Protect the GI Bill Act

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4625 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 13, 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs AN ACT To amend title 38, United States Code, to require that educational institutions abide by certain principles as a condition of approval for purposes of the educational assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Af- fairs, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4625.RFS H4625 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 4625 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2 ‘‘Protect the GI Bill Act’’. 3 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 4 this Act is as follows: 5 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Clarification of educational assistance for individuals who pursue an ap- proved program of education leading to a degree while on ac- tive duty. Sec. 3. Verification of enrollment for purposes of receipt of Post-9/11 Edu- cational Assistance benefits. Sec. 4. Clarification regarding the dependents to whom entitlement to edu- cational assistance may be transferred under the Post 9/11 Educational Assistance Program. Sec. 5. Expansion of reasons for which a course of education may be dis- approved. Sec. 6. Oversight of educational institutions subject to Government action for purposes of the educational assistance programs of the Depart- ment of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 7. Additional requirement for approval of educational institutions for pur- poses of the educational assistance programs of the Depart- ment of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 8. Clarification of accreditation for law schools for purposes of the edu- cational assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 9. Clarification of grounds for disapproval of a course for purposes of the educational assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 10. Requirements for educational institutions participating in the edu- cational assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Sec. 11. Overpayments to eligible persons or veterans. Sec. 12. Improvements to limitation on certain advertising, sales, and enroll- ment practices. Sec. 13. Additional limitation on certain advertising, sales, and enrollment practices of educational institutions. Sec. 14. Charge to entitlement to educational assistance for individuals who do not transfer credits from certain closed or disapproved pro- grams of education. Sec. 15. Determination of budgetary effects. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H4625.RFS H4625 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 4625 RFS SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 1 FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO PURSUE AN AP- 2 PROVED PROGRAM OF EDUCATION LEADING 3 TO A DEGREE WHILE ON ACTIVE DUTY. 4 Section 3313(e) of title 38, United States Code, is 5 amended— 6 (1) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘FOR A PERIOD 7 OF MORE THAN 30 DAYS’’ after ‘‘ACTIVE DUTY’’; 8 (2) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘for a period 9 of more than 30 days’’ after ‘‘active duty’’; and 10 (3) in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding 11 subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘for a period of 12 more than 30 days’’ after ‘‘active duty’’. 13 SEC. 3. VERIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT FOR PURPOSES OF 14 RECEIPT OF POST-9/11 EDUCATIONAL ASSIST- 15 ANCE BENEFITS. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3313 of title 38, United 17 States Code, as amended by section 2, is further amended 18 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 19 ‘‘(l) VERIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT.—(1) The Sec- 20 retary shall require— 21 ‘‘(A) each educational institution to submit to 22 the Secretary verification of each individual who is 23 enrolled in a course or program of education at the 24 educational institution and is receiving educational 25 assistance under this chapter for each month during 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4625.RFS H4625 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 4625 RFS which the individual is so enrolled and receiving such 1 educational assistance; and 2 ‘‘(B) each individual who is enrolled in a course 3 or program of education and is receiving educational 4 assistance under this chapter to submit to the Sec- 5 retary verification of such enrollment for each month 6 during which the individual is so enrolled and receiv- 7 ing such educational assistance. 8 ‘‘(2) Verification under this subsection shall be in an 9 electronic form prescribed by the Secretary. 10 ‘‘(3) If an individual fails to submit the verification 11 required under paragraph (1)(B) for two consecutive 12 months, the Secretary may not make a monthly stipend 13 payment to the individual under this section until the indi- 14 vidual submits such verification.’’. 15 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 16 subsection (a) shall take effect on August 1, 2020. 17 SEC. 4. CLARIFICATION REGARDING THE DEPENDENTS TO 18 WHOM ENTITLEMENT TO EDUCATIONAL AS- 19 SISTANCE MAY BE TRANSFERRED UNDER 20 THE POST 9/11 EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 21 PROGRAM. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3319(c) of title 38, 23 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 24 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE DEPENDENTS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4625.RFS H4625 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 4625 RFS ‘‘(1) TRANSFER.—An individual approved to 1 transfer an entitlement to educational assistance 2 under this section may transfer the individual’s enti- 3 tlement to an eligible dependent or a combination of 4 eligible dependents. 5 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE DEPENDENT.— 6 For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘eligible 7 dependent’ has the meaning given the term ‘depend- 8 ent’ under paragraph (2) of section 1072 of title 9 10.’’. 10 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub- 11 section (a) shall apply with respect to educational assist- 12 ance payable under chapter 33 of title 38, United States 13 Code, before, on, or after the date of the enactment of 14 this Act. 15 SEC. 5. EXPANSION OF REASONS FOR WHICH A COURSE OF 16 EDUCATION MAY BE DISAPPROVED. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3672(b)(2) of title 38, 18 United States Code, is amended— 19 (1) in subparagraph (A)(i), by inserting or ‘‘or 20 (D)’’ after ‘‘subparagraph (C)’’; and 21 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub- 22 paragraph: 23 ‘‘(D) A program that is described in subparagraph 24 (A)(i) of this paragraph and offered by an educational in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4625.RFS H4625 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 4625 RFS stitution that is at risk of losing accreditation shall not 1 be deemed to be approved for purposes of this chapter. 2 For purposes of this subparagraph, an educational institu- 3 tion is at risk of losing accreditation if that educational 4 institution has received from the relevant accrediting 5 agency or association a notice described in section 6 3673(e)(2)(D) of this title.’’. 7 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 8 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date that is 180 9 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 10 SEC. 6. OVERSIGHT OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS SUB- 11 JECT TO GOVERNMENT ACTION FOR PUR- 12 POSES OF THE EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 13 PROGRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VET- 14 ERANS AFFAIRS. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3673 of title 38, United 16 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 17 lowing new subsection: 18 ‘‘(e) NOTICE OF GOVERNMENT ACTION.—(1)(A) If 19 the Secretary receives notice under paragraph (2), or oth- 20 erwise becomes aware of an action or event described in 21 paragraph (3), with respect to an educational institution, 22 the Secretary shall transmit such notice or provide notice 23 of such action or event to the State approving agency for 24 the State where the educational institution is located by 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4625.RFS H4625 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 4625 RFS not later than 30 days after the date on which the Sec- 1 retary receives such notice or becomes aware of such ac- 2 tion or event. A State approving agency shall perform a 3 risk-based oversight survey to the educational institution 4 by not later than 60 days after receiving notice under this 5 subparagraph. 6 ‘‘(B) If a State approving agency receives notice as 7 described in paragraph (2), or otherwise becomes aware 8 of an action or event described in paragraph (3), with re- 9 spect to an educational institution, the State approving 10 agency shall perform a risk-based oversight survey to the 11 educational institution by not later than 60 days after re- 12 ceiving such notice or otherwise becoming aware of such 13 action or event. 14 ‘‘(2) Notice under this paragraph is any of the fol- 15 lowing: 16 ‘‘(A) Notice from the Secretary of Education of 17 an event under paragraph (3)(A). 18 ‘‘(B) Notice of an event under paragraph 19 (3)(B). 20 ‘‘(C) Notice from a State of an action take by 21 that State under paragraph (3)(C). 22 ‘‘(D) Notice provided by an accrediting agency 23 or association of an action described in paragraph 24 (3)(D) taken by that agency or association. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4625.RFS H4625 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 8 HR 4625 RFS ‘‘(E) Notice that the Secretary of Education 1 has placed the educational institution on provisional 2 status. 3 ‘‘(3) An action or event under this paragraph is any 4 of the following: 5 ‘‘(A) The receipt by an educational institution 6 of payments under the heightened cash monitoring 7 payment method pursuant to section 487(c)(1)(B) of 8 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 9 1094). 10 ‘‘(B) Final punitive action taken by the Attor- 11 ney General, the Federal Trade Commission, or any 12 other Federal department or agency against an edu- 13 cational institution relating to misconduct or mis- 14 leading marketing practices, as defined by the Sec- 15 retary of Veterans Affairs. 16 ‘‘(C) Final punitive action taken by a State 17 against an educational institution. 18 ‘‘(D) The loss, or risk of loss, by an educational 19 institution of an accreditation from an accrediting 20 agency or association, including notice of probation, 21 suspension, an order to show cause, or revocation of 22 accreditation. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4625.RFS H4625 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 9 HR 4625 RFS ‘‘(E) The placement of an educational institu- 1 tion on provisional status by the Secretary of Edu- 2 cation. 3 ‘‘(4) If a State approving agency disapproves or sus- 4 pends an educational institution, the State approving 5 agency shall provide notice of such disapproval or suspen- 6 sion to the Secretary and to the other State approving 7 agencies. 8 ‘‘(5) This subsection shall be carried out using 9 amounts made available pursuant to section 3674(a)(4) 10 of this title as long as such amounts remain available.’’. 11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 12 subsection (a) shall take effect on August 1, 2020. 13 SEC. 7. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT FOR APPROVAL OF 14 EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS FOR PURPOSES 15 OF THE EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PRO- 16 GRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 17 AFFAIRS. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3675 of title 38, United 19 States Code, is amended— 20 (1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 21 following new paragraph: 22 ‘‘(4) The educational institution is approved 23 and participates in a program under title IV of the 24 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4625.RFS H4625 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 10 HR 4625 RFS seq.) or the Secretary has waived the requirement 1 under this paragraph with respect to an educational 2 institution and submits to the Committees on Vet- 3 erans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Rep- 4 resentatives notice of such waiver.’’. 5 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub- 6 section: 7 ‘‘(d) The Secretary shall submit to Congress an an- 8 nual report on any waivers issued pursuant to subsection 9 (b)(4) or section 3672(b)(2)(A)(i) of this title. Each such 10 report shall include, for the year covered by the report— 11 ‘‘(1) the name of each educational institution 12 for which a waiver was issued; 13 ‘‘(2) the justification for each such waiver; and 14 ‘‘(3) the total number of waivers issued.’’. 15 (b) REQUIREMENT FOR APPROVAL OF STANDARD 16 COLLEGE DEGREE PROGRAMS.—Clause (i) of subpara- 17 graph (A) of paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of section 18 3672 of such title is amended to read as follows: 19 ‘‘(i) Except as provided in subparagraph 20 (C) or (D), an accredited standard college de- 21 gree program offered at a public or not-for- 22 profit proprietary educational institution that— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4625.RFS H4625 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 11 HR 4625 RFS ‘‘(I) is accredited by an agency or as- 1 sociation recognized for that purpose by 2 the Secretary of Education; and 3 ‘‘(II) is approved and participates in a 4 program under title IV of the Higher Edu- 5 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et 6 seq.), unless the Secretary has waived the 7 requirement to participate in a program 8 under title IV of the Higher Education Act 9 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.).’’. 10 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 11 subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect on August 1, 12 2020. 13 SEC. 8. CLARIFICATION OF ACCREDITATION FOR LAW 14 SCHOOLS FOR PURPOSES OF THE EDU- 15 CATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS OF THE 16 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraphs (14)(B) and (15)(B) 18 of section 3676(c) of title 38, United States Code, are 19 each amended by striking ‘‘an accrediting agency’’ both 20 places it appears and inserting ‘‘a specialized accrediting 21 agency’’. 22 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 23 subsection (a) shall take effect on August 1, 2020. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4625.RFS H4625 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 12 HR 4625 RFS SEC. 9. CLARIFICATION OF GROUNDS FOR DISAPPROVAL 1 OF A COURSE FOR PURPOSES OF THE EDU- 2 CAT [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]