A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for payment of work-study allowances during a public health emergency relating to COVID-19 and for allowances to veterans enrolled in educational institutions closed for emergency situations, and for other purposes.

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3678 To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for payment of work- study allowances during a public health emergency relating to COVID– 19 and for allowances to veterans enrolled in educational institutions closed for emergency situations, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 11, 2020 Mr. MORAN (for himself, Mr. TESTER, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. ROUNDS, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BROWN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. MURRAY, Mrs. LOEFFLER, Ms. HIRONO, and Mr. INHOFE) 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 pay- ment of work-study allowances during a public health emergency relating to COVID–19 and for allowances to veterans enrolled in educational institutions closed for emergency 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3678.IS S3678 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3678 IS SECTION 1. PAYMENT BY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF- 1 FAIRS OF WORK-STUDY ALLOWANCES DUR- 2 ING PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY RELATING 3 TO COVID–19. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an individual who 5 is in receipt of work-study allowance pursuant to an agree- 6 ment described in subsection (a)(3) of section 3485 of title 7 38, United States Code, as of the date on which a covered 8 public health emergency occurs and who is unable to con- 9 tinue to perform qualifying work-study activities described 10 in subsection (a)(4) of such section by reason of the cov- 11 ered public health emergency— 12 (1) the Secretary may continue to pay work- 13 study allowance under such section or make deduc- 14 tions described in subsection (e)(1) of such section 15 during the period of the covered public health emer- 16 gency, notwithstanding the inability of the individual 17 to perform such work-study activities by reason of 18 the covered public health emergency; and 19 (2) at the option of the individual, the Sec- 20 retary shall extend the agreement described in sub- 21 section (a)(3) of such section with the individual for 22 any subsequent period of enrollment initiated during 23 the covered public health emergency, notwith- 24 standing the inability of the individual to perform 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3678.IS S3678 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3678 IS work-study activities described in subsection (a)(4) 1 by reason of the covered public health emergency. 2 (b) AMOUNT PAYABLE.—The amount of work-study 3 allowance payable to an individual under subsection (a)(1) 4 during the period of a covered public health emergency 5 shall be an amount determined by the Secretary but may 6 not exceed the amount that would be payable under sub- 7 section (a)(2) of such section if the individual worked 25 8 hours per week paid during such period. 9 (c) COVERED PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY DE- 10 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘covered public health 11 emergency’’ means an emergency with respect to COVID– 12 19 declared by a Federal, State, or local authority. 13 SEC. 2. TEMPORARY AUTHORITY FOR PAYMENT BY DE- 14 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OF AL- 15 LOWANCES TO VETERANS ENROLLED IN EDU- 16 CATIONAL INSTITUTIONS CLOSED FOR EMER- 17 GENCY SITUATIONS. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—During the period beginning on 19 March 1, 2020, and ending on December 21, 2020, the 20 Secretary may pay allowances to an eligible veteran or eli- 21 gible person under section 3680(a)(2)(A) of title 38, 22 United States Code, if the veteran or person is enrolled 23 in a program or course of education that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3678.IS S3678 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3678 IS (1) is provided by an educational institution 1 that is closed by reason of an emergency situation; 2 or 3 (2) is suspended by reason of an emergency sit- 4 uation. 5 (b) AMOUNT OF ALLOWANCE.—The total number of 6 weeks for which allowances may be paid under this section 7 may not exceed four weeks. 8 (c) NOT COUNTED FOR PURPOSES OF LIMITA- 9 TION.—Any amount paid under this section shall not be 10 counted for purposes of the limitation on allowanced under 11 section 3680(a)(2)(A) of title 38, United States Code. 12 SEC. 3. TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF CHARGE TO ENTI- 13 TLEMENT OF STUDENTS UNABLE TO PURSUE 14 A PROGRAM OF EDUCATION DUE TO AN 15 EMERGENCY SITUATION. 16 Section 3699(b)(1) of title 38, United States Code, 17 is amended— 18 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 19 the end; 20 (2) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ 21 at the end and inserting ‘‘or’’; and 22 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub- 23 paragraph: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3678.IS S3678 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3678 IS ‘‘(C) the temporary closure of an edu- 1 cational institution or the temporary closure or 2 termination of a course or program of education 3 by reason of an emergency situation occurring 4 during the period beginning on March 1, 2020, 5 and ending on December 21, 2020; and’’. 6 SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF TIME LIMITATIONS FOR USE OF EN- 7 TITLEMENT. 8 (a) MONTGOMERY GI BILL.—Section 3031 of title 9 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 10 the following new subsection: 11 ‘‘(i) In the case of an individual eligible for edu- 12 cational assistance under this chapter who is prevented 13 from pursuing the individual’s chosen program of edu- 14 cation before the expiration of the 10-year period for the 15 use of entitlement under this chapter otherwise applicable 16 under this section because the educational institution 17 closed (temporarily or permanently) under an established 18 policy based on an Executive order of the President or 19 due to an emergency situation occurring during the period 20 beginning on March 1, 2020, and ending on December 21, 21 2020, such 10-year period— 22 ‘‘(1) shall not run during the period the indi- 23 vidual is so prevented from pursuing such program; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3678.IS S3678 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3678 IS ‘‘(2) shall again begin running on the first day 1 after the individual is able to resume pursuit of a 2 program of education with educational assistance 3 under this chapter.’’. 4 (b) POST-9/11 EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3321(b)(1) of such 6 title is amended— 7 (A) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘Sub- 8 sections’’; 9 (B) by striking ‘‘and (d)’’ and inserting 10 ‘‘(d), and (i)’’; and 11 (C) by adding at the end the following new 12 subparagraph: 13 ‘‘(B) Subsection (i) of section 3031 shall apply 14 with respect to the running of the 15-year period de- 15 scribed in paragraphs (4)(A) and (5)(A) of this sub- 16 section in the same manner as such subsection ap- 17 plies under section 3031 with respect to the running 18 of the 10-year period described in section 3031(a).’’. 19 (2) TRANSFER PERIOD.—Section 3319(h)(5) is 20 amended— 21 (A) in subparagraph (A) by inserting ‘‘or 22 (C)’’ after ‘‘subparagraph (B)’’; and 23 (B) by adding at the end the following new 24 subparagraph: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3678.IS S3678 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3678 IS ‘‘(C) EMERGENCY SITUATIONS.—In any 1 case in which the Secretary determines that an 2 individual to whom entitlement is transferred 3 under this section has been prevented from pur- 4 suing the individual’s chosen program of edu- 5 cation before the individual attains the age of 6 26 years because the educational institution 7 closed (temporarily or permanently) under an 8 established policy based on an Executive order 9 of the President or due to an emergency situa- 10 tion occurring during the period beginning on 11 March 1, 2020, and ending on December 21, 12 2020, the Secretary shall extend the period dur- 13 ing which the individual may use such entitle- 14 ment for a period equal to the number of 15 months that the individual was so prevented 16 from pursuing the program of education, as de- 17 termined by the Secretary.’’. 18 (c) VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION AND TRAINING.— 19 (1) PERIOD FOR USE.—Section 3103 of such 20 title is amended— 21 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘or (e)’’ 22 and inserting ‘‘(e), or (g)’’; and 23 (B) by adding at the end the following new 24 subsection: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3678.IS S3678 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3678 IS ‘‘(g) In any case in which the Secretary determines 1 that a veteran has been prevented from participating in 2 a vocational rehabilitation program under this chapter 3 within the 12-year period of eligibility prescribed in sub- 4 section (a) by reason of an Executive order of the Presi- 5 dent or due to an emergency situation occurring during 6 the period beginning on March 1, 2020, and ending on 7 December 21, 2020, such twelve-year period— 8 ‘‘(1) shall not run during the period the indi- 9 vidual is so prevented from participating such pro- 10 gram; and 11 ‘‘(2) shall again begin running on the first day 12 after the individual is able to resume participation in 13 such program.’’. 14 (2) DURATION OF PROGRAM.—Section 3105(b) 15 of such title is amended— 16 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘para- 17 graph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (2) and 18 (3)’’; and 19 (B) by adding at the end the following new 20 paragraph: 21 ‘‘(3)(A) In any case in which the Secretary deter- 22 mines that a veteran has been prevented from partici- 23 pating in counseling and placement and postplacement 24 services described in section 3104(a)(2) and (5) of this 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3678.IS S3678 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3678 IS title by reason of an Executive order of the President or 1 due to an emergency situation occurring during the period 2 beginning on March 1, 2020, and ending on December 21, 3 2020, the Secretary shall extend the period during which 4 the Secretary may provide such counseling and placement 5 and postplacement services for the veteran for a period 6 equal to the number of months that the veteran was so 7 prevented from participating in such counseling and serv- 8 ices, as determined by the Secretary. 9 ‘‘(B) In any case in which the Secretary determines 10 that a veteran has been prevented from participating in 11 a vocational rehabilitation program under this chapter by 12 reason of an Executive order of the President or due to 13 an emergency situation occurring during the period begin- 14 ning on March 1, 2020, and ending on December 21, 15 2020, the Secretary shall extend the period of the vet- 16 eran’s vocational rehabilitation program for a period equal 17 to the number of months that the veteran was so pre- 18 vented from participating in the vocational rehabilitation 19 program, as determined by the Secretary.’’. 20 (d) EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR MEMBERS OF 21 THE SELECTED RESERVE.—Section 16133(b) of title 10, 22 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 23 following new paragraph: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3678.IS S3678 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3678 IS ‘‘(5) In any case in which the Secretary concerned 1 determines that a person entitled to educational assistance 2 under this chapter has been prevented from using such 3 person’s entitlement by reason of an Executive order of 4 the President or due to an emergency situation occurring 5 during the period beginning on March 1, 2020, and ending 6 on December 21, 2020, the Secretary concerned shall ex- 7 tend the period of entitlement prescribed in subsection (a) 8 for a period equal to the number of months that the per- 9 son was so prevented from using such entitlement, as de- 10 termined by the Secretary.’’. 11 SEC. 5. RESTORATION OF ENTITLEMENT TO REHABILITA- 12 TION PROGRAMS FOR VETERANS AFFECTED 13 BY SCHOOL CLOSURE OR DISAPPROVAL. 14 (a) ENTITLEMENT.—During the period beginning on 15 March 1, 2020, and ending on December 21, 2020, section 16 3699 of title 38, United States Code, shall read as if it 17 was amended by striking ‘‘chapter 30,’’ each time it ap- 18 pears and inserting ‘‘chapter 30, 31,’’. 19 (b) PAYMENT OF SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCES.— 20 During the period beginning on March 1, 2020, section 21 3680(a)(2)(B) of title 38, United States Code, shall read 22 as if it was amended— 23 (1) by inserting ‘‘or a subsistence allowance de- 24 scribed in section 3108’’ before ‘‘, during’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3678.IS S3678 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3678 IS (2) by inserting ‘‘or allowance’’ after ‘‘such a 1 stipend’’. 2 SEC. 6. EXTENSION OF PAYMENT OF VOCATIONAL REHA- 3 BILITATION SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCES. 4 In the case of any veteran who the Secretary of Vet- 5 erans Affairs determines is satisfactorily following a pro- 6 gram of employment services provided under section 7 3104(a)(5) of title 38, United States Code, during the pe- 8 riod beginning on March 1, 2020, and ending on Decem- 9 ber 21, 2020, the Secretary may pay the veteran a subsist- 10 ence allowance, as prescribed in section 3108 of such title 11 for full-time training for the type of program that the vet- 12 eran was pursuing, for two additional months. 13 SEC. 7. EMERGENCY DESIGNATIONS. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—This Act is designated as an 15 emergency requirement pursuant to section 4(g) of the 16 Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2 U.S.C. 933(g)). 17 (b) DESIGNATION IN SENATE.—In the Senate, this 18 Act is designated as an emergency requirement pursuant 19 to section 4112(a) of H. Con. Res. 71 (115th Congress), 20 the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 21 2018. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3678.IS S3678 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS