S.Amdt. 2425

SA 2425. Mr. DAINES submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 2301 proposed by Mr. Inhofe to the bill S. 4049, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2021 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. ___. PENALTIES FOR REPRESENTING VETERANS AS AGENTS AND
ATTORNEYS WITHOUT RECOGNITION BY SECRETARY OF
VETERANS AFFAIRS.

(a) Penalties.--
(1) In general.--Section 5905 of title 38, United States
Code, is amended to read as follows:

``Sec. 5905. Penalty for certain acts

``Whoever commits any of the following acts shall be fined
as provided in title 18, or imprisoned for not more than one
year, or both:
``(1) Acts or attempts to act as an agent (including as a
financial planner, benefits claim advisor, or benefits claim
prepper) or attorney for the preparation, presentation, or
prosecution of a claim under a law administered by the
Secretary--
``(A) without recognition by the Secretary as an agent or
attorney under section 5904 of this title; or
``(B) while suspended or excluded under subsection (b) of
such section.
``(2) The act of unlawfully withholding from any claimant
or beneficiary any part of a benefit or claim under the laws
administered by the Secretary that is allowed and due to the
claimant or beneficiary.''.
(2) Effective date.--The amendment made by subsection (a)
shall apply with respect to acts committed after the date
that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) Biennial Reviews by General Counsel of the Department
of Veterans Affairs.--Section 5904 of such title is amended
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(e) Biennial Reviews by General Counsel.--(1) Not less
frequently than once every two years, the General Counsel of
the Department shall submit to Congress a report on
activities under this section.
``(2) Each report submitted under subparagraph (A) shall
include, for the period covered by the report, the following:
``(A) A discussion of the rates generally charged for
services covered by this section.
``(B) A discussion of the requests made by claimants under
subsection (c)(3)(A).
``(C) A discussion of the fees reduced under such
subsection.
``(D) The number of claims for benefits under laws
administered by the Secretary that were prepared, presented,
or prosecuted by an individual acting as an agent or attorney
who did so while not recognized under this section.''.
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