H. R. 5545 
One Hundred Seventeenth Congress 
of the 
United States of America 
AT THE FIRST SESSION 
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, 
the fourth day of January, two thousand and twenty-one 
An Act 
To extend certain expiring provisions of law relating to benefits provided under 
Department of Veterans Affairs educational assistance programs during COVID– 
19 pandemic, 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 ‘‘Responsible Education Mitigating 
Options and Technical Extensions Act’’ or the ‘‘REMOTE Act’’. 
SEC. 2. EXTENSIONS OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF LAW RELATING TO 
BENEFITS PROVIDED UNDER DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
AFFAIRS EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS DURING 
COVID–19 PANDEMIC. 
(a) EXTENSION OF STUDENT VETERAN CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE 
ACT
OF 2020.—Section 2 of the Student Veteran Coronavirus 
Response Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–140; 38 U.S.C. 3031 note), 
as amended by section 5202(a) of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2020 (Division E of Public Law 
116–159), is further amended by striking ‘‘December 21, 2021’’ 
and inserting ‘‘June 1, 2022’’. 
(b) EXTENSION OF PERIOD FOR CONTINUATION OF DEPARTMENT 
OF VETERANS AFFAIRS EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE BENEFITS
FOR 
CERTAIN
PROGRAMS
OF
EDUCATION
CONVERTED
TO
DISTANCE 
LEARNING
BY
REASON
OF
EMERGENCIES
AND
HEALTH-RELATED 
SITUATIONS.—Section 1(b) of Public Law 116–128 (38 U.S.C. 3001 
note prec.), as amended by section 5202(b) of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2020 (Division E of 
Public Law 116–159), is further amended by striking ‘‘December 
21, 2021’’ and inserting ‘‘June 1, 2022’’. 
SEC. 
3. 
AMENDMENTS 
TO 
REQUIREMENTS 
FOR 
EDUCATIONAL 
INSTITUTIONS 
PARTICIPATING 
IN 
THE 
EDUCATIONAL 
ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VET-
ERANS AFFAIRS. 
(a) WAIVER
OF VERIFICATION
OF ENROLLMENT
FOR CERTAIN 
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.—Section 3313(l) of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(4) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the requirements 
of this subsection for an educational institution that the Sec-
retary has determined uses a flat tuition and fee structure 
that would make the use of a second verification under this 
subsection unnecessary.’’.
H. R. 5545—2 
(b) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORITY TO DISAPPROVE OF COURSES.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Subsection (f) of section 3679 of title 
38, United States Code, is amended— 
(A) in paragraph (2)(B)— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘, except for the recruitment of 
foreign students residing in foreign countries who are 
not eligible to receive Federal student assistance’’ after 
‘‘assistance’’; and 
(ii) by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph: 
‘‘(C) In determining whether a violation of subparagraph 
(B) has occurred, the State approving agency, or the Secretary 
when acting in the place of the State approving agency, shall 
construe the requirements of this paragraph in accordance with 
the regulations and guidance prescribed by the Secretary of 
Education under section 487(a)(20) of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(20)).’’; 
(B) by redesignating paragraph (7) as paragraph (8); 
and 
(C) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following new 
paragraph (7): 
‘‘(7) This subsection shall not apply to an educational institu-
tion— 
‘‘(A) located in a foreign country; or 
‘‘(B) that provides to a covered individual consumer 
information regarding costs of the program of education 
(including financial aid available to such covered individual) 
using a form or template developed by the Secretary of Edu-
cation.’’. 
(2) APPLICATION DATE.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
may not carry out subsection (f) of section 3679 of title 38, 
United States Code, until August 1, 2022, except that, begin-
ning on June 15, 2022, an educational institution may submit 
an application for a waiver under paragraph (5) of such sub-
section. 
(3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Subsection (c) of section 
3696 of such title is amended— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘An educational’’; 
(B) by inserting ‘‘, except for the recruitment of foreign 
students residing in foreign countries who are not eligible 
to receive Federal student assistance’’ after ‘‘assistance’’; 
and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(2) In determining whether a violation of paragraph (1) has 
occurred, the Under Secretary for Benefits shall construe the 
requirements of this paragraph in accordance with the regulations 
and guidance prescribed by the Secretary of Education under section 
487(a)(20) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1094(a)(20)).’’. 
(c) EXEMPTION OF FOREIGN SCHOOLS FROM CERTAIN REQUIRE-
MENTS.— 
(1) INFORMATION RELATING TO TESTS.—Section 3689(c) of 
title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(3) Subparagraph (G) of paragraph (1) shall not apply with 
respect to an educational institution located in a foreign country.’’.
H. R. 5545—3 
(2) EXAMINATION OF RECORDS.—Section 3690(c) of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) 
Except as provided in paragraph (2), notwithstanding’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to the records and accounts— 
‘‘(A) of an educational institution located in a foreign 
country; and 
‘‘(B) that pertain to an individual who is not receiving 
educational assistance under this chapter.’’. 
SEC. 4. PROVISION OF EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE TO STUDENTS WHO 
ARE ‘‘ROUNDING OUT’’ UNDER EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 
PROGRAMS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3680(a) of title 38, United States 
Code, is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), in the matter before subparagraph 
(A), by striking ‘‘in paragraph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘in paragraphs 
(2) and (3)’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), in the case of an 
eligible veteran or eligible person who is pursuing a program 
of education on less than a half-time basis during a period 
that is the last semester, term, or academic period the veteran 
or person will be enrolled in the program of education because 
the veteran or person will complete the program of education 
at the end of that semester, term, or academic period, the 
Secretary may, pursuant to such regulations as the Secretary 
shall prescribe, provide to the veteran or person educational 
assistance under chapter 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, or 35 of this 
title or under chapter 1606 of title 10, including a monthly 
housing stipend described in section 3313(c) of this title, on 
the basis of the total number of credits or courses in which 
the veteran or person is enrolled, if— 
‘‘(A) the number of credits the veteran or person needs 
to complete the program of education is less than the 
number of credits that would constitute enrollment on a 
more than half-time basis for that last semester, term, 
or academic period; and 
‘‘(B) the veteran or person— 
‘‘(i) is enrolled in, or has completed, every course 
offered by the program of education during the last 
semester, term, or academic period in which the vet-
eran or person is enrolled in the program of education; 
and 
‘‘(ii) enrolls in an additional course that is not 
required for the completion of such program of edu-
cation and the enrollment in the non-required course 
in addition to the required course or courses in which 
the veteran or person is enrolled constitutes enrollment 
on more than a half-time basis.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by subsection 
(a) shall take effect on January 1, 2022, and apply with respect 
to any semester, term, or academic period that begins on or after 
that date.
H. R. 5545—4 
SEC. 5. EXTENSION OF RELIEF RELATING TO VETERANS EDUCATIONAL 
ASSISTANCE. 
(a) EXTENSION OF MODIFICATION OF TIME LIMITATIONS ON USE 
OF
ENTITLEMENT
TO
MONTGOMERY
GI BILL
AND
VOCATIONAL 
REHABILITATION
AND
TRAINING.—Section 1105 of the Johnny 
Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits 
Improvement Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–315) is amended by 
striking ‘‘December 21, 2021’’ each place it appears and inserting 
‘‘June 1, 2022’’. 
(b) EXTENSION OF CONTINUATION OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
AFFAIRS EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE BENEFITS DURING COVID–19 
EMERGENCY.—Section 1102(e) of such Act is amended by striking 
‘‘December 21, 2021’’ and inserting ‘‘June 1, 2022’’. 
(c) EXTENSION OF PROVISIONS RELATING TO EFFECTS OF CLO-
SURE OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION AND MODIFICATION OF COURSES 
BY REASON OF COVID–19 EMERGENCY.—Section 1103(h) of such 
Act is amended by striking ‘‘December 21, 2021’’ and inserting 
‘‘June 1, 2022’’. 
(d) EXTENSION OF PROVISION RELATING TO PAYMENT OF EDU-
CATIONAL ASSISTANCE IN CASES OF WITHDRAWAL.—Section 1104(a) 
of such Act is amended by striking ‘‘December 21, 2021’’ and 
inserting ‘‘June 1, 2022’’. 
(e) EXTENSION OF PROVISION RELATING TO APPRENTICESHIP OR 
ON-JOB TRAINING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 1106(b) of such Act is 
amended by striking ‘‘December 21, 2021’’ and inserting ‘‘June 
1, 2022’’. 
(f) EXTENSION
OF PAYMENT
OF WORK-STUDY ALLOWANCES 
DURING EMERGENCY SITUATION.—Section 3 of the Student Veteran 
Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–140; 38 U.S.C. 
3485 note) is amended by striking ‘‘During the covered period’’ 
and inserting ‘‘During the period beginning on March 1, 2020, 
and ending on June 1, 2022’’. 
SEC. 6. ADJUSTMENTS OF CERTAIN LOAN FEES. 
The loan fee table in section 3729(b)(2) of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘October 1, 2030’’ each place 
it appears and inserting ‘‘January 14, 2031’’. 
SEC. 7. ELIMINATION OF CAP ON FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES OF THE 
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS WHO PROVIDE EQUAL 
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COUNSELING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 516 of title 38, United States Code, 
is amended— 
(1) by striking subsection (g); and 
(2) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (g). 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit 
to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House 
of Representatives a report regarding the effect of the amendment 
under subsection (a). 
SEC. 8. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying 
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined 
by reference to the latest statement titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of 
PAYGO Legislation’’ for this Act, submitted for printing in the
H. R. 5545—5 
Congressional Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Com-
mittee, provided that such statement has been submitted prior 
to the vote on passage. 
Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.