I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1669 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to make permanent the high technology pilot program of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 21, 2023 

Mr. CISCOMANI (for himself, Mr. KHANNA, and Mr. BOST) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

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

the high technology pilot program of the Department 

of Veterans Affairs, 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 ‘‘VET–TEC Authoriza5 tion Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PERMANENT DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 

7 HIGH TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 36 of title 38, United 

9 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the folVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1669.IH H1669

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1 lowing new section (and conforming the table of sections 

2 accordingly): 

3 ‘‘§ 3699C. High technology program 

4 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—(1) The Secretary shall 

5 carry out a program under which the Secretary provides 

6 covered individuals with the opportunity to enroll in high 

7 technology programs of education that the Secretary de8 termines provide training or skills sought by employers in 

9 a relevant field or industry. 

10 ‘‘(2) Not more than 8,000 covered individuals may 

11 participate in the program under this section in any fiscal 

12 year. 

13 ‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.—(1) The Secretary 

14 shall provide, to each covered individual who pursues a 

15 high technology program of education under this section, 

16 educational assistance in amounts equal to the amounts 

17 provided under section 3313(c)(1) of this title, including 

18 with respect to the housing stipend described in that sec19 tion and in accordance with the treatment of programs 

20 that are distance learning and programs that are less than 

21 half-time. 

22 ‘‘(2) Under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall pro23 vide such amounts of educational assistance to a covered 

24 individual for each of the following: 

25 ‘‘(A) A high technology program of education. 


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1 ‘‘(B) A second such program if— 

2 ‘‘(i) the second such program begins at 

3 least 18 months after the covered individual 

4 graduates from the first such program; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) the covered individual uses edu6 cational assistance under chapter 33 of this 

7 title to pursue the second such program. 

8 ‘‘(c) CONTRACTS.—(1) For purposes of carrying out 

9 subsection (a), the Secretary shall seek to enter into con10 tracts with any number of qualified providers of high tech11 nology programs of education for the provision of such 

12 programs to covered individuals. Each such contract shall 

13 provide for the conditions under which the Secretary may 

14 terminate the contract with the provider and the proce15 dures for providing for the graduation of students who 

16 were enrolled in a program provided by such provider in 

17 the case of such a termination. 

18 ‘‘(2) A contract under this subsection shall provide 

19 that the Secretary shall pay to a provider— 

20 ‘‘(A) upon the enrollment of a covered indi21 vidual in the program, 25 percent of the cost of the 

22 tuition and other fees for the program of education 

23 for the individual; 

24 ‘‘(B) upon graduation of the individual from 

25 the program, 25 percent of such cost; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) 50 percent of such cost upon— 

2 ‘‘(i) the successful employment of the cov3 ered individual for a period— 

4 ‘‘(I) of 180 days in the field of study 

5 of the program; and 

6 ‘‘(II) that begins not later than 180 

7 days following graduation of the covered 

8 individual from the program; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the employment of the individual by 

10 the provider for a period of one year; or 

11 ‘‘(iii) the enrollment of the individual in a 

12 program of education to continue education in 

13 such field of study. 

14 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this section, a provider of a high 

15 technology program of education is qualified if— 

16 ‘‘(A) the provider employs instructors whom the 

17 Secretary determines are experts in their respective 

18 fields in accordance with paragraph (5); 

19 ‘‘(B) the provider has successfully provided the 

20 high technology program for at least one year; 

21 ‘‘(C) the provider does not charge tuition and 

22 fees to a covered individual who receives assistance 

23 under this section to pursue such program that are 

24 higher than the tuition and fees charged by such 

25 provider to another individual; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) the provider meets the approval criteria 

2 developed by the Secretary under paragraph (4). 

3 ‘‘(4)(A) The Secretary shall prescribe criteria for ap4 proving providers of a high technology program of edu5 cation under this section. 

6 ‘‘(B) In developing such criteria, the Secretary may 

7 consult with State approving agencies. 

8 ‘‘(C) Such criteria are not required to meet the re9 quirements of section 3672 of this title. 

10 ‘‘(D) Such criteria shall include the job placement 

11 rate, in the field of study of a program of education, of 

12 covered individuals who complete such program of edu13 cation. 

14 ‘‘(5) The Secretary shall determine whether instruc15 tors are experts under paragraph (3)(A) based on evidence 

16 furnished to the Secretary by the provider regarding the 

17 ability of the instructors to— 

18 ‘‘(A) identify professions in need of new em19 ployees to hire, tailor the programs to meet market 

20 needs, and identify the employers likely to hire grad21 uates; 

22 ‘‘(B) effectively teach the skills offered to cov23 ered individuals; 


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1 ‘‘(C) provide relevant industry experience in the 

2 fields of programs offered to incoming covered indi3 viduals; and 

4 ‘‘(D) demonstrate relevant industry experience 

5 in such fields of programs. 

6 ‘‘(6) In entering into contracts under this subsection, 

7 the Secretary shall give preference to a provider of a high 

8 technology program of education— 

9 ‘‘(A) from which at least 70 percent of grad10 uates find full-time employment in the field of study 

11 of the program during the 180-day period beginning 

12 on the date the student graduates from the program; 

13 or 

14 ‘‘(B) that offers tuition reimbursement for any 

15 student who graduates from such a program and 

16 does not find employment described in subparagraph 

17 (A). 

18 ‘‘(d) EFFECT ON OTHER ENTITLEMENT.—(1) If a 

19 covered individual enrolled in a high technology program 

20 of education under this section has remaining entitlement 

21 to educational assistance under chapter 30, 32, 33, 34, 

22 or 35 of this title, entitlement of the individual to edu23 cational assistance under this section shall be charged at 

24 the rate of one month of such remaining entitlement for 


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1 each such month of educational assistance under this sec2 tion. 

3 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may not consider enrollment in 

4 a high technology program of education under this section 

5 to be assistance under a provision of law referred to in 

6 section 3695 of this title. 

7 ‘‘(e) REQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATIONAL INSTITU8 TIONS.—(1) The Secretary shall not approve the enroll9 ment of any covered individual, not already enrolled, in 

10 any high technology programs of education under this sec11 tion for any period during which the Secretary finds that 

12 more than 85 percent of the students enrolled in the pro13 gram are having all or part of their tuition, fees, or other 

14 charges paid to or for them by the educational institution 

15 or by the Department of Veterans Affairs under this title 

16 or under chapter 1606 or 1607 of title 10, except with 

17 respect to tuition, fees, or other charges that are paid 

18 under a payment plan at an educational institution that 

19 the Secretary determines has a history of offering pay20 ment plans that are completed not later than 180 days 

21 after the end of the applicable term, quarter, or semester. 

22 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may waive a requirement of para23 graph (1) if the Secretary determines, pursuant to regula24 tions which the Secretary shall prescribe, such waiver to 

25 be in the interest of the covered individual and the Federal 


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1 Government. Not later than 30 days after the Secretary 

2 waives such a requirement, the Secretary shall submit to 

3 the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 

4 House of Representatives a report regarding such waiver. 

5 ‘‘(3)(A)(i) The Secretary shall establish and maintain 

6 a process by which an educational institution may request 

7 a review of a determination that the educational institu8 tion does not meet the requirements of paragraph (1). 

9 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary may consult with a State approv10 ing agency regarding such process or such a review. 

11 ‘‘(iii) Not later than 180 days after the Secretary es12 tablishes or revises a process under this subparagraph, the 

13 Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af14 fairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report 

15 regarding such process. 

16 ‘‘(B) An educational institution that requests a re17 view under subparagraph (A)— 

18 ‘‘(i) shall request the review not later than 30 

19 days after the start of the term, quarter, or semester 

20 for which the determination described in subpara21 graph (A) applies; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) may include any information that the edu23 cational institution believes the Department should 

24 have taken into account when making the deterVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1669.IH H1669

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1 mination, including with respect to any mitigating 

2 circumstances. 

3 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 

4 after the date of the enactment of this section, and annu5 ally thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Commit6 tees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Rep7 resentatives a report on the operation of program under 

8 this section during the year covered by the report. 

9 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered individual’ means any of 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) A veteran whom the Secretary deter13 mines— 

14 ‘‘(i) served an aggregate of at least 36 

15 months on active duty in the Armed 

16 Forces (including service on active duty in 

17 entry level and skill training) and was dis18 charged or released therefrom under condi19 tions other than dishonorable; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) has not attained the age of 62. 

21 ‘‘(B) A member of the Armed Forces that 

22 the Secretary determines will become a veteran 

23 described in subparagraph (A) fewer than 180 

24 days after the date of such determination. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The term ‘high technology program of edu2 cation’ means a program of education— 

3 ‘‘(A) offered by a public or private edu4 cational institution; 

5 ‘‘(B) if offered by an institution of higher 

6 learning, that is provided directly by such insti7 tution rather than by an entity other than such 

8 institution under a contract or other agreement; 

9 ‘‘(C) that does not lead to a degree; 

10 ‘‘(D) that has a term of not less than six 

11 and not more than 28 weeks; and 

12 ‘‘(E) that provides instruction in computer 

13 programming, computer software, media appli14 cation, data processing, or information 

15 sciences.’’. 

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

17 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date that is 180 

18 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

19 (c) EFFECT ON HIGH TECHNOLOGY PILOT PRO20 GRAM.—Subsection (h) of section 116 of the Harry W. 

21 Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 

22 (Public Law 115–48; 38 U.S.C. 3001 note) is amended 

23 to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(h) TERMINATION.—The authority to carry out a 

25 pilot program under this section shall terminate on the 


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1 date that is one year after the date of the enactment of 

2 section 3699C of title 38, United States Code.’’. 

3 (d) APPROVAL OF CERTAIN HIGH TECHNOLOGY

4 PROGRAMS.—Section 3680A of title 38, United States 

5 Code, is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (4) 

7 and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(4) Any independent study program except— 

9 ‘‘(A) an independent study program (in10 cluding such a program taken over open circuit 

11 television) that— 

12 ‘‘(i) is accredited by an accrediting 

13 agency or association recognized by the 

14 Secretary of Education under subpart 2 of 

15 part H of title IV of the Higher Education 

16 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b); 

17 ‘‘(ii) leads to— 

18 ‘‘(I) a standard college degree; 

19 ‘‘(II) a certificate that reflects 

20 educational attainment offered by an 

21 institution of higher learning; or 

22 ‘‘(III) a certificate that reflects 

23 graduation from a course of study of24 fered by— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) an area career and 

2 technical education school (as de3 fined in subparagraphs (C) and 

4 (D) of section 3(3) of the Carl D. 

5 Perkins Career and Technical 

6 Education Act of 2006 (20 

7 U.S.C. 2302(3))) that provides 

8 education at the postsecondary 

9 level; or 

10 ‘‘(bb) a postsecondary voca11 tional institution (as defined in 

12 section 102(c) of the Higher 

13 Education Act of 1965 (20 

14 U.S.C. 1002(c))) that provides 

15 education at the postsecondary 

16 level; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a program de18 scribed in clause (ii)(III)— 

19 ‘‘(I) provides training aligned 

20 with the requirements of employers in 

21 the State or local area where the pro22 gram is located, which may include in23 demand industry sectors or occupa24 tions; 


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1 ‘‘(II) provides a student, upon 

2 graduation from the program, with a 

3 recognized postsecondary credential 

4 that is recognized by employers in the 

5 relevant industry, which may include 

6 a credential recognized by industry or 

7 sector partnerships in the State or 

8 local area where the industry is lo9 cated; and 

10 ‘‘(III) meets such content and in11 structional standards as may be re12 quired to comply with the criteria 

13 under section 3676(c)(14) and (15) of 

14 this title; or 

15 ‘‘(B) an online high technology program of 

16 education (as defined in subsection (g)(2) of 

17 section 3699C of this title)— 

18 ‘‘(i) the provider of which has entered 

19 into a contract with the Secretary under 

20 subsection (c) of such section; 

21 ‘‘(ii) that has been provided to covered 

22 individuals (as defined in subsection (g)(1) 

23 of such section) under such contract for a 

24 period of at least five years; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) regarding which the Secretary 

2 has determined that the average employ3 ment rate of covered individuals who grad4 uated from such program of education is 

5 70 percent or higher for the year preceding 

6 such determination; and 

7 ‘‘(iv) that satisfies the requirements of 

8 subsection (e) of such section.’’; and 

9 (2) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(8) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the enrollment 

12 of a veteran in an online high technology program de13 scribed in subsection (a)(4)(B).’’. 

Æ 


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