AGENT OR ATTORNEY REPRESENTATION IN VETERANS BENEFITS CASES BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

SEC. 101. AGENT OR ATTORNEY REPRESENTATION IN VETERANS BENEFITS CASES BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.(a) Qualifications and Standards of Conduct for Individuals Recognized as Agents or Attorneys.—(1) Additional qualifications and standards for agents and attorneys generally.—Subsection (a) of section 5904 is amended—(A) by inserting “Recognition.—(1)” after “(a)”;(B) by striking “The Secretary may recognize” and inserting “Except as provided in paragraph (4), the Secretary may recognize”;(C) by striking the second sentence; and(D) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:“(2) The Secretary shall prescribe in regulations (consistent with the Model Rules of Professional Conduct of the American Bar Association) qualifications and standards of conduct for individuals recognized under this section, including a requirement that, as a condition of being so recognized, an individual must—“(A) show that such individual is of good moral character and in good repute, is qualified to render claimants valuable service, and is otherwise competent to assist claimants in presenting claims;120 STAT. 3406“(B) have such level of experience or specialized training as the Secretary shall specify; and“(C) certify to the Secretary that the individual has satisfied any qualifications and standards prescribed by the Secretary under this section.“(3) The Secretary shall prescribe in regulations requirements that each agent or attorney recognized under this section provide annually to the Secretary information about any court, bar, or Federal or State agency to which such agent or attorney is admitted to practice or otherwise authorized to appear, any relevant identification number or numbers, and a certification by such agent or attorney that such agent or attorney is in good standing in every jurisdiction where the agent or attorney is admitted to practice or otherwise authorized to appear.“(4) The Secretary may not recognize an individual as an agent or attorney under paragraph (1) if such individual has been suspended or disbarred by any court, bar, or Federal or State agency to which the individual was previously admitted to practice and has not been subsequently reinstated.“(5) The Secretary may prescribe in regulations reasonable restrictions on the amount of fees that an agent or attorney may charge a claimant for services rendered in the preparation, presentation, and prosecution of a claim before the Department. A fee that does not exceed 20 percent of the past due amount of benefits awarded on a claim shall be presumed to be reasonable.“(6)(A) The Secretary may charge and collect an assessment from an individual recognized as an agent or attorney under this section in any case in which the Secretary pays to the agent or attorney, from past-due benefits owed to a claimant represented by the agent or attorney, an amount as a fee in accordance with a fee arrangement between the claimant and the agent or attorney.“(B) The amount of an assessment under subparagraph (A) shall be equal to five percent of the amount of the fee required to be paid to the agent or attorney, except that the amount of such an assessment may not exceed $100.“(C) The Secretary may collect an assessment under subparagraph (A) by offsetting the amount of the fee otherwise required to be paid to the agent or attorney from the past-due benefits owed to the claimant represented by the agent or attorney.“(D) An agent or attorney who is charged an assessment under subparagraph (A) may not, directly or indirectly, request, receive, or obtain reimbursement for such assessment from the claimant represented by the agent or attorney.“(E) Amounts collected under this paragraph shall be deposited in the account available for administrative expenses for veterans’ benefits programs. Amounts so deposited shall be merged with amounts in such account and shall be available for the same purpose, and subject to the same conditions and limitations, as amounts otherwise in such account.”.(2) Suspension of recognized representatives of veterans service organizations.—Section 5902(b) is amended—(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively;(B) by inserting “(1)” after “(b)”; and(C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:120 STAT. 3407 “(2) An individual recognized under this section shall be subject to the provisions of section 5904(b) of this title on the same basis as an individual recognized under section 5904(a) of this title.”.(3) Suspension of individuals recognized for particular claims.—Section 5903 is amended—(A) by inserting “(a) In General.—” before “The Secretary”; and(B) by adding at the end the following new subsection:“(b) Suspension.—An individual recognized under this section shall be subject to the provisions of section 5904(b) of this title on the same basis as an individual recognized under section 5904(a) of this title.”.(b) Additional Bases for Suspension of Individuals.—Subsection (b) of section 5904 is amended—(1) by inserting “Suspension of Agents and Attorneys.—” after “(b)”;(2) in paragraph (4), by striking “or” at the end;(3) in paragraph (5), by striking the period and inserting a semicolon; and(4) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:“(6) has presented to the Secretary a frivolous claim, issue, or argument, involving conduct inconsistent with ethical standards for the practice of law;“(7) has been suspended or disbarred by any court or bar to which such agent or attorney was previously admitted to practice, or has been disqualified from participating in or appearing before any Federal agency, and has not been subsequently reinstated;“(8) has charged excessive or unreasonable fees, as determined by the Secretary in accordance with subsection (c)(3)(A); or“(9) has failed to comply with any other condition specified in regulations prescribed by the Secretary for purposes of this subsection.”.(c) Modification of Date for Commencement of Services Subject to Fees.—(1) Modification.—Effective as provided in subsection (h), paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of such section is amended—(A) by striking “the Board of Veterans’ Appeals first makes a final decision in” and inserting “a notice of disagreement is filed with respect to”;(B) by striking the second sentence; and(C) in the third sentence, by inserting “fees charged, allowed, or paid for” before “services provided”.(2) Report.—Not later than 42 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Congress a report that sets forth an assessment of the effects of allowing agents and attorneys recognized under section 5904 of title 38, United States Code, to charge a fee to a claimant for services rendered in the preparation, presentation, and prosecution of a claim before the Department of Veterans Affairs after a notice of disagreement has been filed. Such report shall include the recommendations of the Secretary with respect to agent and attorney representation.(d) Modification of Requirements To File Attorney Fee Agreements.—Effective as provided in subsection (h), paragraph (2) of subsection (c) of such section is amended—120 STAT. 3408(1) by striking “after the Board first makes a final decision in the case” and inserting “after a notice of disagreement is filed with respect to the case”;(2) by striking “with the Board at such time as may be specified by the Board” and inserting “with the Secretary pursuant to regulations prescribed by the Secretary”; and(3) by striking the second and third sentences.(e) Attorney Fees.—Subsection (c) of such section is further amended—(1) in paragraph (1), by striking “paragraph (3)” and inserting “paragraph (4)”; and(2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4);(3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new paragraph (3):“(3)(A) The Secretary may, upon the Secretary’s own motion or at the request of the claimant, review a fee agreement filed pursuant to paragraph (2) and may order a reduction in the fee called for in the agreement if the Secretary finds that the fee is excessive or unreasonable.“(B) A finding or order of the Secretary under subparagraph (A) may be reviewed by the Board of Veterans’ Appeals under section 7104 of this title.“(C) If the Secretary under subsection (b) suspends or excludes from further practice before the Department any agent or attorney who collects or receives a fee in excess of the amount authorized under this section, the suspension shall continue until the agent or attorney makes full restitution to each claimant from whom the agent or attorney collected or received an excessive fee. If the agent or attorney makes such restitution, the Secretary may reinstate such agent or attorney under such rules as the Secretary may prescribe.”.(f) Technical and Conforming Amendments.—Subsection (d) of such section is amended—(1) by inserting “Payment of Fees Out of Past-Due Benefits.—” after “(d)”;(2) by inserting “agent or” before “attorney” each place it appears;(3) in paragraph (1), by striking “of this subsection” after “paragraph (2)”;(4) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking “of this paragraph” after “subparagraph (A)”; and(5) in paragraph (3)—(A) by striking “attorneys’ fee” and inserting “fee to an agent or attorney”; and(B) by striking “of this subsection” after “paragraph (1)”.(g) Repeal of Penalty for Certain Acts.—Section 5905 is amended by striking “(1)” and all that follows through “(2)”.(h) Effective Date.—The amendments made by subsections (c)(1) and (d) shall take effect on the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply with respect to services of agents and attorneys that are provided with respect to cases in which notices of disagreement are filed on or after that date.(i) Limitation on Collection of Fee Assessment.—No assessments on fees may be collected under paragraph (6) of section 5904(a) of title 38, United States Code (as added by subsection 120 STAT. 3409 (a)(1)(D) of this section), until the date on which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs prescribes the regulations required by the amendments made by this section.