VR&E NEED Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1935 To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for an extension of the period of eligibility under the Department of Veterans Affairs train- ing and rehabilitation program for veterans with service-connected dis- abilities by reason of school closures due to emergency and other situa- tions, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 27, 2021 Mr. BOOKER 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 provide for an extension of the period of eligibility under the Depart- ment of Veterans Affairs training and rehabilitation pro- gram for veterans with service-connected disabilities by reason of school closures due to emergency and other situations, 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. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veteran Readiness and 4 Employment National Emergency Extended Deadline Act 5 of 2021’’ or the ‘‘VR&E NEED Act of 2021’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:40 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1935.IS S1935 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1935 IS SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF PERIOD OF ELIGIBILITY BY REASON 1 OF SCHOOL CLOSURES DUE TO EMERGENCY 2 AND OTHER SITUATIONS UNDER DEPART- 3 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TRAINING AND 4 REHABILITATION PROGRAM FOR VETERANS 5 WITH SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITIES. 6 Section 3103 of title 38, United States Code, is 7 amended— 8 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘or (g)’’ and 9 inserting ‘‘(g), or (h)’’; and 10 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub- 11 section: 12 ‘‘(h)(1) In the case of a veteran who is eligible for 13 a vocational rehabilitation program under this chapter and 14 who is prevented from participating in the vocational reha- 15 bilitation program within the period of eligibility pre- 16 scribed in subsection (a) because of a covered reason, as 17 determined by the Secretary, such period of eligibility— 18 ‘‘(A) shall not run during the period the vet- 19 eran is so prevented from participating in such pro- 20 gram; and 21 ‘‘(B) shall again begin running on a date deter- 22 mined by the Secretary that is— 23 ‘‘(i) not earlier than the first day after the 24 veteran is able to resume participation in a vo- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:40 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1935.IS S1935 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1935 IS cational rehabilitation program under this chap- 1 ter; and 2 ‘‘(ii) not later than 90 days after that day. 3 ‘‘(2) In this subsection, a covered reason is— 4 ‘‘(A) the temporary or permanent closure of an 5 educational institution by reason of an emergency 6 situation; or 7 ‘‘(B) another reason that prevents the veteran 8 from participating in the vocational rehabilitation 9 program, as determined by the Secretary.’’. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:40 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1935.IS S1935 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS