[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 14]
[House]
[Pages 19363-19364]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




AMENDING TITLE 38, UNITED STATES CODE, TO INCREASE AMOUNTS AVAILABLE TO 
  STATE APPROVING AGENCIES TO ASCERTAIN QUALIFICATIONS OF EDUCATIONAL 
                              INSTITUTIONS

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 3731) to amend title 38, United States Code, to 
increase amounts available to State approving agencies to ascertain the 
qualifications of educational institutions for furnishing courses of 
education to veterans and eligible persons under the Montgomery GI Bill 
and under other programs of education administered by the Department of 
Veterans Affairs, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3731

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. INCREASE IN AGGREGATE ANNUAL AMOUNT AVAILABLE FOR 
                   STATE APPROVING AGENCIES FOR ADMINISTRATIVE 
                   EXPENSES FOR FISCAL YEAR 2003.

       (a) In General.--Section 3674(a)(4) of title 38, United 
     States Code, is amended by inserting before the period at the 
     end of the first sentence the following: ``, and for fiscal 
     year 2003, $14,000,000''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect on October 1, 2002.

     SEC. 2. FEE FOR LOAN ASSUMPTION.

       (a) In General.--(1) For the period described in paragraph 
     (2), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall apply section 
     3729(b)(2)(I) of title 38, United States Code, by 
     substituting ``1.00'' for ``0.50'' each place it appears.
       (2) The period referred to in paragraph (1) is the period 
     that begins on the date of the enactment of this Act and ends 
     on September 30, 2003.
       (b) Technical Amendment.--(1) Section 3703(e)(2)(A) of such 
     title is amended by striking ``3729(b)'' and inserting 
     ``3729(b)(2)(I)''.
       (2) The amendment made by paragraph (1) shall take effect 
     as if included in the enactment of section 402 of the 
     Veterans Benefits and Health Care Improvement Act of 2000 
     (Public Law 106-419, 114 Stat. 1861).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as chairman of the committee, I rise in strong support 
of H.R. 3731, as amended, which would increase funding for State 
approving agencies from $13 million to $14 million for fiscal year 
2003.
  Since World War II, Mr. Speaker, Congress has relied on the SAAs to 
ensure the quality of education and training offered to our Nation's 
veterans and to protect the integrity of VA education programs. These 
are the agencies that determine which schools, courses, and training 
programs qualify as eligible for veterans seeking to use their GI Bill 
benefits.
  SAAs also provide a vital role in occupational licensing and 
credentialing for veterans and in employer outreach.
  On May 21 of this year, Mr. Speaker, the House passed H.R. 4085, as 
amended, a bill that included an increase from $14 million available to 
State approving agencies in fiscal year 2002 to $18 million for fiscal 
years 2003, 2004, and 2005. The Senate passed a similar measure as part 
of S. 2237 on September 26, but the bodies have not yet reached final 
agreement to a compromise on the larger bill containing this provision.
  Without this legislation, Mr. Speaker, the SAA funding would decrease 
from the current funding level of $14 million to the $13 million levels 
on October 1 of this year. This is a stopgap measure for fiscal year 
2003 only. My proposal simply puts SAA annual funding back at last 
year's level of $14 million for fiscal year 2003 in order to provide 
the SAAs with the resources necessary to fulfill their 
responsibilities.
  Mr. Speaker, I join the ranking member, the gentleman from Illinois 
(Mr. Evans), in urging every Member of the House to support this 
stopgap bill while we work on the other legislation.
  I thank my good friend, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), for 
his cooperation on this legislation. We have throughout this session 
worked together on so many bills, and this is another one, while we 
work out some details with the Senate, hopefully to significantly boost 
the amount of money for the State-approving agencies.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3731. I again want to 
thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Chairman Smith) and the leaders of 
our subcommittee, the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Simpson) and the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes), for their effective leadership on 
this important issue.
  As an original cosponsor, I urge all Members to support this bill. 
The purpose of this legislation is straightforward. It provides that 
the funding authorized for the State approving agencies for fiscal year 
2003 is not less than the amount provided in fiscal year 2002.
  Mr. Speaker, the State approving agencies play a vitally important 
role in the administering of educational benefits under the GI Bill. 
These are benefits our veterans and service members have earned. We 
must respect that. If Congress fails to move this legislation, SAA 
funding will be reduced. This would be harmful to veterans' educations.
  Congress has recently added responsibilities and duties to the State 
approving agencies at a time when State budgets are being drastically 
cut. Congress must make sure that these agencies have adequate 
resources to do their job.
  Mr. Speaker, I support the passage of this legislation, and I urge 
Members to do the same.
  Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3731, a bill 
of which I am an original consponsor, to maintain funding levels for 
State Approving Agencies who approve the Department of Veterans 
Affairs' educational programs as well as conduct outreach concerning 
education benefits. The passage of this bill will prevent a $1 million 
decrease in funding for this program in Fiscal Year 2003. This decrease 
would likely result in the loss of State jobs and the degradation of 
this important program. We have a responsibility to our veterans to 
provide the services promised to them when they committed to serve our 
country.
  Mr. Speaker, as you know, I have dedicated my service in Congress to 
improving the quality of life of our Nation's veterans. I remain 
committed to the responsibilities I have to our veterans.

[[Page 19364]]

  I would like to thank the distinguished Chairman of our Committee, 
Mr. Smith, as well as the distinguished Ranking Member and friend, Mr. 
Lane Evans, for their hard work in bringing this bill to the floor.
  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support 
of H.R. 3731, to increase funding for State Approving Agencies (SAA's). 
I am a cosponsor of this important legislation and I urge my colleagues 
to support its passage.
  SAA's promote and safeguard quality education and training programs 
for all veterans and for other eligible persons. They protect the GI 
Bill resources available for those programs, programs proving 
beneficial to veterans in a wide variety of ways. They assure greater 
educational opportunities and more opportunities to meet the changing 
needs of our veterans.
  The need to increase funding for SAA's primarily reflects the new SAA 
duties in occupational licensing and credentialing and veteran, 
servicemember and employer outreach in each State. In recent years, 
Congress has increased SAA responsibilities, most recently through 
enactment of P.L. 107-103, the Veterans Education and Benefits 
Expansion Act of 2001. This landmark legislation increased the basic GI 
Bill benefit by 19 percent in January 2002 and will further increase 
the benefit by 30 percent in October 2003 and 39 percent in October 
2004.
  However, SAA funding was capped at $13 million without an annual 
increase from FY95 to FY2000. Congress did increase SAA funding to $14 
million, but only for FY01 and 02. If Congress does not act to increase 
funding for FY03, the SAA budget reverts back to the $13 million level, 
which, when combined with the growth in workload for SAA's under new 
laws, leaves the SAA's lacking the necessary resources to fulfill their 
responsibilities. H.R. 3731 increases SAA annual funding from $14 
million to $18 million, with a three percent increase the following two 
years. Furthermore, under H.R. 3731, New Mexico's funding levels for 
SAA's is estimated to rise to a level of $147,612, an increase of 
$5,677.
  If action is not taken on this bill, funding for this program will 
decrease by one million dollars nationwide, which will result in a loss 
of jobs nationwide. If we do not act, veterans will lose important 
services. Therefore I urge my colleagues to vote yes on H.R. 3731. You 
will be supporting veterans' educational rights; service members who 
will be returning to civilian life ready to contribute to this great 
nation.
  Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for 
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 3731, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``To amend title 38, 
United States Code, to increase amounts available to State approving 
agencies to ascertain the qualifications of educational institutions 
for furnishing courses of education to veterans and eligible persons 
under the Montgomery GI Bill and under other programs of education 
administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other 
purposes.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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