H.R. 8043

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8043 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8043

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the efficiency of the 
recovery and collection of revenue for the Department of Veterans 
Affairs Medical Care Collections Fund, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 24, 2026

Mr. Ciscomani (for himself and Ms. Bynum) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the efficiency of the 
recovery and collection of revenue for the Department of Veterans 
Affairs Medical Care Collections Fund, and for other purposes.

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 ``Vets Collections, Liquidity, and 
Efficiency Accountability for Reinvestment Act'' or the ``Vets CLEAR 
Act''.

SEC. 2. PROVIDE FLEXIBILITY AND EFFICIENCY FOR COLLECTION OF REVENUE 
FOR DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CARE 
COLLECTIONS FUND.

(a) In General.--Section 1729A of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended--
(1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the following 
new paragraphs:
``(11) Sections 3711 and 3729 through 3733 of title 31, to 
the extent that such recovery or collection is based on medical 
care, services, or medication provided or paid for under this 
chapter.
``(12) Amounts recovered or collected through 
administrative, legal, or judicial processes, including 
investigations and audits, to the extent that such recovery or 
collection is based on medical care, services, or medication 
provided or paid for under this chapter.'';
(2) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and (e) as 
subsections (d), (e), and (f), respectively; and
(3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 
subsection:
``(c)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds directed 
to the `Medical Services' account to reimburse such account for the 
costs of care provided under the following authorities may, at the 
discretion of the Secretary, be deposited in the Medical Care 
Collections Fund:
``(A) Section 1781 of this title.
``(B) Section 8111 of this title.
``(2) The authority of the Secretary to deposit amounts into the 
Medical Care Collections Fund pursuant to this subsection shall expire 
on September 30, 2028.''.
(b) GAO Reports.--Such section is further amended by adding at the 
end the following new subsection:
``(g)(1) Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this subsection, and not less frequently than once every 180 days 
thereafter during period the authority under subsection (c) is 
effective, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to 
the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the House of 
Representatives a report on amounts deposited into the Medical Care 
Collections Fund under this section.
``(2) Each report required under paragraph (1) shall include--
``(A) the total amount of funds recovered or collected 
during the period covered by the report, disaggregated by 
source of recovery or collection; and
``(B) a description of how such funds were expended by the 
Department, including the categories of medical care, services, 
staffing, or other purposes for which the funds were used.''.
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