
they will be speaking from the dais.
Mr. Banks, you are recognized for 5 minutes to discuss H.R.
3656.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HONORABLE JIM BANKS
Mr. Banks. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Because of our veterans' service on behalf of each and
every one of us, it is our responsibility to do our best in
this Congress to serve them. And this commitment doesn't stop
simply at their pay during their service, but we assist them in
medical recovery and succeeding in the civilian world, and,
just as importantly, memorializing the life that they lived
once they have passed.
Current law provides memorial headstones for veterans and
for their spouses and children when their remains cannot be
found, and those unfortunate circumstances sometimes occur in
such cases as boating accidents or plane accidents.
Public Law 105-368 provides for spouses and was enacted in
1998. Public Law 109-461 provides for dependent children and
was enacted in 2006. Both groups were eligible for the benefit
as of the date of enactment; it was overlooked, though, that
the latter date was not planned to be made consistent with the
first.
My bill, H.R. 3656, amends Title 38 of the United States
Code to provide for a consistent eligibility date for spouses
and dependent children. The date for both will be set at the
current date for spouses, November 11, 1998. This is especially
necessary for the unfortunate cases when a spouse and dependent
child have passed away in the same accident during a period in
which the child was ineligible for a headstone while the spouse
was not. The father and/or mother was then able to be
memorialized, yet not the child who was with them in this
tragic incident. This is a practical and simple fix to take
care of our veteran community, and to keep our commitment with
them.
And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Mr. Bost. Thank you, Mr. Banks.
With that, I would like to go to Representative Rouzer,
let's begin with you, and you are recognized to discuss your
bill, H.R. 1721.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HONORABLE DAVID ROUZER
Mr. Rouzer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Members of the
Committee, for the opportunity to testify before you on H.R.
1721, a bill that would recognize one city each year as a World
War II city for the work and contributions their citizens to
the United States war effort, as well as to recognize all their
work to continue to preserve that history.
There are great and noble citizens in Wilmington, North
Carolina who have worked hard to bring recognition to these
many unspoken heroes. In cities all around the country, in
fact, great Americans labored long, tireless hours in
factories, shipyards, and in the fields working to ensure that
our servicemembers were well fed and well equipped. Without the
efforts of our industrial centers and cities, we would have
never been able to win that brutal war.
At present, there is no national recognition for cities or
towns that made outstanding contributions to that war effort,
or for those cities that made significant efforts to preserve
that history. The primary purpose of this bill is to change
that. Just as we must not forget those who gave all to defend
the freedoms of the rest of us, we must not forget those who
did whatever they could to see that the needs of our military
were met.
Let me take this opportunity to thank the Committee for
recognizing this fact and including this bill language in H.R.
677, the American Heroes COLA Act of 2015, which passed the
House in the 114th Congress, and I certainly appreciate the
Committee's consideration of this bill again.
Mr. Chairman, I have a timeline dating from 1946 to present
that details the work done by many fine citizens in Wilmington
to preserve the history of the city's efforts during World War
II and I ask that it be inserted in the record. And I
appreciate, again, the opportunity to come before the Committee
and testify today.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Bost. Thank you, Mr. Rouzer.
And prior to a previous agreement, Mr. Stivers, who is
introducing H.R. 1900, will share his time with Ms. Beatty, who
is the lead cosponsor.
So, Mr. Stivers, you are recognized for 2 and a half
minutes.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HONORABLE STEVE STIVERS
Mr. Stivers. Thank you very much.
I want to thank Chairman Bost and Ranking Member Esty for
moving this important hearing forward. Our bill will designate
the National Veterans Memorial and Museum being built in
Columbus, Ohio as the National Veterans Memorial and Museum.
This center will serve as a civic landmark to honor, connect,
and inspire and educate all Americans about the service and
sacrifice of more than 22 million veterans in this country.
And I know you are asking yourself why are we going to do
this in Columbus, Ohio. There are a lot of reasons why. First
of all, Ohio is the home of the sixth-largest veteran
population in the United States, it is also within an 8-hour
car ride of more than half the population of the United States.
There are lots of other reasons why I think it makes sense and
we will continue to move those forward.
I want you to know that this center is fully funded for the
construction, it was raised with private dollars. We have
worked with our veterans service organizations, you will hear
from some of them on a later panel, and most are supportive. I
am open to putting in the bill some language that would require
VSOs to have positions on the board, that is already the plan,
and if that needs to be a condition of making sure that we
actually get it as a Nation, I am fully supportive of that.
I do want to thank Colonel Tom Moe, who is from Ohio and
was a great member of our Armed Forces, retired from the United
States Air Force after 85 flying missions, was captured in
Vietnam and held in North Vietnam from 1968 through 1973. He
has been very active in a lot of issues and is very involved in
the building of this very important museum and memorial.
I second want to thank Joyce Beatty, my lead Democrat
sponsor of the bill. I have been told this is one of the few
times when you have had bipartisan support for a bill like this
on the testimony, I appreciate you making it available, and I
yield the balance of my time to the Congresswoman.
Mr. Bost. Mrs. Beatty, you are recognized for 2 and a half
minutes.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HONORABLE JOYCE BEATTY
Mrs. Beatty. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and to Ranking Member
Esty. Thank you for holding this hearing today and letting us
come in this bipartisan manner, and I want to echo everything
that Congressman Stivers had said.
I am very honored to be here and ask you for your
consideration, because not only would this bill designate the
Veterans Memorial and Museum being built, I must add, in my 3rd
Congressional District in Ohio as a National Veterans Memorial
and Museum, it would also honor countless veterans who have
answered the call to serve, veterans like my father who would
be so honored to know that I am doing this with Congressman
Stivers today.
I also want to thank the American Legion, the Paralyzed
Veterans of America, the VFW, who are testifying in support of
H.R. 1900 in the destination.
I join Mr. Stivers not only in mentioning and talking about
all the great work that the Colonel Tom Moe has done, but also
with us I want to recognize Guy Worley and Amy Taylor, who are
the project managers for the museum and they are here from
Columbus.
You have heard some of the statistics and data. Why Ohio?
Because nearly 1 million veterans live in Ohio. You have heard
about the 8-hour drive to nearly one half of the United States
population, not to mention the 7.5 million veterans who also
live within that 8-hour drive of Ohio, which is just a little
less than 40 percent of the entire veterans population. It
makes it a perfect destination for school trips, for family
vacations, for veterans and the families and survivors.
This was in part the brainchild of someone we all know who
served so well in World War II, the legendary astronaut, former
U.S. Senator from Ohio, John Glenn, a dear friend of mine, and
who was also a constituent. If he were here today, he would
highlight this museum and its memorial; he would talk about the
300-foot reflective pool, he would talk about the memorial
wall, he would talk about the sanctuary where veterans'
families and others could go.
So it is a tremendous idea and certainly we ask for your
support.
Mr. Bost. Thank you.
Because I tell you what we would like to do now, we want to
hear from Ms. Pingree of Maine to talk about H.R. 3705, which
was noticed for the hearing, this hearing as a draft bill.
And so you are recognized. Thank you for being here.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HONORABLE CHELLIE PINGREE
Ms. Pingree. Yes, thank you very much. Thank you, Chairman,
and thank you also to Ranking Member Esty and to everyone on
the Committee. Thank you for the work that you all do and for
hearing this bill today.
I believe my bill offers a commonsense fix to frustrations
that some veterans in my district have shared with me, which I
know veterans across the country have also experienced. My
district office has been contacted by veterans who frankly are
shocked and surprised to learn that they owe money to the VA
for overpayment of benefits or some other reason, sometimes
months or even years after the debts were incurred. By the time
they inquire, they are told by the VA, hey, tough luck, the
clock ran out. You have lost the ability to dispute, seek
forgiveness, or create a payment plan for your alleged debt.
We have seen single-mom veterans who can't get a home loan,
newly transitioned servicemembers who struggle to reintegrate
with garnished pay, recouped tax returns, and reduced
disability payments, all because of assigned debts they knew
nothing about because something, quote, ``got lost in the
mail.''
Current VA regulations provide that such debtors are
notified by ordinary mail, which is deemed to provide a
sufficient notification to a veteran of an outstanding debt and
what his or her rights of redress are. The problem is that
people move, mail can get lost. This is a particular challenge
for homeless vets or those without fixed addresses.
At times the error is on the VA side. Our caseworkers have
uncovered instances where the VA sent mailings to addresses in
states where the veteran has never lived.
H.R. 3705, the Veterans Fair Debt Notice Act, proposes a
very straightforward solution. It requires the VA to modify its
regulations so that vet debt notifications are sent by
certified mail, thus the VA would know that the veteran has
actually received the letter.
Likewise, it directs the VA to request that veterans
seeking waivers use certified mail, so a veteran knows that the
VA has received his or her response.
We have heard from veterans who have submitted waivers,
tried to create a payment plan, or tried to dispute the charges
within the allotted time period, only to be told by the VA that
the office never received the materials.
Lastly, my bill requires the VA to use plain language in
how it communicates to a veteran about his or her debts, and
the rights to challenge it or seek accommodations.
In my opinion, a veteran should not have to rely on a
congressional caseworker to interpret the VA's bureaucratese. I
think all of us know from our district offices, we often
confront things that we think, while we are very happy to help,
our office can do it for you, but you shouldn't need a Member
of Congress to solve your problem.
I urge the Committee to approve the Veterans Fair Debt
Notice Act to promote accountability, consumer protection, and
efficiencies in the VA system, and fairness to our veterans who
deserve peace of mind.
Finally, I appreciate the support of this legislation from
veteran's service organizations who can attest to the
frustrations that their members have experiences.
Thank you and I yield back my time.
Mr. Bost. Thank you, Ms. Pingree.
We are waiting still on Mr. Cartwright. Let me do this
right quick for the betterment of our Members who are here. We
normally forgo any questions for our colleagues and any
questions may be submitted in writing for the record, but we do
want to thank you for being here today and I don't expect you
to stand around and wait for the other Members to come in.
But I believe we will--any questions can be submitted in
writing and I believe we will do so, Members will need to have
a quick turnaround on those questions. There are some questions
that we were specifically wanting to ask up here, but we are
going to forgo that and, if you receive those questions, if
your staff could get back to us as quick as possible, I
appreciate that.
So thank you so much.
We are going to recess for just a moment while waiting on a
Member, but if you will just stay in your seats, we will be
just a moment. We think he is coming down the hall.
Mr. Bost. Okay. We are going to come back to order and I
invite the second panel to the table, if you would.
Thank you for being here.
Joining us today is Mr. Matthew Sullivan, who is the Deputy
Under Secretary for Finance and Planning and CFO of the
National Cemetery Administration. Mr. Sullivan is accompanied
by Ms. Roberta Lowe, the Director of Office and Internal
Controls, and Acting Director of the Department Management
Center of the Office of Management; and Cheryl Rawls, who is
Director of Pensions & Fiduciary Services of the Veterans
Benefits Administration.
We are also joined by Ms. Elizabeth Curda, who is Director
of Education and Security Team for GAO.
Thank you all for being here.
Mr. Sullivan, you are recognized for 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF MATTHEW T. SULLIVAN
Mr. Sullivan. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Esty, and Members of the
Committee, thank you for this opportunity to provide the views
of the Department of Veterans Affairs on pending legislation
affecting VA's programs. My written testimony provides more
details on VA's views for the six bills on the agenda today;
however, I will provide a few brief comments on them as well.
First, VA recognizes the merits of both H.R. 1721,
regarding the designation of American World War II cities; and
H.R. 1900, the National Veterans Memorial and Museum Act. VA
appreciates the intent behind these bills, but notes that each
is programmatically outside VA's core mission.
In addition, H.R. 1721 would potentially divert VA
resources that are designated for veterans and their
dependents.
H.R. 3122, the Veterans Care Financial Protection Act of
2017, would require VA to work with Federal agencies, states,
and other appropriate experts to development and implement
Federal and state standards for protecting pension claimants
and beneficiaries from dishonest, predatory, or otherwise
unlawful practices. VA agrees with the intent of the bill and
welcomes the opportunity to share information about common
predatory practices involving VA benefits, particular VA
pension, with key financial regulators and stakeholders to help
them identify and enforce existing standards, and develop
additional standards where appropriate.
However, VA suggests that the bill clarify the appropriate
role of the collaborating entities, especially those with
authority to enforce existing laws designed to protect veterans
and elderly claimants.
Both H.R. 3656 and H.R. 3657 are similar proposals and are
similar to proposals in the President's budget for fiscal year
2018, and VA supports them with minor modification.
H.R. 3656 would establish a consistent applicability date
for the provision of memorial headstones and markers for
spouses, surviving spouses, and dependent children. A
consistent applicability date would allow VA to provide a
memorial headstone or marker, commonly referred to as the in-
memory-of marker or IMO, in a manner that creates less
confusion and concern for claimants, as well streamline the
administrative process for VA.
However, VA does recommend a simple modification to the
language of the amendment to make clear that the proposed
effective date of November 11th, 1998 applies to the death of a
spouse, surviving spouse, or dependent child of a veteran, and
not the death of a veteran him or herself. We would be happy to
work with the Subcommittee to provide suggested language for
this modification.
H.R. 3657 would ensure that eligible spouses and dependent
children interred in tribal veteran's cemeteries have access to
the same benefits as those in state veteran's cemeteries. Since
1980, VA has been authorized to provide burial headstones and
markers to eligible spouses and dependent children of veterans
interred in veterans cemeteries owned by states, but not those
owned by tribal organizations; this bill would eliminate that
discrepancy. However, VA urges the Subcommittee to consider
expanding the applicability of H.R. 3657 to include memorial
headstones and markers under Section 2306(b) as well. This
would ensure that VA can provide the same memorialization
benefits in a tribal veteran's cemetery as are available in a
state veteran's cemetery. Again, we would be happy to work with
the Subcommittee to provide this language.
Finally, H.R. 3705, the draft bill entitled Veterans Fair
Debt Notice Act of 2017, would require VA, veterans, and others
to use certified mail for correspondence regarding debts owed
to VA or requests to waive such indebtedness. The bill would
require that VA use plain language in all communications with
the debtor and explain the options available to the debtor.
While VA generally supports the use of plain language and
providing clear explanations to the debtor, we do not support
the requirement to use certified mail in communication between
veterans and the Department. This change would increase the
burden on veterans who may currently submit waiver requests via
regular United States Mail, commercial carrier, facsimile, and
electronic mail, as well as through the various VBA regional
offices located throughout the Nation.
Veterans would incur additional costs for submitting waiver
requests and risk meeting associated deadlines.
Additionally, using certified mail would increase costs to
the Department, taking away funds from the very programs
established to assist veterans.
This concludes my testimony. Thank you for the opportunity
to present our views on these bills and we look forward to
working with the Subcommittee.
[The prepared statement of Matthew T. Sullivan appears in
the Appendix]
Mr. Bost. Thank you, Mr. Sullivan.
Ms. Curda, please begin your testimony on behalf of the
GAO, if you would.
STATEMENT OF ELIZABETH H. CURDA
Ms. Curda. Chairman Bost, Ranking Member Esty, and Members
of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify
today on certain provisions of H.R. 3122, the Veterans Care and
Financial Protection Act.
This bill seeks to address the financial exploitation of
veterans who are eligible for higher pension because they need
regular assistance to perform everyday living activities.
Individuals receiving the enhanced benefit for aid and
attendance could be vulnerable to dishonest, predatory, or
otherwise unlawful practices, which the proposed legislation
aims to address.
Today, I will first discuss our prior work related to
potential threats to VA pension applicants and will then
provide observations on certain provisions of the Veterans Care
and Financial Protection Act.
In our prior work, we have identified potential threats to
the financial security of veterans who applied for pension
benefits. For instance, in 2012 we identified entities such as
financial planners that marketed its services to veterans
seeking to qualify for pension benefits by offering veterans
products and services that could adversely affect them.
In 2013, we also reported on shortcomings in VA's process
for ensuring that representatives approved to assist veterans
with the claims process were adequately knowledgeable and have
good moral character, as required by law.
GAO made recommendations to VA to address these and other
shortcomings, and VA has taken steps to implement our
recommendations. For example, VA will increase training
requirements for representatives approved to assist veterans
with their pension benefit claims.
However, additional opportunities exist to examine thee
issues. For example, our prior work on issues relating to
gaining access to VA pension benefits for veterans is now 4 to
5 years old and could be updated. In addition, we have not
examined the potential vulnerabilities of veterans who are
already receiving aid and attendance benefits.
Now I would like to discuss three provisions of the
Veterans Care and Financial Protection Act of 2017. The first
provision is the proposed requirement for VA to develop and
submit standards to the Senate and House Committees on
Veterans' Affairs within 180 days of enactment.
Protecting veterans from financial exploitation is vital
and developing a set of standards could help VA combat such
practices. However, this proposed legislation does not clearly
specify whether the standards to protect veterans are intended
to be legally binding. Providing this clarification is
important for determining what steps VA would need to take to
develop the standards and whether completing these steps within
180 days is feasible.
Establishing legally binding regulations requires following
procedures such as requiring agencies to publish a notice of
proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register, soliciting and
reviewing comments, and other time-consuming steps. In
contrast, if Congress does not intend the standards to be
legally binding, agencies may issue guidance to help interpret
regulations or share good practices.
The second provision is the proposed requirement to have
GAO report on standards that we determine would be effective in
protecting veterans should VA not meet the 180-day deadline. We
follow Generally Accepted Government Auditing standards, which
require us to maintain independence and identify and mitigate
threats to our independence for our audits. For example, one
such threat to independence that our standards identify is the
self-review threat which results from auditors reviewing a
service or work that they previously provided to an agency.
In this case, if GAO were to set standards for this program
and VA were to adopt them, it would be inappropriate for GAO to
then audit implementation of standards that GAO had
recommended. In addition, it would be inappropriate for GAO to
set standards for VA, because setting standards for an
executive branch program is an executive branch function.
Thus, we recommend removing the proposed provision
requiring GAO to submit a report containing standards.
Finally, I would like to point out that the proposed
requirement for GAO to complete a study on the standards
implemented under the proposed legislation is by itself, and if
GAO does not set the standards, an appropriate role for GAO.
In conclusion, enhanced pension benefits provide a critical
support to veterans with disabilities, many of whom are elderly
and have limited financial resources to care for themselves.
Individuals who seek to exploit these veterans can cause real
financial harm. Our continued ability to conduct audits in this
area by maintaining our independence and mitigating threats to
that independence would help Congress, VA, and the public
oversee this important program.
This concludes my prepared statement and I am happy to
answer the Committee's questions.
[The prepared statement of Elizabeth H. Curda appears in
the Appendix]
Mr. Bost. Thank you. And we are going to go to questions in
a moment, but first off we do want to--I would like first off
to ask unanimous consent of the Committee that Mr. Cartwright
is allowed to give his testimony from the dais. With no one
objecting.
Next, I want Mr. Cartwright of Pennsylvania to talk about
H.R. 3122.
Mr. Cartwright, you can begin at any moment.
Mr. Cartwright. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Bost. You have 5 minutes.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HONORABLE MATT CARTWRIGHT
Mr. Cartwright. And Ranking Member Esty. It is nice to be
here today.
I would like to thank you for holding this hearing and
giving me an opportunity to speak about an important issue
affecting our veterans that it ought to concern all of us here
in Congress.
As Americans, we can all agree, we have made a moral
covenant with the men and women that served in our Armed Forces
and, if you risk your safety for the sake of protecting the
ideals this great country was founded upon, we will take care
of you, and the gravity of that covenant cannot be understated;
it is a core responsibility that we owe our veterans.
As part of this enduring commitment to those who have
served this Nation, the VA provides what is called an Aid and
Attendance benefit to the growing number of low-income veterans
who are in need of our support. This benefit helps pay for
assisted living and in-home personal care for veterans who
qualify for a VA pension and are housebound, or require the aid
and attendance of another person.
Unfortunately and regrettably, a number of unscrupulous
actors are increasingly exploiting this assistance program by
preying on our older veterans' vulnerability. By abusing the VA
bureaucracy, these criminals are wasting Federal dollars and
turning this well-deserved benefit into a financial nightmare
for those who can least afford it.
A recurrent scam involves charging veterans a nonexistent
application fee to obtain the benefit. Consultation fees and
fake promises to expedite the application process for a cost
are also common.
Yet another scam involves an offer to, quote-unquote,
``help veterans qualify for the benefit,'' even when their net
worth is too high to qualify. These so-called helpful
individuals then take control of the veteran's assets and move
them into an irrevocable trust or an annuity, which the elderly
veteran often cannot access for many years. This kind of
financial transfer can also delay or disqualify the veteran for
other assistance like Medicaid.
Some retirement homes recruit residents with promises that
the veterans will receive this A&A benefit, which would cover
the cost of the home. If the A&A claim is later denied,
however, the nursing home then demands back payment from the
veteran. This is a practice that leaves vulnerable, elderly
veterans with the undesirable choice of draining their own
remaining assets or giving up their new home.
The Veterans Care Financial Protection Act seeks to address
this travesty by directing Federal agencies to work with the
states and outside experts to establish standards that will put
an end to this kind of financial fraud. Specifically, the bill
aims to develop and implement state and Federal standards that
protect veterans from dishonest, predatory, or otherwise
unlawful practices relating to the A&A benefit.
It would also direct the GAO to study the implementation
and effectiveness of those standards 18 months after their
creation by using the 2006 Military Personnel Financial
Services Protection Act as a model. This bipartisan commonsense
proposal would prevent waste and protect veterans without
spending new money or imposing any mandates. Now, we owe this
to our veterans and this makes sense.
In speaking with the Government Accountability Office, the
GAO, prior to this hearing, I do understand that there may be
further changes necessary to the text of the bill before it
reaches its final version. However, my staff and I remain
committed to working with the GAO. We will make ourselves
available to it and the Committee to ensure the success of this
important piece of legislation and look forward to further
discussions. As such, I thank them for their attention to this
critical issue.
I would also like to thank Senator Warren for her hard work
on this bill in the Senate.
And, lastly, thank you again, Mr. Chairman, for holding
this hearing and giving me the opportunity to speak about this,
the Veterans Care Financial Protection Act.
I yield back.
Mr. Bost. Thank you, Mr. Cartwright, and thank you for
being here.
We have explained to the other Members, we forgo any
questions of our colleagues at this time. If we have any
questions, we will submit them for the record and then, if they
are directed to you, we would like for you to get back to us as
quick as you can with those.
Thank you.
Now we want to go back to the panel with questions we do
have and I will now yield myself 5 minutes to start the
questions off.
Ms. Rawls, is the VA able to effectively develop and
implement Federal and state standards to protect veterans and
their survivors who receive Aid and Attendance benefits?
Ms. Rawls. Thank you for that question, Chairman.
I will tell you that the VA does have some concerns in
being able to put into place standards that we can thus enforce
for those entities out there that are currently preying upon
veterans.
We also know that by working with others that are in the
community, as well as the state and Federal agencies that this
problem is also out there for others that are outside the
veteran population.
Mr. Bost. Ms. Curda, the next question I have for you is
you stated that there are other ways that GAO would provide
support for fraud prevention at the VA other than submission of
a report to Congress. Can you kind of elaborate on where you
think that we should go with that?
Ms. Curda. Certainly. We could do work in a number of
areas, either at your request or mandated in the legislation,
that could shed light on these issues and help to identify
solutions, and help VA in its role in setting the standards.
The issues we could look at, as I alluded to in my
statement, the work we did in this area on claiming benefits is
becoming old and we could take a fresh look at the kinds of
issues that claimants are experiencing with financial
exploitation, we could take a fresh look at VA's process for
vetting and training representatives who are approved to assist
veterans, and we could certainly take a look at industry
practices in terms of marketing financial services to veterans.
We could also do sort of a survey or a look at the
standards that exist out there generally to prevent the
financial exploitation of the elderly that exist in Federal and
state agencies, and provide a report that would describe the
different relevant types of standards that could inform VA's
efforts.
These are just a few examples, but we are happy to work
with the Committee on technical amendments to the bill that
could address those concerns.
Mr. Bost. Thank you.
I have to believe that everybody at the table, along with
everybody here, believes we should cure the problem, the
question is, is which agency handles it and how do we handle it
most effectively? It is a real problem that is occurring.
Mr. Sullivan, the VA recommends that Congress amend H.R.
3657 regarding expanding eligibility for markers and headstones
within the tribal cemeteries. Can you kind of explain why it is
and how it was they were left out and where you want to go with
that? Where do you think we should go with that?
Mr. Sullivan. Thank you for the question, Mr. Chairman.
Back in 1980, we received the authority to provide burial
headstones and markers for spouses and dependents in state
veteran's cemeteries, we only received the authority to
actually provide grants for establishment of tribal veteran's
cemeteries in 2006. So the legislation really has not caught up
to provide this benefit for spouses and dependents in tribal
veteran's cemeteries.
Mr. Bost. Thank you.
Ms. Lowe, could you please explain why the VA doesn't use
certified mail to ensure veterans receive notice of an alleged
overpayment?
Ms. Lowe. Thank you for that question.
We do not use certified mail because the legislation
requires that we use basically first class postage. If we use
certified mail, a veteran, if they were not home when we
attempted to deliver certified mail, would have to take
possibly time off from work to go to the post office to sign
for the document or they may ignore the notice completely, and
then the document would be returned--the letter would be
returned to us anyhow.
Mr. Bost. Okay. Then to follow up on that, if the veteran
does not respond to a notice that is sent normal mail, how does
the VA inform the veteran of the alleged overpayment?
Ms. Lowe. We went (sic) out at the Debt Management Center
2.5 million documents to veterans last year and of those
approximately 10 percent or 250,000 were returned to us for
incorrect addresses. We use the address correction provided by
the U.S. Postal Service for about 130,000 of those and the
other 120,000 we work with a company called LexisNexis to
obtain updated mailing addresses.
If we are unsuccessful in that venue, when the debt is
transferred according to debt collection laws to the U.S.
Treasury, they have access to IRS records and Social Security
records and they can find additional addresses that way.
Mr. Bost. Thank you.
My time has expired. Ms. Esty, you are recognized for 5
minutes.
Ms. Esty. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I want to thank all of you for joining us here today and
share several of the Chairman's questions, but I would like to
follow up with you, Ms. Lowe, further on this issue about the
debt collection, because I have experienced this with veterans
in my district and I think we have to do better. You know, it
is manifestly unfair for people who don't get these.
So one of the questions is veterans, and I have encountered
this with veterans, have updated their address say with VBA and
it doesn't get reported back over. So in fact, part of the
system is aware of the updated address and another part is not.
Can you discuss what do you think could be done to better
connect those two? again, I think we can all agree, veterans
want to do right by this, but if they have received an
overpayment and they do not know about it because it is an old
address, it leaves a really, really difficult situation for
them and then our offices end up getting involved and that is
not good for anybody.
Ms. Lowe. Making it easier for veterans to update their
addresses would be one way. The other thing is moving into more
of a digital era where veterans have the option to opt-in. We
service multiple generations, some of which only depend on the
U.S. Postal Service and some of which only depend on electronic
mail. For example, my son, I have to call him and ask him to go
check his mailbox if I have sent him something.
So we need to give veterans the option to be able to opt in
to electronic mail and that way we could send notices to them
in that manner.
We would also need your help to change the legislation to
allow the delivery of electronic mail, because right now the
legislation requires it to be sent by the U.S. Post Office.
Ms. Esty. Well, I think we would be very interested in
exploring ways to effectively get notice. We have an expression
in my office, effective service, a process. You have not done
your job to send a letter out. We need to know the veteran
received it and that they understand it. I am glad to hear the
commitment from all of you about making sure that we have plain
language, I think that is incredibly important, and that needs
to be an initiative across the entire agency, because we owe it
to them to be able to open a letter and understand it. They
should not have to call their VSO and they certainly should not
have to call one of us to understand what they just received in
the mail.
We would be very happy to work with you on electronic as an
option. But I do think, speaking for myself, I think we need to
know--I think first class mail is an insufficient notice for
something like recouping a debt and I think we need to, in
addition to providing electronic opt-in, I believe it is
appropriate.
Now, in the testimony there is an indication that that
cannot be done somehow, because there is a queue and the queue
has a whole lot of letters going out and they would have to be
sorted, you know, some would qualify for this certified process
and some would be inappropriate. Is there some reason that they
could not be run as two separate lists? I mean, there are Excel
spreadsheets, you code them, and you run the set that need to
be done by certified and they run in a different way. Is there
any reason we cannot do that?
Ms. Lowe. I don't have that information, but we will be
sure and take that for the record.
Ms. Esty. All right, thank you. I appreciate that.
Let me look through my list of other things we have not--
oh, actually for the VA. A little bit about, you said it is
outside the core mission for talking about for the designation
of, for example, World War II city. Do you think there is
another agency other than the VA that would be appropriate to
oversee that, would that be the Smithsonian or something, to
talk about home-side, you know, home front support for the war?
We are very supportive of those efforts, understand that the
Secretary and the agency may have others. Do you have
suggestions about an appropriate alternative agency to
accomplish the same purpose?
Mr. Sullivan. Ranking Member Esty, thank you for the
question. I don't have a specific organization in mind right
now, but I do believe that there is a Federal agency that would
be more aligned, their mission be more aligned to evaluating
the civilian population's home front efforts during wartime,
evaluating how well that city has preserved the history of that
city's efforts during wartime, I just don't think it is the
best suited for VA to do that.
Ms. Esty. Thank you very much.
I know I have some questions, which will probably be in the
part for the VSOs, on the National Veterans Museum about
whether there have been others in the past that have been
started independently by nonprofits. One of the questions that
we may need help with is, understanding what kind of endowment
is typically necessary when the Smithsonian usually gets
involved for curation issues, so that we ensure that something
that receives a designation as National indeed reflects the
entire country, and that we are stewards of the taxpayer
dollars. We may be following up with some further questions for
you on follow-up to those.
Thank you very much.
Mr. Bost. Thank you, Ms. Esty.
And also know that, the panel, we may have staff reach out
with further questions and ask you to give those back in
writing, so that we can kind of work forward with these issues.
But thank you for being here.
This panel is excused and if the third panel will move
forward, that would be wonderful.
[Pause.]
Mr. Bost. Okay. Joining us on our third panel is Mr. Alex
Zhang, Assistant Director of the National Veterans Affairs and
Rehabilitation Division of The American Legion; Mr. LeRoy
Acosta, the Assistant National Legislative Director of Disabled
American Veterans; Mr. Blake C. Ortner, who is the Deputy
Government Relations Director for the Paralyzed Veterans of
America; Ms. Kathleen Moakler, the Director of Survivor
Advocacy for TAPS; and Mr. John Towles, who is Deputy Director
of the National Legislative Services for the Veterans of
Foreign Wars.
Thank you all for being here and for the work you do with
your organizations. And that you do it every day, and we know
that and we appreciate it, that you work to improve the lives
of our veterans, and we thank you for that.
Mr. Zhang, we will begin with you, and you are recognized
for 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF ALEX ZHANG
Mr. Zhang. Chairman Bost, Ranking Member Esty,
distinguished Members of the Subcommittee on Disability
Assistance and Memorial Affairs, on behalf of the National
Commander Denise Rohan and the members of The American Legion,
the country's largest patriotic wartime service organization
for veterans, comprised of over 2 million members and serving
every man and woman who has worn the uniform for this country,
we thank you for this opportunity to testify on behalf of The
American Legion's position on the following.
I am Alex Zhang, Assistant Director of Veterans Affairs and
Rehabilitation Division. It is my duty and honor to present The
American Legion's position on these important issues.
H.R. 3122, the Veterans Care Financial Protection Act of
2017, is a step in a positive direction for veterans, as it
helps create protections to prevent or minimize financial scams
directed at veterans who are surviving on a minimal salary.
This bill also creates a national standard directed by the GAO
to other Federal agencies to follow the guidelines set in this
law.
Too many times veterans are preyed upon by less-than-
scrupulous organizations looking for a quick buck. These
veterans are often in nursing homes or living paycheck-to-
paycheck. We owe it to these men and women who protected this
country by defending them from organizations that thrive on
scams targeting veterans.
The American Legion fully supports this legislation and any
legislation that aims to stop scams targeting veterans. We
applaud Congressman Cartwright for spearheading this
initiative.
The draft bill, Veterans Fair Debt Notice Act of 2017,
spells out the steps a VA debt collector should follow when
attempting to collect a debt a veteran has incurred. This is a
necessary precaution, as there are many veterans who are unable
to fully gasp the magnitude of the correspondence sent to their
home or in many instances never received a letter regarding
collection of debt.
The American Legion recently assisted a homeless veteran
who incurred a large debt after the VA removed her dependents
from her benefits retroactively to 2005. Due to her
homelessness, she was unable to receive VA's letter advising
her of the debt. Because she was unaware of her options such as
a repayment plan, the VA began recovery of the debt by
garnishing all of her VA compensation. This went on for about a
year before we were able to intervene and assist.
Mr. Chairman, it is stories like this that show the
importance of this draft bill. We cannot treat debt collection
by looking at veterans as ones and zeroes on a line item. If a
veteran owes the VA money, they should repay, but they should
be treated with dignity and properly informed of their rights
before collection starts.
Many of these issues can be avoided if VA remembers that
veterans are humans with real-life issues; they are not the
enemy, nor should they be treated as such.
The American Legion supports this draft bill as written.
Shifting focus, I would like to quickly address H.R. 1900,
which would authorize the name National Veterans Memorial and
Museum.
Similar to The American Legion, they also have pillars,
being honor, connect, inspire, and educate. These pillars, in
the opinion of The American Legion, represent the American
veteran with profound respect by honoring them, connecting them
to the civilian population, possibly inspire others to serve,
and, most importantly, educate the youth about what these fine
men and women have done for America.
When asked, why Ohio, they simply respond, ``Because we did
it.'' Truth be told, they raised $75 million and are currently
in the construction process of what looks to be a beautiful and
thoughtful memorial.
The American Legion full-heartedly supports H.R. 1900.
And again, Chairman Bost, Ranking Member Esty, and
distinguished Members of the Committee, on behalf of the
National Commander Denise H. Rohan and The American Legion, we
truly appreciate this opportunity to speak with you this
morning, and I will be happy to answer any questions you may
have.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Alex Zhang appears in the
Appendix]
Mr. Bost. Thank you, Mr. Zhang.
Mr. Acosta, you are recognized for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF LEROY ACOSTA
Mr. Acosta. Mr. Chairman, Members of the Subcommittee,
thank you for inviting the Disabled American Veterans to
testify at this legislative hearing of the Subcommittee on
Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
As you know, DAV is a nonprofit veteran's service
organization comprised of 1.3 million wartime service-disabled
veterans dedicated to a single purpose: empowering veterans to
lead high-quality lives with respect and dignity. DAV is
pleased to present our views on the bills under consideration
by the Subcommittee.
We support with recommendations H.R. 3705, the Veterans
Fair Debt Notice Act of 2017. This is consistent with the
intent of DAV Resolution No. 213, which calls for alleviating
undue financial hardship in processing overpayments and
notifying veterans of debt. This draft bill, or H.R. 3705,
proposes using certified mail to ensure VA notification letters
concerning debt collection actions are received by debtors and
that plain language is used to explain the debt.
Under current law, the date of notification is defined as
the date of the VA letter notifying the claimant; however, this
legislation mandates the use of certified mail, which requires
the debtor to sign for the notification letter. This date of
notification is key to launch the 30-day time period for the
debtor to respond to the Secretary with a written dispute of
the debt, a written request for waiver, and/or a written
request for a hearing on the waiver. Accordingly, in our
opinion, the date-signed receipt of certified mail by the
debtor should be considered the date of notification and
requires amendment in the regulation.
In addition, this legislation should clarify if it actually
intends for certified mail to be used by the debtor to respond
to the Secretary. We believe this would place an undue burden
and potential hardship upon a debtor, and we would oppose that
specific requirement.
We applaud the provision in the bill requiring a plain-
language explanation of why the debtor owes money. The
overpayment and debt process can be confusing, complex, and
overwhelming to many veterans who are often left guessing why
the debt was created. We agree that a simple and plain
explanation should be required in all debt notifications.
As for H.R. 3122, the Veterans Care Financial Protection
Act of 2017, DAV does not have a resolution specific to this
issue, but we unfortunately continue to hear stories about
various schemes to take advantage of elderly and disabled
veterans who receive VA benefits. This measure seeks to address
this issue and is beneficial. Therefore, we are not opposed to
passage of this legislation.
Concerning H.R. 1900, the National Veterans Memorial and
Museum Act, which would designate the Veterans Museum in
Columbus, Ohio as the National Veterans Memorial and Museum.
DAV does not have a resolution from our members concerning this
issue and we have no position.
Finally, DAV does not have a resolution specific to H.R.
1721, H.R. 3656, and H.R. 3657, and we are not opposed to their
passage.
Mr. Chairman, that concludes my testimony and I would be
happy to respond to any questions that you or Members of the
Subcommittee may have.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Leroy Acosta appears in the
Appendix]
Mr. Bost. Thank you, Mr. Acosta.
And now we would like to recognize General Ortner for five
minutes.
STATEMENT OF BLAKE ORTNER
Mr. Ortner. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Esty, Paralyzed
Veterans of America would like to thank you for the opportunity
to provide our views on pending legislation before the
Subcommittee.
For H.R. 1721, the designation of American World War II
cities, would recognize specific cities not just for their
great contributions on the home front during World War II, but
also their efforts to preserve the city's structures and relics
from that era. PVA supports this bill, which encourages cities
to preserve this great heritage.
For H.R. 1900, the National Veterans Memorial and Museum
Act, PVA supports designating the Veterans Memorial and Museum
in Columbus, Ohio currently being constructed as the National
Veterans Memorial and Museum. It is the only museum of its kind
and it is intended to reach veterans of all eras, from every
part of the United States and from all branches of services.
Given the scope of the project and its intended audience, a
national designation is appropriate.
PVA also supports H.R. 3122, the Veterans Care Financial
Protection Act of 2017. This proposal would require the
Secretary to work with Federal and state officials to establish
standards to protect against unscrupulous actors that take
advantage of veterans in need of Aid and Attendance benefits.
According to organizations such as AARP and the Federal
Trade Commission, senior veterans have increasingly become
subject to scams involving insurance agents and financial
planners trying to convince the veterans to make quick
decisions about pursuing Aid and Attendance in addition to
their pension incomes. Some scammers use false representations
like suggesting automatic entitlements to benefits. Of greater
concern, though, are those who help the veteran restructure
financial assets in order to qualify for pension and/or Aid and
Attendance.
For example, moving financial assets into a pooled-asset
irrevocable trust might render a veteran eligible for pension
and Aid and Attendance despite having assets in excess of the
qualifying income thresholds. While it appears this benefits
the veteran, what these salesmen do not tell them is that this
type of restructuring might preclude them from Medicaid
eligibility because of rules such as the 5-year look-back
period, which considers whether one has moved substantial
assets at less-than-market value.
These financial products are specifically managed by
alleged veterans' advocates who are offering to help veteran's
secure enhanced benefits from VA. This is an objective conflict
of interest and implementing standards to protect against this
behavior is necessary.
PVA supports H.R. 3656, which would establish a consistent
eligibility date for provision of memorial headstones and
markers for eligible non-veteran individuals. Currently,
spouses and children have different eligibility dates,
sometimes forcing VA to provide a marker for the parent, but
not the children. This bill would reconcile this arbitrary
difference and treat spouses and children the same. Likewise,
PVA supports H.R. 3657 to authorize provision of headstones and
markers in tribal cemeteries. Consistent with our prior support
for H.R. 1390, which would expand VA's authority to transport
the remains of a deceased veteran to a tribal cemetery or state
cemetery instead of a national cemetery, we likewise support
this bill, which ensures that the accompanying benefits such as
a headstone or marker are provided to veterans buried in tribal
cemeteries.
Finally, the draft bill Veterans Fair Debt Notice Act of
2017, PVA supports this legislation. Failure to resolve debt
issues in a timely manner can have a lasting, catastrophic
impact on a veteran. It is not uncommon for a veteran to find
that the Veterans Health Administration has updated contact
information while the Veterans Benefits Administration has not,
or vice versa. So as VBA sends out a notice of overpayment of
benefits or some other circumstances producing a debt owed by
the veteran, it is essential that VBA know whether that notice
actually reached the veteran prior to the veteran going into
default. It is important to ensure that veterans are not going
into default for lack of notice, especially in circumstances
where the debt itself is a product of VA's mistakes in
overpayments.
Mr. Chairman, Ms. Esty, we appreciate your commitment to
ensuring that veterans receive the best benefits and care
available. We look forward to working with the Subcommittee and
would be happy to answer any questions you or the Members may
have.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Blake Ortner appears in the
Appendix]
Mr. Bost. Thank you, General.
Ms. Moakler, you may begin testimony for TAPS at this time.
STATEMENT OF KATHLEEN MOAKLER
Ms. Moakler. Thank you very much, Chairman Bost, Ranking
Member Esty and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee.
The Tragedy Assistance Program for survivors, TAPS, thanks
you for the opportunity to make you aware of issues and
concerns of importance to the families we serve, the families
of the fallen. While the mission of TAPS is to offer comfort
and support for surviving families, we are also committed to
improving support provided by the Federal Government, state
governments and local communities for the families of the
fallen. Those who fall in combat, those who fall from invisible
wounds and those who die from illness or disease.
We thank the Veterans Affairs Committee for the recent
improvements to survivor education benefits and the Harry W.
Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 and other
recent legislation. We will be working closely with the VA on
the law's implementation. TAPS is pleased to work with the VA
within the framework of a Memorandum of Agreement signed by VA
Secretary Shulkin and TAPS President and Founder Bonnie Carroll
in April of this year. The services provided by TAPS and VA are
complimentary. And in this public/private partnership each will
continue to provide extraordinary services through closer
collaboration.
Imagine you are a surviving spouse or dependent who opens a
letter from the VA that notifies you that you suddenly owe the
VA several thousand dollars and they would like the payment in
a lump sum as soon as possible. The only explanation is that
there has been a change in benefits and you have been overpaid.
While they provide an 800 number for you to call, every time
you call the number it is busy. Before you know it a third
letter has been sent, still without a definitive explanation of
what the cause of the debt is and containing an ominous warning
that you are subject to having your wages garnished, VA
benefits withheld and that your debt has been sent to a
collection agency. This has really happened in one of the
stories that we outlined in our written testimony.
It can often be confusing for survivors tracking which
payment comes from which agency. Many are often still in a fog
of grief and mail can lie unopened. Letters can be daunting as
one sifts through legal ease and unfamiliar terms. It can be
even more confusing in dealing with education benefits when
funds are also impacted by the institutions of higher learning,
their particular rules and very often sharing of
misinformation.
Indicative of the specialized support that TAPS provides is
our educations services portal and individualized support on
the education benefits available for the children and spouses
of America's fallen heroes. Through it is MOA with the VA TAPS
has been able to often troubleshoot problems for families that
reach out to us. We have helped several families resolve their
issues with debt collection.
TAPS was fortunate to receive a briefing from the VA Debt
Management Center at the July 2017 meeting of the DoD VA
Survivors Forum. The briefing clearly outlined the processes
and procedures that the DMC uses to notify beneficiaries and to
collect the debt owed. The procedures as outlined in the DMC
brief appear to be designed to make the process easier for the
customer, the survivor or veteran. The stumbling block, as we
have heard from many today, is making it easier to connect the
survivor or veteran with the assistance that DMC provides. We
support the various means of contacting survivors and veterans
that the VA had proposed earlier today.
Clarification of the reason for the debt and easy to
understanding language, as called for in the proposed
legislation would go a long way in improving communication and
access. Reinforcing the importance and urgency of the debt
letter received from the VA by sending it certified mail will
also help to ensure that the beneficiary responds in a timely
manner. We are grateful that H.R. 3705 addresses these two
important steps in the process.
TAPS supports H.R. 3657 and H.R. 3656. We also support H.R.
3122, which calls for additional financial protections for
those survivors in receipt of aid and attendance. They are
among our most vulnerable populations for fraud and financial
abuse. TAPS thanks the Subcommittee for being at the forefront
in protecting survivors and for crafting benefits that
recognize their sacrifice. Thank you for allowing us to speak
on behalf of the survivors we serve. I look forward to any
questions.
[The prepared statement of Kathleen Moakler appears in the
Appendix]
Mr. Bost. And last, but definitely not least, Mr. Towles
you are recognized for 5 minutes to present the testimony of
the VFW.
STATEMENT OF JOHN TOWLES
Mr. Towles. Thank you, Chairman Bost, Ranking Member Esty,
Members of the Subcommittee. On behalf of the men and women of
the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States and it's
auxiliary, thank you for the opportunity to provide our remarks
on the following legislation pending before the Subcommittee.
With regards to H.R. 1721, the VFW supports this
legislation which would direct the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs to designate at least one city in the United States
each year as an American World War II city, which would be
based on the city's contribution to the war effort and the
continued efforts to preserve the history of such
contributions.
Throughout the past few years multiple attempts have been
made to pass similar legislation that would give the Secretary
this authority, and while most of these attempts have passed
the House all have failed in the Senate. In general, the VFW
supports legislation that seeks to recognize veterans and
preserves the military history of our greatest generation.
With regards to H.R. 1900, the VFW supports this
legislation which would designate the Veterans Memorial and
Museum, which is currently being constructed in Columbus, Ohio,
as a National Veterans Memorial and Museum. Continuing the
legacy left by the late Senator John Glenn, the museum would
serve as a civic landmark to honor, connect, inspire and
educate visitors about the sacrifice and service of all of our
Nation's servicemen and women. The creation of this institution
would have a profound lasting impact on every American and
would help instill a deeper meaning in the freedoms we all
enjoy.
While there are several museums and monuments dedicated to
specific branches eras, our country currently lacks a museum
specifically dedicated to honoring and preserving the
collective sacrifices made by all of the Nation's veterans. We
feel as though this museum would serve to fill this gap, and
this institution would serve as a constant reminder to all the
importance and value of military service by honoring the
contributions of our veterans, educating the public about what
it means to serve and ensuring that our veterans, regardless of
the location, branch, or era have a nationally designated
facility to call their own.
In regards to H.R. 3122, the Veterans Care Financial
Protection Act, the VFW strongly supports this legislation
which would address and correct many of the oversight and
accountability problems which have plagued the Aid and
Attendance program for quite some time by the directing the
Department of Veterans Affairs to work with other Federal
agencies to develop standards that would protect veterans
receiving A&A benefits from dishonest and predatory business
practices. As the number of elderly veterans increases so too
does the need to provide them with additional assistance that
enables them the ability to complete day-to-day activities. But
these services can be extremely expensive. Many veterans depend
on the A&A program because it enables them to obtain these
services. However, because of poor oversight many veterans are
being taken advantage of by individuals claiming to be
consultants. And in some circumstances, even retirement homes.
Sadly, predatory practices that target veterans,
servicemembers and their families is nothing new. Last year
alone the CFPB received over 11,000 complaints from veterans
regarding VA loan financing companies that were engaging in
aggressive solicitations and misleading advertisements, and an
additional 2700 complaints concerning businesses engaged in
consumer loans for veterans and servicemembers.
Not only do these practices cost the Federal Government
millions in taxpayer dollars, but often times result in the
veteran being responsible for repaying any debt incurred, which
makes an unstable financial situation even worse. It is
unfortunate that legislation such as this even needs to exist.
However, so long as the need is there the VFW will support any
measure to protect the financial well-being of our Nation's
veterans.
With regards to H.R. 3656 and 3657 the VFW supports both
pieces of legislation. H.R. 3656 would codify the date of
edibility for VA provided headstones and markers for the spouse
and any dependent children of a veteran whose remains are
unavailable on or after November 11, 1998, and H.R. 3657 which
would expand the headstone or marker eligibility for spouses
and dependent children buried in tribal cemeteries.
Finally with regards to the draft bill, the VFW strongly
supports this legislation. During the O&I hearing yesterday Ms.
Lori Rectanus testified that because the VA lacks key elements
of an effective mail management program, the VA cannot provide
assurance that facilities are managing their mail efficiently.
Every year the VFW assists thousands of our members who have
received overpayment notifications from the VA, many of which
are erroneous. Almost every single letter is the same - it uses
ambiguous language, gives no clear options to request recourse,
and directs the veteran to contact the VA with any further
questions. As you can imagine, this leaves many fearful of the
process as a whole, given how unresponsive the VA has been in
the past. To be blunt, our veterans deserve more.
With that additional layer of complexity many times the
contact information is incorrect, as my colleagues have also
testified to. Ultimately, if the veteran fails to respond to
the debt notice it can result in their pensions being garnished
until the debt is satisfied, or the debt going to a collections
agency. This is unsatisfactory. By requiring debt notifications
to be made in easy-to-understand language via certified mail,
veterans would be able to understand what they need to do in
order to ensure the issue is addressed in a timely manner.
With that, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member Esty, this
concludes my testimony. The Veterans of Foreign Wars sincerely
appreciates the opportunity to provide views on important bills
and is prepared to take any questions you or other Members of
the Subcommittee may have.
[The prepared statement of John Towles appears in the
Appendix]
Mr. Bost. Thank you, Mr. Towles. And I will start with
yielding myself 5 minutes for questions. Mr. Acosta, can you
explain why the VA believes that H.R. 3705, the Veterans Fair
Debt Notice Act, needs more clarification? Can you expand on
that on where your testimony was there?
Mr. Acosta. The portion where it says for the debtor to
respond to the VA, that is what I am talking about. And it is
clear when you read it a couple of times it appears that it is
requiring the debtor to respond by certified mail.Mr. Bost.
Yeah, and I don't think it is the intent of the--we don't think
it is the intent of the sponsor. But we will make sure that we
talk with them specifically on that. Ms. Moakler, your written
testimony supports expanding the eligibility for gravestone and
markers to spouses and dependents who are buried in tribal
cemeteries. Can you kind of elaborate on that a little bit?
Ms. Moakler. Well, we believe that tribal cemetery, the
folks who are eligible for tribal cemeteries are as deserving
of headstones and markers as those who are buried in state
cemeteries because I believe they have a similar standing.
Mr. Bost. Mr. Towles, can you explain why the VFW supports
H.R. 3656 regarding memorial headstones and markers?
Mr. Towles. A lot of the issues revolve around people, as
the sponsor mentioned, that go missing at sea or due to a
boating or plane accident. In our opinion, it provides parity
between the two areas, or the two populations reflected in the
bill. It makes a situation right instead of having to rely on,
you know, exceptions to policy.
Mr. Bost. General Ortner, can you explain why PVA's
concerns about the salesman who promise to restructure veterans
finances assets in order to qualify for pensions or aid in
attendance and kind of expand on where you believe--
Mr. Ortner. Well, Mr. Chairman, thank you for that
question, I think it is pretty obvious in the current country
of the preying on older Americans. And unfortunately in the
case where the process, VA processes are relatively complicated
and the reason they hire VSOs to try and work them through the
system can make them, I think, more susceptible to someone that
comes in and says, oh, let me fix this for you. I think there
really needs to be some aspect of legislation or regulation
that puts a higher bar in there for anybody that is going to
try and do something like that. Just like we need for other
Americans in this country.
Mr. Bost. Okay. My next question is for everybody here
because I really want to--the concern I had with H.R. 3122. Did
anybody on this panel would you disagree if all of a sudden we
found a different agency that could possibly do it better in
our government to make sure we provide these protections?
Because we are kind of questioning whether or not the VA can do
it or whether whose scope it is under. And you are really
concerned and that is what I am wanting each of you to answer,
you are really concerned about just making sure that the
veteran is protected and not subject to the possibility that
these fraud and some--we are trying to look for the right
agency. Does it matter which agency does it?
Mr. Zhang. I would have to say, Chairman, I would have to
say that it is not germane. Because VA was created for the
purpose of helping veterans so it should stay with VA.
Mr. Acosta. Mr. Chairman, I would have to say if the intent
is to help ill and injured veterans then it should stay with
the VA.
Mr. Ortner. I think the end result is what is key here. But
obviously I think we could support going with another agency.
However, I think what would probably be more critical is seeing
exactly what that agency is, why that agency is going to be
able to do it better than someone else. I think I am not big on
passing the buck. I think that if it is the VA's job the VA
should just learn to do the job right.
Ms. Moakler. I don't have much experience with this issue
as far as coordination of effort. But if we look at the
exploitation of veterans education benefits, if we work with
the organizations that have the expertise, be it the FTC, be it
the Department of Justice, and people are in coordination then
we will be able to get the best outcome for the veteran or
survivor using these benefits.
Mr. Towles. Mr. Chairman, from what we have seen at the
VFW, there exists within the CFPB an office of Service Member
Affairs, which deals a lot, I mean, they specifically handle
complaints and issues coming from the veterans and the military
community. With regards to how they might be able to add some
expertise or some assistance to what is going on with the
current A&A issue, I can't speak to that personally. But I
would say that there is probably existing architecture within
that agency to help augment and help sort of provide some
additional oversight to these issues.
Mr. Bost. Thank you. And my time has expired, so I am going
to turn it over to Ms. Esty 5 minutes.
Ms. Esty. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And thank you
so much for being with us here today. To just quickly follow up
on this last point, which I too had some questions about. I
think it is noteworthy that Senator Warren is the co-sponsor
and lead sponsor in the Senate. So presumably was one who
helped create that agency. She does not believe that that is
sufficiently able to its job. So I think that is instructive
for us to consider. But I do think it is worth, I have a
question for all of you. Do you think it would be helpful for
the VA to take a proactive role if somebody is beginning to
receive ANA to send out a notice, and frankly I think we are
very concerned about the asset issue, whether a notice should
go to family members? Because we know this to be a chronic
pattern of taking advantage of the elderly and this is yet
another venue specifically targeted at veterans.
Mr. Towles. Absolutely. I think that education is the best
form of prevention.
Ms. Moakler. I believe that that would be very worthwhile
because in many cases the VA is already communicating with
family members. Especially where a family member has fiduciary
responsibility. But an overall campaign of this through maybe
AARP or some other outside organizations, a feature on a
morning TV show or something like that, would create a better
awareness because you can't always identify who the family
member is that is supporting the veteran or survivor.
Mr. Ortner. Yeah. I would tend to agree that I think
getting the message out, getting the education out is probably
the most critical thing. Especially if you go through the
families. But it probably needs more than just education. There
needs to be some penalties and direct action against any
unscrupulous people that would take advantage of a veteran like
that.
Mr. Acosta. We would certainly be willing to take a look at
any legislation that would be proposed to enable veterans to
obtain all the benefits available to them, especially ill and
injured veterans.
Mr. Zhang. We would have to look at--we concur with it, but
here is the problem. It would have to be revolutionary in that
you would have to train, retrain and readjust. Also there is a
byproduct of that, not all veterans have a stable home
situation. So you would have to look at homeless and how you
deal with that. So that is the byproduct on that.
Ms. Esty. Thank you very much. Wanting to turn now to the
proposal to designate as national the museum that is underway
right now in Ohio. I think we are all very supportive of having
a memorial, a national memorial. I do have a question. It is
currently being marketed as National. Is that concerning to any
of you that is being marketed as a National Museum and Memorial
which has not received that designation from this body? And as
taxed as stewards of the taxpayer's expense I have some concern
about that. I don't know if any of you have concerns. I have a
couple questions. That is one. One is unlike the national
museums that we have here in Washington, which are free to all
who come, the proposal here is to charge everyone who attends.
I think that something--did you look at that? Did you consider
that in terms of your support? Because these are among the
kinds of questions we have to consider. And others, those who
have not come through Congress but have come later have
typically been in operation for a number of years. And the
question about endowments, these are some of the kinds of
questions that we need to be considering. I am wondering your
thoughts on any of these issues. You are on the front lines
everyday with our veterans. We are tremendously supportive of
this concept. But trying to do it in a way that makes the most
sense and is keeping with Congress responsibility, but also
that openness when something receives a national designation.
Mr. Zhang. It is not a problem of the word National.
Because where there are veterans we are systemic, we are all
over. You build it, we will come.
Mr. Ortner. We actually looked--
Ms. Esty. Well, I guess the question is on charging which
we don't say here. None of the museums charge. The Smithsonian
doesn't charge. But this is--the plan is to charge anyone who
attends.
Mr. Zhang. I understand that. But I don't think it would be
an issue for veterans and others that are interested. Because
again, they raised 75 million on their own. So if they can do
that, it may be down the road there may be some issues trying
to get the fiduciaries together to support it, but if it
becomes really national and the bill passes then I don't think
it should be an issue.
Mr. Ortner. Yeah, PVA we actually discussed that a little
bit. We are not concerned about that primarily because the fact
that it is national and the idea that they had created a large
amount of funds to create the facility themselves. Its
location, as was, you know, I discussed earlier the fact it is
within, you know, short range of a lot of veterans we don't see
that as an issue. I know another question came up, could this
somehow lead, by calling it National, could that somehow lead
to a requirement of Federal funding for the facility. The fact
that the legislation does not identify or require anything like
that, I don't think that needs to be a concern. I suppose later
on if they wanted to come and make that argument I suppose that
is a possibility that could be denied at that time. But we
don't really have a problem with it.
As for charging, the difference between Washington, DC and
virtually every other museum in the country is significant. The
Smithsonian highlights the fact that their museums are all
free. But they are also pretty much fully funded by the Federal
Government as well. So I don't think there is a problem with
that.
Mr. Towles. With regards to the funding; we were of the
understanding that the intent once the museum opens, is to
offer admission to veterans and survivors at no cost. The other
funds would be generated through folks who aren't veterans or
military. So that sort of takes care of that. Additionally, as
the others have said, they have done a really good job at sort
of funding their way so far. So we have no qualms or worries or
concerns about that.
Regarding the location, to be quite honest, we have
received complaints from veterans that coming to DC for, you
know, going to the wall to have a group photo taken, most
notably the Honor Flight folks getting, I am not going to say
harassed, that is a strong word, but you know, being stopped by
the Park Service folks and saying ``Do you have a permit to be
here? Do you have a license to take these photos?'' If they are
going to start charging veterans to take photos at the wall, I
mean, that is kind of--it is unfortunate. Right? So them going
to Columbus to a museum that honors all veterans it may be, you
know, that might be what we are seeing in the future because
people may not want to come here because they feel as though
they are being harassed or having to pay for something that
they feel should be theirs.
And I think ultimately, the fact that it is not built yet -
I think that it has gotten enough grassroots support, it has
enough of the key thinkers, a lot of the folks that were behind
the World War I Commission are also giving their two cents on
this. They are on the Board, and the Steering Committee right
now. I think that it will be fine in the end.
Ms. Esty. And if I may, Mr. Chairman, I think we would very
much want to follow up with your comments about harassment or
other questions being asked of people at the memorials. And,
Mr. Chairman, if we could follow up with you. And that may need
to be something we have a hearing on. Because that is
completely inappropriate. It should not be happening and very
distressing for us to hear that any of our veterans or family
members are having that sort of experience. It is just not
right and we will--
Mr. Bost. And we should contact the Committee with Natural
Resources too. Because that is where, you know, they would be
the overseers and we would not want that to happen. If it is
happening we want to make sure that it is stopped.
Mr. Towles. Thank you.
Mr. Bost. And if we have further questions we will--oh. Did
you yield back? I am sorry.
Ms. Esty. I yield back. I am way over time at this point,
but thank you.
Mr. Bost. Okay. If anyone has any further questions we will
be contacting you, the staff will. Thank you everyone for
joining us today and sharing your views in the Subcommittee.
Your testimony provides us with important insight into these
proposals as we move forward with this legislative process. And
I ask unanimous consent that all Members have five legislative
days to revise and extend their remarks and include extended
material on any of the bills under consideration this
afternoon. Without objection, so ordered. This hearing is now
adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 12:06 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
----------
Prepared Statement of Matthew T. Sullivan
Good morning, Chairman Bost, Ranking Member Esty and Members of the
Committee. I am pleased to be here today to provide the views of the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on pending legislation, including:
H.R. 1721, H.R. 1900, H.R. 3122, H.R. 3656, H.R. 3657, and a bill
entitled ``Veterans Fair Debt Notice Act of 2017.'' With me today is
Ms. Roberta Lowe, Acting Director of the Debt Management Center (DMC),
Office of Management, and Ms. Cheryl Rawls, Director Pension &
Fiduciary Service, Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA).
H.R. 1721
H.R. 1721 would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in
consultation with the Secretary of Defense, to designate at least one
city in the United States each year as an ``American World War II
City.'' The designation would be based on the city's contribution to
the war effort and its efforts to preserve the history of those
contributions. The bill directs that Wilmington, North Carolina, be
designated as the first ``American World War II City.''
VA supports the concept espoused in H.R. 1721 of recognizing the
concerted efforts of those on the home front that led ultimately to
victory in World War II. Scores of communities and cities have rich
histories of supporting the United States' efforts in innumerable ways.
However, while VA agrees that ensuring recognition of these efforts is
commendable, VA lacks the expertise, historical documentation, and
infrastructure necessary to fully realize this plan for recognition of
a civilian population. VA is committed to its mission of providing
benefits to those who fought the battles in World War II as well as
other conflicts, and their dependents. Redirecting critical VA
resources to reviewing efforts of the civilian population designate
locales as an ``American World War II City'' based on those efforts
would be inconsistent with VA's mission.
H.R. 1900
H.R. 1900, the ``National Veterans Memorial and Museum Act,'' would
designate the Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus, Ohio, as the
National Veterans Memorial and Museum. VA respectfully expresses no
view on the proposed bill, which does not apply to VA or to VA's core
mission.
H.R. 3122
H.R. 3122, the ``Veterans Care Financial Protection Act of 2017,''
seeks to protect pension claimants from individuals and entities that
market financial products or legal services for purposes of
restructuring claimants' assets and thereby ``qualifying'' them for the
benefit but which, at the same time, may render them ineligible for
other Federal benefits or, practically speaking, make them unable to
access their assets during their lifetime.
Pension is a needs-based benefit that VA pays to wartime Veterans
who meet the age or disability requirements and to their survivors.
Under current law, VA must deny or discontinue pension if the
claimant's net worth, including the claimant's annual income, is such
that it is reasonable that the claimant consume some part of that net
worth for his or her maintenance. VA calculates a claimant's pension
entitlement by reducing the statutory maximum annual pension rate,
dollar-for-dollar, by the amount of the claimant's countable income.
Veterans and survivors who require the aid and attendance of another
person are entitled to a higher maximum annual pension rate and, thus,
may become eligible for pension despite otherwise disqualifying income
or may be eligible for an increased amount of pension if they have no
income. The purpose of pension is to provide some level of financial
security for certain Veterans and survivors who have an immediate need.
Congress did not intend that claimants could restructure their assets
to create the need.
Section 2(a)(1) of the bill would require VA to work with Federal
agencies, States, and other appropriate experts, to develop and
implement Federal and State standards for protecting pension claimants
and beneficiaries from dishonest, predatory, or otherwise unlawful
practices. Under section 2(a)(2), VA would have 180 days from the date
of enactment to submit the standards to the Senate and House Committees
on Veterans' Affairs. Under section 2(b), if VA does not comply with
the 180-day deadline, the bill would require the Comptroller General of
the United States to develop standards for protecting pension claimants
and beneficiaries within one year of the date of enactment. Finally,
section 2(c) would require the Comptroller General to complete and
submit a study to the Committees on the implemented standards no later
than 540 days after enactment.
VA agrees with the intent of the bill (with technical amendments),
which is to protect veteran pension claimants and beneficiaries.
Accordingly, VA will work with relevant Federal agencies, States, and
other experts to leverage the expertise necessary to further regulate
the financial services or legal instruments industries and protect
against unlawful practices. Historically, VA's sole purpose has been to
provide benefits and services to eligible Veterans, dependents, and
survivors.
Relevant expertise or experience can be found in certain Federal
and State regulatory agencies, such as the Department of Justice,
Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Trade Commission (FTC),
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), State Attorney General
Offices, and various other State agencies that are charged with
protecting consumers or monitoring the activities of specific
industries or professions.
As noted above, other agencies already have authority to protect
consumers or regulate the activities of financial planners, attorneys,
and other individuals and entities that may have an interest is
structuring assets to reduce an individual's net worth. These agencies
may already have ample authority to address the problem that is the
subject of the bill.
VA welcomes the opportunity to work with key stakeholders and share
information about common predatory practices involving VA benefits,
particularly VA pension, to help identify and enforce existing
standards and to develop additional standards where appropriate. VA has
already consulted with the FTC and CFPB regarding the unscrupulous
practices of individuals and entities that advise pension claimants
that they can use the program as an estate planning tool, and has
shared its outreach products with those agencies. It has also worked
closely with Veterans Service Organizations to ensure that their
employees and members are fully aware of the potential for predatory
practices.
It may be more effective for the bill to specifically identify the
other entities charged to collaborate with VA in addressing this issue,
to clarify that the onus does not lie solely with VA, but also with
those other entities to establish a mechanism to enforce existing laws.
It may also be more effective if the bill emphasized that the predatory
practices go beyond claims for increased pension, by also impacting
elderly claimants' eligibility for other Federal benefits and their
ability to access their assets during their lifetime.
VA estimates that enactment of this bill would result in general
operating expenses of $448,000 for fiscal year (FY) 2019, $918,000 over
the 5-year period from FY 2019 through FY 2023, and $8.7 million over
the 10-year period from FY 2019 through FY 2027.
H.R. 3656
H.R. 3656 would amend 38 U.S.C. 2306(b) to establish a
consistent applicability date for the provision of memorial headstones
and markers for all eligible non-Veteran individuals. The bill would
not expand eligibility for placement of memorial markers in private
cemeteries for non-Veterans, but rather would merely allow for the
provision and placement of such markers in national and State Veterans
cemeteries for eligible individuals whose deaths occurred on or after
November 11, 1998. Eligible individuals include Veterans, spouses,
surviving spouses, and dependent children whose remains were not
available for burial.
VA supports the concept contained in H.R. 3656, as a consistent
applicability date would allow VA to provide this benefit in a manner
that creates less confusion for claimants as well as simplifies and
streamlines the administrative process for providing the headstone and
marker benefit. VA recommends modifying the language of the amendment
to make clear that the November 11, 1998, effective date applies to the
death of the spouse or surviving spouse of a Veteran and the death of
the dependent child of a Veteran, not the death of the Veteran.
Originally, a memorial headstone or marker, which is provided when
remains are unavailable for burial, was a benefit provided only in
memory of Veterans who died in service. However, in 1998, Congress, for
the first time, authorized VA to furnish memorial headstones or markers
for non-Veterans, namely spouses or unremarried surviving spouses, who
died after November 11, 1998. In 2006, Congress expanded this to
include memorial headstones and markers for dependent children who died
after December 22, 2006. And finally, in 2008, memorial headstones and
markers were authorized for surviving remarried spouses who died on or
after October 10, 2008.
Variations in the effective dates for this benefit for each
category of eligible individuals has caused emotional strain on
families seeking to remember loved ones. VA supports and appreciates
Congress' effort to address this. If H.R. 3656 were enacted, VA
anticipates no significant increases in workload or cost to the
Government. We estimate that enactment of this bill would result in
mandatory costs of $410 for FY 2018, $2,029 over the 5-year period from
FY 2018 through FY 2022, and $3,997 over the 10-year period from FY
2018 through FY 2027.
H.R. 3657
H.R. 3657 would amend 38 U.S.C. 2306 to authorize VA to
provide burial headstones and markers for Veterans' eligible spouses
and dependent children interred at tribal organization cemeteries.
VA supports H.R. 3657, which would ensure eligible Veterans'
spouses and dependent children interred at tribal organization
cemeteries have access to the same benefits as those interred in State
cemeteries. Since 1980, VA has been authorized to provide burial
headstones and markers to eligible spouses and dependent children of
Veterans interred in Veterans' cemeteries owned by States, but not
those owned by tribal organizations.
However, VA would request the Subcommittee also consider expanding
the applicability of H.R. 3657 to include memorial headstones and
markers under section 2306(b) as well. This would ensure that VA can
provide an appropriate headstone or marker for Veterans, spouses and
dependents interred in tribal cemeteries or those whose remains are
unavailable for burial but whose families wish to honor their memory in
a tribal cemetery.
If H.R. 3657 were enacted, even with the suggested expansion to
include burial and memorial headstones and markers, VA anticipates no
significant increases in workload or cost to the Government. We
estimate that enactment of this bill would result in mandatory costs of
$75,000 for FY 2018, $347,000 over the 5-year period from FY 2018
through FY 2022, and $739,000 over the 10-year period from FY 2018
through FY 2027.
H.R. 3705
Section 2(a) of H.R. 3705 would require the Secretary to amend 38
C.F.R. 1.911 to require that certified mail be used by VA to
send a written demand from the Secretary to a debtor along with the
notice of rights. Debtors would be required to use certified mail when
submitting a request for a waiver of indebtedness to the Secretary.
Section 2(b) of the bill would require the Secretary to amend
section 1.911 to require all communications with a debtor be in plain
language including why the debtor owes money to the Department.
Moreover, the options available to the debtor should be explained.
VA does not support the passage of section 2(a) because it would
adversely impact Veterans and the Department. It is notable that
Veterans currently submit waiver requests to DMC via regular United
States Mail, commercial carrier, facsimile, and electronic mail - as
well as through the various VBA Regional Offices located throughout the
nation. The potential adverse impact of the proposed legislation on
Veterans include increased costs by requiring Veterans to use certified
mail as opposed to utilizing regular mail or submitting waiver requests
directly through a VBA Regional Office. Additionally, the proposal
poses the risk to Veterans of missing the deadline for submitting a
waiver request by requiring Veterans to use certified mail as opposed
to expedited services such as facsimile, electronic mail, and overnight
commercial carrier delivery. Moreover, Veterans would be required to
find and travel to a post office to send a request for waiver by
certified mail, as opposed to current practice that allows Veterans to
use a wide array of methods to submit waiver requests, including
regular mail, email, and facsimile.
In addition to the adverse impact on Veterans, section 2(a) of the
proposed legislation would adversely impact the Department by
dramatically increasing costs to DMC. Specifically, it is estimated
that costs related to DMC's initial demand and notification letters
would increase by more than $7.4 million per year. In FY 2016, DMC
mailed 2.5 million letters at a cost of $1.1 million. Sending the same
number of letters via certified mail at a rate of $3.35 per piece would
result in a mailing cost of $8.5 million - representing an increase of
$7.4 million. Moreover, additional tracking of certified mail would be
required, which would include developing new processes to reconcile the
certifications (i.e., track signed and outstanding certifications) for
the 2.5 million letters. We estimate that an additional 30 full-time
employees would be needed by DMC just to track the certified mail at an
estimated cost of $1.8 million per year. Combining the cost to DMC of
certified mail and associated tracking totals $9.2 million annually or
$46 million over 5 years.
Section 2(a) of the proposed legislation would also adversely
impact VBA by dramatically increasing costs. In FY 2016, VBA
established approximately 470,000 overpayments of Compensation or
Pension benefits. Most of these overpayments would have resulted in a
debt notification at an annual average mail cost of $132,000. If
Section 2(a) of the proposed legislation becomes law, costs related to
VBA initial letters are estimated to increase to more than $1.6 million
per year, with 5-year costs estimated at $8.3 million. An additional
adverse impact to VBA stems from the fact that, at the present time,
the contractors that handle printing of these letters cannot
distinguish a debt letter from other notification letters, including
award letters. Significant reprogramming of our letter generation
processes would be required to address that deficiency. VBA would
require additional time to determine a level of effort and associated
costs for this reprogramming effort. Finally, it is notable that VBA is
undergoing a significant modernization effort, which includes a move
toward digital notifications for Veterans who ``Opt In.'' It is
expected that moving toward digital notifications would reduce the cost
to the Government and increase the likelihood that notifications are
received timely. The proposed legislation may make it more difficult to
transition to a digital format for notifications. In addition if the
proposed legislation is inclusive of medical debts, VHA would have
similar concerns noted by DMC with respect to the increased postal cost
of monthly VHA medical statements sent to Veterans. VHA currently sends
on average 21.6M statements per year to Veterans for medical copay
debts at an average cost of $.40 per statement totaling $8.6M per year.
If the legislation requires VHA to mail all statements of medical debts
to Veterans by certified mail the postal costs would increase by more
than $63.7M with a total estimated postal cost of $72.3M based on
current lowest certified mail rate of $3.35/statement.
VA generally supports the passage of section 2(b).
As set forth previously, the combined cost to the DMC, VBA and VHA
related to the implementation of section 2(a) of the bill would total
$74.4 million in the first year and more than $370 million over 5
years. Costs related to the implementation of section 2(b) would be
minimal.
This concludes my testimony. We appreciate the opportunity to
present our views on these bills and look forward to working with the
Subcommittee.
Prepared Statement of Elizabeth Curda
Chairman Bost, Ranking Member Esty, and Members of the
Subcommittee:
I am pleased to be here today to discuss our views on the proposed
veterans' benefits legislation that you are considering. My remarks
will focus on the proposed Veterans Care Financial Protection Act of
2017. \1\ This proposed legislation seeks to address the financial
exploitation of veterans eligible for the Department of Veterans
Affairs' (VA) pension benefits at the increased Aid and Attendance
rate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ H.R. 3122, 115th Cong. (2017). Currently, an identical bill is
under consideration in the Senate (S. 1198).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As you know, VA pensions are a needs-based benefit that provides
certain veterans and their survivors with a minimum level of income.
\2\ Specifically, these pensions provide benefits to low-income wartime
veterans who are age 65 and older, or who are under age 65 but are
permanently and totally disabled as a result of conditions unrelated to
their military service. \3\ In addition, VA Aid and Attendance benefits
help those who need the regular assistance of another person to perform
everyday living activities-such as bathing, feeding, and dressing-as
well as those who are in nursing homes due to mental or physical
incapacity, and those meeting certain limited eyesight criteria.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Eligibility for VA pension benefits is subject to income and
net worth limitations. The annual payment for a veteran without a
spouse or child receiving a pension is $12,907, but is $21,531 for a
pension recipient without dependents requiring Aid and Attendance.
\3\ Veterans whose disabilities were caused or aggravated as part
of their military service can receive disability compensation benefits.
These veterans may also be eligible to receive Aid and Attendance,
which increases their monthly disability compensation payments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Veterans and surviving spouses who are eligible for a VA pension
may also be eligible to receive Aid and Attendance benefits, which
increase the amount of the monthly pension they receive from VA. In
fiscal year 2016, VA paid an estimated $3.2 billion in enhanced pension
benefits-pensions and Aid and Attendance benefits-to over 243,000
recipients.
To help protect individuals eligible for enhanced pension benefits
from dishonest, predatory, or otherwise unlawful practices, a provision
in the proposed Veterans Care Financial Protection Act of 2017 would
require VA to work with federal and state agencies and experts VA
considers appropriate to ``develop and implement'' standards that
protect these individuals from such practices. If VA fails to submit
the standards to the Senate and House Committees on Veterans' Affairs
within 180 days of enactment, the proposed legislation would mandate
that GAO submit a report to those committees containing standards that
GAO determines would be effective in protecting these beneficiaries. In
addition, GAO would be required to complete a study on the standards
implemented under the act as currently drafted.
Today, I will discuss (1) our prior work related to VA pension
benefits, and (2) our observations on certain provisions within the
proposed Veterans Care Financial Protection Act of 2017 as currently
drafted. This statement is in part based on several reports issued
since May 2012 as well as our review of the proposed legislation. More
detailed information on our objectives, scope, and methodology for that
prior work can be found in the issued reports we cite in this
statement. We conducted the work upon which this statement is based in
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those
standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain
sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that
the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and
conclusions based on our audit objectives.
Our Prior Work on VA Pension Benefits
In our prior work, we have identified potential threats to the
financial security of veterans who applied for pension benefits. For
instance, in 2012, we identified over 200 organizations throughout the
country-such as financial planners-that marketed their services to help
veterans qualify for pension benefits by transferring their assets to
lower their net worth. \4\ We found that sometimes these organizations
offered veterans products and services that could adversely affect
them. For example, some organizations sold deferred annuities that
would make the recipient unable to access funds in the annuity during
their expected lifetime without facing withdrawal fees. In 2013, we
also reported on shortcomings in VA's process for ensuring that
representatives approved to assist veterans with the claims process
were adequately knowledgeable and in good moral character as required
by law. \5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ GAO, Veterans' Pension Benefits: Improvements Needed to Ensure
Only Qualified Veterans and Survivors Receive Benefits, GAO 12 540
(Washington, D.C.: May 15, 2012).
\5\ GAO, VA Benefits: Improvements Needed to Ensure Claimants
Receive Appropriate Representation, GAO 13 643 (Washington, D.C.: Aug.
1, 2013).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
GAO made 8 recommendations to VA to address these and other
shortcomings and a matter for congressional consideration to establish
a look-back and penalty period for veterans who transfer assets before
applying for pension benefits. VA has implemented all 8 of these
recommendations and is taking actions to address the matter for
congressional consideration. Specifically, VA developed proposed
regulations that would establish a look-back and penalty period for
veterans who transfer assets before applying for pension benefits, and
increased training requirements for representatives. \6\ Our prior work
has focused more generally on issues related to gaining access to VA
pension benefits for veterans, but did not specifically examine the
potential vulnerabilities of veterans in need of Aid and Attendance.
Individuals receiving the increased benefit from VA's Aid and
Attendance could be vulnerable to dishonest, predatory, or otherwise
unlawful practices, which the proposed legislation aims to address.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ More generally, GAO has a body of work on elder abuse,
including financial exploitation. We have found that preventing
exploitation by individuals-such as financial services providers, power
of attorney agents, and in-home caregivers-is difficult. See, for
example, GAO, Elder Justice: National Strategy Needed to Effectively
Combat Elder Financial Exploitation, GAO 13 110 (Washington, D.C.: Nov.
15, 2012) and GAO, Elder Abuse: The Extent of Abuse by Guardians Is
Unknown, but Some Measures Exist to Help Protect Older Adults, GAO 17
33 (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 16, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our Views on Proposed Legislation
As currently drafted, the Veterans Care Financial Protection Act of
2017 contains three provisions that we will comment on today. First is
the proposed requirement for VA to develop and submit standards to the
Senate and House Committees on Veterans' Affairs within 180 days of
enactment. Second is the proposed requirement to have GAO submit a
report to those committees containing standards that GAO determines
would be effective in protecting individuals should VA not meet the
deadline in the proposed legislation. Third is the proposed requirement
for GAO to complete a study on the standards implemented under the
proposed legislation. Our observations on each of these proposed
requirements follow.
Protecting veterans from financial exploitation is vital,
and developing a set of standards could help VA combat such practices.
However, this proposed legislation does not clearly specify whether the
standards to protect veterans are intended to be legally binding,
because for example, it does not include an enforcement mechanism.
Agencies may issue guidance that is not legally binding but may help
agencies interpret regulations or disseminate suggested practices.
Establishing legally binding regulations require procedures established
in the Administrative Procedure Act, such as requiring agencies to
publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register, among
other steps. \7\ Clarifying whether the standards are intended to be
legally binding is important for determining what steps VA would need
to take and whether completing these steps within 180 days is feasible.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ See GAO, Regulatory Guidance Processes: Selected Departments
Could Strengthen Internal Control and Dissemination Practices, GAO 15
368 (Washington, D.C.: April 16, 2015).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As currently drafted, if VA is unable to meet this 180
day timeframe, section 2(b) of the proposed legislation, entitled
``Conditional Recommendation by Comptroller General,'' would require
GAO to submit a report to the Senate and House Committees on Veterans'
Affairs on effective standards for the program. It would not be
appropriate for GAO subsequently to audit standards that GAO had
recommended. We follow Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards
(GAGAS), which require us to maintain independence, and identify and
mitigate threats to our independence, for our audits. For example, one
such threat to independence that GAGAS identifies is the ``self-review
threat,'' which results from auditors reviewing a service or work that
they have provided to an agency that is the subject of the audit. In
addition, it would be inappropriate for GAO to set these types of
standards for VA, an executive branch agency. Thus, we recommend
removing the proposed provision requiring GAO to submit a report
containing standards.
The legislation, as proposed, would also require GAO to
conduct a study on the standards VA implemented to protect these
veterans. By itself, this proposed requirement is an appropriate role
for GAO. However, if this requirement is combined with the provision
that requires GAO to submit a report that recommends standards, then
under GAGAS we would be unable to audit subsequent VA efforts in this
area. This is because we would be auditing the effectiveness of the
standards that we had established, and therefore, we would not be
independent.
Although it is inappropriate for GAO to set standards for a VA
program, there are other ways that we could support the legislative
priorities of Congress for this VA program. For example, we have
extensive experience with setting guidance in the form of auditing
standards for the purpose of our own mission that could be useful to
VA. In developing auditing standards, we employ a deliberative and
inclusive process for periodically revising GAGAS. In revising GAGAS,
proposed changes undergo an extensive deliberative process internally
and externally, which includes key stakeholders. Internally we follow
sound project planning practices, which include creating a project time
line and meeting with all relevant, internal stakeholders enterprise-
wide to obtain and document agreement with the engagement plan.
Externally, we collect public comments and input from experts drawn
from the private and public sectors as well as academia on our auditing
standards, and we thoroughly consider the views of all parties when
finalizing revisions. \8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ GAO, Government Auditing Standards: 2011 Revision, GAO 12 331G
(Washington, D.C.: December 1, 2011).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In conclusion, enhanced pension benefits provide a critical support
to veterans with disabilities, many of whom are elderly and have
limited financial resources to care for themselves. Individuals who
seek to exploit these veterans can cause real financial harm. Our
continued ability to conduct audits in this area by maintaining
independence and mitigating threats to that independence will help
Congress, VA, and the public assess program performance.
Chairman Bost, Ranking Member Esty, and Members of the
Subcommittee, this concludes my prepared statement. I would be pleased
to respond to any questions that you may have at this time.
GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
For further information about this testimony, please contact
Elizabeth Curda at (202) 512-7215 or [email protected]. Contact points for
our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found
on the last page of this testimony. Other key contributors to this
testimony include Nyree Ryder Tee (Assistant Director), Sheranda
Campbell, Daniel Concepcion, Helen Desaulniers, Holly Dye, Alex
Galuten, Kristen Kociolek, Walter Vance, and James Whitcomb.
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GAO STATEMENT
VETERANS BENEFITS
GAO's Proposed Role in Reviewing Efforts to Protect Veterans from
Financial Exploitation
What GAO Found
In prior work, GAO has found that veterans who applied for
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) pension benefits could be targeted
for financial exploitation. For example, in 2012, GAO identified over
200 organizations, such as financial planners, that marketed their
services to help veterans qualify for needs-based VA pensions. GAO
found that some organizations offered veterans products and services
that could adversely affect them by transferring their assets to lower
their net worth. For example, some organizations sold veterans deferred
annuities that might limit access to funds during their expected
lifetimes. Additionally, in 2013, GAO reported shortcomings in VA's
process for ensuring that representatives approved to assist veterans
with the VA claims process were adequately knowledgeable about the
process and were of good moral character, as required by law. GAO made
8 recommendations to VA to address these and other shortcomings and a
matter for congressional consideration to establish a look-back and
penalty period for veterans who transfer assets before applying for
pension benefits. VA has implemented all 8 of these recommendations and
is taking actions to establish a look-back and penalty period.
As currently drafted, the proposed Veterans Care Financial
Protection Act of 2017 contains three provisions that GAO will comment
on today: (1) VA would be required to develop and submit standards that
protect veterans from dishonest and predatory practices to the Senate
and House Committees on Veterans' Affairs within 180 days of enactment.
(2) GAO would be required to submit a report to those committees
containing standards that GAO determines would be effective in
protecting individuals should VA not meet this deadline. (3) GAO would
be required to complete a study on the standards implemented under the
proposed act. GAO's observations on each of these three proposed
requirements follow.
The proposed legislation does not clearly specify whether
the standards are intended to be legally binding. Clarifying whether
the standards are intended to be legally binding is important for
determining what steps VA would need to take and whether completing
these steps within 180 days is feasible.
If VA does not meet the 180 day deadline, the proposed
legislation requiring GAO to report on standards is problematic because
it could hamper GAO's ability to meet the audit standards by which GAO
conducts its audits. These audit standards require GAO to maintain
independence and identify and mitigate threats to its independence. For
example, threats include GAO reviewing a service or work that it has
previously performed for an agency; in this case, recommending
standards. If GAO develops standards that VA then implements, this
could hamper GAO's ability to audit in an independent manner subsequent
VA efforts in this area. In addition, it would be inappropriate for GAO
to set these types of standards for VA, an executive agency. Thus, GAO
recommends removing this proposed provision.
The proposed legislation would also require GAO to
conduct a study on the standards VA implemented to protect these
veterans. By itself, this requirement is an appropriate role for GAO.
Why GAO Did This Study
The proposed Veterans Care Financial Protection Act of 2017 seeks
to address the financial exploitation of aging and disabled veterans
who are eligible for certain VA benefits. VA pension benefits are
available to certain wartime veterans and their surviving spouses with
limited means. Those who need additional assistance with everyday
living activities may also be eligible to receive VA Aid and Attendance
benefits, which increase the amount of the monthly pension they receive
from VA.
GAO was asked to provide input on the proposed Veterans Care
Financial Protection Act of 2017, which is being considered by the
House and Senate. This legislation, as proposed, would require the
development of federal and state standards for protecting individuals
eligible for pension and Aid and Attendance benefits from dishonest,
predatory, or unlawful practices.
In this statement, GAO discusses (1) its prior work related to VA
pension benefits, and (2) its observations on certain provisions within
the proposed legislation as currently drafted. This statement is based
on prior GAO work on veterans' benefits and GAO's review of the
proposed legislation.
Prepared Statement of Alex Zhang
ON
``H.R. 1721, H.R. 1900, H.R. 3122, H.R. 3656, H.R. 3657, AND PENDING
LEGISLATION''
NATIONAL VETERANS AFFAIRS AND REHABILITATION DIVISION
THE AMERICAN LEGION
Chairman Bost, Ranking Member Esty and distinguished members of the
Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, on behalf
of National Commander Denise H. Rohan and The American Legion, the
country's largest patriotic wartime service organization for veterans,
comprising over 2 million members and serving every man and woman who
has worn the uniform for this country, we thank you for the opportunity
to testify on behalf of The American Legion's positions on the
following pending legislation.
H.R. 1721
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to designate at least
one city in the United States each year as an ``American World War II
City'', and for other purposes.
The provisions in this bill fall outside the scope of established
resolutions of The American Legion. As a large, grassroots
organization, The American Legion takes positions on legislation based
on resolutions passed by the membership. With no resolutions addressing
the provisions of the legislation, The American Legion is researching
the material and working with our membership to determine the course of
action that best serves veterans.
The American Legion has no position on H.R. 1721.
H.R. 1900: National Veterans Memorial and Museum Act
To designate the Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus, Ohio, as
the National Veterans Memorial and Museum, and for other purposes.
One of the founding principles of The American Legion is: ``To
preserve the memories and incidents of our associations in the great
wars.'' The Veterans Memorial and Museum in the State of Ohio is
currently conducting a campaign to raise money to construct a memorial
and museum in Columbus, Ohio in honor of all military veterans. They
have currently raised in excess of $75 million for the design and
construction. Construction of the 50,000-square-foot facility started
in 2015, and completion is planned for 2018.
This legislation would designate the Veterans Memorial and Museum
as the National Veterans Memorial and Museum (NVMM). The NVMM's purpose
is to honor the contributions of our nation's veterans, connect
civilians and veterans, inspire communities and citizens to honor
service in the military, and educate our youth on the value of serving
our nation. Senator John Glenn served as the founding chairman of the
Veterans Memorial and Museum Advisory Committee and it was his vision
to construct this memorial and museum in the heartland of America so
more citizens would be able to visit in order to honor those who served
this nation in uniform.
Through Resolution No. 88: National Veterans Memorial and Museum,
The American Legion, the nation's largest wartime veterans service
organization, is in favor of honoring veterans with such a memorial.
\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The American Legion Resolution No. 88 (2017): National Veterans
Memorial and Museum
The American Legion supports H.R. 1900.
H.R. 3122: Veterans Care Financial Protection Act of 2017
To protect individuals who are eligible for increased pension under
laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on the basis of
need of regular aid and attendance from dishonest, predatory, or
otherwise unlawful practices, and for other purposes.
A growing number of elderly veterans depend on the assistance of
caregivers, family, and friends to complete basic daily activities. The
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) assists any low-income veteran that
is not able to care for themselves by assigning them Aid and Attendance
benefits (A&A). A&A benefits help pay for assisted living or in-home
personal care for veterans who qualify for a VA pension and are
housebound or require the aid and attendance of another person.
Unfortunately, scam artists have started targeting veterans by charging
them fees to obtain A&A benefits even though the application process is
free.
Unfortunately, we are seeing an increase in bad actors exploiting
assistance programs to veterans and many times these bad actors target
elderly veterans because of their unfamiliarity with the VA
bureaucracy. Some additional examples of how these scam artists target
veterans include:
Charging a fee with promises to expedite the process,
when there is no mechanism for expedited approval;
Although the veterans net worth is too high to qualify
for the benefits, veterans are offered ``help'' to qualify. Bad actors
take control of the veteran's assets and move these assets into an
irrevocable trust or an annuity. Many times, these elderly veterans
cannot access their funds for many years and are disqualified from
other assistance, like Medicaid; and
Some retirement homes recruit veterans with the promise
that the veteran will receive the A&A benefit to cover the cost of the
nursing home. If they are denied A&A benefits, the veteran is then
responsible for paying out of pocket.
This legislation is asking for two provisions to protect veterans
that might have been susceptible to these financial scams. This
legislation would require the VA Secretary to work with other federal,
state and outside experts to develop and implement state and federal
standards that protect veterans from dishonest, predatory, or otherwise
unlawful practices. Additionally, this legislation would direct the
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study 18
months after the enactment of the law to determine the extent to which
the states, the VA, and any other federal agency have implemented the
standards developed. If passed this legislation would help protect
veterans from financial scams, especially those most at risk.
Through Resolution No. 57: Prevent Exploitation of Veterans and
Family Members Applying for Benefits, to Include Aid and Attendance,
The American Legion supports any legislative proposal that criminalizes
the practice of charging veterans for claims assistance and creating a
for-profit business based on these practices. \2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ The American Legion Resolution No. 57 (2016): Prevent
Exploitation of Veterans and Family Members Applying for Benefits, to
Include Aid and Attendance
The American Legion supports H.R. 3122.
H.R. 3656
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for a consistent
eligibility date for provision of Department of Veterans Affairs
memorial headstones and markers for eligible spouses and dependent
children of veterans whose remains are unavailable.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides a memorial
headstone or marker for eligible individuals or groups deceased while
on active duty or veterans whose remains are not recovered or
identified or are buried at sea, donated to science, or whose cremated
remains have been scattered. The memorial headstone or marker may be
placed in a private, military, or veteran cemetery (national or state).
Memorial headstones and markers may also be furnished in national,
military post/base or state veterans cemeteries to eligible spouses and
dependent children whose remains are unavailable for interment, whether
or not they predecease the eligible veteran.
The current applicability date for spouses is after November 11,
1998 and dependent children after December 22, 2006. Congress first
established eligibility for spouses in PL 105-368 section 401(a), which
passed on November 11, 1998. Congress then extended eligibility for
dependent children in 2006 as part of P.L. 109-461 section 401 on
December 22, 2006. Since P.L. 109-461 did not extend eligibility
retroactively, only dependent children whose remains are unavailable
after December 22, 2006, are eligible for a marker.
H.R. 3656 would make the eligibility date for dependent children
the same as the date for spouses. VA requested this legislative change
in their latest budget submission and costs associated with this
proposal are expected to be insignificant. Furthermore, this proposed
change would simplify the process and reduce confusion for veterans and
their families.
The American Legion supports H.R. 3656.
H.R. 3657
To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs to provide headstones and markers for the graves of
spouses and children of veterans who are buried in tribal cemeteries.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) currently provides, on
request, a headstone or marker for eligible spouses or dependent
children who are buried or interned in a national, military post/base
or state veterans cemeteries. Spouses and dependents are not eligible
for a government-furnished headstone or marker if they are buried in a
private or tribal cemetery.
H.R. 3657 would ensure that veterans' spouses and children who are
buried at tribal veterans cemeteries are provided government-furnished
headstones or markers, the same as family members buried at national
and state veterans cemeteries.
Native American veterans have earned and deserve the same rights,
privileges and honor that other veterans receive. The American Legion
Resolution No. 146 calls on Congress to ensure that veterans benefits
are provided equitably and consistently for all. \3\ This legislation,
by correcting an inequity, is consistent with the intent of this
resolution.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Resolution No. 146 (2016): Veterans Receive Same Level of
Benefits
The American Legion supports H.R. 3657.
Draft Bill: Veterans Fair Debt Notice Act of 2017
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to require the use of
certified mail and plain language in certain debt collection
activities.
The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) reported issuing improper
payment to beneficiaries totaling approximately $5.5 billion during
Fiscal Year 2016. If the beneficiaries were not entitled to the
payment, a debt would be created and sent to the Department of Veterans
Affairs Debt Management Center (DMC) for collection action. In an
attempt to collect the debt, DMC will begin communicating with the
beneficiary through written correspondence. If the beneficiary fails to
respond to the notifications and is actively receiving benefits, VA
will garnish any future benefit to recover the debt. If the beneficiary
is not actively receiving VA benefits, VA will refer the debt to the
Treasury Department for collection.
The American Legion has heard from many beneficiaries that they
never received any correspondence letters from VA. Many times, the
address on file is not correct. Beneficiaries move and forget to update
their address with VA. Additionally, many beneficiaries do update their
address with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) but because VHA
and the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) have two systems that
are not integrated, the updated address is not shared with VBA. Once a
notification letter is mailed out by DMC, if they do not hear from the
beneficiary within 60 days they will take action to garnish the benefit
or transfer the debt to the Department of the Treasury.
The American Legions is concerned that the DMC and VA do not verify
that the beneficiary has received, understood, and is aware of how to
remedy the collection process before the debt is referred to
collections or benefits garnished. DMC's lack of confirming that the
notification has been received can cause further harm to the
beneficiary and possibly place them in a financial burden. Failure to
receive the notification can also cause the beneficiary to miss
important deadlines such as requesting a waiver which must be made
within 30 days of the first notification letter. Additionally, The
American Legion is also concerned that the notification letters do not
clearly state how the debt originated.
This legislation, if enacted, would require the DMC to implement
two initiatives in order to ensure that their notification letter is
received and understood by the beneficiary. First, it would require
that certified mail is used by the DMC when making a demand to a
debtor. Second, it would require the DMC to clearly explain why the
debtor owes money and all available options. If passed this legislation
would ensure that written correspondence from the DMC to debtors is
received and understood before taking action to garnish their benefit
or forward the debt to the Treasury Department for collection action.
Through Resolution No. 377: Support for Veteran Quality of Life,
The American Legion supports any legislative proposal that urges
Congress and the Department of Veterans Affairs to enact legislation
and programs within the VA that will enhance, promote, restore or
preserve benefits for veterans and their dependents, including, but not
limited to the following: timely access to quality VA health care;
timely decisions on claims and receipt of earned benefits; and final
resting places in national shrines and with lasting tributes that
commemorate their service. \4\
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\4\ The American Legion Resolution No. 377 (2016): Support for
Veteran Quality of Life
The American Legion supports the Draft Bill titled: Veterans Fair
Debt Notice Act of 2017.
Conclusion
As always, The American Legion thanks this subcommittee for the
opportunity to elucidate the position of the over 2 million veteran
members of this organization. For additional information regarding this
testimony, please contact Mr. Derek Fronabarger, Deputy Director of The
American Legion's Legislative Division at (202) 861-2700 or
[email protected].
Prepared Statement of Leroy Acosta
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
Thank you for inviting DAV (Disabled American Veterans) to testify
at this legislative hearing of the Subcommittee on Disability
Assistance and Memorial Affairs. As you know, DAV is a non-profit
veterans' service organization comprised of 1.3 million wartime
service-disabled veterans that is dedicated to a single purpose:
empowering veterans to lead high-quality lives with respect and
dignity. DAV is pleased to present our views on the bills under
consideration by the Subcommittee, and we appreciate your invitation.
H.R. 1721
This bill designates Wilmington, North Carolina, as The First
American World War II City and directs the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs to consult with the Secretary of Defense to designate at least
one city in the United States each year as an American World War II
City.
The criteria for a city to be considered an American World War II
City include the city's contributions to the war effort during World
War II related to defense manufacturing, bond drives, armed forces
service and military facilities in the particular city. In addition,
the efforts by a city to preserve its contributions during World War
II, establishment of preservation organizations or museums, restoration
of World War II facilities and recognition of veterans who served in
World War II, will be considered.
While DAV does not have a resolution specific to this issue, we are
not opposed to passage of this legislation.
H.R. 1900, the National Veterans Memorial and Museum Act
This legislation would designate the Veterans Memorial and Museum
in Columbus, Ohio, as the National Veterans Memorial and Museum.
As a civic landmark and cultural institution in Columbus, Ohio, the
Veterans Memorial and Museum is being constructed to honor, connect,
inspire and educate Americans about the service and sacrifice of more
than 40 million veterans, more than half of whom are alive today, and
1.1 million deceased service members who have defended our nation's
freedoms.
DAV does not have a resolution specific to this issue, and has no
formal position on the bill.
H.R. 3122, Veterans Care Financial Protection Act of 2017
This legislation directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to
collaborate with agencies of the federal government, states and
appropriate experts to develop and implement standards to protect
individuals eligible for increased pension due to regular aid and
attendance from dishonest, predatory or otherwise unlawful practices.
This bill mandates the VA to submit a report to both the House and
Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees concerning the standards developed
no later than 180 days after enactment of this legislation. In
addition, this legislation directs the Comptroller General of the
United States, not later than 540 days after enactment, to complete a
study on standards implemented to protect those in need of regular aid
and attendance.
While DAV does not have a resolution specific to this issue, we
unfortunately continue to hear stories about various schemes to take
advantage of elderly and disabled veterans receiving VA benefits. This
measure seeks to address this issue and appears beneficial. Therefore,
we are not opposed to passage of this legislation.
H.R. 3656
H.R. 3656 would establish a consistent applicability date for
provision of memorial headstones and markers for eligible non-veteran
individuals.
Under present law, each class of non-veterans eligible to receive a
memorial headstone or marker has a different effective date. For
example, a surviving spouse who dies on or after November 11, 1998, is
eligible for a headstone or marker. However, only dependent children
who die on or after December 22, 2006, are eligible. There are
situations in which the VA may be able to provide a marker for the
parent, but not the child due to the inconsistency in the dates.
This legislation assigns an eligibility date of on or after
November 11, 1998, for a VA memorial headstone or marker for a
veteran's spouse and dependent children whose remains are not available
for burial. These headstones and markers bear the inscription ``IN
MEMORY OF'' as their first line.
While DAV does not have a resolution specific to this issue, we are
not opposed to the passage of this legislation.
H.R. 3657
This bill would authorize the VA to provide headstones and markers
for the graves of spouses and children for veterans who are buried in
tribal cemeteries. Under current law, spouses and dependents are not
eligible for a government-furnished headstone or marker unless they are
buried in a national cemetery, state veterans' cemetery, or military
post/base cemetery.
While DAV does not have a resolution specific to this issue, we are
not opposed to the passage of this legislation
Draft Bill - Veterans Fair Debt Notice Act of 2017
This draft legislation would require the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs to utilize certified mail and plain language in certain debt
collection activities.
Consistent with the intent of DAV Resolution No. 213, which calls
for alleviating undue financial hardship in processing overpayments and
notifying veterans of debt, we support this bill. Veterans Fair Debt
Notice Act of 2017, proposes to secure notification to debtors of debt
collection actions with a plain language explanation of the debt.
Under 38 C.F.R. 1.912A(a), the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) has the authority to collect debts by offset against any
current or future VA benefit payments to the debtor. 38 C.F.R.
1.912A(b), notes if the debtor submits a written dispute of
the debt, a written request for waiver, or a written request for a
hearing on the waiver, within thirty days of notification, VA cannot
start collection of the debt by offset of the next benefit payment.
Because this legislation requires the Secretary to use certified mail,
which is conditional on a signature of receipt, it brings up the
significant question of ``What is the date of notification?''
Currently, the date of notification is defined as the date of the
letter notifying a claimant. However, this legislation is mandating
certified mail which requires the debtor to sign for the notification
letter. Therefore, the date of signed receipt of certified mail by the
debtor should be considered the date of notification. This date of
notification will then start the 30-day time period for the debtor to
respond with a written dispute of the debt, a written request for
waiver, or a written request for a hearing on the waiver.
Section (a)(2) of this legislation proposes certified mail be used
to send ``A request for a waiver from a debtor to the Secretary under
subsection (c)(2) of such section.'' We believe section (a)(2) requires
clarification. When read within the context of subsection (c)(2), it
appears to require the debtor to use certified mail to send a waiver
request to the Secretary. As this would place an undue burden and
potential hardship upon the debtor (veteran), we would oppose any such
requirement.
We applaud the provision in the bill requiring a plain language
explanation of why the debtor owes money. The overpayment and debt
process can be confusing, complex and overwhelming to many veterans who
are left guessing as to why the debt was created. We agree that a
simple and plain explanation should be required in all debt
notifications.
Recommendations
To ensure clarification of this legislation, while preserving the
intent and best interests of veterans and their families, we recommend
the following:
1.Section (a)(2) needs clarification to ensure the true meaning and
intent. We suggest language be used to clarify the Secretary is sending
the request for waiver to the debtor by certified mail.
As noted above, section (a)(2) can be interpreted to read that the
debtor is required to use certified mail to send a waiver request to
the Secretary. Not only would this place an undue burden and hardship
on the debtor, it would require that veterans service organizations
(VSO) who hold power of attorney for the veteran and receive the waiver
request from the debtor, to send the waiver request via certified mail
to the VA. In many cases, the representative is a VSO and most VSOs are
co-located with the VA, which would make this requirement impractical.
2.Amend the proposed legislation to allow for an additional section
for clarification of the date of notification.
We suggest adding section (c) to indicate that the date of
notification of the debt is the date of signed receipt of certified
mail by the debtor. This date of notification will then start the 30-
day time period for the debtor to respond with a written dispute of the
debt, a written request for waiver, or a written request for a hearing
on the waiver. This will ensure the debtor has 30 days from the actual
date of notification and will alleviate any potential loss of time due
to delayed delivery of the notice of debt.
3.Additionally, we draw your attention to DAV Resolution No. 213,
which calls for alleviating undue financial hardship on the veteran
debtor in cases when processing of the veteran's change in status is
delayed by VA for 90 days or more after timely notification by the
veteran of such change. Specifically, DAV's resolution supports the
automatic waiver of such debt if the VA takes more than 90 days to
process the Notice of Waiver of Compensation for Drill Pay or process
any changes to dependency after notification by the veteran. As this
resolution reflects the same overarching intent as the draft measure,
we respectfully request the Subcommittee consider amending this
legislation to include this provision and our other two
recommendations.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes DAV's testimony. Thank you for the
opportunity to testify at today's hearing and offer our position on the
bills being considered before the Subcommittee.
Prepared Statement of Blake C. Ortner
CONCERNING
PENDING LEGISLATION
Chairman Bost, Ranking Member Esty, and members of the
Subcommittee, Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) would like to thank
you for the opportunity to provide our views on pending legislation
before the Subcommittee.
H.R. 1721, designation of American World War II cities
This bill would recognize specific cities not just for their great
contributions on the home front during World War II, but also their
efforts to preserve the city's structures and relics from that era. PVA
supports this bill which encourages cities to preserve this great
heritage.
H.R. 1900, the ``National Veterans Memorial and Museum Act''
PVA supports designating the Veterans Memorial and Museum in
Columbus, Ohio, currently being constructed, as a National Veterans
Memorial and Museum. It is the only museum of its kind, and it is
intended to reach veterans of all eras, from every part of the United
States, and from all branches of service. Given the scope of the
project and its intended audience, a national designation is
appropriate.
H.R. 3122, the ``Veterans Care Financial Protection Act of 2017"
This proposal would require the Secretary to work with federal and
state officials to establish standards to protect against unscrupulous
actors that take advantage of veterans in need of aid and attendance
benefits. According to organizations such as AARP and the Federal Trade
Commission, senior veterans have increasingly become subject to scams
involving insurance agents and financial planners trying to convince
the veterans to make quick decisions about pursuing aid and attendance
in addition to their pension incomes. Some scammers use false
representations like suggesting automatic entitlement to benefits. Of
greater concern, though, are those who help the veteran restructure
financial assets in order to qualify for pension and/or aid and
attendance. For example, moving financial assets into a pooled-asset
irrevocable trust might render a veteran eligible for pension and aid
and attendance, despite having assets in excess of the qualifying
income thresholds. While it appears that this benefits the veteran,
what these salesmen do not tell them is that this type of restructuring
might preclude them from Medicaid eligibility because of rules such as
a five-year look-back period, which considers whether one has moved
substantial assets at less than market value. These financial products
are specifically managed by the alleged ``veterans advocates'' who are
offering to help veterans secure enhanced benefits from VA. There is an
objective conflict of interest, and implementing standards to protect
against this behavior is necessary.
H.R. 3656, a bill to provide a consistent eligibility date for
headstones and markers
PVA supports H.R. 3656, which would establish a consistent
eligibility date for provision of memorial headstones and markers for
eligible non-veteran individuals. Currently, spouses and children have
different eligibility dates, sometimes forcing VA to provide a marker
for the parent, but not the children. This bill would reconcile this
arbitrary difference and treat spouses and children the same.
H.R. 3657, a bill to authorize provision of headstones and markers in
tribal cemeteries
Consistent with our prior support for H.R. 1390, which would expand
VA's authority to transport the remains of a deceased veteran to a
tribal cemetery or state cemetery instead of a national cemetery, we
likewise support this bill which ensures that the accompanying
benefits, such as a headstone or marker, are provided to veterans
buried in tribal cemeteries.
Draft Bill, the ``Veterans Fair Debt Notice Act of 2017"
Failure to resolve debt issues in a timely manner can have a
lasting, catastrophic impact on a veteran. It is not uncommon for a
veteran to find that the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has
updated contact information, while the Veterans Benefits Administration
(VBA) does not, or vice versa. So if VBA sends out notice of
overpayment of benefits, or some other circumstances producing a debt
owed by the veteran, it is essential that VBA know whether that notice
actually reached the veteran prior to the veteran going into default.
It is important to ensure that veterans are not going into default for
lack of notice, especially in circumstances where the debt itself is a
product of VA's mistakes and overpayments.
Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, we appreciate your
commitment to ensuring that veterans receive the best benefits and care
available. We look forward to working with the Subcommittee and would
be happy to answer any questions you or the members may have.
Prepared Statement of Kathleen Moakler
TRAGEDY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR SURVIVORS (TAPS)
Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) is the national
organization providing compassionate care for the families of America's
fallen military heroes. TAPS provides peer-based emotional support,
grief and trauma resources, grief seminars and retreats for adults,
`Good Grief Camps' for children, case work assistance, connections to
community-based care, and a 24/7 resource and information helpline for
all who have been affected by a death in the Armed Forces. Services are
provided to families at no cost to them. We do all of this without
financial support from the Department of Defense. TAPS is funded by the
generosity of the American people.
TAPS was founded in 1994 by Bonnie Carroll following the death of
her husband in a military plane crash in Alaska in 1992. Since then,
TAPS has offered comfort and care to more than 70,000 bereaved
surviving family members. For more information, please visit
www.TAPS.org.
TAPS currently receives no government grants or funding.
Kathleen Moakler
Kathleen joined TAPS in 2015 and is honored to work with America's
frontline resource offering compassionate care for all those grieving a
death in the Armed Forces. She works with policy makers and military
and veteran advocacy organizations to ensure that surviving families'
benefits and support services are protected and surviving families
receive the most up to date information on any changes to their
benefits. Kathleen comes to TAPS with 20 years of military family
advocacy experience including protecting and enhancing surviving
military family benefits, serving as past co-chair of the Survivor
Program Committee for the Military Coalition, sitting on the DoD/VA
Survivors Forum, and testifying numerous times before Congress on
behalf of surviving military families. She also represented military
families on the Congressionally-mandated Department of Defense Military
Family Readiness Council.
An Army spouse, active duty and retired, for over 40 years, she
holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the
State University of New York at Albany. Mrs. Moakler was honored to
receive the Gold Star Wives of America 2015 Award of Excellence.
Parents of three adult children and new grandparents to two military
kids, Kathleen and her husband, Colonel Martin W. Moakler Jr. USA
(retired), reside in Alexandria, Virginia.
Chairman Bost, Ranking Member Esty and distinguished members of the
Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee of the House
Veterans Affairs Committee, the Tragedy Assistance Program for
Survivors (TAPS) thanks you for the opportunity to make you aware of
issues and concerns of importance to the families we serve, the
families of the fallen.
While the mission of TAPS is to offer comfort and support for
surviving families, we are also committed to improving support provided
by the Federal government through the Department of Defense (DoD) and
the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), state governments and local
communities for the families of the fallen--those who fall in combat,
those who fall from invisible wounds and those who die from illness or
disease.
We thank you for the provisions included in the Jeff Miller and
Richard Blumenthal Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of
2016 including the expansion of eligibility for the Marine Gunnery
Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship for spouses and clarification of
eligibility for in-state tuition benefits for those using the Fry
Scholarship. We are grateful for the Committee's focus on improving
survivor benefits.
We are most appreciative the passage of the Harry W. Colmery
Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017. This will be most
beneficial for survivors who are benefitting from the Fry scholarship
and the Dependents Education Allowance. We will be working closely with
the VA on the law's implementation.
TAPS would like to recognize the outstanding support we receive
from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on behalf of the survivors
we serve. For several years we were honored to have a Memorandum of
Agreement (MoA) with the education specialists in the office of
Economic Opportunity in the Veterans Benefits Administration enabling
TAPS and the VA to work most efficiently in solving problems that
surviving spouses and children encountered while accessing their VA
education benefits. This relationship also allowed the VA to discover
areas where policy or procedural processes could be improved so they
could serve survivors more effectively.
The VA Office of Survivor Assistance, including director Moira
Flanders and her staff, works closely with TAPS to answer questions and
concerns that are raised by surviving family members. We also
appreciate the opportunities provided by the DoD/VA Survivors Forum,
held quarterly, which works as a clearinghouse for information on
government and private-sector programs and policies affecting surviving
families. This is ably facilitated by Craig Zaroff of the VA Benefits
Assistance Service.
TAPS was recently honored to enter into a new and expanded
Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Veterans Affairs. VA
Secretary Shulkin and TAPS President Bonnie Carroll signed the MOA on
April 12 at a ceremony attended by many of the same survivors who will
benefit from it. This agreement formalizes what has been a long-
standing, informal working relationship between TAPS and the VA. The
services provided by TAPS and VA are complimentary, and in this public-
private partnership each will continue to provide extraordinary
services through closer collaboration.
Under this agreement, TAPS continues to work with surviving
families to identify resources available to them both within the VA and
through private sources. TAPS will also collaborate with the VA in the
areas of education, burial, benefits and entitlements, grief counseling
and other areas of interest.
Debt Notification
Imagine you are a surviving spouse or dependent who opens a letter
from the VA that notifies you that you suddenly owe the VA several
thousand dollars and they would like payment in a lump sum as soon as
possible. The only explanation is that there has been a change in
benefits and you have been overpaid. While they provide an 800 number
for you to call, every time you call the number is busy. Before you
know it, a third letter has been sent, still without an definitive
explanation of what the cause of the debt is and containing an ominous
warning that you are subject to having your wages garnished, VA
benefits withheld and that your debt has been sent to a collection
agency.
As those in receipt of survivor benefits can tell you, it can often
be confusing tracking which payment comes from which agency (DoD, VA or
Social Security). Many are often still in a fog of grief and mail can
lie unopened, and even unopened mail can appear to be daunting as one
sifts through legalese and unfamiliar terms. In a perfect world, each
survivor would set up a ledger, accounting for every payment and being
aware themselves when an overpayment has been made. Unfortunately, not
everyone is equipped with the financial acumen to accomplish this
tracking. It can be even more confusing in dealing with education
benefits, when funds are also impacted by the institutions of higher
learning and their rules and very often, sharing of misinformation.
TAPS has developed many programs in response to the needs presented
to us by the surviving families we serve. Indicative of the specialized
support that TAPS provides is the education portal and individualized
support on the education benefits available for the children of
America's fallen heroes. TAPS staff members work with each individual
to maximize the financial support they can receive to complete their
education from both government and private agencies. As mentioned
previously, TAPS has been honored to enter into an MOA with the VA to
facilitate the delivery of benefits, including education benefits and
to troubleshoot problems for families that reach out to us. We have
helped many families resolve their issues with debt collection.
TAPS is pleased that this committee is considering legislation to
further clarify the debt notification process of those in receipt of VA
benefits. We were fortunate to receive a briefing from the VA Debt
Management Center (DMC) at the July 2017 meeting of the DoD/VA
Survivors Forum. The briefing clearly outlined the processes and
procedures that the DMC uses to notify and to collect the debt owed.
Since this briefing was aimed at those who work with benefit
recipients, there was even a special phone number provided that veteran
service organizations and other helping agencies can use to expedite
the communication process for those who receive debt notification
letters.
The procedures as outlined in the DMC brief appear to be designed
to make the process easier for the customer (survivor or veteran). The
procedures are in place. The stumbling block is in making it easier to
connect the survivor or veteran with the assistance that DMC provides.
Clarification of the reason for the debt in easy to understand language
(as called for in the proposed legislation) would go a long way in
improving communication and access. Reinforcing the importance and
urgency of the debt letter received from the VA by sending it by
certified mail will also help to insure that the beneficiary responds
in a timely manner. We are grateful that the legislation addresses
these two important steps in the process.
We suggest that further assists may be required, as indicated in
our anecdotes from survivors below. It appears that more staff at the
800 number call centers or some evening or weekend hours might be
necessary to keep those in receipt of the notices from being
discouraged when they cannot be connected in a timely manner.
We asked some of our surviving family members to share their
stories:
Meagan Staats, surviving spouse of SSG David Staats, was double
paid for Fry and DEA during the switchover in 2015. She received
letters from VA debt management saying that they would deduct the
amount from her Fry BAH. They did not. She calls VA and they don't see
the debt in the system so she continues to get BAH and never received
any letters to pay, until her credit is hit because it was sent to
collections. She called and paid it off immediately but had no clue how
to get through the VA system when VA education and VA debt management
were telling her 2 different things.
Ashlynne Haycock- Ashlynne, a surviving child, was enrolled in
college during the switchover from DEA to Fry and was reimbursed for
the difference in benefits between years 2009-2010. Two years later she
got a letter from VA debt management claiming she had been overpaid,
but with no explanation of what she had been overpaid for. Ashlynne
called the VA debt management phone number weekly for 2 years and never
got an answer. In the meantime VA sent it to collections, her tax
return payments were garnished and her credit rating was impacted
negatively. The only reason she ever got her problem resolved was
because she came to work for TAPS and TAPS at the time had an education
MOA with VA. Ashlynne asked her point of contact at VA to look into it
and it turned out that VA had made the mistake by listing her as having
received multiple benefits simultaneously. The error was on VA's part
and it took over 4 years for Ashlynne to figure out what the problem
was to correct it. Once the problem was identified, the VA did refund
her tax return amounts and worked to remove the negative reports from
her credit report.
Shannon Rushford- Shannon received educational benefits under Fry
for almost 3 years before she got a letter from VA debt management
claiming she owed $80k to VA for benefits paid in error. Ms. Rushford
could not figure out what the reasoning for the debt was and could not
reach anyone at VA to explain it. She contacted TAPS Education
Services, who through our MOA learned that Shannon was not actually Fry
eligible because her father had been medically retired for 4 hours when
he passed in the line of duty. VA made the error in processing her
benefits and it took them 3 years to realize it. Fortunately, VA
forgave the debt as the payments were an error on VA's part but had she
not had contact with TAPS she may never have figured out what the debt
was for.
Headstone and Marker Eligibility for Survivors
TAPS supports H.R. 3657 which expands eligibility for headstones
and markers for eligible surviving spouses and dependents for those
buried in tribal cemeteries. We also support H.R. 3656 which clarifies
the date of eligibility for a headstone and marker for eligible
surviving spouses and dependents of those veterans whose remains are
unavailable.
Veterans Care Financial Protection Act of 2017
TAPS supports H.R. 3122 which calls for added financial protections
for those survivors in receipt of aid and attendance. They are among
our most vulnerable populations for fraud and financial abuse.
TAPS is grateful for the subcommittee's consideration of the
proposed legislation. We know that this subcommittee has been at the
forefront for protecting survivors and for crafting benefits that
recognize their sacrifice.
It is the responsibility of the nation to provide for the support of
the loved ones of those who have paid the highest price for
freedom. Thank you for allowing us to speak on their behalf.
Prepared Statement of John Towles
WITH RESPECT TO
H.R. 1721, H.R. 1900, H.R. 3122, H.R. 3656, H.R. 3657, and Draft
Legislation
Chairman Bost, Ranking Member Esty and members of the Subcommittee,
on behalf of the men and women of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the
United States (VFW) and its Auxiliary, thank you for the opportunity to
provide our remarks on legislation pending before this subcommittee.
H.R. 1721, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to designate at
least one city in the United States each year as an ``American
World War II City'', and for other purposes.
The VFW supports this legislation, which would direct the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs VA to designate at least one city in the United
States each year as an ``American World War II City'' based on the
city's contributions to the war effort during World War II and their
efforts to preserve the history of such contributions. This legislation
would serve to recognize the contributions and preservation efforts
made to the war by communities all across the United States, and
incentivize cities to honor the memory of the sacrifices made by WWII
veterans.
Throughout the past few years, multiple attempts have been made to
pass similar legislation that would give the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs the authority to make this designation, and while most of those
attempts have passed the House, they have all failed in the Senate. In
general, the VFW supports legislation that seeks to recognize veterans
and preserves the military history of our greatest generation.
H.R. 1900, National Veterans Memorial and Museum Act
The VFW supports this legislation, which would designate the
Veterans Memorial and Museum, which is currently being constructed in
Columbus, Ohio, as the National Veterans Memorial and Museum.
Continuing the legacy left by the late Senator John Glenn, the
museum would serve as a civic landmark to honor, connect, inspire and
educate visitors about the service and sacrifice of all our nation's
service men and women. The creation of this institution would have a
profound, lasting impact on every American and would help instill a
deeper meaning to the freedoms we all enjoy.
The VFW has always advocated on behalf of those who have given the
most to this nation. Whether that means ensuring that veterans are
respected for their service, receive their earned benefits, or are
recognized for the sacrifices they and their loved ones have made on
behalf of this great country, we have consistently led the way.
These tenants are directly reflected by the creation of this
institution, and it will serve as a reminder to all those who visit
that true patriotism begins with service over self. With nearly 21
million veterans alive today, we must ensure that we have a specific
and special place to celebrate their service and honor the sacrifice of
our veterans from all branches of our military and from all eras of
war.
While there are several museums and monuments dedicated to specific
branches and eras, our country currently lacks a museum specifically
dedicated to honoring and preserving the collective sacrifices made by
this nation's veterans. This museum would serve to fill that gap and
serve as a constant reminder to all of the importance and value of
military service by honoring the contributions of our veterans;
educating the public about what it means to serve; and, ensuring that
our veterans, regardless of the location, branch, or era in which they
served, have a nationally designated facility to call their own.
H.R. 3122, Veterans Care Financial Protection Act of 2017
The VFW strongly supports this legislation, which would address and
correct many of the oversight and accountability problems that have
plagued the Aid and Attendance (A&A) program for some time by directing
the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to work with other federal
agencies to develop standards that would protect veterans receiving A&A
benefits from dishonest and predatory business practices.
As the number of elderly veterans increases, so too does the need
to provide them with additional assistance that enables them the
ability to complete day to day activities, but these services can be
extremely expensive. Many veterans depend on the A&A program because it
enables them to obtain these services. However, because of poor
oversight, many veterans are being taken advantage of by individuals
claiming to be ``consultants'', and in some circumstances, even
retirement homes. Not only do these practices cost the federal
government millions in taxpayer dollars, but often times result in the
veteran being responsible for repaying any debt that is incurred, which
makes an unstable financial situation even worse.
Far too often, veterans and service members are victimized by
individuals, businesses, and organizations simply due to their unique
financial situation and their circumstances. It is unfortunate that
legislation such as this even needs to exist. However, so long as the
need is there, the VFW will support any measure meant to protect the
financial well-being of those who are most at risk.
H.R. 3656, to amend title 38, United State Code, to provide for a
consistent eligibility date for provision of Department of Veterans
Affairs memorial headstones and markers for eligible spouses and
dependent children of veterans whose remains are unavailable.
The VFW supports this legislation which would codify the date of
eligibility for VA provided headstones and markers for the spouse and
any dependent children of a veteran whose remains are unavailable on or
after November 11, 1998.
H.R. 3656 would ensure a consistent applicability date for
provision of memorial headstones and markers for eligible non-veteran
individuals. Under present law, each class of non-veterans eligible to
receive a headstone or marker has a different applicability date. For
example, a surviving spouse who dies on or after November 11, 1998, is
eligible for a headstone or marker. However, only dependent children
who die on or after December 22, 2006, are eligible.
According to VA, most of the issue revolves around people who go
missing at sea due to a boating or plane accident. There are situations
in which VA may be able to provide a marker for the parent, but not the
child due to the inconsistency in the dates.
H.R. 3657, to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide headstones and markers for
the graves of spouses and children of veterans who are buried in
tribal cemeteries.
The VFW supports this legislation, which would expand the headstone
and marker eligibility for spouses and dependent children buried in
tribal cemetery.
American Indians and Alaskan Natives have served in every branch of
our military for over 200 years. An estimated 156,000 veterans identify
as American Indian/Alaska Native veterans, and the Department of
Defense reports that there are around 20,000 service members who
identify as being American Indian/Alaskan Natives.
While current law provides headstones and markers only for the
graves of spouses and children of veterans who wish to be laid to rest
in a national cemetery or veterans cemetery owned by a State, the VFW
believes that H.R. 3656 is a common sense fix which would ensure that
the families of those who are eligible, and wish to be buried on tribal
land, can do so.
Draft Bill, Veterans Fair Debt Notice Act of 2017
The VFW strongly supports this legislation, which would require VA
to use certified mail and plain language when notifying a veteran about
debts related to their benefits program, including written demands from
VA, requests for waivers from the debtor, and notifications concerning
the debt.
Almost 187,000 overpayment notices were sent from VA to veterans
and their families in 2016, many of which were erroneous. When this
happens, a debt notice is sent out by VA, regardless of the nature of
the debt. However, often times the language is ambiguous, and gives no
clear options to request recourse, which leaves many fearful of the
process as a whole.
To make matters worse, the contact information that VA has for the
veteran in many instances is incorrect, which can lead to inaction by
the veteran, resulting in the debt going to a collections agency, or
their pensions being garnished until the debt is satisfied or until the
veteran can prove that the debt is erroneous.
By requiring debt notifications be made in easy to understand
language via certified mail, veterans would be able to understand what
they need to do in order to ensure that the issue is addressed in a
timely manner, and VA will be able to ensure that they have the correct
contact information on file for the veteran.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my testimony. The Veterans of Foreign
Wars sincerely appreciates the opportunity to provide views on these
important bills, and I am prepared to take any questions you or the
subcommittee members may have.
Statement For The Record
COAL - Timeline CITYGovts Preservation
Local World War II History Preservation Accomplishments
Involving Governments of the City of Wilmington and New Hanover County,
North Carolina
Timeline, 1946 to Present
September 11, 2017
1946 - City of Wilmington acquires the Second & Orange Streets WWII
USO building from Federal Government, opens it as Community Center.
City still owns it.
ca. 1990 - City works with local group and State highway department
to dedicate historical marker to WWII shipyard at Carolina Beach Rd. &
Shipyard Blvd.
ca. Early 1990's - City collaborated on successful effort to have
Community Arts Center (name changed) placed on National Register of
Historic Places.
ca. Early 1990's - County Commission and American Legion Post 10
dedicate memorial in Hugh MacRae Park to wartime dead. City, County and
Post 10 collaborate on installation of portrait montages in public
buildings honoring Wilmington's Medal of Honor recipients.
1995 - City participates with Battleship North Carolina and private
parties to commemorate 50th anniversary of end of WWII.
1997 - City plans to demolish the CAC and sell property to St.
John's Art Museum (across the street) which would build on the
property. Immediate opposition forms: Thalian Association, which
manages the building for the City; ad hoc Community Arts Center Accord;
and native Wilmingtonian historian Wilbur Jones, new resident. City
withholds action.
1997/8 - New Hanover County Commission acquires land for Veterans
Park which will contain new high school named for Vietnam War
Wilmington Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Eugene Ashley, and new middle
school for Wilmington WWII Medal of Honor recipient Col. Charles P.
Murray, Jr.
1997-2000 - Pressure by the three parties (Jones now chairs the
newly formed WWII Wilmington Home Front Heritage Coalition and takes
the lead) on City Council and staff continues. City Council and senior
staff save the building.
1998 - New Hanover County School Board officially names Murray
Middle School. County Commission names park's thoroughfare street
William D. Halyburton, Jr. Drive, for Wilmington Navy Medal of Honor
posthumous recipient.
1999 - City and County governments participate in 18-month long,
125-event Wartime Wilmington Commemoration.
2000 - City Council votes 7-0 to save, renovate, and preserve the
CAC as a WWII site and community venue. City paints the building's
exterior the original colors.
2001 - City, County, and County School Board elected officials
participate in Veterans Park groundbreaking for Murray Middle School
and Ashley High School.
2001 - City officials participate in CAC 60th anniversary with
WWII-themed events and USO big band swing dance.
2002 - City installs historic marker at Shipyard Blvd. and Carolina
Beach Rd. at site of first German prisoner of war camp (1944).
2002/05/08 - City collaborated with WWII Wilmington Coalition to
produce three editions of the ``World War II Heritage Guide Map of
Wilmington and Southeastern North Carolina.'' City donated $6,500 in
2008.
2003 - School Board dedicates new masonry memorial at New Hanover
High School honoring its WWII Medal of Honor graduates, Murray and
Halyburton.
2004 - City dedicates new William D. Halyburton, Jr. Memorial
(natural) Park.
2004 - County's Cape Fear Museum of History & Science opens
permanent WWII exhibit.
2005 - City Council appropriates $2.1 million to renovate and
restore (to WWII appearance) the CAC.
2005-Present - City, County, and School Board elected officials
participate in numerous WWII historic preservation and dedication
events in HBHUSO/CAC as speakers, including (partial):
Late Wilmingtonian WWII veteran John Burney WWII memorabilia
collection, 2010;
New Hanover County Aviators Memorial, 2010;
National (Washington) WWII Memorial giclee, 2013;
WWII veterans meet-and-greet jamborees, 2005/09;
WWII-USO type big-band swing dances, 2006/09/12/15;
Memorial plaques to Murray-Halyburton and 248 County WWII dead,
2012; Memorial to Wilmingtonian Lt. Gen. George Boylan, USAF, WWII
bomber pilot, 2016.
2006 - City Council renames the building the Hannah Block Historic
USO/Community Arts Center (HBHUSO/CAC). Block, a wartime entertainment
fixture there, is known as ``Mrs. WWII Wilmington.''
2007 - City-approved and authorized HBHUSO/CAC renovation and
restoration work begins. All activities are relocated.
2008 - City Council and County Commission unanimously pass
resolutions proclaiming Wilmington as ``America's WWII City.''
Continuing project to seek national recognition begins, led by WWII
Wilmington Home Front Heritage Coalition (now a 501c3, all-volunteer
preservation organization).
2008 - Over July 4th Star Spangled Weekend, City and County elected
officials participate in HBHUSO/CAC re-dedication of renovated and
restored building with WWII themed events and USO swing dance. City's
$2.1 million is augmented by thousands raised by private parties to
turn lobby area into mini-museum of the home front - perfect example of
public-private partnership.
2008 - City dedicates new historic marker at 10th & Ann Sts. site
of second German POW camp (1944).
2008 - City Council creates HBHUSO/CAC Advisory Board consisting of
private sector representatives from the arts and history communities to
monitor and advise the Council on the building's operations,
maintenance, and welfare, and appoints first 9-member board.
2008-Present - City continues to provide maintenance, upkeep, and
graphics/design support for the HBHUSO/CAC and WWII-related activities.
2010 - City Council and County Commission endorse congressional
legislation (introduced by Rep. McIntyre) that would designate
Wilmington as the first ``American WWII City.'' McIntyre again, and
Sens. Burr and Tillis, and Rep. Rouzer, also would introduce similar
legislation.
2011 - City officials participate in HBHUSO/CAC 70th anniversary
salute to area Battle of the Bulge veterans and educational experience
for elementary school students.
2012 - City, County and School Board elected officials participate
in re-dedication of Medal of Honor memorial garden at New Hanover High
School.
2013/15 - City installs new lobby track lighting to highlight
museum exhibits.
2014 - City, County, and School Board collaborate with private
parties to preserve and relocate County's lone memorial to its World
War I dead.
2016 - City donates $5,000 for HBHUSO/CAC's 75th anniversary. WWII
Coalition and Thalian Association Community Theater present a Veterans
Day weekend of original musical play, ``Mrs. WWII Wilmington: We Fell
in Love at the USO.'' City officials participate.
2017 - City currently working with HBHUSO/CAC manager to install
new rehearsal room floor and interior security cameras to protect WWII
exhibits access.
Compiled by World War II Wilmington Home Front Heritage Coalition
Captain Wilbur Jones, USNR (Ret.), Chairman
910-793-6393 - [email protected]
Questions For The Record
LETTER FROM BOST TO VA
October 4, 2017
The Honorable David J. Shulkin, M.D.
Secretary
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Ave, NW
Washington, D.C. 20420
Dear Secretary Shulkin:
Thank you for the testimony provided by the Department of Veterans
Affairs for the September 13, 2017, Subcommittee on Disability
Assistance and Memorial Affairs legislative hearing on H.R. 1721 ; H.R.
1900; H.R. 3122; H.R. 3656; H.R. 3657; and, a draft bill entitled
``Veterans Fair Debt Notice Act of 2017.''
I would appreciate receiving your answers to the hearing questions
below by 5:00 P.M. on November I, 2017:
1. Please provide a detailed description of the procedures VA has
in place to protect veterans who receive pension with Aid and
Attendance benefits from fraud and abuse.
2. Please provide a detailed list of the federal and state agencies
VA is currently working with to protect the following vulnerable
veteran populations from fraud and abuse:
a. Veterans who are age 65 and older.
b. Veterans with a VA appointed fiduciary.
c. Veterans receiving pension with Aid and Attendance benefits.
d. For each agency listed, please include a detailed description of
how VA is currently working with that agency, disaggregated by
population, to protect such vulnerable veterans from fraud and abuse.
3. In cases where a veteran does not respond to the initial demand
and notification letter sent by the DMC, please provide a detailed
description of the additional steps VA takes to ensure that the veteran
is aware that the overpayment has been created.
4. Does VA have plans to improve the timeliness of the Department's
response to veterans who request additional information regarding the
reason the alleged overpayment was created?
a. If yes, please provide a detailed description of the plan.
b. If no, why not?
5. Is VA planning to improve the content of its demand and
notification letters to ensure that veterans understand the underlying
reasons for the creation of an alleged overpayment?
a. If yes, please provide a detailed description of the plan.
b. If no, why not?
In an effort to reduce printing costs, the Committee on Veterans'
Affairs, in cooperation with the Joint Committee on Printing, would
appreciate your answer provided consecutively and single-spaced. In
addition, please restate the question in its entirety before the
answer.
Due to the delay in receiving mail, please provide your response to
Maria Tripplaar, Staff Director and Counsel ofthe Subcommittee on
Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, at Maria
[email protected]. Please also send a courtesy copy to Ms.
Alissa Strawcutter at [email protected]. Ifyou have any
questions, please call Ms. Tripplaar at (202) 225-9164.
Sincerely,
Mike Bost
Chairman
Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs
cc: The Honorable Elizabeth H. Esty, Ranking Member, Subcommittee
on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs
MB/ks
VA RESPONSE TO LETTER FROM BOST
Chairman Mike Bost
1. Please provide a detailed description of the procedures VA has
in place to protect veterans who receive pension with Aid and
Attendance benefits from fraud and abuse.
VA Response: VA agrees that Veteran pension claimants and
beneficiaries should be protected from dishonest, predatory, or
otherwise unlawful practices. VA has begun providing written
notification to Veterans pension beneficiaries of changes to their
personal information, such as address or banking information. Also, if
a Veteran's medical condition indicates that there may be a mental,
cognitive, or physical disability, which would limit the Veteran's
ability to manage their VA funds, VA initiates the process to include
the Veteran in its Fiduciary Program. The Fiduciary Program was
established to protect Veterans who, due to injury, disease, or due to
age, are unable to manage their funds. Additionally, VA claims
adjudicators may recommend that information be forwarded to the VA
Office of the Inspector General (OIG), if they receive an indication of
fraud or abuse.
VA works closely with Veterans Service Organizations (VSO) and
other stakeholder organizations to ensure their employees and members
understand predatory practices and share this information with
Veterans.
Additionally, the VA Office of the General Counsel (OGC)
administers an accreditation program for individuals and organizations
that represent claimants before VA and has authority to grant, suspend,
or revoke accreditation. If it is believed that a VA-accredited
attorney, agent, or VSO representative has acted in an illegal or
unethical manner, a complaint can be filed with VA. OGC is authorized
to investigate complaints and remove an attorney, agent, or VSO
representative's VA accreditation, when appropriate. However, VA does
not have authority to regulate activities of individuals and entities
involving the marketing of financial products and legal instruments.
OGC may refer matters to other appropriate State and Federal law
enforcement authorities.
Finally, VA published proposed rulemaking in January 2015 (2900-
AO73, Net Worth, Asset Transfers, and Income Exclusions for Needs-Based
Benefits) as a means to protect Veterans and survivors from potential
predatory practices by establishing a look back and penalty period for
pension. Currently, the final rule is pending final concurrence within
VA. This rule will reduce opportunities for certain organizations such
as financial attorneys and advisors to take advantage of pension
claimants and preserve the integrity of the pension program. The
revised rules restrict financial advisors' ability to restructure
assets that, in many cases, render the claimant ineligible for the
other needs-based benefits. Barring any unforeseen impediments, it is
anticipated that this rule will be finalized by the end of FY 2018.
2. Please provide a detailed list of the federal and state agencies
VA is currently working with to protect:
a. Veterans who are age 65 and older.
b. Veterans with a VA appointed fiduciary.
c. Veterans receiving pension with Aid and Attendance benefits.
d. For each agency listed, please include a detailed description of
how VA is currently working with that agency, disaggregated by
population, to protect such vulnerable veterans from fraud and abuse.
VA Response: Veterans who are age 65 and older and Veterans
receiving pension with Aid and Attendance benefits. VA has consulted
with the Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau regarding the unscrupulous practices of individuals and entities
that advise pension claimants that they can use the program as an
estate planning tool, and has shared its outreach products with those
agencies. As noted above, VA also works closely with VSOs to ensure
that their employees and members are fully aware of the potential for
predatory practices.
Additionally, VA works with relevant Federal agencies, States, and
other experts to leverage the expertise necessary to further regulate
the financial services or legal instruments industries and protect
against unlawful practices. Relevant expertise or experience can be
found in the Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission,
State Attorney General Offices, and various other State agencies that
are charged with protecting consumers or monitoring the activities of
specific industries or professions. VA welcomes the opportunity to work
with these agencies and share information about common predatory
practices involving VA benefits, particularly VA pension, to help
identify and enforce existing standards and to develop additional
standards where appropriate. Furthermore, these agencies may already
have authority to address the problem that is the subject of H.R. 3122.
Veterans with a VA appointed fiduciary. The fiduciary program
coordinates with Adult Protective Services and Social Security
Administration State and Federal agencies before, during, and after a
fiduciary appointment. During the fiduciary appointment process, field
examiners determine the well-being of beneficiaries that have been
rated incompetent to manage their VA benefits due to injury, disease,
advanced age, or being a minor. If a field examiner suspects abuse,
neglect, or exploitation of a beneficiary, they contact the appropriate
local adult protective services agency. VA also coordinates with state
family and probate courts for appointment and annual financial
reporting when a beneficiary has been given a guardian or conservator
by that state court.
When a beneficiary or third party suspects that a beneficiary's
funds are being misused, VA contacts State and Federal agencies, when
appropriate, during the misuse investigation. For example, VA refers
any case to the Social Security Administration when a VA fiduciary
misuses funds and the fiduciary is also the representative payee for
Social Security benefits, or when the fiduciary serves multiple
beneficiaries. VA also reports misuse of federal civil retirement
benefits to the Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector
General, and reports misuse of military retired pay or military
survivor benefits to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service.
Additionally, VA coordinates its investigations, when appropriate, with
the Department of Justice on the Elderly Justice Initiative, National
Center for Victims of Crime, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Federal
Bureau of Investigation, as well as over 770 State agencies.
3. In cases where a veteran does not respond to the initial demand
and notification letter sent by the DMC, please provide a detailed
description of the additional steps VA takes to ensure that the veteran
is aware that the overpayment has been created.
VA Response: The Debt Management Center (DMC) undertook numerous
risk mitigation strategies in fiscal year (FY) 2017 to enhance Veteran
awareness of overpayment debts and implemented new processes to limit
potential negative effects of Veteran benefit offset. First, DMC
revised its notification letters to provide a plain language read while
including necessary due process notification. Secondly, the Secretary
approved an Extended Repayment Period on Veteran Benefits (up to 5
years) without validation of financial hardship in cases where delays
in processing could or have exacerbated a Veteran's financial
situation. In the case of collection, DMC proceeds along two avenues,
which are determined by whether a Veteran has disability compensation
benefits to offset.
Benefits to Offset: DMC provides a notice of indebtedness letter,
which notifies the debtor of their debt and provides them 60 days to
respond before an offset will begin. In FY 2017, DMC underwent
programming changes to install an automatic 12-month repayment plan
into the Compensation and Pension accounts receivable information
technology system. This upgrade was launched in July 2017 and provides
a grace period to repay debts over 12 months. Prior to this upgrade,
DMC offset the entire benefit amount until the debt was paid in full or
DMC would offset the necessary amount to pay off the debt if the whole
was not needed. In this situation, Veterans who are unaware of their
debt are exposed to less risk as now only 1/12th of their benefit will
be offset each month. In these cases, the Veteran will normally proceed
with contacting DMC to further work out payment arrangements, request a
waiver, dispute and or provide a compromise offer.
No Benefits to Offset: DMC provides up to five letters within a 120
window notifying debtors of their debts before being required to refer
their debt to the Department of the Treasury for collection. During
this timeframe, a debtor must contact DMC to either dispute, request a
waiver, enter a payment plan or provide a compromise offer. If a debtor
is referred to Treasury, they can still dispute or request a waiver but
must make payment arrangements with Treasury.
4. Does VA have plans to improve the timeliness of the Department's
response to veterans who request additional information regarding the
reason the alleged overpayment was created?
a. If yes, please provide a detailed description of the plan.
b. If no, why not?
VA Response: Yes, DMC provides Veteran and beneficiary responses in
collaboration with the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA). The
Minneapolis/St. Paul regional office (RO) works with Veterans to
acquire correct information before the debt is established. Once
established, Veterans can work with both DMC and/or the RO to acquire
additional information, which could include an audit or detailed
explanation of the overpayment. DMC grew its staff by 21 percent over
the past two FYs and will add an additional 22 debt counselors in FY
2018 to increase our responsiveness to debtor inquiries. DMC does not
create the debt yet DMC trains its personnel to answer these inquiries.
If DMC finds a debt to be created in error, DMC will suspend collection
on the debt and notify the appropriate RO for action.
5. Is VA planning to improve the content of its demand and
notification letters to ensure that veterans understand the underlying
reasons for the creation of an alleged overpayment?
a. If yes, please provide a detailed description of the plan.
b. If no, why not?
VA Response: Yes, DMC partnered with VBA and the Veterans
Experience Office to improve our debt notification letters. The new
letters are worded more compassionately to ensure a better Veteran
experience.