[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4057 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.4057
One Hundred Twelfth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and twelve
An Act
To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs to develop a comprehensive policy to improve outreach
and transparency to veterans and members of the Armed Forces through the
provision of information on institutions of higher learning, 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. COMPREHENSIVE POLICY ON PROVIDING EDUCATION INFORMATION TO
VETERANS.
(a) Comprehensive Policy Required.--
(1) In general.--Chapter 36 of title 38, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 3698. Comprehensive policy on providing education information to
veterans
``(a) Comprehensive Policy Required.--The Secretary shall develop a
comprehensive policy to improve outreach and transparency to veterans
and members of the Armed Forces through the provision of information on
institutions of higher learning.
``(b) Scope.--In developing the policy required by subsection (a),
the Secretary shall include each of the following elements:
``(1) Effective and efficient methods to inform individuals of
the educational and vocational counseling provided under section
3697A of this title.
``(2) A centralized mechanism for tracking and publishing
feedback from students and State approving agencies regarding the
quality of instruction, recruiting practices, and post-graduation
employment placement of institutions of higher learning that--
``(A) allows institutions of higher learning to verify
feedback and address issues regarding feedback before the
feedback is published;
``(B) protects the privacy of students, including by not
publishing the names of students; and
``(C) publishes only feedback that conforms with criteria
for relevancy that the Secretary shall determine.
``(3) The merit of and the manner in which a State approving
agency shares with an accrediting agency or association recognized
by the Secretary of Education under subpart 2 of part H of title IV
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b) information
regarding the State approving agency's evaluation of an institution
of higher learning.
``(4) Description of the information provided to individuals
participating in the Transition Assistance Program under section
1144 of title 10 relating to institutions of higher learning.
``(5) Effective and efficient methods to provide veterans and
members of the Armed Forces with information regarding
postsecondary education and training opportunities available to the
veteran or member.
``(c) Postsecondary Education Information.--(1) The Secretary shall
ensure that the information provided pursuant to subsection (b)(5)
includes--
``(A) an explanation of the different types of accreditation
available to educational institutions and programs of education;
``(B) a description of Federal student aid programs; and
``(C) for each institution of higher learning, for the most
recent academic year for which information is available--
``(i) whether the institution is public, private nonprofit,
or proprietary for-profit;
``(ii) the name of the national or regional accrediting
agency that accredits the institution, including the contact
information used by the agency to receive complaints from
students;
``(iii) information on the State approving agency,
including the contact information used by the agency to receive
complaints from students;
``(iv) whether the institution participates in any programs
under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1070 et seq.);
``(v) the tuition and fees;
``(vi) the median amount of debt from Federal student loans
under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1070 et seq.) held by individuals upon completion of programs
of education at the institution of higher learning (as
determined from information collected by the Secretary of
Education);
``(vii) the cohort default rate, as defined in section
435(m) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1085(m)),
of the institution;
``(viii) the total enrollment, graduation rate, and
retention rate, as determined from information collected by the
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System of the Secretary
of Education;
``(ix) whether the institution provides students with
technical support, academic support, and other support
services, including career counseling and job placement; and
``(x) the information regarding the institution's policies
related to transfer of credit from other institutions, as
required under section 485(h)(1) of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(h)(1)) and provided to the Secretary of
Education under section 132(i)(1)(V)(iv) of such Act (20 U.S.C.
1015a(i)(1)(V)(iv)).
``(2) To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall provide the
information described in paragraph (1) by including hyperlinks on the
Internet website of the Department to other Internet websites that
contain such information, including the Internet website of the
Department of Education, in a form that is comprehensive and easily
understood by veterans, members of the Armed Forces, and other
individuals.
``(3)(A) If the Secretary of Veterans Affairs requires, for
purposes of providing information pursuant to subsection (b)(5),
information that has been reported, or information that is similar to
information that has been reported, by an institution of higher
learning to the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Defense, the
Secretary of Labor, or the heads of other Federal agencies under a
provision of law other than under this section, the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs shall obtain the information the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs requires from the Secretary or head with the information rather
than the institution of higher learning.
``(B) If the Secretary of Veterans Affairs requires, for purposes
of providing information pursuant to subsection (b)(5), information
from an institution of higher learning that has not been reported to
another Federal agency, the Secretary shall, to the degree practicable,
obtain such information through the Secretary of Education.
``(d) Consistency With Existing Education Policy.--In carrying out
this section, the Secretary shall ensure that--
``(1) the comprehensive policy is consistent with any
requirements and initiatives resulting from Executive Order No.
13607; and
``(2) the efforts of the Secretary to implement the
comprehensive policy do not duplicate the efforts being taken by
any Federal agencies.
``(e) Communication With Institutions of Higher Learning.--To the
extent practicable, if the Secretary considers it necessary to
communicate with an institution of higher learning to carry out the
comprehensive policy required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall
carry out such communication through the use of a communication system
of the Department of Education.
``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The term `institution of higher learning' has the meaning
given that term in section 3452(f) of this title.
``(2) The term `postsecondary education and training
opportunities' means any postsecondary program of education,
including apprenticeships and on-job training, for which the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs provides assistance to a veteran or
member of the Armed Forces.''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning
of such chapter is amended by adding after the item relating to
section 3697A the following new item:
``3698. Comprehensive policy on providing education information to
veterans.''.
(b) Survey.--In developing the policy required by section 3698(a)
of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a market survey to
determine the availability of the following:
(1) A commercially available off-the-shelf online tool that
allows a veteran or member of the Armed Forces to assess whether
the veteran or member is academically ready to engage in
postsecondary education and training opportunities and whether the
veteran or member would need any remedial preparation before
beginning such opportunities.
(2) A commercially available off-the-shelf online tool that
provides a veteran or member of the Armed Forces with a list of
providers of postsecondary education and training opportunities
based on criteria selected by the veteran or member.
(c) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the
appropriate committees of Congress a report that includes--
(1) a description of the policy developed by the Secretary
under section 3698(a) of title 38, United States Code, as added by
subsection (a);
(2) a plan of the Secretary to implement such policy; and
(3) the results of the survey conducted under subsection (b),
including whether the Secretary plans to implement the tools
described in such subsection.
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term ``appropriate
committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on
Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives.
(2) Commercially available off-the-shelf.--The term
``commercially available off-the-shelf'' has the meaning given that
term in section 104 of title 41, United States Code.
(3) Postsecondary education and training opportunities.--The
term ``postsecondary education and training opportunities'' means
any postsecondary program of education, including apprenticeships
and on-job training, for which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
provides assistance to a veteran or member of the Armed Forces.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN USES OF INDUCEMENTS BY EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS.
Section 3696 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:
``(d)(1) The Secretary shall not approve under this chapter any
course offered by an educational institution if the educational
institution provides any commission, bonus, or other incentive payment
based directly or indirectly on success in securing enrollments or
financial aid to any persons or entities engaged in any student
recruiting or admission activities or in making decisions regarding the
award of student financial assistance.
``(2) To the degree practicable, the Secretary shall carry out
paragraph (1) in a manner that is consistent with the Secretary of
Education's enforcement of section 487(a)(20) of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(20)).''.
SEC. 3. DEDICATED POINTS OF CONTACT FOR SCHOOL CERTIFYING OFFICIALS.
Section 3684 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:
``(d) Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of
this subsection, the Secretary shall ensure that the Department
provides personnel of educational institutions who are charged with
submitting reports or certifications to the Secretary under this
section with assistance in preparing and submitting such reports or
certifications.''.
SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON AWARDS AND BONUSES TO EMPLOYEES OF DEPARTMENT OF
VETERANS AFFAIRS.
For fiscal year 2013, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may not pay
more than $395,000,000 in awards or bonuses under chapter 45 or 53 of
title 5, United States Code, or any other awards or bonuses authorized
under such title.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.