November 12, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 180 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Pages H8758-H8760]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      GI BILL PLANNING ACT OF 2019

  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4162) to amend title 38, United States Code, to extend the 
period under which an election must be made for entitlement to 
educational assistance under the All-Volunteer Educational Assistance 
Program of Department of Veterans Affairs, to phase out the use of such 
program, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4162

       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 ``GI Bill Planning Act of 
     2019''.

     SEC. 2. PERIOD FOR ELECTION TO RECEIVE BENEFITS UNDER ALL-
                   VOLUNTEER EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM OF 
                   DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

       (a) In General.--Section 3011 of title 38, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``Any such election 
     shall be made at the time the individual initially enters on 
     active duty as a member of the Armed Forces'' and inserting 
     ``Any such election shall be made during the 90-day period 
     beginning on the day that is 180 days after the date on which 
     the individual initially enters initial training''; and
       (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``that such 
     individual is entitled to such pay'' and inserting ``that 
     begin after the date that is 270 days after the date on which 
     the individual initially enters initial training''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of 
     this Act.

     SEC. 3. PHASE OUT OF ALL-VOLUNTEER EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 
                   PROGRAM.

       Subsection (a)(1)(A) of section 3011 of title 38, United 
     States Code, as amended by section 1, is further amended by 
     striking ``after June 30, 1985'' and inserting ``during the 
     period beginning July 1, 1985, and ending September 30, 
     2029''.

     SEC. 4. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

       The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
     complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall 
     be determined by reference to the latest statement titled 
     ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, 
     submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the 
     Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such 
     statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Takano) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. David P. 
Roe) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
to insert extraneous material on H.R. 4162, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4162, as amended, the GI Bill 
Planning Act of 2019.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill was introduced by Representative Jack Bergman 
and Representative Kathleen Rice. Both of them are great members of our 
committee and tireless fighters for veterans. I thank Representative 
Bergman for his work on this legislation and his commitment to working 
with me on several issues related to veterans education and healthcare.
  Mr. Speaker, with the enactment of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, the 
Montgomery GI Bill has become a less attractive option for many 
servicemembers. In most cases, the benefits are worse for 
servicemembers when choosing the Montgomery GI Bill instead of the 
Forever GI Bill. The issue is that many servicemembers sign up without 
knowing what they are signing up for.
  For a servicemember to receive benefits through the Montgomery GI 
Bill, they must elect to pay into it when they first enter the 
military. Often, this is a chaotic period in a servicemember's life, to 
say the least. They are unable to give the decision much thought or do 
not fully understand the full impact of the decision at the time.
  Also, there have been ongoing reports that some servicemembers are 
pressured to sign up by instructors at initial entry training or lose 
the benefit. This bill addresses this concern by moving the date when a 
servicemember elects to join the program so they can better understand 
and make a better informed decision.
  Many end up signing up for the Montgomery GI Bill benefits only to 
never use them and never see them refunded. This is wrong and a waste 
of our servicemembers' money.
  The committee will work to ensure that the Post-9/11 GI Bill is 
updated to ensure that future generations who may have benefited more 
from the Montgomery GI Bill than the Post-9/11 GI Bill do not see one 
bit of a drop-off in potential benefits. With the work we are doing to 
empower State approving agencies to improve the quality of education, 
now is the time for us also to improve the quality of benefits for our 
servicemembers.
  I thank Representative Bergman and Representative Rice for their 
leadership, and I urge all of my colleagues to support the passage of 
H.R. 4162.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.

[[Page H8759]]

  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4162, as amended, the GI 
Bill Planning Act of 2019.
  Mr. Speaker, in order to be eligible for the Montgomery GI Bill, 
servicemembers automatically have $100 a month deducted from their 
paycheck for the first 12 months of their service for a total of 
$1,200. Currently, servicemembers have to elect to opt out of these 
payments just a few short days into their basic training or boot camp. 
From personal experience, I can say that is not the time to be making 
such an important decision.
  This bill would extend the time the servicemember has to elect out of 
the Montgomery GI Bill to a 90-day period beginning 180 days after the 
date the servicemember enters training. It gives them 6 months to kind 
of think about it a little bit and then some time.

                              {time}  1715

  By delaying the decision to elect out of that Montgomery GI Bill, 
servicemembers will have more of an opportunity to research which GI 
Bill, the Post-9/11 GI Bill, or the Montgomery GI Bill is best suited 
to meet their educational needs in the future outside of the pressure 
and constraints of boot camp.
  In addition, this bill would responsibly sunset the Montgomery GI 
Bill benefit for new enlistees in 2029. This would mean that current 
servicemembers or anyone who chooses this benefit before 2029, would 
not be impacted.
  While the legacy of the Montgomery GI Bill benefit has helped 
thousands, it only makes sense to move to the more generous Post-9/11 
GI Bill. This change would help ease confusion among student veterans 
and make things easier for the Department of Veterans Affairs to 
administer the benefit.
  I am also glad that the text of my bill, H.R. 3608, which would 
extend in-state tuition benefits to veterans is also included in this 
bill. The 2014 CHOICE Act required that public schools charge veterans 
who are within 3 years of their discharge in-state tuition rates 
regardless of whether they meet the State's residency requirements in 
order to be eligible for GI Bill programs.
  That requirement was waivable, but to date, all States and public 
schools are complying with it. Last Congress I was proud to coauthor 
the Forever GI Bill, which, among other improvements to the Post-9/11 
GI Bill, eliminated the requirement that a veteran's 36 months of GI 
Bill benefits expire 15 years after their last discharge from Active 
Duty.
  Now that this change has become law, it makes no sense to require 
that the veteran be within 3 years of their discharge to receive in-
state tuition rates if they have their entire lives to use their GI 
Bill benefits.
  I want to thank my good friend and colleague Congressman Jack Bergman 
from Michigan for all of his hard work on this bill, and I urge my 
colleagues to support the GI Bill Planning Act of 2019.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers and I am prepared 
to close. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bergman), to debate his bill. General 
Bergman served as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and 
Investigations in the 115th Congress, and he is now the ranking member.
  Mr. Speaker, I didn't get a chance to wish the gentleman a belated 
happy Veterans Day.
  Mr. BERGMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his recognition.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of H.R. 4162. But I would like to 
rise on behalf of not only the veterans, but also, the day before 
Veterans Day was the 244th birthday of the United States Marine Corps.
  The point is, all of the members of the military who serve and have 
served, no matter what branch of service, we are proudly serving in the 
culture that we chose.
  That would be, in my case, the Marine Corps. And we are honored that 
so many of our fellow veterans from the other services have chosen to 
join us in the celebration of service to our country. So it is an honor 
to be here, but also it is more of an honor to represent the veterans 
on the Veterans' Affairs Committee, so ably led by Chairman Takano and 
Ranking Member Roe.
  As far as H.R. 4162, as amended, the GI Bill Planning Act of 2019, 
the support we have gotten across the committee on this is nothing 
short of spectacular and bipartisan. I would like to thank 
Congresswoman Kathleen Rice for her support in making this happen.
  As Ranking Member Roe mentioned, during the first 2 weeks of boot 
camp, recruits are really not focused on making any big decisions, 
other than staying with the program and making sure that they get 
through boot camp. So they are not only asked to make a tough decision. 
They are actually required to make a very consequential decision at a 
time of extreme fatigue.
  They must decide whether to opt out of their Montgomery GI Bill 
benefit or pay $1,200 to keep their eligibility for down the road later 
on when they are eligible to use it as a veteran.
  Seventy percent of these enlistees are choosing to pay this 
relatively large expense, but few will ever use the Montgomery GI Bill. 
Rather, 97 percent of veterans today are choosing the newer Post-9/11 
GI Bill, which usually amounts to a higher monetary benefit.
  My legislation, the GI Bill Planning Act, would delay this decision 
to no earlier than 6 months after these young men and women have 
completed boot camp and entered service, instead of that first 2 weeks, 
again, very critical in their time for success in boot camp.
  Additionally, this bill would responsibly end new enlistee 
enrollments in the outdated Montgomery GI Bill by October 2029. While 
the Montgomery GI Bill has helped millions of veterans since 1984, it 
is time to simplify benefits and sunset this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, not only can this legislation save enlistees money, but 
it can also ensure that they are more informed in their educational 
benefits decisions. It is important that these motivated young men and 
women know that we in Congress have their backs and are thinking of 
them as they plan their bright futures in service to our great Nation.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4162, as amended.
  Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I, too, wish the Marine 
Corps a happy birthday, but as usual, they are behind the Army. Their 
birthday is later than the U.S. Army which is older than the Marine 
Corps. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Let me just say, I wish to extend a belated happy Veterans Day to 
both of my colleagues, Dr. Roe and General Bergman. We certainly 
appreciate their service. I extend this congratulations and gratitude 
to all of our servicemembers, and I underscore all of 
our servicemembers, whether they be the Marines, the Army, the Air 
Force, the Navy, or the Coast Guard. And I understand the friendly 
rivalry, but I want to make sure that everyone knows whatever service 
they engaged, that America appreciates them.

  Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I am prepared to close, and 
I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  I, too, have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close. I 
recommend that all of my colleagues support this very commonsense 
legislation, the GI Bill.
  I used the GI Bill in 1975-1976, when I got out of the Army. It was 
an amazing piece of legislation. It helped me then. I am appreciative 
to this day that my country invested $300 a month in me for 2 years, 
and that I got to use that. It really helped me a lot.
  This bill that we have now, the Forever GI Bill, is a phenomenal 
benefit for young people. We know the GI Bill helped transform a 
generation after World War II. I believe this Forever GI Bill will 
transform this generation, and I wholeheartedly encourage my colleagues 
to support it.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I wish to associate myself with the remarks of the ranking member 
regarding the transformative power of the GI Bill right after World War 
II, what it did for a generation.
  I want to also take note that the Forever GI Bill was shepherded by 
Ranking Member Roe when he was the chairman and it still is an amazing, 
remarkable accomplishment that we

[[Page H8760]]

have made the GI Bill a lifetime benefit that can be used at any point 
in a veteran's lifetime. And, also, if they don't use it, they can 
transfer it to a spouse or their children. This is a remarkable piece 
of legislation.
  It took cooperation of a minority working in good faith during the 
last session of Congress, and I think it is a remarkable 
accomplishment.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 
4162, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4162, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________