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Union Calendar No. 66 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 357 

[Report No. 113–94] 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to require courses of education 

provided by public institutions of higher education that are approved 

for purposes of the educational assistance programs administered by 

the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to charge veterans tuition and fees 

at the in-State tuition rate. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 23, 2013 

Mr. MILLER of Florida (for himself and Mr. MICHAUD) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

JUNE 3, 2013 

Additional sponsors: Mr. JONES, Mr. GRIFFIN of Arkansas, Mr. NUGENT, Mr. 

PASTOR of Arizona, Mr. O’ROURKE, Mr. ROSS, Mr. HUNTER, Mrs. 

MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. COLLINS

of New York, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. COLE, Mr. RUIZ, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. PETERSON, Ms. FRANKEL of 

Florida, Mr. WALZ, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Ms. TITUS, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. 

COURTNEY, Mr. HONDA, Mr. STIVERS, Mrs. NEGRETE MCLEOD, Ms. 

SCHWARTZ, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mrs. 

KIRKPATRICK, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. BENISHEK, Mr. HOLT, Mr. LATTA, Mr. 

BILIRAKIS, Mr. AMODEI, Mr. RUNYAN, Mr. FORBES, Mr. BARBER, Mr. 

ROE of Tennessee, Mr. PETERS of California, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mrs. WALORSKI, Mr. MESSER, Ms. SINEMA, and Mr. GERLACH

JUNE 3, 2013 

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 

on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 23, 2013] 

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A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to require courses 

of education provided by public institutions of higher 

education that are approved for purposes of the educational assistance programs administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to charge veterans tuition 

and fees at the in-State tuition rate. 

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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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘GI 

5 Bill Tuition Fairness Act of 2013’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. References to title 38, United States Code. 

Sec. 3. Approval of courses of education provided by public educational institutions for purposes of educational assistance programs administered by Secretary of Veterans Affairs conditional on in-State 

tuition rate for veterans. 

Sec. 4. Extension of authorization of appropriations for payment of a monthly 

assistance allowance to disabled veterans training or competing 

for the Paralympic Team. 

Sec. 5. Extension of authorization of appropriations for assistance to United 

States Paralympics, Inc. 

Sec. 6. Clarification of eligibility for services under the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program. 

Sec. 7. Extension of eligibility period for vocational rehabilitation programs. 

Sec. 8. Work-study allowance. 

Sec. 9. Responsibilities of the Directors of Veterans’ Employment and Training. 

Sec. 10. Contents of Transition Assistance Program. 

Sec. 11. Three-month extension of Veterans Retraining Assistance Program. 

Sec. 12. Increase in rates of disability compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation. 

Sec. 13. Performance awards in the senior executive service. 

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

9 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

10 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of 

11 an amendment to, or a repeal of, a section or other provi12 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a section 

13 or other provision of title 38, United States Code. 

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1 SEC. 3. APPROVAL OF COURSES OF EDUCATION PROVIDED 

2 BY PUBLIC EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS FOR 

3 PURPOSES OF EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 

4 PROGRAMS ADMINISTERED BY SECRETARY 

5 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CONDITIONAL ON IN6 STATE TUITION RATE FOR VETERANS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3679 is amended by adding 

8 at the end the following new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this sub10 title, the Secretary or the Secretary’s designee shall dis11 approve a course of education provided by a public edu12 cational institution unless the institution charges tuition 

13 and fees for a veteran at up to the same rate as the institu14 tion charges for residents of the State in which the institu15 tion is located, regardless of the veteran’s State of residence. 

16 The Secretary shall notify the State approving agency of 

17 the Secretary’s disapproval of a course of education under 

18 this subsection.’’. 

19 (b) TREATMENT OF ENROLLED BENEFITS RECIPI20 ENTS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a veteran or eli22 gible person who is enrolled before July 1, 2015, in 

23 a course of education provided by a public edu24 cational institution that was approved under chapter 

25 36 of title 38, United States Code, at the time of the 

26 initial enrollment of the veteran or eligible person but 

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1 that is disapproved by the Secretary of Veterans Af2 fairs or the Secretary’s designee by reason of sub3 section (c) of section 3679 of such title, as added by 

4 subsection (a), the Secretary shall treat such institu5 tion as an institution that is approved under such 

6 chapter for purposes of the laws administered by the 

7 Secretary with respect to the veteran or eligible per8 son until the veteran or eligible person completes the 

9 program of education in which the veteran or eligible 

10 person is enrolled. 

11 (2) TERMINATION.— 

12 (A) LIMITATION.—Except as provided in 

13 subparagraph (B), the Secretary of Veterans Af14 fairs may not treat such an institution as an 

15 approved institution under paragraph (1) after 

16 July 1, 2019. 

17 (B) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the 

18 limitation under subparagraph (A) if the Sec19 retary determines such a waiver is appropriate. 

20 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (c) of section 3679 

21 of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a) 

22 shall apply with respect to educational assistance provided 

23 after July 1, 2015. 

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1 SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA2 TIONS FOR PAYMENT OF A MONTHLY ASSIST3 ANCE ALLOWANCE TO DISABLED VETERANS 

4 TRAINING OR COMPETING FOR THE 

5 PARALYMPIC TEAM. 

6 Section 322(d)(4) is amended by striking ‘‘2013’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘2018’’. 

8 SEC. 5. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA9 TIONS FOR ASSISTANCE TO UNITED STATES 

10 PARALYMPICS, INC. 

11 Section 521A is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘2013’’ and in13 serting ‘‘2018’’; and 

14 (2) in subsection (l), by striking ‘‘2013’’ and in15 serting ‘‘2018’’. 

16 SEC. 6. CLARIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES 

17 UNDER THE HOMELESS VETERANS RE18 INTEGRATION PROGRAM. 

19 Subsection (a) of section 2021 is amended by striking 

20 ‘‘reintegration of homeless veterans into the labor force.’’ 

21 and inserting the following: ‘‘reintegration into the labor 

22 force of—’’ 

23 ‘‘(1) homeless veterans; 

24 ‘‘(2) veterans participating in the Department of 

25 Veterans Affairs supported housing program for 

26 which rental assistance provided pursuant to section 

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1 8(o)(19) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

2 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(19)); and 

3 ‘‘(3) veterans who are transitioning from being 

4 incarcerated.’’. 

5 SEC. 7. EXTENSION OF ELIGIBILITY PERIOD FOR VOCA6 TIONAL REHABILITATION PROGRAMS. 

7 (a) EXTENSION.—Section 3103 is amended by striking 

8 ‘‘twelve-year period’’ and inserting ‘‘17-year period’’ each 

9 place it appears. 

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub11 section (a) shall apply with respect to a veteran applying 

12 for assistance under chapter 31 of title 38, United States 

13 Code, on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 8. WORK-STUDY ALLOWANCE. 

15 Section 3485(a)(4) is amended by striking ‘‘June 30, 

16 2013’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘June 30, 2018’’. 

17 SEC. 9. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DIRECTORS OF VET18 ERANS’ EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING. 

19 Section 4103 is amended— 

20 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection 

21 (c); and 

22 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following 

23 new subsection (b): 

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1 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each Director assigned to a 

2 State under subsection (a) shall carry out the following re3 sponsibilities: 

4 ‘‘(1) Monitoring the performance of veterans’ 

5 training and employment programs in the State, 

6 with special emphasis on services to disabled veterans. 

7 ‘‘(2) Monitoring the performance of the State 

8 workforce agency in complying with section 4212 of 

9 this title. 

10 ‘‘(3) Suggesting to the Assistant Secretary of 

11 Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training cor12 rective actions that could be taken by the State work13 force agency to address deficiencies in the perform14 ance of veterans’ training and employment programs 

15 in the State. 

16 ‘‘(4) Annually negotiating with the State work17 force agency to establish performance goals for vet18 erans’ training and employment programs in the 

19 State. 

20 ‘‘(5) Reviewing the State’s requests for funding 

21 for veterans’ training and employment programs and 

22 providing advice to the State workforce agency and 

23 the Assistant Secretary regarding such funding re24 quests. 

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1 ‘‘(6) Forwarding complaints regarding possible 

2 violations of chapter 43 of this title to the appropriate 

3 Regional Administrator or to the to the Assistant Sec4 retary, as required. 

5 ‘‘(7) Carrying out grant officer technical rep6 resentative responsibilities for grants issued under 

7 programs administered by the Department. 

8 ‘‘(8) Providing advice to the State workforce 

9 agency on strategies to market veterans to employers. 

10 ‘‘(9) Supervising and managing all support 

11 staff, including Assistant Directors, establishing work12 load priorities, managing all personnel actions, and 

13 evaluating all assigned personnel. 

14 ‘‘(10) Submitting to the Assistant Secretary reg15 ular reports on the matters described in paragraphs 

16 (1), (2), (4), and (8), and any other matters the As17 sistant Secretary determine appropriate. 

18 ‘‘(11) Performing such other related duties as di19 rected by the Assistant Secretary.’’. 

20 SEC. 10. CONTENTS OF TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PRO21 GRAM. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1144 of title 10, United 

23 States Code, is amended— 

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

25 following new paragraph: 

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1 ‘‘(9) Provide information about disability-related 

2 employment and education protections.’’. 

3 (2) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and (e), 

4 as subsections (d), (e), and (f), respectively; and 

5 (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following 

6 new subsection (c): 

7 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS OF PROGRAM.—The 

8 mandatory program carried out by this section shall in9 clude— 

10 ‘‘(1) for any such member who plans to use the 

11 member’s entitlement to educational assistance under 

12 title 38— 

13 ‘‘(A) instruction providing an overview of 

14 the use of such entitlement; and 

15 ‘‘(B) testing to determine academic readi16 ness for post-secondary education, courses of 

17 post-secondary education appropriate for the 

18 member, courses of post-secondary education 

19 compatible with the member’s education goals, 

20 and instruction on how to finance the member’s 

21 post-secondary education; and 

22 ‘‘(2) instruction in the benefits under laws ad23 ministered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and 

24 in other subjects determined by the Secretary con25 cerned.’’. 

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1 (b) DEADLINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—The program 

2 carried out under section 1144 of title 10, United States 

3 Code, shall comply with the requirements of subsections 

4 (b)(9) and (c) of such section, as added by subsection (a), 

5 by not later than April 1, 2015. 

6 (c) FEASIBILITY STUDY.—Not later than 270 days 

7 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

8 of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Vet9 erans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives 

10 the results of a study carried out by the Secretary to deter11 mine the feasibility of providing the instruction described 

12 in subsection (b) of section 1142 of title 10, United States 

13 Code, at all overseas locations where such instruction is pro14 vided by entering into a contract jointly with the Secretary 

15 of Labor for the provision of such instruction. 

16 SEC. 11. THREE-MONTH EXTENSION OF VETERANS RE17 TRAINING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

18 (a) EXTENSION.—Section 211 of the VOW to Hire He19 roes Act of 2011 (Public Law 112–56; 125 Stat. 713; 38 

20 U.S.C. 4100 note) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a)(2)(B), by striking ‘‘March 

22 31, 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘June 30, 2014’’; and 

23 (2) in subsection (k), by striking ‘‘March 31, 

24 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘June 30, 2014’’. 

25 (b) INTERIM REPORT.— 

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1 (1) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 30 days 

2 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec3 retary of Veterans Affairs, in collaboration with the 

4 Secretary of Labor, shall submit to the appropriate 

5 committees of Congress an interim report on the re6 training assistance provided under section 211 of the 

7 VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 (Public Law 112– 

8 56; 125 Stat. 713; 38 U.S.C. 4100 note). 

9 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para10 graph (1) shall include the following: 

11 (A) The total number of— 

12 (i) eligible veterans who have partici13 pated in the program established under such 

14 section as of the date of the enactment of 

15 this Act; and 

16 (ii) associates degrees or certificates 

17 awarded (or other similar evidence of the 

18 completion of the program of education or 

19 training earned) to veterans participating 

20 in the program established under such sec21 tion as of such date. 

22 (B) Data related to the employment status 

23 of eligible veterans who participated in such pro24 gram. 

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1 SEC. 12. INCREASE IN RATES OF DISABILITY COMPENSA2 TION AND DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY 

3 COMPENSATION. 

4 (a) RATE ADJUSTMENT.—Effective on December 1, 

5 2013, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall increase, in 

6 accordance with subsection (c), the dollar amounts in effect 

7 on November 30, 2013, for the payment of disability com8 pensation and dependency and indemnity compensation 

9 under the provisions specified in subsection (b). 

10 (b) AMOUNTS TO BE INCREASED.—The dollar 

11 amounts to be increased pursuant to subsection (a) are the 

12 following: 

13 (1) WARTIME DISABILITY COMPENSATION.—Each 

14 of the dollar amounts under section 1114 of title 38, 

15 United States Code. 

16 (2) ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION FOR DEPEND17 ENTS.—Each of the dollar amounts under section 

18 1115(1) of such title. 

19 (3) CLOTHING ALLOWANCE.—The dollar amount 

20 under section 1162 of such title. 

21 (4) DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY COMPENSA22 TION TO SURVIVING SPOUSE.—Each of the dollar 

23 amounts under subsections (a) through (d) of section 

24 1311 of such title. 

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1 (5) DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY COMPENSA2 TION TO CHILDREN.—Each of the dollar amounts 

3 under sections 1313(a) and 1314 of such title. 

4 (c) DETERMINATION OF INCREASE.— 

5 (1) PERCENTAGE.—Except as provided in para6 graph (2), each dollar amount described in subsection 

7 (b) shall be increased by the same percentage as the 

8 percentage by which benefit amounts payable under 

9 title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et 

10 seq.) are increased effective December 1, 2012, as a re11 sult of a determination under section 215(i) of such 

12 Act (42 U.S.C. 415(i)). 

13 (2) ROUNDING.—Each dollar amount increased 

14 under paragraph (1), if not a whole dollar amount, 

15 shall be rounded to the next lower whole dollar 

16 amount. 

17 (d) SPECIAL RULE.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

18 may adjust administratively, consistent with the increases 

19 made under subsection (a), the rates of disability compensa20 tion payable to persons under section 10 of Public Law 85– 

21 857 (72 Stat. 1263) who have not received compensation 

22 under chapter 11 of title 38, United States Code. 

23 (e) PUBLICATION OF ADJUSTED RATES.—The Sec24 retary of Veterans Affairs shall publish in the Federal Reg25 ister the amounts specified in subsection (b), as increased 

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1 under that section, not later than the date on which the 

2 matters specified in section 215(i)(2)(D) of the Social Secu3 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 415(i)(2)(D)) are required to be pub4 lished by reason of a determination made under section 

5 215(i) of such Act during fiscal year 2014. 

6 SEC. 13. PERFORMANCE AWARDS IN THE SENIOR EXECU7 TIVE SERVICE. 

8 For each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018, the Sec9 retary of Veterans Affairs may not pay any performance 

10 awards under section 5384 of title 5, United States Code. 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to amend title 

38, United States Code, to require courses of education 

provided by public institutions of higher education that 

are approved for purposes of the educational assistance 

programs administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to charge veterans tuition and fees at the in-State 

tuition rate, to make other improvements in the laws relating to benefits administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.’’. 

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Union Calendar No. 66 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 357 

[Report No. 113–94] 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to require 

in-State tuition rate. fairs to charge veterans tuition and fees at the administered by the Secretary of Veterans Afpurposes of the educational assistance programs tions of higher education that are approved for courses of education provided by public instituJUNE 3, 2013 

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee 

dered to be printed of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ormstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS