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II
116TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 2345
To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the use of Post-9/
11 Educational Assistance to pay for preparatory courses for professional
licenses and certifications, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
JULY 30, 2019
Ms. HIRONO (for herself and Mr. ROUNDS) 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 authorize the
use of Post-9/11 Educational Assistance to pay for pre-
paratory courses for professional licenses and certifi-
cations, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘GI Bill Access to Ca-
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reer Credentials Act of 2019’’.
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•S 2345 IS
SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN PREPARATORY COURSES
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AS PROGRAMS OF EDUCATION FOR PUR-
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POSES OF POST-9/11 EDUCATIONAL ASSIST-
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ANCE.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 33 of title 38, United
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States Code, is amended by adding the following new sec-
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tion:
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‘‘§ 3315B. Preparatory courses for licensure, certifi-
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cation, or national tests
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‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An individual entitled to edu-
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cational assistance under this chapter shall also be entitled
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to payment for a preparatory course for a licensing or cer-
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tification test that is required or used to enter into, main-
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tain, or advance in employment in a predetermined and
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identified vocation or profession.
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‘‘(b) AMOUNT.—The amount of educational assist-
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ance payable under this chapter for a course described in
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subsection (a) is the lesser of—
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‘‘(1) the fee charged for the course; or
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‘‘(2) the amount of entitlement available to the
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individual under this chapter at the time of payment
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for the course under this section.
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‘‘(c) CHARGE AGAINST ENTITLEMENT.—The number
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of months of entitlement charged an individual under this
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chapter for a course described in subsection (a) shall be
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•S 2345 IS
pro-rated based on the actual amount of the fee charged
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for the course relative to the rate for one month payable—
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‘‘(1) for the academic year beginning on August
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1, 2011, $1,460; or
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‘‘(2) for an academic year beginning on any
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subsequent August 1, the amount for the previous
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academic year beginning on August 1 under this
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subsection, as increased by the percentage increase
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equal to the most recent percentage increase deter-
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mined under section 3015(h) of this title.’’.
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(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 3532(g)
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of title 38, United States Code, is amended—
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(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or a pre-
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paratory course described in section 3315B(a) of
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this title’’ after ‘‘or national test providing an oppor-
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tunity for course credit at institutions of higher
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learning described in section 3501(a)(5) of this
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title’’; and
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(2) in paragraphs (2) and (3), by inserting ‘‘or
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preparatory course’’ after ‘‘test’’ everywhere it ap-
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pears.
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(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
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subsection (a) shall apply with respect to months begin-
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ning after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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Æ
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