Veteran Education Empowerment Act

Summary: Veteran Education Empowerment Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to award four-year grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) to establish, maintain, and improve a veteran student center. Requires grantees to be IHEs that:  have a population of at least 15,000 students, of which at least 1% are veterans or members of the Armed Forces; are located in a region or community that has a significant veteran population; carry out programs or activities that assist veterans in the local community; and present a sustainability plan demonstrating that their veteran student center will be maintained and will continue to operate after the grant ends.  Defines a &quot;veteran student center&quot; as a dedicated space on a campus that provides students who are veterans or members of the Armed Forces with: (1) a lounge or meeting space for such students and veterans in the community, and (2) a centralized office for veteran services that is staffed by trained employees and volunteers.  Requires that office to provide such students with assistance in:   transitioning from the military to student life, transitioning from the military to the civilian workforce,  networking with other students,  understanding and obtaining the federal and state benefits for which they may be eligible, and  understanding how to succeed in the IHE. 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veteran Education Empowerment Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Over 1,000,000 veterans attended institutions of higher 
        education in 2012.
            (2) Veterans face unique hardships in transitioning from 
        the battlefield to the classroom and eventually to the 
        workforce.
            (3) The National Endowment for the Humanities' Warrior-
        Scholar Project found that ``veterans transitioning to college 
        likely have not used academic skills since high school and have 
        difficulty adjusting to a fundamentally different social and 
        cultural environment, [leading] to veterans dropping out of 
        college before earning their degree''.
            (4) The National Education Association found that veteran 
        students can feel lonely and vulnerable on campus and that 
        ``connecting student veterans can effectively ease this 
        isolation'' by bringing together new veteran students with 
        those who have already successfully navigated the first few 
        semesters of college.
            (5) The unemployment rate for post--9/11 veterans far 
        outpaces both the overall non-veteran unemployment rate and the 
        unemployment rate for non-veterans entering the workforce for 
        the first time.
            (6) According to Mission United--a United Way program that 
        helps veterans re-acclimate to civilian life--it is often 
        ``essential'' for veteran students to be mentored by ``another 
        veteran who understands their mindset and experience''.
            (7) Veteran student centers are recognized as an 
        institutional best practice by the Student Veterans of America.
            (8) The American Council on Education, which represents 
        more than 1,700 institutions of higher education across the 
        country, has called having a dedicated space for veterans on 
        campus ``a promising way for colleges and universities to 
        better serve veterans on campus'' and a ``critical'' component 
        of many colleges' efforts to serve their veteran students.
            (9) Budget constraints often make it difficult or 
        impossible for institutions of higher education to dedicate 
        space to veteran offices, lounges, or student centers.
            (10) The 110th Congress authorized the funding of veteran 
        student centers through the Centers of Excellence for Veteran 
        Student Success under part T of title VIII of the Higher 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1161t).
            (11) According to the Department of Education, federally 
        funded veteran student centers and staff have generated 
        improved recruitment, retention, and graduation rates, have 
        helped veteran students feel better connected across campus, 
        and have directly contributed to student veterans' successful 
        academic outcomes.

SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM TO ESTABLISH, MAINTAIN, AND IMPROVE VETERAN 
              STUDENT CENTERS.

    (a) Establishment.--From the amounts appropriated to carry out this 
Act, the Secretary of Education shall establish a program to award 
grants to institutions of higher education to assist in the 
establishment, maintenance, and improvement of veteran student centers.
    (b) Eligibility.--
            (1) Application.--An institution of higher education 
        seeking a grant under subsection (a) shall submit to the 
        Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and 
        containing such information as the Secretary may require.
            (2) Criteria.--The Secretary may award a grant under 
        subsection (a) to an institution of higher education if the 
        Secretary determines that the institution of higher education 
        meets the following criteria:
                    (A) The institution has a population of not less 
                than 15,000 students, of which not less than one 
                percent are veterans or members of the Armed Forces.
                    (B) The institution is located in a region or 
                community that has a significant population of 
                veterans.
                    (C) The institution carries out programs or 
                activities that assist veterans in the local community.
                    (D) The institution presents a sustainability plan 
                to demonstrate that its veteran student center will be 
                maintained and will continue to operate after the term 
                of the grant has ended.
    (c) Use of Funds.--An institution of higher education that is 
awarded a grant under subsection (a) shall use such grant to establish, 
maintain, or improve a veteran student center.
    (d) Amounts Awarded.--
            (1) Duration.--Each grant awarded under subsection (a) 
        shall be for a 4-year period.
            (2) Total amount of grant and schedule.--Each grant awarded 
        under subsection (a) may not exceed a total of $500,000. 
        Subject to subsection (e), the Secretary shall disburse to the 
        institution of higher education the amounts awarded under the 
        grant in such amounts and at such times during the grant period 
        as the Secretary determines appropriate.
    (e) Evaluation.--The Secretary shall annually evaluate each 
institution of higher education that is awarded a grant under 
subsection (a) to determine whether the institution uses the grant in 
accordance with this section. If the Secretary determines that the 
institution of higher education is not using the grant in accordance 
with this section, the Secretary may delay future disbursements of 
amounts described in subsection (d)(2) until the Secretary determines 
that the institution of higher education has corrected any deficiencies 
and will use such amounts in accordance with this section.
    (f) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the 
grant program established under subsection (a), including--
            (1) the number of grants awarded;
            (2) the institutions of higher education that have received 
        grants;
            (3) with respect to each such institution of higher 
        education--
                    (A) the amounts awarded; and
                    (B) how such institution used such amounts; and
            (4) a determination by the Secretary with respect to 
        whether the grant program should be extended or expanded.
    (g) Termination.--The authority of the Secretary to carry out the 
grant program established under subsection (a) shall terminate on the 
date that is 4 years after the date on which the grant program is 
established.
    (h) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1001).
            (2) Veteran student center.--The term ``veteran student 
        center'' means a dedicated space on a campus of an institution 
        of higher education that provides students who are veterans or 
        members of the Armed Forces with the following:
                    (A) A lounge or meeting space for such students and 
                veterans in the community.
                    (B) A centralized office for veteran services 
                that--
                            (i) is staffed by trained employees and 
                        volunteers; and
                            (ii) provides such students with assistance 
                        relating to--
                                    (I) transitioning from the military 
                                to student life;
                                    (II) transitioning from the 
                                military to the civilian workforce;
                                    (III) networking with other such 
                                students;
                                    (IV) understanding and obtaining 
                                benefits provided by the Federal 
                                Government or a State for which such 
                                students may be eligible; and
                                    (V) understanding how to succeed in 
                                the institution of higher education, 
                                including by understanding how to 
                                transfer educational credits.