§ 5317. — Use of income information from other agencies: notice and verification.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 38USC5317]
TITLE 38--VETERANS' BENEFITS
PART IV--GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
CHAPTER 53--SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO BENEFITS
Sec. 5317. Use of income information from other agencies: notice
and verification
(a) The Secretary shall notify each applicant for a benefit or
service described in subsection (c) of this section that income
information furnished by the applicant to the Secretary may be compared
with information obtained by the Secretary from the Secretary of Health
and Human Services or the Secretary of the Treasury under section
6103(l)(7)(D)(viii) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The Secretary
shall periodically transmit to recipients of such benefits and services
additional notifications of such matters.
(b) The Secretary may not, by reason of information obtained from
the Secretary of Health and Human Services or the Secretary of the
Treasury under section 6103(l)(7)(D)(viii) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986, terminate, deny, suspend, or reduce any benefit or service
described in subsection (c) of this section until the Secretary takes
appropriate steps to verify independently information relating to the
following:
(1) The amount of the asset or income involved.
(2) Whether such individual actually has (or had) access to such
asset or income for the individual's own use.
(3) The period or periods when the individual actually had such
asset or income.
(c) The benefits and services described in this subsection are the
following:
(1) Needs-based pension benefits provided under chapter 15 of
this title or under any other law administered by the Secretary.
(2) Parents' dependency and indemnity compensation provided
under section 1315 of this title.
(3) Health-care services furnished under subsections (a)(2)(G),
(a)(3), and (b) of section 1710 of this title.
(4) Compensation paid under chapter 11 of this title at the 100
percent rate based solely on unemployability and without regard to
the fact that the disability or disabilities are not rated as 100
percent disabling under the rating schedule.
(d) In the case of compensation described in subsection (c)(4) of
this section, the Secretary may independently verify or otherwise act
upon wage or self-employment information referred to in subsection (b)
of this section only if the Secretary finds that the amount and duration
of the earnings reported in that information clearly indicate that the
individual may no longer be qualified for a rating of total disability.
(e) The Secretary shall inform the individual of the findings made
by the Secretary on the basis of verified information under subsection
(b) of this section, and shall give 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.
(f) The Secretary shall pay the expenses of carrying out this
section from amounts available to the Department for the payment of
compensation and pension.
(g) The authority of the Secretary to obtain information from the
Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary of Health and Human Services
under section 6103(l)(7)(D)(viii) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
expires on September 30, 2008.
(Added Pub. L. 101-508, title VIII, Sec. 8051(b)(1), Nov. 5, 1990, 104
Stat. 1388-350, Sec. 3117; renumbered Sec. 5317, Pub. L. 102-40, title
IV, Sec. 402(b)(1), May 7, 1991, 105 Stat. 238; amended Pub. L. 102-83,
Sec. 5(c)(1), Aug. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 406; Pub. L. 102-568, title VI,
Sec. 602(a), Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4342; Pub. L. 103-66, title XII,
Sec. 12004, Aug. 10, 1993, 107 Stat. 414; Pub. L. 104-262, title I,
Sec. 101(e)(3), Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3181; Pub. L. 105-33, title
VIII, Sec. 8014, Aug. 5, 1997, 111 Stat. 664; Pub. L. 106-419, title IV,
Sec. 402(d), Nov. 1, 2000, 114 Stat. 1863.)
References in Text
Section 6103(l)(7)(D)(viii) of the Internal Revenue Code, referred
to in subsecs. (a), (b), and (g), is classified to section
6103(l)(7)(D)(viii) of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.
Amendments
2000--Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 106-419 substituted ``September 30,
2008'' for ``September 30, 2002''.
1997--Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 105-33 substituted ``September 30, 2002''
for ``September 30, 1998''.
1996--Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 104-262 substituted ``subsections
(a)(2)(G), (a)(3), and (b) of section 1710'' for ``sections
1710(a)(1)(I), 1710(a)(2), 1710(b), and 1712(a)(2)(B)''.
1993--Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 103-66 substituted ``1998'' for ``1997''.
1992--Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 102-568 substituted ``1997'' for
``1992''.
1991--Pub. L. 102-40 renumbered section 3117 of this title as this
section.
Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 102-83 substituted ``1315'' for ``415''.
Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 102-83 substituted ``1710(a)(1)(I)'',
``1710(a)(2)'', ``1710(b)'', and ``1712(a)(2)(B)'' for ``610(a)(1)(I)'',
``610(a)(2)'', ``610(b)'', and ``612(a)(2)(B)'', respectively.
Notification Prior to Use of Income Information From Other Federal
Agencies
Section 8051(c) of Pub. L. 101-508 provided that:
``(1) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall notify individuals who
(as of the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 5, 1990]) are
applicants for or recipients of the benefits described in subsection (c)
(other than paragraph (3)) of section 3117 [now 5317] of title 38,
United States Code (as added by subsection (b)), that income information
furnished to the Secretary by such applicants and recipients may be
compared with information obtained by the Secretary from the Secretary
of Health and Human Services or the Secretary of the Treasury under
clause (viii) of section 6103(l)(7)(D) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 [26 U.S.C. 6103(l)(7)(D)] (as added by subsection (a)).
``(2) Notification under paragraph (1) shall be made not later than
90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
``(3) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may not obtain information
from the Secretary of Health and Human Services or the Secretary of the
Treasury under section 6103(l)(7)(D)(viii) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 (as added by subsection (a)) until notification under paragraph
(1) is made.''
Study by Comptroller General on Effectiveness of Amendments by Pub. L.
101-508
Section 8051(d) of Pub. L. 101-508 provided that: ``The Comptroller
General of the United States shall conduct a study of the effectiveness
of the amendments made by this section [enacting this section] and shall
submit a report on such study to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs and
Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committees on
Veterans' Affairs and Finance of the Senate not later than January 1,
1992.''
