[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 150 (Monday, September 18, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H4357-H4358]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ISAKSON-ROE EDUCATION OVERSIGHT EXPANSION ACT
Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 3981) to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the
methods by which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs conducts oversight
of certain educational institutions, and for other purposes, as
amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3981
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 ``Isakson-Roe Education
Oversight Expansion Act''.
SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OVERSIGHT
OF CERTAIN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.
(a) Additional Requirement for Approval.--Section 3675(b)
of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the
end the following new paragraph:
``(5) The educational institution agrees to, not later than
30 days after any date on which such educational institution
becomes subject to an action or event described in section
3673(e)(3) of this title, submit to the State approving
agency, or the Secretary when acting in the role of a State
approving agency, a notification of such action or event in
such form and containing such information as the Secretary
determines appropriate.''.
(b) Additional Requirement for Approval of Nonaccredited
Courses.--
(1) In general.--Section 3676(c) of such title is amended--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (14) through (16) as
paragraphs (15) through (17), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (13) the following new
paragraph:
``(14) The institution agrees to, not later than 30 days
after any date on which such institution becomes subject to
an action or event described in section 3673(e)(3) of this
title, submit to the State approving agency, or the Secretary
when acting in the role of a State approving agency, a
notification of such action or event in such form and
containing such information as the Secretary determines
appropriate.''.
(2) Conforming amendments.--Such title is further amended--
(A) in section 3672(b)(2)(C), by striking ``paragraph (14)
or (15)'' and inserting ``paragraph (15) or (16)'';
(B) in section 3675(b)(3), by striking ``(14), (15), and
(16)'' and inserting ``(15), (16), and (17)'';
(C) in section 3679(d), by striking ``described in
paragraph (14) or (15)'' and inserting ``described in
paragraph (15) or (16)''; and
(D) in section 3680A(a)(4)(C)(iii), by striking ``section
3676(c)(14) and (15)'' and inserting ``section 3676(c)(15)
and (16)''.
(c) Additional Grounds for Suspension of Approval.--Section
3679(f)(1) of such title is amended by adding at the end the
following new subparagraph:
``(I) Comply with the notification requirements under
sections 3675(b)(5) and 3676(c)(14) of this title, when
applicable.''.
(d) Deadline for Risk-based Surveys Database.--The
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish the database
required under section 3673A(c) of title 38, United States
Code, by not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Bost) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois.
General Leave
Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on
H.R. 3981, as amended.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Illinois?
There was no objection.
Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3981, as amended. This
bill makes improvements to protect veterans while they are using their
GI Bill.
Specifically, this bill would require schools to self-report adverse
actions to their State approving agency in addition to the VA within 30
days.
State approving agencies are required to approve and review schools
and training programs for the GI Bill. This bill would also require VA
to create a risk-based survey database within 180 days.
Congress has been waiting for the VA to implement this database for a
long time. This proposal would make it clear to the VA that Congress
still intends for this database to be implemented.
I appreciate the bipartisan work that has been done at the committee
level to ensure that this bill supports veterans while also not
increasing government spending.
I thank Mr. McGarvey for his work in introducing this proposal, and I
urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 3981, as amended.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise to express my support for H.R. 3981, as
amended, the Isakson-Roe Education Oversight Expansion Act.
Madam Speaker, before I came to Congress, I was a teacher. When I was
entrusted with the gavel as chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee
in 2019, one of my primary focuses was helping student veterans. Now, I
serve as ranking member. However, I am incredibly proud of what our
committee did during our 4 years in the majority.
In 2021, we passed a significant student-veteran focused law:
Representative Mike Levin's Isakson-Roe Veterans Health Care and
Benefits Improvement Act, named for former House and Senate chairmen
Phil Roe and Johnny Isakson. That law was a massive leap forward in
education quality and oversight for student veterans.
Representative McGarvey's legislation, H.R. 3981, builds upon the
Isakson-Roe Act and further improves the system of oversight we
established in the 2021 law. Now, schools will join the process of
reporting violations, no longer waiting for State approving agencies or
VA to uncover errors before it is too late.
The legislation before us also improves transparency for the risk-
based surveys created by Isakson-Roe. VA started conducting these
surveys in late 2022, but schools need to know how these surveys work
so they can better deliver for our student veterans. The legislation
improves schools' access to the risk-based survey database.
Madam Speaker, I support H.R. 3981, as amended.
Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr.
McGarvey), my good friend, who is a member of our Subcommittee on
Economic Opportunity and also the sponsor of H.R. 3981.
Mr. McGARVEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R.
3981, the Isakson-Roe Education Oversight Expansion Act. I am proud to
sponsor this legislation, which builds
[[Page H4358]]
on Ranking Member Levin's comprehensive bill, the Isakson-Roe Veterans
Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020.
My hometown and district in Louisville, Kentucky, is home to nearly
50,000 veterans. Veterans in Louisville and across our country deserve
as much support from the government when they come out of Active Duty
as when they go in. Today, we have an opportunity to show our vets that
we are listening to their concerns and that we are going to do
something about it.
H.R. 3981 will help the VA deliver on the promises it makes to
servicemembers when they join the military. It improves oversight of
and fosters accountability at institutions that receive GI Bill
funding, ensuring that the men and women who put on the uniform of our
country aren't defrauded by dishonest institutions that fail to set our
veterans up for success.
H.R. 3981 is a commonsense, bipartisan bill which came out of our
committee on a bipartisan basis. It will ensure our veterans and their
benefits are supported and protected. We have a sacred responsibility
to look after all Americans, especially those who have sacrificed for
our country. Any veteran who wants to get an education, an education
they have earned, should be able to do so without fear of being
defrauded, losing their benefits, or being left behind.
Every man and woman who puts on a uniform is willing to risk
everything to keep us safe. The least we can do is protect them when
they get home. Veterans earn their GI Bill education benefits, and no
veteran should lose that benefit to bad actors or fraudulent
institutions. Not a single one.
I thank Chairman Bost, Chairman Van Orden, Ranking Members Takano and
Levin, and all of those involved, for their support of this bill. I ask
my colleagues to support H.R. 3981.
Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I ask all my colleagues to join me in
passing H.R. 3981, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I encourage the Members on our side the
aisle and all of our colleagues to support this good piece of
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3981,
the Isakson-Roe Education Oversight Expansion Act of 2023.
Members of the armed forces are important to our nation, and we show
them our appreciation by taking care of them after they have completed
their service by legislation such as H.R. 3981.
Many of our nation's veterans have earned federal support to help pay
for college, graduate school, and training programs through their GI
Bill education benefits.
They can even transfer unused benefits to family members and do so in
many cases.
Unfortunately, some predatory programs have exploited veterans by
aggressively attracting them and their GI beneits to fraudulent,
falsified, or substandard programs.
The comprehensive Isakson-Roe Education Oversight Expansion Act would
seek to rein in these abuses by increasing the Department of Veterans
Affairs oversight capacity.
Additionally, it would look to restore benefits to defrauded
veterans, and improve oversight, faster accountability, and most of
all, help our veterans access the quality education they have earned.
Similarly, H.R. 3981 would require educational institutions that
offer certain courses to people who are eligible for educational
bene6ts administered by the VA.
Reportable events would include punitive actions by state or federal
agencies, heightened monitoring of federal student aid, and the
potential loss of accreditation.
Institutions that fail to report those events would become ineligible
to receive benefit payments from the VA.
Unfortunately, our nation's recognition of those who served in
subsequent conflicts has been less than adequate.
We have, in recent decades, too often failed to overcome our
political differences to recognize the truly remarkable achievements of
our courageous veterans.
We must be united in seeing that every soldier, sailor, airman, and
marine in welcoming them back with all the care and compassion this
grateful nation can bestow.
Our nation has a proud legacy of appreciation and commitment to the
men and women who have worn the uniform in defense of this country.
Veterans continue to have many unanswered needs, and I will continue
to fight for the rights of our most patriotic Americans.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 3981, as amended.
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. BOST. Madam 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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