I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 637 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide retraining assistance to certain veterans unemployed by reason of the COVID–19 public health emergency. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 1, 2021 Mr. BOST introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide re- training assistance to certain veterans unemployed by reason of the COVID–19 public health emergency. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Economic 4 Recovery Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. COVID–19 VETERAN RAPID RETRAINING ASSIST- 6 ANCE PROGRAM. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 8 shall carry out a program under which the Secretary shall 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H637.IH H637 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 637 IH provide up to 12 months of retraining assistance to an 1 eligible veteran for the pursuit of a covered program of 2 education. Such retraining assistance shall be in addition 3 to any other entitlement to educational assistance or bene- 4 fits for which a veteran is, or has been, eligible. 5 (b) ELIGIBLE VETERANS.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this section, 7 the term ‘‘eligible veteran’’ means a veteran who— 8 (A) as of the date of the receipt by the De- 9 partment of Veterans Affairs of the application 10 for assistance under this section, is at least 22 11 years of age but not more than 66 years of age; 12 (B) as of such date, is unemployed by rea- 13 son of the covered public health emergency, as 14 certified by the veteran; 15 (C) as of such date, is not eligible to re- 16 ceive educational assistance under chapter 30, 17 31, 32, 33, or 35 of title 38, United States 18 Code, or chapter 1606 of title 10, United States 19 Code; 20 (D) is not enrolled in any Federal or State 21 jobs program; 22 (E) is not in receipt of compensation for a 23 service-connected disability rated totally dis- 24 abling by reason of unemployability; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H637.IH H637 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 637 IH (F) will not be in receipt of unemployment 1 compensation (as defined in section 85(b) of the 2 Internal Revenue Code of 1986), including any 3 cash benefit received pursuant to subtitle A of 4 title II of division A of the CARES Act (Public 5 Law 116–136), as of the first day on which the 6 veteran would receive a housing stipend pay- 7 ment under this section. 8 (2) TREATMENT OF VETERANS WHO TRANSFER 9 ENTITLEMENT.—For purposes of paragraph (1)(C), 10 a veteran who has transferred all of the veteran’s 11 entitlement to educational assistance under section 12 3319 of title 38, United States Code, shall be con- 13 sidered to be a veteran who is not eligible to receive 14 educational assistance under chapter 33 of such 15 title. 16 (3) FAILURE TO COMPLETE.—A veteran who 17 receives retraining assistance under this section to 18 pursue a program of education and who fails to com- 19 plete the program of education shall not be eligible 20 to receive additional assistance under this section. 21 (c) COVERED PROGRAMS OF EDUCATION.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this section, 23 a covered program of education is a program of edu- 24 cation (as such term is defined in section 3452(b) of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H637.IH H637 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 637 IH title 38, United States Code) for training, pursued 1 on a full-time or part-time basis— 2 (A) that— 3 (i) is approved under chapter 36 of 4 such title; 5 (ii) does not lead to a bachelors or 6 graduate degree; and 7 (iii) is designed to provide training for 8 a high-demand occupation, as determined 9 under paragraph (3); or 10 (B) that is a high technology program of 11 education offered by a qualified provider, under 12 the meaning given such terms in section 116 of 13 the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational 14 Assistance Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–48; 38 15 U.S.C. 3001 note). 16 (2) ACCREDITED PROGRAMS.—In the case of an 17 accredited program of education, the program of 18 education shall not be considered a covered program 19 of education under this section if the program has 20 received a show cause order from the accreditor of 21 the program during the five-year period preceding 22 the date of the enactment of this Act. 23 (3) DETERMINATION OF HIGH-DEMAND OCCU- 24 PATIONS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H637.IH H637 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 637 IH (A) INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION.—In car- 1 rying out this section, the Secretary shall use 2 the list of high-demand occupations compiled by 3 the Commissioner of Labor Statistics until the 4 final list under subparagraph (C) is complete. 5 (B) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of 6 Veterans Affairs shall enter into an agreement 7 with a federally funded research and develop- 8 ment corporation or another appropriate non- 9 Department entity for the conduct of a study to 10 determine which occupations are high-demand 11 occupations. Such study shall be completed not 12 later than 90 days after the date of the enact- 13 ment of this Act. 14 (C) FINAL LIST.—The Secretary— 15 (i) may add or remove occupation 16 from the list in use pursuant to subpara- 17 graph (A) during the 90-day period fol- 18 lowing the completion of the study required 19 by subparagraph (B); 20 (ii) shall issue a final list of high-de- 21 mand occupations for use under this sec- 22 tion by not later than 90 days after the 23 date of the completion of the study; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H637.IH H637 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 637 IH (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 list developed under this paragraph in 4 order to apply the requirement that retraining 5 assistance under this section is used for train- 6 ing for a high-demand occupation, but the Sec- 7 retary may remove occupations from the list as 8 the Secretary determines appropriate. 9 (4) FULL-TIME DEFINED.—For purposes of 10 this subsection, the term ‘‘full-time’’ has the mean- 11 ing given such term under section 3688 of title 38, 12 United States Code. 13 (d) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.— 14 (1) RETRAINING ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 15 of Veterans Affairs shall provide to an eligible vet- 16 eran pursuing a covered program of education under 17 the retraining assistance program under this section 18 an amount equal to the amount of educational as- 19 sistance payable under section 3313(c)(1)(A) of title 20 38, United States Code, for each month the veteran 21 pursues the covered program of education. Such 22 amount shall be payable directly to the educational 23 institution offering the covered program of education 24 pursued by the veteran as follows: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H637.IH H637 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 637 IH (A) 50 percent of the total amount payable 1 shall be paid when the eligible veteran begins 2 the program of education. 3 (B) 25 percent of the total amount payable 4 shall be paid when the eligible veteran com- 5 pletes the program of education. 6 (C) 25 percent of the total amount payable 7 shall be paid when the eligible veteran finds em- 8 ployment in a field related to the program of 9 education. 10 (2) FAILURE TO COMPLETE.— 11 (A) PRO-RATED PAYMENTS.—In the case 12 of a veteran who pursues a covered program of 13 education under the retraining assistance pro- 14 gram under this section, but who does not com- 15 plete the program of education, the Secretary 16 shall pay to the educational institution offering 17 such program of education a pro-rated amount 18 based on the number of months the veteran 19 pursued the program of education in accordance 20 with this paragraph. 21 (B) PAYMENT OTHERWISE DUE UPON 22 COMPLETION OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary 23 shall pay to the educational institution a pro- 24 rated amount under paragraph (1)(B) when the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H637.IH H637 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 637 IH veteran provides notice to the educational insti- 1 tution that the veteran no longer intends to 2 pursue the program of education. 3 (C) NONRECOVERY FROM VETERAN.—In 4 the case of a veteran referred to in subpara- 5 graph (A), the educational institution may not 6 seek payment from the veteran for any amount 7 that would have been payable under paragraph 8 (1)(B) had the veteran completed the program 9 of education. 10 (D) PAYMENT DUE UPON EMPLOYMENT.— 11 (i) VETERANS WHO FIND EMPLOY- 12 MENT.—In the case of a veteran referred 13 to in subparagraph (A) who finds employ- 14 ment in a field related to the program of 15 education during the 180-day period begin- 16 ning on the date on which the veteran 17 withdraws from the program of education, 18 the Secretary shall pay to the educational 19 institution a pro-rated amount under para- 20 graph (1)(C) when the veteran finds such 21 employment. 22 (ii) VETERANS WHO DO NOT FIND EM- 23 PLOYMENT.—In the case of a veteran re- 24 ferred to in subparagraph (A) who does 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H637.IH H637 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 637 IH not find employment in a field related to 1 the program of education during the 180- 2 day period beginning on the date on which 3 the veteran withdraws from the program of 4 education— 5 (I) the Secretary shall not make 6 a payment to the educational institu- 7 tion under paragraph (1)(C); and 8 (II) the educational institution 9 may not seek payment from the vet- 10 eran for any amount that would have 11 been payable under paragraph (1)(C) 12 had the veteran found employment 13 during such 180-day period. 14 (3) HOUSING STIPEND.—For each month that 15 an eligible veteran pursues a covered program of 16 education under the retraining assistance program 17 under this section, the Secretary shall pay to the 18 veteran a monthly housing stipend in an amount 19 equal to— 20 (A) in the case of a covered program of 21 education leading to a degree, or a covered pro- 22 gram of education not leading to a degree, at 23 an institution of higher learning (as that term 24 is defined in section 3452(f) of title 38, United 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H637.IH H637 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 637 IH States Code) pursued on more than a half-time 1 basis, the amount specified under subsection 2 (c)(1)(B) of section 3313 of title 38, United 3 States Code; 4 (B) in the case of a covered program of 5 education other than a program of education 6 leading to a degree at an institution other than 7 an institution of higher learning pursued on 8 more than a half-time basis, the amount speci- 9 fied under subsection (g)(3)(A)(ii) of such sec- 10 tion; or 11 (C) in the case of a covered program of 12 education pursued on less than a half-time 13 basis, or a covered program of education pur- 14 sued solely through distance learning on more 15 than a half-time basis, the amount specified 16 under subsection (c)(1)(B)(iii) of such section. 17 (4) FAILURE TO FIND EMPLOYMENT.—The 18 Secretary shall not make a payment under para- 19 graph (1)(C) with respect to an eligible veteran who 20 completes or fails to complete a program of edu- 21 cation under the retraining assistance program 22 under this section if the veteran fails to find employ- 23 ment in a field related to the program of education 24 within the 180-period beginning on the date on 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H637.IH H637 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 637 IH which the veteran withdraws from or completes the 1 program. 2 (e) NO TRANSFERABILITY.—Retraining assistance 3 provided under this section may not be transferred to an- 4 other individual. 5 (f) EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall 7 contact each veteran who pursues a covered program 8 of education under this section— 9 (A) not later than 30 days after the date 10 on which the veteran begins the program of 11 education to notify the veteran of the avail- 12 ability of employment placement services upon 13 completion of the program; and 14 (B) not later than 14 days after the date 15 on which the veteran completes, or terminates 16 participation in, such program to facilitate the 17 provision of employment placement services to 18 such veteran. 19 (2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—The Sec- 20 retary of Veterans Affairs shall provide to the Sec- 21 retary of Labor such information as may be nec- 22 essary to carry out paragraph (1). 23 (g) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H637.IH H637 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 637 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 1 Affairs shall seek to enter into a memorandum of 2 understanding with one or more qualified nonprofit 3 organizations for the purpose of facilitating the em- 4 ployment of veterans who participate in the retrain- 5 ing assistance program under this section. 6 (2) QUALIFIED NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.— 7 For purposes of this subsection, a qualified non- 8 profit organization is a nonprofit organization 9 that— 10 (A) is an association of businesses; and 11 (B) has at least two years of experience 12 providing job placement services for veterans. 13 (h) FOLLOW UP OUTREACH.—The Secretary of Vet- 14 erans Affairs, in coordination with the Secretary of Labor 15 shall contact each veteran who completes a covered pro- 16 gram of education under the retraining assistance pro- 17 gram under this section 30, 60, 90, and 180 days after 18 the veteran completes such program of education to ask 19 the veteran about the experience of the veteran in the re- 20 training assistance program and the veteran’s employment 21 status. 22 (i) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—Not later than the date 23 that is one year after the date of the enactment of this [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]