[House Report 117-225]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


117th Congress    }                                    {      Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session       }                                    {      117-225

======================================================================

 
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE BILL (H.R. 1836) TO AMEND TITLE 38, 
UNITED STATES CODE, TO ENSURE THAT THE TIME DURING WHICH MEMBERS OF THE 
     ARMED FORCES SERVE ON ACTIVE DUTY FOR TRAINING QUALIFIES FOR 
   EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE UNDER THE POST-9/11 EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 
PROGRAM OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES; 
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE BILL (H.R. 4673) TO AMEND TITLE 38, 
UNITED STATES CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE AUTOMATIC ENROLLMENT OF ELIGIBLE 
    VETERANS IN PATIENT ENROLLMENT SYSTEM OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
        AFFAIRS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

                                _______
                                

  January 10, 2022.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

             Mr. Perlmutter, from the Committee on Rules, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                       [To accompany H. Res. 860]

    The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration 
House Resolution 860, by a record vote of 8 to 4, report the 
same to the House with the recommendation that the resolution 
be adopted.

                SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF THE RESOLUTION

    The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 1836, the 
Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act of 2021, under a 
structured rule. The resolution provides one hour of general 
debate on the bill equally divided and controlled by the chair 
and ranking minority member of the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs or their designees. The resolution waives all points of 
order against consideration of the bill. The resolution 
provides that an amendment in the nature of a substitute 
consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 117-25 shall be 
considered as adopted and the bill, as amended, shall be 
considered as read. The resolution waives all points of order 
against provisions in the bill, as amended. The resolution 
makes in order only those amendments printed in part A of this 
report. Each further amendment printed in part A of this report 
shall be considered only in the order printed in this report, 
may be offered only by a Member designated in this report, 
shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time 
specified in this report equally divided and controlled by the 
proponent and an opponent, may be withdrawn by the proponent at 
any time before the question is put thereon, shall not be 
subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for 
division of the question. The resolution waives all points of 
order against the amendments printed in part A of this report. 
The resolution provides one motion to recommit. The resolution 
provides for consideration of H.R. 4673, the EVEST Act, under a 
structured rule. The resolution provides one hour of general 
debate on the bill equally divided and controlled by the chair 
and ranking minority member of the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs or their designees. The resolution waives all points of 
order against consideration of the bill. The resolution 
provides that an amendment in the nature of a substitute 
consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 117-26 shall be 
considered as adopted and the bill, as amended, shall be 
considered as read. The resolution waives all points of order 
against provisions in the bill, as amended. The resolution 
provides that following debate, each further amendment printed 
in part B of this report not earlier considered as part of 
amendments en bloc pursuant to section 5 shall be considered 
only in the order printed in this report, may be offered only 
by a Member designated in this report, shall be considered as 
read, shall be debatable for the time specified in this report 
equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an 
opponent, may be withdrawn by the proponent at any time before 
the question is put thereon, shall not be subject to amendment, 
and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the 
question. Section 5 of the resolution provides that at any time 
after debate the chair of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs or 
his designee may offer amendments en bloc consisting of further 
amendments printed in part B of this report not earlier 
disposed of. Amendments en bloc shall be considered as read, 
shall be debatable for 20 minutes equally divided and 
controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the 
Committee on Veterans Affairs' or their designees, shall not be 
subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for 
division of the question. The resolution waives all points of 
order against the amendments printed in part B of this report 
and amendments en bloc described in section 5 of the 
resolution. The resolution provides for one motion to recommit. 
The resolution provides that House Resolution 188, agreed to 
March 8, 2021 (as most recently amended by House Resolution 
829, agreed to December 2, 2021), is amended by striking 
``January 21, 2022'' each place it appears and inserting (in 
each instance) ``February 4, 2022''.

                         EXPLANATION OF WAIVERS

    Although the resolution waives all points of order against 
consideration of H.R. 1836, the Committee is not aware of any 
points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
    Although the resolution waives all points of order against 
provisions in H.R. 1836, as amended, the Committee is not aware 
of any points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
    Although the resolution waives all points of order against 
the amendments printed in part A of this report, the Committee 
is not aware of any points of order. The waiver is prophylactic 
in nature.
    The waiver of all points of order against consideration of 
H.R. 4673 includes waivers of the following:
    --Clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, which requires committee 
reports to include a statement of general performance goals and 
objectives, including outcome-related goals and objectives for 
which the measure authorizes funding.
    --Clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII, which requires committee 
reports on a bill that establish or reauthorize Federal 
programs to indicate whether any such program is known to be 
duplicative of another such program.
    Although the resolution waives all points of order against 
provisions in H.R. 4673, as amended, the Committee is not aware 
of any points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
    Although the resolution waives all points of order against 
the amendments printed in part B of this report and amendments 
en bloc described in section 5 of the resolution, the Committee 
is not aware of any points of order. The waiver is prophylactic 
in nature.

                            COMMITTEE VOTES

    The results of each record vote on an amendment or motion 
to report, together with the names of those voting for and 
against, are printed below:

Rules Committee record vote No. 178

    Motion by Mr. Cole to strike the language in the rule that 
would continue the tolling of days for Resolutions of Inquiry. 
Defeated: 4-8

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Majority Members                      Vote               Minority Members               Vote
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mrs. Torres.....................................          Nay   Mr. Cole..........................          Yea
Mr. Perlmutter..................................          Nay   Mr. Burgess.......................          Yea
Mr. Raskin......................................          Nay   Mr. Reschenthaler.................          Yea
Ms. Scanlon.....................................          Nay   Mrs. Fischbach....................          Yea
Mr. Morelle.....................................          Nay
Mr. DeSaulnier..................................          Nay
Ms. Ross........................................          Nay
Mr. Neguse......................................  ............
Mr. McGovern, Chairman..........................          Nay
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rules Committee record vote No. 179

    Motion by Mrs. Fischbach to amend the rule to H.R. 1836 to 
make in order amendment #3, offered by Rep. Fitzgerald (WI), 
which ensures members of the Armed Forces granted a general 
discharge under honorable conditions solely for refusing the 
COVID 19 vaccine are eligible for GI Bill education benefits. 
Defeated: 4-8

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Majority Members                      Vote               Minority Members               Vote
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mrs. Torres.....................................          Nay   Mr. Cole..........................          Yea
Mr. Perlmutter..................................          Nay   Mr. Burgess.......................          Yea
Mr. Raskin......................................          Nay   Mr. Reschenthaler.................          Yea
Ms. Scanlon.....................................          Nay   Mrs. Fischbach....................          Yea
Mr. Morelle.....................................          Nay
Mr. DeSaulnier..................................          Nay
Ms. Ross........................................          Nay
Mr. Neguse......................................  ............
Mr. McGovern, Chairman..........................          Nay
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rules Committee record vote No. 180

    Motion by Mrs. Torres to report the rule. Adopted: 8-4

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Majority Members                      Vote               Minority Members               Vote
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mrs. Torres.....................................          Yea   Mr. Cole..........................          Nay
Mr. Perlmutter..................................          Yea   Mr. Burgess.......................          Nay
Mr. Raskin......................................          Yea   Mr. Reschenthaler.................          Nay
Ms. Scanlon.....................................          Yea   Mrs. Fischbach....................          Nay
Mr. Morelle.....................................          Yea
Mr. DeSaulnier..................................          Yea
Ms. Ross........................................          Yea
Mr. Neguse......................................  ............
Mr. McGovern, Chairman..........................          Yea
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     SUMMARY OF THE AMENDMENTS TO H.R. 1836 IN PART A MADE IN ORDER

    1. Ross (NC), Gonzalez-Colon, Jenniffer (PR), Bowman (NY), 
Moore (WI): Requires the VA to inform new veterans of the 
medical care and services for which they are eligible, 
including community care under the MISSION Act; mental health 
care, including the Veterans Crisis Line; care relating to 
military sexual trauma; and any other information the Secretary 
deems appropriate. (10 minutes)
    2. Moore, Barry (AL), Bost (IL): Replaces the base text of 
the bill with a fully paid-for expansion of GI Bill benefits to 
members of the Guard and Reserve who are on Federal Active Duty 
orders for missions other than training. (10 minutes)

     SUMMARY OF THE AMENDMENTS TO H.R. 4673 IN PART B MADE IN ORDER

    1. Delgado (NY): Allows the VA Secretary to consider mass 
texting as a way to notify veterans about VA services. (10 
minutes)
    2. Delgado (NY): Directs GAO to submit a report to Congress 
determining the best methods for the VA to provide notice of 
the automatic enrollment in the patient enrollment system. 
Report must consider different demographics, including age and 
location. (10 minutes)
    3. Escobar (TX): Extends automatic enrollment to Veterans 
who were discharged within 90 days before the enactment of this 
Act. (10 minutes)
    4. Hayes (CT): Clarifies that notices shall include 
instructions for how the veteran may elect to enroll at a later 
date, as well as ensuring that notices be provided via physical 
mail and, to the extent practical, via electronic mail to 
ensure veterans are aware of notice and information related to 
this Act. (10 minutes)
    5. Tlaib (MI): Requires a report on the automatic 
enrollment not later than one year after the first veteran is 
enrolled to preserve lessons learned from the rollout of this 
automatic registration program for other agencies and entities 
that may pursue similar initiatives in the future. (10 minutes)

         PART A--TEXT OF AMENDMENTS TO H.R. 1836 MADE IN ORDER

1. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Ross of North Carolina 
               or Her Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Add at the end the following new section:

SEC. 4. PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO VETERANS DURING TRANSITION TO 
                    CIVILIAN LIFE.

  (a) Requirement.--In providing information to new veterans 
regarding benefits administered by the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs, the Secretary shall ensure that the information 
includes the following:
          (1) A description of the medical care and services 
        for which the veteran will be eligible under chapter 17 
        of title 38, United States Code, including with respect 
        to--
                  (A) community care under section 1703 of such 
                title;
                  (B) mental health care, including how to 
                access the Veterans Crisis Line established 
                under section 1720F(h) of such title; and
                  (C) care relating to military sexual trauma 
                (as defined in section 1166 of such title).
          (2) Any other information that the Secretary 
        determines appropriate, including information about the 
        services and benefits to which the veteran may be 
        entitled.
  (b) Manner.--The Secretary shall provide the information 
under subsection (a) in a manner that promotes the 
destigmatization of mental health care and encourages veterans 
to reach out for support.
                              ----------                              


2. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Moore of Alabama or His 
                   Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR POST-9/11 EDUCATIONAL 
                    ASSISTANCE TO MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL GUARD WHO 
                    PERFORM CERTAIN FULL-TIME DUTY.

  (a) In General.--Section 3301(1)(C)(ii) of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended--
          (1) by inserting ``(not including training)'' after 
        ``title 32''; and
          (2) by striking ``for the purpose of responding to a 
        national emergency declared by the President and 
        supported by Federal funds''.
  (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) 
shall take effect on October 1, 2022.

SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENTS OF IRRRL RATE.

  Subparagraph (E) of the loan fee table under section 
3729(b)(2) of title 38, United States Code, is amended to read 
as follows:

 
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
``(E)(i) Interest rate reduction          0.85         0.85           NA
 refinancing loan (closed on or
 after July 1, 2022, and before
 August 8, 2022).................
(ii) Interest rate reduction              0.50         0.50        NA''.
 refinancing loan (closed during
 a period not covered by clause
 (i))............................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

         PART B--TEXT OF AMENDMENTS TO H.R. 4673 MADE IN ORDER

1. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Delgado of New York or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Page 1, line 15, insert ``(A)'' before ``Not later''.
  Page 1, line 18, strike ``(A)'' and insert ``(i)''.
  Page 2, line 1, strike ``(B)'' and insert ``(ii)''.
  Page 2, after line 3, insert the following:
  ``(B) In carrying out subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 
consider using, to the extent practical, mass texting 
capabilities through mobile telephones.''.
                              ----------                              


2. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Delgado of New York or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  At the end of the bill, add the following:

SEC. 3. GAO REPORT ON NOTICE OF AUTOMATIC ENROLLMENT IN PATIENT 
                    ENROLLMENT SYSTEM OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
                    AFFAIRS.

  Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 
submit to Congress a report containing the results of a study 
to determine the best methods for the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs to provide notice under paragraph (2) of subsection (d) 
of section 1705 of title 38, United States Code, as added by 
section 2. In making such determination, the Comptroller 
General shall consider needs of veterans based on--
          (1) age;
          (2) residence in urban areas; and
          (3) residence in rural areas.
                              ----------                              


3. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Escobar of Texas or Her 
                   Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Page 2, line 12, insert after ``a veteran'' the following: 
``who is discharged or separated from the Armed Forces on or 
after the date that is 90 days before the date of the enactment 
of this Act and''.
                              ----------                              


4. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Hayes of Connecticut or 
                 Her Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Page 1, line 15, insert ``(A)'' before ``Not later''.
  Page 1, line 18, strike ``(A)'' and insert ``(i)''.
  Page 1, line 18, strike ``and''.
  Page 2, line 1, strike ``(B)'' and insert ``(ii)''.
  Page 2, line 3, strike the period and insert ``; and''.
  Page 2, after line 3, insert the following:
          ``(iii) instructions for how the veteran may elect to 
        enroll at a later date.
  ``(B) Any notice or instructions required to be provided 
under this paragraph shall be provided in the form of a 
physical copy delivered by mail and, to the extent practical, 
in the form of an electronic copy delivered by electronic 
mail.''.
  Page 3, after line 5, insert the following:
  (d) Provision of Notice and Information.--The notice and 
instructions required to be provided under subsection (d)(2) of 
section 1705 of title 38, United States Code, as added by 
subsection (a), shall be provided in accordance with the 
established procedures of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
with respect to the provision of similar types of notices and 
instructions.
                              ----------                              


 5. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Tlaib of Michigan or 
                 Her Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Add at the end the following:
  (d) Report on Automatic Enrollment.--
          (1) In general.--Not later than one year after the 
        first veteran is enrolled in the patient enrollment 
        system of the Department of Veterans Affairs under 
        subsection (d) of section 1705 of title 38, United 
        States Code, as added by subsection (a), the Secretary 
        shall submit to Congress a report on the enrollment 
        process under such subsection. Such report shall 
        include each of the following:
                  (A) A discussion of any anticipated 
                challenges that occurred in implementing such 
                subsection, the strategies used to address such 
                challenges, and the effectiveness of such 
                strategies.
                  (B) A discussion of any unanticipated 
                challenges that occurred in implementing such 
                subsection, the strategies used to address such 
                challenges, and the effectiveness of such 
                strategies.
                  (C) Any additional information the Secretary 
                determines appropriate, including information 
                that may be useful to other Federal departments 
                and agencies considering the implementation of 
                similar automatic enrollment programs.
          (2) Form of report.--The report required under 
        paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, 
        but may include a classified annex.

                                  [all]