Veteran Fraud Reimbursement Act of 2025
Floor Speech
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Mr. BERGMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1912) to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the repayment by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of benefits misused by a fiduciary, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 1912
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Veteran Fraud Reimbursement Act of 2025''. SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT TO REPAYMENT BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OF CERTAIN MISUSED BENEFITS.
Section 6107 of title 38, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: ``Sec. 6107. Reissuance of benefits
``(a) Reissuance of Misused Benefits.--(1) In any case in which a fiduciary misuses all or part of an individual's benefit paid to such fiduciary, the Secretary shall pay to the beneficiary or the beneficiary's successor fiduciary an amount equal to the amount of such benefit so misused.
``(2) In any case in which the Secretary reissues a benefit payment (in whole or in part) under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall make a good faith effort to obtain recoupment from the fiduciary to whom the payment was originally made.
``(3) In any case in which the Secretary obtains recoupment from a fiduciary who has misused benefits, the Secretary shall promptly remit payment of the recouped amounts to the beneficiary or the beneficiary's successor fiduciary, as the case may be, to the extent that such amounts have not been paid under paragraph (1).
``(b) Reissuance of Amounts in the Case of a Deceased Beneficiary.--(1) If a beneficiary described in subsection (a)(1) predeceases a payment under such subsection, the Secretary shall pay such amount, subject to paragraph (2), to an individual or entity in accordance with section 5121 of this title.
``(2) The Secretary may not make a payment under this subsection to a fiduciary who misused benefits of the beneficiary.
``(c) Limitation on Total Amount Paid.--The total of the amounts paid to a beneficiary or the beneficiary's successor fiduciary under this section may not exceed the total benefit amount misused by the fiduciary with respect to that beneficiary.
``(d) Oversight of Negligence.--(1) The Secretary shall establish methods and timing with respect to determining whether an instance of misuse by a fiduciary, of all or part of an individual's benefit paid to such fiduciary, is the result of negligence by the Secretary.
``(2) The Secretary may not withhold the reissuing of a benefit payment under subsection (a)(1) by reason of a pending determination under paragraph (1).
``(3) The Secretary is not required to make a determination under paragraph (1) for each instance of misuse by a fiduciary, of all or part of an individual's benefit paid to such fiduciary.''
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Mr. BERGMAN. 1912.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1912 introduced by my colleague from Virginia (Mr. Connolly). My prayers are with him and his family as he once again battles cancer.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the leadership teams, especially Leader Scalise and his staff, for agreeing to move this bill forward in his absence.
Representative Connolly's bill would ensure that the VA's fiduciary program is improved so that our Nation's most vulnerable veterans receive the benefits that they have earned. Let me say that again: our most vulnerable veterans.
The VA appoints fiduciaries for veterans who are unable to manage their VA financial benefits. These fiduciaries are required to use a veteran's VA benefits for the veteran's care and welfare. The VA periodically reviews fiduciary activities to ensure that fiduciaries are not misusing a veteran's VA benefits.
When a fiduciary misuses a veteran's benefit, current law does not allow the veteran to be made financially whole until after the VA determines whether the misuse was the result of VA negligence.
These determinations of negligence amount to bureaucratic red tape that have caused long delays before veterans could recoup their misused benefits. Some veterans have passed away before their misused benefits are returned.
We must ensure that the VA's fiduciary program is streamlined. This bill would get rid of red tape preventing victims of misuse from promptly recouping their VA benefits. It would prohibit the VA from withholding repayment of misused benefits while the VA is still working on a negligence determination.
It would also require the VA to implement methods to ensure that negligence determinations are made in a timely manner. Veterans deserve to have access to their benefits without bureaucratic hurdles and unnecessary delays.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 1912, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. BERGMAN. Mr. Speaker, once again, I encourage all Members to support this legislation and send our colleague, Mr. Connolly, our best wishes and prayers.
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