I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3971 
To amend titles 5 and 38, United States Code, to clarify the veteran status 
of an individual based on the attendance of the individual at a pre-
paratory school of a service academy, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 5, 2015 
Mr. ISSA (for himself and Ms. DUCKWORTH) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addi-
tion to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To amend titles 5 and 38, United States Code, to clarify 
the veteran status of an individual based on the attend-
ance of the individual at a preparatory school of a service 
academy, 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 ‘‘Support Earned Rec-
ognition for Veterans Act’’ or the ‘‘SERV Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF VETERAN STATUS. 
(a) CLARIFICATION OF DEFINITION OF MILITARY 
SERVICE.—Section 101 of title 38, United States Code, 
is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (21)(D), by inserting after 
‘‘Naval Academy’’ the following: ‘‘(but, except for 
purposes of chapter 17 of this title in accordance 
with section 107(e)(2), does not include any service 
performed by a student at a preparatory school of 
a service academy who is not otherwise a member of 
the Armed Forces)’’; 
(2) in paragraph (22), by inserting before the 
period at the end the following: ‘‘or, except for pur-
poses of chapter 17 of this title in accordance with 
section 107(e)(2), duty performed by a student at a 
preparatory school of a service academy who is not 
otherwise a member of the Armed Forces’’; and 
(3) in paragraph (23), by adding after the pe-
riod at the end the following: ‘‘Except for purposes 
of chapter 17 of this title in accordance with section 
107(e)(2), such term does not include duty per-
formed by a student at a preparatory school of a 
service academy who is not otherwise a member of 
the Armed Forces.’’. 
(b) SERVICE DEEMED NOT TO BE ACTIVE SERV-
ICE.—Section 107 of title 38, United States Code, is 
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amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(e)(1) Except as provided by paragraph (2), duty 
performed by a student at a preparatory school of a serv-
ice academy who is not otherwise a member of the Armed 
Forces shall not be deemed to have been active military, 
naval, or air service for the purposes of any of the laws 
administered by the Secretary, regardless of whether the 
student was injured or disabled as a result of such duty. 
‘‘(2) Chapter 17 of this title shall apply to an indi-
vidual described in paragraph (1) with respect to fur-
nishing hospital care and medical services solely for an in-
jury or disability incurred by the individual as a result 
of military training related to future active duty service 
performed as a student during the course of required 
training at a preparatory school of a service academy. An 
individual who receives such care and services under this 
paragraph may not be treated as a veteran for the pur-
poses of any other provision of law solely by reason of re-
ceiving such care and services under this paragraph.’’. 
(c) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS.—Section 8127(l) 
of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at 
the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(3) The term ‘veteran’, in accordance with sec-
tions 101 and 107 of this title, does not include an 
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individual whose veteran status is based solely on 
the attendance of the individual as a student at a 
preparatory school of a service academy, regardless 
of whether the individual was injured or disabled as 
a result of duty performed as such a student.’’. 
(d) PREFERENCE ELIGIBLE.—Section 2108 of title 
5, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 
and inserting a semicolon; 
(2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(6) an individual whose veteran status is based 
solely on the attendance of the individual as a stu-
dent at a preparatory school of a service academy, 
regardless of whether the individual was injured or 
disabled as a result of duty performed as such a stu-
dent, may not be treated as a ‘veteran’, ‘disabled 
veteran’, or ‘preference eligible’.’’. 
Æ 
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