I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5009 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide additional entitlement 
to Post-9/11 Educational Assistance to certain veterans and members 
of the Armed Forces who require extra time to complete remedial and 
deficiency courses, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 8, 2019 
Mr. HORSFORD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide additional 
entitlement to Post-9/11 Educational Assistance to cer-
tain veterans and members of the Armed Forces who 
require extra time to complete remedial and deficiency 
courses, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Education 
and Transfer Extension Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘VET Exten-
sion Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Individuals who are entitled to Post-9/11 
Educational Assistance who require remedial and de-
ficiency courses exhaust their entitlement before 
completing a program of education with such assist-
ance. 
(2) Members of the Armed Forces who are enti-
tled to Post-9/11 Educational Assistance and who do 
not have dependents while serving as members of the 
Armed Forces are not able to transfer their entitle-
ment to such assistance when they come to have de-
pendents. 
SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL ENTITLEMENT TO POST-9/11 EDU-
CATIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR CERTAIN VET-
ERANS 
AND 
MEMBERS 
OF 
THE 
ARMED 
FORCES WHO REQUIRE EXTRA TIME TO COM-
PLETE REMEDIAL COURSES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 33 of 
title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 3320A. Additional assistance 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The number of months of edu-
cational assistance under section 3313 of this title an eligi-
ble individual is entitled to under section 3312 of this title 
is hereby increased by the lesser of— 
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‘‘(1) 15 months; or 
‘‘(2) in the case of an eligible individual who at-
tempted or completed remedial and deficiency 
courses as described in subsection (b)(4), the full- 
time equivalent number of months of educational as-
sistance used under this chapter to complete such 
remedial and deficiency courses. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—For purposes of this section, an 
eligible individual is an individual— 
‘‘(1) who is or was entitled to educational as-
sistance under section 3311 of this title; 
‘‘(2) has received educational assistance under 
this chapter at any time during the most recent six 
month period; 
‘‘(3) who has used all of the educational assist-
ance to which the individual is entitled under this 
chapter; and 
‘‘(4) who has attempted or completed remedial 
and deficiency courses in pursuit of completing a 
program of education at an institution of higher 
learning and in doing so requires more than the 
standard 120 semester (or 180 quarter) credit hours 
for completion of a program of education at an insti-
tution of higher learning. 
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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‘‘(1) The term ‘institution of higher learning’ 
has the meaning given such term in section 3452 of 
this title. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘remedial and deficiency course’ 
means a course offered by an institution of higher 
learning that is designed to overcome a deficiency.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 3320 the following new 
item: 
‘‘3320A. Additional assistance.’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3695 of 
title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(d) In the case of an individual who receives addi-
tional educational assistance under section 3320A of this 
title, the number of months specified in subsection (a) 
shall instead be construed to specify the number of months 
that is equal to the sum of— 
‘‘(1) such number of months, and 
‘‘(2) the amount of the increase in number of 
months of educational assistance to which the indi-
vidual is entitled pursuant to section 3320A(a) of 
such title.’’. 
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SEC. 4. INCREASED FLEXIBILITY IN TRANSFERRING ENTI-
TLEMENT TO POST-9/11 EDUCATIONAL AS-
SISTANCE. 
Section 3319 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (e)— 
(A) 
by 
redesignating 
paragraphs 
(1) 
through (3) as subparagraphs (A) through (C), 
respectively, and indenting such subparagraphs 
appropriately; 
(B) in the matter before subparagraph 
(A), as redesignated by subparagraph (A), by 
striking ‘‘An’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph (2): 
‘‘(2) TIMING OF DESIGNATION.—In the case of 
an individual who elects to transfer entitlement 
under subsection (a) but who at the time of the elec-
tion does not have any eligible dependents, the indi-
vidual may carry out the designations required by 
paragraph (1) when the individual comes to have an 
eligible dependent to whom the individual would like 
to transfer entitlement under this section.’’; and 
(2) in subsection (f)— 
(A) by striking paragraph (1); 
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(B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and 
(3) as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively; and 
(C) in paragraph (1)(A), as redesignated 
by subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘, including 
by designating a new dependent or dependents 
to receive the unused entitlement’’ before the 
semicolon. 
Æ 
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