[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4361 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4361

     To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand and enhance 
    educational assistance for survivors and dependents of veterans.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 17, 2005

Mr. Ramstad (for himself and Mr. Taylor of Mississippi) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand and enhance 
    educational assistance for survivors and dependents of veterans.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. EXPANSION AND ENHANCEMENT OF EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR 
              SURVIVORS AND DEPENDENTS OF VETERANS.

    (a) Termination of Durational Limitation on Use of Educational 
Assistance.--
            (1) Termination of limitation and restatement of continuing 
        requirements.--Subsection (a) of section 3511 of title 38, 
        United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or 
chapter 36 of this title, any payment of educational assistance 
described in paragraph (2) shall not be charged against the entitlement 
of any individual under this chapter.
    ``(2) The payment of educational assistance referred to in 
paragraph (1) is the payment of such assistance to an individual for 
pursuit of a course or courses under this chapter if the Secretary 
finds that the individual--
            ``(A) had to discontinue such course pursuit as a result of 
        being ordered to serve on active duty under section 688, 
        12301(a), 12301(d), 12301(g), 12302, or 12304 of title 10; and
            ``(B) failed to receive credit or training time toward 
        completion of the individual's approved educational, 
        professional, or vocational objective as a result of having to 
        discontinue, as described in subparagraph (A), the course 
        pursuit.''.
            (2) Conforming amendments.--(A) The heading of section 3511 
        of such title is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 3511. Treatment of certain interruptions in pursuit of programs 
              of education''.
            (B) Section 3532(g) of such title is amended--
                    (i) by striking paragraph (2); and
                    (ii) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph 
                (2).
            (C) Section 3541 of such title is amended to read as 
        follows:
``Sec. 3541. Special restorative training
    ``(a) The Secretary may, at the request of an eligible person--
            ``(1) determine whether such person is in need of special 
        restorative training; and
            ``(2) if such need is found to exist, prescribe a course 
        which is suitable to accomplish the purposes of this chapter.
    ``(b) A course of special restorative training under subsection (a) 
may, at the discretion of the Secretary, contain elements that would 
contribute toward an ultimate objective of a program of education.''.
            (D) Section 3695(a)(4) of such title is amended by striking 
        ``35,''.
    (b) Extension of Delimiting Age of Eligibility for Dependents.--
Section 3512(a) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking 
``twenty-sixth birthday'' each place it appears and inserting 
``thirtieth birthday''.
    (c) Amount of Educational Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--Section 3532 of title 38, United States 
        Code, is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 3532. Amount of educational assistance
    ``(a) The aggregate amount of educational assistance to which an 
eligible person is entitled under this chapter is $80,000, as increased 
from time to time under section 3564 of this title.
    ``(b) Within the aggregate amount provided for in subsection (a), 
educational assistance under this chapter may be paid for any purpose, 
and in any amount, as follows:
            ``(1) A program of education consisting of institutional 
        courses.
            ``(2) A full-time program of education that consists of 
        institutional courses and alternate phases of training in a 
        business or industrial establishment with the training in the 
        business or industrial establishment being strictly 
        supplemental to the institutional portion.
            ``(3) A farm cooperative program consisting of 
        institutional agricultural courses prescheduled to fall within 
        forty-four weeks of any period of twelve consecutive months 
        that is pursued by an eligible person who is concurrently 
        engaged in agricultural employment which is relevant to such 
        institutional agricultural courses as determined under 
        standards prescribed by the Secretary.
            ``(4) A course or courses or other program of special 
        educational assistance as provided in section 3491(a) of this 
        title.
            ``(5) A program of apprenticeship or other on-job training 
        pursued in a State as provided in section 3687(a) of this 
        title.
            ``(6) In the case of an eligible spouse or surviving 
        spouse, a program of education exclusively by correspondence as 
        provided in section 3686 of this title.
            ``(7) A special training allowance for special restorative 
        training as provided in section 3542 of this title.
    ``(c) If a program of education is pursued by an eligible person at 
an institution located in the Republic of the Philippines, any 
educational assistance for such person under this chapter shall be paid 
at the rate of $0.50 for each dollar.
    ``(d)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the amount of educational 
assistance payable under this chapter for a licensing or certification 
test described in section 3501(a)(5) of this title is the lesser of 
$2,000 or the fee charged for the test.
    ``(2) In no event shall payment of educational assistance under 
this subsection for such a test exceed the amount of the individual's 
available entitlement under this chapter.''.
            (2) Conforming amendments.--(A) Section 3533 of such title 
        is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 3533. Tutorial assistance
    ``An eligible person shall, without any charge to any entitlement 
of such person to educational assistance under section 3532(a) of this 
title be entitled to the benefits provided an eligible veteran under 
section 3492 of this title.''.
            (B) Section 3534 of such title is repealed.
            (C) Section 3542 of such title is amended--
                    (i) in subsection (a), by striking ``computed at 
                the basic rate'' and all that follows through the end 
                of the subsection and inserting a period; and
                    (ii) in subsection (b), by striking ``an 
                educational assistance allowance'' and inserting 
                ``educational assistance''.
            (D) Section 3543(c) of such title is amended--
                    (i) in paragraph (1), by adding ``and'' at the end;
                    (ii) by striking paragraph (2); and
                    (iii) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph 
                (2).
            (E) Section 3564 of such title is amended by striking 
        ``rates payable under sections 3532, 3534(b), and 3542(a)'' and 
        inserting ``aggregate amount of educational assistance payable 
        under section 3532''.
            (F) Paragraph (1) of section 3565(b) of such title is 
        amended to read as follows:
            ``(1) educational assistance payable under section 3532 of 
        this title, including the special training allowance referred 
        to in subsection (b)(7) of such section, shall be paid at the 
        rate of $0.50 for each dollar; and''.
            (G) Section 3687 of such title is amended--
                    (i) in subsection (a)--
                            (I) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 
                        by striking ``or an eligible person (as defined 
                        in section 3501(a) of this title)''; and
                            (II) in the flush matter following 
                        paragraph (2), by striking ``chapters 34 and 
                        35'' and inserting ``chapter 34'';
                    (ii) in subsection (c), by striking ``chapters 34 
                and 35'' and inserting ``chapter 34''; and
                    (iii) in subsection (e), by striking paragraph (3) 
                and inserting the following new paragraph (3):
            ``(3) In this subsection, the term `individual' means an 
        eligible veteran who is entitled to monthly educational 
        assistance allowances payable under section 3015(e) of this 
        title.''.
    (d) Other Conforming Amendments.--(1) Section 3524 of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended by striking ``allowance'' each place it 
appears.
    (2)(A) Section 3531 of such title is amended--
            (i) in subsection (a), by striking ``an educational 
        assistance allowance'' and inserting ``educational 
        assistance''; and
            (ii) in subsection (b), by striking ``allowance''.
    (B) The heading of such section is amended by striking 
``allowance''.
    (3) Section 3537(a) of such title is amended by striking 
``additional''.
    (e) Clerical Amendments.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 35 of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking the item relating to section 3511 and 
        inserting the following new item:

``3511. Treatment of certain interruptions in pursuit of programs of 
                            education.'';
            (2) by striking the items relating to section 3531, 3532, 
        and 3533 and inserting the following new items:

``3531. Educational assistance.
``3532. Amount of educational assistance.
``3533. Tutorial assistance.'';
            (3) by striking the item relating to section 3534; and
            (4) by striking the item relating to section 3541 and 
        inserting the following new item:

``3541. Special restorative training.''.
    (f) Effective Dates.--(1) The amendments made by this section shall 
take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (2) Notwithstanding the effective date under paragraph (1) of the 
amendment to section 3564 of title 38, United States Code, made by 
subsection (c)(2)(E), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall make the 
first increase in the aggregate amount of educational assistance under 
section 3532 of such title as required by such section 3564 (as so 
amended) for fiscal year 2006.
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