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H.R. 3705 — what changed

Veterans Fair Debt Notice Act of 2017

From Introduced in House to Reported in House. 1 section amended between Introduced in House and Reported in House.

Sec. 2 Department of Veterans Affairs notice relating to debt collection activities

(a)
changed In general—Debt notification letters— Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall amend section 1.911 of title 38, Code of Federal Regulations, collaborate with veterans service organizations to require that certified mail write a standard letter to be used provided to send any individuals who the Secretary determines owe debts to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Such letter shall be written in plain language and shall include a notice of the following:debt and a clear explanation of—
(1)
changed A written demand from why the Secretary individual owes money to a debtor under subsection (b) the Department of such section.Veterans Affairs; and
(2)
changed A request for a waiver from a debtor the options available to the Secretary under subsection (c)(2) of such section.individual.
(3)
removed A notification from the Secretary to a debtor under subsection (d) or (e) of such section.
(b)
changed Plain language required—Delivery of letters— The Secretary shall write develop a method by which individuals may elect to receive debt notification letters by electronic means and shall ensure, to the following in plain language:extent practicable, that the letter developed under subsection (a) is delivered to intended recipients who have made such an election by both standard mail and by electronic means and to intended recipients who have not made such an election only by standard mail.
(c)
added Notice to Congress—
(1)
added Notice of completion— Upon completion of the letter required under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to Congress notice of the completion of the letter.
(2)
added Progress reports— If the Secretary has not submitted the notice required by paragraph (1) by the date that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall—
(A)
added submit to Congress a report describing the progress of the Secretary toward implementing subsection (a) and an explanation for why the letter has not been completed; and
(B)
added every 30 days thereafter until the submittal of the notice required by paragraph (1), submit to Congress an update to the report under subparagraph (A) that includes an additional explanation for the failure to complete the letter.
(d)
added Study; report—
(1)
added Study— The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a study on the process by which the Department of Veterans Affairs notifies veterans of debt collection efforts. Such study shall include—
(A)
added an analysis of the scope of the problem of veterans not receiving debt collection notices;
(B)
added a description of any non-legislative actions the Secretary could take to reduce the number of incorrect or unknown addresses of veterans in the databases of the Department and a timeline for adopting such actions; and
(C)
added an estimate of the costs associated with sending debt collection notices by certified mail.
(2)
added Report— Not later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the study conducted under paragraph (1).
(1)
removed Any demand described in subsection (a)(1), which shall include an explanation of why the debtor owes money to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(2)
removed Any notification described in subsection (a)(3), which shall include options available to the debtor.