H.R. 923House112th Congress (2011-2013)In Committee

Veterans Pensions Protection Act of 2011

To amend title 38, United States Code, to exempt reimbursements of expenses related to accident, theft, loss, or casualty loss from determinations of annual income with respect to pensions for veterans and surviving spouses and children of veterans, and for other purposes.

Legislative Activity

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6 earlier actions

HouseCommittee Latest Action

Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote .

Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee

July 22, 2011

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

March 3, 2011

HouseIntro Referral

Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E416)

March 3, 2011

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Veterans' Affairs Committee

March 3, 2011

HouseCommittee

Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.

Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee

April 1, 2011

HouseCommittee

Subcommittee Hearings Held.

Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee

July 7, 2011

HouseCommittee

Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.

Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee

July 22, 2011

HouseCommittee

Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote .

Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee

July 22, 2011

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about H.R. 923 on the floor

1 Democrat

Rep. Alcee L. HastingsD-FL-23 · Oct 13, 2011

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to applaud the passage of H.R. 2349, the Veterans' Benefits Training Improvement Act of 2011. This important legislation makes much-needed improvements to benefits and…

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to applaud the passage of H.R. 2349, the Veterans' Benefits Training Improvement Act of 2011. This important legislation makes much-needed improvements to benefits and services for our nation's veterans. It improves the claim- processing system by establishing a pilot program to assess the skills of employees responsible for processing veterans' claims, authorizing the use of electronic communication to contact claimants regarding their benefits, and assisting veterans in obtaining private records, among others.

Included in this legislation is a bill that I sponsored entitled, the Veterans Pensions Protection Act of 2011 (H.R. 923). My bill protects veterans' pensions by exempting the reimbursement of expenses related to accidents, theft, loss or casualty loss from being included into the determination of a veteran's income. Under current law, if a veteran is seriously injured in an accident or is the victim of a theft and receives insurance compensation, he or she may lose their pension if the payment exceeds the income limit set by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This means that the law effectively punishes veterans when they suffer from an accident or theft.

Such a tragedy happened to one of my constituents, a Navy veteran with muscular dystrophy who was hit by a truck when crossing the street in his wheelchair. His pension was abruptly cut off after he received an insurance settlement payment to cover medical expenses for himself and his service dog, and material expenses to replace his wheelchair. As a result, he could not cover his daily expenses and mortgage payments and almost lost his home. To me this is unacceptable.

I am extremely pleased that H.R. 923 was incorporated into H.R. 2349 and I want to thank my Florida colleague, Chairman Jeff Miller, as well as Subcommittee Chairman Jon Runyan and Ranking Member Jerry McNerney for their continued support on this important issue.

At a time of economic hardship, it is essential to guarantee the continuity of our veterans' pensions and ensure that no veteran will have their benefits unfairly and abruptly depreciated or cancelled.

Mr. Speaker, our nation's servicemen and women are currently fighting two wars abroad and engaged in action in other parts of the world. As they return home, many bear the mental and physical wounds incurred in the defense of our nation and deserve the highest quality care and services that we can provide them. Therefore, I thank my colleagues for supporting this much-needed legislation.

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Introduced in HouseIssued March 3, 2011

112th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 923

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 3, 2011

Mr. Hastings of Florida (for himself, Ms. Brown of Florida, Mr. Rohrabacher, Ms. Berkley, Mr. Filner, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Deutch, Mr. Israel, Mr. Luján, Mr. Buchanan, Ms. Richardson, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Cummings, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Kissell, Ms. Chu, Mr. Reyes, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Sutton, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. McKinley, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Michaud, Mr. Courtney, Mr. Sherman, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Fortenberry, Ms. Jackson Lee of Texas, Mr. Berman, Mr. Walz of Minnesota, Mr. Bishop of New York, Mr. Mica, and Ms. Bass of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

A BILL

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Veterans Pensions Protection Act of 2011.

Exclusion of certain reimbursements of expenses from determination of annual income with respect to pensions for veterans and surviving spouses and children of veterans

Paragraph (5) of section 1503(a) of title 38, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

(5)

payments regarding—

(A)

reimbursements of any kind (including insurance settlement payments) for—

(i)

expenses related to the repayment, replacement, or repair of equipment, vehicles, items, money, or property resulting from—

(I)

any accident (as defined in regulations which the Secretary shall prescribe), but the amount excluded under this subclause shall not exceed the greater of the fair market value or reasonable replacement value of the equipment or vehicle involved at the time immediately preceding the accident;

(II)

any theft or loss (as defined in regulations which the Secretary shall prescribe), but the amount excluded under this subclause shall not exceed the greater of the fair market value or reasonable replacement value of the item or the amount of the money (including legal tender of the United States or of a foreign country) involved at the time immediately preceding the theft or loss; or

(III)

any casualty loss (as defined in regulations which the Secretary shall prescribe), but the amount excluded under this subclause shall not exceed the greater of the fair market value or reasonable replacement value of the property involved at the time immediately preceding the casualty loss; and

(ii)

medical expenses resulting from any accident, theft, loss, or casualty loss (as defined in regulations which the Secretary shall prescribe), but the amount excluded under this clause shall not exceed the costs of medical care provided to the victim of the accident, theft, loss, or casualty loss; and

(B)

pain and suffering (including insurance settlement payments and general damages awarded by a court) related to an accident, theft, loss, or casualty loss, but the amount excluded under this subparagraph shall not exceed an amount determined by the Secretary on a case-by-case basis;