[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7895 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7895
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the restoration
of entitlement of individuals entitled to educational assistance under
the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs who use such
entitlement to pursue a course or program of education at an
educational institution found to have violated certain prohibitions on
advertising, sales, and enrollment practices, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 9, 2024
Mr. Bost introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs
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A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the restoration
of entitlement of individuals entitled to educational assistance under
the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs who use such
entitlement to pursue a course or program of education at an
educational institution found to have violated certain prohibitions on
advertising, sales, and enrollment practices, 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 ``Recoupment of Expenditures for
Student Tuition Outlays and Restoration of Entitlement Act'' or the
``RESTORE Act''.
SEC. 2. TREATMENT BY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OF EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS THAT VIOLATE CERTAIN PROHIBITIONS ON
ADVERTISING, SALES, AND ENROLLMENT PRACTICES.
(a) Restoration of Entitlement.--Section 3696 of title 38, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsections (i) through (l) as
subsections (j) through (m), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (h) the following new
subsection (i):
``(i) Restoration of Entitlement.--Upon a final determination by
the Under Secretary for Benefits under subsection (g), including the
results of any appeal under subsection (i), that an educational
institution or the owner of an educational institution violated
subsection (a), (c), or (d), the Secretary may determine that any
payment of educational assistance to an individual who used entitlement
to educational assistance under chapter 30, 31, 32, 33, or 35 of this
title, or chapter 1606 or 1607 of title 10, to pursue a course or
program of education at such educational institution during the time
period when the violation occurred, and who was unable to continue such
course or program at such educational institution by reason of such
violation, is not--
``(1) charged against any entitlement to educational
assistance of the individual; or
``(2) counted against the aggregate period for which
section 3695 of this title limits the receipt of educational
assistance by such individual.''.
(b) Repayment of Funds.--
(1) In general.--Subsection (h) of such section is
amended--
(A) in paragraph (4), by striking ``subsection
(i)'' and inserting ``subsection (j)''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(5)(A) In addition to any other enforcement action taken under
this subsection, upon a final determination by the Under Secretary for
Benefits under subsection (g) that an educational institution or the
owner of an educational institution violated subsection (a), (c), or
(d), the Secretary shall require the educational institution to repay
to the Secretary all amounts of educational assistance under chapter
30, 31, 32, 33, or 35 of this title, or chapter 1606 or 1607 of title
10, paid to the educational institution by or on behalf of an
individual who pursued a course or program of education at the
educational institution during the time period when the violation
occurred.
``(B) 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 Under Secretary of Benefits makes
a final determination under subsection (g) that the educational
institution or the owner of the educational institution violated
subsection (a), (c), or (d), the educational institution shall make the
repayment required under subparagraph (A).
``(C) The Under Secretary shall establish a process for making a
determination regarding the amount an educational institution or an
owner of an educational institution is required to repay under
subparagraph (A) in the case of a violation of subsection (a), (c), or
(d). Such process shall include--
``(i) clearly defined factors to be used to determine the
amount attributable to the violation, including the degree to
which individuals enrolled in a program of education offered by
the educational institution using entitlement to educational
assistance under chapter 30, 31, 32, 33, or 35 of this title or
chapter 1606 or 1607 of title 10 suffered a loss due to the
violation;
``(ii) a requirement that the Under Secretary provide
notice to the educational institution or the owner of the
educational institution that the Under Secretary is in the
process of making such a determination with respect to the
educational institution or owner; and
``(iii) a procedure under which the educational institution
or owner may provide such information to the Under Secretary as
the educational institution or owner determines appropriate
within a specified period of time outlined by the Secretary for
purposes of informing such determination.
``(D) A determination made pursuant to subparagraph (C) shall be--
``(i) made by the Under Secretary and may not be delegated;
and
``(ii) subject to review under section 7104(a) of this
title.''.
(2) Disapproval.--Section 3679 of title 38, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
``(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, in the
case of an educational institution that the Secretary determines is
required to repay to the Secretary an amount under section 3696(h)(5)
of this title and does not repay such amount, the Secretary shall
disapprove a course or program of education offered by the educational
institution until the educational institution repays to the Secretary
such amount.''.
(3) Reinstatement.--Paragraph (2) of subsection (k) of
section 3696, as redesignated by subsection (a)(1), is
amended--
(A) in subparagraph (E)--
(i) by striking ``that''; and
(ii) by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as
subparagraph (G); and
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the
following new subparagraph (F):
``(F) the educational institution repays any amount
required to be repaid under subsection (h)(5); and''.
(c) Applicability.--The amendments made by this section shall apply
with respect to a violation that occurs on or after the date that is
180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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