Title: A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to make modifications to the educational assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs relating to apprenticeship and on-job training for participants who become unemployed, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
This bill eliminates the required proportional reduction in Department of Veterans Affairs training assistance benefits for apprenticeships or on-job training for up to 120 days while an individual is unemployed.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4373 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4373

  To amend title 38, United States Code, to make modifications to the 
 educational assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
  relating to apprenticeship and on-job training for participants who 
               become unemployed, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 30, 2020

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 38, United States Code, to make modifications to the 
 educational assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
  relating to apprenticeship and on-job training for participants who 
               become unemployed, 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. MODIFICATIONS TO VETERANS EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE RELATING TO 
              APPRENTICESHIP OR ON-JOB TRAINING REQUIREMENTS AND 
              UNEMPLOYMENT.

    (a) In General.--Paragraph (2) of subsection (e) of section 3687 of 
title 38, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
            ``(2)(A) Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), for any 
        month in which an individual fails to complete 120 hours of 
        training, the entitlement otherwise chargeable under paragraph 
        (1) shall be reduced in the same proportion as the monthly 
        training assistance allowance payable is reduced under 
        subsection (b)(3).
            ``(B) In the case of an individual who is unemployed, the 
        requirement under subparagraph (A) shall not apply during the 
        shorter of the following periods:
                    ``(i) The period the individual is unemployed.
                    ``(ii) The 120-day period beginning on the date on 
                which the individual becomes unemployed.
            ``(C) Any period during which subparagraph (A) does not 
        apply by reason of subparagraph (B) shall not--
                    ``(i) be counted for purposes of section 3695 of 
                this title; or
                    ``(ii) result in a reduction in the amount of 
                monthly training assistance payable to the individual 
                pursuant to subsection (b)(3).
            ``(D) The period for which, by reason of subparagraph (B), 
        educational assistance is not charged against entitlement or 
        counted toward the applicable aggregate period under section 
        3695 of this title shall not exceed the aggregate of--
                    ``(i) the portion of the period of enrollment in 
                the course from which the individual did not receive 
                credit or with respect to which the individual lost 
                training time, as determined under subsection (b)(2); 
                and
                    ``(ii) the period by which a monthly stipend is 
                extended under section 3680(a)(2)(B) of this title.
            ``(E)(i) In the case of an individual who fails to complete 
        120 hours of training during a month, but who completed more 
        than 120 hours of training during a previous month, the 
        individual may apply the number of hours in excess of 120 that 
        the individual completed for that month to the month for which 
        the individual failed to complete 120 hours.
            ``(ii) If the addition of such excess hours results in a 
        total of 120 hours or more, the individual shall be treated as 
        an individual who has completed 120 hours of training for that 
        month.
            ``(iii) Any excess hours applied to a different month under 
        this subparagraph may only be applied to one such month.''.
    (b) Applicability.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to any period beginning on or after March 1, 2020.
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