I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 475 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain improvements in 

the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs relating 

to educational assistance, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 22, 2015 

Mr. WENSTRUP introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain 

improvements in the laws administered by the Secretary 

of Veterans Affairs relating to educational assistance, 

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 ‘‘GI Bill Processing Im5 provement Act of 2015’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY OF 

2 THE VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION 

3 OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF4 FAIRS. 

5 (a) PROCESSING OF CERTAIN EDUCATIONAL ASSIST6 ANCE CLAIMS.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall, 

7 to the maximum extent possible, make such changes and 

8 improvements to the information technology system of the 

9 Veterans Benefits Administration of the Department of 

10 Veterans Affairs to ensure that— 

11 (1) to the maximum extent possible, all original 

12 and supplemental claims for educational assistance 

13 under chapter 33 of title 38, United States Code, 

14 are adjudicated electronically; and 

15 (2) rules-based processing is used to make deci16 sions with respect to such claims with little human 

17 intervention. 

18 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

19 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 

20 Affairs shall submit to Congress a report on the changes 

21 made pursuant to the requirements of subsection (a). 

22 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

23 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans 

24 Affairs $30,000,000 to carry out this section during fiscal 

25 years 2015 and 2016. 

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1 SEC. 3. APPROVAL OF COURSES OF EDUCATION PROVIDED 

2 BY PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARN3 ING FOR PURPOSES OF ALL-VOLUNTEER 

4 FORCE EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PRO5 GRAM AND POST-9/11 EDUCATIONAL ASSIST6 ANCE CONDITIONAL ON IN-STATE TUITION 

7 RATE FOR VETERANS. 

8 (a) EXTENSION OF EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 

9 702(b) of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability 

10 Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–146) is amended by striking 

11 ‘‘July 1, 2015’’ and inserting ‘‘July 1, 2016’’. 

12 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 

13 3679(c)(2)(B) of title 38, United States Code, is amended 

14 by striking ‘‘or 3319’’ and all that follows and inserting 

15 ‘‘of this title or to whom educational assistance is trans16 ferred under section 3319 of this title’’. 

17 SEC. 4. RECODIFICATION AND IMPROVEMENT OF ELEC18 TION PROCESS FOR POST-9/11 EDUCATIONAL 

19 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 33 is 

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

22 ‘‘§ 3326. Election to receive educational assistance 

23 ‘‘(a) INDIVIDUALS ELIGIBLE TO ELECT PARTICIPA24 TION IN POST-9/11 EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE.—An indi25 vidual may elect to receive educational assistance under 

26 this chapter if such individual— 

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1 ‘‘(1) as of August 1, 2009— 

2 ‘‘(A) is entitled to basic educational assist3 ance under chapter 30 of the title and has used, 

4 but retains unused, entitlement under that 

5 chapter; 

6 ‘‘(B) is entitled to educational assistance 

7 under chapter 107, 1606, or 1607 of title 10 

8 and has used, but retains unused, entitlement 

9 under the applicable chapter; 

10 ‘‘(C) is entitled to basic educational assist11 ance under chapter 30 of this title but has not 

12 used any entitlement under that chapter; 

13 ‘‘(D) is entitled to educational assistance 

14 under chapter 107, 1606, or 1607 of title 10 

15 but has not used any entitlement under such 

16 chapter; 

17 ‘‘(E) is a member of the Armed Forces 

18 who is eligible for receipt of basic educational 

19 assistance under chapter 30 this title and is 

20 making contributions toward such assistance 

21 under section 3011(b) or 3012(c) of this title; 

22 or 

23 ‘‘(F) is a member of the Armed Forces 

24 who is not entitled to basic educational assist25 ance under chapter 30 of this title by reason of 

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1 an election under section 3011(c)(1) or 

2 3012(d)(1) of this title; and 

3 ‘‘(2) as of the date of the individual’s election 

4 under this paragraph, meets the requirements for 

5 entitlement to educational assistance under this 

6 chapter. 

7 ‘‘(b) CESSATION OF CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARD GI 

8 BILL.—Effective as of the first month beginning on or 

9 after the date of an election under subsection (a) of an 

10 individual described by paragraph (1)(E) of that sub11 section, the obligation of the individual to make contribu12 tions under section 3011(b) or 3012(c) of this title, as 

13 applicable, shall cease, and the requirements of such sec14 tion shall be deemed to be no longer applicable to the indi15 vidual. 

16 ‘‘(c) REVOCATION OF REMAINING TRANSFERRED

17 ENTITLEMENT.— 

18 ‘‘(1) ELECTION TO REVOKE.—If, on the date an 

19 individual described in paragraph (1)(A) or (1)(C) of 

20 subsection (a) makes an election under that sub21 section, a transfer of the entitlement of the indi22 vidual to basic educational assistance under section 

23 3020 of this title is in effect and a number of 

24 months of the entitlement so transferred remain un25 utilized, the individual may elect to revoke all or a 

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1 portion of the entitlement so transferred that re2 mains unutilized. 

3 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF REVOKED ENTITLE4 MENT.—Any entitlement revoked by an individual 

5 under this paragraph shall no longer be available to 

6 the dependent to whom transferred, but shall be 

7 available to the individual instead for educational as8 sistance under chapter 33 of this title in accordance 

9 with the provisions of this section. 

10 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY OF UNREVOKED ENTITLE11 MENT.—Any entitlement described in paragraph (1) 

12 that is not revoked by an individual in accordance 

13 with that paragraph shall remain available to the de14 pendent or dependents concerned in accordance with 

15 the current transfer of such entitlement under sec16 tion 3020 of this title. 

17 ‘‘(d) POST-9/11 EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2) 

19 and except as provided in subsection (e), an indi20 vidual making an election under subsection (a) shall 

21 be entitled to educational assistance under this chap22 ter in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, 

23 instead of basic educational assistance under chapter 

24 30 this title, or educational assistance under chapter 

25 107, 1606, or 1607 of title 10, as applicable. 

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1 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON ENTITLEMENT FOR CER2 TAIN INDIVIDUALS.—In the case of an individual 

3 making an election under subsection (a) who is de4 scribed by paragraph (1)(A) of that subsection, the 

5 number of months of entitlement of the individual to 

6 educational assistance under this chapter 33 shall be 

7 the number of months equal to— 

8 ‘‘(A) the number of months of unused enti9 tlement of the individual under chapter 30 of 

10 this title, as of the date of the election, plus 

11 ‘‘(B) the number of months, if any, of enti12 tlement revoked by the individual under sub13 section (c)(1). 

14 ‘‘(e) CONTINUING ENTITLEMENT TO EDUCATIONAL

15 ASSISTANCE NOT AVAILABLE UNDER 9/11 ASSISTANCE

16 PROGRAM.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the event educational 

18 assistance to which an individual making an election 

19 under subsection (a) would be entitled under chapter 

20 30 of this title, or chapter 107, 1606, or 1607 of 

21 title 10, as applicable, is not authorized to be avail22 able to the individual under the provisions of this 

23 chapter the individual shall remain entitled to such 

24 educational assistance in accordance with the provi25 sions of the applicable chapter. 

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1 ‘‘(2) CHARGE FOR USE OF ENTITLEMENT.— 

2 The utilization by an individual of entitlement under 

3 paragraph (1) shall be chargeable against the enti4 tlement of the individual to educational assistance 

5 under this chapter at the rate of one month of enti6 tlement under this chapter for each month of entitle7 ment utilized by the individual under paragraph (1) 

8 (as determined as if such entitlement were utilized 

9 under the provisions of chapter 30 of this title, or 

10 chapter 107, 1606, or 1607 of title 10, as applica11 ble). 

12 ‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL POST-9/11 ASSISTANCE FOR MEM13 BERS HAVING MADE CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARD GI 

14 BILL.— 

15 ‘‘(1) ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE.—In the case of 

16 an individual making an election under subsection 

17 (a) who is described by subparagraph (A), (C), or 

18 (E) of paragraph (1) of that subsection, the amount 

19 of educational assistance payable to the individual 

20 under this chapter 33 as a monthly stipend payable 

21 under paragraph (1)(B) of section 3313(c) of this 

22 title, or under paragraphs (2) through (7) of that 

23 section (as applicable), shall be the amount other24 wise payable as a monthly stipend under the applica25 ble paragraph increased by the amount equal to— 

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1 ‘‘(A) the total amount of contributions to2 ward basic educational assistance made by the 

3 individual under section 3011(b) or 3012(c) of 

4 this title, as of the date of the election, multi5 plied by 

6 ‘‘(B) the fraction— 

7 ‘‘(i) the numerator of which is— 

8 ‘‘(I) the number of months of en9 titlement to basic educational assist10 ance under chapter 30 of this title re11 maining to the individual at the time 

12 of the election; plus 

13 ‘‘(II) the number of months, if 

14 any, of entitlement under such chap15 ter 30 revoked by the individual under 

16 subsection (c)(1); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) the denominator of which is 36 

18 months. 

19 ‘‘(2) MONTHS OF REMAINING ENTITLEMENT

20 FOR CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS.—In the case of an indi21 vidual covered by paragraph (1) who is described by 

22 subsection (a)(1)(E), the number of months of enti23 tlement to basic educational assistance remaining to 

24 the individual for purposes of paragraph 

25 (1)(B)(i)(II) shall be 36 months. 

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1 ‘‘(3) TIMING OF PAYMENT.—The amount pay2 able with respect to an individual under paragraph 

3 (1) shall be paid to the individual together with the 

4 last payment of the monthly stipend payable to the 

5 individual under paragraph (1)(B) of section 

6 3313(c) of this title, or under subsections (b) 

7 through (g) of that section (as applicable), before 

8 the exhaustion of the individual’s entitlement to edu9 cational assistance under this chapter. 

10 ‘‘(g) CONTINUING ENTITLEMENT TO ADDITIONAL

11 ASSISTANCE FOR CRITICAL SKILLS OR SPECIALITY AND

12 ADDITIONAL SERVICE.—An individual making an election 

13 under subsection (a)(1) who, at the time of the election, 

14 is entitled to increased educational assistance under sec15 tion 3015(d) of this title, or section 16131(i) of title 10, 

16 or supplemental educational assistance under subchapter 

17 III of chapter 30 of this title, shall remain entitled to such 

18 increased educational assistance or supplemental edu19 cational assistance in the utilization of entitlement to edu20 cational assistance under this chapter, in an amount equal 

21 to the quarter, semester, or term, as applicable, equivalent 

22 of the monthly amount of such increased educational as23 sistance or supplemental educational assistance payable 

24 with respect to the individual at the time of the election. 

25 ‘‘(h) ALTERNATIVE ELECTION BY SECRETARY.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an individual 

2 who, on or after January 1, 2016, submits to the 

3 Secretary an election under this section that the 

4 Secretary determines is clearly against the interests 

5 of the individual, the Secretary may make an alter6 native election on behalf of the individual that the 

7 Secretary determines is in the best interests of the 

8 individual. 

9 ‘‘(2) NOTICE.—If the Secretary makes an elec10 tion on behalf of an individual under this subsection, 

11 the Secretary shall notify the individual by not later 

12 than seven days after making such election and shall 

13 provide the individual with a 30-day period, begin14 ning on the date of the individual’s receipt of such 

15 notice, during which the individual may modify or 

16 revoke the election made by the Secretary on the in17 dividual’s behalf. The Secretary shall include, as 

18 part of such notice, a clear statement of why the al19 ternative election made by the Secretary is in the 

20 best interests of the individual as compared to the 

21 election submitted by the individual. The Secretary 

22 shall provide the notice required under this para23 graph by electronic means whenever possible. 

24 ‘‘(i) IRREVOCABILITY OF ELECTIONS.—An election 

25 under subsection (a) or (c)(1) is irrevocable.’’. 

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

2 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 

3 at the end the following new item: 

‘‘3326. Election to receive educational assistance.’’. 

4 (c) CONFORMING REPEAL.—Subsection (c) of section 

5 5003 of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance 

6 Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–252; 38 U.S.C. 3301 note) 

7 is hereby repealed. 

8 SEC. 5. CENTRALIZED REPORTING OF VETERAN ENROLL9 MENT BY CERTAIN GROUPS, DISTRICTS, AND 

10 CONSORTIUMS OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITU11 TIONS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3684(a) of title 38, 

13 United States Code, is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘32, 33,’’ 

15 after ‘‘31,’’; and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

17 paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘edu19 cational institution’ may include a group, district, or con20 sortium of separately accredited educational institutions 

21 located in the same State that are organized in a manner 

22 that facilitates the centralized reporting of the enrollments 

23 in such group, district, or consortium of institutions.’’. 

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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to reports sub3 mitted on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 6. PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING VET5 ERAN ENTITLEMENT TO EDUCATIONAL AS6 SISTANCE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 36 of 

8 title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following new section: 

10 ‘‘§ 3699. Provision of certain information to edu11 cational institutions 

12 ‘‘For each veteran or other individual pursuing a 

13 course of education that has been approved under this 

14 chapter using educational assistance to which the veteran 

15 or other individual is entitled under chapter 30, 32, 33, 

16 or 35 of this title, the Secretary shall make available to 

17 the educational institution offering the course information 

18 about the amount of such educational assistance to which 

19 the veteran or other individual is entitled. Such informa20 tion shall be provided to such educational institution 

21 through an Internet website and shall be regularly up22 dated to reflect any amounts used by the veteran or other 

23 individual.’’. 

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

25 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

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1 after the item relating to section 3698 the following new 

2 item: 

‘‘3699. Provision of certain information to educational institutions.’’. 

Æ 

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