HR 4016 United States House · 118th Congress

Veteran Fraud Reimbursement Act

HR 4016, the Veteran Fraud Reimbursement Act, ensures veterans who have had benefits misused by their appointed fiduciaries (like family members managing payments) receive reimbursement. It requires the VA Secretary to reissue misused benefits directly to the veteran or their successor fiduciary, make good-faith efforts to recoup funds from the negligent fiduciary, and promptly return any recovered amounts. The bill caps total reimbursements at the actual misused benefit amount and mandates VA oversight to determine if negligence contributed to the misuse, without delaying reimbursements. This directly affects veterans with fiduciaries who misappropriate their benefits, streamlining their access to rightful funds.

Issues: ✓ Veterans

Sub-Topics: Veteran Benefits Veteran Education Veteran Healthcare

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jun 2023

Committee Review

May 2024

House Passage

Apr 2024

Senate Passage

President

Introduced Jun 12, 2023 Last action May 1, 2024

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced in House → Engrossed in House · 4 edits · Apr 30, 2024

MODERATE

The Engrossed version of HR 4016 restructures the bill into clearly labeled subsections and adds a new subsection (c) titled 'Oversight of negligence.' This new provision requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish methods for determining whether fiduciary misuse of benefits resulted from VA negligence, while explicitly prohibiting delays in reissuing benefits while such determinations are pending. The change matters because it creates accountability for potential VA-side failures without risking further harm to veterans who have already lost funds.

REQUIREMENT

New subsection (c) requires the Secretary to establish methods and timing for determining whether fiduciary misuse of benefits was caused by negligence on the part of the Secretary (the VA).

New provision states the Secretary may not withhold reissuing a benefit payment under subsection (a)(1) simply because a negligence determination is still pending.

SCOPE

New provision clarifies that the Secretary is not required to make a negligence determination for every instance of fiduciary misuse, giving the VA discretion in which cases to investigate.

TECHNICAL

The section title was changed from 'Improvement to repayment by Secretary of Veterans Affairs of certain misused benefits' to 'Reissuance of benefits,' and the body was reorganized into labeled subsections (a), (b), and (c) for clarity.

Floor votes · House Apr 30, 2024

How they voted

413–0

Passed · 15 other

Total votes 428

Apr 30, 2024

D Democratic212

204 Yea 8

96% Yea

I Independent1

1 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican215

208 Yea 7

96% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 1, 2024

Committee

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

upper

Apr 30, 2024

Lower · Passed

Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 413 - 0 (Roll no. 160). (text: 04/29/2024 CR H2695)

lower

Apr 12, 2024

Lower · Passed

Reported by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H. Rept. 118-457.

lower

Dec 5, 2023

Lower · Passed

Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held

lower

Nov 29, 2023

Lower · Passed

Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.

lower

Nov 29, 2023

Lower · Passed

Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held

lower

Jul 17, 2023

Committee

Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.

lower

Jun 12, 2023

Committee

Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

lower

Jun 12, 2023

Introduced

Introduced in House

lower

1 primary · 3 co-sponsors