IIB 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 357 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 4, 2014 

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

AN ACT 

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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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 2014’’. 

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. Scoring of budgetary effects. 

Sec. 4. Approval of courses of education provided by public institutions of higher education for purposes of All-Volunteer Force Educational 

Assistance Program and Post-9/11 Educational Assistance conditional on in-State tuition rate for veterans. 

Sec. 5. Clarification of eligibility for services under the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program. 

Sec. 6. Extension of eligibility period for vocational rehabilitation programs. 

Sec. 7. Work-study allowance. 

Sec. 8. Responsibilities of the Directors of Veterans’ Employment and Training. 

Sec. 9. Contents of Transition Assistance Program. 

Sec. 10. Rounding down of increase in rates of disability compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation. 

Sec. 11. Limitation on performance awards in the senior executive service. 

Sec. 12. Semiannual reports to Congress on cost of certain travel. 

Sec. 13. Report of infectious disease at medical facilities of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 14. Prohibition of visual recording without informed consent. 

Sec. 15. Two-month extension of Veterans Retraining Assistance Program. 

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 

11 of an amendment to, or a repeal of, a section or other 

12 provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to 

13 a section or other provision of title 38, United States 

14 Code. 

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1 SEC. 3. SCORING OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

2 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

3 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

4 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

5 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

6 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

7 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro8 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

9 vote on passage. 

10 SEC. 4. APPROVAL OF COURSES OF EDUCATION PROVIDED 

11 BY PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDU12 CATION FOR PURPOSES OF ALL-VOLUNTEER 

13 FORCE EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PRO14 GRAM AND POST-9/11 EDUCATIONAL ASSIST15 ANCE CONDITIONAL ON IN-STATE TUITION 

16 RATE FOR VETERANS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3679 is amended by add18 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

19 ‘‘(c)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

20 chapter and subject to paragraphs (3) through (6), the 

21 Secretary shall disapprove a course of education provided 

22 by a public institution of higher education to a covered 

23 individual pursuing a course of education with educational 

24 assistance under chapter 30 or 33 of this title while living 

25 in the State in which the public institution of higher edu26 cation is located if the institution charges tuition and fees 

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1 for that course for the covered individual at a rate that 

2 is higher than the rate the institution charges for tuition 

3 and fees for that course for residents of the State in which 

4 the institution is located, regardless of the covered individ5 ual’s State of residence. 

6 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, a covered indi7 vidual is a veteran who was discharged or released from 

8 a period of not fewer than 90 days of service in the active 

9 military, naval, or air service less than three years before 

10 the date of enrollment in the course concerned. 

11 ‘‘(3) If after enrollment in a course of education that 

12 is subject to disapproval under paragraph (1) a covered 

13 individual pursues one or more courses of education at the 

14 same public institution of higher education while remain15 ing continuously enrolled (other than during regularly 

16 scheduled breaks between courses, semesters or terms) at 

17 that institution of higher education, any course so pursued 

18 by the covered individual at that institution of higher edu19 cation while so continuously enrolled shall also be subject 

20 to disapproval under paragraph (1). 

21 ‘‘(4) It shall not be grounds to disapprove a course 

22 of education under paragraph (1) if a public institution 

23 of higher education requires a covered individual pursuing 

24 a course of education at the institution to demonstrate an 

25 intent, by means other than satisfying a physical presence 

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1 requirement, to establish residency in the State in which 

2 the institution is located, or to satisfy other requirements 

3 not relating to the establishment of residency, in order to 

4 be charged tuition and fees for that course at a rate that 

5 is equal to or less than the rate the institution charges 

6 for tuition and fees for that course for residents of the 

7 State. 

8 ‘‘(5) The Secretary may waive such requirements of 

9 paragraph (1) as the Secretary considers appropriate. 

10 ‘‘(6) Disapproval under paragraph (1) shall apply 

11 only with respect to educational assistance under chapters 

12 30 and 33 of this title.’’. 

13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (c) of section 

14 3679 of title 38, United States Code (as added by sub15 section (a) of this section), shall apply with respect to edu16 cational assistance provided for pursuit of programs of 

17 education during academic terms that begin after July 1, 

18 2016, through courses of education that commence on or 

19 after that date. 

20 SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES 

21 UNDER THE HOMELESS VETERANS RE22 INTEGRATION PROGRAM. 

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

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

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

2 force of— 

3 ‘‘(1) homeless veterans; 

4 ‘‘(2) veterans participating in the Department 

5 of Veterans Affairs supported housing program for 

6 which rental assistance provided pursuant to section 

7 8(o)(19) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

8 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(19)); and 

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

10 incarcerated.’’. 

11 SEC. 6. EXTENSION OF ELIGIBILITY PERIOD FOR VOCA12 TIONAL REHABILITATION PROGRAMS. 

13 (a) EXTENSION.—Section 3103 is amended by strik14 ing ‘‘twelve-year period’’ and inserting ‘‘17-year period’’ 

15 each place it appears. 

16 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

17 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to a veteran apply18 ing for assistance under chapter 31 of title 38, United 

19 States Code, on or after the date of the enactment of this 

20 Act. 

21 SEC. 7. WORK-STUDY ALLOWANCE. 

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

23 2013’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘June 30, 

24 2018’’. 

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1 SEC. 8. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DIRECTORS OF VET2 ERANS’ EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING. 

3 Section 4103 is amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub5 section (c); and 

6 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol7 lowing new subsection (b): 

8 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each Director assigned to 

9 a State under subsection (a) shall carry out the following 

10 responsibilities: 

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

12 training and employment programs in the State, 

13 with special emphasis on services to disabled vet14 erans. 

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

16 workforce agency in complying with section 4212 of 

17 this title. 

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

19 Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training cor20 rective actions that could be taken by the State 

21 workforce agency to address deficiencies in the per22 formance of veterans’ training and employment pro23 grams in the State. 

24 ‘‘(4) Annually negotiating with the State work25 force agency to establish performance goals for vetmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 erans’ training and employment programs in the 

2 State. 

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

4 for veterans’ training and employment programs and 

5 providing advice to the State workforce agency and 

6 the Assistant Secretary regarding such funding re7 quests. 

8 ‘‘(6) Forwarding complaints regarding possible 

9 violations of chapter 43 of this title to the appro10 priate Regional Administrator or to the to the As11 sistant Secretary, as required. 

12 ‘‘(7) Carrying out grant officer technical rep13 resentative responsibilities for grants issued under 

14 programs administered by the Department. 

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

16 agency on strategies to market veterans to employ17 ers. 

18 ‘‘(9) Supervising and managing all support 

19 staff, including Assistant Directors, establishing 

20 workload priorities, managing all personnel actions, 

21 and evaluating all assigned personnel. 

22 ‘‘(10) Submitting to the Assistant Secretary 

23 regular reports on the matters described in para24 graphs (1), (2), (4), and (8), and any other matters 

25 the Assistant Secretary determine appropriate. 

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1 ‘‘(11) Performing such other related duties as 

2 directed by the Assistant Secretary.’’. 

3 SEC. 9. CONTENTS OF TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

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

5 States Code, is amended— 

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

7 following new paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(9) Provide information about disability-re9 lated employment and education protections.’’. 

10 (2) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and 

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

12 (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol13 lowing new subsection (c): 

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

15 mandatory program carried out by this section shall in16 clude— 

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

18 member’s entitlement to educational assistance 

19 under title 38— 

20 ‘‘(A) instruction providing an overview of 

21 the use of such entitlement; and 

22 ‘‘(B) courses of post-secondary education 

23 appropriate for the member, courses of post24 secondary education compatible with the mem25 ber’s education goals, and instruction on how to 

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1 finance the member’s post-secondary education; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(2) instruction in the benefits under laws ad4 ministered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and 

5 in other subjects determined by the Secretary con6 cerned.’’. 

7 (b) DEADLINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—The pro8 gram carried out under section 1144 of title 10, United 

9 States Code, shall comply with the requirements of sub10 sections (b)(9) and (c) of such section, as added by sub11 section (a), by not later than April 1, 2015. 

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

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

14 of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Vet15 erans’ Affairs and the Committee on Armed Services of 

16 the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and 

17 the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Rep18 resentatives the results of a study carried out by the Sec19 retary to determine the feasibility of providing the instruc20 tion described in subsection (b) of section 1142 of title 

21 10, United States Code, at all overseas locations where 

22 such instruction is provided by entering into a contract 

23 jointly with the Secretary of Labor for the provision of 

24 such instruction. 

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1 SEC. 10. ROUNDING DOWN OF INCREASE IN RATES OF DIS2 ABILITY COMPENSATION AND DEPENDENCY 

3 AND INDEMNITY COMPENSATION. 

4 (a) ROUNDING.—Each dollar amount increased 

5 under section 2 of the Veterans’ Compensation Cost- of6 Living Adjustment Act of 2013 (Public Law 113–52), if 

7 not a whole dollar amount, shall be rounded to the next 

8 lower whole dollar amount. 

9 (b) APPLICABILITY.—Subsection (a) shall apply with 

10 respect to a payment made after the date of the enactment 

11 of this Act. 

12 SEC. 11. LIMITATION ON PERFORMANCE AWARDS IN THE 

13 SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE. 

14 For each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018, the Sec15 retary of Veterans Affairs may not make any performance 

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

17 SEC. 12. SEMIANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS ON COST OF 

18 CERTAIN TRAVEL. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 5 is 

20 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

21 ‘‘§ 518. Semiannual reports to Congress on cost of cer22 tain travel 

23 ‘‘(a) SEMIANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than June 

24 30, 2014, and not later than 60 days after each 180-day 

25 period thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Com26 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representamstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tives and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen2 ate a semiannual report on covered travel made during 

3 the 180-day period covered by the report. 

4 ‘‘(b) MATTERS INCLUDED.—Each report under sub5 section (a) shall include the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) With respect to each instance of covered 

7 travel made during the period covered by the re8 port— 

9 ‘‘(A) the purpose of such travel; 

10 ‘‘(B) the destination; 

11 ‘‘(C) the name and title of each employee 

12 included on such travel; 

13 ‘‘(D) the duration of such travel; 

14 ‘‘(E) the total cost to the Department of 

15 such travel; and 

16 ‘‘(F) with respect to covered travel de17 scribed in subsection (d)(2), the identity of the 

18 person or entity that paid or reimbursed for 

19 such travel. 

20 ‘‘(2) The final costs to the Department with re21 spect to all covered travel made during the period 

22 covered by the report, including costs relating to— 

23 ‘‘(A) transportation, including fares for 

24 travel by air, rail, bus, ferry, cruise ship, taxi, 

25 mass transit, or other mode of transportation; 

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1 ‘‘(B) expenses or reimbursements relating 

2 to operating and maintaining a car, including 

3 the costs of fuel and mileage; 

4 ‘‘(C) passport and visa fees; 

5 ‘‘(D) lodging; 

6 ‘‘(E) per diem payments; 

7 ‘‘(F) baggage charges; 

8 ‘‘(G) computer rental fees; 

9 ‘‘(H) rental of halls, auditoriums, or other 

10 spaces; 

11 ‘‘(I) entertainment; 

12 ‘‘(J) contractors; 

13 ‘‘(K) registration fees; and 

14 ‘‘(L) promotional items. 

15 ‘‘(c) DUPLICATIVE INFORMATION.—Each report 

16 under subsection (a) shall include the information de17 scribed in subsection (b) regardless of whether such infor18 mation is also included in a report under section 517 of 

19 this title. 

20 ‘‘(d) COVERED TRAVEL DEFINED.—In this section, 

21 the term ‘covered travel’ means travel made by an em22 ployee of the Department of Veterans Affairs, including 

23 an employee who is stationed in a foreign country, on offi24 cial business to any of the following locations: 

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1 ‘‘(1) If the Department or other element of the 

2 Federal Government pays for such travel, a location 

3 outside of— 

4 ‘‘(A) the several States; 

5 ‘‘(B) the District of Columbia; 

6 ‘‘(C) a territory, commonwealth, or posses7 sion of the United States; 

8 ‘‘(D) Indian lands (as defined in section 

9 4(4) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 

10 U.S.C. 2703(4))); or 

11 ‘‘(E) the territorial waters of the United 

12 States. 

13 ‘‘(2) If any person or entity other than the Fed14 eral Government pays (or reimburses) for such trav15 el, any location, regardless of whether the location is 

16 inside or outside of the United States.’’. 

17 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

18 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 

19 after the item relating to section 517 the following new 

20 item: 

‘‘518. Semiannual reports to Congress on cost of certain travel.’’. 

21 SEC. 13. REPORT OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE AT MEDICAL FA22 CILITIES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF23 FAIRS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7311 is amended by add25 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

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1 ‘‘(f)(1) The Secretary shall report to the appropriate 

2 entity each case of a notifiable infectious disease or condi3 tion that is diagnosed at a medical facility of the Depart4 ment of Veterans Affairs in accordance with the laws of 

5 the State in which the facility is located. 

6 ‘‘(2) In addition to reporting each case of a notifiable 

7 infectious disease or condition at a medical facility of the 

8 Department pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary 

9 shall report each such case that is classified as a health10 care-associated infection sentinel event to the accrediting 

11 organization of such facility. 

12 ‘‘(3)(A) If the Secretary fails to report a case of a 

13 notifiable infectious disease or condition at a medical facil14 ity of the Department in accordance with State law pursu15 ant to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) take any remedial action required under 

17 the laws of the State to correct such failure; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) if the Secretary does not correct such fail19 ure pursuant to clause (i), pay to the State an 

20 amount equal to the amount that a medical facility 

21 not owned by the Federal Government that is lo22 cated in the same State would pay as a penalty to 

23 such State for such failure. 

24 ‘‘(B) The State may file a civil action against the Sec25 retary in the United States district court for the district 

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1 in which the medical facility is located to recover from the 

2 United States the amount described in subparagraph 

3 (A)(ii). 

4 ‘‘(C) A civil action under subparagraph (B) may not 

5 be commenced later than two years after the cause of ac6 tion accrues. 

7 ‘‘(4)(A) In any case in which the Inspector General 

8 of the Department suspects that a director of a Veterans 

9 Integrated Service Network has failed to comply with an 

10 applicable provision of this subsection, the Inspector Gen11 eral shall conduct an investigation to determine whether 

12 such director failed to comply with an applicable provision 

13 of this section. 

14 ‘‘(B) If the Inspector General determines under sub15 paragraph (A) that a director has failed to comply with 

16 a provision of this subsection, the Secretary shall suspend 

17 such director for such period as the Secretary considers 

18 appropriate under subchapter I or subchapter II of chap19 ter 75 of title 5, as the case may be. In addition to such 

20 suspension, the Secretary may impose such other adminis21 trative disciplinary action on the director as the Secretary 

22 considers appropriate and for which the Secretary is oth23 erwise authorized. 

24 ‘‘(5) The Secretary shall— 

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1 ‘‘(A) maintain records of each notifiable infec2 tious disease or condition reported pursuant to para3 graph (1); and 

4 ‘‘(B) submit to the Committees on Veterans’ 

5 Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Sen6 ate a notification of each such notifiable infectious 

7 disease or condition. 

8 ‘‘(6) In this subsection, the term ‘notifiable infectious 

9 disease or condition’ means any infectious disease or con10 dition that is— 

11 ‘‘(A) on the list of nationally notifiable diseases 

12 or conditions published by the Council of State and 

13 Territorial Epidemiologists and the Centers for Dis14 ease Control and Prevention; or 

15 ‘‘(B) covered by a provision of law of a State 

16 that requires the reporting of infectious diseases or 

17 conditions.’’. 

18 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The reporting requirement 

19 under section 7311(f) of title 38, United States Code, as 

20 added by subsection (a), shall apply with respect to a case 

21 of a notifiable infectious disease or condition diagnosed at 

22 a medical facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs 

23 on or after the date that is 60 days after the date of the 

24 enactment of this Act. 

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1 SEC. 14. PROHIBITION OF VISUAL RECORDING WITHOUT 

2 INFORMED CONSENT. 

3 Section 7331 is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary, upon’’ and in5 serting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, upon’’; 

6 and 

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

9 ‘‘(b) VISUAL RECORDING.—(1) The Secretary shall 

10 prescribe regulations establishing procedures to ensure 

11 that, except as provided by paragraph (2), any visual re12 cording made by the Secretary of a patient during the 

13 course of furnishing care under this title is carried out 

14 only with the full and informed consent of the patient or, 

15 in appropriate cases, a representative thereof. 

16 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may waive the requirement for 

17 informed consent under paragraph (1) with respect to the 

18 visual recording of a patient if such recording is made— 

19 ‘‘(A) pursuant to a determination by a physi20 cian or psychologist that such recording is medically 

21 necessary or necessary for the safety of the patient; 

22 ‘‘(B) pursuant to a warrant or order of a court 

23 of competent jurisdiction; or 

24 ‘‘(C) in a public setting where a person would 

25 not have a reasonable expectation to privacy, such as 

26 a waiting room or hallway, and such recording is for 

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1 general security purposes not particularized to the 

2 patient. 

3 ‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘visual recording’ 

4 means the recording or transmission of images or video, 

5 but does not include— 

6 ‘‘(A) medical imaging, including such imaging 

7 produced by radiographic procedures, nuclear medi8 cine, endoscopy, ultrasound, or other similar proce9 dures; or 

10 ‘‘(B) images, video, and other clinical informa11 tion transmitted for the purposes of providing treat12 ment through telehealth and telemedicine tech13 nologies.’’. 

14 SEC. 15. TWO-MONTH EXTENSION OF VETERANS RETRAIN15 ING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

16 Section 211 of the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 

17 (Public Law 112–56; 125 Stat. 713; 38 U.S.C. 4100 note) 

18 is amended— 

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

20 31, 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘May 31, 2014’’; and 

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

2 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘May 31, 2014’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives February 3, 

2014. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 

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