Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act of 2025

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1391 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1391

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide restoration of 
   entitlement to educational assistance to individuals defrauded by 
     educational institutions receiving payment on behalf of such 
 individuals under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans 
 Affairs and to provide repayment of funds to the Secretary from such 
           educational institutions, and for other purposes.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 14, 2025

 Mrs. Ramirez (for herself, Mr. Takano, Mr. Levin, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. 
    Budzinski, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. Frost, and Mr. Grijalva) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide restoration of 
   entitlement to educational assistance to individuals defrauded by 
     educational institutions receiving payment on behalf of such 
 individuals under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans 
 Affairs and to provide repayment of funds to the Secretary from such 
           educational institutions, 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 ``Student Veteran Benefit Restoration 
Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS THAT RECEIVE 
              EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE FROM PROGRAMS ADMINISTERED BY THE 
              SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter III of chapter 36 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 3699C. Restoration of entitlement for pursuit of courses or 
              programs of education at certain educational institutions
    ``(a) Restoration of Entitlement.--The Secretary shall determine 
that any payment of covered educational assistance for the pursuit by a 
covered individual of a course or program of education at an 
educational institution occurring during a period set forth under 
subsection (b) is not--
            ``(1) charged against any entitlement of the covered 
        individual to the covered educational assistance; or
            ``(2) counted against the aggregate period for which 
        section 3695 of this title limits the receipt of educational 
        assistance by the covered individual.
    ``(b) Covered Periods.--A period set forth under this subsection 
with respect to a course or program of education pursued by a covered 
individual at an educational institution is any of the following:
            ``(1) Any period, occurring on or after the date of 
        enactment of the Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act of 
        2025, in which the educational institution was not approved by 
        a State approving agency or the Secretary acting as a State 
        approving agency, including periods in which an educational 
        institution is not approved because an approval is revoked.
            ``(2) Any period, occurring on or after the date of 
        enactment of the Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act of 
        2025, with regards to which the Secretary has made a final 
        determination that the educational institution, or the owner of 
        the educational institution, was in violation during such 
        period of an applicable provision of section 3696 of this 
        title.
            ``(3) Any period, occurring on or after the date of 
        enactment of the Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act of 
        2025, during which a court of competent jurisdiction found the 
        educational institution guilty of, or liable for, fraud.
            ``(4) Any period, occurring on or after the date of 
        enactment of the Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act of 
        2025, during which the educational institution was closed by 
        the Department of Justice on the basis of fraud or a violation 
        of a provision of Federal or State law.
            ``(5) Any period occurring on or after the date of 
        enactment of the Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act of 
        2025--
                    ``(A) during which the educational institution 
                engaged in fraud; and
                    ``(B) after which the educational institution 
                closes.
    ``(c) Repayment of Funds.--(1) As a condition of the approval of a 
course or program of education under this chapter, the educational 
institution offering the course or program shall agree that if the 
educational institution receives payment of covered educational 
assistance for a covered individual to pursue a course or program of 
education at the educational institution and the Secretary, pursuant to 
subsection (a), restores to such covered individual some portion of the 
entitlement of the covered individual to such covered educational 
assistance, the educational institution shall repay to the Secretary 
the amount of that portion of the covered educational assistance that 
the educational institution received for that individual.
    ``(2) In the case of an educational institution that has been found 
guilty of, or liable for, fraud by a court of competent jurisdiction 
and is ordered to pay financial relief to the Federal Government, the 
Secretary may file a claim with the Department of the Treasury for 
recoupment of all amounts of educational assistance received by such 
educational institution pursuant to the educational assistance programs 
administered by the Secretary that the Secretary determines were 
obtained through such fraud.
    ``(d) Appeals.--(1) The Secretary shall establish a process by 
which an educational institution or the owner of an educational 
institution that is subject to a finding by the Secretary that the 
educational institution is required to repay an amount under subsection 
(c) may request a review of such finding.
    ``(2) The process established pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be 
distinct and separate from the process established under section 
3696(i) of this title.
    ``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `covered educational assistance' means 
        educational assistance under chapter 30, 31, 32, 33, or 35 of 
        this title, or chapter 1606 or 1607 of title 10.
            ``(2) The term `covered individual' means a veteran or 
        other individual using covered educational assistance to pursue 
        a course or program of education that has been approved under 
        this chapter.
            ``(3) The term `fraud' means fraud or another false, 
        misleading, or deceptive act or omission.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
3699B the following new item:

``3699C. Restoration of entitlement for pursuit of courses or programs 
                            of education at certain educational 
                            institutions.''.
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