I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3586 

To reauthorize and improve a grant program to assist institutions of higher 

education in establishing, maintaining, improving, and operating Student 

Veteran Centers. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 28, 2021 

Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida (for herself, Mr. WALTZ, and Mr. BILIRAKIS) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To reauthorize and improve a grant program to assist institutions of higher education in establishing, maintaining, 

improving, and operating Student Veteran Centers. 

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 ‘‘Veteran Education 

5 Empowerment Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Over 1,000,000 veterans attend institutions 

9 of higher education each year. 


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1 (2) Veterans face unique challenges in transi2 tioning from the battlefield to the classroom and 

3 eventually to the workforce, including: age dif4 ferences, family obligations, significant time away 

5 from academic life, and service-related disabilities. 

6 (3) The National Education Association found 

7 that student veterans can feel lonely and vulnerable 

8 on campus and that ‘‘connecting student veterans 

9 can effectively ease this isolation’’ by bringing to10 gether new student veterans with those who have al11 ready successfully navigated the first few semesters 

12 of college. 

13 (4) According to Mission United—a United 

14 Way program that helps veterans re-acclimate to ci15 vilian life—it is often ‘‘essential’’ for student vet16 erans to be mentored by ‘‘another veteran who un17 derstands their mindset and experience’’. 

18 (5) Student Veteran Centers are recognized as 

19 an institutional best practice by Student Veterans of 

20 America. 

21 (6) The American Council on Education, which 

22 represents more than 1,700 institutions of higher 

23 education across the United States, has called hav24 ing a dedicated space for veterans on campus ‘‘a 

25 promising way for colleges and universities to better 


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1 serve veterans on campus’’ and a ‘‘critical’’ compo2 nent of many colleges’ efforts to serve their student 

3 veterans. 

4 (7) The Department of Education included as 

5 one of its 8 Keys to Veterans’ Success that colleges 

6 and universities should ‘‘coordinate and centralize 

7 campus efforts for all veterans, together with the 

8 creation of a designated space for them’’. 

9 (8) Budget constraints often make it difficult or 

10 impossible for institutions of higher education to 

11 dedicate space to veteran offices, lounges, or student 

12 centers. 

13 (9) The 110th Congress authorized the funding 

14 of Student Veteran Centers through the Centers of 

15 Excellence for Veteran Student Success under part 

16 T of title VIII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

17 (20 U.S.C. 1161t). Congress also chose to appro18 priate funding for this program for fiscal year 2015 

19 under the Consolidated and Further Continuing Ap20 propriations Act, 2015 (Public Law 113–235). 

21 (10) According to the Department of Edu22 cation, federally funded Student Veteran Centers 

23 and staff have generated improved recruitment, re24 tention, and graduation rates, have helped student 

25 veterans feel better connected across campus, and 


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1 have directly contributed to the successful academic 

2 outcomes of student veterans. 

3 SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM TO ESTABLISH, MAINTAIN, AND 

4 IMPROVE STUDENT VETERAN CENTERS. 

5 Part T of title VIII of the Higher Education Act of 

6 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1161t) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘PART T—GRANTS FOR STUDENT VETERAN 

8 CENTERS 

9 ‘‘SEC. 873. GRANTS FOR STUDENT VETERAN CENTERS. 

10 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Subject to the avail11 ability of appropriations under subsection (h), the Sec12 retary shall award grants to institutions of higher edu13 cation or consortia of institutions of higher education to 

14 assist in the establishment, maintenance, improvement, 

15 and operation of Student Veteran Centers. 

16 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.— 

17 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION.—An institution or consor18 tium seeking a grant under subsection (a) shall sub19 mit to the Secretary an application at such time, in 

20 such manner, and containing such information as 

21 the Secretary may require. 

22 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA.—The Secretary may award a 

23 grant under subsection (a) to an institution or a 

24 consortium if the institution or consortium meets 

25 each of the following criteria: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The institution or consortium enrolls 

2 in undergraduate or graduate courses— 

3 ‘‘(i) a significant number of student 

4 veterans, members of the Armed Forces 

5 serving on active duty, or members of a re6 serve component of the Armed Forces; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) a significant percentage of stu8 dent veterans, members of the Armed 

9 Forces serving on active duty, or members 

10 of a reserve component of the Armed 

11 Forces, 

12 as measured by comparing, for the most recent aca13 demic year for which data are available, the number 

14 or percentage of student veterans, members of the 

15 Armed Forces serving on active duty, and members 

16 of a reserve component of the Armed Forces who are 

17 enrolled in undergraduate or graduate courses at the 

18 institution or consortium, with the average number 

19 or percentage of student veterans, members of the 

20 Armed Forces serving on active duty, and members 

21 of a reserve component of the Armed Forces who 

22 were enrolled in undergraduate or graduate courses 

23 at comparable institutions or consortia of institu24 tions. 


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1 ‘‘(B) The institution or consortium pre2 sents a sustainability plan to demonstrate that 

3 the Student Veteran Center will be maintained 

4 and will continue to operate after the grant pe5 riod has ended. 

6 ‘‘(3) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In awarding 

7 grants under subsection (a), the Secretary shall pro8 vide the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) Priority consideration to institutions 

10 or consortia that meet one or more of the fol11 lowing criteria: 

12 ‘‘(i) The institution or consortium is 

13 located in a region or community that has 

14 a significant population of veterans. 

15 ‘‘(ii) The institution or consortium 

16 considers the need to serve student vet17 erans at a wide range of institutions of 

18 higher education, including the need to 

19 provide equitable distribution of grants to 

20 institutions of various sizes, geographic lo21 cations, and institutions in urban and 

22 rural areas. 

23 ‘‘(iii) The institution or consortium 

24 carries out programs or activities that as25 sist veterans in the local community, and 


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1 the spouses or partners and children of 

2 student veterans. 

3 ‘‘(iv) The institution or consortium 

4 partners in its veteran-specific program5 ming with nonprofit veteran service organi6 zations, local workforce development orga7 nizations, or other institutions of higher 

8 education. 

9 ‘‘(v) The institution or consortium 

10 commits to hiring a staff at the Student 

11 Veteran Center that includes veterans (in12 cluding student veteran volunteers and stu13 dent veterans participating in a Federal 

14 work-study program under part C of title 

15 IV, a work-study program administered by 

16 the Secretary of Veteran Affairs, or a 

17 State work-study program). 

18 ‘‘(vi) The institution or consortium 

19 commits to providing an orientation for 

20 student veterans that— 

21 ‘‘(I) is separate from the new 

22 student orientation provided by the in23 stitution or consortium; and 

24 ‘‘(II) provides student veterans 

25 with information on the benefits and 


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1 resources available to such students at 

2 or through the institution or consor3 tium. 

4 ‘‘(vii) The institution or consortium 

5 commits to using a portion of the grant re6 ceived under this section to develop or 

7 maintain a student veteran retention pro8 gram carried out by the Student Veteran 

9 Center. 

10 ‘‘(viii) The institution or consortium 

11 commits to providing mental health coun12 seling to its student veterans (and the 

13 spouses or partners and children of such 

14 students). 

15 ‘‘(B) Equitable distribution of such grants 

16 to institutions or consortia of various sizes, geo17 graphic locations, and in urban and rural areas. 

18 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An institution or consor20 tium that is awarded a grant under subsection (a) 

21 shall use such grant to establish, maintain, improve, 

22 or operate a Student Veteran Center. 

23 ‘‘(2) OTHER ALLOWABLE USES.—An institution 

24 or consortium receiving a grant under subsection (a) 

25 may use a portion of such grant to carry out supVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3586.IH H3586

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1 portive instruction services for student veterans, in2 cluding— 

3 ‘‘(A) assistance with special admissions 

4 and transfer of credit from previous postsec5 ondary education or experience; and 

6 ‘‘(B) any other support services the insti7 tution or consortium determines to be necessary 

8 to ensure the success of student veterans in 

9 achieving education and career goals. 

10 ‘‘(d) AMOUNTS AWARDED.— 

11 ‘‘(1) DURATION.—Each grant awarded under 

12 subsection (a) shall be for a 4-year period. 

13 ‘‘(2) TOTAL AMOUNT OF GRANT AND SCHED14 ULE.—Each grant awarded under subsection (a) 

15 may not exceed a total of $500,000. The Secretary 

16 shall disburse to an institution or consortium the 

17 amount awarded under the grant in such amounts 

18 and at such times during the grant period as the 

19 Secretary determines appropriate. 

20 ‘‘(e) REPORT.—From the amounts appropriated to 

21 carry out this section, and not later than 3 years after 

22 the date on which the first grant is awarded under sub23 section (a), the Secretary shall submit to Congress a re24 port on the grant program established under subsection 

25 (a), including— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the number of grants awarded; 

2 ‘‘(2) the institutions of higher education and 

3 consortia that have received grants; 

4 ‘‘(3) with respect to each such institution of 

5 higher education and consortium— 

6 ‘‘(A) the amounts awarded; 

7 ‘‘(B) how such institution or consortium 

8 used such amounts; 

9 ‘‘(C) a description of the demographics of 

10 student veterans (and spouses or partners and 

11 children of such students) to whom services 

12 were offered as a result of the award, including 

13 students that are women and belong to minority 

14 groups; 

15 ‘‘(D) the number of student veterans (and 

16 spouses or partners and children of such stu17 dents) to whom services were offered as a result 

18 of the award, and a description of the services 

19 that were offered and provided; and 

20 ‘‘(E) data enumerating whether the use of 

21 the amounts awarded helped student veterans 

22 at the institution or consortium toward comple23 tion of a degree, certificate, or credential; 

24 ‘‘(4) best practices for student veteran success, 

25 identified by reviewing data provided by institutions 


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1 and consortia that received a grant under this sec2 tion; and 

3 ‘‘(5) a determination by the Secretary with re4 spect to whether the grant program under this sec5 tion should be extended or expanded. 

6 ‘‘(f) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION BEST PRACTICES

7 WEBSITE.—Subject to the availability of appropriations 

8 under subsection (h) and not later than 3 years after the 

9 date on which the first grant is awarded under subsection 

10 (a), the Secretary shall develop and implement a website 

11 for Student Veteran Centers at institutions of higher edu12 cation, which details best practices for serving student vet13 erans at institutions of higher education. 

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

15 ‘‘(1) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

16 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

17 meaning given the term in section 101. 

18 ‘‘(2) STUDENT VETERAN CENTER.—The term 

19 ‘Student Veteran Center’ means a dedicated space 

20 on a campus of an institution of higher education 

21 that provides students who are veterans, members of 

22 the Armed Forces serving on active duty, or mem23 bers of a reserve component of the Armed Forces 

24 with the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) A lounge or meeting space for such 

2 student veterans (and the spouses or partners 

3 and children of such students), and veterans in 

4 the community. 

5 ‘‘(B) A centralized office for student vet6 eran services that— 

7 ‘‘(i) is a single point of contact to co8 ordinate comprehensive support services 

9 for student veterans; 

10 ‘‘(ii) is staffed by trained employees 

11 and volunteers, which includes veterans 

12 and at least one full-time employee or vol13 unteer who is trained as a veterans’ bene14 fits counselor; 

15 ‘‘(iii) provides student veterans with 

16 assistance relating to— 

17 ‘‘(I) transitioning from the mili18 tary to student life; 

19 ‘‘(II) transitioning from the mili20 tary to the civilian workforce; 

21 ‘‘(III) networking with other stu22 dent veterans and veterans in the 

23 community; 

24 ‘‘(IV) understanding and obtain25 ing benefits provided by the instituVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3586.IH H3586

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1 tion of higher education, Federal Gov2 ernment, and State for which such 

3 students may be eligible; 

4 ‘‘(V) understanding how to suc5 ceed in the institution of higher edu6 cation, including by understanding 

7 academic policies, the course selection 

8 process, and institutional policies and 

9 practices related to the transfer of 

10 academic credits; and 

11 ‘‘(VI) understanding disability-re12 lated rights and protections under the 

13 Americans with Disabilities Act of 

14 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) and 

15 section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act 

16 of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794); and 

17 ‘‘(iv) provides comprehensive academic 

18 and tutoring services for student veterans, 

19 including peer-to-peer tutoring and aca20 demic mentorship. 

21 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part 

23 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2022 and 

24 each of the 7 succeeding fiscal years.’’. 

Æ 


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