A bill to reinstate criminal penalties for persons charging veterans unauthorized fees relating to claims for benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4646 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4646 To reinstate criminal penalties for persons charging veterans unauthorized fees relating to claims for benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 1, 2026 Mr. Blumenthal (for himself, Mr. King, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Lujan, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Gallego, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Kelly, Mrs. Shaheen, and Mr. Welch) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To reinstate criminal penalties for persons charging veterans unauthorized fees relating to claims for benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 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 ``Stopping Abuse, Fraud, and Exploitation by Governing Unaccredited Representatives Defrauding Veterans Act of 2026'' or the ``SAFEGUARD Veterans Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. REINSTATEMENT OF PENALTIES FOR CHARGING VETERANS UNAUTHORIZED FEES RELATING TO CLAIMS FOR BENEFITS UNDER LAWS ADMINISTERED BY THE SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. (a) In General.--Section 5905 of title 38, United States Code, is amended-- (1) in the section heading, by striking ``Penalty'' and inserting ``Penalties''; (2) by striking ``Whoever'' and inserting the following: ``(a) Withholding of Benefits.--Whoever''; and (3) by adding at the end the following new subsections: ``(b) Charging of Unauthorized Fees.--Except as provided in sections 5904 and 1984 of this title, whoever solicits, contracts for, charges, o