Q: In this task, you are given text for US Congressional and California state bills, your task is to generate a summary for this bill.
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ''Veterans Education Tuition Support
Act'' or the ''VETS Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) There is no more important cause than the defense of
the United States.
(2) Since 2003, nearly 1,300,000 members of the Armed
Forces have served in Iraq or Afghanistan and over 420,000
members of the Armed Forces in the National Guard and Reserve
have been called to active duty.
(3) The men and women of the Armed Forces put their lives
on hold, leave their families, jobs, and postsecondary
education in order to serve the United States, and do so with
distinction.
(4) In 2005, 500,000 veterans claimed education benefits
from the Department of Veterans Affairs and approximately
47,000 of those veterans are members of the National Guard or
Reserve and recently returned from serving in the Armed Forces
in Iraq or Afghanistan.
(5) Many members of the Armed Forces depend on various
forms of financial aid in addition to their Montgomery GI Bill
benefits to help fund their college education.
(6) The 6 percent interest rate cap on all debts of members
of the Armed Forces called to active duty guaranteed by the
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 501 et seq.)
has been interpreted narrowly by the Secretary of Education not
to apply to Federal student loans.
(7) Members of the Armed Forces who return from deployment
overseas in the Armed Forces and who are unable to continue
immediately a program of education that they were forced to
discontinue because of such deployment are being forced to
begin making payments on their private students loans only 1
month after such return.
(8) The transition from service in the Armed Forces in a
combat theater to a classroom is a difficult challenge and
should not be rushed merely to avoid paying back student loans.
(9) As of the date of the enactment of this Act, colleges
are not required to make reasonable accommodations for students
who are called to active duty in the Armed Forces, such as
tuition reimbursement and relaxation of requirements for
reenrollment.
(10) Members of the Armed Forces who return from deployment
overseas and attempt to reenroll in a program of education are
overwhelmed with bureaucracy.
(11) Studies have shown that symptoms of post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) and other non-apparent injuries may take
up to a year to manifest.
(12) Members of the Armed Forces deserve to have at least a
full academic year to reintegrate into society before they are
required to begin paying back student loans.
(13) Members of the Armed Forces who fight to protect the
United States deserve a Government that fights to protect them.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to assist members of the Armed Forces who return from a
deployment to transition from military service to civilian life
and to undertake programs of education they were forced to
discontinue because of such deployment;
(2) to provide a 13-month transition period for such
members to reenroll in such a program of education and to begin
paying back student loans undertaken for such program of
education;
(3) to institute a 6 percent interest rate cap on student
loans of a member of the Armed Forces while such member is
deployed on active duty; and
(4) to require providers of programs of education to
provide reasonable accommodations to their students who are
members of the Armed Forces and who discontinue a program of
education because of a deployment.

SEC. 3. RELIEF FOR STUDENTS WHO DISCONTINUE EDUCATION BECAUSE OF
MILITARY SERVICE.

(a) In General.--Title VII of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
(50 U.S.C. App. 591 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:

''SEC. 707. TUITION, REENROLLMENT, AND STUDENT LOAN RELIEF FOR
POSTSECONDARY STUDENTS CALLED TO MILITARY SERVICE.

''(a) Tuition and Reenrollment.--In the case of a servicemember who
because of military service discontinues a program of education at an
institution of higher education that administers a Federal financial
aid program, such institution of higher education shall--
''(1) refund to such servicemember the tuition and fees
paid by such servicemember from personal funds, or from a loan,
for the portion of the program of education for which such
servicemember did not receive academic credit because of such
military service; and
''(2) provide such servicemember an opportunity to reenroll
in such program of education with the same educational and
academic status such servicemember had when such servicemember
discontinued such program of education because of such military
service.
''(b) Deferment of Repayment of Loans.--In the case of a
servicemember who because of military service discontinues a program of
education at an institution of higher education, the following rules
shall apply to a provider of student loans who has provided a student
loan to such servicemember that is not in payment status on the date
the period of military service begins:
''(1) If such servicemember reenrolls in the program of
education (or a comparable program) within 13 months following
the period of military service, the provider shall disregard
the entire period the program of education was discontinued in
determining the date on which repayment of the student loan is
to begin.
''(2) If such servicemember does not so reenroll, the
provider shall not require repayment of the student loan to
begin before the later of the last day of such 13-month period
or the date the repayment was to begin without regard to this
subsection.
''(c) Interest Rate Limitation on Student Loans.--
''(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2) of
this subsection, a student loan shall be considered an
obligation or liability for the purposes of section 207.
''(2) Exception.--Subsection (c) of section 207 shall not
apply to a student loan.
''(d) Definitions.--In this section:
''(1) The term 'Federal financial aid program' means a
program providing loans made, insured, or guaranteed under part
B, D, or E of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1077 et seq., 1087a et seq., 1087aa et seq.).
''(2) The term 'institution of higher education' means a 2-
year or 4-year institution of higher education as defined in
section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1002).
''(3) The term 'student loan' means any loan, whether
Federal, State, or private, to assist an individual to attend
an institution of higher education, including a loan made,
insured, or guaranteed under part B, D, or E of title IV of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1077 et seq., 1087a et
seq., 1087aa et seq.).''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section (1)(b) of
such Act is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

''Sec. 707. Tuition, reenrollment, and student loan relief for
postsecondary students called to military
service.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect for periods of military service beginning after the date of the
enactment of this section.
A:
Veterans Education Tuition Support Act or VETS Act - Amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to require an institution of higher education, in the case of a servicemember who because of military service discontinues a program of education at an institution that administers a federal financial aid program, to: (1) refund to the servicemember tuition and other fees paid for the portion of the program of education for which the servicemember did not receive academic credit because of such military service; and (2) provide the servicemember an opportunity to reenroll at the institution with the same educational and academic status that the servicemember had when the program was discontinued because of the military service.

Requires a provider of a student loan with respect to such a servicemember: (1) if the servicemember reenrolls in the program of education (or a comparable program) within 13 months following the period of military service, to disregard the entire period that the education was discontinued in determining the date on which student loan repayment is to begin; or (2) if the servicemember does not reenroll, to not require loan repayment to begin before the later of the last day of such 13-month period or the date the repayment was otherwise required to begin.

Prohibits a court from granting a creditor relief from the 6% limit on interest charged against student loan indebtedness.