,,ib  ,union ,calendar ,no4 #bic  #aaeth
 ,,congress  #ast ,session  ,h4 ,r4     
#cgje  ,report ,no4 #aae-cig  ,,in ,,the
 ,,house ,,of ,,representatives         
,september #g1 #bjag ,ms4 ,pingree      
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on          
,veterans' ,affairs  ,november #g1      
#bjag;,additional sponsors3 ,ms4 ,kuster
 of ,new ,hampshire and ,mr4 ,young of  
,iowa  ,november #g1 #bjag ,reported    
with an amendment1 committed to the     
,committee of the ,whole ,house on the  
,state of the ,union1 and ordered to be 
printed ,strike out all after the       
enacting clause and insert the part     
printed in italic ,for text of          
introduced bill1 see copy of bill as    
introduced on ,september #g1 #bjag  ,a  
,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of    
,veterans ,affairs to require the use of
 certified mail and plain language in   
certain debt collection activities4  #a4
 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,veterans ,fair ,debt ,notice ,act 

of #bjag4  #b4 ,department of ,veterans 
,affairs notice relating to debt        
collection activities  7a7 ,debt        
notification letters ,the ,secretary of 
,veterans ,affairs shall collaborate    
with veterans service organizations to  
write a standard letter to be provided  
to individuals who the ,secretary       
determines owe debts to the ,department 
of ,veterans ,affairs4 ,such letter     
shall be written in plain language and  
shall include a notice of the debt and a
 clear explanation of--  7#a7 why the   
individual owes money to the ,department
 of ,veterans ,affairs2 and  7#b7 the   
options available to the individual4    
7b7 ,delivery of letters ,the ,secretary
 shall develop a method by which        
individuals may elect to receive debt   
notification letters by electronic means
 and shall ensure1 to the extent        
practicable1 that the letter developed  
under subsection 7a7 is delivered to    
intended recipients who have made such  
an election by both standard mail and by

 electronic means and to intended       
recipients who have not made such an    
election only by standard mail4  7c7    
,notice to ,congress  7#a7 ,notice of   
completion ,upon completion of the      
letter required under subsection 7a71   
the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress
 notice of the completion of the letter4
  7#b7 ,progress reports ,if the        
,secretary has not submitted the notice 
required by paragraph 7#a7 by the date  
that is #ij days after the date of the  
enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary  
shall--  7,a7 submit to ,congress a     
report describing the progress of the   
,secretary toward implementing          
subsection 7a7 and an explanation for   
why the letter has not been completed2  
and  7,b7 every #cj days thereafter     
until the submittal of the notice       
required by paragraph 7#a71 submit to   
,congress an update to the report under 
subparagraph 7,a7 that includes an      
additional explanation for the failure  
to complete the letter4  7d7 ,study2    

report  7#a7 ,study ,the ,secretary of  
,veterans ,affairs shall conduct a study
 on the process by which the ,department
 of ,veterans ,affairs notifies veterans
 of debt collection efforts4 ,such study
 shall include--  7,a7 an analysis of   
the scope of the problem of veterans not
 receiving debt collection notices2     
7,b7 a description of any               
non-legislative actions the ,secretary  
could take to reduce the number of      
incorrect or unknown addresses of       
veterans in the databases of the        
,department and a timeline for adopting 
such actions2 and  7,c7 an estimate of  
the costs associated with sending debt  
collection notices by certified mail4   
7#b7 ,report ,not later than #ab months 
after the date of the enactment of this 
,act1 the ,secretary shall submit to    
,congress a report on the study         
conducted under paragraph 7#a74         
,november #g1 #bjag ,reported with an   
amendment1 committed to the ,committee  
of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of   

the ,union1 and ordered to be printed