[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5229 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5229

To amend title 38, United States Code, to remove certain limitations on 
 the transfer of entitlement to basic educational assistance under the 
              Montgomery GI Bill, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 6, 2008

 Mr. Bartlett of Maryland (for himself, Mr. Israel, Mr. Boozman, Mrs. 
Gillibrand, Ms. Schwartz, Mr. Carter, Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. LoBiondo, Mr. 
 Bishop of Utah, Mr. Miller of Florida, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Schiff, Mr. 
    Gordon of Tennessee, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. Wilson of South 
 Carolina, Mr. Ellison, Mr. Kirk, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Kuhl of 
New York, Mr. Wynn, Mr. Meek of Florida, Mr. Butterfield, Ms. Foxx, Ms. 
Giffords, Ms. Shea-Porter, Mr. Carney, Mr. Loebsack, Ms. Eddie Bernice 
  Johnson of Texas, Mr. Gilchrest, Ms. Corrine Brown of Florida, Mr. 
    Jones of North Carolina, Mr. Hill, Mrs. Lowey, Ms. Berkley, Mr. 
 Neugebauer, Mr. Walz of Minnesota, Mr. King of Iowa, Mr. Tiberi, Mr. 
 McHenry, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Kingston, Mr. Paul, Mr. Goode, and Mr. Saxton) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
                        the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to remove certain limitations on 
 the transfer of entitlement to basic educational assistance under the 
              Montgomery GI Bill, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Montgomery GI Bill Educational 
Assistance Transferability Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. REMOVAL OF CERTAIN LIMITATIONS ON TRANSFER OF ENTITLEMENT TO 
              BASIC EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE.

    (a) In General.--Section 3020 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in the heading, by striking ``: members of the Armed 
        Forces with critical military skills'';
            (2) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking ``with critical military skills and 
                at such Secretary's sole discretion''; and
                    (B) by striking ``, subject to the limitation under 
                subsection (d)'';
            (3) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking the semicolon at 
                the end and inserting ``; and'';
                    (B) by striking paragraph (2); and
                    (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph 
                (2);
            (4) by striking subsection (d); and
            (5) by redesignating subsections (e) through (m) as 
        subsections (d) through (l), respectively.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Such section is further amended--
            (1) in subsection (g)(2), as redesignated by subsection 
        (a)(5) of this section, by striking ``under subsection (e)(2)'' 
        and inserting ``under subsection (d)(2)'';
            (2) in subsection (h)(2), as redesignated by subsection 
        (a)(5) of this section, by striking ``under subsection (b)(3)'' 
        and inserting ``under subsection (b)(2)''; and
            (3) in subsection (j), as redesignated by subsection (a)(5) 
        of this section--
                    (A) by striking ``under subsection (f)(2)'' and 
                inserting ``under subsection (e)(2)''; and
                    (B) by striking ``in subsection (h)(5)'' and 
                inserting ``in subsection (g)(5)''.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 30 of such title is amended by amending the item relating to 
section 3020 to read as follows:

``3020. Transfer of entitlement to basic educational assistance.''.

SEC. 3. TRANSFER OF ENTITLEMENT TO EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE UNDER THE 
              RESERVE MONTGOMERY GI BILL.

    (a) Selected Reserve.--
            (1) In general.--Chapter 1606 of title 10, United States 
        Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
        section:
``Sec. 16138. Transfer of entitlement to educational assistance
    ``(a) In General.--An individual described in subsection (b) who is 
entitled to educational assistance under this chapter may elect to 
transfer to one or more of the dependents specified in subsection (c) a 
portion of such individual's entitlement to such assistance. An 
individual transferring entitlement under this section shall submit 
written notice to the Secretary concerned not later than the expiration 
date of the period described in section 16133 of this title that is 
applicable to such individual.
    ``(b) Eligible Individuals.--An individual referred to in 
subsection (a) is any member of the armed forces who, at the time of 
the approval by the Secretary concerned of the member's request to 
transfer entitlement to basic educational assistance under this 
section--
            ``(1) has completed six years of service in the Selected 
        Reserve; and
            ``(2) enters into an agreement to remain a member of the 
        Selected Reserve for a period of not less than four years.
    ``(c) Eligible Dependents.--An individual may transfer entitlement 
under this section as follows:
            ``(1) To the individual's spouse.
            ``(2) To one or more of the individual's children.
            ``(3) To a combination of the individuals referred to in 
        paragraphs (1) and (2).
    ``(d) Designation of Transferee.--An individual transferring 
entitlement under this section shall--
            ``(1) designate the dependent or dependents to whom such 
        entitlement is being transferred;
            ``(2) designate the number of months of such entitlement to 
        be transferred to each such dependent; and
            ``(3) specify the period for which the transfer shall be 
        effective for each such dependent.
    ``(e) Revocation and Modification.--An individual transferring 
entitlement under this section may modify or revoke at any time the 
transfer of any unused portion of the entitlement so transferred. The 
modification or revocation of the transfer of entitlement under this 
subsection shall be made by the submittal of written notice of the 
action to both the Secretary concerned and the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs.
    ``(f) Commencement of Use.--If the dependent to whom entitlement is 
transferred under this section is a child, the use of the transferred 
entitlement may not commence until the child--
            ``(1) completes the requirements of a secondary school 
        diploma (or equivalency certificate); or
            ``(2) attains 18 years of age.
    ``(g) Time Limitation for Use of Eligibility and Entitlement.--
Notwithstanding section 16133 of this title, and subject to subsection 
(d)(3), a dependent to whom entitlement is transferred under this 
section may use such entitlement until the later of--
            ``(1) the expiration date of a 15-year period beginning on 
        the date on which the individual who transferred such 
        entitlement to the dependent becomes entitled to such 
        assistance; and
            ``(2) the date that is 10 years after the date the 
        individual who transferred such entitlement to the dependent is 
        separated from the Selected Reserve.
    ``(h) Additional Administrative Matters.--
            ``(1) Use of entitlement charged to transferring 
        individual.--The use of any entitlement transferred under this 
        section shall be charged against the entitlement of the 
        individual making the transfer at the rate of one month for 
        each month of transferred entitlement that is used.
            ``(2) Entitlement to assistance.--Except as provided under 
        paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (d) and subsection (g), 
        and subject to paragraph (5), a dependent to whom entitlement 
        is transferred under this section is entitled to educational 
        assistance under this chapter in the same manner as the 
        individual from whom entitlement was transferred.
            ``(3) Monthly rate of education assistance payable.--The 
        monthly rate of educational assistance payable to a dependent 
        to whom entitlement is transferred under this section shall be 
        the monthly amount payable under section 16131 of this title to 
        the individual making the transfer.
            ``(4) Use of transferred entitlement not affected by death 
        of transferor.--The death of an individual transferring 
        entitlement under this section shall not affect the use of the 
        transferred entitlement by the dependent to whom entitlement is 
        transferred.
            ``(5) Age limitation.--Notwithstanding subsection (g) and 
        section 16133 of this title, a child to whom entitlement is 
        transferred under this section may not use any entitlement so 
        transferred after attaining the age of 26 years.
            ``(6) Transferability to non-child of entitlement for 
        purpose of secondary school diploma.--Except as provided in 
        subsection (f), the purposes for which a dependent to whom 
        entitlement is transferred under this section may use such 
        entitlement shall include the pursuit and completion of the 
        requirements of a secondary school diploma (or equivalency 
        certificate).
    ``(i) Overpayment.--In the event of an overpayment of basic 
educational assistance with respect to a dependent to whom entitlement 
is transferred under this section, the dependent and the individual 
making the transfer shall be jointly and severally liable to the United 
States for the amount of the overpayment for purposes of section 3685 
of title 38.
    ``(j) Regulations.--The Secretaries concerned shall prescribe 
regulations for purposes of this section.
    ``(k) Secretary Concerned Defined.--Notwithstanding section 
101(a)(9) of this title, in this section the term `Secretary concerned' 
means--
            ``(1) the Secretary of the Army with respect to matters 
        concerning the Army;
            ``(2) the Secretary of the Navy with respect to matters 
        concerning the Navy or the Marine Corps;
            ``(3) the Secretary of the Air Force with respect to 
        matters concerning the Air Force; and
            ``(4) the Secretary of Defense with respect to matters 
        concerning the Coast Guard, or the Secretary of Homeland 
        Security when it is not operating as a service in the Navy.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the 
        following new item:

``16138. Transfer of entitlement to educational assistance.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Time limitation.--Section 16133(a) of such title is 
        amended by inserting ``and section 16138 of this title'' after 
        ``subsection (b)''.
            (2) Biennial report.--Section 16137 of such title is 
        amended by inserting after the second sentence the following: 
        ``Each such report shall also include the number of members of 
        the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve of each armed force 
        transferring entitlement to educational assistance under 
        section 16138.''.
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