[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 24, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H7133-H7134]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
INCLUDING ADDITIONAL PERIODS OF ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE IN DEPARTMENT OF
VETERANS AFFAIRS VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION PROGRAMS
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 5538) to amend title 38, United States Code, to
provide for the inclusion of certain additional periods of active duty
service for purposes of suspending charges to veterans' entitlement to
educational assistance under the laws administered by the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs during periods of suspended participation in
vocational rehabilitation programs.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5538
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
[[Page H7134]]
SECTION 1. INCLUSION OF CERTAIN ADDITIONAL PERIODS OF ACTIVE
DUTY SERVICE FOR PURPOSES OF SUSPENSION OF
CHARGES TO ENTITLEMENT DURING PERIODS OF
SUSPENDED PARTICIPATION IN DEPARTMENT OF
VETERANS AFFAIRS VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION
PROGRAMS.
Section 3105(e)(2) of title 38, United States Code, is
amended by striking ``or 12304'' and inserting ``12304,
12304a, or 12304b''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Tennessee (Mr. Roe) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.
General Leave
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
insert extraneous material.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Tennessee?
There was no objection.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5538.
Under current law, if a member of the Guard or Reserve is called to
Active Duty under certain orders while receiving training through the
Department of Veterans Affairs Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment
program, the charges for that training are waived. However, those
charges are not waived for members of the Guard or Reserve who are
called up under orders regarding emergency response or augmentation of
overseas combat forces. This creates a disparity.
H.R. 5538 would address that disparity and level the playing field by
waiving training charges for all servicemembers, regardless of which
Active-Duty orders they are serving under.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1830
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5538, the Reserve Component
Vocational Rehabilitation Parity Act.
This bill protects an overlooked provision related to our National
Guard and Reserve servicemembers who are mobilized under 12304b
authorities. This bill allows servicemembers to pause the clock on the
12-year limit to use vocational rehabilitation programs while mobilized
on Active Duty orders. Currently, this is allowed for mostly
mobilization authorities, but this particular authority was overlooked.
Simply, the bill adds to 12304a and 12304b authorities to the 12304
provision already listed within the statute.
This is an important fix because of the increased use of 12304b
authority by the Department of Defense over the past few years, and the
increases planned for the future. As we move the Reserve components
from a strategic reserve to an operational reserve concept, it is
critically important that we modernize our statutes to ensure benefits
parity while servicemembers are in uniform. This is a step in the right
direction.
With this bill, Congress has the opportunity to be proactive, instead
of reactive, to the needs of our servicemembers.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Peters for bringing this issue forward and
identifying a fix. He is a reliable and critical advocate for our
country's National Guard and Reserve servicemembers. I also thank Mr.
Bergman for reaching across the aisle and joining Mr. Peters in
introducing this bill. And I thank the co-chairs of the House's
National Guard and Reserve Components Caucus, Mr. Walz and Mr. Palazzo,
for supporting the initiative. Lastly, I thank the six other members of
our committee who were original cosponsors of the bill, including Mr.
O'Rourke, Ms. Brownley, and Ms. Kuster.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Peters), a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee,
the author of this bill, and my good friend.
Mr. PETERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Takano for yielding. I
appreciate his commitment to improving the lives of veterans, their
families, and the communities. The Reserve Component Vocational
Rehabilitation Parity Act, my bill before the House today, aims to
continue investing in veterans, specifically those still fighting for
our Nation.
Our veterans have served our country, and it is our duty to make sure
they can access the resources that they have earned. Many guardsmen and
reservists have realized that they didn't qualify for all their
benefits after the Department of Defense began using their new
authority created to call up Reserve components for involuntary
service. This new authority unintentionally excluded these reservists.
Thankfully, Ranking Member Walz and Mr. Palazzo took the lead to fix
several of these inconsistencies. We passed a few of these fixes in the
Forever GI Bill last year. This week, we are also passing other bills
to make sure benefits are properly extended.
One unresolved issue, though, was access to vocational
rehabilitation. This VA program provides access to education and
critical job training that helps servicemembers and veterans develop
their career plan after service.
Vocational rehab helps veterans determine transferable skills that
will lead to good jobs and what additional skills they need to fulfill
their career goals.
Upon separation, a veteran must use his or her vocational rehab
benefits within 12 years. Any months or years spent deployed should not
count against this time clock.
Currently, two reservists serving side by side in Active Duty may not
have access to the same vocational rehab benefits just because of the
authority under which they have been mobilized. Additionally,
reservists involuntarily called up may be leaving their family or a
civilian job without notice, compared to a reservist who volunteered.
In both cases, these guardsmen and reservists served honorably in
missions to support combat zones. They have earned the same employment
and education benefits as every other reservist throughout their
service.
My bill, the Reserve Component Vocational Rehabilitation Parity Act,
ensures that reservists and guardsmen have access to the full 12 years
of vocational rehab benefits by pausing the clock during their service.
I am happy to have received the support of the National Guard
Association of the United States and the Reserve Officers Association
in this effort.
I urge Congress to pass this bill so that all of our veterans can
access the education benefits they earned.
Mr. Speaker, I thank General Bergman, who joined me to introduce this
bill, and seven of our committee colleagues who cosponsored the bill,
as Mr. Takano said. I also thank Chairman Roe, a wonderful chairman;
Ranking Member Walz; and the Veterans' Affairs Committee staff for
their steadfast work to support our Nation's veterans.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their strong support of the
bill, and I urge its passage.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in passing
H.R. 5538, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Peters for bringing up
this much-needed piece of legislation and correcting this inequity. It
wasn't intended, but now this Congress has a chance, in a bipartisan
way, to correct this.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage all Members to support H.R. 5538, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 5538.
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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