[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1682 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1682

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain clarifications 
  and improvements in the academic and vocational counseling programs 
   administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 12, 2013

   Mr. Casey introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain clarifications 
  and improvements in the academic and vocational counseling programs 
   administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 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 ``Veterans Education Counseling Act of 
2013''.

SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE PROVISION OF ACADEMIC AND 
              VOCATIONAL COUNSELING TO ELIGIBLE VETERANS BY THE 
              SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) Academic Counseling and Educational Information Service.--
Section 3697A of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``counseling services, 
        including'' and inserting ``a program of counseling services, 
        to be known as the `Academic Counseling and Educational 
        Information Service'. Such counseling services shall include'';
            (2) in subsection (e)--
                    (A) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``The Secretary 
                shall''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) In making such information available under this subsection, 
the Secretary shall make available information about the definitions, 
eligibility requirements, and services provided under this section and 
information about how the counseling services provided under this 
section differ from the services provided under section 3104(a)(2) of 
this title.
    ``(3) At a minimum, the Secretary shall make such information 
available to an individual described in subsection (b) before the 
individual applies for educational assistance described in subsection 
(b)(1).''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subsections:
    ``(f) The Secretary shall maintain an Internet website on which--
            ``(1) a person is able to request counseling services under 
        this section in such a manner that clearly distinguishes such 
        services from counseling services available under section 
        3104(a)(2) of this title; and
            ``(2) an individual receiving counseling services under 
        this section is able to receive such services using a web-based 
        counseling tool and to confidentially access aptitude tests.
    ``(g) The primary goal of the counseling services provided under 
this section is to provide to individuals assistance in--
            ``(1) pursuing postsecondary education and training 
        opportunities;
            ``(2) obtaining information regarding available 
        postsecondary educational and training opportunities;
            ``(3) obtaining career-related information and data on 
        available postsecondary educational and training opportunities;
            ``(4) selecting a program of education or training; and
            ``(5) addressing other needs relating to education.
    ``(h) Services provided under this section are different from the 
services provided under section 3104(a)(2) of this title and do not 
involve rehabilitation services.''.
    (b) Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling.--
            (1) Electronic application.--Section 3102 of such title is 
        amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(c) Electronic Application for Benefits.--The Secretary shall 
maintain an Internet website on which a person is able to submit an 
application for benefits under this chapter.''.
            (2) Clarification regarding eligibility.--Veterans are only 
        eligible for counseling services provided under section 
        3104(a)(2) of title 38, United States Code, if they are 
        entitled to a rehabilitation program under chapter 31 of such 
        title. Not all veterans who are transitioning from service on 
        active duty in the Armed Forces are eligible for such services.
            (3) Goal of program.--The primary goal of the counseling 
        services provided under section 3104(a)(2) of title 38, United 
        States Code, is to help veterans eligible for such services to 
        prepare for, obtain, and retain employment.
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