H. R. 3504 
One Hundred Sixteenth Congress 
of the 
United States of America 
AT THE SECOND SESSION 
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday, 
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty 
An Act 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for improvements to the specially 
adapted housing program and educational assistance programs of the Department 
of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ryan Kules and Paul Benne 
Specially Adaptive Housing Improvement Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO ASSIST 
BLIND VETERANS WHO HAVE NOT LOST USE OF A LEG IN 
ACQUIRING SPECIALLY ADAPTED HOUSING. 
Section 2101 of title 38, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(2)— 
(A) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking ‘‘permanent and 
total’’; and 
(B) in subparagraph (B), 
(i) in clauses (i), (iii), (iv), and (v), by inserting 
‘‘permanent and total’’ before ‘‘disability’’; and 
(ii) in clause (ii)— 
(I) by inserting ‘‘permanent’’ before ‘‘dis-
ability’’; 
(II) by striking ‘‘due to—’’ and inserting ‘‘due 
to blindness in both eyes, having central visual 
acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with 
the use of a standard correcting lens. For the 
purposes of this clause, an eye with a limitation 
in the fields of vision such that the widest diameter 
of the visual field subtends an angle no greater 
than 20 degrees shall be considered as having 
a central visual acuity of 20/200 or less.’’; and 
(III) by striking subclauses (I) and (II); and 
(2) in subsection (b)(2)— 
(A) by striking subparagraph (A); and 
(B) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as 
subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively. 
SEC. 3. INCREASE IN AMOUNTS OF SPECIALLY ADAPTED HOUSING 
ASSISTANCE PROVIDED BY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
AFFAIRS. 
(a) INCREASE OF NUMBER OF GRANTS PER VETERAN.—Section 
2102(d)(3) of such title is amended—
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(1) by striking ‘‘No veteran’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to sub-
section (f), no veteran’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘three’’ and inserting ‘‘six’’. 
(b) INCREASE
IN NUMBER
OF APPLICATIONS AUTHORIZED TO 
BE APPROVED.—Section 2101(a)(4) of such title is amended by 
striking ‘‘30 applications’’ and inserting ‘‘120 applications’’. 
(c) INCREASE IN MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE FOR ADAPTA-
TION TO VETERAN’S RESIDENCE.—Section 2102(b)(2) of such title 
is amended by striking ‘‘$12,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$19,733’’. 
(d) INCREASE
IN AGGREGATE AMOUNT
OF ASSISTANCE
FOR 
ACQUISITION
OF
HOUSING
WITH
SPECIAL
FEATURES.—Section 
2102(d)(1) of such title is amended by striking ‘‘$63,780’’ and 
inserting ‘‘$98,492’’. 
(e) INCREASE
IN AGGREGATE AMOUNT
OF ASSISTANCE
FOR 
ADAPTATIONS
TO VETERANS’ RESIDENCES.—Section 2102(d)(2) of 
such title is amended by striking ‘‘$12,756’’ and inserting ‘‘$19,733’’. 
(f) EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICATION.—The amendments made 
by this section shall take effect on October 1, 2020. 
SEC. 4. PROVISION OF ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS OF SPECIALLY ADAPTED 
HOUSING ASSISTANCE FOR CERTAIN VETERANS. 
Section 2102 of such title, as amended by section 3, is further 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(f)(1) Beginning October 1, 2030, notwithstanding the aggre-
gate amounts specified in subsection (d), a covered veteran may 
apply for and receive an additional amount of assistance under 
subsection (a) or (b) of section 2101 of this title in an amount 
that does not exceed half of the amount specified in subsection 
(d). 
‘‘(2) In this subsection, a covered veteran is a veteran who— 
‘‘(A) is described in subsection (a)(2) or (b)(2) of section 
2101 of this title; 
‘‘(B) as of the date of the veteran’s application for assistance 
under paragraph (1), most recently received assistance under 
this chapter more than 10 years before such date; and 
‘‘(C) lives in a home that the Secretary determines does 
not have adaptations that are reasonably necessary because 
of the veteran’s disability.’’. 
SEC. 5. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN PREPARATORY COURSES AS PRO-
GRAMS OF EDUCATION FOR PURPOSES OF DEPARTMENT OF 
VETERANS AFFAIRS EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 33 of title 38, United States Code, 
is amended by inserting after section 3315A the following new 
section: 
‘‘§ 3315B. Preparatory courses for licensure, certification, or 
national tests 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An individual entitled to educational assist-
ance under this chapter shall also be entitled to payment for a 
covered preparatory course. 
‘‘(b) AMOUNT.—The amount of educational assistance payable 
under this chapter for a covered preparatory course is the lesser 
of— 
‘‘(1) the fee charged for the covered preparatory course; 
or
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‘‘(2) the amount of entitlement available to the individual 
under this chapter at the time of payment for the covered 
preparatory course under this section. 
‘‘(c) CHARGE AGAINST ENTITLEMENT.—The number of months 
of entitlement charged an individual under this chapter for a cov-
ered preparatory course shall be pro-rated based on the actual 
amount of the fee charged for the covered preparatory course rel-
ative to the rate for 1 month payable— 
‘‘(1) for the academic year beginning on August 1, 2020, 
$2,042; or 
‘‘(2) for an academic year beginning on any subsequent 
August 1, the amount for the previous academic year beginning 
on August 1 under this subsection, as increased by the percent-
age increase equal to the most recent percentage increase deter-
mined under section 3015(h). 
‘‘(d) COVERED PREPARATORY COURSE DEFINED.—In this section, 
the term ‘covered preparatory course’ means a course— 
‘‘(1) for a licensing or certification test that is required 
or used to enter into, maintain, or advance in employment 
in a predetermined and identified vocation or profession; and 
‘‘(2) that has been approved by the State approving agency 
concerned.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at the begin-
ning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating 
to section 3315A the following new item: 
‘‘3315B. Preparatory courses for licensure, certification, or national tests.’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 3532(g) of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or a covered preparatory 
course (as that term is defined in section 3315B(a) of this 
title)’’ after ‘‘or national test providing an opportunity for course 
credit at institutions of higher learning described in section 
3501(a)(5) of this title’’; and 
(2) in paragraphs (2) and (3), by inserting ‘‘or covered 
preparatory course’’ after ‘‘test’’ each place it appears. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by subsection (a) 
shall take effect on August 1, 2021. 
SEC. 6. IMPROVEMENT TO WORK-STUDY ALLOWANCE PROGRAM. 
(a) PAYMENT OF ALLOWANCE.—Subsection (a) of section 3485 
of title 38, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Individuals’’ and inserting 
‘‘In accordance with paragraph (4), individuals’’; 
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), and (6) as para-
graphs (5), (6), and (7), respectively; and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(4)(A) With respect to covered work-study activities, the Sec-
retary shall carry out this section by providing to participating 
educational institutions an annual amount for the institution to 
use in paying work-study allowance under paragraph (1) to individ-
uals enrolled at the institution. 
‘‘(B) With respect to a participating educational institution that 
participated in the work-study program under this section during 
the academic year beginning August 1, 2018, the Secretary shall