[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 22, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H2952-H2954]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PREVENTING CRIMES AGAINST VETERANS ACT OF 2021
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 983) to amend title 18, United States Code, to provide an
additional tool to prevent certain frauds against veterans, and for
other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 983
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Preventing Crimes Against
Veterans Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL TOOL TO PREVENT CERTAIN FRAUDS AGAINST
VETERANS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 63 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1352. Fraud regarding veterans' benefits
``(a) Whoever knowingly executes, or attempts to execute,
any scheme or artifice to defraud an individual of veterans'
benefits, or in connection with obtaining veteran's benefits
for that individual, shall be fined under this title,
imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
``(b) In this section--
``(1) the term `veteran' has the meaning given that term in
section 101 of title 38; and
``(2) the term `veterans' benefits' means any benefit
provided by Federal law for a veteran or a dependent or
survivor of a veteran.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of chapter 63 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following new item:
``1352. Fraud regarding veterans' benefits.''.
SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall
be determined by reference to the latest statement titled
``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act,
submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the
Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such
statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Nadler) and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Bishop)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.
{time} 1530
General Leave
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on H.R. 983.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support H.R. 983, the Preventing Crimes
Against Veterans Act of 2021, bipartisan legislation that would make it
a crime to knowingly engage in any scheme to defraud a veteran of his
or her veteran's benefits.
Our Nation owes a great debt to veterans. There are currently about
18 million veterans of the United States military, men and women who
selflessly served our Nation.
Unfortunately, many of our veterans, as a result of their service,
have physical and mental scars. There are well over 1 million American
veterans with service-connected disabilities, and 43 percent of post-9/
11 veterans have a service-connected disability which may entitle them
to certain benefits.
Receipt of benefits requires the veteran to file an application and
undergo a thorough review by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Sometimes these benefits are granted outright. Other times, the veteran
must appeal their initial denial to receive the benefits they deserve.
Under current law, the VA allows agents or attorneys to assess a
nominal fee to assist claimants who are appealing different aspects of
their benefits. They are not permitted, however, to charge for services
related to the initial preparation and filing of their claims.
Accordingly, it is currently illegal for a nonattorney or a person
not registered as an agent to assist such initial claims. The rationale
for this prohibition is that many veterans may fall victim to benefit
fraud schemes, where individuals may divert benefits or apply for
benefits that should not be awarded.
To enforce this prohibition, Federal prosecutors currently rely on
the wire and mail fraud statutes to ensure that nonattorneys or
nonregistered agents do not assist in benefit applications or
unlawfully divert benefits.
However, if an unauthorized individual offers a veteran assistance in
person, they cannot be prosecuted under current fraud statutes. The
wire and mail fraud statutes do not extend to in-person fraudulent
schemes.
The Preventing Crimes Against Veterans Act would close this critical
loophole and would ensure that in-person benefit fraud schemes may also
be prosecuted.
For example, in one instance, a scammer held briefing seminars in a
senior community. He asked the staff to round up the veterans, then
used high-pressure sales tactics to coerce the veterans to apply for
benefits.
In-person solicitation like this requires no electronic or mail
transmission and, thus, evades wire and mail fraud criminal
prohibitions. Other reports indicate that scammers have also been known
to hand out flyers outside of VA regional medical centers and VA
regional offices to identify unwitting veterans.
These examples are precisely why closing this loophole is so
critically important. Under H.R. 983, anyone convicted of such crimes
could be fined, imprisoned, or be subject to both penalties.
By adopting this bill, Congress would affirm the integrity of the
benefits program and would protect veterans and their survivors who
receive payments, such as those to veterans with service-connected
disabilities, pensions for veterans with limited incomes, and education
and training payments under the GI bill.
In recognition of the extreme sacrifice by our veterans and the
hardships many of them continue to face after their military service,
it is our duty to provide, to the best of our ability, an appropriate
measure of compensation for them, particularly for those who are in
need.
This legislation would ensure that attempts to defraud them of the
benefits they need and deserve may be fully prosecuted.
I commend the bill's sponsors, Mr. Deutch and Mr. Fitzpatrick, for
their hard work and bipartisan efforts to address this critical
problem.
I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
[[Page H2953]]
Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time
as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the bill before us today makes a small but significant
change to the Federal fraud statutes to protect veterans from criminals
who seek to steal their benefits. It does so by inserting a new
provision into the criminal code to complement the mail and wire fraud
statutes.
Unfortunately, there have been reports in recent years of criminals
entering nursing homes in search of elderly veterans with the intent to
defraud them of their Federal benefits.
Like many crimes of fraud, these fraudsters present themselves to
their victims as a helping hand in a time of need. This is a truly
despicable crime worthy of this body's attention.
This legislation has passed this House three times by overwhelming
margins, including a vote of 417-0 last Congress.
Our men and women in uniform have sacrificed much for us. They have
earned our gratitude, our respect, and our protection.
Mr. Speaker, there is little, in my mind, more contemptuous than
someone who tries to defraud a veteran of what they have earned in
defense of our country. We must put an end to this fraud.
I urge all my colleagues to support this measure.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Deutch).
Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 983, the
Preventing Crimes Against Veterans Act.
Financial fraud is an increasingly sophisticated enterprise. The
unfortunate reality is that our Nation's veterans have become one of
its biggest new targets.
Far too often, so-called pension poachers prey on elderly veterans.
They use high-pressure sales pitches to con vulnerable veterans,
survivors, and their families out of their hard-earned and well-
deserved benefits.
Scammers make big promises, knowing that they will never be able to
deliver. In the end, they leave veterans with their personal
information and financial security compromised.
These criminals not only prey on our veterans, they prey on every
American taxpayer who wants to do right by those who have served our
country. Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic has only made the situation
worse, as scams have been on the rise.
The VA, community groups, and veterans service organizations are
working to alert and educate our communities about these scams. But
Congress must ensure that we do not let pension poachers get away with
taking advantage of those who have served.
Unfortunately, our current laws fail to keep up with the increasing
complexity of these fraudulent schemes.
This bill will give Federal prosecutors the tools they need to target
criminals who actively work to avoid current mail and wire fraud
statutes. It will specifically outlaw attempts to defraud veterans of
their benefits.
It is past time that we take action to crack down on pension poachers
and other fraudsters who prey on our veterans.
I want to thank the Palm Beach County Veterans Services office
including, Greg Dover, Jose Capellan, Rohn Hultgren, Andrew Reese, and
Yolanda Asante. They are working hard to help veterans receive their
benefits, and they first raised the troubling rise of pension poaching
with me years ago.
I thank Congressman Fitzpatrick for his leadership on this important
bipartisan effort. Again, I want to thank Mr. Nadler and the gentleman
from North Carolina, and I am thankful to every Member of this body who
voted to pass this legislation last Congress 417-0.
I would, again, ask my colleagues to support and honor our veterans
by passing the Preventing Crimes Against Veterans Act. Our veterans
have done so much to protect this Nation. It is now our turn, and this
bill is an opportunity for us to help protect them.
Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of
my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to lend my voice in support
of H.R. 983, the Preventing Crimes Against Veterans Act, and I
congratulate the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutch) for his work,
again, on an enormously commonsense bill.
This is a commonsense and needed bipartisan fix to close a loophole
in Federal law that allows con artists who make in-person pitches to
defraud veterans of their well-earned benefits.
The State of Texas is home to 1.5 million veterans, and the State of
Texas operates a large network of nursing homes for veterans.
All of us have heard stories in our offices, through our veterans'
caseworker, of the horrible, horrible attacks on veterans because of
the benefits they receive. Yes, financial attacks. And they are
attacks. Unlike the battlefield, where they can defend themselves,
these attacks, they cannot.
Veterans at these homes and veterans seeking treatment at medical
treatment facilities may be susceptible to the in-person grifters
falsely claiming that they can facilitate the provisions of additional
veterans' benefits.
This bill would help hold scammers accountable and allow the
Department of Justice to protect the integrity of veterans' benefits
programs. Protecting veterans and their survivors from these types of
in-person scams is particularly important, since so many depend on
service-connected disability payments.
As chair of the Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Subcommittee,
I am focused on addressing fraud and other veterans' issues.
To that end, I ask my colleagues today to join me as I also work on
legislation to buttress veterans' courts and to make them a more
equitable and successful rehabilitation model.
I thank my colleague from the Judiciary Committee, Ted Deutch, for
championing this bill and persisting in his effort.
Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to lend my voice in support of H.R. 983, the
``Preventing Crimes Against Veterans Act.''
This bill is a commonsense and needed bipartisan fix to close a
loophole in federal law that allows con artists who make in-person
pitches to defraud veterans of their well-earned benefits.
My state of Texas is home to nearly 1.5 million veterans, and the
state of Texas operates a large network of nursing homes for veterans.
Veterans at these homes and veterans seeking treatment at medical
treatment facilities may be susceptible to the in-person grifters
falsely claiming that they can facilitate the provision of additional
veterans benefits.
This bill would help hold scammers accountable and allow the
Department of Justice to protect the integrity of veterans' benefits
programs. Protecting veterans and their survivors from these types of
in-person scams is particularly important since so many depend on
service-connected disability payments.
As Chair of the Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Subcommittee,
I am focused on addressing fraud and other veterans' issues.
To that end, I ask my colleagues here today to join me as I also work
on legislation to buttress veterans' courts and to make them more
equitable and successful rehabilitation models.
I thank my colleague on the Judiciary Committee, Representative Ted
Deutch, for championing this bill and persisting in this effort.
Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to
support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for
closing.
Mr. Speaker, Congress owes a continuing debt to veterans. This bill
would help protect the more than 1 million veterans diagnosed with
service-connected disabilities who receive related benefits, as well as
the thousands who are undiagnosed and may apply for such benefits in
the future.
Helping to ensure that their benefits are protected against fraud, as
H.R. 983 would do, is one way of expressing our appreciation for
veterans' service.
For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this
bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to lend my voice in support
of H.R. 983, the ``Preventing Crimes Against Veterans Act.''
This bill is a commonsense and needed bipartisan fix to close a
loophole in federal law that allows con artists who make in-person
[[Page H2954]]
pitches to defraud veterans of their well-earned benefits.
My state of Texas is home to nearly 1.5 million veterans, and the
state of Texas operates a large network of nursing homes for veterans.
Veterans at these homes and veterans seeking treatment at medical
treatment facilities may be susceptible to the in-person grifters
falsely claiming that they can facilitate the provision of additional
veterans benefits.
This bill would help hold scammers accountable and allow the
Department of Justice to protect the integrity of veterans' benefits
programs. Protecting veterans and their survivors from these types of
in-person scams is particularly important since so many depend on
service-connected disability payments.
As Chair of the Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Subcommittee,
I am focused on addressing fraud and other veterans' issues.
To that end, I ask my colleagues here today to join me as I also work
on legislation to buttress veterans' courts and to make them more
equitable and successful rehabilitation models.
I thank my colleague on the Judiciary Committee, Representative Ted
Deutch, for championing this bill and persisting in this effort.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Judiciary
Committee and the Chair of its Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and
Homeland Security, I rise in strong support of H.R. 983, the
``Preventing Crimes Against Veterans Act,'' commonsense and necessary
bipartisan legislation that establishes a new criminal offense for
knowingly engaging in or attempting to engage in a scheme to defraud
veterans of their hard-earned benefits.
My state of Texas is home to nearly 1.5 million veterans, and the
state operates a large network of nursing homes for veterans called
Texas State Veterans Homes.
Houston houses over 282,000 of these veterans, many of whom live in
these state-owned nursing homes.
Veterans at these Texas nursing homes or those seeking treatment at
medical facilities are susceptible to in-person scammers falsely
claiming that they can facilitate the provision of additional veterans
benefits when they are actually swindling veterans out of their
benefits.
H.R. 983 will help hold these con artists accountable and provide an
additional tool to the Department of Justice to protect the integrity
of veterans' benefits programs and prevent fraud.
Protecting veterans and their survivors from these types of in-person
scams is imperative since so many depend on service-connected
disability payments, including those in my district in Houston.
I ask my colleagues here today to join me as I also work on
legislation to strengthen veterans' courts and to make them more
equitable and successful rehabilitation models.
I thank my colleague from the Judiciary Committee, Congressman Deutch
of Florida, for championing this bill and persisting in his effort to
protect our veterans with this legislation.
I urge all Members to join me in voting to pass H.R. 983, the
Preventing Crimes Against Veterans Act of 2021.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 983, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. ROSENDALE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion
are postponed.
____________________