Title: Fix IOUs for Student Veterans Act of 2018
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Fix Immediately Outstanding Underpayments for Student Veterans Act of 2018 or the Fix IOUs for Student Veterans Act of 2018
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to pay the difference to individuals who received a deficient monthly educational assistance stipend during a specific time span due to difficulties encountered in implementing amendments made to the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, commonly known as the Forever GI Bill. Among other things, changes made to the act affected the calculation of the housing stipend amount based on campus location.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                  S. 5

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay individuals who are 
owed educational assistance under the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance 
program the amounts of educational assistance that they are entitled to 
                    by law, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 4, 2018

Mr. Gardner (for himself and Mr. Jones) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay individuals who are 
owed educational assistance under the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance 
program the amounts of educational assistance that they are entitled to 
                    by law, 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 ``Fix Immediately Outstanding 
Underpayments for Student Veterans Act of 2018'' or the ``Fix IOUs for 
Student Veterans Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. PAYMENT OF AMOUNTS OWED UNDER POST-9/11 EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 
              PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure 
that on or before the date that is 60 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, each individual who received a monthly stipend 
under section 3313 of title 38, United States Code, during the period 
beginning on August 1, 2018, and ending on December 31, 2018, in an 
amount that was less than the amount to which the individual was 
entitled under such section is provided an amount that is equal to the 
difference between--
            (1) the amount of monthly stipend to which the individual 
        is entitled under such section; and
            (2) the amount of monthly stipend the individual received 
        under such section.
    (b) Establishment of Commission.--The Secretary shall establish a 
commission on the correction of payments of monthly stipend under such 
section that were deficient as a result of difficulties encountered by 
the Department of Veterans Affairs in carrying out such section after 
the enactment of sections 107 and 501 of the Harry W. Colmery Veterans 
Educational Assistance Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-48; 38 U.S.C. 3313 
note and 37 U.S.C. 403 note).
    (c) Audits.--The commission established under subsection (b) shall 
audit each payment of monthly stipend made under such section during 
the period beginning on August 1, 2018, and ending on December 31, 
2018, to determine whether the amount of the payment was deficient with 
respect to the amounts of monthly stipend that were required pursuant 
to section 3313 of such title as in effect at the time.
    (d) Hiring Authority.--The Secretary may hire such personnel as the 
Secretary considers appropriate to carry out this section.
    (e) Treatment of Overpayments.--An overpayment of monthly stipend 
under section 3313 of title 38, United States Code, that occurred 
during the period beginning on August 1, 2018, and ending on December 
31, 2018, and that occurred as a result of difficulties described in 
subsection (b) shall be treated as if the Secretary had made a 
determination under section 5302(a) of such title that recovery would 
be against equity and good conscience.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary such sums as may be necessary to carry 
out this section.
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