Title: Veterans Education Disaster Assistance Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Veterans Education Disaster Assistance Act
This bill increases Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Post-9/11 educational assistance for veterans pursuing a course of education at an institute of higher education that is closed for at least four weeks because of natural disasters and who pursue such course, or an alternative course, solely by distance learning.
The duration of monthly stipends is extended from four months to the shorter of four months or the period necessary to complete the quarter, semester, term, or academic period during the institute's closure. Such stipend is increased from 50% to the full amount that a veteran would be entitled to if pursuing such course of at an institution of higher education.
An additional lump sum is made available for books and other educational costs made necessary by such distance learning.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3940 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3940

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for housing stipends 
  and supply fee payments under the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance 
  Program for individuals affected by extended school closures due to 
                           natural disasters.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 4, 2017

  Mr. Poe of Texas (for himself, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Mr. Vela, Ms. 
   Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Brady of Texas, Mr. Bishop of 
 Georgia, Mr. Carter of Texas, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, Mr. Babin, Mr. 
   Veasey, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Schrader, Mr. Walden, Mr. Gonzalez of 
 Texas, Mr. O'Rourke, Mr. Sessions, Mr. McCaul, and Mr. Ryan of Ohio) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for housing stipends 
  and supply fee payments under the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance 
  Program for individuals affected by extended school closures due to 
                           natural disasters.

    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 ``Veterans Education Disaster 
Assistance Act''.

SEC. 2. EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE UNDER POST-9/11 EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 
              PROGRAM DURING EXTENDED SCHOOL CLOSURES DUE TO NATURAL 
              DISASTERS.

    Section 3313 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(k) School Closure During Natural Disasters.--
            ``(1) In general.--An individual described in paragraph (2) 
        shall be entitled to the following:
                    ``(A) A monthly stipend in the amount to which the 
                individual would be entitled were the individual 
                pursuing the course of education at the institution of 
                higher education.
                    ``(B) An additional lump sum amount for any books, 
                supplies, equipment, and other educational costs 
                necessary by reason of pursuing the course solely by 
                distance learning or replacing the course with an 
                alternative course of education pursued solely by 
                distance learning.
            ``(2) Individual described.--An individual described in 
        this paragraph is an individual pursuing a course of education 
        at an institution of higher education using educational 
        assistance under this chapter who--
                    ``(A) is forced to discontinue pursuing such course 
                at such institution by reason of a school closure 
                described under paragraph (4); and
                    ``(B) opts to--
                            ``(i) pursue that course of education 
                        solely by distance learning; or
                            ``(ii) pursue an alternative course of 
                        education solely by distance learning.
            ``(3) Duration.--The duration of the monthly stipends 
        payable to an individual under paragraph (1)(A) shall be the 
        shorter of the following:
                    ``(A) The period of time necessary to complete the 
                quarter, semester, term or academic period during which 
                the school closure described in paragraph (4) occurs.
                    ``(B) Four months.
            ``(4) School closure.--A school closure described in this 
        paragraph is the closure of an institution of higher 
        education--
                    ``(A) by reason of a natural disaster;
                    ``(B) for a period of time that--
                            ``(i) the institution confirms will last 
                        for four weeks or longer; or
                            ``(ii) the institution describes as 
                        indefinite and that endures for a period of 
                        four weeks or longer; and
                    ``(C) that the Secretary confirms is covered for 
                purposes of this subsection.
            ``(5) Natural disaster defined.--In this subsection, the 
        term `natural disaster' means a specific weather event or earth 
        process, including a hurricane, tornados, wildfire or forest 
        fire, earthquake, avalanche, mudslide, hailstorm, thunderstorm, 
        lightning storm, freeze, blizzard, sinkhole, or other 
        disastrous event that occurs as a result of such an event or 
        process, that the President or the governor of a State declares 
        a natural disaster.
            ``(6) No charge to entitlement.--No additional charge shall 
        be made to the entitlement of any individual to educational 
        assistance under this chapter by reason of a payment under this 
        subsection.''.
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