I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 228 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a scholarship program 

for students seeking a degree or certificate in the areas of visual impairment and orientation and mobility. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 7, 2009 

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a 

scholarship program for students seeking a degree or 

certificate in the areas of visual impairment and orientation and mobility. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. VISUAL IMPAIRMENT AND ORIENTATION AND 

4 MOBILITY PROFESSIONALS EDUCATION AS5 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Part V of title 

7 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

8 the following new chapter: 


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1 ‘‘CHAPTER 80—VISUAL IMPAIRMENT AND 

2 ORIENTATION AND MOBILITY PROFES3 SIONALS EDUCATION ASSISTANCE 

4 PROGRAM 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘8001. Establishment of scholarship program; purpose. 

‘‘8002. Application and acceptance. 

‘‘8003. Amount of assistance; duration. 

‘‘8004. Agreement. 

‘‘8005. Repayment for failure to satisfy requirements of agreement. 

5 ‘‘§ 8001. Establishment of scholarship program; pur6 pose 

7 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subject to the availability of 

8 appropriations, the Secretary shall establish and carry out 

9 a scholarship program to provide financial assistance in 

10 accordance with this chapter to an individual— 

11 ‘‘(1) who is accepted for enrollment or currently 

12 enrolled in a program of study leading to a degree 

13 or certificate in visual impairment or orientation and 

14 mobility, or a dual degree or certification in both 

15 such areas, at an accredited (as determined by the 

16 Secretary) educational institution that is in a State; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(2) who enters into an agreement with the 

19 Secretary as described in section 8004 of this chap20 ter. 

21 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the scholarship pro22 gram established under this chapter is to increase the supVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:42 Jan 11, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H228.IH H228

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1 ply of qualified blind rehabilitation specialists for the De2 partment and the Nation. 

3 ‘‘(c) OUTREACH.—The Secretary shall publicize the 

4 scholarship program established under this chapter to edu5 cational institutions throughout the United States, with 

6 an emphasis on disseminating information to such institu7 tions with high numbers of Hispanic students and to His8 torically Black Colleges and Universities. 

9 ‘‘§ 8002. Application and acceptance 

10 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION.—(1) To apply and participate in 

11 the scholarship program under this chapter, an individual 

12 shall submit to the Secretary an application for such par13 ticipation together with an agreement described in section 

14 8004 of this chapter under which the participant agrees 

15 to serve a period of obligated service in the Department 

16 as provided in the agreement in return for payment of 

17 educational assistance as provided in the agreement. 

18 ‘‘(2) In distributing application forms and agreement 

19 forms to individuals desiring to participate in the scholar20 ship program, the Secretary shall include with such forms 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(A) A fair summary of the rights and liabil23 ities of an individual whose application is approved 

24 (and whose agreement is accepted) by the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(B) A full description of the terms and condi2 tions that apply to participation in the scholarship 

3 program and service in the Department. 

4 ‘‘(b) APPROVAL.—(1) Upon the Secretary’s approval 

5 of an individual’s participation in the scholarship program, 

6 the Secretary shall, in writing, promptly notify the indi7 vidual of that acceptance. 

8 ‘‘(2) An individual becomes a participant in the schol9 arship program upon such approval by the Secretary. 

10 ‘‘§ 8003. Amount of assistance; duration 

11 ‘‘(a) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.—The amount of the 

12 financial assistance provided for an individual under this 

13 chapter shall be the amount determined by the Secretary 

14 as being necessary to pay the tuition and fees of the indi15 vidual. In the case of an individual enrolled in a program 

16 of study leading to a dual degree or certification in both 

17 the areas of study described in section 8001(a)(1) of this 

18 chapter, the tuition and fees shall not exceed the amounts 

19 necessary for the minimum number of credit hours to 

20 achieve such dual certification or degree. 

21 ‘‘(b) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER ASSISTANCE.—Fi22 nancial assistance may be provided to an individual under 

23 this chapter to supplement other educational assistance to 

24 the extent that the total amount of educational assistance 

25 received by the individual during an academic year does 


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1 not exceed the total tuition and fees for such academic 

2 year. 

3 ‘‘(c) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.—(1) In no 

4 case may the total amount of assistance provided under 

5 this chapter for an academic year to an individual who 

6 is a full-time student exceed $15,000. 

7 ‘‘(2) In the case of an individual who is a part-time 

8 student, the total amount of assistance provided under 

9 this chapter shall bear the same ratio to the amount that 

10 would be paid under paragraph (1) if the participant were 

11 a full-time student in the program of study being pursued 

12 by the individual as the coursework carried by the indi13 vidual to full-time coursework in that program of study. 

14 ‘‘(3) In no case may the total amount of assistance 

15 provided to an individual under this chapter exceed 

16 $45,000. 

17 ‘‘(d) MAXIMUM DURATION OF ASSISTANCE.—The 

18 Secretary may provide financial assistance to an individual 

19 under this chapter for not more than six years. 

20 ‘‘§ 8004. Agreement 

21 ‘‘An agreement between the Secretary and a partici22 pant in the scholarship program under this chapter shall 

23 be in writing, shall be signed by the participant, and shall 

24 include— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the Secretary’s agreement to provide the 

2 participant with financial assistance as authorized 

3 under this chapter; 

4 ‘‘(2) the participant’s agreement— 

5 ‘‘(A) to accept such financial assistance; 

6 ‘‘(B) to maintain enrollment and attend7 ance in the program of study described in sec8 tion 8001(a)(1) of this chapter; 

9 ‘‘(C) while enrolled in such program, to 

10 maintain an acceptable level of academic stand11 ing (as determined by the educational institu12 tion offering such program under regulations 

13 prescribed by the Secretary); and 

14 ‘‘(D) after completion of the program, to 

15 serve as a full-time employee in the Department 

16 for a period of three years, to be served within 

17 the first six years after the participant has com18 pleted such program and received a degree or 

19 certificate described in section 8001(a)(1) of 

20 this chapter; and 

21 ‘‘(3) any other terms and conditions that the 

22 Secretary determines appropriate for carrying out 

23 this chapter. 


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1 ‘‘§ 8005. Repayment for failure to satisfy require2 ments of agreement 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An individual who receives edu4 cational assistance under this chapter shall repay to the 

5 Secretary an amount equal to the unearned portion of 

6 such assistance if the individual fails to satisfy the require7 ments of the agreement entered into under section 8004 

8 of this chapter, except in circumstances authorized by the 

9 Secretary. 

10 ‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF REPAYMENT.—The Secretary shall 

11 establish, by regulations, procedures for determining the 

12 amount of the repayment required under this subsection 

13 and the circumstances under which an exception to the 

14 required repayment may be granted. 

15 ‘‘(c) WAIVER OR SUSPENSION OF COMPLIANCE.— 

16 The Secretary shall prescribe regulations providing for the 

17 waiver or suspension of any obligation of an individual for 

18 service or payment under this chapter (or an agreement 

19 under this chapter) whenever noncompliance by the indi20 vidual is due to circumstances beyond the control of the 

21 individual or whenever the Secretary determines that the 

22 waiver or suspension of compliance is in the best interest 

23 of the United States. 

24 ‘‘(d) OBLIGATION AS DEBT TO UNITED STATES.— 

25 An obligation to repay the Secretary under this section 

26 is, for all purposes, a debt owed the United States. A disVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:42 Jan 11, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H228.IH H228

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1 charge in bankruptcy under title 11 does not discharge 

2 a person from such debt if the discharge order is entered 

3 less than five years after the date of the termination of 

4 the agreement or contract on which the debt is based.’’. 

5 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The tables of chap6 ters at the beginning of title 38, and of part V of title 

7 38, are each amended by inserting after the item relating 

8 to chapter 79 the following new item: 

‘‘80. Visual Impairment and Orientation and Mobility Professionals 

Education Assistance Program ..................................... 8001.’’. 

9 SEC. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

10 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall implement 

11 chapter 80 of title 38, United States Code, as added by 

12 section 1, not later than six months after the date of the 

13 enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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