II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1277 

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a high technology 

education pilot program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 25, 2017 

Mr. BOOZMAN (for himself, Mr. HELLER, Mrs. CAPITO, and Mr. RISCH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out 

a high technology education pilot program, and for other 

purposes. 

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 ‘‘Veteran Employment 

5 Through Technology Education Courses Act of 2017’’ or 

6 the ‘‘VET TEC Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HIGH TECH2 NOLOGY PILOT PROGRAM. 

3 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Veterans Af4 fairs shall carry out a pilot program under which the Sec5 retary shall provide eligible veterans with the opportunity 

6 to enroll in high technology programs of education. 

7 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—For purposes of the pilot program 

8 under this section, an eligible veteran is a veteran who 

9 is entitled to educational assistance under the laws admin10 istered by the Secretary. 

11 (c) CONTRACTS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of carrying out 

13 subsection (a), by not later than 180 days after the 

14 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

15 shall, in consultation with the State approving agen16 cies and as the Secretary considers applicable, seek 

17 to enter into contracts with multiple qualified pro18 viders of high technology programs of education for 

19 the provision of such programs to eligible veterans 

20 under the pilot program. 

21 (2) PAYMENT OF CONTRACTORS.—A contract 

22 under this subsection shall provide that the Sec23 retary shall pay to a provider— 

24 (A) 25 percent of the cost of providing the 

25 program of education upon the enrollment of an 

26 eligible veteran in the program; 


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1 (B) 25 percent of such cost upon the com2 pletion of the program by the veteran; and 

3 (C) 50 percent of such cost upon the em4 ployment of the veteran in a field related to the 

5 course of study, following completion of the pro6 gram. 

7 (3) QUALIFIED PROVIDERS.—For purposes of 

8 the pilot program, a provider of a high technology 

9 program of education is qualified if the provider— 

10 (A) has been operational for at least two 

11 years and has offered, for at least two years, 

12 the credential it plans to offer under the pilot 

13 program; 

14 (B) verifies, to the satisfaction of the Sec15 retary, that each credential it plans to offer 

16 through the pilot program has demonstrated 

17 market value based on the employment and 

18 earnings of its participants in that program 

19 during the most recent two-year period; and 

20 (C) has the ability to evaluate job place21 ment rates and earnings through means other 

22 than survey data or self-reported data, such as 

23 through agreements with State or Federal 

24 agencies. 


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1 (4) TUITION REIMBURSEMENT.—In entering 

2 into contracts to carry out the pilot program, the 

3 Secretary shall give preference to a qualified pro4 vider that offers tuition reimbursement for any stu5 dent who— 

6 (A) completes a program of education of7 fered by the provider; and 

8 (B) does not find full-time meaningful em9 ployment within the 180-day period beginning 

10 on the date the student completes the program. 

11 (5) LIMITATION ON TUITION.—In the case of a 

12 qualified provider that is a for-profit organization, 

13 the tuition charged for a high technology program of 

14 education under a contract under this subsection 

15 may not exceed 125 percent of the average tuition 

16 charged by nonprofit organizations for similar pro17 grams, as determined by the Secretary. 

18 (6) REMOVAL OF CONTRACTORS.—The Sec19 retary shall remove from participation in the pilot 

20 program any qualified provider that increases the 

21 tuition for a high technology program of education 

22 under a contract under this subsection by more than 

23 10 percent in any year as compared to the previous 

24 year. 


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1 (d) HOUSING STIPEND.—The Secretary shall pay to 

2 each eligible veteran who is enrolled in a high technology 

3 program of education under the pilot program on a full4 time basis a monthly housing stipend equal to the prod5 uct— 

6 (1) of— 

7 (A) in the case of a veteran pursuing resi8 dent training, the monthly amount of the basic 

9 allowance for housing payable under section 

10 403 of title 37, United States Code, for a mem11 ber with dependents in pay grade E–5 residing 

12 in the military housing area that encompasses 

13 all or the majority portion of the ZIP code area 

14 in which is located the institution at which the 

15 individual is enrolled; or 

16 (B) in the case of a veteran pursuing a 

17 program of education through distance learn18 ing, a monthly amount equal to 50 percent of 

19 the amount payable under subparagraph (A), 

20 multiplied by 

21 (2) the lesser of— 

22 (A) 1.0; or 

23 (B) the number of course hours borne by 

24 the individual in pursuit of the program of edu25 cation involved, divided by the minimum numVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:17 Jun 07, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1277.IS S1277

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1 ber of course hours required for full-time pur2 suit of such program of education, rounded to 

3 the nearest multiple of 10. 

4 (e) REPORTS.— 

5 (1) SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.—Not 

6 later than one year after the date of the enactment 

7 of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary 

8 shall submit to Congress a report on the pilot pro9 gram under this section. 

10 (2) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.— 

11 (A) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 

12 three years after the date on which the Sec13 retary first enters into a contract under this 

14 section, the Comptroller General of the United 

15 States shall submit to Congress a report con16 taining the results of the interim assessment of 

17 the Comptroller General. Such report shall in18 clude the following: 

19 (i) The recommendations of the 

20 Comptroller General for improving the 

21 pilot program. 

22 (ii) An assessment of each of the fol23 lowing: 

24 (I) The technology experience of 

25 the directors and instructors of the 


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1 providers of high technology programs 

2 of education under the pilot program. 

3 (II) Whether the providers co4 operated with the technology industry 

5 to create the curriculum for the pro6 gram of education. 

7 (III) Whether the providers use 

8 an open source curriculum for the 

9 program of education. 

10 (IV) The admittance rate into 

11 the pilot program. 

12 (V) The completion rate for vet13 erans who participate in the pilot pro14 gram. 

15 (VI) The average age of veterans 

16 who participate in the pilot program. 

17 (VII) The job placement rate for 

18 veterans who completed a program of 

19 education under the pilot program. 

20 (VIII) Whether the employment 

21 of veterans who completed a program 

22 of education under the pilot program 

23 was part or full time. 

24 (IX) Whether a veteran who 

25 found employment after completing a 


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1 program of education under the pilot 

2 program was employed in a field re3 lated to the course of study under the 

4 program of education. 

5 (B) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than five 

6 years after the date on which the Secretary first 

7 enters into a contract under this section, the 

8 Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a 

9 final report on the pilot program. Such report 

10 shall include the recommendation of the Comp11 troller General with respect to whether the pro12 gram should be extended and an assessment of 

13 each of the following: 

14 (i) Each item described in subclauses 

15 (I) through (IX) of subparagraph (A)(ii). 

16 (ii) The percentage of veterans who 

17 completed a program of education under 

18 the pilot program who were subsequently 

19 employed for a period of six months or 

20 longer. 

21 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) HIGH TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM OF EDU23 CATION.—The term ‘‘high technology program of 

24 education’’ means a program of education that— 


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1 (A) is offered by an entity other than an 

2 institution of higher learning; 

3 (B) does not lead to a degree; and 

4 (C) provides instruction in computer pro5 gramming, computer software, media applica6 tion, data processing, or information sciences. 

7 (2) STATE APPROVING AGENCY.—The term 

8 ‘‘State approving agency’’ means a department or 

9 agency of a State designated under section 3671 of 

10 title 38, United States Code. 

11 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

12 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans 

13 Affairs $15,000,000 for each fiscal year during which the 

14 Secretary carries out a pilot program under this section. 

15 (h) TERMINATION.—The authority to carry out a 

16 pilot program under this section shall terminate on the 

17 date that is five years after the date on which the Sec18 retary first enters into a contract under this section. 

Æ 


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