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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1315 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  1st Session
                                H. R. 1315

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 31, 2007

                                Received

                             August 3, 2007

     Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain improvements in 
   the benefits provided to veterans under laws administered by the 
         Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act 
of 2007''.

SEC. 2. PROVISION OF SPECIALLY ADAPTIVE HOUSING ASSISTANCE TO DISABLED 
              MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES RESIDING TEMPORARILY IN 
              HOUSING OWNED BY A FAMILY MEMBER.

    Section 2102A of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections 
        (e) and (f), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new 
        subsection (d):
    ``(d) Assistance for Members of the Armed Forces.--The Secretary 
may provide assistance under subsection (a) to a member of the Armed 
Forces serving on active duty who is suffering from a disability 
described in subsection (a)(2) or (b)(2) of section 2101 of this title 
if such disability is the result of an injury incurred or disease 
contracted in or aggravated in line of duty in the active military, 
naval, or air service. Such assistance shall be provided to the same 
extent as assistance is provided under subsection (a) to veterans 
eligible for assistance under that subsection and subject to the 
limitation under subsection (c).''.

SEC. 3. VISUAL IMPAIRMENT AND ORIENTATION AND MOBILITY PROFESSIONALS 
              EDUCATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment of Program.--Chapter 76 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subchapter:

   ``SUBCHAPTER VIII--VISUAL IMPAIRMENT AND ORIENTATION AND MOBILITY 
                   PROFESSIONALS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

``Sec. 7691. Authority for program
    ``As part of the Educational Assistance Program and subject to the 
availability of appropriations for such purpose, the Secretary shall 
carry out a scholarship program under this subchapter. The program 
shall be known as the Department of Veterans Affairs Visual Impairment 
and Orientation and Mobility Professionals Scholarship Program 
(hereinafter in this subchapter referred to as the `Program'). The 
purpose of the Program is to increase the supply of qualified blind 
rehabilitation specialists for the Department and the Nation.
``Sec. 7692. Eligibility; agreement
    ``(a) Eligibility.--To be eligible to participate in the Program, 
an individual must be accepted for enrollment or enrolled (as described 
in section 7602 of this title) as a full-time or part-time student in a 
field of education or training described in subsection (b).
    ``(b) Qualifying Fields of Education or Training.--A field of 
education or training described in this subsection is education or 
training leading to--
            ``(1) a degree or certificate in visual impairment or 
        orientation and mobility, or a dual degree or certification in 
        both such areas; and
            ``(2) appointment or retention in a position under section 
        7401 of this title.
    ``(c) Agreement.--(1) An agreement between the Secretary and a 
participant in the Program shall (in addition to the requirements set 
forth in section 7604 of this title) include the following:
            ``(A) The Secretary's agreement to provide the participant 
        with a scholarship under the Program for a specified number 
        (from one to three) of school years during which the 
        participant pursues a course of education or training described 
        in subsection (b) that meets the requirements set forth in 
        section 7602(a) of this title.
            ``(B) The participant's agreement to serve as a full-time 
        employee in the Veterans Health Administration for a period of 
        three years (hereinafter in this subchapter referred to as the 
        `period of obligated service') during the six-year period 
        beginning on the date the participant completes the education 
        or training and receives a degree or certificate described in 
        subsection (b)(1).
            ``(C) The participant's agreement to serve under 
        subparagraph (B) in a Department facility selected by the 
        Secretary.
    ``(2) In a case in which an extension is granted under section 
7673(c)(2) of this title, the number of years for which a scholarship 
may be provided under the Program shall be the number of school years 
provided for as a result of the extension.
    ``(3) In the case of a participant who is a part-time student, the 
period of obligated service shall be reduced in accordance with the 
proportion that the number of credit hours carried by such participant 
in any such school year bears to the number of credit hours required to 
be carried by a full-time student in the course of training being 
pursued by the participant, but in no event to less than one year.
``Sec. 7693. Scholarship
    ``(a) Scholarship.--A scholarship provided to a participant in the 
Program for a school year shall consist of payment of the tuition (or 
such portion of the tuition as may be provided under subsection (b)) of 
the participant for that school year and payment of other reasonable 
educational expenses (including fees, books, and laboratory expenses) 
for that school year.
    ``(b) Amounts.--The total amount of the scholarship payable under 
subsection (a)--
            ``(1) in the case of a participant in the Program who is a 
        full-time student, may not exceed $15,000 for the equivalent of 
        one year of full-time coursework; and
            ``(2) in the case of a participant in the Program who is a 
        part-time student, shall bear the same ratio to the amount that 
        would be paid under paragraph (1) if the participant were a 
        full-time student in the course of education or training being 
        pursued by the participant as the coursework carried by the 
        participant to full-time coursework in that course of education 
        or training.
    ``(c) Limitations on Period of Payment.--(1) The maximum number of 
school years for which a scholarship may be paid under subsection (a) 
to a participant in the Program shall be six school years.
    ``(2) A participant in the Program may not receive a scholarship 
under subsection (a) for more than the equivalent of three years of 
full-time coursework.
    ``(d) Payment of Educational Expenses by Educational 
Institutions.--The Secretary may arrange with an educational 
institution in which a participant in the Program is enrolled for the 
payment of the educational expenses described in subsection (a). Such 
payments may be made without regard to subsections (a) and (b) of 
section 3324 of title 31.
    ``(e) Full-Time Coursework.--For purposes of this section, full-
time coursework shall consist of the following:
            ``(1) In the case of undergraduate coursework, 30 semester 
        hours per undergraduate school year.
            ``(2) In the case of graduate coursework, 18 semester hours 
        per graduate school year.
``Sec. 7694. Obligated service
    ``(a) In General.--Each participant in the Program shall provide 
service as a full-time employee of the Department for the period of 
obligated service provided in the agreement of the participant entered 
into under section 7604 of this title. Such service shall be provided 
in the full-time clinical practice of such participant's profession or 
in another health-care position in an assignment or location determined 
by the Secretary.
    ``(b) Determination of Service Commencement Date.--(1) Not later 
than 60 days before a participant's service commencement date, the 
Secretary shall notify the participant of that service commencement 
date. That date is the date for the beginning of the participant's 
period of obligated service.
    ``(2) As soon as possible after a participant's service 
commencement date, the Secretary shall--
            ``(A) in the case of a participant who is not a full-time 
        employee in the Veterans Health Administration, appoint the 
        participant as such an employee; and
            ``(B) in the case of a participant who is an employee in 
        the Veterans Health Administration but is not serving in a 
        position for which the participant's course of education or 
        training prepared the participant, assign the participant to 
        such a position.
    ``(3)(A) In the case of a participant receiving a degree from a 
school of medicine, osteopathy, dentistry, optometry, or podiatry, the 
participant's service commencement date is the date upon which the 
participant becomes licensed to practice medicine, osteopathy, 
dentistry, optometry, or podiatry, as the case may be, in a State.
    ``(B) In the case of a participant receiving a degree from a school 
of nursing, the participant's service commencement date is the later 
of--
            ``(i) the participant's course completion date; or
            ``(ii) the date upon which the participant becomes licensed 
        as a registered nurse in a State.
    ``(C) In the case of a participant not covered by subparagraph (A) 
or (B), the participant's service commencement date is the later of--
            ``(i) the participant's course completion date; or
            ``(ii) the date the participant meets any applicable 
        licensure or certification requirements.
    ``(4) The Secretary shall by regulation prescribe the service 
commencement date for participants who were part-time students. Such 
regulations shall prescribe terms as similar as practicable to the 
terms set forth in paragraph (3). (c)
    ``(c) Commencement of Obligated Service.--(1) Except as provided in 
paragraph (2), a participant in the Program shall be considered to have 
begun serving the participant's period of obligated service--
            ``(A) on the date, after the participant's course 
        completion date, on which the participant (in accordance with 
        subsection (b)) is appointed as a full-time employee in the 
        Veterans Health Administration; or
            ``(B) if the participant is a full-time employee in the 
        Veterans Health Administration on such course completion date, 
        on the date thereafter on which the participant is assigned to 
        a position for which the participant's course of training 
        prepared the participant.
    ``(2) A participant in the Program who on the participant's course 
completion date is a full-time employee in the Veterans Health 
Administration serving in a capacity for which the participant's course 
of training prepared the participant shall be considered to have begun 
serving the participant's period of obligated service on such course 
completion date.
    ``(d) Course Completion Date Defined.--In this section, the term 
`course completion date' means the date on which a participant in the 
Program completes the participant's course of education or training 
under the Program.
``Sec. 7695. Repayment for failure to satisfy requirements of agreement
    ``(a) In General.--An individual who receives educational 
assistance under this subchapter shall repay to the Secretary an amount 
equal to the unearned portion of such assistance if the individual 
fails to satisfy the requirements of the agreement entered into under 
section 7604 of this title, except in circumstances authorized by the 
Secretary.
    ``(b) Amount of Repayment.--The Secretary shall establish, by 
regulations, procedures for determining the amount of the repayment 
required under this subsection and the circumstances under which an 
exception to the required repayment may be granted.
    ``(c) Waiver or Suspension of Compliance.--The Secretary shall 
prescribe regulations providing for the waiver or suspension of any 
obligation of an individual for service or payment under this 
subchapter (or an agreement under this subchapter) whenever 
noncompliance by the individual is due to circumstances beyond the 
control of the individual or whenever the Secretary determines that the 
waiver or suspension of compliance is in the best interest of the 
United States.
    ``(d) Obligation as Debt to United States.--An obligation to repay 
the Secretary under this section is, for all purposes, a debt owed the 
United States. A discharge in bankruptcy under title 11 does not 
discharge a person from such debt if the discharge order is entered 
less than five years after the date of the termination of the agreement 
or contract on which the debt is based.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The tables of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by inserting after the items relating to 
subchapter VII the following new items:

   ``subchapter viii--visual impairment and orientation and mobility 
                   professionals scholarship program

``7691. Authority for program.
``7692. Eligibility; agreement.
``7693. Scholarship.
``7694. Obligated service.
``7695. Repayment for failure to satisfy requirements of agreement.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--Such chapter is further amended--
            (1) in section 7601(a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (5), by striking the period and 
                inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(6) the Visual Impairment and Orientation and Mobility 
        Professionals Scholarship Program provided for in subchapter 
        VIII of this chapter.'';
            (2) in section 7602--
                    (A) in subsection (a)(1)--
                            (i) by striking ``or VI'' and inserting 
                        ``VI, or VIII''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``or for which a 
                        scholarship may be awarded under subchapter VI 
                        of this chapter'' and inserting ``for which a 
                        scholarship may be awarded under subchapter VI 
                        of this chapter, or for which a scholarship may 
                        be awarded under subchapter VIII of this 
                        chapter''; and
                    (B) in subsection (b), by striking ``or VI'' and 
                inserting ``VI, or VIII'';
            (3) in section 7603(a)(1), by striking ``or VI'' and 
        inserting ``VI, or VIII''; and
            (4) in section 7604, by striking ``or VI'' each place it 
        appears and inserting ``VI, or VIII''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
implement subchapter VIII of chapter 76 of title 38, United States 
Code, as added by subsection (a), not later than six months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. VETERANS' REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS REPORT IMPROVEMENT.

    (a) Additional Report Requirements.--Section 4332 of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``The Secretary shall'' and inserting ``(a) 
        Report Required.--The Secretary shall'';
            (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through (6) as 
        paragraphs (5) through (7), respectively, and inserting after 
        paragraph (3) the following new paragraph (4):
            ``(4) The number of cases reviewed by the Secretary of 
        Defense under the National Committee for Employer Support of 
        the Guard and Reserve of the Department of Defense during the 
        fiscal year for which the report is made.''.
            (3) in paragraph (5), as so redesignated, by striking ``or 
        (3)'' and inserting ``(3), or (4)'';
            (4) by redesignating paragraph (7), as so redesignated, as 
        paragraph (8), and inserting after paragraph (6) the following 
        new paragraph (7):
            ``(7) An indication of which of the cases reported on 
        pursuant to paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) are disability-
        related.''.
            (5) by adding at the end the following new subsections:
    ``(b) Uniform Categorization of Data.--The Secretary shall 
coordinate with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs, the Attorney General, and the Special Counsel to ensure that 
the information required to be submitted as part of the report under 
subsection (a) is categorized in a uniform way.
    ``(c) Provision of Information.--The Secretary shall provide the 
information contained in the report required under subsection (a) to 
the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the 
Attorney General, and the Special Counsel.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to a report submitted after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. INCREASE IN NUMBER OF MEMBERS OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON VETERANS 
              EMPLOYMENT, TRAINING, AND EMPLOYER OUTREACH.

    Section 4110(c)(1) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 
striking ``15'' and inserting ``16''.

            Passed the House of Representatives July 30, 2007.

            Attest:

                                            LORRAINE C. MILLER,

                                                                 Clerk.
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