I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2523 
To amend the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to improve the COVID– 
19 Veteran Rapid Retraining Assistance program, to make certain tech-
nical corrections to the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans 
Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 14, 2021 
Mr. LEVIN of California (for himself and Mr. BOST) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in 
addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to improve 
the COVID–19 Veteran Rapid Retraining Assistance pro-
gram, to make certain technical corrections to the John-
ny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health 
Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Training in High-de-
mand Roles to Improve Veteran Employment Act’’ or the 
‘‘THRIVE Act’’. 
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO COVID–19 VETERAN RAPID RE-
TRAINING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 
Section 8006 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 
2021 (Public Law 117–2) is amended— 
(1) by striking paragraph (3) of subsection (c) 
and inserting the following new paragraph (3): 
‘‘(3) DETERMINATION OF HIGH-DEMAND OCCU-
PATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION.—In car-
rying out this section, the Secretary shall use 
the list of high-demand occupations prepared in 
conjunction with the Secretary of Labor. 
‘‘(B) MODIFICATIONS.—The Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs may add and remove occupa-
tions from the list under subparagraph (A) as 
the Secretary determines appropriate.’’; 
(2) in subsection (d)(3)— 
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
(A), by inserting ‘‘(other than such a program 
pursued solely through distance learning on a 
half-time basis or less)’’ after ‘‘a covered pro-
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gram of education under the retraining assist-
ance program under this section’’; and 
(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘less 
than a half-time basis’’ and inserting ‘‘a half- 
time basis or less’’; 
(3) by redesignating subsections (f), (g), and 
(h) as subsections (k), (l), and (m), respectively; 
(4) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol-
lowing new subsections: 
‘‘(f) EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of Vet-
erans Affairs, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, 
shall contact each veteran who pursues a covered program 
of education under this section— 
‘‘(1) not later than 30 days after the date on 
which the veteran begins the program of education 
to notify the veteran of the availability of employ-
ment placement services upon completion of the pro-
gram; and 
‘‘(2) not later than 14 days after the date on 
which the veteran completes, or terminates partici-
pation in, such program to facilitate the provision of 
employment placement services to such veteran. 
‘‘(g) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs shall seek to enter into a memorandum of 
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understanding with one or more qualified nonprofit 
organizations for the purpose of facilitating the em-
ployment of veterans who participate in the retrain-
ing assistance program under this section. 
‘‘(2) QUALIFIED NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.— 
For purposes of this subsection, a qualified non-
profit organization is a nonprofit organization 
that— 
‘‘(A) is an association of businesses; and 
‘‘(B) has at least two years of experience 
providing job placement services for veterans. 
‘‘(h) FOLLOW UP OUTREACH.—The Secretary of Vet-
erans Affairs, in coordination with the Secretary of Labor, 
shall contact each veteran who completes a covered pro-
gram of education under the retraining assistance pro-
gram under this section 30, 60, 90, and 180 days after 
the veteran completes such program of education to ask 
the veteran about the experience of the veteran in the re-
training assistance program and the veteran’s employment 
status. 
‘‘(i) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—Not later than the date 
that is one year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, and quarterly thereafter, the Secretary of Labor shall 
submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen-
ate and House of Representatives a report containing the 
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following information about veterans who participate in 
the retraining assistance program under this section: 
‘‘(1) The percentage of such veterans who 
found employment before the end of the second cal-
endar quarter after exiting the program. 
‘‘(2) The percentage of such veterans who 
found employment before the end of the fourth cal-
endar quarter after exiting the program. 
‘‘(3) The median earnings of all such veterans 
for the second quarter after exiting the program. 
‘‘(4) The percentage of such veterans who at-
tain a recognized postsecondary credential during 
the 12-month period after exiting the program. 
‘‘(j) COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT.—Not later 
than 180 days after the termination of the retraining as-
sistance program under subsection (l), the Comptroller 
General shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af-
fairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report 
on the outcomes and effectiveness of the program.’’; 
(5) in subsection (l), as so redesignated, by 
striking ‘‘No retraining assistance may be paid 
under this section after the date that is 21 months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act’’ and in-
serting ‘‘No retraining assistance may be paid under 
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this section for a covered program of education that 
begins on or after December 11, 2022’’; 
(6) in subsection (m), as so redesignated, by in-
serting at the end the following new sentences: 
‘‘Amounts made available to carry out this section 
shall be deposited in the Department of Veterans Af-
fairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, Readjust-
ment Benefits account. If any amounts so appro-
priated are deposited into a different account of the 
Department, the Secretary shall transfer an amount 
equal to such deposited amounts from the account to 
which the amounts were deposited to the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Admin-
istration, Readjustment Benefits account. Not more 
than $386,000,000 may be obligated or expended to 
carry out this section.’’; and 
(7) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(n) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘covered public health emer-
gency’ means the declaration— 
‘‘(A) of a public health emergency, based 
on an outbreak of COVID–19 by the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services under section 
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319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 247d); or 
‘‘(B) of a domestic emergency, based on an 
outbreak of COVID–19 by the President, the 
Secretary of Homeland Security, or State, or 
local authority. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘veteran’ means— 
‘‘(A) a person who served in the active 
military, naval, or air service, and who was dis-
charged or released therefrom under conditions 
other than dishonorable; or 
‘‘(B) a member of a reserve component of 
the Armed Forces who performs active service 
for a period of 30 days or longer by reason of 
the covered public health emergency. 
‘‘(3) The term ‘active service’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 101 of title 10, United 
States Code.’’. 
SEC. 3. INFORMATION PROVIDED BY DEPARTMENT OF VET-
ERANS 
AFFAIRS 
ABOUT 
POSTSECONDARY 
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 
(a) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED.— 
Subsection (c) of section 3698 of title 38, United States 
Code, is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)(C)— 
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‘‘(G) An Asian American and Native 
American Pacific Islander-serving institution, as 
such term is defined in section 320(b) of such 
Act (20 U.S.C. 1059g(b)).’’. 
(c) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by this 
section shall apply with respect to the information pro-
vided under section 3698 of title 38, United States Code, 
beginning on the date that is two years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 4. DELAY OF EFFECTIVE DATE FOR LIMITATION ON 
COLOCATION 
AND 
ADMINISTRATION 
OF 
STATE APPROVING AGENCIES. 
Section 1024 of the Johnny Isakson and David P. 
Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improve-
ment Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–315) is amended to 
read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 1024. LIMITATION ON COLOCATION AND ADMINIS-
TRATION OF STATE APPROVING AGENCIES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3671 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘ ‘(c) The Secretary may not recognize a State de-
partment or agency as the State approving agency for a 
State for purposes of this chapter if such department or 
agency is administered at, or colocated with, a university 
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or university system that offers courses or programs of 
education that are subject to approval under this chapter 
by the State approving agency for that State.’. 
‘‘(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall take effect on the date that is one 
year after the date of the enactment of this Act.’’. 
SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION OF APPLICABILITY OF TREATMENT 
OF CERTAIN FOR-PROFIT EDUCATIONAL IN-
STITUTIONS. 
(a) CLARIFICATION.—Section 1022(c) 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 inserting ‘‘, or the conversion of a 
for-profit educational institution to a public educational 
institution,’’ after ‘‘nonprofit educational institution’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall apply as if included in the enactment 
of the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans 
Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 (Pub-
lic Law 116–315). 
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SEC. 6. CLARIFICATIONS REGARDING REQUIREMENTS FOR 
EDUCATIONAL 
INSTITUTIONS 
PARTICI-
PATING IN THE EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 
PROGRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VET-
ERANS AFFAIRS. 
Subsection (f) of section 3679 of title 38, United 
States Code, as added by section 1018 of the Johnny Isak-
son and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and 
Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–315), 
is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)(E), by inserting ‘‘, to the 
maximum extent practicable,’’ after ‘‘including’’; 
(2) in paragraph (2)— 
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
(A), by inserting ‘‘, or any person with whom 
the institution has an agreement to provide 
educational programs, marketing, advertising, 
recruiting or admissions services,’’ after ‘‘edu-
cational institution’’; 
(B) in paragraph (A)(ii), by striking ‘‘1- 
month’’ and inserting ‘‘one-month’’; and 
(C) by striking subparagraph (B) and in-
serting the following new subparagraph (B): 
‘‘(B) Provides a commission, bonus, or other in-
centive payment based directly or indirectly on suc-
cess in securing enrollments or financial aid to any 
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persons or entities engaged in any student recruiting 
or admission activities or in making decisions re-
garding the award of student financial assistance.’’; 
(3) in paragraph (4)(A), by striking clause (ii) 
and inserting the following new clauses: 
‘‘(ii) Suspending the approval of the courses 
and programs of education offered by the edu-
cational institution by disapproving new enrollments 
of eligible veterans and eligible persons in each 
course or program of education offered by that edu-
cational institution. 
‘‘(iii) Revoking the approval of the courses and 
programs of education offered by the educational in-
stitution by disapproving all enrollments of eligible 
veterans and eligible persons in each course or pro-
gram of education offered by that educational insti-
tution’’; and 
(4) in paragraph (5)(A), by striking ‘‘1-aca-
demic-year period’’ and inserting ‘‘one-academic-year 
period’’. 
SEC. 7. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 
(a) TITLE 38.—Title 38, United States Code, is 
amended as follows: 
(1) The second section 1164, as added by sec-
tion 5501 the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, 
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M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improve-
ment Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–315), is redesig-
nated as section 1166 and transferred so as to ap-
pear after section 1165 (and the table of sections at 
the beginning of chapter 11 of such title is con-
formed accordingly). 
(2) Subsection (l) of section 3313, as added by 
section 1010 of such Act (as effective on August 1, 
2021), is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(l) VERIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall re-
quire— 
‘‘(A) each educational institution to submit 
to the Secretary verification of each individual 
who is enrolled in a course or program of edu-
cation at the educational institution and is re-
ceiving educational assistance under this chap-
ter— 
‘‘(i) not later than such time as the 
Secretary determines reasonable after the 
date on which the individual is enrolled; 
and 
‘‘(ii) not later than such time as the 
Secretary determines reasonable after the 
last date on which a student is able to 
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withdraw from the course or program of 
education without penalty; and 
‘‘(B) each individual who is enrolled in a 
course or program of education and is receiving 
educational assistance under this chapter to 
submit to the Secretary verification of such en-
rollment for each month during which the indi-
vidual is so enrolled and receiving such edu-
cational assistance. 
‘‘(2) FORM
OF
VERIFICATION.—Verification 
under this subsection shall be in an electronic form 
prescribed by the Secretary. 
‘‘(3) FAILURE
TO
SUBMIT
VERIFICATION.—If 
an individual fails to submit the verification required 
under paragraph (1)(B) for two consecutive months, 
the Secretary may not make a monthly housing sti-
pend payment to the individual under this section 
until the individual submits such verification.’’. 
(3) Section 3673A, as added by section 1013 of 
such Act, is amended— 
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘search-
able’’; and 
(B) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘search-
able’’ before ‘‘database’’. 
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(4) The subsection (f) of section 3679, as added 
by section 1017 of such Act, is redesignated as para-
graph (3) of subsection (a) of such section 3679 and 
is transferred so as to appear after paragraph (2) of 
such subsection. 
(5) Section 3696(g)(4)(A)(iii)(III), as amended 
by section 1020 of such Act, is amended by striking 
‘‘paragraph (3)(B) of this subsection’’ and inserting 
‘‘paragraph (3)’’. 
(b) JOHNNY ISAKSON AND DAVID P. ROE, M.D. VET-
ERANS HEALTH CARE AND BENEFITS IMPROVEMENT ACT 
OF 2020.—The Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. 
Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 
2020 (Public Law 116–315) is amended as follows: 
(1) In section 1013(a)(1), by inserting ‘‘of title 
38’’ after ‘‘of chapter 36’’. 
(2) In section 2205(c)— 
(A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘EFFEC-
TIVE DATE’’ and inserting ‘‘APPLICABILITY’’; 
and 
(B) by striking ‘‘the date that is two years 
after the date of the enactment of this Act’’ 
and inserting ‘‘the date of the enactment of this 
Act and shall apply with respect to grants ap-
plications submitted on or after the date that is 
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two years after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.’’ 
(3) In section 4101(b), by striking ‘‘sub-
chapter’’ and inserting ‘‘chapter’’. 
(4) In section 5501— 
(A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘of 
such title’’ and inserting ‘‘of title 38, United 
States Code’’; and 
(B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘section 
1164’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘sec-
tion 1166’’. 
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 Congressional Record 
by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro-
vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 
vote on passage. 
Æ 
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