Veterans’ Entry to Apprenticeship Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2868 To amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure that veterans may attend pre-apprenticeship programs using certain educational assistance provided by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 14, 2019 Ms. MCSALLY 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 ensure that vet- erans may attend pre-apprenticeship programs using cer- tain educational assistance provided by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 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 ‘‘Veterans’ Entry to 4 Apprenticeship Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2868.IS S2868 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2868 IS SEC. 2. PROGRAMS OF PRE-APPRENTICESHIP. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 36 of title 38, United 2 States Code, is amended by adding after section 3687 the 3 following new section: 4 ‘‘§ 3687A. Programs of pre-apprenticeship 5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), and 6 except as provided by subsection (c), the Secretary shall 7 treat a pre-apprenticeship program as a program of ap- 8 prenticeship for purposes of providing educational assist- 9 ance. 10 ‘‘(b) APPROVAL OF PRE-APPRENTICESHIP PRO- 11 GRAM.—A pre-apprenticeship program may be covered 12 under subsection (a)— 13 ‘‘(1) if the program is recognized under or com- 14 pliant with any standards for a postsecondary pre- 15 apprenticeship program required by the State in 16 which the program is located; or 17 ‘‘(2) in the case of a program for which a State 18 does not require any such standards, if— 19 ‘‘(A) the curriculum of the program is ap- 20 proved by a sponsor and the sponsor certifies to 21 the Secretary that the program will prepare an 22 individual with skills and competencies needed 23 to enroll in a registered apprenticeship pro- 24 gram; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2868.IS S2868 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2868 IS ‘‘(B) the program maintains conduct and 1 attendance policies in accordance with a spon- 2 sor. 3 ‘‘(c) BENEFITS.—The educational assistance received 4 by a covered individual enrolled in a pre-apprenticeship 5 program under subsection (a) shall be equal to the amount 6 and kind of such assistance received by the individual if 7 the individual were enrolled in a program of apprentice- 8 ship, except that if the individual is not paid as part of 9 such program, each monthly allowance for housing payable 10 to the individual under such assistance shall be an amount 11 equal to the monthly amount of the basic allowance for 12 housing payable under section 403 of title 37 for a mem- 13 ber with dependents in pay grade E–5 residing in the mili- 14 tary housing area that encompasses all or the majority 15 portion of the ZIP code area in which is located the pre- 16 apprenticeship program. 17 ‘‘(d) CHARGE TO ENTITLEMENT.—The entitlement 18 of a covered individual pursuing a pre-apprenticeship pro- 19 gram under subsection (a) shall be charged at a rate equal 20 to the rate charged if the program were a program of ap- 21 prenticeship. 22 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 23 ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered individual’ means an in- 24 dividual who is— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2868.IS S2868 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2868 IS ‘‘(A) entitled to educational assistance; and 1 ‘‘(B) seeking to use such assistance for a 2 program of apprenticeship. 3 ‘‘(2) The term ‘educational assistance’ means 4 educational assistance provided under chapter 30, 5 32, 33, 34, or 35 of this title or chapter 1606 of 6 title 10. 7 ‘‘(3) The term ‘pre-apprenticeship program’ 8 means a program or set of objectives— 9 ‘‘(A) designed to prepare individuals to 10 enter and succeed in a registered apprenticeship 11 program; and 12 ‘‘(B) that has a documented partnership 13 with at least one sponsor. 14 ‘‘(4) The term ‘registered apprenticeship pro- 15 gram’ means an apprenticeship program registered 16 with the Office of Apprenticeship of the Employment 17 Training Administration of the Department of 18 Labor or a State apprenticeship agency recognized 19 by the Office of Apprenticeship pursuant to the Act 20 of August 16, 1937 (popularly known as the ‘Na- 21 tional Apprenticeship Act’; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.). 22 ‘‘(5) The term ‘sponsor’, with respect to a pre- 23 apprenticeship program, means an entity that for- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2868.IS S2868 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2868 IS mally supports the pre-apprenticeship program, in- 1 cluding— 2 ‘‘(A) a registered apprenticeship program; 3 ‘‘(B) a department or agency of a State or 4 local government; 5 ‘‘(C) an institution of higher learning; or 6 ‘‘(D) any other public, private, or nonprofit 7 entity that the Secretary determines to be a 8 sponsor for purposes of this section.’’. 9 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 10 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 11 after the item relating to section 3687 the following new 12 item: 13 ‘‘3687A. Programs of pre-apprenticeship.’’. (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 3687A of title 38, 14 United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall 15 apply with respect to an individual who enrolls in a pro- 16 gram of pre-apprenticeship described in such section be- 17 ginning on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2868.IS S2868 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS