Improvement to Repayment by Secretary of Veterans Affairs of Certain Misused Benefits
Section 2 · Sec. 2 ·
What this chapter is about
Some veterans have a helper who gets their money for them. This part rewrites an old rule for when that helper steals the money. The VA must pay the veteran back. The VA must then try to get the money back from the helper. It may not pay back more than was stolen.
The document says “is amended”Who acts: CongressHow: statuteSec. 2 in the PDF
What the document says
“Section 6107 of title 38, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:”
The operative instruction of the section. Everything that follows it is the replacement text of section 6107 of title 38, United States Code, set out in full under the heading Reissuance of benefits. This site indexes the words this Act enacts. It does not record what section 6107 said before, because title 38 is not indexed here.
What the document actually says
“Section 6107 of title 38, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:”
That sentence, in plain words
This law rewrites part of an old law book. The part is number 6107.
What this is about
Congress can change an old law. One way is to write the part over. The old words go away. The new words are below.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “shall”Who acts: Secretary of Veterans AffairsHow: statuteSec. 2 in the PDF
What the document says
“In any case in which a fiduciary misuses all or part of an individual's benefit paid to such fiduciary, the Secretary shall pay to the beneficiary or the beneficiary's successor fiduciary an amount equal to the amount of such benefit so misused.”
Paragraph (1) of the new subsection (a). Where a fiduciary misuses all or part of a benefit paid to that fiduciary for an individual, the Secretary is to pay the beneficiary, or the beneficiary's successor fiduciary, an amount equal to the amount misused. The paragraph attaches no condition to the duty beyond the misuse itself.
What the document actually says
“In any case in which a fiduciary misuses all or part of an individual's benefit paid to such fiduciary, the Secretary shall pay to the beneficiary or the beneficiary's successor fiduciary an amount equal to the amount of such benefit so misused.”
That sentence, in plain words
A helper takes care of money for a veteran. If the helper steals it, the VA must pay it back. The VA pays the veteran or a new helper.
What this is about
Some veterans do not handle their own money. A court or the VA picks someone to do it. This rule says what happens when that person steals.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “shall”Who acts: Secretary of Veterans AffairsHow: statuteSec. 2 in the PDF
What the document says
“In any case in which the Secretary reissues a benefit payment (in whole or in part) under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall make a good faith effort to obtain recoupment from the fiduciary to whom the payment was originally made.”
Paragraph (2) of the new subsection (a). Once the Secretary has reissued a payment under paragraph (1), whether in whole or in part, the Secretary is to make a good faith effort to recover the amount from the fiduciary the payment first went to. The paragraph sets the effort as the standard and does not condition the reissued payment on the recovery succeeding.
What the document actually says
“In any case in which the Secretary reissues a benefit payment (in whole or in part) under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall make a good faith effort to obtain recoupment from the fiduciary to whom the payment was originally made.”
That sentence, in plain words
The VA pays the money back first. Then it must really try to get it back from the helper.
What this is about
The law does not make the veteran wait for that. Chasing the helper is the VA's job.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “shall”Who acts: Secretary of Veterans AffairsHow: statuteSec. 2 in the PDF
What the document says
“In any case in which the Secretary obtains recoupment from a fiduciary who has misused benefits, the Secretary shall promptly remit payment of the recouped amounts to the beneficiary or the beneficiary's successor fiduciary, as the case may be, to the extent that such amounts have not been paid under paragraph (1).”
Paragraph (3) of the new subsection (a). Where the Secretary does recover money from a fiduciary who misused benefits, the recovered amounts are to be remitted promptly to the beneficiary or the beneficiary's successor fiduciary, so far as those amounts have not already been paid over under paragraph (1).
What the document actually says
“In any case in which the Secretary obtains recoupment from a fiduciary who has misused benefits, the Secretary shall promptly remit payment of the recouped amounts to the beneficiary or the beneficiary's successor fiduciary, as the case may be, to the extent that such amounts have not been paid under paragraph (1).”
That sentence, in plain words
If the VA gets money back from the helper, it must send that money on fast. It goes to the veteran or a new helper.
What this is about
This covers money the veteran has not been paid yet. The VA does not keep it.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “shall”Who acts: Secretary of Veterans AffairsHow: statuteSec. 2 in the PDF
What the document says
“If a beneficiary described in subsection (a)(1) predeceases a payment under such subsection, the Secretary shall pay such amount, subject to paragraph (2), to an individual or entity in accordance with section 5121 of this title.”
Paragraph (1) of the new subsection (b). Where the beneficiary dies before the payment owed under subsection (a)(1) is made, the Secretary is to pay the amount to an individual or entity in accordance with section 5121 of title 38, United States Code, subject to the bar in paragraph (2). Who that is falls to be worked out under section 5121, which is not indexed here.
What the document actually says
“If a beneficiary described in subsection (a)(1) predeceases a payment under such subsection, the Secretary shall pay such amount, subject to paragraph (2), to an individual or entity in accordance with section 5121 of this title.”
That sentence, in plain words
The veteran may die before the VA pays. Then the VA pays a person or group named by another rule.
What this is about
That other rule is part 5121 of the same law book. It is not written out here. This law just points to it.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “may not”Who acts: Secretary of Veterans AffairsHow: statuteSec. 2 in the PDF
What the document says
“The Secretary may not make a payment under this subsection to a fiduciary who misused benefits of the beneficiary.”
Paragraph (2) of the new subsection (b). It bars the Secretary from making a payment under subsection (b) to a fiduciary who misused that beneficiary's benefits. The bar is written into subsection (b), which is the payment made after the beneficiary has died.
What the document actually says
“The Secretary may not make a payment under this subsection to a fiduciary who misused benefits of the beneficiary.”
That sentence, in plain words
The VA may not pay that money to a helper who stole from the veteran.
What this is about
A helper could be in line for money after the veteran dies. This shuts that door.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “may not”Who acts: Secretary of Veterans AffairsHow: statuteSec. 2 in the PDF
What the document says
“The total of the amounts paid to a beneficiary or the beneficiary's successor fiduciary under this section may not exceed the total benefit amount misused by the fiduciary with respect to that beneficiary.”
The whole of the new subsection (c). It caps what a beneficiary or successor fiduciary receives under the replacement section 6107 at the total amount the fiduciary misused for that beneficiary. Payments under subsection (a) and payments of recouped money are counted against the same ceiling.
What the document actually says
“The total of the amounts paid to a beneficiary or the beneficiary's successor fiduciary under this section may not exceed the total benefit amount misused by the fiduciary with respect to that beneficiary.”
That sentence, in plain words
The VA pays back no more than the helper took.
What this is about
Add up what the helper stole. That sum is the top limit. Payments stop there.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “shall”Who acts: Secretary of Veterans AffairsHow: statuteSec. 2 in the PDF
What the document says
“The Secretary shall establish methods and timing with respect to determining whether an instance of misuse by a fiduciary, of all or part of an individual's benefit paid to such fiduciary, is the result of negligence by the Secretary.”
Paragraph (1) of the new subsection (d), headed Oversight of Negligence. The Secretary is to establish both the methods and the timing for determining whether a given instance of misuse by a fiduciary resulted from negligence by the Secretary. The subsection leaves the methods and the timing to the Secretary and names no deadline for setting them. Paragraph (3) of the same subsection adds that the Secretary is not required to make a determination under paragraph (1) for each instance of misuse.
What the document actually says
“The Secretary shall establish methods and timing with respect to determining whether an instance of misuse by a fiduciary, of all or part of an individual's benefit paid to such fiduciary, is the result of negligence by the Secretary.”
That sentence, in plain words
Sometimes the VA is careless and a theft follows. The VA must set up a way to spot that. It must also set how long it has to decide.
What this is about
The law does not spell out those steps. The VA writes them. The law also says the VA need not make this call every single time.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “may not”Who acts: Secretary of Veterans AffairsHow: statuteSec. 2 in the PDF
What the document says
“The Secretary may not withhold the reissuing of a benefit payment under subsection (a)(1) by reason of a pending determination under paragraph (1).”
Paragraph (2) of the new subsection (d). A determination under paragraph (1) that has not yet been made is not a ground for holding back the payment owed under subsection (a)(1). The two run separately: the payment is not conditioned on the negligence question being settled.
What the document actually says
“The Secretary may not withhold the reissuing of a benefit payment under subsection (a)(1) by reason of a pending determination under paragraph (1).”
That sentence, in plain words
The VA may not hold back a payment while it decides that.
What this is about
The VA may take a while to decide. The veteran gets the money now, not later.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
Veteran Fraud Reimbursement Act of 2025, Public Law 119-56, sec. 2, 139 Stat. 709 (2025). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-119publ56/html/PLAW-119publ56.htm
This page
“Improvement to Repayment by Secretary of Veterans Affairs of Certain Misused Benefits,” Veteran Fraud Reimbursement Act of 2025, section 2. Read the Mandate, https://readthemandate.org/veteran-fraud-reimbursement-act-2025/section-2/ (retrieved August 26, 2026).
Cite the document when the claim is about what the document says. Cite this page when the indexing, the wording or the record of what has happened is what is being relied on.
What This Page Covers, and What It Leaves Out
The amendment instruction itself, and then each distinct thing the replacement section does: the duty to reissue a misused benefit, the duty to seek recoupment from the fiduciary, the duty to pass recouped amounts on, what happens when the beneficiary dies before payment, the bar on paying the fiduciary who misused the benefits, the cap on the total paid, the duty to establish methods and timing for deciding whether misuse followed the Secretary's own negligence, and the bar on withholding payment while such a decision is pending.
Paragraph (3) of the new subsection (d), which says the Secretary is not required to make a determination for each instance of misuse, has no entry of its own. The site records a provision by its operative verb, and it does not carry the form this paragraph uses, so the paragraph is recorded in the summary of the entry for paragraph (1) instead.
The section replaces section 6107 of title 38, United States Code, and that title is not indexed here, so nothing recorded here says what section 6107 said before this Act. The new subsection (b)(1) directs payment in accordance with section 5121 of title 38, and that section is likewise not indexed here, so who is paid when a beneficiary dies is set by a statute a reader has to follow the citation to read. The methods and timing under subsection (d)(1) are left to the Secretary and no such method is indexed here.
