Veterans Fair Debt Notice Act of 2017

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I feel like we are on a roll, Mr. Speaker. We should stay here all day. Bipartisan, commonsense legislation improving the lives of veterans, it kind of feels like what we came here for.

I rise in strong support of another one of those, H.R. 3705, as amended, the Veterans Fair Debt Notice Act introduced by the gentlewoman from Maine (Ms. Pingree).

Again, you heard it from the vice chairman, if a veteran incurs an overpayment in benefits, VA sends out a series of letters notifying him or her of

this debt and the steps that can be taken to address the issue. The letter is time stamped when mailed and, if what VA is asking for is not received within a specific timeline, the veteran loses the ability to take certain actions toward addressing or disputing the debt.

Many veterans come to every one of our offices reporting never receiving these letters. I know all of us have heard that story. These are people who I know and trust. It got sent to the wrong address, something happened, and they never got it.

Further, the letter VA is sending is full of complicated legal terms and citations of public laws. We know these letters alarm and confuse veterans unnecessarily. I have personally had them come in, show them to me, and as the ranking member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee-- and it is a VA letter--I don't understand what they are asking for in this from a veteran who receives it out of nowhere.

The bill before us today represents a real bipartisan effort to ensure that veterans get timely notices of overpayments or debt, and that these notices are respectful, informative, helpful, and collaborative.

It does it in three ways. First, H.R. 3705, as amended, directs the Secretary to develop a way veterans may elect to receive debt notification letters by email in addition to receiving standard mail notices. Imagine that in 2017.

Second, it directs VA to conduct a study of the problem of veterans not receiving debt letters and to provide a description of the nonlegislative actions the Secretary could take to reduce the number of incorrect addresses, particularly by using the other VHA databases.

At this point in time, I would also note we are taking steps in our committee to make sure now, when you leave the service, that we are able to capture emails, we are able to capture alternate addresses to make sure because a lot of times veterans are in transition, they are moving, those types of things are happening.

Third and most importantly, the bill requires that, in the future, debt notices provide a clear explanation in understandable language for why the debt is owed and what due process options a veteran has available to her or him.

The CBO has estimated the cost of this measure to be insignificant.

The approaches in the bill are the first steps to remedying a longstanding problem and will make a positive change for the thousands of veterans who receive overpayment notices.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee Chairman Mike Bost and Ranking Member Elizabeth Esty for working together on this legislation, in addition to Dr. Roe. We are also going to hear from the author of this piece of legislation. Certainly I encourage support of H.R. 3705.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Maine (Ms. Pingree), who is the author of this good, smart, overdue piece of legislation.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Maine for her remarks. This is a good piece of legislation. As I have said, everybody who serves in this House has received veterans in their office either carrying this letter or talking about a letter they never received. This makes it much better. It gives the benefit of the doubt back to the veteran and makes it easier for them to get this solved in the right manner.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in support of H.R. 3705, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on November 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th, I was ill, so I was not present for the Roll Call votes held on those days. Had I been present, I would have voted:

``Aye'' on Roll Call 607, on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 3562, to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish assistance for adaptations of residences of veterans in rehabilitation programs under chapter 31 of such title, and for other purposes.

``Aye'' on Roll Call 608, on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 1066, the VA Management Alignment Act.

``No'' on Roll Call 609, on approving the journal.

``No'' on Roll Call 610, on ordering the previous question on H. Res. 607, providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 3043) Hydropower Policy Modernization Act and providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 3441) Save Local Business Act.

``No'' on Roll Call 611, on agreeing to H. Res. 607.

``No'' on Roll Call 612, on approving the journal.

``Yea'' on Roll Call 613, on the motion to recommit H.R. 3441, the Save Local Business Act.

``No'' on Roll Call 614, on passage of H.R. 3441. This bill would effectively eliminate joint employment from the National Labor Relations Act and Fair Labor Standards Act, blocking workers from holding a joint employer accountable for wage theft, equal pay violations, and other unfair labor practices. Today, many employers seek to avoid their legal obligations to ensure that workers receive the wages they are due and bargain in good faith, and H.R. 3441 would make it more difficult for workers to hold the joint employers who set many of the conditions of their work accountable.

``No'' on Roll Call 615, on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 3911, the Risk-Based Credit Examination Act. H.R. 3911 would weaken oversight of major credit rating agencies such as S&P and Moody's, which were at the center of the 2008 financial crisis, and create the possibility of credit rating agencies challenging the SEC in court if they felt the examinations were not ``appropriate''.

``No'' on Roll Call 616, on ordering the Previous Question on H. Res. 609, providing for consideration of H.R. 2201, the Micro Offering Safe Harbor Act.

``No'' on Roll Call 617, on passage of H. Res. 609.

``Yea'' on Roll Call 618, on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 4173, the Veterans Crisis Line Study Act.

``Yea'' on Roll Call 619, the Rush Amendment to H.R. 3043.

``No'' on Roll Call 620, on passage of H.R. 3043, the Hydropower Policy Modernization Act. I recognize the need and importance of modernizing the licensing process for hydropower projects to both power companies and the workers who build, operate, and maintain them. However, I have concerns that H.R.

3043 ignores constructive suggestions that would improve the licensing process while still maintaining environmental protections and will usurp the authorities of states, tribes, and federal natural resource agencies.

``Yea'' on Roll Call 621, on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 3705, the Veterans Fair Debt Notice Act.

``No'' on Roll Call 622, the Micro Offering Safe Harbor Act.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3705) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to require the use of certified mail and plain language in certain debt collection activities, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 3705, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3705, as amended, the Veterans Fair Debt Notice Act of 2017, introduced by Congresswoman Pingree from Maine.

This bill would help ensure that beneficiaries who have received an overpayment from VA clearly understand why the Department believes the veteran owes the money.

Under VA's current practice, when the Department determines that a beneficiary may have received an overpayment, it sends a letter to the beneficiary that explains why the debt was created and how the veteran can dispute or mitigate the debt. But if VA doesn't have the veteran's current address, the veteran may miss important deadlines. For example, if the beneficiary intends to request a full waiver of the debt but does not request that waiver within 30 days of the date of the letter, VA may take action to withhold benefits until the waiver request is adjudicated.

Sound confusing?

It certainly is. We can't have that for our veterans.

Another issue is that some veterans find the language used in the letters to be unclear and confusing. I am sure that is true, too. It is only fair that the veteran understands why the Department believes he or she owes the money. It is the least we can do.

H.R. 3705, as amended, would require VA to develop a new notification letter that explains in plain language how the alleged debt was created and what actions the veteran can take to dispute or mitigate the debt.

In addition, the bill would direct VA to study and report to Congress on its current debt collection process, including how many veterans are not receiving debt collection notices because of incorrect addresses. The report would also describe the steps VA will take to reduce the number of incorrect addresses in the Department's databases.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, let's pass this good bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding me the time and for all those wonderful compliments. I don't know that I have ever had that said about a bill that I have submitted, so I am very happy to be here today and to be able to support the Veterans Fair Debt Notice Act.

Mr. Speaker, as you heard, this bill offers a commonsense fix to frustrations that veterans in my district and across the country have experienced with VA's debt management system.

Veterans in Maine have called my office shocked to find out that they owe VA money. Some are confused by the letters they receive. Others are told by VA that they have missed important deadlines to dispute, to seek forgiveness, or to create a payment plan for the alleged debt.

Regardless of whether the debt is real or a mistake by VA, we shouldn't make it so hard for veterans to know their rights and obligations.

We have seen single mom veterans who can't get a home loan and newly transitioned servicemembers who struggle to reintegrate with garnished pay, recouped tax returns, and reduced disability payments, all because of assigned debts they knew nothing about after notifications got sent to the wrong place or ``lost in the mail.''

In response, H.R. 3705 directs VA to work with veterans service organizations to develop standard notification letters that are written in plain language. It also directs VA to explore how to inform veterans of debts more quickly by sending notifications electronically, like an email, in addition to standard mail.

It requires VA to study why so many veterans have not received notifications in the mail, as well as steps VA can take to improve its address database and the costs using certified mail.

I thank Chairmen Roe and Bost and Ranking Members Walz and Esty for bringing this legislation to the House floor, and I urge its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to support H.R. 3705, the Veterans Fair Debt Notice Act of 2017. H.R. 3705 modifies the ways that veterans are notified of any outstanding debts from a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) program.

This bill is essential because current VA debt notification letters can be confusing, highly technical, and fail to convey important dates and amounts. This legislation would direct the VA to clarify language in debt notification emails, coordinate email and postal mail notifications, and study the process of debt notification to ensure that messages are communicated effectively. The cost of sending postal mail notifications would also be evaluated in this study.

Congress should take measures to reduce veterans' debt by effectively communicating outstanding payments and due dates. Reducing debt is one of many ways we can ensure a smoother transition into civilian society for our veterans, which is why I support this legislation.