H.R. 5948 (112th): Veterans Fiduciary Reform and Honoring Noble Service Act

Introduced:
Jun 12, 2012 (112th Congress, 2011–2013)
Sponsor:
Rep. Bill Johnson [R-OH6]
Status:
Died (Passed House)

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

(About Ads | Go Ad-Free for $5)
Status

This bill was introduced in a previous session of Congress and was passed by the House on September 19, 2012 but was never passed by the Senate.

Progress
Introduced Jun 12, 2012
Referred to Committee Jun 12, 2012
Reported by Committee Jul 11, 2012
Passed House Sep 19, 2012
Cosponsors
9 cosponsors (7R, 2D) (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 improve the supervision of fiduciaries of veterans under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to establish a Place of Remembrance at Arlington National Cemetery, and for other purposes.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated Sep 20, 2012.
40 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

GovTrack gets most information from THOMAS, which is updated generally one day after events occur. Activity since the last update may not be reflected here.

Citation

Click a format for a citation suggestion:

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.

9/19/2012.
Section 2 -
Provides that, when in the opinion of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) a temporary fiduciary is needed to protect the benefits of a VA beneficiary while a determination of incompetency is being made or appealed or a fiduciary is appealing a determination of misuse, the Secretary may appoint one or more temporary fiduciaries for up to 120 days.
Requires the Secretary to provide a written statement to a beneficiary determined by the Secretary to be mentally incompetent for purposes of appointing a fiduciary.
Allows the beneficiary to appeal such determination.
Allows a beneficiary for whom the Secretary appoints a fiduciary to, at any time, request the Secretary to remove such fiduciary and appoint a new one.
Requires the Secretary to comply with any such request made in good faith.
Prohibits any such removal or new appointment from delaying or interrupting the beneficiary's receipt of benefits.
Requires a appointed fiduciary appointed by the Secretary to act independently of the VA and in the interest of the beneficiary.
Provides for the predesignation of a fiduciary.
Provides that, if a beneficiary does not designate a fiduciary, the Secretary shall appoint, to the extent possible, a fiduciary who is:
(1) a relative,
(2) a guardian, or
(3) authorized to act on their behalf under a durable power of attorney.
Provides for:
(1) fiduciary commissions when necessary; and
(2) the temporary payment of benefits to a person having custody and control of an incompetent or minor beneficiary, to be used solely for the benefit of the beneficiary.
Directs the Secretary to maintain a list of state and local agencies and nonprofit social service agencies that are qualified to act as a fiduciary.
Requires any certification of a fiduciary to be made on the basis of an inquiry or investigation of his or her fitness and qualifications.
Requires the investigation to include a face-to-face interview and a background check.
Allows a person convicted of a federal or state offense to serve as a fiduciary only when the Secretary finds such person to be appropriate under the circumstances.
Requires each fiduciary to disclose the number of beneficiaries that the fiduciary acts on behalf of.
Requires the Secretary to:
(1) maintain records of any person who has previously served as a fiduciary and had such status revoked, and
(2) notify the beneficiary within 14 days after learning that the fiduciary has been convicted of a crime.
Directs the Secretary, upon reason to believe that a fiduciary may be misusing all or part of a beneficiary benefit, to:
(1) conduct a thorough investigation, and
(2) report results to the Attorney General and the head of each federal department or agency that pays a beneficiary benefit to such fiduciary.
Requires each Veterans Benefits Administration regional office to maintain specified fiduciary information.
Requires (under current law, permits) a fiduciary to file an annual accounting of the administration of beneficiary benefits.
Requires the Secretary to conduct annual random audits of fiduciaries who receive a commission for such service.
Requires fiduciary repayment of misused benefits.
Requires a report from the Secretary to the congressional veterans committees on the implementation of this section.
Section 3 -
Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to establish at Arlington National Cemetery (Virginia) a Place of Remembrance for the interment of the unidentified remains of members of the Armed Forces who died while on active duty in a war or contingency operation, or in the line of duty.
Section 4 -
Directs the Secretary to furnish an appropriate casket or urn for the burial in a national cemetery of a deceased veteran with no known next of kin.
Section 5 -
Requires the Secretary, in the case of a deceased veteran with no apparent next of kin and without sufficient resources to cover funeral and burial expenses, to ensure that the entity responsible for transporting the body to a national cemetery for burial notifies the VA as to whether such veteran was cremated and steps taken to ensure that such veteran has no next of kin.
Section 6 -
Directs the Secretary to report to the veterans committees on VA compliance with industry standards for caskets and urns.
Section 7 -
Excludes from interment or memorialization in a national cemetery any person convicted of a tier III sex offender offense and sentenced to a minimum of life imprisonment.
Section 8 -
Directs the Secretary, with respect to the interment, funeral, memorial service, or ceremony (service) of a deceased veteran at a national cemetery, to ensure that:
(1) the expressed wishes of the next of kin or other agent of such veteran are given deference when determining whether such service affects the safety and security of the cemetery and its visitors;
(2) all appropriate public cemetery areas may be used by the family for contemplation, prayer, mourning, or reflection; and
(3) during such service, the family may display any chosen religious or other symbols.
Section 9 -
Directs the Secretary to provide veterans' case-tracking information access to employees of a Member of Congress or of a state or local governmental agency who assist veterans with benefit claims. Directs the Secretary to ensure that such access does not: (1) allow the employee to modify the data in the case-tracking system, and (2) include access to medical records.
Section 10 -
Requires the Secretary, in the event of a data breach with respect to sensitive personal information that is processed or maintained by the Secretary, to notify Congress and each individual whose sensitive personal information is involved in the data breach.
Directs the Secretary to make such notifications within:
(1) 10 business days, or
(2) 15 business days upon determining that providing the earlier notification is not feasible due to circumstances necessary to accurately identify the individuals whose sensitive personal information is involved or to prevent further breach or unauthorized disclosure and reasonably restore the integrity of the data system.
Requires such notification, in writing or by email or other electronic means, to include:
(1) a description of the sensitive personal information involved,
(2) a telephone number that the individual may use to contact the VA,
(3) notice that the individual is entitled to receive certain credit protection services at no cost,
(4) the toll-free contact telephone numbers and addresses for the major credit reporting agencies, and
(5) a toll-free telephone number and website address to obtain identity theft information.
Directs the Secretary to notify the general public concerning any data breach involving sensitive personal information within 10 business days or as soon as possible under the infeasibility exception, above.
Section 11 -
Directs the Secretary to ensure that no VA employee who violates any federal civil law or regulation covered by the Federal Acquisition Regulation, or any internal VA policy, receives any retention incentive, payment, or award for or during the year of such violation.
Section 12 -
Places a specified limit, for each of FY2013-FY2017, on the total amount of awards and bonuses for VA employees.

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/112/2/hr5948.

Background

Following the mark-up of the legislation, the bill’s sponsor stated: “This critical legislation is an important step forward to protecting America's veterans from abuses in the VA fiduciary system," Johnson said. "Our investigations showed that VA's current fiduciary system leaves many veterans vulnerable to financial risk.  We performed our chief function as the oversight body for VA, found the flaws and put forth common sense legislation to tackle this very serious problem.”

Summary

H.R. 5948 would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to overhaul Chapter 55 of Title 38, which governs VA’s fiduciary process, to include stricter background checks on potential fiduciaries, decreased compensation for fiduciaries, and greater deference to fiduciary/Power of Attorney appointments made outside of Title 38. 

The bill would also establish a Place of Remembrance at Arlington National Cemetery, furnish caskets and urns for deceased veterans with no next of kin, improve communication with VA officials and funeral directors.

The bill would also exclude persons convicted of certain sex offenses from burial at VA National Cemeteries and Arlington National Cemetery, and would provide freedom of conscience protection for veterans funerals

The bill would also extend the authority of the Veterans Benefits Administration to use contract medical examiners, would provide access to case tracking information to certain government employees, and would allow for notifying the Secretary of VA of individuals whose sensitive personal information involved a data breach.

Lastly, the bill would establish a limitation on bonuses for certain VA employees, and would include a sense of Congress regarding the Patriot Guard Riders and Korean War Veterans.

Cost

There was no Congressional Budget Office (CBO) cost estimate available for this legislation.

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.)

Other Citations

  • 10 U.S.C. Chapter 446
  • 38 U.S.C. Chapter 24
  • 38 U.S.C. Chapter 55
  • 38 U.S.C. Chapter 57
  • 38 U.S.C. Chapter 59
  • 38 U.S.C. Chapter 7