U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) is praising the passage of his legislation that will simplify the legal process for veterans who have been defrauded of their benefits.
Tuberville, along with U.S. Senator John Boozman’s (R-Ariz.), introduced the Veteran Fraud Reimbursement Act, which allows the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) to reimburse victims of fraud without forcing them to jump through unnecessary, bureaucratic hoops.
The bill passed the Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent Thursday.
“We’d like to believe we live in a country where no one would take advantage of our veterans, but sadly it does happen,” Tuberville said. “This bill attempts to help right that wrong by ensuring veterans with disabilities are made financially whole if they are defrauded of their benefits.”
In a July 21, 2021 report, the VA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) highlighted the significant wait times defrauded veterans in the VA fiduciary program face due to the universal negligence determination requirement. Some veterans even died before seeing their reimbursements.
The Veteran Fraud Reimbursement Act will right this wrong by allowing the VBA to conduct a statistically valid analysis of the misuse cases to determine the rate and nature of negligence on the part of the VBA. The negligence determination would ultimately become a part of a quality assurance measure conducted after the affected veteran had been reimbursed
Passage of this legislation builds on Senator Tuberville’s efforts to make targeted changes on behalf of veterans, including with his Supporting Families of the Fallen Act and legislation to streamline post-9/11 GI Bill benefits that have been signed into law.
“It’s my priority to find ways to make the government work better for our veterans, and this bill is a small step toward doing just that,” Tuberville added. “I’m glad to see the Senate pass the Veteran Fraud Reimbursement Act, and hope that the President will act quickly to sign this critical bill for our veterans into law.”
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee
