§5317A — Title 38 Veterans' Benefits | U.S. Code

Summary

The Department of Veterans Affairs can stop, refuse, pause, or cut certain benefits for people under 65 only after it checks on its own any employment and work-income information it gets from the Department of Health and Human Services. If the VA does change benefits for that reason, it must tell the person what the verified findings were and give them the same chance to challenge those findings as they would for other eligibility issues. The VA must pay HHS back for the cost of providing the information, using VA funds for compensation and pensions. This authority applied from December 26, 2007, through November 18, 2011, and again from the date the Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2013 was enacted until 180 days after that enactment date.

Title 38, §5317A

Veterans' Benefits — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary may terminate, deny, suspend, or reduce any benefit or service specified in section 5317(c), with respect to an individual under age 65 who is an applicant for or recipient of such a benefit or service, by reason of information obtained from the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 453(j)(11) of the Social Security Act, only if the Secretary takes appropriate steps to verify independently information relating to the individual’s employment and income from employment.

(b)The Secretary shall inform each individual for whom the Secretary terminates, denies, suspends, or reduces any benefit or service under subsection (a) of the findings made by the Secretary under such subsection on the basis of verified information and shall provide to the individual an opportunity to contest such findings in the same manner as applies to other information and findings relating to eligibility for the benefit or service involved.

(c)The Secretary shall pay the expense of reimbursing the Secretary of Health and Human Services in accordance with section 453(j)(11)(E) of the Social Security Act, for the cost incurred by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in furnishing information requested by the Secretary under section 453(j)(11) of such Act, from amounts available to the Department for the payment of compensation and pensions.

(d)The authority under this section shall be in effect as follows:

(1)During the period beginning on December 26, 2007, and ending on November 18, 2011.

(2)During the period beginning on the date of the enactment of the Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2013 and ending 180 days after that date.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 453 of the Social Security Act, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (c), is classified to section 653 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. The date of the enactment of the Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2013, referred to in subsec. (d)(2), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 113–37, which was approved Sept. 30, 2013.

Amendments

2013—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 113–37 added subsec. (d) and struck out former subsec. (d). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The authority under this section shall expire on

November 18, 2011.” 2011—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 112–37 substituted “

November 18, 2011” for “

September 30, 2011”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2013 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 113–37 effective Oct. 1, 2013, see section 4(a) of Pub. L. 113–37, set out as a note under section 322 of this title.

§5317A Use of income information from other agencies: independent verification required before termination or reduction of certain benefits and services