II

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2115

To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a scholarship program

and an education loan debt reduction program to facilitate the employment of primary care and other health care professionals by the Veterans

Health Administration, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 22, 1998

Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself and Ms. MIKULSKI) introduced the following

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

A BILL

To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a scholarship program and an education loan debt reduction

program to facilitate the employment of primary care

and other health care professionals by the Veterans

Health Administration, 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 ‘‘Department of Veter5 ans Affairs Primary Care Providers Incentive Act of

6 1998’’.
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1 SEC. 2. SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR DEPARTMENT OF

2 VETERANS AFFAIRS EMPLOYEES RECEIVING

3 EDUCATION OR TRAINING IN THE HEALTH

4 PROFESSIONS.

5 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORITY.—(1) Chapter 76 of title

6 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

7 the following new subchapter:

8 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER VI—EMPLOYEE INCENTIVE

9 SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

10 ‘‘§ 7671. Authority for program

11 ‘‘As part of the Educational Assistance Program, the

12 Secretary shall carry out a scholarship program under this

13 subchapter. The program shall be known as the Depart14 ment of Veterans Affairs Employee Incentive Scholarship

15 Program (hereinafter in this subchapter referred to as the

16 ‘Program’).

17 ‘‘§ 7672. Eligibility; agreement

18 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to participate in

19 the Program, an individual—

20 ‘‘(1) must be an eligible Department employee

21 who is accepted for enrollment or enrolled (as de22 scribed in section 7602 of this title) as a full-time

23 or part-time student in a field of education or train24 ing described in subsection (c); and

25 ‘‘(2) must demonstrate financial need, as deter26 mined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary.
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1 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES.—For

2 purposes of subsection (a), an eligible Department em3 ployee is any employee of the Department who, as of the

4 date on which the employee submits an application for

5 participation in the Program, has been continuously em6 ployed by the Department for not less than two years.

7 ‘‘(c) QUALIFYING FIELDS OF EDUCATION OR TRAIN8 ING.—A scholarship may be awarded under the Program

9 only for education and training in a field leading to ap10 pointment or retention in a position under section 7401

11 of this title.

12 ‘‘(d) PREFERENCE IN AWARD OF SCHOLARSHIPS.—

13 (1) Notwithstanding section 7603(d) of this title and sub14 ject to paragraph (2), in selecting participants in the Pro15 gram, the Secretary shall give preference to the following

16 applicants, in the order specified:

17 ‘‘(A) Applicants who are or will be pursuing a

18 course of education or training in a field relating to

19 the provision of primary care health services, as des20 ignated by the Secretary.

21 ‘‘(B) Applicants who are employed at Depart22 ment health-care facilities located in rural areas or

23 at which there is an inadequate supply of individuals

24 qualified to hold a position under section 7401 of

25 this title, as so designated.
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1 ‘‘(2) In the case of a pool of applicants covered by

2 subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1), the Secretary

3 shall give preference in the award of scholarships to the

4 members of the pool who have the greatest financial need.

5 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall maintain, and update peri6 odically, a list setting forth—

7 ‘‘(A) the fields of education or training covered

8 by subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1); and

9 ‘‘(B) the facilities covered by subparagraph (B)

10 of that paragraph.

11 ‘‘(e) AGREEMENT.—(1) An agreement between the

12 Secretary and a participant in the Program shall (in addi13 tion to the requirements set forth in section 7604 of this

14 title) include the following:

15 ‘‘(A) The Secretary’s agreement to provide the

16 participant with a scholarship under the Program

17 for a specified number (from one to three) of school

18 years during which the participant pursues a course

19 of education or training described in subsection (c)

20 that meets the requirements set forth in section

21 7602(a) of this title.

22 ‘‘(B) The participant’s agreement to serve as a

23 full-time employee in the Veterans Health Adminis24 tration for a period of time (hereinafter in this sub25 chapter referred to as the ‘period of obligated serv-
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1 ice’) of one calendar year for each school year or

2 part thereof for which the participant was provided

3 a scholarship under the Program, but for not less

4 than two years.

5 ‘‘(C) The participant’s agreement to serve

6 under subparagraph (B) in a Department facility se7 lected by the Secretary.

8 ‘‘(2) In a case in which an extension is granted under

9 section 7673(c)(2) of this title, the number of years for

10 which a scholarship may be provided under the Program

11 shall be the number of school years provided for as a result

12 of the extension.

13 ‘‘(3) In the case of a participant who is a part-time

14 student—

15 ‘‘(A) the period of obligated service shall be re16 duced in accordance with the proportion that the

17 number of credit hours carried by such participant

18 in any such school year bears to the number of cred19 it hours required to be carried by a full-time student

20 in the course of training being pursued by the par21 ticipant, but in no event to less than one year; and

22 ‘‘(B) the agreement shall include the partici23 pant’s agreement to maintain employment, while en24 rolled in such course of education or training, as a
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1 Department employee permanently assigned to a De2 partment health-care facility.

3 ‘‘§ 7673. Scholarship

4 ‘‘(a) SCHOLARSHIP.—A scholarship provided to a

5 participant in the Program for a school year shall consist

6 of payment of the tuition of the participant for that school

7 year and payment of other reasonable educational ex8 penses (including fees, books, and laboratory expenses) for

9 that school year.

10 ‘‘(b) AMOUNTS.—The total amount of the scholarship

11 payable under subsection (a)—

12 ‘‘(1) in the case of a participant in the Program

13 who is a full-time student, may not exceed $10,000

14 for any one year; and

15 ‘‘(2) in the case of a participant in the Program

16 who is a part-time student, shall be the amount

17 specified in paragraph (1) reduced in accordance

18 with the proportion that the number of credit hours

19 carried by the participant in that school year bears

20 to the number of credit hours required to be carried

21 by a full-time student in the course of education or

22 training being pursued by the participant.

23 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON YEARS OF PAYMENT.—(1) Sub24 ject to paragraph (2), a participant in the Program may
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1 not receive a scholarship under subsection (a) for more

2 than three school years.

3 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may extend the number of school

4 years for which a scholarship may be awarded to a partici5 pant in the Program who is a part-time student to a maxi6 mum of six school years if the Secretary determines that

7 the extension would be in the best interest of the United

8 States.

9 ‘‘(d) PAYMENT OF EDUCATIONAL EXPENSES BY

10 EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.—The Secretary may ar11 range with an educational institution in which a partici12 pant in the Program is enrolled for the payment of the

13 educational expenses described in subsection (a). Such

14 payments may be made without regard to subsections (a)

15 and (b) of section 3324 of title 31.

16 ‘‘§ 7674. Status of certain participants

17 ‘‘(a) STATUS.—A participant in the Program de18 scribed in subsection (b) shall not, by reason of such par19 ticipation—

20 ‘‘(1) be considered an employee of the Federal

21 Government; or

22 ‘‘(2) be counted against any personnel ceiling

23 affecting the Veterans Health Administration.

24 ‘‘(b) COVERED PARTICIPANTS.—Subsection (a) ap25 plies in the case of any participant in the Program who
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1 is a student on a full-time basis and is not performing

2 service for the Department.

3 ‘‘§ 7675. Obligated service

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each participant in the Program

5 shall provide service as a full-time employee of the Depart6 ment for the period of obligated service provided in the

7 agreement of the participant entered into under section

8 7603 of this title. Such service shall be provided in the

9 full-time clinical practice of such participant’s profession

10 or in another health-care position in an assignment or lo11 cation determined by the Secretary.

12 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF SERVICE COMMENCEMENT

13 DATE.—(1) Not later than 60 days before a participant’s

14 service commencement date, the Secretary shall notify the

15 participant of that service commencement date. That date

16 is the date for the beginning of the participant’s period

17 of obligated service.

18 ‘‘(2) As soon as possible after a participant’s service

19 commencement date, the Secretary shall—

20 ‘‘(A) in the case of a participant who is not a

21 full-time employee in the Veterans Health Adminis22 tration, appoint the participant as such an employee;

23 and

24 ‘‘(B) in the case of a participant who is an em25 ployee in the Veterans Health Administration but is
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1 not serving in a position for which the participant’s

2 course of education or training prepared the partici3 pant, assign the participant to such a position.

4 ‘‘(3)(A) In the case of a participant receiving a de5 gree from a school of medicine, osteopathy, dentistry, op6 tometry, or podiatry, the participant’s service commence7 ment date is the date upon which the participant becomes

8 licensed to practice medicine, osteopathy, dentistry, op9 tometry, or podiatry, as the case may be, in a State.

10 ‘‘(B) In the case of a participant receiving a degree

11 from a school of nursing, the participant’s service com12 mencement date is the later of—

13 ‘‘(i) the participant’s course completion date; or

14 ‘‘(ii) the date upon which the participant be15 comes licensed as a registered nurse in a State.

16 ‘‘(C) In the case of a participant not covered by sub17 paragraph (A) or (B), the participant’s service commence18 ment date is the later of—

19 ‘‘(i) the participant’s course completion date; or

20 ‘‘(ii) the date the participant meets any applica21 ble licensure or certification requirements.

22 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall by regulation prescribe the

23 service commencement date for participants who were

24 part-time students. Such regulations shall prescribe terms
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1 as similar as practicable to the terms set forth in para2 graph (3).

3 ‘‘(c) COMMENCEMENT OF OBLIGATED SERVICE.—(1)

4 Except as provided in paragraph (2), a participant in the

5 Program shall be considered to have begun serving the

6 participant’s period of obligated service—

7 ‘‘(A) on the date, after the participant’s course

8 completion date, on which the participant (in accord9 ance with subsection (b)) is appointed as a full-time

10 employee in the Veterans Health Administration; or

11 ‘‘(B) if the participant is a full-time employee

12 in the Veterans Health Administration on such

13 course completion date, on the date thereafter on

14 which the participant is assigned to a position for

15 which the participant’s course of training prepared

16 the participant.

17 ‘‘(2) A participant in the Program who on the partici18 pant’s course completion date is a full-time employee in

19 the Veterans Health Administration serving in a capacity

20 for which the participant’s course of training prepared the

21 participant shall be considered to have begun serving the

22 participant’s period of obligated service on such course

23 completion date.

24 ‘‘(d) COURSE COMPLETION DATE DEFINED.—In this

25 section, the term ‘course completion date’ means the date
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1 on which a participant in the Program completes the par2 ticipant’s course of education or training under the Pro3 gram.

4 ‘‘§ 7676. Breach of agreement: liability

5 ‘‘(a) LIQUIDATED DAMAGES.—A participant in the

6 Program (other than a participant described in subsection

7 (b)) who fails to accept payment, or instructs the edu8 cational institution in which the participant is enrolled not

9 to accept payment, in whole or in part, of a scholarship

10 under the agreement entered into under section 7603 of

11 this title shall be liable to the United States for liquidated

12 damages in the amount of $1,500. Such liability is in addi13 tion to any period of obligated service or other obligation

14 or liability under the agreement.

15 ‘‘(b) LIABILITY DURING COURSE OF EDUCATION OR

16 TRAINING.—(1) Except as provided in subsection (d), a

17 participant in the Program shall be liable to the United

18 States for the amount which has been paid to or on behalf

19 of the participant under the agreement if any of the fol20 lowing occurs:

21 ‘‘(A) The participant fails to maintain an ac22 ceptable level of academic standing in the edu23 cational institution in which the participant is en24 rolled (as determined by the educational institution

25 under regulations prescribed by the Secretary).
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1 ‘‘(B) The participant is dismissed from such

2 educational institution for disciplinary reasons.

3 ‘‘(C) The participant voluntarily terminates the

4 course of education or training in such educational

5 institution before the completion of such course of

6 education or training.

7 ‘‘(D) The participant fails to become licensed to

8 practice medicine, osteopathy, dentistry, podiatry, or

9 optometry in a State, fails to become licensed as a

10 registered nurse in a State, or fails to meet any ap11 plicable licensure requirement in the case of any

12 other health-care personnel who provide either direct

13 patient-care services or services incident to direct

14 patient-care services, during a period of time deter15 mined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary.

16 ‘‘(E) In the case of a participant who is a part17 time student, the participant fails to maintain em18 ployment, while enrolled in the course of training

19 being pursued by the participant, as a Department

20 employee.

21 ‘‘(2) Liability under this subsection is in lieu of any

22 service obligation arising under a participant’s agreement.

23 ‘‘(c) LIABILITY DURING PERIOD OF OBLIGATED

24 SERVICE.—(1) Except as provided in subsection (d), if a

25 participant in the Program breaches the agreement by
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1 failing for any reason to complete such participant’s pe2 riod of obligated service, the United States shall be enti3 tled to recover from the participant an amount determined

4 in accordance with the following formula:

A=3Φ (

t¥s

)

t

5 ‘‘(2) In such formula:

6 ‘‘(A) ‘A’ is the amount the United States is en7 titled to recover.

8 ‘‘(B) ‘Φ’ is the sum of—

9 ‘‘(i) the amounts paid under this sub10 chapter to or on behalf of the participant; and

11 ‘‘(ii) the interest on such amounts which

12 would be payable if at the time the amounts

13 were paid they were loans bearing interest at

14 the maximum legal prevailing rate, as deter15 mined by the Treasurer of the United States.

16 ‘‘(C) ‘t’ is the total number of months in the

17 participant’s period of obligated service, including

18 any additional period of obligated service in accord19 ance with section 7673(c)(2) of this title.

20 ‘‘(D) ‘s’ is the number of months of such period

21 served by the participant in accordance with section

22 7673 of this title.
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1 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY FOR REDUCTIONS2 IN-FORCE.—Liability shall not arise under subsection

3 (b)(1)(E) or (c) in the case of a participant otherwise cov4 ered by the subsection concerned if the participant fails

5 to maintain employment as a Department employee due

6 to a reduction-in-force.

7 ‘‘(e) PERIOD FOR PAYMENT OF DAMAGES.—Any

8 amount of damages which the United States is entitled

9 to recover under this section shall be paid to the United

10 States within the one-year period beginning on the date

11 of the breach of the agreement.

12 ‘‘§ 7677. Expiration of program

13 ‘‘The Secretary may not furnish scholarships to indi14 viduals who commence participation in the Program after

15 December 31, 2001.’’.

16 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter

17 76 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding

18 at the end the following:

‘‘SUBCHAPTER VI—EMPLOYEE INCENTIVE SCHOLARSHIP

PROGRAM

‘‘7671. Authority for program.

‘‘7672. Eligibility; agreement.

‘‘7673. Scholarship.

‘‘7674. Status of certain participants.

‘‘7675. Obligated service.

‘‘7676. Breach of agreement: liability.

‘‘7677. Expiration of program.’’.

19 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Veterans Af20 fairs may treat regulations prescribed subchapter II of
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1 chapter 76 of title 38, United States Code, as regulations

2 required under subchapter VI of that chapter, as added

3 by subsection (a), but only to the extent that the regula4 tions prescribed under such subchapter II are not incon5 sistent with the provisions of such subchapter VI.

6 SEC. 3. EDUCATION DEBT REDUCTION PROGRAM FOR VET7 ERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION HEALTH

8 PROFESSIONALS.

9 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORITY.—Chapter 76 of title 38,

10 United States Code (as amended by section 2), is further

11 amended by adding after subchapter VI the following new

12 subchapter:

13 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER VII—EDUCATION DEBT

14 REDUCTION PROGRAM

15 ‘‘§ 7681. Authority for program

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) As part of the Educational

17 Assistance Program, the Secretary may carry out an edu18 cation debt reduction program under this subchapter. The

19 program shall be known as the Department of Veterans

20 Affairs Primary Care Workers Education Debt Reduction

21 Program (hereinafter in this subchapter referred to as the

22 ‘Education Debt Reduction Program’).

23 ‘‘(2) The purpose of the Education Debt Reduction

24 Program is to assist personnel serving in health-care posi25 tions in the Veterans Health Administration in reducing
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1 the amount of debt incurred by such personnel in complet2 ing programs of education or training that qualified such

3 personnel for such service.

4 ‘‘(b) RELATIONSHIP TO EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE

5 PROGRAM.—Education debt reduction payments under

6 the Education Debt Reduction Program shall be in addi7 tion to other assistance available to individuals under the

8 Educational Assistance Program.

9 ‘‘§ 7682. Eligibility

10 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBILITY.—An individual eligible to partici11 pate in the Education Debt Reduction Program is any in12 dividual who—

13 ‘‘(1) is serving in a position in the Veterans

14 Health Administration under an appointment under

15 section 7402(b) of this title; and

16 ‘‘(2) owes any amount of principal or interest

17 under a loan the proceeds of which were used by or

18 on behalf of the individual to pay costs relating to

19 a course of education or training which led to a de20 gree that qualified the individual for a position re21 ferred to in paragraph (1).

22 ‘‘(b) COVERED COSTS.—For purposes of subsection

23 (a)(2), costs relating to a course of education or training

24 include—

25 ‘‘(1) tuition expenses;
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1 ‘‘(2) all other reasonable educational expenses,

2 including expenses for fees, books, and laboratory

3 expenses; and

4 ‘‘(3) reasonable living expenses.

5 ‘‘§ 7683. Preference

6 ‘‘(a) PREFERENCE.—Notwithstanding section

7 7603(d) of this title, in selecting individuals for education

8 debt reduction payments under the Education Debt Re9 duction Program, the Secretary shall give preference to

10 the following (in the order specified):

11 ‘‘(1) Individuals recently appointed by the Sec12 retary to positions under section 7401 of this title

13 in fields relating to primary care health services, as

14 designated by the Secretary.

15 ‘‘(2) Individuals recently appointed by the Sec16 retary to positions under such section in areas in

17 which the recruitment or retention of an adequate

18 supply of qualified health-care personnel is difficult,

19 as so designated.

20 ‘‘(3) Any other individuals serving in appoint21 ments to positions described in paragraphs (1) and

22 (2).

23 ‘‘(b) RECENTLY APPOINTED INDIVIDUALS.—An indi24 vidual shall be treated as recently appointed to a position

25 for purposes of subsection (a) if the individual was ap-
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1 pointed to the position not more than 6 months before

2 the date of treatment for such purposes.

3 ‘‘§ 7684. Education debt reduction

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Education debt reduction pay5 ments under the Education Debt Reduction Program shall

6 consist of payments to individuals selected to participate

7 in the program of amounts to reimburse such individuals

8 for payments by such individuals of principal and interest

9 on loans described in section 7682(a)(2) of this title.

10 ‘‘(b) FREQUENCY OF PAYMENT.—(1) The Secretary

11 may make education debt reduction payments to any given

12 participant in the Education Debt Reduction Program on

13 a monthly or annual basis, at the election of the Secretary.

14 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall make such payments at the

15 end of the period elected by the Secretary under para16 graph (1).

17 ‘‘(c) PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary

18 may make education debt reduction payments to a partici19 pant in the Education Debt Reduction Program for a pe20 riod only if the Secretary determines that the individual

21 maintained an acceptable level of performance in the posi22 tion or positions served by the participant during the pe23 riod.

24 ‘‘(d) MAXIMUM ANNUAL AMOUNT.—(1) Subject to

25 paragraph (2), the total amount of education debt reduc-
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1 tion payments made to a participant for a year under the

2 Education Debt Reduction Program shall be—

3 ‘‘(A) $6,000 for the first year of the partici4 pant’s participation in such Program;

5 ‘‘(B) $8,000 for the second year of the partici6 pant’s participation in such Program; and

7 ‘‘(C) $10,000 for the third year of the partici8 pant’s participation in such Program.

9 ‘‘(2) The total amount payable to a participant in

10 such Program for any year may not exceed the amount

11 of the principle and interest on loans referred to in sub12 section (a) that is paid by the individual during such year.

13 ‘‘§ 7685. Expiration of program

14 ‘‘The Secretary may not make education debt reduc15 tion payments to individuals who commence participation

16 in the Education Debt Reduction Program after December

17 31, 2001.’’.

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

19 at the beginning of chapter 76 of title 38, United States

20 Code (as amended by section 2(b)), is further amended

21 by adding at the end the following:

‘‘SUBCHAPTER VII—EDUCATION DEBT REDUCTION PROGRAM

‘‘7681. Authority for program.

‘‘7682. Eligibility.

‘‘7683. Preference.

‘‘7684. Education debt reduction.

‘‘7685. Expiration of program.’’.
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1 SEC. 4. REPEAL OF PROHIBITION ON PAYMENT OF TUITION

2 LOANS.

3 Section 523(b) of the Veterans Health Care Act of

4 1992 (Public Law 102–585; 106 Stat. 4959; 38 U.S.C.

5 7601 note) is repealed.

6 SEC. 5. OUTREACH.

7 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall take appro8 priate actions to notify employees of the Department of

9 Veterans Affairs of the benefits available under the De10 partment of Veterans Affairs Employee Incentive Scholar11 ship Program under subchapter VI of chapter 76 of title

12 38, United States Code (as added by section 2), and under

13 the Department of Veterans Affairs Primary Care Work14 ers Education Debt Reduction Program under subchapter

15 VII of that chapter (as added by section 3).

16 SEC. 6. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

17 Chapter 76 of title 38, United States Code (as

18 amended by this Act), is further amended as follows:

19 (1) In section 7601(a)—

20 (A) by striking out ‘‘and’’ at the end of

21 paragraph (2);

22 (B) by striking out the period at the end

23 of paragraph (3) and inserting in lieu thereof a

24 semicolon; and

25 (C) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(4) the employee incentive scholarship pro2 gram provided for in subchapter VI of this chapter;

3 and’’; and

4 ‘‘(5) the education debt reduction program pro5 vided for in subchapter VII of this chapter.’’.

6 (2) In section 7602—

7 (A) in subsection (a)(1)—

8 (i) by striking out ‘‘subchapter I or

9 II’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘sub10 chapter II, III, or VI’’;

11 (ii) by striking out ‘‘or for which’’ and

12 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘, for which’’; and

13 (iii) by inserting before the period at

14 the end the following: ‘‘, or for which a

15 scholarship may be awarded under sub16 chapter VI of this chapter, as the case may

17 be’’; and

18 (B) in subsection (b), by striking out ‘‘sub19 chapter I or II’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

20 ‘‘subchapter II, III, or VI’’.

21 (3) In section 7603—

22 (A) in subsection (a)—

23 (i) by striking out ‘‘To apply to par24 ticipate in the Educational Assistance Pro25 gram,’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘(1)
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1 To apply to participate in the Educational

2 Assistance Program under subsection II,

3 III, V, or VI of this chapter,’’; and

4 (ii) by adding at the end the follow5 ing:

6 ‘‘(2) To apply to participate in the Educational As7 sistance Program under subchapter VII of this chapter,

8 an individual shall submit to the Secretary an application

9 for such participation.’’; and

10 (B) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting ‘‘(if

11 required)’’ before the period at the end.

12 (4) In section 7604, by striking out ‘‘sub13 chapter II, III, or V’’ each place it appears in para14 graphs (1)(A), (2)(D), and (5) and inserting in lieu

15 thereof ‘‘subchapter II, III, V, or VI’’.

16 (5) In section 7632—

17 (A) in paragraph (1)—

18 (i) by striking out ‘‘and the Tuition

19 Reimbursement Program’’ and inserting in

20 lieu thereof ‘‘, the Tuition Reimbursement

21 Program, the Employee Incentive Scholar22 ship Program, and the Education Debt Re23 duction Program’’; and

24 (ii) by inserting ‘‘(if any)’’ after

25 ‘‘number of students’’;
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1 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘(if

2 any)’’ after ‘‘education institutions’’; and

3 (C) in paragraph (4)—

4 (i) by striking ‘‘and per participant’’

5 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘, per partici6 pant’’; and

7 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, per participant in

8 the Employee Incentive Scholarship Pro9 gram, and per participant in the Education

10 Debt Reduction Program’’ before the pe11 riod at the end.

12 (6) In section 7636, by striking ‘‘or a stipend’’

13 and inserting ‘‘a stipend, or education debt reduc14 tion’’.

Æ