[Pages H806-H808]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

REPRESENTATIVE PAYEE FRAUD PREVENTION ACT OF 2019

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend
the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5214) to amend title 5, United States
Code, to prevent fraud by representative payees.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:

H.R. 5214

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Representative Payee Fraud
Prevention Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. REPRESENTATIVE PAYEE FRAUD.

(a) Definitions.--
(1) CSRS.--Section 8331 of title 5, United States Code, is
amended--
(A) in paragraph (31), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) in paragraph (32), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and

[[Page H807]]

(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(33) `representative payee' means a person (including an
organization) designated under section 8345(e)(1) to receive
payments on behalf of a minor or an individual mentally
incompetent or under other legal disability.''.
(2) FERS.--Section 8401 of title 5, United States Code, is
amended--
(A) in paragraph (37), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) in paragraph (38), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(39) `representative payee' means a person (including an
organization) designated under section 8466(c)(1) to receive
payments on behalf of a minor or an individual mentally
incompetent or under other legal disability.''.
(b) Embezzlement or Conversion.--
(1) CSRS.--Subchapter III of chapter 83 of title 5, United
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 8345 the
following:

``Sec. 8345a. Embezzlement or conversion of payments

``(a) Embezzling and Conversion Generally.--
``(1) In general.--It shall be unlawful for a
representative payee to embezzle or in any manner convert all
or any part of the amounts received from payments received as
a representative payee to a use other than for the use and
benefit of the minor or individual on whose behalf such
payments were received.
``(2) Revocation.--If the Office determines that a
representative payee has embezzled or converted payments as
described in paragraph (1), the Office shall promptly--
``(A) revoke the certification for payment of benefits to
the representative payee; and
``(B) certify payment--
``(i) to another representative payee; or
``(ii) if the interest of the individual under this title
would be served thereby, to the individual.
``(b) Penalty.--Any person who violates subsection (a)(1)
shall be fined under title 18, imprisoned for not more than 5
years, or both.''.
(2) FERS.--Subchapter VI of chapter 84 of title 5, United
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 8466 the
following:

``Sec. 8466a. Embezzlement or conversion of payments

``(a) Embezzling and Conversion Generally.--
``(1) In general.--It shall be unlawful for a
representative payee to embezzle or in any manner convert all
or any part of the amounts received from payments received as
a representative payee to a use other than for the use and
benefit of the minor or individual on whose behalf such
payments were received.
``(2) Revocation.--If the Office determines that a
representative payee has embezzled or converted payments as
described in paragraph (1), the Office shall promptly--
``(A) revoke the certification for payment of benefits to
the representative payee; and
``(B) certify payment--
``(i) to another representative payee; or
``(ii) if the interest of the individual under this title
would be served thereby, to the individual.
``(b) Penalty.--Any person who violates subsection (a)(1)
shall be fined under title 18, imprisoned for not more than 5
years, or both.''.
(3) Technical and conforming amendments.--
(A) The table of sections for chapter 83 of title 5, United
States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating
to section 8345 the following:
``8345a. Embezzlement or conversion of payments.''.

(B) The table of sections for chapter 84 of title 5, United
States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating
to section 8466 the following:
``8466a. Embezzlement or conversion of payments.''.

(c) Deferral of Payment Pending Appointment of
Representative Payee.--
(1) CSRS.--Section 8345(e) of title 5, United States Code,
is amended--
(A) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(e)'';
(B) in the first sentence, by inserting ``(including an
organization)'' after ``person'';
(C) in the second sentence--
(i) by inserting ``(including an organization)'' after
``any person''; and
(ii) by inserting ``and may appropriately receive such
payments on behalf of the claimant'' after ``claimant'' the
second place it appears; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) If the Office determines that direct payment of a
benefit to an individual mentally incompetent or under other
legal disability would cause substantial harm to the
individual, the Office may defer or suspend direct payment of
the benefit until such time as the appointment of a
representative payee is made. The Office shall resume payment
as soon as practicable, including all amounts due.''.
(2) FERS.--Section 8466(c) of title 5, United States Code,
is amended--
(A) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(c)'';
(B) in the first sentence, by inserting ``(including an
organization)'' after ``person'';
(C) in the second sentence--
(i) by inserting ``(including an organization)'' after
``any person''; and
(ii) by inserting ``and may appropriately receive such
payments on behalf of the claimant'' after ``claimant'' the
second place it appears; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) If the Office determines that direct payment of a
benefit to an individual mentally incompetent or under other
legal disability would cause substantial harm to the
individual, the Office may defer or suspend direct payment of
the benefit until such time as the appointment of a
representative payee is made. The Office shall resume payment
as soon as practicable, including all amounts due.''.
(d) Limitations on Appointments of Representative Payees.--
(1) CSRS.--Section 8345 of title 5, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after subsection (e) the following:
``(f) The Office may not authorize a person to receive
payments on behalf of a minor or individual of legal
disability under subsection (e) if that person has been
convicted of a violation of--
``(1) section 8345a or 8466a;
``(2) section 208 or 1632 of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 408, 1383a); or
``(3) section 6101 of title 38.''.
(2) FERS.--Section 8466 of title 5, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(d) The Office may not authorize a person to receive
payments on behalf of a minor or individual of legal
disability under subsection (c) if that person has been
convicted of a violation of--
``(1) section 8345a or 8466a;
``(2) section 208 or 1632 of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 408, 1383a); or
``(3) section 6101 of title 38.''.

SEC. 3. IMPLEMENTATION.

(a) Authorization of Payments.--Section 8348(a)(1)(B) of
title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting ``in
administering fraud prevention under sections 8345, 8345a,
8466, and 8466a of this title,'' after ``8465(b) of this
title,''.
(b) Regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Office of Personnel Management--
(1) shall promulgate regulations to carry out the
amendments made by section 2; and
(2) may promulgate additional regulations relating to the
administration of the representative payee program.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

The amendments made by section 2--
(1) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this
Act; and
(2) apply on and after the effective date of the
regulations promulgated under section 3(b)(1).

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney) and the gentleman from North
Carolina (Mr. Meadows) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York.

General Leave

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous
consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise
and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure
before us.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman?
There was no objection.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such
time as I may consume.
The Representative Payee Fraud Prevention Act is a commonsense
bipartisan bill that would protect recipients of Federal pensions from
unscrupulous representatives who use the money for their own benefit
instead of the retirees'. Currently, representative payees can receive
pension benefits on behalf of a recipient who is a minor, is designated
mentally incompetent, or has another disability.
Embezzlement or conversion of Social Security and veterans benefits
by a representative payee is a Federal felony. However, there is no
Federal penalty in current law for representative payees who embezzle
or convert Federal retirement benefits to their own use.
The Representative Payee Fraud Prevention Act would close this
loophole and apply the same penalties to those representative payees
who misuse Federal pension benefits. We must ensure that those who have
spent their careers in public service receive the benefits they have
earned.
I want to thank my friend and colleague, Representative Tlaib, for
her hard work, along with Representative Meadows. It is a bipartisan
effort on this important issue.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense
measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5214, the Representative Payee
Fraud Prevention Act.
Federal employees often dedicate decades of their lives to public
service.

[[Page H808]]

When they retire, those Federal employees receive their hard-earned
retirement benefits. Currently, the Federal Government issues payments
to more than 2 million retirees and more than half a million survivor
annuitants each year. Annuitants receive an average of $2,500 a month.
If a Federal annuitant becomes incapacitated in some way, a
representative payee may be appointed. A representative payee is a
person who receives and manages benefits on behalf of another person
who is not fully capable of managing their own benefits. Certainly,
things like mental illness, disability, or long-term illness are just a
few examples of situations where a payee may step in and provide that
counsel.
Obviously, as we look at this, a representative payee has a duty to
use financial benefits to assist with the care and well-being of the
intended beneficiary. Surprisingly, though, it is not a crime for a
representative payee to commit financial fraud against an incapacitated
Federal retiree. However, under the Social Security Act, it is a crime
to do so.
I have always assumed that this type of financial abuse of retired
Federal employees was also a crime. But right now, under Federal law,
it is not.
As the chairwoman from New York mentioned, this is a commonsense
piece of legislation. I would like to thank my colleague, Ms. Tlaib,
for her leadership on this.
This bill will make it a crime to embezzle Federal retirement
benefits as a representative payee. If convicted, the representative
payee could be subject to criminal fines and up to 5 years in prison.
Obviously, this is a protection for our Federal workforce.
Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this particular piece of legislation,
and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time
as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Tlaib).
Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking Congressman
Meadows for partnering with me on the bill, as well as our Chairwoman
Maloney and her incredibly strong and talented staff for their
leadership and for the continued support of the work that we have to do
on behalf of our residents at home.
I also want to thank our forever chairman, the late Chairman
Cummings, who is looking down on us from above, for his mentorship and
for working with us on this bill that would help some of our most
vulnerable retirees.
We all know that no one deserves to be scammed out of their money,
but that is especially true for our retirees. This bill, the
Representative Payee Fraud Prevention Act, is a bipartisan effort to
protect those retirees who are recipients of Federal benefits.
Retirees who have been declared mentally incompetent or have another
qualifying disability can have their monthly benefits paid on their
behalf through a representative, frequently referred to as the
representative payee. In recent years, what we have seen in our country
is there has been a sharp increase in the number of representative
payees who have taken advantage of their position and committed fraud,
hurting many of our residents.
We need to hold them accountable, and this bill does that. The bill
would expand protection to over 2 million workers all across the United
States.
In my home State of Michigan, there are nearly 40,000 Federal
retirees who are currently unprotected from this crime, impacting their
quality of life. They are supposed to be living in peace during their
retirement years. They are becoming targets instead, and we need to
push back together, in a bipartisan way.
I hear firsthand from our senior residents about their concerns, from
feeling neglected in the assisted living facilities to unaffordable
drug prices, and I want to ensure that our older Americans have one
less worry about financial predators who will misuse their hard-earned
money.

For far too long, this lack of Federal protection has left some of
our, again, most vulnerable civil servants without legal recourse when
they are taken advantage of and their retirement funds are misused. We
must ensure that the most impacted communities are protected on every
front.
That is what this legislation will do. It will prevent those who have
committed representative payee fraud from serving as representative
payees in the future and hold them accountable to their victims.
Let's really ensure that our public servants and our civil servants
who have dedicated their lives to serving our country are protected
against this fraud.
Again, I want to thank my beloved Chairman Cummings for coming to
myself and my colleague, Congressman Meadows. When he did, we couldn't
say no to him, so we worked together in trying to resolve this issue
for so many folks, again, 2 million Federal employees across the
country who need this protection.
Mr. Speaker, I really do urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I certainly would rise in support of this
legislation. I thank the gentlewoman from Michigan for her kind words.
Ms. Tlaib has been leading on this.
The gentlewoman is right. Chairman Cummings had an infectious way of
bringing people together, and I rise in support of this legislation as
a tribute to his leadership and to her leadership.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of
H.R. 5214. I thank Elijah Cummings for his hard work on this bill, too,
and my colleagues, Mr. Meadows and Ms. Tlaib, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5214.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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