I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7111 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a retraining 

assistance program for unemployed veterans, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 4, 2020 

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee (for himself, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. BANKS, 

Mrs. RADEWAGEN, Mr. BOST, Mr. DUNN, Mr. WENSTRUP, Mr. 

BERGMAN, Mr. ARRINGTON, Mr. LEVIN of California, Mr. BARR, and Mr. 

MEUSER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Ways 

and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out 

a retraining assistance program for unemployed veterans, 

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 ‘‘Veterans Economic 

5 Recovery Act of 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. COVID-19 VETERAN RAPID RETRAINING ASSIST2 ANCE PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

4 shall carry out a program under which the Secretary shall 

5 provide up to 12 months of retraining assistance to an 

6 eligible veteran for the pursuit of a covered program of 

7 education. Such retraining assistance shall be in addition 

8 to any other entitlement to educational assistance or bene9 fits for which a veteran is, or has been, eligible. 

10 (b) ELIGIBLE VETERANS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this section, 

12 the term ‘‘eligible veteran’’ means a veteran who— 

13 (A) as of the date of the submittal of the 

14 application for assistance under this section, is 

15 at least 25 years of age but not more than 60 

16 years of age; 

17 (B) as of the date of the submittal of the 

18 application for assistance under this section, is 

19 unemployed by reason of the covered public 

20 health emergency, as certified by the veteran; 

21 (C) as of the date of the submittal of the 

22 application for assistance under this section, is 

23 not eligible to receive educational assistance 

24 under chapter 30, 31, 32, 33, or 35 of title 38, 

25 United States Code, or chapter 1606 or 1607 

26 of title 10, United States Code; 


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1 (D) is not enrolled in any Federal or State 

2 jobs program; 

3 (E) is not in receipt of compensation for a 

4 service-connected disability rated totally dis5 abling by reason of unemployability; and 

6 (F) will not be in receipt of unemployment 

7 compensation (as defined in section 85(b) of the 

8 Internal Revenue Code of 1986), including any 

9 cash benefit received pursuant to subtitle A of 

10 title II of division A of the Cares Act (Public 

11 Law 116–136), as of the first day on which the 

12 veteran would pursue a program of education 

13 using retraining assistance under this section. 

14 (2) TREATMENT OF VETERANS WHO TRANSFER

15 ENTITLEMENT.—For purposes of paragraph (1)(C), 

16 a veteran who has transferred all of the veteran’s 

17 entitlement to educational assistance under section 

18 3319 of title 38, United States Code, shall be con19 sidered to be a veteran who is not eligible to receive 

20 educational assistance under chapter 33 of such 

21 title. 

22 (3) FAILURE TO COMPLETE.—A veteran who 

23 receives retraining assistance under this section to 

24 pursue a program of education and who fails to comVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:56 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7111.IH H7111

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1 plete the program of education shall not be eligible 

2 to receive additional assistance under this section. 

3 (c) COVERED PROGRAMS OF EDUCATION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible veteran who 

5 receives retraining assistance under this section may 

6 only use such assistance to pursue a program of 

7 education (as such term is defined in section 

8 3452(b) of title 38, United States Code) for train9 ing, on a full-time or part-time basis, that— 

10 (A) that— 

11 (i) is approved under chapter 36 of 

12 such title; 

13 (ii) does not lead to a bachelors or 

14 graduate degree; and 

15 (iii) is designed to provide training for 

16 a high-demand occupation, as determined 

17 under paragraph (2); or 

18 (B) is a high technology programs of edu19 cation offered by a qualified provider, under the 

20 meaning of such terms in section 116 of the 

21 Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational As22 sistance Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–48; 38 

23 U.S.C. 3001 note). 

24 (2) ACCREDITED PROGRAMS.—In the case of an 

25 accredited program of education, the program of 


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1 education shall not be considered a covered program 

2 of education under this section if the program has 

3 received a show cause order from the accreditor of 

4 the program during the five-year period preceding 

5 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

6 (3) DETERMINATION OF HIGH-DEMAND OCCU7 PATIONS.— 

8 (A) INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION.—In car9 rying out this section, the Secretary shall use 

10 the list of high-demand occupations compiled by 

11 the Commissioner of Labor Statistics until the 

12 final list under subparagraph (C) is complete. 

13 (B) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of 

14 Veterans Affairs shall enter into an agreement 

15 with a federally funded research and develop16 ment corporation or another appropriate non17 Department entity for the conduct of a study to 

18 determine which occupations are high-demand 

19 occupations. Such study shall be completed not 

20 later than 30 days after the date of the enact21 ment of this Act. 

22 (C) FINAL LIST.—The Secretary— 

23 (i) may add or remove occupation 

24 from the list in use pursuant to subpara25 graph (A) during the 60-day period folVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:56 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7111.IH H7111

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1 lowing the completion of the study required 

2 by subparagraph (B); 

3 (ii) shall issue a final list of high-de4 mand occupations for use under this sec5 tion by not later than 60 days after the 

6 date of the completion of the study; and 

7 (iii) shall make such final list publicly 

8 available on a website of the Department. 

9 (D) USE OF LIST.—The Secretary shall 

10 use the list developed under this paragraph in 

11 order to apply the requirement that retraining 

12 assistance under this section is used for train13 ing for a high-demand occupation, but the Sec14 retary may remove occupations from the list as 

15 the Secretary determines appropriate. 

16 (d) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.— 

17 (1) RETRAINING ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

18 of Veterans Affairs shall provide to an eligible vet19 eran pursuing a covered program of education under 

20 the retraining assistance program under this section 

21 an amount equal to the amount of educational as22 sistance payable under section 3313(c)(1)(A) for 

23 each month the veteran pursues the covered pro24 gram of education. Such amount shall be payable di25 rectly to the educational institution offering the covVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:56 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7111.IH H7111

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1 ered program of education pursued by the veteran as 

2 follows: 

3 (A) 50 percent of the total amount payable 

4 shall be paid when the eligible veteran begins 

5 the program of education. 

6 (B) 25 percent of the total amount payable 

7 shall be paid when the eligible veteran com8 pletes the program of education. 

9 (C) 25 percent of the total amount payable 

10 shall be paid when the eligible veteran finds em11 ployment in a field related to the program of 

12 education. 

13 (2) FAILURE TO COMPLETE.—In the case of a 

14 veteran who pursues a covered program of education 

15 under the retraining assistance program under this 

16 section, but who does not complete the program of 

17 education, the Secretary shall pay to the educational 

18 institution offering such program of education a pro19 rated amount based on the number of months the 

20 veteran pursued the program of education— 

21 (A) under paragraph (1)(B), which shall 

22 be payable when the veteran provides notice to 

23 the educational institution that the veteran no 

24 longer intends to pursue the program of edu25 cation; and 


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1 (B) under paragraph (1)(C), which shall 

2 by payable only if the veteran finds employment 

3 in a field related to the program of education 

4 during the 180-day period beginning on the 

5 date on which the veteran withdraws from the 

6 program of education. 

7 (3) HOUSING STIPEND.—For each month that 

8 an eligible veteran pursues a covered program of 

9 education under the retraining assistance program 

10 under this section, the Secretary shall pay to the 

11 veteran a monthly housing stipend in an amount 

12 equal to— 

13 (A) in the case of a covered program of 

14 education leading to a degree at an institution 

15 of higher learning (as that term is defined in 

16 section 3452(f) of title 38, United States Code) 

17 pursued on more than a half-time basis, the 

18 amount specified under subsection (c)(1)(B) of 

19 section 3313 of title 38, United States Code; 

20 (B) in the case of a covered program of 

21 education other than a program of education 

22 leading to a degree at an institution other than 

23 an institution of higher learning pursued on 

24 more than a half-time basis, the amount speciVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:56 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7111.IH H7111

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1 fied under subsection (g)(3)(A)(ii) of such sec2 tion; 

3 (C) in the case of a covered program of 

4 education pursued on less than a half-time 

5 basis, the amount specified under subsection 

6 (f)(2)(A)(ii) of such section; or 

7 (D) in the case of a covered program of 

8 education pursued solely through distance 

9 learning on more than a half-time basis, the 

10 amount specified under subsection (c)(1)(B)(iii) 

11 of such section. 

12 (4) FAILURE TO FIND EMPLOYMENT.—The 

13 Secretary shall not make a payment under para14 graph (1)(C) with respect to an eligible veteran who 

15 completes or fails to completes a program of edu16 cation under the retraining assistance program 

17 under this section if the veteran fails to find employ18 ment in a field related to the program of education 

19 within the 180-period beginning on the date on 

20 which the veteran withdraws from or completes the 

21 program. 

22 (e) NO TRANSFERABILITY.—Retraining assistance 

23 provided under this section may not be transferred to an24 other individual. 

25 (f) EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall 

2 contact each veteran who pursues a covered program 

3 of education under this section— 

4 (A) not later than 30 days after the date 

5 on which the veteran begins the program of 

6 education to notify the veteran of the avail7 ability of employment placement services upon 

8 completion of the program; and 

9 (B) not later than 14 days after the date 

10 on which the veteran completes, or terminates 

11 participation in, such program to facilitate the 

12 provision of employment placement services to 

13 such veteran. 

14 (2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—The Sec15 retary of Veterans Affairs shall provide to the Sec16 retary of Labor such information as may be nec17 essary to carry out paragraph (1). 

18 (g) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 

20 Affairs may enter into a memorandum of under21 standing with one or more qualified nonprofit orga22 nizations for the purpose of facilitating the employ23 ment of veterans who participate in the retraining 

24 assistance program under this section. 


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1 (2) QUALIFIED NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.— 

2 For purposes of this subsection, a qualified non3 profit organization is a nonprofit organization 

4 that— 

5 (A) is an association of businesses; and 

6 (B) has at least two years of experience 

7 providing job placement services for veterans. 

8 (h) FOLLOW-UP OUTREACH.—The Secretary of Vet9 erans Affairs, in coordination with the Secretary of Labor 

10 shall contact each veteran who completes a covered pro11 gram of education under the retraining assistance pro12 gram under this section 30, 60, 90, and 180 days after 

13 the veteran completes such program of education to ask 

14 the veteran about the experience of the veteran in the re15 training assistance program and the veteran’s employment 

16 status. 

17 (i) TIME FRAME FOR PARTICIPATION.—An eligible 

18 veteran who participates in the retraining assistance pro19 gram under this section shall— 

20 (1) begin a program of education by not later 

21 than 150 days after the date of the enactment of 

22 this Act; and 

23 (2) complete such program of education by not 

24 later than 17 months after the date of the enact25 ment of this Act. 


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1 (j) LIMITATION.—Not more than 35,000 eligible vet2 erans may receive retraining assistance under this section. 

3 (k) TERMINATION.—No retraining assistance may be 

4 paid under this section after the date that is 17 months 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

6 (l) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the 

7 termination of the retraining assistance program under 

8 subsection (k), the Comptroller General shall submit to 

9 the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 

10 House of Representatives a report on the outcomes and 

11 effectiveness of the program. 

12 (m) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) The term ‘‘covered public health emer14 gency’’ means the declaration— 

15 (A) of a public health emergency, based on 

16 an outbreak of COVID-19 by the Secretary of 

17 Health and Human Services under section 319 

18 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

19 247d); or 

20 (B) of a domestic emergency, based on an 

21 outbreak of COVID-19 by the President, the 

22 Secretary of Homeland Security, or State, or 

23 local authority. 

24 (2) The term ‘‘veteran’’ means— 


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1 (A) a person who served in the active mili2 tary, naval, or air service, and who was dis3 charged or released therefrom under conditions 

4 other than dishonorable; or 

5 (B) a member of a reserve component of 

6 the Armed Forces who serves on active duty 

7 pursuant to section 502(f) of title 32, United 

8 States Code, for a period of 30 days or longer 

9 by reason of the covered public health emer10 gency. 

11 (n) FUNDING.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year for 

13 which the Secretary provides retraining assistance 

14 under this section, such sums as may be necessary 

15 shall be made available for such assistance from 

16 funds appropriated to, or otherwise made available 

17 to, the Department for the payment of readjustment 

18 benefits. 

19 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—There is author20 ized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

21 $10,000,000 for administrative costs associated with 

22 carrying out this section. 


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1 SEC. 3. ACCESS FOR THE SECRETARIES OF LABOR AND 

2 VETERANS AFFAIRS TO THE FEDERAL DIREC3 TORY OF NEW HIRES. 

4 Section 453A(h) of the Social Security Act (42 

5 U.S.C. 653a(h)) is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(4) VETERAN EMPLOYMENT.—The Secretaries 

8 of Labor and of Veterans Affairs shall have access 

9 to information reported by employers pursuant to 

10 subsection (b) of this section for purposes of track11 ing employment of veterans.’’. 

12 SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF ELIGIBLE CLASS OF PROVIDERS OF 

13 HIGH TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS OF EDU14 CATION FOR VETERANS. 

15 Section 116 of the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Edu16 cational Assistance Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–48; 38 

17 U.S.C. 3001 note) is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 

19 following: ‘‘The Secretary shall treat an individual as 

20 an eligible veteran if the Secretary determines that 

21 the individual shall become an eligible veteran fewer 

22 than 180 days after the date of such determina23 tion.’’; 

24 (2) in subsection (c)— 

25 (A) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘has 

26 been operational for at least 2 years’’ and inVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:56 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7111.IH H7111

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1 serting ‘‘employs instructors whom the Sec2 retary determines are experts in their respective 

3 fields in accordance with paragraph (6)’’; and 

4 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

5 paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(6) EXPERTS.—The Secretary shall determine 

7 whether instructors are experts under paragraph 

8 (3)(A) based on evidence furnished to the Secretary 

9 by the provider regarding the ability of the instruc10 tors to— 

11 ‘‘(A) identify professions in need of new 

12 employees to hire, tailor the programs to meet 

13 market needs, and identify the employers likely 

14 to hire graduates; 

15 ‘‘(B) effectively teach the skills offered to 

16 eligible veterans; 

17 ‘‘(C) provide relevant industry experience 

18 in the fields of programs offered to incoming el19 igible veterans; and 

20 ‘‘(D) demonstrate relevant industry experi21 ence in such fields of programs.’’; 

22 (3) in subsection (d), in the matter preceding 

23 paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘(not including an indi24 vidual described in the second sentence of subsection 

25 (b))’’ after ‘‘each eligible veteran’’; 


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1 (4) in subsection (e), in the matter preceding 

2 paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, including a part-time 

3 program shorter than six months in duration,’’ after 

4 ‘‘means a program of education’’; 

5 (5) in subsection (g), by striking 

6 ‘‘$15,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$45,000,000’’; and 

7 (6) by adding at the end the following new sub8 section (i): 

9 ‘‘(i) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN ACCOUNTING OF AS10 SISTANCE.—The Secretary may not consider enrollment in 

11 a high technology program of education under this section 

12 to be assistance under a provision of law referred to in 

13 section 3695 of title 38, United States Code.’’. 

14 SEC. 5. PILOT PROGRAM FOR OFF-BASE TRANSITION 

15 TRAINING FOR VETERANS AND SPOUSES. 

16 (a) EXTENSION OF PILOT PROGRAM.—Subsection 

17 (a) of section 301 of the Dignified Burial and Other Vet18 erans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2012 (Public Law 

19 112–260; 10 U.S.C. 1144 note) is amended— 

20 (1) by striking ‘‘During the two-year period be21 ginning on the date of the enactment of this Act’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘During the 5-year period beginning 

23 on the date of the enactment of the Veterans Eco24 nomic Recovery Act of 2020’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘to assess the feasibility and ad2 visability of providing such program to eligible indi3 viduals at locations other than military installa4 tions’’. 

5 (b) LOCATIONS.—Subsection (c) of such section is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘not less than 

8 three and not more than five States’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘not fewer than 50 locations in States (as defined 

10 in section 101 of title 38, United States Code)’’; 

11 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘at least two’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘at least 20’’; and 

13 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

14 paragraphs: 

15 ‘‘(5) PREFERENCES.—In selecting States for 

16 participation in the pilot program, the Secretary 

17 shall provide a preference for any State with— 

18 ‘‘(A) a high rate of usage of unemployment 

19 benefits for recently separated members of the 

20 Armed Forces; or 

21 ‘‘(B) a labor force or economy that has 

22 been significantly impacted by the covered pub23 lic health emergency. 


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1 ‘‘(6) COVERED PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.— 

2 In this subsection, the term ‘covered public health 

3 emergency’ means the declaration— 

4 ‘‘(A) of a public health emergency, based 

5 on an outbreak of COVID-19 by the Secretary 

6 of Health and Human Services under section 

7 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

8 U.S.C. 247d); or 

9 ‘‘(B) of a domestic emergency, based on an 

10 outbreak of COVID-19 by the President, the 

11 Secretary of Homeland Security, or State, or 

12 local authority.’’. 

13 (c) ANNUAL REPORT.—Subsection (e) of such section 

14 is amended by adding at the end the following new sen15 tence: ‘‘Each such report shall include information about 

16 the employment outcomes of the eligible individuals who 

17 received such training during the year covered by the re18 port.’’. 

19 (d) CONFORMING REPEAL.—Subsection (f) of such 

20 section is repealed. 


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1 SEC. 6. GRANTS FOR PROVISION OF TRANSITION ASSIST2 ANCE TO MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES 

3 AFTER SEPARATION, RETIREMENT, OR DIS4 CHARGE. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

6 shall make grants to eligible organizations for the provi7 sion of transition assistance to members of the Armed 

8 Forces who are separated, retired, or discharged from the 

9 Armed Forces, and spouses of such members. 

10 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—The recipient of a grant under 

11 this section shall use the grant to provide to members of 

12 the Armed Forces and spouses described in subsection (a) 

13 resume assistance, interview training, job recruitment 

14 training, and related services leading directly to successful 

15 transition, as determined by the Secretary. 

16 (c) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.—To be eligible for a 

17 grant under this section, an organization shall submit to 

18 the Secretary an application containing such information 

19 and assurances as the Secretary, in consultation with the 

20 Secretary of Labor, may require. 

21 (d) PRIORITY.—In making grants under this section, 

22 the Secretary shall give priority to an organization that— 

23 (1) provides multiple forms of services described 

24 in subsection (b); or 

25 (2) is located in a State with— 

26 (A) a high rate of veteran unemployment; 


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1 (B) a high rate of usage of unemployment 

2 benefits for recently separated members of the 

3 Armed Forces; or 

4 (C) a labor force or economy that has been 

5 significantly impacted by the covered public 

6 health emergency (as such term is defined in 

7 section 2(m)(2)). 

8 (e) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—A grant under this section 

9 shall be in an amount that does not exceed 50 percent 

10 of the amount required by the organization to provide the 

11 services described in subsection (b). 

12 (f) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall carry out this 

13 section not later than six months after the effective date 

14 of this Act. 

15 (g) TERMINATION.—The authority to provide a grant 

16 under this section shall terminate on the date that is five 

17 years after the date on which the Secretary implements 

18 the grant program under this section. 

19 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

20 authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 to carry out 

21 this section. 

Æ 


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