[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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