[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1989 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1989

    To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a high 
                  technology education pilot program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 6, 2017

Mr. McCarthy (for himself, Mrs. Comstock, Mr. Costello of Pennsylvania, 
  Mr. Hurd, Mr. Paulsen, Ms. Stefanik, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Crawford, Mr. 
   Guthrie, Mr. Walden, Mr. Yoder, Mrs. Brooks of Indiana, and Mrs. 
McMorris Rodgers) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                   the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a high 
                  technology education pilot program.

    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 ``Veteran Employment Through 
Technology Education Courses Act'' or the ``VET TEC Act''.

SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HIGH TECHNOLOGY PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) Pilot Program.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall carry 
out a pilot program under which the Secretary shall provide eligible 
veterans with the opportunity to enroll in high technology programs of 
education.
    (b) Eligibility.--For purposes of the pilot program under this 
section, an eligible veteran is a veteran who is entitled to 
educational assistance under the laws administered by the Secretary.
    (c) Contracts.--
            (1) In general.--For purposes of carrying out subsection 
        (a), by not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 
        of this Act, the Secretary shall seek to enter into contracts 
        with multiple qualified providers of high technology programs 
        of education for the provision of such programs to eligible 
        veterans under the pilot program.
            (2) Payment of contractors.--A contract under this 
        subsection shall provide that the Secretary shall pay to a 
        provider--
                    (A) 25 percent of the cost of providing the program 
                of education upon the enrollment of an eligible veteran 
                in the program;
                    (B) 25 percent of such cost upon the completion of 
                the program by the veteran; and
                    (C) 50 percent of such cost upon the employment of 
                the veteran following completion of the program.
            (3) Qualified providers.--For purposes of the pilot 
        program, a provider of a high technology program of education 
        is qualified if the provider has been operational for at least 
        two years.
            (4) Tuition reimbursement.--In entering into contracts to 
        carry out the pilot program, the Secretary shall give 
        preference to a qualified provider that offers tuition 
        reimbursement for any student who--
                    (A) completes a program of education offered by the 
                provider; and
                    (B) does not find full-time meaningful employment 
                within the 180-day period beginning on the date the 
                student completes the program.
    (d) Housing Stipend.--The Secretary shall pay to each eligible 
veteran who is enrolled in a high technology program of education under 
the pilot program on a full-time basis a monthly housing stipend equal 
to the product--
            (1) of--
                    (A) in the case of a veteran pursuing resident 
                training, the monthly amount of the basic allowance for 
                housing payable under section 403 of title 37, United 
                States Code, for a member with dependents in pay grade 
                E-5 residing in the military housing area that 
                encompasses all or the majority portion of the ZIP code 
                area in which is located the institution at which the 
                individual is enrolled; or
                    (B) in the case of a veteran pursuing a program of 
                education through distance learning, a monthly amount 
                equal to 50 percent of the amount payable under 
                subparagraph (A), multiplied by
            (2) the lesser of--
                    (A) 1.0; or
                    (B) the number of course hours borne by the 
                individual in pursuit of the program of education 
                involved, divided by the minimum number of course hours 
                required for full-time pursuit of such program of 
                education, rounded to the nearest multiple of 10.
    (e) High Technology Program of Education Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``high technology program of education'' means a program of 
education that--
            (1) is offered by an entity other than an institution of 
        higher learning;
            (2) does not lead to a degree; and
            (3) provides instruction in computer programming, computer 
        software, media application, data processing, or information 
        sciences.
    (f) Reports.--
            (1) Secretary of veterans affairs.--Not later than one year 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 
        thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on 
        the pilot program under this section.
            (2) Comptroller general.--
                    (A) Interim report.--Not later than three years 
                after the date on which the Secretary first enters into 
                a contract under this section, the Comptroller General 
                of the United States shall submit to Congress a report 
                containing the results of the interim assessment of the 
                Comptroller General. Such report shall include the 
                recommendations of the Comptroller General for 
                improving the pilot program and an assessment of each 
                of the following:
                            (i) The technology experience of the 
                        directors and instructors of the providers of 
                        high technology programs of education under the 
                        pilot program.
                            (ii) Whether the providers cooperated with 
                        the technology industry to create the 
                        curriculum for the program of education.
                            (iii) Whether the providers use an open 
                        source curriculum for the program of education.
                            (iv) The admittance rate into the pilot 
                        program.
                            (v) The job placement rate for veterans who 
                        completed a program of education under the 
                        pilot program.
                            (vi) The average salary of veterans who 
                        completed a program of education under the 
                        pilot program and were subsequently employed.
                            (vii) The average age of veterans who 
                        participated in the pilot program.
                    (B) Final report.--Not later than five years after 
                the date on which the Secretary first enters into a 
                contract under this section, the Comptroller General 
                shall submit to Congress a final report on the pilot 
                program. Such report shall include the recommendation 
                of the Comptroller General with respect to whether the 
                program should be extended and an assessment of each of 
                the following:
                            (i) Each item described in clauses (i) 
                        through (vii) of subparagraph (A).
                            (ii) The percentage of veterans who 
                        completed a program of education under the 
                        pilot program who were subsequently employed 
                        for a period of six months or longer.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs $15,000,000 for each 
fiscal year during which the Secretary carries out a pilot program 
under this section.
    (h) Termination.--The authority to carry out a pilot program under 
this section shall terminate on the date that is five years after the 
date on which the Secretary first enters into a contract under this 
section.
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