H.R. 1656 — PLUS for Veterans Act of 2025

This section excludes the administration of a medical examination, or the completion of a report with respect to such examination, as described in 38 U.S.C. §5125, from constituting the preparation, presentation, or prosecution of a claim under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. (Thus, physicians and other providers conducting VA-contracted medical disability examinations for veterans' benefits claims need not be recognized as agents or attorneys.)

This section amends VA standards for recognizing agents and attorneys to represent claimants in benefit claims (38 U.S.C. 5904) as follows: (1) requires applicants to submit an application in a form specified by the Secretary, with conditional one-year recognition if qualifications cannot be verified within 90 days (extendable in additional one-year periods until verified); (2) prohibits suspension, exclusion, fines, or denial of recognition based on charging fees for initial claims before enactment or while not recognized; (3) authorizes the Secretary to assess up to $500 (amount set by regulation) from applicants who charge fees for initial claims, with collections deposited in a revolving fund for administration; (4) adds failure to comply with HIPAA data security requirements as grounds for suspension; and (5) requires an annual report to the congressional Veterans' Affairs Committees, beginning one year after enactment, on suspensions and denials disaggregated by reason and type of representative. This section further revises fee agreements for initial claims to a flat fee structure that (1) prohibits claimant payment before notice of the initial decision, (2) makes total payment contingent on a favorable outcome (i.e., any relief granted) not exceeding the lesser of $12,500 (as adjusted) or five times the monthly benefit increase awarded, and (3) requires a standard VA form attesting to specified notices.

This section amends the heading of 38 U.S.C. 5905 from "Penalty" to "Penalties," designates the existing prohibition on wrongfully withholding benefits from a claimant or beneficiary as subsection (a) (fine under 18 U.S.C. or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both), and adds new subsections as follows: (1) subsection (b) reinstating the prohibition on directly or indirectly charging unauthorized fees for preparation, presentation, or prosecution of VA benefits claims (except as provided in 38 U.S.C. §§ 5904, 1984), with the same penalties; (2) subsection (c) requiring the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, upon violation of VA laws or regulations by an individual conditionally or temporarily recognized as an agent or attorney under 38 U.S.C. § 5904(a)(1)(B)(ii) or (iii), to revoke such recognition after notice and, after a hearing, impose a $50,000 fine and bar the individual from recognition for one year (first violation) or 10 years (subsequent violations); and (3) subsection (d) directing deposit of fines from subsections (b) or (c) into the fund established under 38 U.S.C. § 5904(a)(7)(C). (As background, 38 U.S.C. § 5904 authorizes recognition of agents and attorneys to represent veterans, survivors, and other claimants in pursuing benefits administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs.) This section makes a conforming change to the table of sections at the beginning of chapter 59 and specifies that the amendments apply effective 90 days after the Secretary prescribes regulations required by section 3(b).

This section establishes federal preemption, providing that the Act and its amendments supersede and preclude implementation of any inconsistent state law—statutory, common law, or otherwise, adopted before or after enactment.