GI Bill Planning Act of 2019

GI Bill Planning Act of 2019

This bill extends or removes specified deadlines for certain Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) education benefits.

Specifically, the bill updates the Montgomery GI Bill program by extending the period of time under which an election must be made for entitlement to educational assistance under the program. The bill phases the program out on September 30, 2029.

The bill also removes a deadline that prevents certain veterans from receiving in-state tuition, regardless of their state of residence, using VA education benefits at public institutions of higher education. Currently, a veteran who is discharged or released after at least 90 days of active service must be within three years of their discharge from active duty to receive in-state tuition (regardless of their state of residence).

The VA must post on a public VA website a database explaining any requirements established by a public institution of higher learning for an individual to be charged in-state tuition.

The VA must disapprove a course of education at a public institution of higher education that does not provide the VA with an explanation of the requirements (or a timely update of such requirements) for an individual to be charged in-state tuition.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5278 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5278

To amend title 38, United States Code, to extend the period under which 
  an election must be made for entitlement to educational assistance 
under the All-Volunteer Educational Assistance Program of Department of 
 Veterans Affairs, to phase out the use of such program, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 3, 2019

  Mr. Bergman (for himself and Miss Rice of New York) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
 Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period 
    to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to extend the period under which 
  an election must be made for entitlement to educational assistance 
under the All-Volunteer Educational Assistance Program of Department of 
 Veterans Affairs, to phase out the use of such program, and for other 
                               purposes.

    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 ``GI Bill Planning Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. PERIOD FOR ELECTION TO RECEIVE BENEFITS UNDER ALL-VOLUNTEER 
              EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
              AFFAIRS.

    (a) In General.--Section 3011 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``Any such election 
        shall be made at the time the individual initially enters on 
        active duty as a member of the Armed Forces'' and inserting 
        ``Any such election shall be made during the 90-day period 
        beginning on the day that is 180 days after the date on which 
        the individual initially enters initial training''; and
            (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``that such 
        individual is entitled to such pay'' and inserting ``that begin 
        after the date that is 270 days after the date on which the 
        individual initially enters initial training''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. PHASE OUT OF ALL-VOLUNTEER EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    Subsection (a)(1)(A) of section 3011 of title 38, United States 
Code, as amended by section 1, is further amended by striking ``after 
June 30, 1985'' and inserting ``during the period beginning July 1, 
1985, and ending September 30, 2029''.

SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS FOR IN-STATE TUITION.

    (a) In General.--Section 3679(c) of title 38, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ``less than three 
        years before the date of enrollment in the course concerned''; 
        and
            (2) in paragraph (4)--
                    (A) by striking ``It shall'' and inserting ``(A) It 
                shall''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                subparagraph:
    ``(B) To the extent feasible, the Secretary shall make publicly 
available on the internet website of the Department a database 
explaining any requirements described in subparagraph (A) that are 
established by a public institution of higher learning for an 
individual to be charged tuition and fees at a rate that is equal to or 
less than the rate the institution charges for tuition and fees for 
residents of the State in which the institution is located. The 
Secretary shall disapprove a course of education provided by such an 
institution that does not provide the Secretary--
            ``(i) an initial explanation of such requirements; and
            ``(ii) not later than 90 days after the date on which any 
        such requirements change, the updated requirements.''.
    (b) Application.--The amendments made by this section shall apply 
with respect to a quarter, semester, or term, as applicable, commencing 
on or after August 1, 2020.

SEC. 5. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

    The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying 
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by 
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO 
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional 
Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that 
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
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