[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 83 (Monday, May 21, 2018)] [House] [Pages H4254-H4256] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] SERVICEMEMBERS IMPROVED TRANSITION THROUGH REFORMS FOR ENSURING PROGRESS ACT Mr. DUNN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4830) to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the disapproval of any course of education for purposes of the educational assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs unless the educational institution providing the course permits individuals to attend or participate in courses pending payment by Department, and for other purposes, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 4830 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 ``Servicemembers Improved Transition through Reforms for Ensuring Progress Act'' or the ``SIT-REP Act''. SEC. 2. DISAPPROVAL FOR PURPOSES OF EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OF CERTAIN COURSES OF EDUCATION THAT DO NOT PERMIT INDIVIDUALS TO ATTEND OR PARTICIPATE IN COURSES PENDING PAYMENT. Section 3679 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: ``(e)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, beginning on August 1, 2018, a State approving agency, or the Secretary when acting in the role of the State approving agency, shall disapprove a course of education provided by an educational institution unless the educational institution has adopted the following policies: ``(A) A policy that permits any covered individual to attend or participate in the course of education during the period beginning on the date on which the individual provides to the educational institution a certificate of eligibility for entitlement to educational assistance under chapter 31 or 33 of this title and ending on the earlier of the following dates: ``(i) The date on which the Secretary provides payment for such course of education to such institution. ``(ii) The date that is 90 days after the date on which the individual provides to the educational institution such certificate of eligibility. ``(B) A policy that ensures that the educational institution will not impose any penalty, including the assessment of late fees, the denial of access to classes, libraries, or other institutional facilities, or the requirement that a covered individual borrow additional funds, on any covered individual because of the individual's inability to meet his or her financial obligations to the institution as a result of the delayed disbursement of any payment to be provided by the Secretary. ``(2) For purposes of this subsection, a covered individual is any individual who is entitled to educational assistance under chapter 31 or 33 of this title. ``(3) The Secretary may waive such requirements of paragraph (1) as the Secretary considers appropriate.''. [[Page H4255]] SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION REGARDING APPLICABILITY OF AUTHORITY TO USE EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE TO PURSUE INDEPENDENT STUDY PROGRAMS AT CERTAIN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS THAT ARE NOT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING. The section heading for section 302 of the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 (Public Law 115- 48) is amended to read as follows (and the table of contents for such Act is conformed accordingly): ``SEC. 302. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE UNDER ANY OF THE EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO PURSUE INDEPENDENT STUDY PROGRAMS AT CERTAIN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS THAT ARE NOT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING.''. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Dunn) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Walz) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida. General Leave Mr. DUNN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material into the Record on H.R. 4830, as amended. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Florida? There was no objection. Mr. DUNN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4830, as amended, the SIT-REP Act, the Servicemembers Improved Transition through Reforms for Ensuring Progress Act. Mr. Speaker, the Post-9/11 GI Bill provides generous education benefits, including a monthly living stipend to veterans and eligible dependents. In order for a student to utilize this benefit, they must provide a certificate of eligibility to the school or training program and then the institution certifies the student's attendance to the Department of Veterans Affairs. After this process, the school receives tuition payment and the veteran receives their monthly housing allowance. Mr. Speaker, if all goes well, those claims are supposed to be processed within 12 to 14 days for original claims, and between 6 to 8 days for supplemental claims. However, there are times when delays do occur, and they can have a significant impact on a school's and a student's bottom line. These delays typically occur at the beginning of a semester, or when a school doesn't do their part to certify a student's attendance quickly. Mr. Speaker, we have been told that some schools and training programs have, essentially, taken these delays out on their student veterans, dependents and surviving spouses by placing students on payment plans, blocking access to school facilities; and, in some cases, have been barring students from registering for classes. Mr. Speaker, I believe these practices are incredibly unfair, as students should not be held accountable for bureaucratic delays and hiccups that are outside their control. I am pleased that H.R. 4830, as amended, would address this issue and say that in order for schools and training programs to be eligible for the GI Bill, they must adopt a policy that doesn't punish students in any way for delays in tuition fees and payments that are not their fault. Mr. Speaker, I thank Vice Chairman Bilirakis and the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, TAPS, a great organization that helps survivors of all ages deal with loss, for bringing this important bill forward. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4830, as amended, and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for, once again, bringing up a really important piece of legislation. I believe the gentleman is also the longest serving member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee. Any piece of important legislation over the last decade-plus has had his hand in it. H.R. 4830, as amended, is a bill that we have worked on in a bipartisan basis with TAPS, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. TAPS came to the committee and to Mr. Bilirakis, after they heard from many surviving spouses that with all of the changes that were being implemented on August 1, there will be delayed payments and processing times for payments for veterans and survivors enrolled for the fall 2018 semester. {time} 1545 The Forever GI Bill that we are all in this body proud of passing and proud of updating contains several large-scale changes the VA is currently working very hard to implement. Some of those changes went into effect in the fall of 2017, and TAPS reported to the committee that, because of delays in VA payments, many schools demanded payment from students. There were stories of students who were not allowed to attend class, register for classes, or use campus facilities only because the VA payment was delayed. In some cases, students were even put on a payment plan they could not afford or forced to take out student loans with egregious orientation fees in order to continue their education. This bill will provide students receiving VA payments with the same protections as those who receive title IV funding, such as Pell Grants and Federal student loans. These title IV students are allowed to attend classes, participate in extracurricular activities, and use campus facilities as long as their school knows payment is forthcoming. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4830, as amended, will give the Secretary of Veterans Affairs the ability to disapprove any course of education unless the educational institution providing the course permits individuals to attend or participate in courses pending payment by the VA and accept a certificate of eligibility as a promise. As such, the bill will serve as a preventive measure to discourage schools from engaging in shutting out VA beneficiaries simply because of an administrative delay. This is a really good step toward ensuring that our student veterans and other GI Bill beneficiaries are not unnecessarily prevented from getting the most of their benefits due. To be very clear about this, there are very few benefits that are really earned in the way a GI Bill benefit is earned. Those of us who have used the GI Bill to get an education know how important it is. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for continuing to show care for these veterans. This is a great, smart piece of legislation. I encourage its adoption. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. DUNN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), the vice chairman of the committee. Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Dunn, my fellow Floridian, a great Member of Congress, and also my good friend Mr. Walz, who has done an outstanding job over the years supporting our veterans. I also thank Mr. Walz for his service. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 4830, the Servicemembers Improved Transition through Reforms for Ensuring Progress Act, or the SIT-REP Act, which will hold student veterans harmless from bureaucratic red tape and delays at higher education institutions at the VA. I am proud of the work my colleagues and I conducted on the Veterans' Affairs Committee last year to pass the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Education Assistance Act, or the Forever GI Bill. This historic legislation expanded access to education and improves and modernizes the GI Bill for our veterans. This is one of the reasons, Mr. Speaker, we came to Congress: to do something like this, to help our veterans get their education. In our committee hearings on implementation of the Forever GI Bill, we heard concerns about the delays in processing of tuition payments between the schools and the VA. I also had roundtables in my district with veterans, and this was a concern of theirs. So while the average timelines for processing these benefits are 25 days for new claims and 9 days for supplemental claims, oftentimes the processing timelines spike higher at the beginning of each school year upon a surge in claims. We heard concerns from our VSO stakeholders--I thank them--regarding delayed payments resulting from either slow VA processing or a mistake or tardiness by the school certifying official. In some cases, the delays meant schools putting a hold on a student's [[Page H4256]] account or forcing the student to begin payment of tuition and fees on a payment plan until they received money from VA. My bill, the SIT-REP Act, would give the Secretary the authority to disapprove courses of education for the GI Bill unless the educational institution adopts a policy ensuring that it will not impose a fee on the veteran or deny the veteran's access to education. This policy would be applied for the first 90 days of the school term. The SIT-REP Act is a commonsense bill that protects student veterans and their families who, through no fault of their own, are denied access to education because the school made a mistake or the VA made a late payment. It is not the veteran's fault, and they should not be punished for the actions of others. Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to join me in support of my practical and bipartisan legislation, which will help ensure our student veterans have full access to the educational benefits they have earned and deserve. I hope that the Senate takes up this bill quickly. Again, I urge passage of this great bill. We have got to get it to the President's desk as soon as possible. Mr. Speaker, I thank the committee staff as well. They did a great job on this bill. Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for his great work on this. I encourage its passage. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. DUNN. Mr. Speaker, once again, I encourage all Members to support H.R. 4830, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Dunn) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4830, as amended. The question was taken. The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it. Mr. DUNN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays. The yeas and nays were ordered. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. ____________________