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[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4057 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.4057

                      One Hundred Twelfth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America

                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
            the third day of January, two thousand and twelve

                                 An Act

 
   To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
 Veterans Affairs to develop a comprehensive policy to improve outreach 
and transparency to veterans and members of the Armed Forces through the 
  provision of information on institutions of higher learning, and for 
                             other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. COMPREHENSIVE POLICY ON PROVIDING EDUCATION INFORMATION TO 
VETERANS.
    (a) Comprehensive Policy Required.--
        (1) In general.--Chapter 36 of title 38, United States Code, is 
    amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 3698. Comprehensive policy on providing education information to 
    veterans
    ``(a) Comprehensive Policy Required.--The Secretary shall develop a 
comprehensive policy to improve outreach and transparency to veterans 
and members of the Armed Forces through the provision of information on 
institutions of higher learning.
    ``(b) Scope.--In developing the policy required by subsection (a), 
the Secretary shall include each of the following elements:
        ``(1) Effective and efficient methods to inform individuals of 
    the educational and vocational counseling provided under section 
    3697A of this title.
        ``(2) A centralized mechanism for tracking and publishing 
    feedback from students and State approving agencies regarding the 
    quality of instruction, recruiting practices, and post-graduation 
    employment placement of institutions of higher learning that--
            ``(A) allows institutions of higher learning to verify 
        feedback and address issues regarding feedback before the 
        feedback is published;
            ``(B) protects the privacy of students, including by not 
        publishing the names of students; and
            ``(C) publishes only feedback that conforms with criteria 
        for relevancy that the Secretary shall determine.
        ``(3) The merit of and the manner in which a State approving 
    agency shares with an accrediting agency or association recognized 
    by the Secretary of Education under subpart 2 of part H of title IV 
    of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b) information 
    regarding the State approving agency's evaluation of an institution 
    of higher learning.
        ``(4) Description of the information provided to individuals 
    participating in the Transition Assistance Program under section 
    1144 of title 10 relating to institutions of higher learning.
        ``(5) Effective and efficient methods to provide veterans and 
    members of the Armed Forces with information regarding 
    postsecondary education and training opportunities available to the 
    veteran or member.
    ``(c) Postsecondary Education Information.--(1) The Secretary shall 
ensure that the information provided pursuant to subsection (b)(5) 
includes--
        ``(A) an explanation of the different types of accreditation 
    available to educational institutions and programs of education;
        ``(B) a description of Federal student aid programs; and
        ``(C) for each institution of higher learning, for the most 
    recent academic year for which information is available--
            ``(i) whether the institution is public, private nonprofit, 
        or proprietary for-profit;
            ``(ii) the name of the national or regional accrediting 
        agency that accredits the institution, including the contact 
        information used by the agency to receive complaints from 
        students;
            ``(iii) information on the State approving agency, 
        including the contact information used by the agency to receive 
        complaints from students;
            ``(iv) whether the institution participates in any programs 
        under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        1070 et seq.);
            ``(v) the tuition and fees;
            ``(vi) the median amount of debt from Federal student loans 
        under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        1070 et seq.) held by individuals upon completion of programs 
        of education at the institution of higher learning (as 
        determined from information collected by the Secretary of 
        Education);
            ``(vii) the cohort default rate, as defined in section 
        435(m) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1085(m)), 
        of the institution;
            ``(viii) the total enrollment, graduation rate, and 
        retention rate, as determined from information collected by the 
        Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System of the Secretary 
        of Education;
            ``(ix) whether the institution provides students with 
        technical support, academic support, and other support 
        services, including career counseling and job placement; and
            ``(x) the information regarding the institution's policies 
        related to transfer of credit from other institutions, as 
        required under section 485(h)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 
        1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(h)(1)) and provided to the Secretary of 
        Education under section 132(i)(1)(V)(iv) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 
        1015a(i)(1)(V)(iv)).
    ``(2) To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall provide the 
information described in paragraph (1) by including hyperlinks on the 
Internet website of the Department to other Internet websites that 
contain such information, including the Internet website of the 
Department of Education, in a form that is comprehensive and easily 
understood by veterans, members of the Armed Forces, and other 
individuals.
    ``(3)(A) If the Secretary of Veterans Affairs requires, for 
purposes of providing information pursuant to subsection (b)(5), 
information that has been reported, or information that is similar to 
information that has been reported, by an institution of higher 
learning to the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Defense, the 
Secretary of Labor, or the heads of other Federal agencies under a 
provision of law other than under this section, the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs shall obtain the information the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs requires from the Secretary or head with the information rather 
than the institution of higher learning.
    ``(B) If the Secretary of Veterans Affairs requires, for purposes 
of providing information pursuant to subsection (b)(5), information 
from an institution of higher learning that has not been reported to 
another Federal agency, the Secretary shall, to the degree practicable, 
obtain such information through the Secretary of Education.
    ``(d) Consistency With Existing Education Policy.--In carrying out 
this section, the Secretary shall ensure that--
        ``(1) the comprehensive policy is consistent with any 
    requirements and initiatives resulting from Executive Order No. 
    13607; and
        ``(2) the efforts of the Secretary to implement the 
    comprehensive policy do not duplicate the efforts being taken by 
    any Federal agencies.
    ``(e) Communication With Institutions of Higher Learning.--To the 
extent practicable, if the Secretary considers it necessary to 
communicate with an institution of higher learning to carry out the 
comprehensive policy required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall 
carry out such communication through the use of a communication system 
of the Department of Education.
    ``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
        ``(1) The term `institution of higher learning' has the meaning 
    given that term in section 3452(f) of this title.
        ``(2) The term `postsecondary education and training 
    opportunities' means any postsecondary program of education, 
    including apprenticeships and on-job training, for which the 
    Secretary of Veterans Affairs provides assistance to a veteran or 
    member of the Armed Forces.''.
        (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning 
    of such chapter is amended by adding after the item relating to 
    section 3697A the following new item:

``3698. Comprehensive policy on providing education information to 
          veterans.''.

    (b) Survey.--In developing the policy required by section 3698(a) 
of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a market survey to 
determine the availability of the following:
        (1) A commercially available off-the-shelf online tool that 
    allows a veteran or member of the Armed Forces to assess whether 
    the veteran or member is academically ready to engage in 
    postsecondary education and training opportunities and whether the 
    veteran or member would need any remedial preparation before 
    beginning such opportunities.
        (2) A commercially available off-the-shelf online tool that 
    provides a veteran or member of the Armed Forces with a list of 
    providers of postsecondary education and training opportunities 
    based on criteria selected by the veteran or member.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the 
appropriate committees of Congress a report that includes--
        (1) a description of the policy developed by the Secretary 
    under section 3698(a) of title 38, United States Code, as added by 
    subsection (a);
        (2) a plan of the Secretary to implement such policy; and
        (3) the results of the survey conducted under subsection (b), 
    including whether the Secretary plans to implement the tools 
    described in such subsection.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
        (1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term ``appropriate 
    committees of Congress'' means--
            (A) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on 
        Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; and
            (B) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on 
        Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives.
        (2) Commercially available off-the-shelf.--The term 
    ``commercially available off-the-shelf'' has the meaning given that 
    term in section 104 of title 41, United States Code.
        (3) Postsecondary education and training opportunities.--The 
    term ``postsecondary education and training opportunities'' means 
    any postsecondary program of education, including apprenticeships 
    and on-job training, for which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
    provides assistance to a veteran or member of the Armed Forces.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN USES OF INDUCEMENTS BY EDUCATIONAL 
INSTITUTIONS.
    Section 3696 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d)(1) The Secretary shall not approve under this chapter any 
course offered by an educational institution if the educational 
institution provides any commission, bonus, or other incentive payment 
based directly or indirectly on success in securing enrollments or 
financial aid to any persons or entities engaged in any student 
recruiting or admission activities or in making decisions regarding the 
award of student financial assistance.
    ``(2) To the degree practicable, the Secretary shall carry out 
paragraph (1) in a manner that is consistent with the Secretary of 
Education's enforcement of section 487(a)(20) of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(20)).''.
SEC. 3. DEDICATED POINTS OF CONTACT FOR SCHOOL CERTIFYING OFFICIALS.
    Section 3684 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of 
this subsection, the Secretary shall ensure that the Department 
provides personnel of educational institutions who are charged with 
submitting reports or certifications to the Secretary under this 
section with assistance in preparing and submitting such reports or 
certifications.''.
SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON AWARDS AND BONUSES TO EMPLOYEES OF DEPARTMENT OF 
VETERANS AFFAIRS.
    For fiscal year 2013, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may not pay 
more than $395,000,000 in awards or bonuses under chapter 45 or 53 of 
title 5, United States Code, or any other awards or bonuses authorized 
under such title.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.
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