VA Work-Study Improvement Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3600 To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the VA Work-Study program. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 23, 2023 Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Mr. CARSON, Ms. TITUS, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Mr. WITTMAN, Ms. ROSS, Ms. LEE of Pennsyl- vania, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. NORTON, Mr. KILMER, Mr. CASE, Mr. LIEU, Mr. TRONE, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. CARL, Mr. NORCROSS, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mr. LANDSMAN, Mr. CROW, Mr. MOSKOWITZ, Ms. TOKUDA, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. SCHIFF, Ms. CROCKETT, Ms. WEXTON, Mr. VICENTE GONZALEZ of Texas, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. MCGARVEY, Mr. RYAN, Ms. BUDZINSKI, and Mr. MRVAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Af- fairs A BILL To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the VA Work-Study program. 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 ‘‘VA Work-Study Im- 4 provement Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Jun 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3600.IH H3600 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3600 IH SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO VA WORK-STUDY PROGRAM. 1 (a) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Subsection (a)(5) of 2 section 3485 of title 38, United States Code, is amended 3 by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 4 ‘‘(L) Any other activity at an agency of a State 5 or local government or a nonprofit organization that 6 would benefit, directly or indirectly, veterans or 7 members of the Armed Forces.’’. 8 (b) APPLICABLE HOURLY MINIMUM WAGE.—Para- 9 graph (7) of subsection (a) of such section is amended 10 to read as follows: 11 ‘‘(7) In this subsection and subsection (e): 12 ‘‘(A) The term ‘applicable hourly minimum 13 wages’ means the higher of the following wages: 14 ‘‘(i) The minimum rate of basic pay for 15 any Federal employee under the General Sched- 16 ule or the Federal Wage System pursuant to 17 parts 530 and 532 of title 5, Code of Federal 18 Regulations. 19 ‘‘(ii) The hourly minimum wage under 20 comparable law of the State in which the serv- 21 ices are to be performed. 22 ‘‘(iii) The hourly minimum wage under 23 comparable law of the local government with ju- 24 risdiction over the area in which the services 25 are to be performed. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Jun 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3600.IH H3600 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3600 IH ‘‘(B) The term ‘rate of basic pay’ has the 1 meaning given such term in section 8331 of title 5.’’. 2 (c) ELECTRONIC TIMESHEETS.—Such section is 3 amended by adding at the end the following new sub- 4 section: 5 ‘‘(f) The Secretary shall ensure that— 6 ‘‘(1) an individual participating in a qualifying 7 work-study activity may electronically record the 8 hours worked under such activity; and 9 ‘‘(2) the supervisor of such individual may elec- 10 tronically approve such records.’’. 11 (d) PUBLICATION OF DATA.—Such section, as 12 amended by subsection (c), is further amended by adding 13 at the end the following new subsection: 14 ‘‘(g) On an annual basis, the Secretary shall publish 15 the following information regarding qualifying work-study 16 activities carried out during the covered year: 17 ‘‘(1) The number of individuals who partici- 18 pated in a qualifying work-study activity. 19 ‘‘(2) The demographics of such individuals. 20 ‘‘(3) A description of such activities. 21 ‘‘(4) The wages paid to such individuals. 22 ‘‘(5) The number of hours worked by such indi- 23 viduals. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Jun 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3600.IH H3600 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3600 IH ‘‘(6) A list of the participating educational in- 1 stitutions.’’. 2 (e) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 3 Act shall apply with respect to a payment of work-study 4 allowance made under section 3485 of title 38, United 5 States Code, on or after January 1, 2026. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Jun 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3600.IH H3600 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB