In the Senate of the United States, 
December 19, 2012. 
Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representa-
tives (H.R. 4057) entitled ‘‘An Act to amend title 38, United 
States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to 
develop a comprehensive policy to improve outreach and 
transparency to veterans and members of the Armed Forces 
through the provision of information on institutions of higher 
learning, and for other purposes.’’, do pass with the following 
AMENDMENT: 
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following: 
SECTION 1. COMPREHENSIVE POLICY ON PROVIDING EDU-
CATION INFORMATION TO VETERANS. 
(a) COMPREHENSIVE POLICY REQUIRED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 36 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new section:
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‘‘§ 3698. Comprehensive policy on providing education 
information to veterans 
‘‘(a) COMPREHENSIVE POLICY REQUIRED.—The Sec-
retary shall develop a comprehensive policy to improve out-
reach and transparency to veterans and members of the 
Armed Forces through the provision of information on in-
stitutions of higher learning. 
‘‘(b) SCOPE.—In developing the policy required by 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall include each of the fol-
lowing elements: 
‘‘(1) Effective and efficient methods to inform in-
dividuals of the educational and vocational counseling 
provided under section 3697A of this title. 
‘‘(2) A centralized mechanism for tracking and 
publishing feedback from students and State approv-
ing agencies regarding the quality of instruction, re-
cruiting practices, and post-graduation employment 
placement of institutions of higher learning that— 
‘‘(A) allows institutions of higher learning 
to verify feedback and address issues regarding 
feedback before the feedback is published; 
‘‘(B) protects the privacy of students, in-
cluding by not publishing the names of students; 
and
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‘‘(B) a description of Federal student aid pro-
grams; and 
‘‘(C) for each institution of higher learning, for 
the most recent academic year for which information 
is available— 
‘‘(i) whether the institution is public, pri-
vate nonprofit, or proprietary for-profit; 
‘‘(ii) the name of the national or regional 
accrediting agency that accredits the institution, 
including the contact information used by the 
agency to receive complaints from students; 
‘‘(iii) information on the State approving 
agency, including the contact information used 
by the agency to receive complaints from stu-
dents; 
‘‘(iv) whether the institution participates in 
any programs under title IV of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.); 
‘‘(v) the tuition and fees; 
‘‘(vi) the median amount of debt from Fed-
eral student loans under title IV of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) 
held by individuals upon completion of programs 
of education at the institution of higher learning
† HR 4057 EAS 
to other Internet websites that contain such information, 
including the Internet website of the Department of Edu-
cation, in a form that is comprehensive and easily under-
stood by veterans, members of the Armed Forces, and other 
individuals. 
‘‘(3)(A) If the Secretary of Veterans Affairs requires, 
for purposes of providing information pursuant to sub-
section (b)(5), information that has been reported, or infor-
mation that is similar to information that has been re-
ported, by an institution of higher learning to the Secretary 
of Education, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of 
Labor, or the heads of other Federal agencies under a provi-
sion of law other than under this section, the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs shall obtain the information the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs requires from the Secretary or head with 
the information rather than the institution of higher learn-
ing. 
‘‘(B) If the Secretary of Veterans Affairs requires, for 
purposes of providing information pursuant to subsection 
(b)(5), information from an institution of higher learning 
that has not been reported to another Federal agency, the 
Secretary shall, to the degree practicable, obtain such infor-
mation through the Secretary of Education.
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‘‘(d) CONSISTENCY WITH EXISTING EDUCATION POL-
ICY.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall en-
sure that— 
‘‘(1) the comprehensive policy is consistent with 
any requirements and initiatives resulting from Exec-
utive Order No. 13607; and 
‘‘(2) the efforts of the Secretary to implement the 
comprehensive policy do not duplicate the efforts 
being taken by any Federal agencies. 
‘‘(e) COMMUNICATION WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER 
LEARNING.—To the extent practicable, if the Secretary con-
siders it necessary to communicate with an institution of 
higher learning to carry out the comprehensive policy re-
quired by subsection (a), the Secretary shall carry out such 
communication through the use of a communication system 
of the Department of Education. 
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘institution of higher learning’ has 
the meaning given that term in section 3452(f) of this 
title. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘postsecondary education and 
training opportunities’ means any postsecondary pro-
gram of education, including apprenticeships and on- 
job training, for which the Secretary of Veterans Af-
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fairs provides assistance to a veteran or member of 
the Armed Forces.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended by 
adding after the item relating to section 3697A the 
following new item: 
‘‘3698. Comprehensive policy on providing education information to veterans.’’. 
(b) SURVEY.—In developing the policy required by sec-
tion 3698(a) of title 38, United States Code, as added by 
subsection (a), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall con-
duct a market survey to determine the availability of the 
following: 
(1) A commercially available off-the-shelf online 
tool that allows a veteran or member of the Armed 
Forces to assess whether the veteran or member is aca-
demically ready to engage in postsecondary education 
and training opportunities and whether the veteran 
or member would need any remedial preparation be-
fore beginning such opportunities. 
(2) A commercially available off-the-shelf online 
tool that provides a veteran or member of the Armed 
Forces with a list of providers of postsecondary edu-
cation and training opportunities based on criteria 
selected by the veteran or member. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Af-
† HR 4057 EAS 
fairs shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 
a report that includes— 
(1) a description of the policy developed by the 
Secretary under section 3698(a) of title 38, United 
States Code, as added by subsection (a); 
(2) a plan of the Secretary to implement such 
policy; and 
(3) the results of the survey conducted under sub-
section (b), including whether the Secretary plans to 
implement the tools described in such subsection. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.— 
The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Congress’’ 
means— 
(A) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions of the Senate; and 
(B) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and 
the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
of the House of Representatives. 
(2) 
COMMERCIALLY
AVAILABLE
OFF-THE- 
SHELF.—The term ‘‘commercially available off-the- 
shelf’’ has the meaning given that term in section 104 
of title 41, United States Code.
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(3) POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION AND TRAINING 
OPPORTUNITIES.—The term ‘‘postsecondary education 
and training opportunities’’ means any postsec-
ondary program of education, including apprentice-
ships and on-job training, for which the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs provides assistance to a veteran or 
member of the Armed Forces. 
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN USES OF INDUCEMENTS 
BY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 
Section 3696 of title 38, United States Code, is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary shall not approve under this 
chapter any course offered by an educational institution if 
the educational institution provides any commission, 
bonus, or other incentive payment based directly or indi-
rectly on success in securing enrollments or financial aid 
to any persons or entities engaged in any student recruiting 
or admission activities or in making decisions regarding 
the award of student financial assistance. 
‘‘(2) To the degree practicable, the Secretary shall 
carry out paragraph (1) in a manner that is consistent 
with the Secretary of Education’s enforcement of section 
487(a)(20) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1094(a)(20)).’’.
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SEC. 3. DEDICATED POINTS OF CONTACT FOR SCHOOL CER-
TIFYING OFFICIALS. 
Section 3684 of title 38, United States Code, is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(d) Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this subsection, the Secretary shall ensure that the 
Department provides personnel of educational institutions 
who are charged with submitting reports or certifications 
to the Secretary under this section with assistance in pre-
paring and submitting such reports or certifications.’’. 
SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON AWARDS AND BONUSES TO EM-
PLOYEES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF-
FAIRS. 
For fiscal year 2013, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
may not pay more than $395,000,000 in awards or bonuses 
under chapter 45 or 53 of title 5, United States Code, or 
any other awards or bonuses authorized under such title. 
Attest: 
Secretary.