| 1 | 1 | | II |
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| 2 | 2 | | 118THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION S. 1877 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To amend title 38, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Veterans |
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| 6 | 6 | | Affairs to carry out a program under which the Secretary provides |
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| 7 | 7 | | certain individuals with the opportunity to enroll in high technology |
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| 8 | 8 | | programs of education that the Secretary determines provide training |
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| 9 | 9 | | or skills sought by employers in a relevant field or industry, and for |
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| 10 | 10 | | other purposes. |
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| 11 | 11 | | IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES |
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| 12 | 12 | | JUNE8, 2023 |
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| 13 | 13 | | Mr. B |
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| 14 | 14 | | RAUN(for himself, Mr. RUBIO, and Mr. TILLIS) introduced the following |
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| 15 | 15 | | bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs |
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| 16 | 16 | | A BILL |
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| 17 | 17 | | To amend title 38, United States Code, to require the Sec- |
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| 18 | 18 | | retary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a program under |
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| 19 | 19 | | which the Secretary provides certain individuals with the |
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| 20 | 20 | | opportunity to enroll in high technology programs of |
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| 21 | 21 | | education that the Secretary determines provide training |
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| 22 | 22 | | or skills sought by employers in a relevant field or indus- |
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| 23 | 23 | | try, and for other purposes. |
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| 24 | 24 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 25 | 25 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 28 | 28 | | •S 1877 IS |
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| 29 | 29 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 |
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| 30 | 30 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Continue VET TEC 2 |
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| 31 | 31 | | Authorization Act of 2023’’. 3 |
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| 32 | 32 | | SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HIGH TECH-4 |
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| 33 | 33 | | NOLOGY PROGRAM. 5 |
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| 34 | 34 | | (a) H |
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| 35 | 35 | | IGHTECHNOLOGYPROGRAM.— 6 |
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| 36 | 36 | | (1) I |
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| 37 | 37 | | N GENERAL.—Chapter 36 of title 38, 7 |
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| 38 | 38 | | United States Code, is amended by adding at the 8 |
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| 39 | 39 | | end the following new section: 9 |
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| 40 | 40 | | ‘‘§ 3699C. High technology program 10 |
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| 41 | 41 | | ‘‘(a) E |
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| 42 | 42 | | STABLISHMENT.—(1) The Secretary shall 11 |
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| 43 | 43 | | carry out a program under which the Secretary provides 12 |
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| 44 | 44 | | covered individuals with the opportunity to enroll in high 13 |
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| 45 | 45 | | technology programs of education that the Secretary de-14 |
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| 46 | 46 | | termines provide training or skills sought by employers in 15 |
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| 47 | 47 | | a relevant field or industry. 16 |
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| 48 | 48 | | ‘‘(2) Not more than 6,000 covered individuals may 17 |
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| 49 | 49 | | participate in the program under this section in any fiscal 18 |
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| 50 | 50 | | year. 19 |
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| 51 | 51 | | ‘‘(b) A |
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| 52 | 52 | | MOUNT OFASSISTANCE.—(1) The Secretary 20 |
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| 53 | 53 | | shall provide, to each covered individual who pursues a 21 |
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| 54 | 54 | | high technology program of education under this section, 22 |
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| 55 | 55 | | educational assistance in amounts equal to the amounts 23 |
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| 56 | 56 | | provided under section 3313(c)(1) of this title, including 24 |
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| 57 | 57 | | with respect to the housing stipend described in that sec-25 |
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| 58 | 58 | | tion and in accordance with the treatment of programs 26 |
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| 61 | 61 | | •S 1877 IS |
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| 62 | 62 | | that are distance learning and programs that are less than 1 |
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| 63 | 63 | | half-time. 2 |
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| 64 | 64 | | ‘‘(2) Under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall pro-3 |
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| 65 | 65 | | vide such amounts of educational assistance to a covered 4 |
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| 66 | 66 | | individual for each of the following: 5 |
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| 67 | 67 | | ‘‘(A) A high technology program of education. 6 |
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| 68 | 68 | | ‘‘(B) A second such program if— 7 |
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| 69 | 69 | | ‘‘(i) the second such program begins at 8 |
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| 70 | 70 | | least 18 months after the covered individual 9 |
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| 71 | 71 | | graduates from the first such program; and 10 |
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| 72 | 72 | | ‘‘(ii) the covered individual uses edu-11 |
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| 73 | 73 | | cational assistance under chapter 33 of this 12 |
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| 74 | 74 | | title to pursue the second such program. 13 |
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| 75 | 75 | | ‘‘(c) C |
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| 76 | 76 | | ONTRACTS.—(1) For purposes of carrying out 14 |
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| 77 | 77 | | subsection (a), the Secretary shall seek to enter into con-15 |
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| 78 | 78 | | tracts with any number of qualified providers of high tech-16 |
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| 79 | 79 | | nology programs of education for the provision of such 17 |
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| 80 | 80 | | programs to covered individuals. Each such contract shall 18 |
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| 81 | 81 | | provide for the conditions under which the Secretary may 19 |
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| 82 | 82 | | terminate the contract with the provider and the proce-20 |
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| 83 | 83 | | dures for providing for the graduation of students who 21 |
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| 84 | 84 | | were enrolled in a program provided by such provider in 22 |
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| 85 | 85 | | the case of such a termination. 23 |
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| 86 | 86 | | ‘‘(2) A contract under this subsection shall provide 24 |
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| 87 | 87 | | that the Secretary shall pay to a provider— 25 |
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| 90 | 90 | | •S 1877 IS |
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| 91 | 91 | | ‘‘(A) upon the enrollment of a covered indi-1 |
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| 92 | 92 | | vidual in the program, 25 percent of the cost of the 2 |
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| 93 | 93 | | tuition and other fees for the program of education 3 |
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| 94 | 94 | | for the individual; 4 |
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| 95 | 95 | | ‘‘(B) upon graduation of the individual from 5 |
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| 96 | 96 | | the program, 25 percent of such cost; and 6 |
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| 97 | 97 | | ‘‘(C) 50 percent of such cost upon— 7 |
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| 98 | 98 | | ‘‘(i) the successful employment of the cov-8 |
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| 99 | 99 | | ered individual for a period— 9 |
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| 100 | 100 | | ‘‘(I) of 180 days in the field of study 10 |
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| 101 | 101 | | of the program; and 11 |
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| 102 | 102 | | ‘‘(II) that begins not later than 180 12 |
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| 103 | 103 | | days following graduation of the covered 13 |
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| 104 | 104 | | individual from the program; 14 |
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| 105 | 105 | | ‘‘(ii) the employment of the individual by 15 |
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| 106 | 106 | | the provider for a period of one year; or 16 |
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| 107 | 107 | | ‘‘(iii) the enrollment of the individual in a 17 |
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| 108 | 108 | | program of education to continue education in 18 |
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| 109 | 109 | | such field of study. 19 |
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| 110 | 110 | | ‘‘(3) For purposes of this section, a provider of a high 20 |
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| 111 | 111 | | technology program of education is qualified if— 21 |
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| 112 | 112 | | ‘‘(A) the provider employs instructors whom the 22 |
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| 113 | 113 | | Secretary determines are experts in their respective 23 |
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| 114 | 114 | | fields in accordance with paragraph (5); 24 |
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| 117 | 117 | | •S 1877 IS |
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| 118 | 118 | | ‘‘(B) the provider has successfully provided the 1 |
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| 119 | 119 | | high technology program for at least one year; 2 |
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| 120 | 120 | | ‘‘(C) the provider does not charge tuition and 3 |
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| 121 | 121 | | fees to a covered individual who receives assistance 4 |
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| 122 | 122 | | under this section to pursue such program that are 5 |
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| 123 | 123 | | higher than the tuition and fees charged by such 6 |
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| 124 | 124 | | provider to another individual; and 7 |
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| 125 | 125 | | ‘‘(D) the provider meets the approval criteria 8 |
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| 126 | 126 | | developed by the Secretary under paragraph (4). 9 |
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| 127 | 127 | | ‘‘(4)(A) The Secretary shall prescribe criteria for ap-10 |
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| 128 | 128 | | proving providers of a high technology program of edu-11 |
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| 129 | 129 | | cation under this section. 12 |
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| 130 | 130 | | ‘‘(B) In developing such criteria, the Secretary may 13 |
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| 131 | 131 | | consult with State approving agencies. 14 |
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| 132 | 132 | | ‘‘(C) Such criteria are not required to meet the re-15 |
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| 133 | 133 | | quirements of section 3672 of this title. 16 |
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| 134 | 134 | | ‘‘(D) Such criteria shall include the job placement 17 |
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| 135 | 135 | | rate, in the field of study of a program of education, of 18 |
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| 136 | 136 | | covered individuals who complete such program of edu-19 |
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| 137 | 137 | | cation. 20 |
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| 138 | 138 | | ‘‘(5) The Secretary shall determine whether instruc-21 |
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| 139 | 139 | | tors are experts under paragraph (3)(A) based on evidence 22 |
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| 140 | 140 | | furnished to the Secretary by the provider regarding the 23 |
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| 141 | 141 | | ability of the instructors to— 24 |
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| 144 | 144 | | •S 1877 IS |
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| 145 | 145 | | ‘‘(A) identify professions in need of new em-1 |
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| 146 | 146 | | ployees to hire, tailor the programs to meet market 2 |
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| 147 | 147 | | needs, and identify the employers likely to hire grad-3 |
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| 148 | 148 | | uates; 4 |
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| 149 | 149 | | ‘‘(B) effectively teach the skills offered to cov-5 |
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| 150 | 150 | | ered individuals; 6 |
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| 151 | 151 | | ‘‘(C) provide relevant industry experience in the 7 |
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| 152 | 152 | | fields of programs offered to incoming covered indi-8 |
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| 153 | 153 | | viduals; and 9 |
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| 154 | 154 | | ‘‘(D) demonstrate relevant industry experience 10 |
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| 155 | 155 | | in such fields of programs. 11 |
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| 156 | 156 | | ‘‘(6) In entering into contracts under this subsection, 12 |
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| 157 | 157 | | the Secretary shall give preference to a provider of a high 13 |
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| 158 | 158 | | technology program of education— 14 |
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| 159 | 159 | | ‘‘(A) from which at least 70 percent of grad-15 |
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| 160 | 160 | | uates find full-time employment in the field of study 16 |
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| 161 | 161 | | of the program during the 180-day period beginning 17 |
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| 162 | 162 | | on the date the student graduates from the program; 18 |
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| 163 | 163 | | or 19 |
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| 164 | 164 | | ‘‘(B) that offers tuition reimbursement for any 20 |
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| 165 | 165 | | student who graduates from such a program and 21 |
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| 166 | 166 | | does not find employment described in subparagraph 22 |
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| 167 | 167 | | (A). 23 |
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| 168 | 168 | | ‘‘(d) E |
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| 169 | 169 | | FFECT ONOTHERENTITLEMENT.—(1) If a 24 |
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| 170 | 170 | | covered individual enrolled in a high technology program 25 |
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| 173 | 173 | | •S 1877 IS |
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| 174 | 174 | | of education under this section has remaining entitlement 1 |
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| 175 | 175 | | to educational assistance under chapter 30, 32, 33, 34, 2 |
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| 176 | 176 | | or 35 of this title, entitlement of the individual to edu-3 |
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| 177 | 177 | | cational assistance under this section shall be charged at 4 |
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| 178 | 178 | | the rate of one month of such remaining entitlement for 5 |
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| 179 | 179 | | each such month of educational assistance under this sec-6 |
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| 180 | 180 | | tion. 7 |
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| 181 | 181 | | ‘‘(2) The Secretary may not consider enrollment in 8 |
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| 182 | 182 | | a high technology program of education under this section 9 |
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| 183 | 183 | | to be assistance under a provision of law referred to in 10 |
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| 184 | 184 | | section 3695 of this title. 11 |
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| 185 | 185 | | ‘‘(e) R |
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| 186 | 186 | | EQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATIONALINSTITU-12 |
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| 187 | 187 | | TIONS.—(1) The Secretary shall not approve the enroll-13 |
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| 188 | 188 | | ment of any covered individual, not already enrolled, in 14 |
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| 189 | 189 | | any high technology programs of education under this sec-15 |
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| 190 | 190 | | tion for any period during which the Secretary finds that 16 |
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| 191 | 191 | | more than 85 percent of the students enrolled in the pro-17 |
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| 192 | 192 | | gram are having all or part of their tuition, fees, or other 18 |
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| 193 | 193 | | charges paid to or for them by the educational institution 19 |
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| 194 | 194 | | or by the Department of Veterans Affairs under this title 20 |
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| 195 | 195 | | or under chapter 1606 or 1607 of title 10, except with 21 |
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| 196 | 196 | | respect to tuition, fees, or other charges that are paid 22 |
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| 197 | 197 | | under a payment plan at an educational institution that 23 |
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| 198 | 198 | | the Secretary determines has a history of offering pay-24 |
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| 201 | 201 | | •S 1877 IS |
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| 202 | 202 | | ment plans that are completed not later than 180 days 1 |
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| 203 | 203 | | after the end of the applicable term, quarter, or semester. 2 |
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| 204 | 204 | | ‘‘(2) The Secretary may waive a requirement of para-3 |
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| 205 | 205 | | graph (1) if the Secretary determines, pursuant to regula-4 |
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| 206 | 206 | | tions which the Secretary shall prescribe, such waiver to 5 |
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| 207 | 207 | | be in the interest of the covered individual and the Federal 6 |
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| 208 | 208 | | Government. Not later than 30 days after the Secretary 7 |
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| 209 | 209 | | waives such a requirement, the Secretary shall submit to 8 |
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| 210 | 210 | | the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 9 |
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| 211 | 211 | | House of Representatives a report regarding such waiver. 10 |
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| 212 | 212 | | ‘‘(3)(A)(i) The Secretary shall establish and maintain 11 |
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| 213 | 213 | | a process by which an educational institution may request 12 |
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| 214 | 214 | | a review of a determination that the educational institu-13 |
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| 215 | 215 | | tion does not meet the requirements of paragraph (1). 14 |
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| 216 | 216 | | ‘‘(ii) The Secretary may consult with a State approv-15 |
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| 217 | 217 | | ing agency regarding such process or such a review. 16 |
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| 218 | 218 | | ‘‘(iii) Not later than 180 days after the Secretary es-17 |
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| 219 | 219 | | tablishes or revises a process under this subparagraph, the 18 |
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| 220 | 220 | | Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Af-19 |
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| 221 | 221 | | fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Af-20 |
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| 222 | 222 | | fairs of the House of Representatives a report regarding 21 |
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| 223 | 223 | | such process. 22 |
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| 224 | 224 | | ‘‘(B) An educational institution that requests a re-23 |
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| 225 | 225 | | view under subparagraph (A)— 24 |
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| 228 | 228 | | •S 1877 IS |
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| 229 | 229 | | ‘‘(i) shall request the review not later than 30 1 |
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| 230 | 230 | | days after the start of the term, quarter, or semester 2 |
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| 231 | 231 | | for which the determination described in subpara-3 |
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| 232 | 232 | | graph (A) applies; and 4 |
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| 233 | 233 | | ‘‘(ii) may include any information that the edu-5 |
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| 234 | 234 | | cational institution believes the Department should 6 |
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| 235 | 235 | | have taken into account when making the deter-7 |
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| 236 | 236 | | mination, including with respect to any mitigating 8 |
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| 237 | 237 | | circumstances. 9 |
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| 238 | 238 | | ‘‘(f) A |
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| 239 | 239 | | NNUALREPORTS.—Not later than one year 10 |
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| 240 | 240 | | after the date of the enactment of the Continue VET TEC 11 |
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| 241 | 241 | | Authorization Act of 2023, and annually thereafter until 12 |
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| 242 | 242 | | the termination date specified in subsection (i), the Sec-13 |
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| 243 | 243 | | retary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 14 |
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| 244 | 244 | | of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 15 |
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| 245 | 245 | | the House of Representatives a report on the operation 16 |
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| 246 | 246 | | of program under this section during the year covered by 17 |
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| 247 | 247 | | the report. Each such report shall include each of the fol-18 |
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| 248 | 248 | | lowing: 19 |
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| 249 | 249 | | ‘‘(1) The number of covered individuals enrolled 20 |
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| 250 | 250 | | in the program, disaggregated by type of educational 21 |
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| 251 | 251 | | institution, during the year covered by the report. 22 |
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| 252 | 252 | | ‘‘(2) The number of covered individuals who 23 |
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| 253 | 253 | | completed a high technology program of education 24 |
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| 256 | 256 | | •S 1877 IS |
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| 257 | 257 | | under the program during the year covered by the 1 |
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| 258 | 258 | | report. 2 |
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| 259 | 259 | | ‘‘(3) The average employment rate of covered 3 |
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| 260 | 260 | | individuals who completed such a program of edu-4 |
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| 261 | 261 | | cation during such year, as of 180 days after the 5 |
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| 262 | 262 | | date of completion. 6 |
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| 263 | 263 | | ‘‘(4) The average length of time between the 7 |
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| 264 | 264 | | completion of such a program of education and em-8 |
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| 265 | 265 | | ployment. 9 |
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| 266 | 266 | | ‘‘(5) The total number of covered individuals 10 |
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| 267 | 267 | | who completed a program of education under the 11 |
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| 268 | 268 | | program and who, as of the date of the submission 12 |
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| 269 | 269 | | of the report, are employed in a position related to 13 |
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| 270 | 270 | | technology. 14 |
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| 271 | 271 | | ‘‘(6) The average salary of a covered individual 15 |
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| 272 | 272 | | who completed a program of education under the 16 |
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| 273 | 273 | | program and who is employed in a position related 17 |
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| 274 | 274 | | to technology, in various geographic areas deter-18 |
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| 275 | 275 | | mined by the Secretary. 19 |
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| 276 | 276 | | ‘‘(7) The average salary of all individuals em-20 |
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| 277 | 277 | | ployed in positions related to technology in the geo-21 |
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| 278 | 278 | | graphic areas determined under subparagraph (F), 22 |
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| 279 | 279 | | and the difference, if any, between such average sal-23 |
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| 280 | 280 | | ary and the average salary of a covered individual 24 |
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| 281 | 281 | | who completed a program of education under the 25 |
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| 284 | 284 | | •S 1877 IS |
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| 285 | 285 | | program and who is employed in a position related 1 |
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| 286 | 286 | | to technology. 2 |
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| 287 | 287 | | ‘‘(8) The number of covered individuals who 3 |
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| 288 | 288 | | completed a program of education under the pro-4 |
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| 289 | 289 | | gram and who subsequently enrolled in a second 5 |
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| 290 | 290 | | program of education under the program. 6 |
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| 291 | 291 | | ‘‘(g) C |
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| 292 | 292 | | OLLECTION OF INFORMATION; CONSULTA-7 |
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| 293 | 293 | | TION.—(1) The Secretary shall develop practices to use 8 |
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| 294 | 294 | | to collect information about covered individuals and pro-9 |
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| 295 | 295 | | viders of high technology programs of education. 10 |
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| 296 | 296 | | ‘‘(2) For the purpose of carrying out program under 11 |
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| 297 | 297 | | this section, the Secretary may consult with providers of 12 |
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| 298 | 298 | | high technology programs of education and may establish 13 |
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| 299 | 299 | | an advisory group made up of representatives of such pro-14 |
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| 300 | 300 | | viders, private employers in the technology field, and other 15 |
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| 301 | 301 | | relevant groups or entities, as the Secretary determines 16 |
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| 302 | 302 | | necessary. 17 |
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| 303 | 303 | | ‘‘(h) D |
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| 304 | 304 | | EFINITIONS.—In this section: 18 |
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| 305 | 305 | | ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered individual’ means any of 19 |
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| 306 | 306 | | the following: 20 |
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| 307 | 307 | | ‘‘(A) A veteran whom the Secretary deter-21 |
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| 308 | 308 | | mines— 22 |
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| 309 | 309 | | ‘‘(i) served an aggregate of at least 36 23 |
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| 310 | 310 | | months on active duty in the Armed 24 |
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| 311 | 311 | | Forces (including service on active duty in 25 |
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| 314 | 314 | | •S 1877 IS |
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| 315 | 315 | | entry level and skill training) and was dis-1 |
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| 316 | 316 | | charged or released therefrom under condi-2 |
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| 317 | 317 | | tions other than dishonorable; and 3 |
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| 318 | 318 | | ‘‘(ii) has not attained the age of 62. 4 |
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| 319 | 319 | | ‘‘(B) A member of the Armed Forces that 5 |
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| 320 | 320 | | the Secretary determines will become a veteran 6 |
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| 321 | 321 | | described in subparagraph (A) fewer than 180 7 |
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| 322 | 322 | | days after the date of such determination. 8 |
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| 323 | 323 | | ‘‘(2) The term ‘high technology program of edu-9 |
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| 324 | 324 | | cation’ means a program of education— 10 |
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| 325 | 325 | | ‘‘(A) offered by a public or private edu-11 |
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| 326 | 326 | | cational institution; 12 |
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| 327 | 327 | | ‘‘(B) if offered by an institution of higher 13 |
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| 328 | 328 | | learning, that is provided directly by such insti-14 |
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| 329 | 329 | | tution rather than by an entity other than such 15 |
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| 330 | 330 | | institution under a contract or other agreement; 16 |
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| 331 | 331 | | ‘‘(C) that does not lead to a degree; 17 |
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| 332 | 332 | | ‘‘(D) that has a term of not less than six 18 |
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| 333 | 333 | | and not more than 28 weeks; and 19 |
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| 334 | 334 | | ‘‘(E) that provides instruction in computer 20 |
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| 335 | 335 | | programming, computer software, media appli-21 |
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| 336 | 336 | | cation, data processing, or information sciences. 22 |
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| 337 | 337 | | ‘‘(i) T |
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| 338 | 338 | | ERMINATION.—The authority to carry out a 23 |
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| 339 | 339 | | program under this section shall terminate on September 24 |
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| 340 | 340 | | 30, 2028.’’. 25 |
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| 342 | 342 | | kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 |
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| 343 | 343 | | •S 1877 IS |
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| 344 | 344 | | (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT .—The table of sec-1 |
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| 345 | 345 | | tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 2 |
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| 346 | 346 | | by inserting after the item relating to section 3699B 3 |
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| 347 | 347 | | the following new item: 4 |
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| 348 | 348 | | ‘‘3699C. High technology program.’’. |
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| 349 | 349 | | (b) EFFECT ONHIGHTECHNOLOGY PILOTPRO-5 |
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| 350 | 350 | | GRAM.—Section 116 of the Harry W. Colmery Veterans 6 |
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| 351 | 351 | | Educational Assistance Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–48; 7 |
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| 352 | 352 | | 38 U.S.C. 3001 note) is amended— 8 |
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| 353 | 353 | | (1) in subsection (g), by striking paragraph (6); 9 |
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| 354 | 354 | | and 10 |
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| 355 | 355 | | (2) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the 11 |
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| 356 | 356 | | following new subsection (h): 12 |
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| 357 | 357 | | ‘‘(h) T |
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| 358 | 358 | | ERMINATION.—The authority to carry out a 13 |
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| 359 | 359 | | pilot program under this section shall terminate Sep-14 |
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| 360 | 360 | | tember 30, 2023.’’. 15 |
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| 361 | 361 | | (c) A |
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| 362 | 362 | | PPROVAL OFCERTAINHIGHTECHNOLOGYPRO-16 |
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| 363 | 363 | | GRAMS.—Section 3680A of title 38, United States Code, 17 |
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| 364 | 364 | | is amended— 18 |
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| 365 | 365 | | (1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (4) 19 |
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| 366 | 366 | | and inserting the following: 20 |
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| 367 | 367 | | ‘‘(4) Any independent study program except— 21 |
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| 368 | 368 | | ‘‘(A) an independent study program (in-22 |
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| 369 | 369 | | cluding such a program taken over open circuit 23 |
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| 370 | 370 | | television) that— 24 |
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| 372 | 372 | | kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 14 |
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| 373 | 373 | | •S 1877 IS |
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| 374 | 374 | | ‘‘(i) is accredited by an accrediting 1 |
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| 375 | 375 | | agency or association recognized by the 2 |
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| 376 | 376 | | Secretary of Education under subpart 2 of 3 |
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| 377 | 377 | | part H of title IV of the Higher Education 4 |
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| 378 | 378 | | Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b); 5 |
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| 379 | 379 | | ‘‘(ii) leads to— 6 |
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| 380 | 380 | | ‘‘(I) a standard college degree; 7 |
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| 381 | 381 | | ‘‘(II) a certificate that reflects 8 |
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| 382 | 382 | | educational attainment offered by an 9 |
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| 383 | 383 | | institution of higher learning; or 10 |
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| 384 | 384 | | ‘‘(III) a certificate that reflects 11 |
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| 385 | 385 | | graduation from a course of study of-12 |
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| 386 | 386 | | fered by— 13 |
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| 387 | 387 | | ‘‘(aa) an area career and 14 |
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| 388 | 388 | | technical education school (as de-15 |
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| 389 | 389 | | fined in subparagraphs (C) and 16 |
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| 390 | 390 | | (D) of section 3(3) of the Carl D. 17 |
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| 391 | 391 | | Perkins Career and Technical 18 |
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| 392 | 392 | | Education Act of 2006 (20 19 |
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| 393 | 393 | | U.S.C. 2302(3))) that provides 20 |
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| 394 | 394 | | education at the postsecondary 21 |
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| 395 | 395 | | level; or 22 |
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| 396 | 396 | | ‘‘(bb) a postsecondary voca-23 |
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| 397 | 397 | | tional institution (as defined in 24 |
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| 398 | 398 | | section 102(c) of the Higher 25 |
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| 400 | 400 | | kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 15 |
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| 401 | 401 | | •S 1877 IS |
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| 402 | 402 | | Education Act of 1965 (20 1 |
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| 403 | 403 | | U.S.C. 1002(c))) that provides 2 |
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| 404 | 404 | | education at the postsecondary 3 |
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| 405 | 405 | | level; and 4 |
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| 406 | 406 | | ‘‘(iii) in the case of a program de-5 |
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| 407 | 407 | | scribed in clause (ii)(III)— 6 |
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| 408 | 408 | | ‘‘(I) provides training aligned 7 |
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| 409 | 409 | | with the requirements of employers in 8 |
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| 410 | 410 | | the State or local area where the pro-9 |
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| 411 | 411 | | gram is located, which may include in- 10 |
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| 412 | 412 | | demand industry sectors or occupa-11 |
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| 413 | 413 | | tions; 12 |
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| 414 | 414 | | ‘‘(II) provides a student, upon 13 |
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| 415 | 415 | | graduation from the program, with a 14 |
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| 416 | 416 | | recognized postsecondary credential 15 |
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| 417 | 417 | | that is recognized by employers in the 16 |
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| 418 | 418 | | relevant industry, which may include 17 |
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| 419 | 419 | | a credential recognized by industry or 18 |
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| 420 | 420 | | sector partnerships in the State or 19 |
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| 421 | 421 | | local area where the industry is lo-20 |
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| 422 | 422 | | cated; and 21 |
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| 423 | 423 | | ‘‘(III) meets such content and in-22 |
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| 424 | 424 | | structional standards as may be re-23 |
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| 425 | 425 | | quired to comply with the criteria 24 |
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| 427 | 427 | | kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 16 |
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| 428 | 428 | | •S 1877 IS |
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| 429 | 429 | | under section 3676(c)(14) and (15) of 1 |
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| 430 | 430 | | this title; or 2 |
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| 431 | 431 | | ‘‘(B) an online high technology program of 3 |
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| 432 | 432 | | education (as defined in subsection (h) of sec-4 |
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| 433 | 433 | | tion 3699C of this title)— 5 |
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| 434 | 434 | | ‘‘(i) the provider of which has entered 6 |
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| 435 | 435 | | into a contract with the Secretary under 7 |
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| 436 | 436 | | subsection (c) of such section; 8 |
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| 437 | 437 | | ‘‘(ii) that has been provided to covered 9 |
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| 438 | 438 | | individuals (as defined in subsection (h) of 10 |
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| 439 | 439 | | such section) under such contract for a pe-11 |
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| 440 | 440 | | riod of at least five years; 12 |
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| 441 | 441 | | ‘‘(iii) regarding which the Secretary 13 |
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| 442 | 442 | | has determined that the average employ-14 |
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| 443 | 443 | | ment rate of covered individuals who grad-15 |
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| 444 | 444 | | uated from such program of education is 16 |
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| 445 | 445 | | 65 percent or higher for the year preceding 17 |
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| 446 | 446 | | such determination; and 18 |
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| 447 | 447 | | ‘‘(iv) that satisfies the requirements of 19 |
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| 448 | 448 | | subsection (e) of such section.’’; and 20 |
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| 449 | 449 | | (2) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the 21 |
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| 450 | 450 | | following: 22 |
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| 451 | 451 | | ‘‘(8) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the enrollment 23 |
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| 452 | 452 | | of a veteran in an online high technology program de-24 |
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| 453 | 453 | | scribed in subsection (a)(4)(B).’’. 25 |
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| 456 | 456 | | •S 1877 IS |
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| 457 | 457 | | (d) EFFECTIVEDATE.—The amendments made by 1 |
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| 458 | 458 | | subsections (a) and (c) shall take effect on October 1, 2 |
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| 459 | 459 | | 2023. 3 |
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| 460 | 460 | | (e) R |
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| 461 | 461 | | ECISSION OF CERTAINAMOUNTSAPPRO-4 |
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| 462 | 462 | | PRIATED BYAMERICANRESCUEPLANACT OF2021.— 5 |
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| 463 | 463 | | Of the amounts appropriated by section 8002 of the Amer-6 |
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| 464 | 464 | | ican Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117–2) that 7 |
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| 465 | 465 | | remain unobligated on the date of the enactment of this 8 |
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| 466 | 466 | | Act, $700,000,000 is rescinded. 9 |
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| 467 | 467 | | Æ |
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