Bill > S2253

Introduced Session

Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Education Relief and Restoration Act of 2015 This bill declares that, if a veteran is forced to discontinue a course as a result of an educational institution's permanent closure and did not receive credit or lost training time toward completion of the education program, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) educational assistance payments shall not, for a specified period of time, be: charged against the individual's entitlement to educational assistance, or counted against the aggregate period for which such assistance may be provided. The bill applies to school closures beginning with FY2015. The VA may continue to pay educational assistance and subsistence allowances to eligible veterans and eligible persons enrolled in specified courses for up to 4 weeks in any 12-month period when schools are temporarily closed under an established policy based on an executive order of the President or due to an emergency situation. The VA may also continue to pay a monthly housing stipend following a permanent school closure, but only until the earlier of: (1) the date of the end of the term, quarter, or semester during which the school closure occurred; and (2) the date that is four months after the school closure.

Committee Categories

Richard Blumenthal (D)*,  Tammy Baldwin (D),  Barbara Boxer (D),  Sherrod Brown (D),  Tom Carper (D),  Dick Durbin (D),  Kirsten Gillibrand (D),  Dean Heller (R),  Mazie Hirono (D),  Amy Klobuchar (D),  Claire McCaskill (D),  Chris Murphy (D),  Patty Murray (D),  Gary Peters (D),  Jack Reed (D),  Bernie Sanders (I),  Chuck Schumer (D),  Debbie Stabenow (D),  Thom Tillis (R),  Elizabeth Warren (D),  Ron Wyden (D), 

Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. (on 11/18/2015)

Official Document