[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 357 Reported in House (RH)]
Union Calendar No. 66
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 357
[Report No. 113-94]
To amend title 38, United States Code, to require courses of education
provided by public institutions of higher education that are approved
for purposes of the educational assistance programs administered by the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to charge veterans tuition and fees at
the in-State tuition rate.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 23, 2013
Mr. Miller of Florida (for himself and Mr. Michaud) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans'
Affairs
June 3, 2013
Additional sponsors: Mr. Jones, Mr. Griffin of Arkansas, Mr. Nugent,
Mr. Pastor of Arizona, Mr. O'Rourke, Mr. Ross, Mr. Hunter, Mrs.
McCarthy of New York, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Collins of New
York, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Cole, Mr. Ruiz, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr.
LoBiondo, Mr. Lamborn, Mr. Peterson, Ms. Frankel of Florida, Mr. Walz,
Ms. Shea-Porter, Ms. Titus, Mr. Young of Alaska, Ms. Sewell of Alabama,
Mr. Takano, Mr. Johnson of Ohio, Mr. Courtney, Mr. Honda, Mr. Stivers,
Mrs. Negrete McLeod, Ms. Schwartz, Mr. Bishop of New York, Mr. Carson
of Indiana, Mrs. Kirkpatrick, Ms. Kuster, Mr. Benishek, Mr. Holt, Mr.
Latta, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Amodei, Mr. Runyan, Mr. Forbes, Mr. Barber,
Mr. Roe of Tennessee, Mr. Peters of California, Ms. Brownley of
California, Mrs. Walorski, Mr. Messer, Ms. Sinema, and Mr. Gerlach
June 3, 2013
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House
on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January
23, 2013]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to require courses of education
provided by public institutions of higher education that are approved
for purposes of the educational assistance programs administered by the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to charge veterans tuition and fees at
the in-State tuition rate.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``GI Bill Tuition
Fairness Act of 2013''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. References to title 38, United States Code.
Sec. 3. Approval of courses of education provided by public educational
institutions for purposes of educational
assistance programs administered by
Secretary of Veterans Affairs conditional
on in-State tuition rate for veterans.
Sec. 4. Extension of authorization of appropriations for payment of a
monthly assistance allowance to disabled
veterans training or competing for the
Paralympic Team.
Sec. 5. Extension of authorization of appropriations for assistance to
United States Paralympics, Inc.
Sec. 6. Clarification of eligibility for services under the Homeless
Veterans Reintegration Program.
Sec. 7. Extension of eligibility period for vocational rehabilitation
programs.
Sec. 8. Work-study allowance.
Sec. 9. Responsibilities of the Directors of Veterans' Employment and
Training.
Sec. 10. Contents of Transition Assistance Program.
Sec. 11. Three-month extension of Veterans Retraining Assistance
Program.
Sec. 12. Increase in rates of disability compensation and dependency
and indemnity compensation.
Sec. 13. Performance awards in the senior executive service.
SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO TITLE 38, UNITED STATES CODE.
Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an
amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or a
repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be
considered to be made to a section or other provision of title 38,
United States Code.
SEC. 3. APPROVAL OF COURSES OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY PUBLIC EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS FOR PURPOSES OF EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE
PROGRAMS ADMINISTERED BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
CONDITIONAL ON IN-STATE TUITION RATE FOR VETERANS.
(a) In General.--Section 3679 is amended by adding at the end the
following new subsection:
``(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle, the
Secretary or the Secretary's designee shall disapprove a course of
education provided by a public educational institution unless the
institution charges tuition and fees for a veteran at up to the same
rate as the institution charges for residents of the State in which the
institution is located, regardless of the veteran's State of residence.
The Secretary shall notify the State approving agency of the
Secretary's disapproval of a course of education under this
subsection.''.
(b) Treatment of Enrolled Benefits Recipients.--
(1) In general.--In the case of a veteran or eligible
person who is enrolled before July 1, 2015, in a course of
education provided by a public educational institution that was
approved under chapter 36 of title 38, United States Code, at
the time of the initial enrollment of the veteran or eligible
person but that is disapproved by the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs or the Secretary's designee by reason of subsection (c)
of section 3679 of such title, as added by subsection (a), the
Secretary shall treat such institution as an institution that
is approved under such chapter for purposes of the laws
administered by the Secretary with respect to the veteran or
eligible person until the veteran or eligible person completes
the program of education in which the veteran or eligible
person is enrolled.
(2) Termination.--
(A) Limitation.--Except as provided in subparagraph
(B), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may not treat
such an institution as an approved institution under
paragraph (1) after July 1, 2019.
(B) Waiver.--The Secretary may waive the limitation
under subparagraph (A) if the Secretary determines such
a waiver is appropriate.
(c) Effective Date.--Subsection (c) of section 3679 of title 38,
United States Code, as added by subsection (a) shall apply with respect
to educational assistance provided after July 1, 2015.
SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR PAYMENT OF A
MONTHLY ASSISTANCE ALLOWANCE TO DISABLED VETERANS
TRAINING OR COMPETING FOR THE PARALYMPIC TEAM.
Section 322(d)(4) is amended by striking ``2013'' and inserting
``2018''.
SEC. 5. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR ASSISTANCE TO
UNITED STATES PARALYMPICS, INC.
Section 521A is amended--
(1) in subsection (g), by striking ``2013'' and inserting
``2018''; and
(2) in subsection (l), by striking ``2013'' and inserting
``2018''.
SEC. 6. CLARIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES UNDER THE HOMELESS
VETERANS REINTEGRATION PROGRAM.
Subsection (a) of section 2021 is amended by striking
``reintegration of homeless veterans into the labor force.'' and
inserting the following: ``reintegration into the labor force of--''
``(1) homeless veterans;
``(2) veterans participating in the Department of Veterans
Affairs supported housing program for which rental assistance
provided pursuant to section 8(o)(19) of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(19)); and
``(3) veterans who are transitioning from being
incarcerated.''.
SEC. 7. EXTENSION OF ELIGIBILITY PERIOD FOR VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION
PROGRAMS.
(a) Extension.--Section 3103 is amended by striking ``twelve-year
period'' and inserting ``17-year period'' each place it appears.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
apply with respect to a veteran applying for assistance under chapter
31 of title 38, United States Code, on or after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
SEC. 8. WORK-STUDY ALLOWANCE.
Section 3485(a)(4) is amended by striking ``June 30, 2013'' each
place it appears and inserting ``June 30, 2018''.
SEC. 9. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DIRECTORS OF VETERANS' EMPLOYMENT AND
TRAINING.
Section 4103 is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new
subsection (b):
``(b) Responsibilities.--Each Director assigned to a State under
subsection (a) shall carry out the following responsibilities:
``(1) Monitoring the performance of veterans' training and
employment programs in the State, with special emphasis on
services to disabled veterans.
``(2) Monitoring the performance of the State workforce
agency in complying with section 4212 of this title.
``(3) Suggesting to the Assistant Secretary of Labor for
Veterans' Employment and Training corrective actions that could
be taken by the State workforce agency to address deficiencies
in the performance of veterans' training and employment
programs in the State.
``(4) Annually negotiating with the State workforce agency
to establish performance goals for veterans' training and
employment programs in the State.
``(5) Reviewing the State's requests for funding for
veterans' training and employment programs and providing advice
to the State workforce agency and the Assistant Secretary
regarding such funding requests.
``(6) Forwarding complaints regarding possible violations
of chapter 43 of this title to the appropriate Regional
Administrator or to the to the Assistant Secretary, as
required.
``(7) Carrying out grant officer technical representative
responsibilities for grants issued under programs administered
by the Department.
``(8) Providing advice to the State workforce agency on
strategies to market veterans to employers.
``(9) Supervising and managing all support staff, including
Assistant Directors, establishing workload priorities, managing
all personnel actions, and evaluating all assigned personnel.
``(10) Submitting to the Assistant Secretary regular
reports on the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (4),
and (8), and any other matters the Assistant Secretary
determine appropriate.
``(11) Performing such other related duties as directed by
the Assistant Secretary.''.
SEC. 10. CONTENTS OF TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Section 1144 of title 10, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the following
new paragraph:
``(9) Provide information about disability-related
employment and education protections.''.
(2) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and (e), as
subsections (d), (e), and (f), respectively; and
(3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new
subsection (c):
``(c) Additional Elements of Program.--The mandatory program
carried out by this section shall include--
``(1) for any such member who plans to use the member's
entitlement to educational assistance under title 38--
``(A) instruction providing an overview of the use
of such entitlement; and
``(B) testing to determine academic readiness for
post-secondary education, courses of post-secondary
education appropriate for the member, courses of post-
secondary education compatible with the member's
education goals, and instruction on how to finance the
member's post-secondary education; and
``(2) instruction in the benefits under laws administered
by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and in other subjects
determined by the Secretary concerned.''.
(b) Deadline for Implementation.--The program carried out under
section 1144 of title 10, United States Code, shall comply with the
requirements of subsections (b)(9) and (c) of such section, as added by
subsection (a), by not later than April 1, 2015.
(c) Feasibility Study.--Not later than 270 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House
of Representatives the results of a study carried out by the Secretary
to determine the feasibility of providing the instruction described in
subsection (b) of section 1142 of title 10, United States Code, at all
overseas locations where such instruction is provided by entering into
a contract jointly with the Secretary of Labor for the provision of
such instruction.
SEC. 11. THREE-MONTH EXTENSION OF VETERANS RETRAINING ASSISTANCE
PROGRAM.
(a) Extension.--Section 211 of the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011
(Public Law 112-56; 125 Stat. 713; 38 U.S.C. 4100 note) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(2)(B), by striking ``March 31, 2014''
and inserting ``June 30, 2014''; and
(2) in subsection (k), by striking ``March 31, 2014'' and
inserting ``June 30, 2014''.
(b) Interim Report.--
(1) Report required.--Not later than 30 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs, in collaboration with the Secretary of Labor, shall
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress an interim
report on the retraining assistance provided under section 211
of the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 (Public Law 112-56; 125
Stat. 713; 38 U.S.C. 4100 note).
(2) Elements.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall
include the following:
(A) The total number of--
(i) eligible veterans who have participated
in the program established under such section
as of the date of the enactment of this Act;
and
(ii) associates degrees or certificates
awarded (or other similar evidence of the
completion of the program of education or
training earned) to veterans participating in
the program established under such section as
of such date.
(B) Data related to the employment status of
eligible veterans who participated in such program.
SEC. 12. INCREASE IN RATES OF DISABILITY COMPENSATION AND DEPENDENCY
AND INDEMNITY COMPENSATION.
(a) Rate Adjustment.--Effective on December 1, 2013, the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs shall increase, in accordance with subsection (c),
the dollar amounts in effect on November 30, 2013, for the payment of
disability compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation under
the provisions specified in subsection (b).
(b) Amounts To Be Increased.--The dollar amounts to be increased
pursuant to subsection (a) are the following:
(1) Wartime disability compensation.--Each of the dollar
amounts under section 1114 of title 38, United States Code.
(2) Additional compensation for dependents.--Each of the
dollar amounts under section 1115(1) of such title.
(3) Clothing allowance.--The dollar amount under section
1162 of such title.
(4) Dependency and indemnity compensation to surviving
spouse.--Each of the dollar amounts under subsections (a)
through (d) of section 1311 of such title.
(5) Dependency and indemnity compensation to children.--
Each of the dollar amounts under sections 1313(a) and 1314 of
such title.
(c) Determination of Increase.--
(1) Percentage.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), each
dollar amount described in subsection (b) shall be increased by
the same percentage as the percentage by which benefit amounts
payable under title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
401 et seq.) are increased effective December 1, 2012, as a
result of a determination under section 215(i) of such Act (42
U.S.C. 415(i)).
(2) Rounding.--Each dollar amount increased under paragraph
(1), if not a whole dollar amount, shall be rounded to the next
lower whole dollar amount.
(d) Special Rule.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may adjust
administratively, consistent with the increases made under subsection
(a), the rates of disability compensation payable to persons under
section 10 of Public Law 85-857 (72 Stat. 1263) who have not received
compensation under chapter 11 of title 38, United States Code.
(e) Publication of Adjusted Rates.--The Secretary of Veterans
Affairs shall publish in the Federal Register the amounts specified in
subsection (b), as increased under that section, not later than the
date on which the matters specified in section 215(i)(2)(D) of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 415(i)(2)(D)) are required to be
published by reason of a determination made under section 215(i) of
such Act during fiscal year 2014.
SEC. 13. PERFORMANCE AWARDS IN THE SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE.
For each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018, the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs may not pay any performance awards under section 5384
of title 5, United States Code.
Amend the title so as to read: ``A bill to amend title 38,
United States Code, to require courses of education provided by
public institutions of higher education that are approved for
purposes of the educational assistance programs administered by
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to charge veterans tuition
and fees at the in-State tuition rate, to make other
improvements in the laws relating to benefits administered by
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.''.
Union Calendar No. 66
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 357
[Report No. 113-94]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to require courses of education
provided by public institutions of higher education that are approved
for purposes of the educational assistance programs administered by the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to charge veterans tuition and fees at
the in-State tuition rate.
_______________________________________________________________________
June 3, 2013
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House
on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed