I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2020

To amend title 38, United States Code, to extend the period over which

an individual must make payment to the Secretary to become entitled

to educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill, to prospectively

permit any servicemember to withdraw an election not to enroll under

the Montgomery GI Bill, and to provide for certain servicemembers

to become eligible for educational assistance under the Montgomery GI

Bill.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 25, 2001

Mr. JONES of North Carolina introduced the following bill; which was referred

to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addition to the Committee

on Armed Services, 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 amend title 38, United States Code, to extend the period

over which an individual must make payment to the

Secretary to become entitled to educational assistance

under the Montgomery GI Bill, to prospectively permit

any servicemember to withdraw an election not to enroll

under the Montgomery GI Bill, and to provide for certain

servicemembers to become eligible for educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Educational

3 Opportunities Enhancement Act of 2001’’.

4 SEC. 2. PERMITTING AN ELECTION TO REDUCE BASIC PAY

5 OVER A PERIOD OF TWO YEARS.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The first sentence of sections

7 3011(b) and 3012(c) of title 38, United States Code, are

8 each amended by striking ‘‘$100 for each of the first 12

9 months’’ and inserting ‘‘$50 for each of the first 24

10 months’’.

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

12 subsection (a) shall apply to individuals who first become

13 a member of the Armed Forces or first enter on active

14 duty as a member of the Armed Forces on or after the

15 date that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of

16 this Act.

17 SEC. 3. PERMITTING WITHDRAWAL OF ELECTION NOT TO

18 ENROLL UNDER THE MONTGOMERY GI BILL.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 30 of title 38, United

20 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 3018C

21 the following new sections:

22 ‘‘§ 3018D. Opportunity for active-duty personnel to

23 withdraw election not to enroll

24 ‘‘(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this

25 chapter, each qualified individual (described in subsection

26 (b)) may withdraw an election made under section
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1 3011(c)(1) or 3012(d)(1) of this title not to receive edu2 cational assistance under this chapter during an open pe3 riod (described in subsection (c)). The qualified individual

4 shall withdraw such election in accordance with this sec5 tion and on such form as the Secretary of Defense shall

6 prescribe for such purpose.

7 ‘‘(b) A qualified individual referred to in subsection

8 (a) is an individual who meets each of the following re9 quirements:

10 ‘‘(1) The individual first became a member of

11 the Armed Forces or first entered on active duty as

12 a member of the Armed Forces on or after the date

13 of the enactment of this section.

14 ‘‘(2) The individual continues to serve, without

15 a break in service, the period of service which, at the

16 beginning of the open period, such individual was

17 obligated to serve.

18 ‘‘(3) The individual—

19 ‘‘(A) serves the obligated period of service

20 described in paragraph (2);

21 ‘‘(B) before completing such obligated pe22 riod of service, is discharged or released from

23 active duty for (i) a service-connected disability,

24 (ii) a medical condition which preexisted such

25 service and which the Secretary determines is
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1 not service connected, (iii) hardship, or (iv) a

2 physical or mental condition that was not char3 acterized as a disability and did not result from

4 the individual’s own willful misconduct but did

5 interfere with the individual’s performance of

6 duty, as determined by the Secretary of each

7 military department in accordance with regula8 tions prescribed by the Secretary of Defense (or

9 by the Secretary of Transportation with respect

10 to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as

11 a service of the Navy); or

12 ‘‘(C) before completing such obligated pe13 riod of service, is (i) discharged or released

14 from active duty for the convenience of the Gov15 ernment after completing not less than 20

16 months of continuous active duty under that pe17 riod of obligated service, if such period was less

18 than three years, or 30 months of continuous

19 active duty under that period of obligated serv20 ice, if such period was at least three years, or

21 (ii) involuntarily discharged or released from

22 active duty for the convenience of the Govern23 ment as a result of a reduction in force, as de24 termined by the Secretary concerned in accord25 ance with regulations prescribed by the Sec-
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1 retary of Defense (or by the Secretary of

2 Transportation with respect to the Coast Guard

3 when it is not operating as a service in the

4 Navy).

5 ‘‘(4) Before applying for benefits under this

6 section, the individual—

7 ‘‘(A) completes the requirements of a sec8 ondary school diploma (or equivalency certifi9 cate); or

10 ‘‘(B) successfully completes (or otherwise

11 receives academic credit for) the equivalent of

12 12 semester hours in a program of education

13 leading to a standard college degree.

14 ‘‘(5) Upon completion of such obligated period

15 of service, the individual—

16 ‘‘(A) is discharged from service with an

17 honorable discharge, is placed on the retired

18 list, is transferred to the Fleet Reserve or Fleet

19 Marine Corps Reserve, or is placed on the tem20 porary disability retired list;

21 ‘‘(B) continues on active duty; or

22 ‘‘(C) is released from active duty for fur23 ther service in a reserve component of the

24 Armed Forces after service on active duty char-
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1 acterized by the Secretary concerned as honor2 able service.

3 ‘‘(c) The open period referred to in subsection (a)

4 with respect to a qualified individual is as follows:

5 ‘‘(1) Subject to paragraph (2), such period is

6 the 90-day period preceding the date of the termi7 nation of the initial obligated period of active duty

8 required of the individual under section 3011 or

9 3012 of this title.

10 ‘‘(2) In the case of a discharge or release under

11 subparagraph (B) or (C) of subsection (b)(3), such

12 period is the 90-day period preceding the anticipated

13 date of such discharge or release.

14 ‘‘(d)(1) Subject to the succeeding provisions of this

15 subsection, with respect to a qualified individual who with16 draws, under subsection (a), an election under section

17 3011(c)(1) or 3012(d)(1) of this title—

18 ‘‘(A) the basic pay of the qualified individual

19 shall be reduced (in a manner determined by the

20 Secretary concerned) until the total amount by

21 which such basic pay is reduced equals $1,200; or

22 ‘‘(B) to the extent that basic pay is not so re23 duced before the qualified individual’s discharge or

24 release from active duty as specified in subsection

25 (b)(5), the Secretary concerned shall collect from the
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1 qualified individual an amount equal to the dif2 ference between $1,200 and the total amount of re3 ductions under subparagraph (A), which shall be

4 paid into the Treasury of the United States as mis5 cellaneous receipts.

6 ‘‘(2) In the case of an individual described in clause

7 (B) or (C) of subsection (b)(3) whose discharge or release

8 from active duty prevents the reduction of the basic pay

9 of such individual by $1,200, an amount less than $1,200.

10 ‘‘(e) With respect to qualified individuals referred to

11 in subsection (d)(1)(B), no amount of educational assist12 ance allowance under this chapter shall be paid to the

13 qualified individual until the earlier of the date on which

14 the Secretary concerned collects the applicable amount

15 under clause (i) of such subsection.

16 ‘‘(f) A withdrawal under subsection (a) is irrevocable.

17 ‘‘(g) The Secretary concerned shall provide for notice

18 of the opportunity under this section to withdraw an elec19 tion made under section 3011(c)(1) or 3012(d)(1) of this

20 title.’’.

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) Sections

22 3011(c)(1) and 3012(d)(1) of such title are each amended

23 by striking ‘‘Any individual’’ in the third sentence and in24 serting ‘‘Subject to section 3018D, any individual’’.
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1 (2) Section 3017(b)(1) of such title is amended to

2 read as follows:

3 ‘‘(1) the total of—

4 ‘‘(A) the amount reduced from the individ5 ual’s pay under section 3011(b), 3012(c),

6 3018(c), 3018A(b), 3018B(b), 3018C(b),

7 3018C(e), or 3018D(d) of this title;

8 ‘‘(B) the amount reduced from the individ9 ual’s retired pay under section 3018C(e) or

10 3018D(d) of this title;

11 ‘‘(C) the amount collected from the indi12 vidual by the Secretary under section 3018B(b),

13 3018C(b), 3018C(e), or 3018D(d) of this title;

14 and

15 ‘‘(D) the amount of any contribution made

16 by the individual under section 3011(e) or

17 3012(f) of this title, less’’.

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

19 at the beginning of chapter 30 of such title is amended

20 by inserting after the item relating to section 3018C the

21 following new item:

‘‘3018D. Opportunity for active-duty personnel to withdraw election not to enroll.’’.
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1 SEC. 4. OPPORTUNITY FOR CERTAIN ACTIVE-DUTY PER2 SONNEL TO ENROLL UNDER THE MONT3 GOMERY GI BILL.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 30 of title 38, United

5 States Code, as amended by section 3(a), is further

6 amended by inserting after section 3018D the following

7 new section:

8 ‘‘§ 3018E. Opportunity for certain active-duty per9 sonnel to enroll

10 ‘‘(a)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this

11 chapter, during the one-year period beginning on the date

12 of the enactment of this section, a qualified individual (de13 scribed in subsection (b)) may make an irrevocable elec14 tion under this section to become entitled to basic edu15 cational assistance under this chapter.

16 ‘‘(2) The Secretary of each military department shall

17 provide for procedures for a qualified individual to make

18 an irrevocable election under this section in accordance

19 with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense

20 for the purpose of carrying out this section or which the

21 Secretary of Transportation shall provide for such purpose

22 with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating

23 as a service in the Navy.

24 ‘‘(b) A qualified individual referred to in subsection

25 (a) is an individual who meets each of the following re26 quirements:
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1 ‘‘(1) The individual first became a member of

2 the Armed Forces or first entered on active duty as

3 a member of the Armed Forces before July 1, 1985.

4 ‘‘(2) The individual has served on active duty

5 without a break in service since the date the indi6 vidual first became such a member or first entered

7 on active duty as such a member.

8 ‘‘(3) The individual is serving on active duty

9 during the one-year period referred to in subsection

10 (a)(1).

11 ‘‘(4) The individual, before applying for benefits

12 under this section, has completed the requirements

13 of a secondary school diploma (or equivalency certifi14 cate) or has successfully completed (or otherwise re15 ceived academic credit for) the equivalent of 12 se16 mester hours in a program of education leading to

17 a standard college degree.

18 ‘‘(5) The individual, when discharged or re19 leased from active duty, is discharged or released

20 therefrom with an honorable discharge.

21 ‘‘(c)(1) Subject to the succeeding provisions of this

22 subsection, with respect to a qualified individual who

23 makes an election under this section to become entitled

24 to basic educational assistance under this chapter—
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1 ‘‘(A) the basic pay of the qualified individual

2 shall be reduced (in a manner determined by the

3 Secretary concerned) until the total amount by

4 which such basic pay is reduced is $2,700; and

5 ‘‘(B) to the extent that basic pay is not so re6 duced before the qualified individual’s discharge or

7 release from active duty as specified in subsection

8 (b)(5), at the election of the qualified individual—

9 ‘‘(i) the Secretary concerned shall collect

10 from the qualified individual; or

11 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary concerned shall reduce

12 the retired or retainer pay of the qualified indi13 vidual by,

14 an amount equal to the difference between $2,700

15 and the total amount of reductions under subpara16 graph (A), which shall be paid into the Treasury of

17 the United States as miscellaneous receipts.

18 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary concerned shall provide for an

19 18-month period, beginning on the date the qualified indi20 vidual makes an election under this section, for the quali21 fied individual to pay that Secretary the amount due

22 under paragraph (1).

23 ‘‘(B) Nothing in subparagraph (A) shall be construed

24 as modifying the period of eligibility for and entitlement
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1 to basic educational assistance under this chapter applica2 ble under section 3031 of this title.

3 ‘‘(d) With respect to qualified individuals referred to

4 in subsection (c)(1)(B), no amount of educational assist5 ance allowance under this chapter shall be paid to the

6 qualified individual until the earlier of the date on which—

7 ‘‘(1) the Secretary concerned collects the appli8 cable amount under clause (i) of such subsection; or

9 ‘‘(2) the retired or retainer pay of the qualified

10 individual is first reduced under clause (ii) of such

11 subsection.

12 ‘‘(e) The Secretary, in conjunction with the Secretary

13 of Defense, shall provide for notice of the opportunity

14 under this section to elect to become entitled to basic edu15 cational assistance under this chapter.’’.

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section

17 3017(b)(1) of such title, as amended by section 3(b), is

18 further amended in each of subparagraphs (A), (B), and

19 (C)—

20 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ before ‘‘3018D(d)’’; and

21 (2) by inserting ‘‘, or 3018E(c)’’ before ‘‘of this

22 title’’.

23 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

24 at the beginning of chapter 30 of such title, as amended
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1 by section 3(c), is further amended by inserting after the

2 item relating to section 3018D the following new item:

‘‘3018E. Opportunity for certain active-duty personnel to enroll.’’.

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