[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 181 (Tuesday, November 7, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H8560-H8561]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       SECURING ELECTRONIC RECORDS FOR VETERANS' EASE ACT OF 2017

  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3634) to amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure that 
individuals may access documentation verifying the monthly housing 
stipend paid to the individual under the Post-9/11 Educational 
Assistance Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3634

       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 ``Securing Electronic Records 
     for Veterans' Ease Act of 2017'' or the ``SERVE Act of 
     2017''.

     SEC. 2. PROVISION OF MONTHLY HOUSING STIPEND INFORMATION 
                   UNDER POST-
                   9/11 EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM OF THE 
                   DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

       Section 3313 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(j) Provision of Housing Stipend Payment Information.--
     The Secretary shall furnish to individuals receiving 
     educational assistance under this chapter documentation that 
     verifies the amount of the monthly housing stipend the 
     individual receives under this section. The Secretary shall 
     make such documentation available to the individual using an 
     internet website in the same manner the Secretary provides 
     documentation verifying compensation and other benefits 
     furnished by the Secretary to individuals.''.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks, and include 
extraneous material on H.R. 3634.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3634, the Securing 
Electronic Records for Veterans' Ease Act of 2017, or SERVE Act.
  Under the post-9/11 GI Bill, eligible servicemembers, veterans, and 
their dependents are provided a monthly allowance that is based on the 
cost of living where they are taking the majority of their classes at 
the E-5 with dependents rate.
  For many students, this living stipend payment can be their only 
source of income, and proving that they will receive this payment while 
in school is important for them to show income for the purposes of 
renting an apartment or home while they are in school. It makes sense.
  The SERVE Act would help address this problem and would require the 
Secretary to electronically provide documentation that verifies the 
amount of the monthly housing stipend an individual receives under the 
GI Bill. This would allow beneficiaries to use this documentation as 
proof of income when applying for housing.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a commonsense, bipartisan bill that will help 
student veterans secure housing and would eliminate roadblocks to a 
student veteran's academic success. I thank Mr. Jim Himes of 
Connecticut for introducing this particular bill. It has my support.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3634, requiring the VA 
to provide electronic documentation of the GI Bill beneficiary housing 
stipend. Once again, I want to thank Mr. Himes, whom we are going to 
hear from in just a moment, for responding to constituents, responding 
to a need, and crafting a piece of legislation that makes sure--as 
currently the VA does not provide sufficient information about the 
exact amount of housing stipend that a beneficiary receives under GI 
Bill benefits.
  Many veterans rely on their housing stipend to pay for their housing 
while they are attending school; and, therefore, it can be necessary 
for them to show proof of their housing allowance as proof of income. 
Without this proof of income, veterans are often finding themselves 
unable to secure housing before the start of a school term.
  This is--once again, it is being used a lot today, but this is a case 
that I would concur--a commonsense piece of legislation that asks for 
documentation that the VA can electronically provide to allow all of 
our veterans to more easily use their earned benefits.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Himes), the author of this piece of legislation and a 
staunch supporter of our Nation's veterans.
  Mr. HIMES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Minnesota for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Securing Electronic 
Records for Veterans' Ease Act, the SERVE Act, because we all know and 
feel that veterans and their families face very real challenges when 
they transition to civilian life. We all know that we have an important 
responsibility to do what we can to help. Finding housing or a roof 
over their heads should not be an ordeal, especially if it is caused by 
difficulties in showing the stipend that student veterans get from 
Uncle Sam.
  In conversations with student veterans throughout my district, proof 
of income for housing kept coming up as a big challenge. In fact, Nick 
Quinzi, a marine and founder of the Veteran's Student Association at 
Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, told my office that 
if he had a wish list of things to make his veteran experience better, 
the number one item would be fixing the lack of verification for the 
monthly housing stipend and, therefore, giving him better access to 
housing.
  The fact that Nick and many veterans like him have no proof of income 
that a property manager or landlord could consider when weighing 
creditworthiness and income qualifications is the definition of an 
unnecessary burden.

  Mr. Speaker, this bipartisan legislation would help veterans obtain 
proof of income for the housing allowance

[[Page H8561]]

they receive while utilizing the post-9/11 GI Bill. This is, as we have 
all said, a commonsense fix to this problem. It requires the VA to make 
documentation for the post-9/11 GI Bill monthly housing stipend 
accessible and available online. That is it.
  Student veterans will use this documentation to provide needed 
verification to housing agents, apartment managers, and potential 
landlords. This bill would provide a permanent solution to the 
inadequacy of the statement of benefits that is currently available--an 
official form, accessible online, that verifies the housing benefit is 
necessary and builds upon existing website functionality. The VA's 
eBenefits site already provides access to certification letters for VA 
compensation and pension benefits.
  Mr. Speaker, this fix could have a big effect. There are close to 1.1 
million student veterans using the post-9/11 GI Bill who would be 
eligible to benefit from this.
  Mr. Speaker, our veterans have earned this benefit. We, as elected 
officials, feel a responsibility to make sure that they do not face 
bureaucratic hurdles that prevent them from taking advantage of all of 
the benefits that they have earned.
  I would like to close by thanking Dr. Roe and Ranking Member Walz for 
their role in bringing this bill to the floor and for their work on 
behalf of all of our Nation's veterans.
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Connecticut once 
again. This is a good piece of legislation. It will speed the benefits 
that were earned by our Nation's veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3634, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the sponsor of the bill, Mr. 
Himes, first of all, for holding the roundtables and the town halls--
they mean so much--and identifying the problem. We are solving it here 
today, so I appreciate all of the support for this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1600

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Valadao). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3634.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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