I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8483 To amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain modifications to the educational assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Af- fairs in light of the COVID-19 emergency, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 1, 2020 Mr. CUNNINGHAM (for himself, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. LEVIN of California, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. ROSE of New York, and Ms. BROWNLEY of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with- in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain modifications to the educational assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs in light of the COVID-19 emergency, 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 ‘‘Pandemic Assistance 4 for Student Veterans Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Oct 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8483.IH H8483 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8483 IH SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) The term ‘‘covered program of education’’ 3 means a program of education (as defined in section 4 3002 of title 38, United States Code) approved by 5 a State approving agency, or the Secretary of Vet- 6 erans Affairs when acting in the role of a State ap- 7 proving agency. 8 (2) The term ‘‘COVID–19 emergency’’ means 9 the public health emergency declared pursuant to 10 section 319 of the Public Health Service Act on Jan- 11 uary 31, 2020, entitled ‘‘Determination that a Pub- 12 lic Health Emergency Exists Nationwide as the Re- 13 sult of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus’’. 14 (3) The term ‘‘educational institution’’ has the 15 meaning given that term in section 3452(c) of title 16 38, United States Code, and includes an institution 17 of higher learning (as defined in such section). 18 (4) The term ‘‘State approving agency’’ has the 19 meaning given that term in section 3671 of title 38, 20 United States Code. 21 (5) The term ‘‘training establishment’’ has the 22 meaning given that term in section 3452(e) of title 23 38, United States Code. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Oct 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8483.IH H8483 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8483 IH (6) The term ‘‘training’’ includes on-job train- 1 ing and apprenticeship programs and vocational re- 2 habilitation programs. 3 SEC. 3. CONTINUATION OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF- 4 FAIRS EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE BENEFITS 5 DURING COVID–19 EMERGENCY. 6 (a) AUTHORITY.—If the Secretary of Veterans Af- 7 fairs determines under subsection (c) that an individual 8 is negatively affected by the COVID–19 emergency, the 9 Secretary may provide educational assistance to that indi- 10 vidual under the laws administered by the Secretary as 11 if such negative effects did not occur. The authority under 12 this section is in addition to the authority provided under 13 section 1 of Public Law 116–128 (38 U.S.C. 3001 note 14 prec.), but in no case may the Secretary provide more than 15 a total of four weeks of additional educational assistance 16 by reason of section 4 of the Student Veteran Coronavirus 17 Response Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–140; 38 U.S.C. 18 3680 note) and this section. 19 (b) HOUSING AND ALLOWANCES.—In providing edu- 20 cational assistance to an individual pursuant to subsection 21 (a), the Secretary may— 22 (1) continue to pay a monthly housing stipend 23 under chapter 33 of title 38, United States Code, 24 during a month the individual would have been en- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Oct 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8483.IH H8483 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8483 IH rolled in a program of education or training but for 1 the COVID–19 emergency at the same rate such sti- 2 pend would have been payable if the individual had 3 not been negatively affected by the COVID–19 emer- 4 gency, except that the total number of weeks for 5 which stipends may continue to be so payable may 6 not exceed four weeks; and 7 (2) continue to pay payments or subsistence al- 8 lowances under chapters 30, 31, 32, 33, and 35 of 9 such title and chapter 1606 of title 10, United 10 States Code, during a month for a period of time 11 that the individual would have been enrolled in a 12 program of education or training but for the 13 COVID–19 emergency, except that the total number 14 of weeks for which payments or allowances may con- 15 tinue to be so payable may not exceed four weeks. 16 (c) DETERMINATION OF NEGATIVE EFFECTS.—The 17 Secretary shall determine that an individual was nega- 18 tively affected by the COVID–19 emergency if— 19 (1) the individual is enrolled in a covered pro- 20 gram of education of an educational institution or 21 enrolled in training at a training establishment and 22 is pursuing such program or training using edu- 23 cational assistance under the laws administered by 24 the Secretary; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Oct 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8483.IH H8483 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8483 IH (2) the educational institution or training estab- 1 lishment certifies to the Secretary that such pro- 2 gram or training is truncated, delayed, relocated, 3 canceled, partially canceled, converted from being 4 on-site to being offered by distance learning, or oth- 5 erwise modified or made unavailable by reason of the 6 COVID–19 emergency; and 7 (3) the Secretary determines that the modifica- 8 tion to such program or training specified under 9 paragraph (2) would reduce the amount of edu- 10 cational assistance (including with respect to month- 11 ly housing stipends, payments, or subsistence allow- 12 ances) that would be payable to the individual but 13 for the COVID–19 emergency. 14 (d) EFFECT ON ENTITLEMENT PERIOD.—If the Sec- 15 retary determines that an individual who received assist- 16 ance under this section did not make progress toward the 17 completion of the program of education in which the indi- 18 vidual is enrolled during the period for which the indi- 19 vidual received such assistance, any assistance provided 20 pursuant to this section shall not be counted for purposes 21 of determining the total amount of an individual’s entitle- 22 ment to educational assistance, housing stipends, or pay- 23 ments or subsistence allowances under chapters 30, 31, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Oct 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8483.IH H8483 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8483 IH 32, and 35 of such title and chapter 1606 of title 10, 1 United States Code. 2 (e) APPLICABILITY PERIOD.—This section shall 3 apply during the period beginning on March 1, 2020, and 4 ending on December 21, 2021. 5 SEC. 4. EFFECTS OF CLOSURE OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITU- 6 TION AND MODIFICATION OF COURSES BY 7 REASON OF COVID-19 EMERGENCY. 8 (a) CLOSURE OR DISAPPROVAL.—Any payment of 9 educational assistance described in subsection (b) shall 10 not— 11 (1) be charged against any entitlement to edu- 12 cational assistance of the individual concerned; or 13 (2) be counted against the aggregate period for 14 which section 3695 of title 38, United States Code, 15 limits the receipt of educational assistance by such 16 individual. 17 (b) EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE DESCRIBED.—Sub- 18 ject to subsection (d), the payment of educational assist- 19 ance described in this subsection is the payment of such 20 assistance to an individual for pursuit of a course or pro- 21 gram of education at an educational institution under 22 chapter 30, 31, 32, 33, or 35 of title 38, United States 23 Code, or chapter 1606 of title 10, United States Code, 24 if the Secretary determines that the individual— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Oct 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8483.IH H8483 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8483 IH (1) was unable to complete such course or pro- 1 gram as a result of— 2 (A) the closure of the educational institu- 3 tion, or the full or partial cancellation of a 4 course or program of education, by reason of 5 the COVID-19 emergency; or 6 (B) the disapproval of the course or a 7 course that is a necessary part of that program 8 under chapter 36 of title 38, United States 9 Code, because the course was modified by rea- 10 son of such emergency; and 11 (2) did not receive credit or lost training time, 12 toward completion of the program of education being 13 so pursued. 14 (c) HOUSING ASSISTANCE.—In this section, edu- 15 cational assistance includes, as applicable— 16 (1) monthly housing stipends payable under 17 chapter 33 of title 38, United States Code, for any 18 month the individual would have been enrolled in a 19 course or program of education; and 20 (2) payments or subsistence allowances under 21 chapters 30, 31, 32, and 35 of such title and chap- 22 ter 1606 of title 10, United States Code, during a 23 month the individual would have been enrolled in a 24 course or program of education. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Oct 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8483.IH H8483 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8483 IH (d) PERIOD NOT CHARGED.—The period for which, 1 by reason of this subsection, educational assistance is not 2 charged against entitlement or counted toward the appli- 3 cable aggregate period under section 3695 of title 38, 4 United States Code, shall not exceed the aggregate of— 5 (1) the portion of the period of enrollment in 6 the course from which the individual did not receive 7 credit or with respect to which the individual lost 8 training time, as determined under subsection 9 (b)(2); and 10 (2) the period by which a monthly stipend is ex- 11 tended under section 3680(a)(2)(B) of title 38, 12 United States Code. 13 (e) CONTINUING PURSUIT OF DISAPPROVED 14 COURSES.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may treat a 16 course of education that is disapproved under chap- 17 ter 36 of title 38, United States Code, as being ap- 18 proved under such chapter with respect to an indi- 19 vidual described in paragraph (2) if the Secretary 20 determines, on a programmatic basis, that— 21 (A) such disapproval is the result of an ac- 22 tion described in subsection (b)(1)(B); and 23 (B) continuing pursuing such course is in 24 the best interest of the individual. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Oct 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8483.IH H8483 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8483 IH (2) INDIVIDUAL DESCRIBED.—An individual de- 1 scribed in this paragraph is an individual who is 2 pursuing a course of education at an educational in- 3 stitution under chapter 30, 31, 32, 33, or 35 of title 4 38, United States Code, or chapter 1606 of title 10, 5 United States Code, as of the date on which the 6 course is disapproved as described in subsection 7 (b)(1)(B). 8 (f) STATUS AS FULL-TIME STUDENT FOR PURPOSES 9 OF HOUSING STIPEND CALCULATION.—In the case of an 10 individual who, as of the first day of the COVID-19 emer- 11 gency was enrolled on a full-time basis in a program of 12 education and was receiving educational assistance under 13 chapter 33 of title 38, United States Code, or subsistence 14 allowance under chapter 31 of such title, and for whom 15 the Secretary makes a determination under subsection (b), 16 the individual shall be treated as an individual enrolled 17 in a program of education on a full-time basis for the pur- 18 pose of calculating monthly housing stipends payable 19 under chapter 33 of title 38, United States Code, or sub- 20 sistence allowance payable under chapter 31 of such title, 21 for any month the individual is enrolled in the program 22 of education on a part-time basis to complete any course 23 of education that was partially or fully canceled by reason 24 of the COVID-19 emergency. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Oct 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8483.IH H8483 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8483 IH (g) NOTICE OF CLOSURES.—Not later than 5 busi- 1 ness days after the date on which the Secretary receives 2 notice that an educational institution will close or is closed 3 by reason of the COVID-19 emergency, the Secretary shall 4 provide to each individual who is enrolled in a course or 5 program of education at such educational institution using 6 entitlement to educational assistance under chapter 30, 7 31, 32, 33, or 35 of title 38, United States Code, or chap- 8 ter 1606 of title 10, United States Code, notice of— 9 (1) such closure and the date of such closure; 10 and 11 (2) the effect of such closure on the individual’s 12 entitlement to educational assistance pursuant to 13 this section. 14 (h) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply with 15 respect to the closure of an educational institution, or the 16 cancellation or modification of a course or program of edu- 17 cation, that occurs during the period beginning on March 18 1, 2020, and ending on December 21, 2021. 19 SEC. 5. PAYMENT OF EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE IN CASES 20 OF WITHDRAWAL. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any individual who 22 withdraws from a program of education or training, other 23 than a program by correspondence, in an educational in- 24 stitution under chapter 31, 34, or 35 of title 38, United 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Oct 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8483.IH H8483 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8483 IH States Code, for a covered reason during the period begin- 1 ning on March 1, 2020, and ending on December 21, 2 2021, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall find miti- 3 gating circumstances for purposes of section 4 3680(a)(1)(C)(ii) of title 38, United States Code. 5 (b) COVERED REASON.—In this section, the term 6 ‘‘covered reason’’ means any reason related to the COVID- 7 19 emergency, including— 8 (1) illness, quarantine, or social distancing re- 9 quirements; 10 (2) issues associated with COVID-19 testing ac- 11 cessibility; 12 (3) access or availability of childcare; 13 (4) providing care for a family member or co- 14 habitants; 15 (5) change of location or residence due to 16 COVID-19 or associated school closures; 17 (6) employment changes or financial hardship; 18 and 19 (7) issues associated with changes in format or 20 medium of instruction. 21 S [Text truncated for display. 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