II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 134 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a retraining assistance program for unemployed veterans, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 28, 2021 Mr. MORAN (for himself and Mr. TESTER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a retraining assistance program for unemployed veterans, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. COVID–19 VETERAN RAPID RETRAINING AS- 3 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 5 shall carry out a program under which the Secretary shall 6 provide up to 12 months of retraining assistance to an 7 eligible veteran for the pursuit of a covered program of 8 education. 9 (b) ELIGIBLE VETERANS.— 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:45 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S134.IS S134 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 134 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this section, 1 an eligible veteran is a veteran who— 2 (A) as of the date of the receipt by the De- 3 partment of Veterans Affairs of the application 4 for assistance under this section, is at least 22 5 years of age but not more than 66 years of age; 6 (B) as of such date, is unemployed by rea- 7 son of a covered public health emergency, as 8 certified by the veteran; 9 (C) as of such date, is not eligible to re- 10 ceive educational assistance under chapter 30, 11 31, 32, 33, or 35 of title 38, United States 12 Code, or chapter 1606 of title 10, United States 13 Code; 14 (D) is not enrolled in any Federal or State 15 jobs program; 16 (E) is not in receipt of compensation for a 17 service-connected disability rated totally dis- 18 abling by reason of unemployability; and 19 (F) will not be in receipt of unemployment 20 compensation (as defined in section 85(b) of the 21 Internal Revenue Code of 1986), including any 22 cash benefit received pursuant to subtitle A of 23 title II of division A of the CARES Act (Public 24 Law 116–136), as of the first day on which the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:45 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S134.IS S134 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 134 IS veteran would receive a housing stipend pay- 1 ment under this section. 2 (2) TREATMENT OF VETERANS WHO TRANSFER 3 ENTITLEMENT.—For purposes of paragraph (1)(C), 4 a veteran who has transferred all of the veteran’s 5 entitlement to educational assistance under section 6 3319 of title 38, United States Code, shall be con- 7 sidered to be a veteran who is not eligible to receive 8 educational assistance under chapter 33 of such 9 title. 10 (3) FAILURE TO COMPLETE.—Any veteran who 11 receives retraining assistance under this section to 12 pursue a covered program of education and who fails 13 to complete the program of education shall not be el- 14 igible to receive additional assistance under this sec- 15 tion. 16 (c) COVERED PROGRAMS OF EDUCATION.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this section, 18 a covered program of education is a program of edu- 19 cation (as such term is defined in section 3452(b) of 20 title 38, United States Code) for training, pursued 21 on a full-time or part-time basis— 22 (A) that— 23 (i) is approved under chapter 36 of 24 such title; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:45 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S134.IS S134 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 134 IS (ii) does not lead to a bachelors or 1 graduate degree; and 2 (iii) is designed to provide training for 3 a high-demand occupation, as determined 4 under paragraph (3); or 5 (B) that is a high technology program of 6 education offered by a qualified provider, under 7 the meaning given such terms in section 116 of 8 the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational 9 Assistance Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–48; 38 10 U.S.C. 3001 note). 11 (2) ACCREDITED PROGRAMS.—In the case of an 12 accredited program of education, the program of 13 education shall not be considered a covered program 14 of education under this section if the program has 15 received a show cause order from the accreditor of 16 the program during the five-year period preceding 17 the date of the enactment of this Act. 18 (3) DETERMINATION OF HIGH-DEMAND OCCU- 19 PATIONS.— 20 (A) INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION.—In car- 21 rying out this section, to determine whether a 22 program of education is designed to provide 23 training for high-demand occupations, the Sec- 24 retary of Veterans Affairs shall use the list of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:45 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S134.IS S134 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 134 IS high-demand occupations compiled by the Com- 1 missioner of Labor Statistics until the final list 2 is issued under subparagraph (C). 3 (B) STUDY REQUIRED.— 4 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 5 enter into an agreement with a federally 6 funded research and development corpora- 7 tion or another appropriate non-Depart- 8 ment of Veterans Affairs entity for the 9 conduct of a study to determine which oc- 10 cupations are high-demand occupations. 11 (ii) DEADLINE.—The study described 12 in clause (i) shall be completed not later 13 than 90 days after the date of the enact- 14 ment of this Act. 15 (C) FINAL LIST.—The Secretary— 16 (i) may add or remove an occupation 17 from the list in use pursuant to subpara- 18 graph (A) during the 90-day period fol- 19 lowing the completion of the study required 20 by subparagraph (B); 21 (ii) shall issue a final list of high-de- 22 mand occupations for use under this sec- 23 tion by not later than 90 days after the 24 date of the completion of the study; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:45 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S134.IS S134 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 134 IS (iii) shall make such final list publicly 1 available on a website of the Department. 2 (D) USE OF LIST.—The Secretary shall 3 use the final list issued under subparagraph (C) 4 to determine whether a program of education is 5 designed to provide training for high-demand 6 occupations. 7 (E) REMOVAL OF OCCUPATIONS.—The 8 Secretary may remove occupations from the 9 final list issued under subparagraph (C) as the 10 Secretary determines appropriate. 11 (4) FULL-TIME DEFINED.—In this subsection, 12 the term ‘‘full-time’’ has the meaning given such 13 term under section 3688 of title 38, United States 14 Code. 15 (d) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.— 16 (1) RETRAINING ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 17 of Veterans Affairs shall provide to an eligible vet- 18 eran pursuing a covered program of education under 19 the retraining assistance program under this section 20 an amount equal to the amount of educational as- 21 sistance payable under section 3313(c)(1)(A) of title 22 38, United States Code. 23 (2) PAYMENTS.—Amounts described in para- 24 graph (1) shall be payable directly to the educational 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:45 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S134.IS S134 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 134 IS institution offering the covered program of education 1 pursued by the veteran as follows: 2 (A) 50 percent of the total amount payable 3 shall be paid on the date on which the eligible 4 veteran begins the covered program of edu- 5 cation. 6 (B) 25 percent of the total amount payable 7 shall be paid on the date on which the eligible 8 veteran completes the covered program of edu- 9 cation. 10 (C) 25 percent of the total amount payable 11 shall be paid on the date on which the eligible 12 veteran finds employment in a field related to 13 the covered program of education. 14 (3) FAILURE TO COMPLETE.— 15 (A) PRO-RATED PAYMENTS.—In the case 16 of an eligible veteran who pursues a covered 17 program of education under the retraining as- 18 sistance program under this section, but who 19 does not complete the program of education, 20 the Secretary shall pay to the educational insti- 21 tution offering such program of education a 22 pro-rated amount based on the number of 23 months the veteran pursued the program of 24 education in accordance with this paragraph. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:45 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S134.IS S134 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 134 IS (B) PAYMENT OTHERWISE DUE UPON 1 COMPLETION OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary 2 shall pay to the educational institution a pro- 3 rated amount under paragraph (2)(B) when the 4 veteran provides notice to the educational insti- 5 tution that the veteran no longer intends to 6 pursue the program of education. 7 (C) NONRECOVERY FROM VETERAN.—In 8 the case of a veteran referred to in subpara- 9 graph (A), the educational institution may not 10 seek payment from the veteran for any amount 11 that would have been payable under paragraph 12 (2)(B) had the veteran completed the program 13 of education. 14 (D) PAYMENT DUE UPON EMPLOYMENT.— 15 (i) VETERANS WHO FIND EMPLOY- 16 MENT.—In the case of a veteran referred 17 to in subparagraph (A) who finds employ- 18 ment in a field related to the program of 19 education during the 180-day period begin- 20 ning on the date on which the veteran 21 withdraws from the program of education, 22 the Secretary shall pay to the educational 23 institution a pro-rated amount under para- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:45 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S134.IS S134 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 134 IS graph (2)(C) when the veteran finds such 1 employment. 2 (ii) VETERANS WHO DO NOT FIND EM- 3 PLOYMENT.—In the case of a veteran re- 4 ferred to in subparagraph (A) who does 5 not find employment in a field related to 6 the program of education during the 180- 7 day period beginning on the date on which 8 the veteran withdraws from the program of 9 education— 10 (I) the Secretary shall not make 11 a payment to the educational institu- 12 tion under paragraph (2)(C); and 13 (II) the educational institution 14 may not seek payment from the vet- 15 eran for any amount that would have 16 been payable under paragraph (2)(C) 17 had the veteran found employment 18 during such 180-day period. 19 (4) HOUSING STIPEND.—For each month that 20 an eligible veteran pursues a covered program of 21 education under the retraining assistance program 22 under this section, the Secretary shall pay to the 23 veteran a monthly housing stipend in an amount 24 equal to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:45 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S134.IS S134 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 134 IS (A) in the case of a covered program of 1 education at an institution of higher learning 2 (as that term is defined in section 3452(f) of 3 title 38, United States Code) pursued on more 4 than a half-time basis, the amount specified 5 under subsection (c)(1)(B) of section 3313 of 6 title 38, United States Code; 7 (B) in the case of a covered program of 8 education at an institution other than an insti- 9 tution of higher learning pursued on more than 10 a half-time basis, the amount specified under 11 subsection (g)(3)(A)(ii) of such section; or 12 (C) in the case of a covered program of 13 education pursued on less than a half-time 14 basis, or a covered program of education pur- 15 sued solely through distance learning on more 16 than a half-time basis, the amount specified 17 under subsection (c)(1)(B)(iii) of such section. 18 (5) FAILURE TO FIND EMPLOYMENT.—The 19 Secretary shall not make a payment under para- 20 graph (2)(C) with respect to an eligible veteran who 21 completes or fails to complete a covered program of 22 education under the retraining assistance program 23 under this section if the veteran fails to find employ- 24 ment in a field related to the program of education 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:45 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S134.IS S134 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 134 IS within the 180-period beginning on the date on 1 which the veteran withdraws from or completes the 2 program. 3 (e) RELATION TO OTHER EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 4 AND BENEFITS.—Retraining assistance provided under 5 this section shall be in addition to any other entitlement 6 to educational assistance or benefits for which an eligible 7 veteran is, or has been, eligible. 8 (f) NO TRANSFERABILITY.—Retraining assistance 9 provided under this section may not be transferred to an- 10 other individual. 11 (g) EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall 13 contact each eligible veteran who pursues a covered 14 program of education under this section— 15 (A) not later than 30 days after the date 16 on which the veteran begins the program of 17 education to notify the veteran of the avail- 18 ability of employment placement services upon 19 completion of the program; and 20 (B) not later than 14 days after the date 21 on which the veteran completes, or terminates 22 participation in, such program to facilitate the 23 provision of employment placement services to 24 such veteran. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:45 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S134.IS S134 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 134 IS (2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—The Sec- 1 retary of Veterans Affairs shall provide to the Sec- 2 retary of Labor such information as may be nec- 3 essary to carry out paragraph (1). 4 (h) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 6 Affairs shall seek to enter into a memorandum of 7 understanding with one or more qualified nonprofit 8 organizations for the purpose of facilitating the em- 9 ployment of eligible veterans who participate in the 10 retraining assistance program under this section. 11 (2) QUALIFIED NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.— 12 For purposes of this subsection, a qualified non- 13 profit organization is a nonprofit organization 14 that— 15 (A) is an association of businesses; and 16 (B) has at least two years of experience 17 providing job placement services for veterans. 18 (i) FOLLOW UP OUTREACH.—The Secretary of Vet- 19 erans Affairs, in coordination with the Secretary of Labor, 20 shall contact each veteran who completes a covered pro- 21 gram of education under the retraining assistance pro- 22 gram under this section 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, and 23 180 days after the veteran completes such program of edu- 24 cation to ask the veteran about— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15 [Text truncated for display. 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