Promotion of availability of assistance from individuals recognized by Secretary of Veterans Affairs for preparation, presentation, and prosecution of certain claims for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary

(a) Notice of availability of assistance from accredited persons Section 5103A of title 38, United States Code, is amended— (1) by redesignating subsections (g) through (i) as subsections (h) through (j), respectively; or (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the following new subsections: (g) Notice of availability of representation (1) Upon receipt of a claim, or supplemental claim, by a claimant not represented by an accredited person, the Secretary shall provide notice to the claimant that— (A) an accredited person may be available to the claimant for the preparation, presentation, or prosecution of such claim or supplemental claim; (B) an organization recognized under section 5902 of this title is available to the claimant for the preparation, presentation, or prosecution of such claim or supplemental claim at no cost to the claimant; and (C) includes the web addresses of the Department websites described in paragraph (2). (2) (A) The Secretary shall maintain, on a publicly available website of the Department— (i) a list of accredited persons available to the claimant for the preparation, presentation, or prosecution of an initial claim or supplemental claim; and (ii) a system through which a claimant may report— (I) a person, who is not an accredited person, who prepared, presented, or prosecuted a claim or supplemental claim on behalf of the claimant; and (II) any fee charged by such person associated with such preparation, presentation, or prosecution. (B) With respect to the list described in paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall— (i) update the such list not less than quarterly; and (ii) ensure such list is easily accessible to a claimant. (3) In this subsection, the term accredited person means— (A) an organization recognized under section 5902 of this title; or (B) an attorney, agent, or other person recognized under section 5904 of this title.. (b) Online warnings of fees for certain representation The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall include, in each web portal of the Department of Veterans Affairs through which an individual may file a claim for a benefit under the laws administered by the Secretary, a warning with respect to fees an agent or attorney recognized under section 5904 of such title may charge such individual associated with the preparation, presentation, or prosecution of such claim. Such warning shall include the web addresses of the Department websites maintained pursuant to subsection (g) of section 5103A of such title, as added by subsection (a). (c) Report Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall— (1) complete a review the regulations, processes, and procedures of the Department of Veterans Affairs that with respect to the recognition of agents and attorneys under section 5904 of such title; (2) develop recommendations for legislative or administrative action to improve such regulations, processes, and procedures; and (3) submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report that includes— (A) the findings of the review under paragraph (1); and (B) the recommendations developed under paragraph (2).