U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE), the main sponsor of the Veterans Fair Debt Notice Act of 2018, said last week that it’s time for Congress to tackle how the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) handles debt collection for the nation’s military veterans and to educate service members about potential debt.
“Many of our nation’s veterans and their families are accidentally overpaid by the VA, only to later find they owe money back. Our bill would help veterans navigate the complicated VA bureaucracy in these confusing cases, and take steps to address the issue of overpayments in the first place,” said Sen. Fischer in an Aug. 16 statement.
S. 2884, which she introduced in May, has eight cosponsors, including U.S. Sen. John Tester (D-MT), who signed on as an original cosponsor.
“This is a common-sense bill our veterans need, and it has support from both sides of the aisle,” Sen. Fischer pointed out.
S. 2884 is the U.S. Senate version of the same-named H.R. 3705, introduced last September by U.S. Reps. David Young (R-IA) and Chellie Pingree (D-ME).
The measure would require the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs “to develop a standard letter format to be provided to individuals who are indebted to the United States by virtue of their participation in benefits programs administered by the Secretary, to provide notice of debt by electronic means to such individuals when so elected,” among other purposes, according to text of the bill in the congressional record.
If enacted, the proposed legislation specifically would call on the VA to partner with veteran service organizations to create the new notice of indebtedness letter, which would explain why someone owes alleged debts, according to a statement from Sen. Fischer’s office. The letter also would outline steps a military veteran could take to challenge or reduce the debt, the statement says.
Additionally, the bill would direct the VA, and U.S. Treasury Department to report to Congress on the related administrative issues that cause VA overpayments, as well as suggested long-term solutions to ensure veterans receive useful, timely information on any debts owed.
The U.S. House on Nov. 8, 2017, amended and unanimously approved H.R. 3705 and the next day sent it to the Senate, where it is under consideration by the U.S. Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, which is reconciling the bill with S. 2884.
S. 2884 has garnered support from the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) organization because it “aims to improve VA’s debt notification process by mandating better explanations and more expedient notifications from VA,” said Michael Jackman, commander of DAV’s Nebraska office.
“We thank Senator Fischer and the bill’s bipartisan supporters for their attention to this critical matter for many of our nation’s veterans,” Jackman said.