Veteran Fraud Reimbursement Act of 2025

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Bill ID: 119/s/892
Last Updated: July 7, 2026

Sponsored by

Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI]

ID: H001042

Follow the money

The bill

Veteran Fraud Reimbursement Act of 2025

S. 892, 119th Congress.

The sponsor

Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI]

Every bill has someone who introduced it. That name is where the paper trail starts.

The money

$80,400 raised

28 itemised contributions to this sponsor, pulled from FEC filings.

The alignment

85% match to Project 2025

This bill's text tracks the "Department of Veterans Affairs" section, p. 688-691 of the Mandate for Leadership.

Bill's Journey to Becoming a Law

Track this bill's progress through the legislative process

Latest Action

Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 119-35.

March 10, 2025

Introduced

Committee Review

📍 Current Status

Next: The bill moves to the floor for full chamber debate and voting.

🗳️

Floor Action

✅

Passed Senate

🏛️

House Review

🎉

Passed Congress

🖊️

Presidential Action

⚖️

Became Law

📚 How does a bill become a law?

1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.

2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.

3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.

4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.

5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.

6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.

7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!

Bill Summary

Another masterpiece of legislative theater, courtesy of our esteemed Senators Hirono, Boozman, Gallego, and Tuberville. The Veteran Fraud Reimbursement Act of 2025 - a bill so noble in its intentions, yet so riddled with bureaucratic doublespeak and half-measures.

**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The stated purpose of this bill is to "improve the repayment by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of benefits misused by a fiduciary." Translation: we're going to pretend to care about veterans who've been swindled out of their benefits, while actually doing very little to prevent such abuse in the first place.

**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill amends Section 6107 of title 38, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reissue misused benefits to the affected veteran or their successor fiduciary. Oh, and they'll also make a "good faith effort" to recoup the misused funds from the original fiduciary. Because, you know, good faith efforts are always effective in recovering stolen money.

**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** Veterans who've been victimized by fiduciary abuse will supposedly benefit from this bill. But let's be real - they'll still have to navigate a Byzantine bureaucracy to get their benefits reissued. Meanwhile, the actual perpetrators of these abuses - the fiduciaries themselves - will likely face little more than a slap on the wrist.

**Potential Impact & Implications:** This bill is a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. It doesn't address the systemic issues that allow fiduciary abuse to occur in the first place, such as inadequate oversight and lack of accountability within the VA. Instead, it provides a convenient PR opportunity for our Senators to grandstand about their support for veterans.

In reality, this bill will likely lead to more bureaucratic red tape, increased administrative costs, and further delays in delivering benefits to those who need them most. It's a classic case of "legislative placebo" - designed to make politicians look good while doing nothing to actually solve the problem.

Diagnosis: Legislative Theater with symptoms of Bureaucratic Inertia, Politician's Disease (a.k.a. "I'm-looking-good-but-doing-nothing-itis"), and a healthy dose of Cynicism. Prognosis: More of the same - empty promises, ineffective solutions, and continued suffering for those who actually need help.

Related Topics

Military & Veterans Affairs
Generated using Llama 3.1 70B (Dr. Haus personality)

💰 Campaign Finance Network

Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI]

Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle

Total Contributions
$80,400
22 donors
PACs
$0
Organizations
$14,300
Committees
$0
Individuals
$66,100

No PAC contributions found

1
TUNICA-BILOXI TRIBE OF LA
2 transactions
$5,000
2
THE CHICKASAW NATION
2 transactions
$3,300
3
CHEROKEE NATION
1 transaction
$2,500
4
MS BAND OF CHOCTAW INDIANS
1 transaction
$2,000
5
POARCH BAND OF CREEK INDIANS
1 transaction
$1,000
6
TONIO BURGOS & ASSOCIATES OF NEW JERSEY, LLC
1 transaction
$500

No committee contributions found

1
DAVIS, JANIE
2 transactions
$6,600
2
KOSASA, MI
2 transactions
$6,600
3
HELM, NELSON JR.
2 transactions
$6,600
4
GURAL, JEFFREY
2 transactions
$6,600
5
CHUAN, JOHANNA
1 transaction
$3,400
6
MINATOISHI, LORRAINE REIKO
1 transaction
$3,300
7
SULLIVAN, MATTHEW K.
1 transaction
$3,300
8
JOHNSON, DAVID
1 transaction
$3,300
9
ERGEN, CANTEY
1 transaction
$3,300
10
SIMMONS, IAN
1 transaction
$3,300
11
NAKANISHI, CRAIG I.
1 transaction
$3,300
12
GATES, MELINDA FRENCH
1 transaction
$3,300
13
FRITZ, COLLIN
1 transaction
$3,300
14
RIVER, HOWARD
1 transaction
$3,300
15
WHITE, PAUL
1 transaction
$3,300
16
SHIN, MARIKO K.
1 transaction
$3,300

Cosponsors & Their Campaign Finance

This bill has 3 cosponsors. Below are their top campaign contributors.

Sen. Boozman, John [R-AR]

ID: B001236

Top Contributors

23

1
CHEROKEE NATION
OrganizationTAHLEQUAH, OK
$3,300
Oct 3, 2024
2
SHAKOPEE MDEKEWAKANTON COMMUNITY
OrganizationPRIOR LAKE, MN
$3,300
Nov 7, 2023
3
SHAKOPEE MDEKEWAKANTON COMMUNITY
OrganizationPRIOR LAKE, MN
$3,300
Jun 27, 2024
4
BJERKE, TYLER
HERITAGE INSURANCE SERVICES • SALES
IndividualFARGO, ND
$5,000
Mar 22, 2023
5
LEPRINO, TERRY
LEPRINO FARMS • BOARD DIRECTOR
IndividualDENVER, CO
$3,300
Dec 6, 2024
6
POWELL, JESSE
PAYWARD INC. • CEO
IndividualSAN FRANCISCO, CA
$3,300
Nov 5, 2024
7
POWELL, JESSE
PAYWARD INC. • CEO
IndividualSAN FRANCISCO, CA
$3,300
Nov 5, 2024
8
STEPHENS, WARREN MR.
STEPHENS INC • PRESIDENT
IndividualLITTLE ROCK, AR
$3,300
Jul 7, 2023
9
STEPHENS, WARREN MR.
STEPHENS INC • PRESIDENT
IndividualLITTLE ROCK, AR
$3,300
Jul 7, 2023
10
WALTON, ALICE L.. MS.
SELF-EMPLOYED • PHILANTHROPIST
IndividualBENTONVILLE, AR
$3,300
Aug 11, 2023

Sen. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ]

ID: G000574

Top Contributors

70

1
NISQUALLY INDIAN TRIBE
OrganizationOLYMPIA, WA
$3,300
Nov 6, 2023
2
SAN MANUEL BAND OF MISSION INDIANS
OrganizationHIGHLAND, CA
$3,300
Dec 27, 2023
3
SUQUAMISH INDIAN TRIBE
OrganizationSUQUAMISH, WA
$3,300
Nov 6, 2023
4
TOHONO O'ODHAM NATION
OrganizationSELLS, AZ
$3,300
Oct 26, 2023
5
AGUA CALIENTE BAND OF CAHUILLA INDIANS
OrganizationPALM SPRINGS, CA
$3,300
Oct 21, 2024
6
SNOQUALMIE TRIBE
OrganizationSNOQUALMIE, WA
$3,300
Oct 25, 2024
7
VIEJAS BAND OF KUMEYAAY INDIANS
OrganizationALPINE, CA
$3,300
Nov 4, 2024
8
AGUA CALIENTE BAND OF CAHUILLA INDIANS
OrganizationPALM SPRINGS, CA
$3,300
Jan 8, 2024
9
NOTTAWASEPPI HURON BAND OF THE POTAWATOMI
OrganizationFULTON, MI
$3,300
Mar 26, 2024
10
POARCH BAND OF CREEK INDIANS
OrganizationATMORE, AL
$3,300
Mar 28, 2024

Sen. Tuberville, Tommy [R-AL]

ID: T000278

Top Contributors

43

1
BROAD METRO LLC
OrganizationOLD WESTBURY, NY
$3,300
Apr 18, 2023
2
POARCH BAND OF CREEK INDIANS
OrganizationATMORE, AL
$3,300
Apr 28, 2023
3
POARCH BAND OF CREEK INDIANS
OrganizationATMORE, AL
$2,900
Feb 20, 2023
4
POARCH BAND OF CREEK INDIANS
OrganizationATMORE, AL
$2,900
Apr 28, 2023
5
SUMMERLIN FARMS
OrganizationMOULTRIE, GA
$1,000
Oct 8, 2023
6
KENT HANCE BUSINESS
OrganizationLUBBOCK, TX
$1,000
Aug 17, 2023
7
SUMMERLIN FARMS
OrganizationMOULTRIE, GA
$1,000
Sep 8, 2023
8
KENT HANCE BUSINESS
OrganizationLUBBOCK, TX
$1,000
Sep 16, 2023
9
BEACH ICE LLC
OrganizationMOULTRIE, GA
$500
Oct 8, 2023
10
LEELAND VENTURES LLC
OrganizationHAMPTON COVE, AL
$500
Dec 4, 2023

Donor Network - Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI]

PACs
Organizations
Individuals
Politicians

Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.

Loading...

Showing 55 nodes and 72 connections

Total contributions: $72

Top Donors - Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI]

Showing top 22 donors by contribution amount

6 Orgs16 Individuals

Project 2025 Policy Matches

This bill shows semantic similarity to the following sections of the Project 2025 policy document.AI-enhanced analysis provides detailed alignment ratings.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Strong
Vector: 63%
Pages: 688-691AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"The bill’s focus on reimbursing veterans for benefits misused by fiduciaries and promoting accountability aligns closely with Project 2025’s VA objectives of safeguarding veterans from fraud and ensuring proper benefit administration."

Key themes:veteran benefit protectionfiduciary accountabilityfraud preventionVA oversightbeneficiary reimbursement

— 655 — Department of Veterans Affairs ENDNOTES 1. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Division, VHA Directive 1003, “VHA Veteran Patient Experience,” April 14, 2020, pp. 1 and B-1. 2. S. 2372, VA Mission Act of 2018, Public Law No. 115-182, 115th Congress, June 6, 2018, https://www.congress. gov/115/plaws/publ182/PLAW-115publ182.pdf (accessed January 30, 2023). 3. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA History Office, “VA History,” last updated May 27, 2021, https://www. va.gov/HISTORY/VA_History/Overview.asp (accessed January 28, 2023). 4. 38 U.S. Code § 1116, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/38/1116 (accessed January 28, 2023). 5. S. 3373, Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022 (Honoring Our PACT Act of 2022), Public Law No. 117-168, 117th Congress, August 10, 2022, https://www. congress.gov/117/plaws/publ168/PLAW-117publ168.pdf (accessed January 28, 2023). 6. H.R. 2471, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, Public Law No. 117-103, 117th Congress, March 15, 2022, Division S, Title I, https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ103/PLAW-117publ103.pdf (accessed March 18, 2023). Known variously as the Department of Veterans Affairs Nurse and Physician Assistant Retention and Income Security Enhancement Act and the VA Nurse and Physician Assistant RAISE Act. 7. See note 5, supra.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Strong
Vector: 60%
Pages: 688-691AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"The bill's focus on reimbursing veterans for benefits misused by fiduciaries and promoting accountability directly supports the VA's objective of protecting veterans from fraud and ensuring they receive their full entitlements, which aligns with Project 2025's emphasis on safeguarding veteran benefits and improving oversight."

Key themes:veteran benefits protectionfiduciary accountabilityfraud preventionVA oversightbeneficiary restitution

— 655 — Department of Veterans Affairs ENDNOTES 1. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Division, VHA Directive 1003, “VHA Veteran Patient Experience,” April 14, 2020, pp. 1 and B-1. 2. S. 2372, VA Mission Act of 2018, Public Law No. 115-182, 115th Congress, June 6, 2018, https://www.congress. gov/115/plaws/publ182/PLAW-115publ182.pdf (accessed January 30, 2023). 3. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA History Office, “VA History,” last updated May 27, 2021, https://www. va.gov/HISTORY/VA_History/Overview.asp (accessed January 28, 2023). 4. 38 U.S. Code § 1116, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/38/1116 (accessed January 28, 2023). 5. S. 3373, Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022 (Honoring Our PACT Act of 2022), Public Law No. 117-168, 117th Congress, August 10, 2022, https://www. congress.gov/117/plaws/publ168/PLAW-117publ168.pdf (accessed January 28, 2023). 6. H.R. 2471, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, Public Law No. 117-103, 117th Congress, March 15, 2022, Division S, Title I, https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ103/PLAW-117publ103.pdf (accessed March 18, 2023). Known variously as the Department of Veterans Affairs Nurse and Physician Assistant Retention and Income Security Enhancement Act and the VA Nurse and Physician Assistant RAISE Act. 7. See note 5, supra. — 657 — Section Four THE ECONOMY The next Administration must prioritize the economic prosperity of ordi- nary Americans. For several decades, establishment “elites” have failed the citizenry by refusing to secure the border, outsourcing manufacturing to China and elsewhere, spending recklessly, regulating constantly, and generally controlling the country from the top down rather than letting it flourish from the bottom up. The proper role of government, as was articulated nearly 250 years ago, is to secure our God-given, unalienable rights in order that we might enjoy the pursuit of happiness, the benefits of free enterprise, and the blessings of liberty. Finding the right approach to trade policy is key to the fortunes of everyday Americans. In Chapter 26, president of the Competitive Enterprise Institute Kent Lassman and former White House director of trade and manufacturing policy Peter Navarro debate what an effective conservative trade policy would look like. Lass- man argues that the best trade policy is a humble, limited-government approach that would encourage free trade with all nations. He maintains that aggressive trade policies involve an increased government role that future leftist Administra- tions will utilize to push “climate change” and “equity”-based activism. Focusing more on gross domestic product (GDP) growth than on median income, he writes that “people mistakenly believe that U.S. manufacturing and the U.S. economy are in decline” when in truth “American manufacturing output is currently at an all-time high.” Meanwhile, we continue to experience “record-setting real GDP” despite our “long-run decline in manufacturing employment.” Lassman does not think that an aggressive U.S. trade policy would lead to more manufacturing jobs. Rather, he writes, “Federal Reserve research shows” that the

Department of Veterans Affairs

Weak
Vector: 61%
Pages: 682-684AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"The bill focuses on reimbursing veterans for benefits misused by fiduciaries, which addresses fraud and accountability but does not align with Project 2025's emphasis on streamlining disability claims processing, automation, performance metrics, or private-sector partnerships for claims adjudication."

Key themes:fraud reductionaccountabilitybenefits administration

— 649 — Department of Veterans Affairs approaches and technology tools that currently exist in the private sector could be employed to improve existing VBA activities. This problem is most pronounced in the disability claims process, which needs more and better management attention focused on streamlining the procedures involved in processing claims and administering benefits. The VA must improve timeliness of claim adjudication and benefits delivery: Veterans want the VBA to provide timely responses to requests for benefits support, render empathetic customer service and understandable explanations of those benefits, and deliver those benefits without frustrating delays (weeks, not months). l Identify performance targets for benefits, report publicly on actual performance each quarter, and use these metrics to drive consistent improvement. l Develop a new pilot “Express 30” commitment for a veteran’s first fully developed disability compensation claim and organize the VBA to complete the first claim in 30 days. l Hire more private companies to perform disability medical examinations. Delays in completing the examinations could be eliminated with more external capacity. l Increase automation. Hiring additional staff to process claims is costly, is inflexible, and has yielded mixed results. Attempting to change laws and regulations simply to adjudicate claims would be a herculean effort given their complexity. The best way to provide benefits faster and more accurately is by using technology to perform most of the work. Technology currently exists in the private sector, but the VBA lacks the expertise to use it. This would be more of an organizational challenge than a technology hurdle. l Reduce improper payment and fraud. About $500 million is improperly paid out each year. Better tools, training, and management could reduce this substantially, but rule changes at the departmental level would be needed. Budget The VA’s Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) has assigned disability ratings to a growing number of health conditions over time; some are tenuously related or wholly unrelated to military service. The further growth in presumptive service-connected medical conditions pursued by Congress and Veteran Service Organizations, begun with Agent Orange and most recently for Burn Pits/Airborne — 650 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise Toxins, has led to historic increases in mandatory VBA spending in recent years. The VA has a time-phased plan to reassess the VASRD and its ratings for com- pensation, but this internal process can be slow and laborious, requires Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approvals, and can become politically charged both in Congress and with VSOs. l The next Administration should explore how VASRD reviews could be accelerated with clearance from OMB to target significant cost savings from revising disability rating awards for future claimants while preserving them fully or partially for existing claimants. l The VBA’s Information Technology top-line budget should be reexamined and reassessed in light of the need for expanded automation across the enterprise. l Traditionally, VHA captures the large majority of VA IT funding. The VBA needs to make the case for a larger IT budget with clear requirements to support that request. Personnel l Pursue reforms of the Human Capital Management process and operations within the VBA to build a more blended workforce with more contractors to process claims. This would free federal employees to perform other duties and be involved solely with the final decision to award benefits. l Improve the VBA acquisition workforce. The VBA needs more world-class contractor support. Currently, few of the top companies have contracts with the VBA, and the VBA needs to conduct more outreach to the private sector through senior leader engagement and industry conferences. l To identify more effective and efficient ways to complete claims, establish a knowledge exchange program with top-tier private-sector companies that do similar work. The VBA is fundamentally a financial services organization. A significant amount of its work has a private-sector analogue that could be leveraged to improve service to veterans. l For most of its existence, the VBA has been a risk-averse, insular, paper-based organization, implementing technology only over the past decade. This insularity has led to a predominantly “build it ourselves” approach, partly because VBA staff has limited experience or insight into current private- sector tools and methods and partly because the VBA struggles to compete

Showing 3 of 5 policy matches

About These Correlations

Policy matches are calculated using a hybrid approach: initial candidates are found using semantic similarity between bill summaries and Project 2025 policy text, then an AI model (Llama 3.1 70B) provides detailed alignment ratings and analysis. Ratings range from 1 (minimal alignment) to 5 (very strong alignment). This analysis does not imply direct causation or intent.

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