IIA

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2289

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

DECEMBER 13, 1995

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

AN ACT

To amend title 38, United States Code, to extend permanently certain housing programs, to improve the veterans

employment and training system, and to make clarifying

and technical amendments to further clarify the employment and reemployment rights and responsibilities of

members of the uniformed services, as well as those

of the employer community, and for other purposes.
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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Housing,

5 Employment Programs, and Employment Rights Benefits

6 Act of 1995’’.

7 SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO TITLE 38, UNITED STATES CODE.

8 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in

9 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms

10 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi11 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a

12 section or other provision of title 38, United States Code.

13 TITLE I—VETERANS’ HOUSING

14 PROGRAMS

15 SEC. 101. EXTENSIONS OF CERTAIN VETERANS’ HOUSING

16 PROGRAMS.

17 (a) NEGOTIATED INTEREST RATES.—Paragraph (4)

18 of section 3703(c) is amended by striking out subpara19 graph (D).

20 (b) ENERGY EFFICIENT MORTGAGES.—Section

21 3710(d) is amended—

22 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking out ‘‘to dem23 onstrate the feasibility of guaranteeing’’ and insert24 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘to guarantee’’; and

25 (2) by striking out paragraph (7).
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1 (c) ENHANCED LOAN ASSET SALE AUTHORITY.—

2 Section 3720(h)(2) is amended by striking out ‘‘1995’’

3 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘2000’’.

4 (d) AUTHORITY OF LENDERS OF AUTOMATICALLY

5 GUARANTEED LOANS TO REVIEW APPRAISALS.—Section

6 3731(f) is amended by striking out paragraphs (3), (4),

7 and (5).

8 (e) HOUSING ASSISTANCE FOR HOMELESS VETER9 ANS.—Section 3735 is amended by striking out subsection

10 (c).

11 SEC. 102. CODIFICATION OF REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

12 AND CHANGES IN THEIR FREQUENCY.

13 (a) CODIFICATION OF HOUSING RELATED REPORT14 ING REQUIREMENTS.—(1) Chapter 37 is amended by add15 ing after section 3735 the following new section:

16 ‘‘§ 3736. Reporting requirements

17 ‘‘The annual report required by section 529 of this

18 title shall include a discussion of the activities under this

19 chapter. Beginning with the report submitted at the close

20 of fiscal year 1996, and every second year thereafter, this

21 discussion shall include information regarding the follow22 ing:

23 ‘‘(1) Loans made to veterans whose only quali24 fying service was in the Selected Reserve.
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1 ‘‘(2) Interest rates and discount points which

2 were negotiated between the lender and the veteran

3 pursuant to section 3703(c)(4)(A)(i) of this title.

4 ‘‘(3) The determination of reasonable value by

5 lenders pursuant to section 3731(f) of this title.

6 ‘‘(4) Loans that include funds for energy effi7 ciency improvements pursuant to section

8 3710(a)(10) of this title.

9 ‘‘(5) Direct loans to Native American veterans

10 made pursuant to subchapter V of this chapter.’’.

11 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter

12 37 is amended by inserting after the item relating to sec13 tion 3735 the following new item:

‘‘3736. Reporting requirements.’’.

14 (b) REPEAL OF SUPERSEDED REPORTING REQUIRE15 MENTS.—The Veterans Home Loan Program Amend16 ments of 1992 (Public Law 102–547; 106 Stat. 3633) is

17 amended by striking out sections 2(c), 3(b), 8(d), 9(c),

18 and 10(b).

19 SEC. 103. JOB PLACEMENT FOR HOMELESS VETERANS.

20 (a) HOMELESS VETERANS EMPLOYMENT PRO21 GRAM.—Section 738(e)(1) of the Stewart B. McKinney

22 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11448(e)(1)) is

23 amended—

24 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking out

25 ‘‘1993’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘1996’’;
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1 (2) in subparagraph (B)—

2 (A) by striking out ‘‘$12,000,000’’ and in3 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘$10,000,000’’, and

4 (B) by striking out ‘‘1994’’ and inserting

5 in lieu thereof ‘‘1997’’; and

6 (3) in subparagraph (C)—

7 (A) by striking out ‘‘$14,000,000’’ and in8 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘$10,000,000’’, and

9 (B) by striking out ‘‘1995’’ and inserting

10 in lieu thereof ‘‘1998’’.

11 (b) GENERAL AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA12 TIONS.—Section 739(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 11448(a))

13 is amended by striking out ‘‘fiscal years 1994 and 1995’’

14 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘fiscal years 1996, 1997, and

15 1998’’.

16 (c) EXTENSION OF PROGRAM.—Section 741 of such

17 Act (42 U.S.C. 11450) is amended by striking out ‘‘1995’’

18 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘1998’’.

19 TITLE II—VETERANS’

20 EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING

21 SEC. 201. REGIONAL OFFICES FOR VETERANS’ EMPLOY22 MENT AND TRAINING.

23 Paragraph (1) of section 4102A(e) is amended to

24 read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(1) The Secretary of Labor shall assign regional ad2 ministrators for Veterans’ Employment and Training in

3 such regions, which may not be less than five in number,

4 as the Secretary may determine are necessary for the ef5 fective administration of the Veterans’ Employment and

6 Training Service. Each regional administrator appointed

7 after the date of the enactment of the Veterans Housing,

8 Employment Programs, and Employment Rights Benefits

9 Act of 1995 shall be a veteran.’’.

10 SEC. 202. SUPPORT PERSONNEL FOR DIRECTORS OF VET11 ERANS’ EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING.

12 Subsection (a) of section 4103 is amended—

13 (1) in the first sentence, by striking out ‘‘full14 time Federal clerical support’’ and inserting in lieu

15 thereof ‘‘full-time Federal clerical or other support

16 personnel’’; and

17 (2) in the third sentence, by striking out ‘‘Full18 time Federal clerical support personnel’’ and insert19 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘Full-time Federal clerical or

20 other support personnel’’.

21 SEC. 203. DIRECTORS AND ASSISTANT DIRECTORS FOR

22 VETERANS’ EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING.

23 Subparagraph (B) of section 4103(b)(1) is amended

24 to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(B) A person who serves in the position of Director

2 for Veterans’ Employment and Training or Assistant Di3 rector of Veterans’ Employment Training for any State

4 for not less than two years is eligible for appointment as

5 such a Director or Assistant Director for any State, re6 gardless of the period of the person’s residence in that

7 State.’’.

8 SEC. 204. PILOT PROGRAM TO INTEGRATE AND STREAM9 LINE FUNCTIONS OF LOCAL VETERANS’ EM10 PLOYMENT REPRESENTATIVES.

11 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT PILOT PROGRAM.—In

12 order to assess the effects on the timeliness and quality

13 of services to veterans resulting from re-focusing the staff

14 resources of local veterans’ employment representatives,

15 the Secretary of Labor is authorized to conduct a pilot

16 program under which the primary responsibilities of local

17 veterans’ employment representatives will be case manage18 ment and the provision and facilitation of direct employ19 ment and training services to veterans.

20 (b) AUTHORITIES UNDER CHAPTER 41.—To imple21 ment the pilot program, the Secretary is authorized to sus22 pend or limit application of those provisions of chapter 41

23 (other than sections 4104 (b)(1) and (c)) of such title that

24 pertain to the Local Veterans’ Employment Representa25 tive Program in States designated by the Secretary under
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1 subsection (d), except that the Secretary may use the au2 thority of chapter 41, as the Secretary may determine, in

3 conjunction with the authority of this section, to carry out

4 the pilot program. The Secretary may collect such data

5 as the Secretary considers necessary for assessment of the

6 pilot program. The Secretary shall measure and evaluate

7 on a continuing basis the effectiveness of the pilot pro8 gram in achieving its stated goals in general, and in

9 achieving such goals in relation to their cost, their effect

10 on related programs, and their structure and mechanisms

11 for delivery of services.

12 (c) TARGETED VETERANS.—Within the pilot pro13 gram, eligible veterans who are among groups most in

14 need of intensive services, including disabled veterans, eco15 nomically disadvantaged veterans, and veterans separated

16 within the previous four years from active military, naval,

17 or air service shall be given priority for service by local

18 veterans’ employment representatives. Priority for the pro19 vision of service shall be given first to disabled veterans

20 and then to the other categories of veterans most in need

21 of intensive services in accordance with priorities deter22 mined by the Secretary of Labor in consultation with ap23 propriate State labor authorities.
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1 (d) STATES DESIGNATED.—The pilot program shall

2 be limited to not more than five States to be designated

3 by the Secretary of Labor.

4 (e) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—(1) One year after the

5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor

6 shall submit to Congress and the Committees on Veterans’

7 Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives,

8 an interim report describing in detail the development and

9 implementation of the pilot program on a State by State

10 basis.

11 (2) Not later than 120 days after the expiration of

12 this section under subsection (h), the Secretary of Labor

13 shall submit to Congress and the Committees on Veterans’

14 Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives,

15 a final report evaluating the results of the pilot program

16 and make recommendations based on the evaluation,

17 which may include legislative recommendations.

18 (f) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section—

19 (1) the term ‘‘veteran’’ has the meaning given

20 such term by section 101(2) of title 38, United

21 States Code;

22 (2) the term ‘‘disabled veteran’’ has the mean23 ing given such term by section 4211(3) of such title;

24 and
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1 (3) the term ‘‘active military, naval, or air serv2 ice’’ has the meaning given such term by section

3 101(24) of such title.

4 (g) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to be ap5 propriated for the pilot program, in the States designated

6 by the Secretary of Labor pursuant to subsection (d), the

7 amount allocated to such States under section

8 4102A(b)(5) of title 38, United States Code, for fiscal

9 years 1996, 1997, and 1998.

10 (h) EXPIRATION DATE.—Except as provided by sub11 section (e), this section shall expire on October 1, 1998.

12 TITLE III—EMPLOYMENT AND

13 REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OF

14 MEMBERS OF THE UNI15 FORMED SERVICES

16 SEC. 301. PURPOSES.

17 Section 4301(a)(2) is amended by striking out

18 ‘‘under honorable conditions’’.

19 SEC. 302. DEFINITIONS.

20 Section 4303(16) is amended by inserting ‘‘national’’

21 before ‘‘emergency’’.
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1 SEC. 303. DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PERSONS WHO SERVE

2 IN THE UNIFORMED SERVICES AND ACTS OF

3 REPRISAL PROHIBITED.

4 Section 4311 is amended by striking out subsections

5 (b) and (c) and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

6 ‘‘(b) An employer may not discriminate in employ7 ment against or take any adverse employment action

8 against any person because such person (1) has taken an

9 action to enforce a protection afforded any person under

10 this chapter, (2) has testified or otherwise made a state11 ment in or in connection with any proceeding under this

12 chapter, (3) has assisted or otherwise participated in an

13 investigation under this chapter, or (4) has exercised a

14 right provided for in this chapter. The prohibition in this

15 subsection shall apply with respect to a person regardless

16 of whether that person has performed service in the uni17 formed services.

18 ‘‘(c) An employer shall be considered to have engaged

19 in actions prohibited—

20 ‘‘(1) under subsection (a), if the person’s mem21 bership, application for membership, service, applica22 tion for service, or obligation for service in the uni23 formed services is a motivating factor in the employ24 er’s action, unless the employer can prove that the

25 action would have been taken in the absence of such
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1 membership, application for membership, service,

2 application for service, or obligation for service; or

3 ‘‘(2) under subsection (b), if the person’s (A)

4 action to enforce a protection afforded any person

5 under this chapter, (B) testimony or making of a

6 statement in or in connection with any proceeding

7 under this chapter, (C) assistance or other participa8 tion in an investigation under this chapter, or (D)

9 exercise of a right provided for in this chapter, is a

10 motivating factor in the employer’s action, unless

11 the employer can prove that the action would have

12 been taken in the absence of such person’s enforce13 ment action, testimony, statement, assistance, par14 ticipation, or exercise of a right.

15 ‘‘(d) The prohibitions in subsections (a) and (b) shall

16 apply to any position of employment, including a position

17 that is described in section 4312(d)(1)(C).’’.

18 SEC. 304. REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OF PERSONS WHO

19 SERVE IN THE UNIFORMED SERVICES.

20 (a) INCLUSION OF PREPARATION AND TRAVEL TIME

21 PRIOR TO SERVICE.—Section 4312(a) is amended by

22 striking out ‘‘who is absent from a position of employ23 ment’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘whose absence from

24 a position of employment is necessitated’’.
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1 (b) LIMITATION ON SERVICE EXEMPTION TO WAR OR

2 NATIONAL EMERGENCY.—Section 4312(c)(4)(B) is

3 amended to read as follows:

4 ‘‘(B) ordered to or retained on active duty

5 (other than for training) under any provision of

6 law because of a war or because of a national

7 emergency declared by the President or the

8 Congress as determined by the Secretary con9 cerned;’’.

10 (c) BRIEF, NONRECURRENT PERIODS OF SERVICE.—

11 Section 4312(d)(2)(C) is amended by striking out ‘‘is brief

12 or for a nonrecurrent period and without a reasonable ex13 pectation’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘is for a brief,

14 nonrecurrent period and there is no reasonable expecta15 tion’’.

16 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO

17 REDESIGNATIONS IN TITLE 10.—Section 4312(c) is

18 amended—

19 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking out ‘‘section

20 270’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section 10147’’;

21 and

22 (2) in paragraph (4)—

23 (A) by striking out ‘‘section 672(a),

24 672(g), 673, 673b, 673c, or 688’’ in subpara25 graph (A) and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section
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1 688, 12301(a), 12301(g), 12302, 12304, or

2 12305’’;

3 (B) by striking out ‘‘section 673b’’ in sub4 paragraph (C) and inserting in lieu thereof

5 ‘‘section 12304’’; and

6 (C) by striking out ‘‘section 3500 or 8500’’

7 in subparagraph (E) and inserting in lieu there8 of ‘‘section 12406’’.

9 SEC. 305. REEMPLOYMENT POSITIONS.

10 Section 4313(a)(4) is amended—

11 (1) by striking out ‘‘uniform services’’ in clause

12 (A)(ii) and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘uniformed serv13 ices’’; and

14 (2) by striking out ‘‘of lesser status and pay

15 which’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘which is the

16 nearest approximation to a position referred to first

17 in clause (A)(i) and then in clause (A)(ii) which’’.

18 SEC. 306. LEAVE.

19 Section 4316(d) is amended by adding at the end the

20 following new sentence: ‘‘No employer may require any

21 such person to use vacation, annual or similar leave during

22 such period of service.’’.

23 SEC. 307. HEALTH PLANS.

24 Section 4317(a) is amended—
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1 (1) by striking out ‘‘(a)(1)(A) subject to para2 graphs (2) and (3), in’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

3 ‘‘(a)(1) In’’;

4 (2) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) of para5 graph (1) (as amended by paragraph (1) of this sec6 tion) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively;

7 (3) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as para8 graph (2); and

9 (4) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as para10 graph (3), and in that paragraph by redesignating

11 clauses (i) and (ii) as subparagraphs (A) and (B),

12 and by redesignating subclauses (I) and (II) as

13 clauses (i) and (ii), respectively.

14 SEC. 308. EMPLOYEE PENSION BENEFIT PLANS.

15 The last sentence of section 4318(b)(2) is amended

16 by striking out ‘‘services,’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

17 ‘‘services, such payment period’’.

18 SEC. 309. ENFORCEMENT OF EMPLOYMENT OR REEMPLOY19 MENT RIGHTS.

20 (a) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The second sentence

21 of section 4322(d) is amended by inserting ‘‘attempt to’’

22 before ‘‘resolve’’.

23 (b) NOTIFICATION.—Section 4322(e) of is amend24 ed—
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1 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by

2 striking out ‘‘with respect to a complaint under sub3 section (d) are unsuccessful,’’ and inserting in lieu

4 thereof ‘‘with respect to any complaint filed under

5 subsection (a) do not resolve the complaint,’’; and

6 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘or the Of7 fice of Personnel Management’’ after ‘‘Federal exec8 utive agency’’.

9 SEC. 310. ENFORCEMENT OF RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO A

10 STATE OR PRIVATE EMPLOYER.

11 Section 4323(a) is amended—

12 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking out ‘‘of an un13 successful effort to resolve a complaint’’; and

14 (2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking out ‘‘re15 garding the complaint under section 4322(c)’’ and

16 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘under section 4322(a)’’.

17 SEC. 311. ENFORCEMENT OF RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO

18 FEDERAL EXECUTIVE AGENCIES.

19 (a) REFERRAL.—Section 4324(a)(1) is amended by

20 striking out ‘‘of an unsuccessful effort to resolve a com21 plaint relating to a Federal executive agency’’.

22 (b) ALTERNATIVE SUBMISSION OF COMPLAINT.—

23 Section 4324(b) is amended—
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1 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by

2 inserting ‘‘or the Office of Personnel Management’’

3 after ‘‘Federal executive agency’’; and

4 (2) in paragraph (1), by striking out ‘‘regarding

5 a complaint under section 4322(c)’’ and inserting in

6 lieu thereof ‘‘under section 4322(a)’’.

7 (c) RELIEF.—Section 4324(c)(2) is amended—

8 (1) by inserting ‘‘or the Office of Personnel

9 Management’’ after ‘‘Federal executive agency’’; and

10 (2) by striking out ‘‘employee’’ and inserting in

11 lieu thereof ‘‘Office’’.

12 SEC. 312. ENFORCEMENT OF RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO

13 CERTAIN FEDERAL AGENCIES.

14 Section 4325(d)(1) is amended—

15 (1) by striking out ‘‘, alternative employment in

16 the Federal Government under this chapter,’’; and

17 (2) by striking out ‘‘employee’’ the last place it

18 appears and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘employees’’.

19 SEC. 313. CONDUCT OF INVESTIGATION; SUBPOENAS.

20 Section 4326(a) is amended by inserting ‘‘have rea21 sonable access to and the right to interview persons with

22 information relevant to the investigation and shall’’ after

23 ‘‘at all reasonable times,’’.
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1 SEC. 314. TRANSITION RULES AND EFFECTIVE DATES.

2 (a) REEMPLOYMENT.—Section 8(a) of the Uniformed

3 Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of

4 1994 (38 U.S.C. 4301 note) is amended—

5 (1) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end

6 thereof the following: ‘‘Any service begun up to 60

7 days after the date of enactment of this Act, which

8 is served up to 60 days after the date of enactment

9 of this Act pursuant to orders issued under section

10 502(f) of chapter 5 of title 32, United States Code,

11 shall be considered under chapter 43 of title 38,

12 United States Code, as in effect on the day before

13 such date of enactment. Any service pursuant to or14 ders issued under section 502(f) of chapter 5 of title

15 32, United States Code, served after 60 days after

16 the date of enactment of this Act, regardless of

17 when begun, shall be considered under the amend18 ments made by this Act.’’; and

19 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking out ‘‘such pe20 riod’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘such 60-day pe21 riod’’.

22 (b) INSURANCE.—Section 8(c)(2) of such Act is

23 amended by striking out ‘‘person on active duty’’ and in24 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘person serving a period of service

25 in the uniformed services’’.
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1 SEC. 315. EFFECTIVE DATES.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

3 (b), the amendments made by this title shall take effect

4 as of October 13, 1994.

5 (b) REORGANIZED TITLE 10 REFERENCES.—The

6 amendments made by section 304(d) shall take effect as

7 of December 1, 1994.

Passed the House of Representatives December 12,

1995.

Attest: ROBIN H. CARLE,

Clerk.

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