,,ii #aadth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #bcaf ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,november #ai1 #bjae ,mr4 ,blumenthal 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,moran1 and ,mr4 ,brown7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to amend title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 to expand the requirements for reissuance of veterans benefits in cases of misuse of benefits by certain fiduciaries to include misuse by all fiduciaries1 to improve oversight of fiduciaries1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,expansion of requirements for reissuance of veterans benefits in cases of misuse of benefits by certain fiduciaries to include misuse by all fiduciaries ,section #fajg of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking subsections 7a7 and 7b7 and inserting the following new subsection 7a73 7a7 ,reissuance of misused benefits 7#a7 ,in any case in which a fiduciary misuses all or part of an individual's benefit paid to such fiduciary1 the ,secretary shall pay to the beneficiary or the beneficiary's successor fiduciary an amount equal to the amount of such benefit so misused4 7#b7 ,in any case in which the ,secretary obtains recoupment from a fiduciary who has misused benefits1 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 reissued under paragraph 7#a74 2 7#b7 in subsection 7d71 by striking or 7b72 and 7#c7 by redesignating subsections 7c7 and 7d7 as subsections 7b7 and 7c71 respectively4 #b4 ,improved access to financial records for purposes of oversight by ,department of ,veterans ,affairs of fiduciaries ,section #eejb of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7f7 7#a7 ,the ,secretary shall require any person or entity appointed or recognized as a fiduciary for a ,department beneficiary under this section to provide authorization for the ,secretary to obtain 7subject to the cost reimbursement requirements of section #aaae7;a7 of the ,right to ,financial ,privacy ,act of #aigh 7#ab ,u4,s4,c4 #cdae7;a777 from any financial institution any financial record held by the institution with respect to the fiduciary or the beneficiary whenever the ,secretary determines that the financial record is necessary-- 7,a7 for the administration of a program administered by the ,secretary2 or 7,b7 in order to safeguard the beneficiary's benefits against neglect1 misappropriation1 misuse1 embezzlement1 or fraud4 7#b7 ,notwithstanding section #aajd7;a77#a7 of such ,act 7#ab ,u4,s4,c4 #cdjd7;a77#a771 an authorization provided by a fiduciary under paragraph 7#a7 with respect to a beneficiary shall be a one-time authorization that will remain in effect until the date that is two years after the date of the approval by a court or the ,secretary of a final accounting of payment of benefits under any law administered by the ,secretary to the fiduciary on behalf of such beneficiary4 7#c7 ,the authorization provided by the fiduciary under paragraph 7#a7 shall be a condition of appointment as a fiduciary4 7#d7 7,a7 ,an authorization obtained by the ,secretary pursuant to this subsection shall be considered to meet the requirements of the ,right to ,financial ,privacy ,act of #aigh 7#ab ,u4,s4,c4 #cdja et seq47 for purposes of section #aajc7;a7 of such ,act 7#ab ,u4,s4,c4 #cdjc7;a77 and need not be furnished by the fiduciary to the financial institution1 notwithstanding section #aajd7;a77#a7 of such ,act 7#ab ,u4,s4,c4 #cdjd7;a77#a771 if the ,secretary provides a copy of the authorization to the financial institution4 7,b7 ,the certification requirements of section #aajc7;b7 of such ,act 7#ab ,u4,s4,c4 #cdjc7;b77 shall not apply to requests by the ,secretary pursuant to an authorization provided under this subsection4 7,c7 ,a request for a financial record by the ,secretary pursuant to an authorization provided by a fiduciary under this subsection is deemed to meet the requirements of section #aajd7;a77#c7 of such ,act 7#ab ,u4,s4,c4 #cdjd7;a77#c77 and the matter in section #aajb of such ,act 7#ab ,u4,s4,c4 #cdjb7 that precedes paragraph 7#a7 of such section if such request identifies the fiduciary and the beneficiary concerned4 7,d7 ,the ,secretary shall inform any person or entity who provides authorization under this subsection of the duration and scope of the authorization4 7,e7 7i7 ,if a fiduciary of a ,department beneficiary refuses to provide or revokes any authorization to permit the ,secretary to obtain from any financial institution any financial record concerning benefits paid by the ,secretary for such beneficiary1 the ,secretary may1 on that basis1 revoke the appointment or the recognition of the fiduciary for such beneficiary and for any other ,department beneficiary for whom such fiduciary has been appointed or recognized4 7ii7 ,if an appointment or recognition of a fiduciary is revoked under clause 7i71 benefits may be paid as provided in subsection 7d74 7#e7 ,for purposes of section #aaac7;d7 of such ,act 7#ab ,u4,s4,c4 #cdac7;d771 a disclosure pursuant to this subsection shall be considered a disclosure pursuant to a ,federal statute4 7#f7 ,in this subsection3 7,a7 ,the term fiduciary includes any person or ,state or local governmental entity appointed or recognized to receive payment of benefits under any law administered by the ,secretary on behalf of a ,department beneficiary4 7,b7 ,the term financial institution has the meaning given such term in section #aaja of such ,act 7#ab ,u4,s4,c4 #cdja71 except that such term shall also include any benefit association1 insurance company1 safe deposit company1 money market mutual fund1 or similar entity authorized to do business in any ,state4 7,c7 ,the term financial record has the meaning given to such term in such section4 4