§ 5317. Use of income information from other agencies: notice and verification
(a)
The Secretary shall notify each applicant for a benefit or service described in subsection (c) of this section that income information furnished by the applicant to the Secretary may be compared with information obtained by the Secretary from the Commissioner of Social Security or the Secretary of the Treasury under section 6103(l)(7)(D)(viii) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The Secretary shall periodically transmit to recipients of such benefits and services additional notifications of such matters.
(b)
The Secretary may not, by reason of information obtained from the Commissioner of Social Security or the Secretary of the Treasury under section 6103(l)(7)(D)(viii) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, terminate, deny, suspend, or reduce any benefit or service described in subsection (c) of this section until the Secretary takes appropriate steps to verify independently information relating to the following:
(c)
The benefits and services described in this subsection are the following:
(1)
Needs-based pension benefits provided under chapter
15 of this title or under any other law administered by the Secretary.
(3)
Health-care services furnished under subsections (a)(2)(G), (a)(3), and (b) of section
1710 of this title.
(4)
Compensation paid under chapter
11 of this title at the 100 percent rate based solely on unemployability and without regard to the fact that the disability or disabilities are not rated as 100 percent disabling under the rating schedule.
(d)
In the case of compensation described in subsection (c)(4) of this section, the Secretary may independently verify or otherwise act upon wage or self-employment information referred to in subsection (b) of this section only if the Secretary finds that the amount and duration of the earnings reported in that information clearly indicate that the individual may no longer be qualified for a rating of total disability.
(e)
The Secretary shall inform the individual of the findings made by the Secretary on the basis of verified information under subsection (b) of this section, and shall give the individual an opportunity to contest such findings, in the same manner as applies to other information and findings relating to eligibility for the benefit or service involved.
(f)
The Secretary shall pay the expenses of carrying out this section from amounts available to the Department for the payment of compensation and pension.
(g)
The authority of the Secretary to obtain information from the Secretary of the Treasury or the Commissioner of Social Security under section 6103(l)(7)(D)(viii) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 expires on September 30, 2011.