Veterans’ Entry to Apprenticeship Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3816 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 5, 2023 Mr. JAMES (for himself and Mr. RYAN) introduced the following bill; which was 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’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3816.IH H3816 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3816 IH SEC. 2. PROGRAMS OF PRE-APPRENTICESHIP. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 36 of title 38, United 2 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 3687 3 the 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) in the case of a program for which 13 a State does not require any such standards, if— 14 ‘‘(1) the curriculum of the program is approved 15 by a sponsor and the sponsor certifies to the Sec- 16 retary that the program will prepare an individual 17 with skills and competencies needed to enroll in a 18 registered apprenticeship program; and 19 ‘‘(2) the program maintains conduct and at- 20 tendance policies in accordance with a sponsor. 21 ‘‘(c) BENEFITS.—The educational assistance received 22 by a covered individual enrolled in a pre-apprenticeship 23 program under subsection (a) shall be equal to the amount 24 and kind of such assistance received by the individual if 25 the individual were enrolled in a program of apprentice- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3816.IH H3816 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3816 IH ship, except that if the individual is not paid as part of 1 such program, each monthly allowance for housing payable 2 to the individual under chapter 33 of this title shall be 3 an amount equal to the monthly amount of the basic al- 4 lowance for housing payable under section 403 of title 37 5 for a member with dependents in pay grade E–5 residing 6 in the military housing area that encompasses all or the 7 majority portion of the ZIP Code area in which is located 8 the pre-apprenticeship program. 9 ‘‘(d) CHARGE TO ENTITLEMENT.—The entitlement 10 of a covered individual pursuing a pre-apprenticeship pro- 11 gram under subsection (a) shall be charged at a rate equal 12 to the rate charged if the program were a program of ap- 13 prenticeship. 14 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 15 ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered individual’ means an in- 16 dividual who is— 17 ‘‘(A) entitled to educational assistance; and 18 ‘‘(B) seeking to use such assistance for a 19 program of apprenticeship. 20 ‘‘(2) The term ‘educational assistance’ means 21 educational assistance provided under chapter 30, 22 32, 33, 34, or 35 of this title or chapter 1606 of 23 title 10. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3816.IH H3816 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3816 IH ‘‘(3) The term ‘pre-apprenticeship program’ 1 means a program or set of objectives— 2 ‘‘(A) designed to prepare individuals to 3 enter and succeed in a registered apprenticeship 4 program; and 5 ‘‘(B) that has a documented partnership 6 with at least one sponsor. 7 ‘‘(4) The term ‘registered apprenticeship pro- 8 gram’ means an apprenticeship program registered 9 with the Office of Apprenticeship of the Employment 10 Training Administration of the Department of 11 Labor or a State apprenticeship agency recognized 12 by the Office of Apprenticeship pursuant to the Act 13 of August 16, 1937 (popularly known as the ‘Na- 14 tional Apprenticeship Act’; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.). 15 ‘‘(5) The term ‘sponsor’, with respect to a pre- 16 apprenticeship program, means an entity that for- 17 mally supports the pre-apprenticeship program, in- 18 cluding— 19 ‘‘(A) a registered apprenticeship program; 20 ‘‘(B) a department or agency of a State or 21 local government; 22 ‘‘(C) an institution of higher learning; or 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3816.IH H3816 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3816 IH ‘‘(D) any other public, private, or nonprofit 1 entity that the Secretary determines to be a 2 sponsor for purposes of this section.’’. 3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 4 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 5 after the item relating to section 3687 the following new 6 item: 7 ‘‘3687A. Programs of pre-apprenticeship.’’. (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 3687A of title 38, 8 United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall 9 apply with respect to an individual who enrolls in a pro- 10 gram of pre-apprenticeship described in such section be- 11 ginning on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3816.IH H3816 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS