[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 170 (Tuesday, November 29, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H6337-H6338]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          PROTECTING VETERANS' EDUCATIONAL CHOICE ACT OF 2016

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 5047) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
and the Secretary of Labor to provide information to veterans and 
members of the Armed Forces about articulation agreements between 
institutions of higher learning, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5047

       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 ``Protecting Veterans' 
     Educational Choice Act of 2016''.

     SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PROVISION OF 
                   INFORMATION ON ARTICULATION AGREEMENTS BETWEEN 
                   INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING.

       (a) Information.--Department of Veterans Affairs counselors 
     who provide educational or vocational counseling services 
     pursuant to section 3697A of title 38, United States Code, 
     shall provide to any eligible individual who requests such 
     counseling services information about the articulation 
     agreements of each institution of higher learning in which 
     the veteran is interested.
       (b) Certification of Eligibility.--When the Secretary of 
     Veterans Affairs provides to a veteran a certification of 
     eligibility for educational assistance provided by the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary shall also 
     include detailed information on such educational assistance, 
     including information on requesting education counseling 
     services and on articulation agreements.
       (c) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) The term ``institution of higher learning'' has the 
     meaning given such term in section 3452(f) of title 38, 
     United States Code.
       (2) The term ``articulation agreement'' has the meaning 
     given such term in section 486A of the Higher Education Act 
     of 1965 (Public Law 89-329; 20 U.S.C. 1093a).
       (d) Deadline for Implementation.--The Secretary of Veterans 
     Affairs shall implement this section not later than 90 days 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Miller) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
to include any extraneous material and other items to H.R. 5047.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5047, the Protecting Veterans' Educational Choice 
Act of 2016, would further protect student veterans by requiring that, 
when the Department of Veterans Affairs

[[Page H6338]]

provides educational counseling or a certificate of eligibility to 
veterans or servicemembers who are eligible for VA education benefits, 
the Department also provide information on articulation agreements at 
institutions of higher learning.

                              {time}  1645

  The Post-9/11 GI Bill has benefitted more than 1.5 million 
servicemembers, veterans, and their dependents since its inception in 
2009. While many of these beneficiaries complete their entire program 
of education at one school, we often see individuals who transfer to 
another school in the middle of their program due to a plethora of 
circumstances. If they do transfer schools, their previously earned 
credits can play a large role in determining the length of time it may 
take for students to complete their program at the new school that they 
have chosen to go to, and in some cases not all earned credits will 
transfer. Often, the transferability of certain credits between 
different institutions of higher learning is not always on an 
individual's radar when they apply for a certain school or a certain 
program, and a veteran may or may not have understood how credits 
transfer when they first initiated their education career.
  H.R. 5047 would simply provide our student veterans with additional 
information as they apply to and attend schools by requiring VA to 
provide information on articulation agreements at a particular school 
and that school's agreements with another institution. Our veterans and 
their dependents deserve full transparency as they set out to use their 
hard-earned benefits. I thank my colleague, the gentleman from Georgia 
(Mr. Jody B. Hice) for introducing this bipartisan legislation which 
has my complete support.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5047, the Protecting Veterans' 
Educational Choice Act of 2016. I thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Jody B. Hice) for introducing this commendable legislation.
  This bill would require the VA to include information about the 
educational services available to all veterans seeking to use their 
Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, and it would require VA counselors who 
provide educational or vocational counseling to inform the veterans 
about the articulation agreements that exist between schools that 
govern the transfer of credits. Articulation agreements refer to formal 
agreements between two or more institutions of higher learning, 
documenting the credit transfer policies for a specific academic 
program.
  Student veterans have an important decision to make when they choose 
a college or university to attend with their Post-9/11 GI Bill 
benefits. It is essential that they understand at the outset whether 
they could transfer their credits to another college or university down 
the line.
  We have seen too many examples of student veterans depleting their 
limited GI Bill benefits to attend for-profit colleges, only to find 
out later that their opportunities to transfer to schools without 
losing time, money, and credit hours are severely limited.
  Ensuring that student veterans know in advance whether a school will 
give them credit for completed courses if they choose to transfer will 
help veterans avoid choosing schools where their credits will not 
transfer, thus saving them both time and their hard-earned Post-9/11 GI 
Bill benefits.
  I thank Representative Hice for introducing this important piece of 
legislation, which I am proud to cosponsor and support.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from the 10th District of Georgia (Mr. Jody B. Hice), the 
sponsor of this particular piece of legislation, the gentleman from the 
great community of Monroe.
  Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, obviously I rise in strong 
support of this bill, H.R. 5047, the Protecting Veterans' Educational 
Choice Act of 2016.
  Let me just extend a very sincere and heartfelt thank you to Chairman 
Miller and Ranking Member Takano--who, by the way, is an original 
cosponsor of this bill--for their support of this bill and overall wide 
support for this bill. I appreciate the comments that both of my 
colleagues have made pertaining to this bill.
  The Post-9/11 GI Bill, I believe without question, is the most 
generous educational benefit that our Nation has ever passed. As has 
already been mentioned, over a million student veterans have benefited 
tremendously from that particular piece of legislation. Some of the 
benefits include help to cover cost of tuition, books, supplies, even 
housing. Yet, in spite of all this, we still find that many of our 
veterans find themselves still having to take out student loans. Part 
of the reason for that is, as has been discussed by my colleagues, many 
of these veterans, as they are going to various schools somewhere in 
the midst of the process, discover that the credits that they have 
received from this school won't transfer over here; and somewhere in 
the middle of that timeframe, much of their GI Bill has already been 
spent, and so they find themselves in an extremely difficult and 
awkward position.
  I won't reiterate the details of this bill because it has already 
been done, but the basics of this addresses that problem, Mr. Speaker. 
It does not have anything to say regarding what school a veteran 
chooses. They are free to go to whatever school they want to, but what 
this bill says is up front they need to be aware of whether or not 
their credits will transfer to another school. They don't need to find 
that out on the back end. They need to be fully informed on the front 
end as they are making these career and educational choices.
  I think it is a shame for many of our veterans to feel that they have 
misused their GI benefits because they weren't informed enough from the 
beginning of this process. It is incumbent upon Congress, I believe, to 
ensure that our veterans have as much information as they need at the 
front end of their educational choices that will best benefit them and 
their families.
  Again, I strongly thank the chairman and the ranking member for their 
support. I believe this bill is going to go a long way in addressing 
this problem. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5047.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this legislation. I have 
no other speakers. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 5047.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I, too, would encourage all 
Members to support H.R. 5047.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 5047.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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