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VETERANS EDUCATION AND BENEFITS 

EXPANSION ACT OF 2001 

H.R.  1291, AS AMENDED 

H.R. 1291, as amended, would: 

Title I – Educational Assistance Provisions 

1.      Increase the amount of educational benefits under the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) for an approved program of education on a full-time basis from the current monthly rate of $672 for an obligated period of active duty of three or more years to $800 effective January 1, 2002; $900 effective October 1, 2002; and $985 effective October 1, 2003. 

2.      Increase the amount of educational benefits under the MGIB for an approved program of education on a full-time basis from the current monthly rate of $546 for an obligated period of active duty of two years to $650 effective January 1, 2002; $732 effective October 1, 2002; and $800 effective October 1, 2003.  

3.      Suspend the statutory annual adjustment in MGIB rates based on the Consumer Price Index for fiscal years 2003 and 2004. 

4.      Increase the rates of Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance from $608 to $670 for full-time, $456 to $503 for three-quarter-time, and $304 to $345 for half-time studies. 

5.      Restore educational assistance entitlement to participants in VA-administered

programs who have received benefits for the pursuing courses they were unable to complete because they were called to active duty or, in the case of active-duty servicemembers, were relocated and/or assigned duties that prevented them from completing their courses.  

6.      Extend, in the case of a member of a Reserve component who was called to active duty, the period during which the person may use VA educational benefits by a period equal to the length of their active service plus 4 months for chapters 31 and 35; and further provide that the Reservist is not to be considered to have been separated from the Selected Reserve for education purposes by reason of their active-duty service. 

7.      Allow an accelerated payment of MGIB benefits of up to 60 percent for short-term, high cost training courses that lead to employment in a high technology industry. 

8.      Allow a Vietnam-era veteran to convert from Vietnam-era GI Bill benefits to MGIB benefits if the veteran had eligibility for the Vietnam-era GI Bill benefits as of December 31, 1989, was not on active duty on October 19, 1984, and served three continuous years in the Armed Forces after July 2, 1985. 

9.      Increase from $2,000 to $3,400 the maximum allowable annual award that an SROTC participant may receive and still be eligible for benefits under MGIB. 

10. Expand for five years VA’s work-study program for veterans to include working in state veterans homes, VA national cemeteries and state veterans cemeteries, and helping State Approving Agencies with outreach efforts. 

11. Reinstate a 10-year delimiting period in which spouses may, upon first becoming eligible, use Dependents Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits.  Spouses made eligible for DEA under more than one of the eligibility criteria would have two delimiting periods in which to use their DEA benefits, without an increase in the total 45-month entitlement period. 

12. Include certain private technology entities (primarily businesses) in the definition of educational institution so that veterans enrolled in technical courses can qualify for VA educational assistance benefits.  

13. Permit veterans to use VA educational assistance benefits for a certificate program offered by an accredited institution of higher learning by way of independent study. 

Title II – Compensation and Pension Provisions 

1.      Repeal the 30-year presumptive period for respiratory cancers associated with exposure to herbicide agents.  Direct the Secretary to enter into contract with the National Academy of Sciences to determine whether an upper time limit on manifestations of respiratory cancers can be supported and authorizes the Secretary to provide a time limit if warranted by such studies.  Protect the grant of service connection for veterans provided benefits under this section. 

2.      Add Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2) to the list of diseases presumed to be service-connected in Vietnam veterans exposed to herbicide agents.  

3.            Presume that veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam during the time when herbicides were used were exposed to herbicides. 

4.      Extend the authority to presumed service-connection for additional diseases to September 30, 2012. 

5.      Direct VA to contract with National Academy of Science (NAS) for continued review of scientific evidence on effects of dioxin or herbicide exposure for 10 more years (five reports), and extend the authority of the Secretary to presume service connection for additional diseases based on future NAS reports for 10 more years. 

6.      Expand, effective March 1, 2002, the definition of illnesses presumed service-connected for Gulf War veterans to include a medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome defined by a cluster of signs or symptoms.  Signs or symptoms that may be a manifestation of undiagnosed illness or a chronic multisymptom illness would include fatigue, unexplained rashes or other dermatological signs or symptoms, headache, muscle pain, joint pain, neurological signs or symptoms, neuropsychological signs or symptoms, signs or symptoms involving the respiratory system (upper or lower), sleep disturbances, gastrointestinal signs or symptoms, cardiovascular signs or symptoms, abnormal weight loss, and/or menstrual disorders. 

7.      Include a technical correction substituting a date certain of October 1, 2010, for “10 years after the last day of the fiscal year in which the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) submits the first report” as written under current law in section 1603(j) of the Persian Gulf War Veterans Act of 1998.  Require the Secretary to contract with the NAS for five additional biennial reports on Gulf War health issues.  Clarify that the authority of the Secretary to determine that a disease warrants presumptive service-connection based on these NAS reports continues until September 30, 2011. 

8.      Authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to protect the grant of service connection of a Persian Gulf War veteran who participates in a Department of Veterans Affairs-sponsored medical research project.  In the case of a Gulf War veteran being compensated for an undiagnosed illness, current law may not protect the individual’s service-connected grant if, as a result of participating in a medical research study, the condition is diagnosed. 

9.      Repeal the limitation on assets for payment of benefits to incompetent institutionalized veterans.  Current law prohibits payment of compensation and pension benefits to an incompetent veteran with no dependents and assets exceeding five times the 100 percent compensation rate, if the veteran is being provided institutional health care by the government. 

10. Extend, in the computation of the monthly payments of compensation and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) the requirement of rounding down the benefit paid to the next lower whole dollar amount from fiscal year 2002 to fiscal year 2011. 

11. Expand the definition of permanent and total disability for veterans applying for nonservice-connected pension to include:  (1) a patient in a nursing home for long-term care because of disability, (2) a person disabled, as determined by the Commissioner of Social Security for purposes of benefits administered by the Commissioner, (3) a person unemployable, as a result of disability reasonably certain to continue throughout the life of the person, and (4) a person suffering from any disability which is sufficient to render it impossible for the average person to follow a substantially gainful occupation, but only if it is reasonably certain that such disability will continue throughout the life of the person or otherwise justifying a determination of permanent and total disability. 

12. Provide a non-service-connected pension to low-income wartime veterans aged 65 and older without requiring a determination of disability. 

Title III – Transition and Outreach Provisions 

1.      Provide VA the authority to operate transition assistance offices overseas so as to furnish “one-stop” assistance to servicemembers in such areas prior to their separation from military service. 

2.      Extend the time that preseparation counseling is available to servicemembers separating from service to as early as 12 months before discharge, and 24 months prior to discharge for military retirees. 

3.      Improve education and training outreach services by requiring each State Approving Agency to conduct outreach programs and provide services to eligible veterans and dependents for state and federal veterans’ education and training benefits. 

4.      Require VA to provide to the veteran or eligible dependent general information concerning VA benefits and services whenever that person first applies for any benefit. 

Title IV – Housing Matters 

1.      Increase the home loan guaranty from $50,750 to $60,000. 

2.      Extend to December 31, 2005, VA’s direct home loan program for Native American veterans living on trust lands, and eliminate the requirement for VA to have a separate memorandum of understanding (MOU) with tribal authorities if another federal agency has an MOU which substantially complies with VA’s requirement. 

3.      Modify the requirement for loan assumption language in home loan documents. 

4.      Increase the grant for specially adapted housing for severely disabled veterans from $43,000 to $48,000, and increase the amount for less severely disabled veterans from $8,250 to $9,250. 

5.      Extend to September 30, 2009, the authority for housing loan guaranties for members of the Selected Reserve; extend VA’s loan asset sale authority through December 31, 2011; extend the VA’s home loan fee authorities through October 1, 2011; extend the effectiveness of the procedures applicable to liquidation sales on defaulted home loans guaranteed by the VA through October 1, 2011. 

Title V – Other Matters 

1.      Increase the burial and funeral expense benefit for a service-connected veteran from $1,500 to $2,000, and increase the burial plot allowance from $150 to $300. 

2.      Create a five-year program requiring the Secretary to furnish a bronze marker to those families that request a government marker for the marked grave of a veteran at a private cemetery.  The Secretary is required to furnish the marker directly to the cemetery and the family is required to place the marker on the veteran’s gravesite.  Not later then February 1, 2006, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the use of this five-year authority. 

3.      Increase the automobile and adaptive equipment grant for severely disabled veterans from $8,000 to $9,000. 

4.      Extend to September 30, 2011, the limitation of VA pension to $90 per month for certain veterans receiving Medicaid-covered nursing home care. 

5.      Prohibit payment of veterans’ benefits to fugitive felons. 

6.      Limit payment of compensation for veterans remaining incarcerated for felonies since October 7, 1980.  In 1980, Congress enacted legislation to reduce compensation to incarcerated veterans to the equivalent of the rate of compensation paid for a 10 percent disability (or, if they only receive ten percent, to the equivalent dollar amount of 5 percent).  Veterans who were already incarcerated in 1980 were not covered by this change in law.  

7.      Eliminate the requirement for veterans to furnish the Secretary of Veterans Affairs with a copy of the notice of appeal filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. 

8.      Increase the fiscal year limitation on the number of veterans in programs of independent living services and assistance from 500 to 2,500. 

9.      Technical and clerical amendments. 

Title VI – United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims 

1.      Allow two additional judges to be appointed, to allow transition as the original judges retire, and temporarily expand the membership of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims from seven to nine until August 2005. 

2.      Repeal the requirement that a judge provide written notice regarding acceptance of reappointment, as a precondition to retirement from the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. 

3.      Eliminate the post-November 17, 1988, Notice of Disagreement as a prerequisite to jurisdiction at the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. 

4.      Allow the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims to impose registration fees on persons participating in Court-sponsored activities, including judicial conferences. 

5.      Provide the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims with the authority to use practice and registration fees for the purposes of disciplinary matters, and for defraying the expenses of judicial conferences and other activities to support and foster bench and bar relationships, veterans law or the work of the Court. 

6.      Provide the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims with the authority to proscribe administrative practices which are consistent with those exercised by federal courts of general jurisdiction. 

EFFECTIVE DATE:  Date of enactment except the following sections: 

Sec. 101(a)(1)(A): January 1, 2002

Sec. 101(a)(1)(B): October 1, 2002

Sec. 101(a)(1)(C): October 1, 2003

Sec. 101(a)(2)(A): January 1, 2002

Sec. 101(a)(2)(B): October 1, 2002

Sec. 101(a)(2)(C): October 1, 2003

Sec. 102: January 1, 2002

Sec. 103: September 11, 2001

Sec. 104: October 1, 2002 with respect to enrollments in courses or programs of education or training beginning on or after that date

Sec. 106: Shall apply with respect to educational assistance allowances paid for months beginning after the date of enactment of this Act

Sec. 108: Applies to determinations made on or after date of enactment

Sec. 110: Shall apply to enrollments in courses occurring on or after date of enactment of this Act

Sec. 111: Shall apply to enrollments in courses occurring on or after date of enactment of this Act

Sec. 201(a): January 1, 2002

Sec. 202: March 1, 2002

Sec. 203: VA medical research projects commenced before, on, or after date on enactment

Sec. 206: September 17, 2001

Sec. 207: September 17, 2001

Sec. 501(a): September 11, 2001

Sec. 501(b): December 1, 2001

Sec. 502: Shall apply to individuals dying on or after date of enactment

Sec. 505: Shall apply with respect to the payment of compensation for months beginning on or after the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date of enactment

Sec. 506: Shall apply to the months beginning 90 days after date of enactment

Sec. 508: September 30, 2001

Sec. 603: Shall apply to appeals filed on or after date of enactment or filed before date of enactment for which the decision is not final as of date of enactment 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

June 19, 2001:  Passed the House under suspension by vote of 416-0, 1 Present (Roll No. 166).

            June 20, 2001:  Referred to the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

            December 7, 2001:  Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs discharged by unanimous consent.

            December 7, 2001:  Senate struck all after the enacting clause and substituted the language of S. 1088 amended.

December 7, 2001:  Passed the Senate in lieu of S. 1088 with an amendment by unanimous consent.

December 11, 2001:  House agreed to Senate amendments with an amendment pursuant to H. Res. 310.  (Note:  Consists of certain provisions from H.R. 801, H.R. 2540, H.R. 3240, and S. 1088.  Also, H. Res. 310 agreed to by the House under suspension by voice vote.)

December 13, 2001:  Senate agreed to House amendment to Senate amendments by unanimous consent.

December 27, 2001:  Signed by the President, Public Law 107-103.