Servicemembers and Veterans Legal Protections Act of 2004
SERVICEMEMBERS AND VETERANS LEGAL PROTECTIONS ACT OF 2004 -- (Extensions of Remarks - October 11, 2004)
SPEECH OF
HON. SUSAN A. DAVIS
OF CALIFORNIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2004
Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank my colleagues for acting to protect the benefits of a vulnerable class of America's brave veterans.
Over 100,000 of America's military veterans or their dependents are not able to manage their own finances because of physical or mental disabilities. In these cases, the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) appoints a family member, a guardian, or another person to act as a "fiduciary" to protect and manage their monetary payments and VA benefits.
Caring for a dependent veteran involves using the payments the VA sends each month to pay utility bills, buy food, and to meet the other needs on behalf of the veteran. It is a tremendous responsibility.
Last year, during an oversight hearing into the VA's fiduciary program, I learned that some of these veterans are not always cared for by the appointed fiduciary.
In fact, the Inspector General has found cases in which a fiduciary has withheld payments completely for several years-defrauding the veteran out of several thousand dollars.
In my District Office in San Diego, my staff has tried to assist veterans who lost out on their payments only to learn that under current law, the VA does not have the authority to replace the benefits when misuse has occurred.
Because it was our veterans suffering from the lack of oversight, I introduced the Veterans Fiduciary Act of 2004 or H.R. 4023 to provide veterans with protections similar to those recently enacted to protect Social Security beneficiaries. Surely our Nation's veterans also deserve the same protections as Social Security beneficiaries.
H.R. 4032 gives veterans new avenues to recoup their losses if they fall victim to fraud. In addition, the VA will conduct more thorough background checks and will have new authority to take action against fiduciaries who are not fulfilling their obligations.
I am pleased provisions of H.R. 4032 have been included in the servicemembers Legal Protection Act of 2004 or H.R. 4568. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation today.