,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bihh  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,december #e1  
#bjai,mr4 ,tester 7for himself1 ,ms4    
,collins1 ,mr4 ,casey1 and ,mr4 ,daines7
 introduced the following bill2 which   
was read twice and referred to the      
,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs  ,a   
,,bill  ,to address the financial       
exploitation of veterans receiving      
pension from the ,department of         
,veterans ,affairs1 and for other       
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,veteran ,pension   
,protection ,act of #bjai4  #b4 ,plan to
 address the financial exploitation of  
veterans receiving pension from the     
,department of ,veterans ,affairs  7a7  
,development of method for solicitation 
and collection of information ,not later
 than one year after the date of the    
enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary  
of ,veterans ,affairs shall develop a   
method for systematically soliciting and
 collecting information on complaints   

received1 referrals made1 and actions   
taken by the pension management centers 
of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs
 and any other relevant components of   
the ,department1 in cases of potential  
financial exploitation of individuals   
receiving pension under chapter #ae of  
title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code4  7b7  
,plan ,to assess and address financial  
exploitation of veterans  7#a7 ,in      
general ,the ,secretary shall develop   
and periodically update a plan-- 7,a7 to
 regularly assess the information       
solicited and collected under subsection
 7a7 to identify trends of potential    
financial exploitation of the           
individuals described in subsection 7a7 
across the ,department2 and  7,b7 to    
outline actions that the ,department can
 take to improve education and training 
to address those trends4  7#b7          
,submission of plan ,not later than one 
year after the date of the enactment of 
this ,act1 and not less frequently than 
once every two years thereafter1 the    

,secretary shall submit the plan most   
recently developed or updated under     
paragraph 7#a7 to--  7,a7 the           
,comptroller ,general of the ,united    
,states2 and  7,b7 the ,committee on    
,veterans' ,affairs and the ,special    
,committee on ,aging of the ,senate and 
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of
 the ,house of ,representatives4  #c4   
,overpayments of pension to veterans    
receiving pension from the ,department  
of ,veterans ,affairs  7a7 ,guidance and
 training for claims processors ,as the 
,secretary considers necessary1 but not 
less frequently than once every three   
years1 the ,under ,secretary for        
,benefits of the ,department of         
,veterans ,affairs shall update guidance
 and training curriculum for the        
processors of claims for pension under  
chapter #ae of title #ch1 ,united       
,states ,code1 regarding the evaluation 
of questionable medical expenses on     
applications for pension1 including by  
updating such guidance with respect to  

what constitutes a questionable medical 
expense and by including examples of    
such expenses4  7b7 ,identification and 
tracking ,the ,under ,secretary shall   
develop a method for identifying and    
tracking the number of individuals who  
have received overpayments of pension   
under chapter #ae of title #ch1 ,united 
,states ,code4  7c7 ,annual report ,not 
later than one year after the date of   
the enactment of this ,act1 and not     
later than ,october #ca of each fiscal  
year beginning thereafter1 the ,under   
,secretary shall submit to ,congress a  
report that includes1 for the period    
covered by the report--  7#a7 the number
 of individuals who received            
overpayments of pension under chapter   
#ae of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code2
 and  7#b7 the reason for each          
overpayment4  #d4 ,evaluation of        
additional actions for verifying direct 
deposit information provided by veterans
 on applications for veterans pension   
7a7 ,in general ,the ,under ,secretary  

for ,benefits of the ,department of     
,veterans ,affairs shall--  7#a7 conduct
 an evaluation of the feasibility and   
advisability of requiring the processors
 of claims for pension under chapter #ae
 of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 to
 take additional actions to verify that 
the direct deposit information provided 
by an individual on an application for  
pension is for the appropriate          
recipient2 and  7#b7 identify such      
legislative or administrative actions as
 the ,under ,secretary considers        
appropriate to ensure that payments of  
pension are provided to the correct     
recipients4  7b7 ,submission to         
,congress  7#a7 ,in general ,not later  
than #bdj days after the date of the    
enactment of this ,act1 the ,under      
,secretary shall submit to ,congress a  
report on the evaluation and            
identification under subsection 7a74    
7#b7 ,contents ,the report required by  
paragraph 7#a7 shall include the        
following3 7,a7 ,the findings of the    

,under ,secretary with respect to the   
evaluation conducted under subsection   
7a77#a74  7,b7 ,the actions identified  
under subsection 7a77#b74  7,c7 ,a plan 
for implementing any administrative     
actions identified under subsection     
7a77#b74  7,d7 ,a rationale for not     
implementing any actions evaluated under
 paragraph 7#a7 of subsection 7a7 but   
not identified under paragraph 7#b7 of  
such subsection4  #e4 ,annual report on 
efforts of ,department of ,veterans     
,affairs to address the financial       
exploitation of veterans receiving      
pension  7a7 ,in general ,not less      
frequently than once each year1 the     
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall  
submit to the ,committee on ,veterans'  
,affairs of the ,senate and the         
,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the
 ,house of ,representatives a report on 
efforts to address the financial        
exploitation of individuals receiving   
pension under chapter #ae of title #ch1 
,united ,states ,code4  7b7 ,contents   

,each report required by subsection 7a7 
shall include1 for the period covered by
 the report1 the following3  7#a7 ,the  
number of individuals who received      
pension under chapter #ae of title #ch1 
,united ,states ,code1 who have been    
referred by any component of the        
,department of ,veterans ,affairs to the
 ,office of ,inspector ,general of the  
,department as likely or proven victims 
of financial exploitation4  7#b7 ,the   
number of referrals and reports relating
 to the financial exploitation of such  
individuals made by the ,department of  
,veterans ,affairs to--  7,a7 the       
,consumer ,sentinel ,network of the     
,federal ,trade ,commission2 and  7,b7  
the ,department of ,justice4  7#c7 ,a   
description of the actions taken as a   
result of such referrals and reports    
against-- 7,a7 individuals recognized by
 the ,secretary as agents or attorneys  
under section #eijd of title #ch1       
,united ,states ,code2 and  7,b7        
individuals not so recognized4  #f4     

,notice regarding fees charged in       
connection with filing an application   
for veterans pension ,the ,under        
,secretary for ,benefits of the         
,department of ,veterans ,affairs shall 
ensure that every paper or electronic   
document relating to the receipt of     
pension under chapter #ae of title #ch1 
,united ,states ,code1 that is available
 to individuals who apply for such      
pension1 including educational forms    
about or applications for such pension1 
includes a notice that the ,department  
does not charge any fee in connection   
with the filing of an application for   
such pension4  #g4 ,outreach plan for   
educating vulnerable veterans about     
potential financial exploitation        
relating to the receipt of pension  7a7 
,development of plan ,the ,under        
,secretary for ,benefits of the         
,department of ,veterans ,affairs shall 
develop1 in collaboration with veterans 
service organizations1 an outreach plan 
for educating vulnerable individuals    

about potential financial exploitation  
relating to the receipt of pension under
 chapter #ae of title #ch1 ,united      
,states ,code4  7b7 ,submission to      
,congress ,not later than #ahj days     
after the date of the enactment of this 
,act1 the ,under ,secretary shall submit
 to the ,committee on ,veterans'        
,affairs and the ,special ,committee on 
,aging of the ,senate and the ,committee
 on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of
 ,representatives the plan developed    
under subsection 7a74  7c7 ,veterans    
service organization defined ,in this   
section1 the term veterans service      
organization means an organization      
recognized by the ,secretary of         
,veterans ,affairs for the              
representation of veterans under section
 #eijb of title #ch1 ,united ,states    
,code4