H.R. 5993 (111th): SAVINGS Act of 2010

Introduced:
Jul 30, 2010 (111th Congress, 2009–2010)
Sponsor:
Rep. Deborah Halvorson [D-IL11]
Status:
Died (Passed House)

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.

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Status

This bill was introduced in a previous session of Congress and was passed by the House on September 29, 2010 but was never passed by the Senate.

Progress
Introduced Jul 30, 2010
Referred to Committee Jul 30, 2010
Reported by Committee Sep 15, 2010
Passed House Sep 29, 2010
Votes

House Vote on Passage
Sep 29, 2010 3:54 p.m.
Passed 358/66

Cosponsors
8 cosponsors (8D) (show)
Committees

House Veterans' Affairs

Senate Veterans' Affairs

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

To amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure that beneficiaries of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance receive financial counseling and disclosure information regarding life insurance payments, and for other purposes.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated Sep 29, 2010.
5 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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Citation

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

We don’t have a summary available yet.

Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

9/29/2010--Passed House amended.
Securing America's Veterans Insurance Needs and Goals Act of 2010 or SAVINGS Act of 2010 - Requires a life insurance company, in order to provide life insurance for veterans under the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance program, to:
(1) provide financial counseling to the beneficiary or other person entitled to payment upon the establishment of a valid claim; and
(2) include full disclosure with respect to such payment, including specified information with respect to interest payable and the various methods of receiving payment(s).
Prohibits a company from charging fees to a payee for maintaining such payment with the company.
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to include in each annual performance and accountability report submitted to Congress information concerning individuals receiving the counseling and disclosures required under this Act. Requires:
(1) the Director of the VA's Office of Survivor Assistance to attend each meeting of the Advisory Council on Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance; and
(2) the Secretary to ensure that such Office has the necessary personnel to provide information on the receipt of such counseling.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

This summary can be found at http://www.gop.gov/bill/111/2/hr5993.

Background

This bill would make technical and clarifying corrections to Section 1966 of title 38, United States Code.  The bill would require life insurance companies to provide both oral and written financial counseling to beneficiaries or other persons otherwise entitled to payment under Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI).  According to the bill, full disclosure requirements would include the following:

(i) a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of maintaining such payment with the life insurance company and maintaining such payment with a financial institution;

(ii) a comparison of the rate of interest bearing to such payment if the payment is maintained with the life insurance company and if the payment is maintained with a financial institution;

(iii) an explanation of whether maintaining such payment with the life insurance company results in the payment not being insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; and

(iv) other relevant information.

Some members may be concerned that this bill does not address the VA’s use of “retained asset accounts” as a method of payment authorized by current law. 

Summary

H.R. 5993 would attempt to ensure that beneficiaries of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance receive financial counseling and disclosure information regarding life insurance payments, and for other purposes.

Cost

CBO estimates that implementing the bill would have no net budgetary impact.  H.R. 5993 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.

So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.

We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.

The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

United States Code

The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)