SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Vet-
erans Benefits Act of 2003’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this 
Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Expansion of Montgomery GI Bill education benefits for certain self-em-
ployment training. 
Sec. 3. Extension in period of eligibility for survivors’ and dependents’ education 
benefits for individuals who are involuntarily ordered to full-
time National Guard duty. 
Sec. 4. Extension of Veterans’ Advisory Committee on Education. 
Sec. 5. Repeal of provisions relating to obsolete education loan program. 
Sec. 6. Retention of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation for surviving 
spouses remarrying after age 55. 
Sec. 7. Eligibility of surviving spouses who remarry for burial in national ceme-
teries. 
Sec. 8. Permanent authority for State cemetery grants. 
Sec. 9. Reinstatement of veterans vocational training program for certain pension 
recipients. 
Sec. 10. Increase in amounts for certain adaptive benefits for disabled veterans. 
Sec. 11. Presumptions of service-connection relating to diseases and disabilities of 
former prisoners of war. 
Sec. 12. Extension of spina bifida benefits for children of Vietnam-era veterans. 
Sec. 13. Permanent authority for housing loans for members of the Selected Re-
serve. 
Sec. 14. Adjustment to home loan fees and uniformity of fees for qualifying Re-
serve members with fees for active duty veterans. 
Sec. 15. Reinstatement of minimum requirements for sale of vendee loans. 
Sec. 16. Rate of payment of benefits for certain Filipino veterans and their sur-
vivors residing in the United States. 
Sec. 17. Burial benefits for new Philippine scouts residing in the United States. 
Sec. 18. Extension of authority to maintain regional office in the Republic of the 
Philippines. 
Sec. 19. Outstationing of transition assistance program personnel. 
Sec. 20. Forfeiture of benefits for subversive activities. 
Sec. 21. Technical amendments related to Jobs for Veterans Act. 
Sec. 22. Technical and conforming relating to establishment of Social Security 
Administration as an independent agency.
SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF MONTGOMERY GI BILL EDUCATION 
BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN SELF-EMPLOYMENT 
TRAINING. 
(a) DEFINITION OF TRAINING ESTABLISHMENT.—Sec-
tion 3452(e) of title 38, United States Code, is amended 
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by striking ‘‘means any’’ and all that follows and inserting 
‘‘means any of the following: 
‘‘(1) An establishment providing apprentice or 
other training on the job, including those under the 
supervision of a college or university or any State de-
partment of education. 
‘‘(2) An establishment providing self-employment 
on-job training consisting of full-time training for a 
period of less than six months that is needed or ac-
cepted for purposes of obtaining licensure to engage in 
a self-employment occupation or required for owner-
ship and operation of a franchise that is the objective 
of the training. 
‘‘(3) A State board of vocational education. 
‘‘(4) A Federal or State apprenticeship registra-
tion agency. 
‘‘(5) A joint apprenticeship committee estab-
lished pursuant to the Act of August 16, 1937, popu-
larly known as the ‘National Apprenticeship Act’ (29 
U.S.C. 50 et seq.). 
‘‘(6) An agency of the Federal Government au-
thorized to supervise such training.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub-
section (a) shall take effect on the date that is six months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply 
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to self-employment on-job training approved and pursued 
on or after that date. 
SEC. 3. EXTENSION IN PERIOD OF ELIGIBILITY FOR SUR-
VIVORS’ AND DEPENDENTS’ EDUCATION BEN-
EFITS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE INVOLUN-
TARILY ORDERED TO FULL-TIME NATIONAL 
GUARD DUTY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3512(h) of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or is involuntarily 
ordered to full-time National Guard duty under section 
502(f) of title 32,’’ after ‘‘title 10,’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub-
section (a) shall take effect as of September 11, 2001.
SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF VETERANS’ ADVISORY COMMITTEE 
ON EDUCATION. 
(a) EXTENSION.—Subsection (c) of section 3692 of title 
38, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘December 
31, 2003’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2009’’. 
(b) 
MODIFICATION
OF
MEMBERSHIP
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—The second sentence of subsection (a) of such sec-
tion is amended by striking ‘‘World War II, the Korean 
conflict era, the post-Korean conflict era,’’. 
(c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Such section is further 
amended by striking ‘‘chapter 106’’ each place it appears 
and inserting ‘‘chapter 1606’’. 
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SEC. 5. REPEAL OF PROVISIONS RELATING TO OBSOLETE 
EDUCATION LOAN PROGRAM. 
(a) TERMINATION OF PROGRAM.—Subchapter III of 
chapter 36 of title 38, United States Code, is repealed. 
(b) TRANSFER OF LOAN FUND BALANCE.—Any bal-
ance as of the date of the enactment of this Act in the De-
partment of Veterans Affairs Education Loan Fund shall 
be transferred to the Department of Veterans Affairs Read-
justment Benefits Account. 
(c) DISCHARGE OF LIABILITY.—The Secretary of Vet-
erans Affairs shall discharge any outstanding liability of 
a veteran under such subchapter. Any overpayment de-
clared under section 3698(e)(1) of that subchapter shall be 
waived without further process on the date on which funds 
are transferred under subsection (b). 
(d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at 
the beginning of chapter 36 of such title is amended by 
striking the items relating to subchapter III and sections 
3698 and 3699. 
(e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) Section 3462(a) 
of such title is amended by striking paragraph (2). 
(2) Section 3485(e)(1) of such title by striking ‘‘(other 
than an education loan under subchapter III)’’. 
(3) Section 3512 of such title is amended by striking 
subsection (f).
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SEC. 6. RETENTION OF DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY COM-
PENSATION FOR SURVIVING SPOUSES RE-
MARRYING AFTER AGE 55. 
(a) EXCEPTION TO TERMINATION OF BENEFITS UPON 
REMARRIAGE.—Section 103(d)(2)(B) of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘1311 or’’ after 
‘‘under section’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub-
section (a) shall take effect on—
(1) the first day of the first month that begins 
after the date of the enactment of this Act; or 
(2) the first day of the fiscal year that begins in 
the calendar year in which this Act is enacted, if later 
than the date specified in paragraph (1). 
(c) RETROACTIVE BENEFITS PROHIBITED.—No benefit 
may be paid to any person by reason of the amendment 
made by subsection (a) for any period before the effective 
date specified in subsection (b). 
(d) APPLICATION FOR BENEFITS.—In the case of an 
individual who but for having remarried would be eligible 
for dependency and indemnity compensation under section 
1311 of title 38, United States Code, and whose remarriage 
was before the date of the enactment of this Act and after 
the individual had attained age 55, the individual shall be 
eligible for such compensation by reason of the amendment 
made by subsection (a) only if the individual submits an 
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application for such compensation to the Secretary of Vet-
erans Affairs not later than the end of the one-year period 
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 7. ELIGIBILITY OF SURVIVING SPOUSES WHO RE-
MARRY FOR BURIAL IN NATIONAL CEME-
TERIES. 
(a) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 2402(5) of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘(which for purposes 
of this chapter includes an unremarried surviving spouse 
who had a subsequent remarriage which was terminated by 
death or divorce)’’ and inserting ‘‘(which for purposes of 
this chapter includes a surviving spouse who had a subse-
quent remarriage)’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub-
section (a) shall apply with respect to deaths occurring on 
or after January 1, 2000. 
SEC. 8. PERMANENT AUTHORITY FOR STATE CEMETERY 
GRANTS. 
Paragraph (2) of section 2408(a) of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘for fiscal year 1999 and for each 
succeeding fiscal year through fiscal year 2004’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sen-
tence: ‘‘Funds appropriated under the preceding sen-
tence shall remain available until expended.’’. 
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SEC. 
9. 
REINSTATEMENT 
OF 
VETERANS 
VOCATIONAL 
TRAINING PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN PENSION 
RECIPIENTS. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW PROGRAM PERIOD.—
Subsection (a)(3) of section 1524 of title 38, United States 
Code, is amended by striking ‘‘the period beginning on Feb-
ruary 1, 1985, and ending on December 31, 1995’’ and in-
serting ‘‘the five-year period beginning on the date of the 
enactment of the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (b)(4) of 
such section is amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 1995’’ 
and inserting ‘‘the end of the program period’’. 
(c) OUTREACH.—Such section is further amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(f) The Secretary shall ensure that the availability 
of vocational training under this section is made known 
through a variety of means, including the Internet and an-
nouncements in Department publications and other vet-
erans’ publications.’’. 
(d) REPORTS.—Such section, as amended by sub-
section (c), is further amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection: 
‘‘(g) Not later than two years after the date of the en-
actment of the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003, and each year 
thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on 
Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives a report on the operation of this section. The report 
shall set forth an evaluation of the vocational training pro-
vided under this section for the period involved, and shall 
include an analysis of the cost-effectiveness of the vocational 
training provided under this section as well as data on the 
entered-employment rate of veterans pursuing such voca-
tional training.’’. 
(e) STYLISTIC AMENDMENTS.—Such section is further 
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘of Veterans Affairs’’ in sub-
section (a)(1); and 
(2) by striking ‘‘of this section’’ in subsections 
(a)(2), (b)(1), (b)(4) (both places it appears), (c), (d), 
and (e).
SEC. 10. INCREASE IN AMOUNTS FOR CERTAIN ADAPTIVE 
BENEFITS FOR DISABLED VETERANS. 
(a) INCREASE
IN ASSISTANCE AMOUNT
FOR SPE-
CIALLY ADAPTED HOUSING.—Section 2102 of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended—
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) of 
subsection (a), by striking ‘‘$48,000’’ and inserting 
‘‘$50,000’’; and 
(2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘$9,250’’ 
and inserting ‘‘$10,000’’. 
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(b) INCREASE IN AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE FOR AUTO-
MOBILE AND ADAPTIVE EQUIPMENT FOR CERTAIN DIS-
ABLED VETERANS.—Section 3902(a) of such title is amend-
ed by striking ‘‘$9,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$11,000’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by sub-
sections (a) and (b) shall apply with respect to assistance 
furnished on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 11. PRESUMPTIONS OF SERVICE-CONNECTION RELAT-
ING TO DISEASES AND DISABILITIES OF 
FORMER PRISONERS OF WAR. 
Subsection (b) of section 1112 of title 38, United States 
Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(b)(1) For the purposes of section 1110 of this title 
and subject to the provisions of section 1113 of this title, 
in the case of a veteran who is a former prisoner of war—
‘‘(A) a disease specified in paragraph (2) shall 
be considered to have been incurred in or aggravated 
by such service, notwithstanding that there is no 
record of such disease during the period of service; 
and 
‘‘(B) if the veteran was detained or interned as 
a prisoner of war for not less than thirty days, a dis-
ease specified in paragraph (3) which became mani-
fest to a degree of 10 percent or more after active 
military, naval, or air service shall be considered to
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have been incurred in or aggravated by such service, 
notwithstanding that there is no record of such dis-
ease during the period of service. 
‘‘(2) The diseases specified in this paragraph are the 
following: 
‘‘(A) Psychosis. 
‘‘(B) Any of the anxiety states. 
‘‘(C) Dysthymic disorder (or depressive neu-
rosis). 
‘‘(D) Organic residuals of frostbite, if the Sec-
retary determines that the veteran was interned in 
climatic conditions consistent with the occurrence of 
frostbite. 
‘‘(E) Post-traumatic osteoarthritis. 
‘‘(3) The diseases specified in this paragraph are the 
following: 
‘‘(A) Avitaminosis. 
‘‘(B) Beriberi (including beriberi heart disease). 
‘‘(C) Chronic dysentery. 
‘‘(D) Helminthiasis. 
‘‘(E) Malnutrition (including optic atrophy asso-
ciated with malnutrition). 
‘‘(F) Pellagra. 
‘‘(G) Any other nutritional deficiency. 
‘‘(H) Cirrhosis of the liver. 
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