,i #aadth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #fba ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,january #bh1 #bjae ,mr4 ,vargas introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to authorize the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs to make grants with minority serving institutions for the purpose of establishing verified delivery systems to address social and academic problems facing veterans enrolled at such institutions1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,veteran ,excellence ,through ,education ,act of #bjae4 #b4 ,department of ,veterans ,affairs grants to minority serving institutions to address social and academic problems facing veterans 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs may make grants to minority serving institutions for the purpose of establishing verified delivery systems to address social and academic problems facing veterans enrolled at such institutions4 7b7 ,use of funds ,the recipient of a grant under this section shall use the grant funds to carry out any of the following activities for veterans enrolled at the institution receiving the grant3 7#a7 ,providing education services1 including post-secondary education1 courses in ,english as a second language1 general education development preparation1 financial literacy workshops and courses1 generational diversity awareness programs1 and health and wellness programs4 7#b7 ,activities designed to increase access to workforce services1 including on-job training1 internships1 skills training1 job placement1 and personal development4 7#c7 ,other types of support services1 including health and nutrition services1 housing assistance1 transportation1 and child care4 7#d7 ,establishing a center for veteran student success on the campus of the institution to provide a single point of contact to coordinate comprehensive support services for veterans who are enrolled in a program of education offered by the institution4 7#e7 ,establishing a veteran support team1 including representatives from the offices of the institution responsible for admissions1 registration1 financial aid1 veterans benefits1 academic advising1 student health1 personal or mental health counseling1 career advising1 and disabilities services1 and any other office of the institution that provides support to veteran students on campus4 7#f7 ,providing a coordinator whose primary responsibility is to coordinate the activities carried out under the grant4 7#g7 ,monitoring the rates of enrollment1 persistence1 and completion of veterans who are enrolled in a program of education offered by the institution4 7#h7 ,developing a plan to sustain a center described in paragraph 7#d7 after the institution no longer receives funds under this section4 7#i7 ,providing outreach to veterans to encourage them to enroll in a program of education offered by the institution4 7#aj7 ,providing supportive instructional services for veterans enrolled in a program of education offered by the institution1 including-- 7,a7 personal1 academic1 and career counseling2 7,b7 tutoring and academic skill-building assistance2 and 7,c7 assistance with special admissions and transferring credits from previously attended institutions of higher learning or other relevant credits4 7#aa7 ,providing assistance to veterans admitted for enrollment in a program of education offered by the institution in obtaining student financial aid4 7#ab7 ,providing housing support for veterans enrolled in a program of education offered by the institution who live in institutional facilities or who commute4 7#ac7 ,academic programs1 orientation programs1 and other activities designed to ease the transition to campus life for such veterans4 7#ad7 ,support for veteran student organizations and veteran student support groups at the institution4 7#ae7 ,coordination of academic advising and admissions counseling with military installations and national guard units located in the same geographic area as the institution4 7#af7 ,other support services the institution determines necessary to ensure the success of veterans enrolled in a program of education offered by the institution in achieving educational and career goals4 7c7 ,eligibility ,to be eligible to receive a grant under this section1 a minority serving institution shall submit to the ,secretary an application containing a program plan containing a strategy for meeting the needs of veterans enrolled in the institution4 ,such a plan shall include-- 7#a7 an identification of the population to be served2 7#b7 an identification of the education and employment needs of the population to be served and the manner in which the activities proposed to be provided using grant funds are designed to strengthen the ability of such individuals to achieve their higher education goals2 7#c7 a description of the activities proposed to be provided using grant funds and the manner in which such activities would be integrated with other appropriate activities carried out by or at the institution2 and 7#d7 a description1 developed in consultation with the ,secretary1 of the performance measures proposed to be used to assess the performance of the institution in carrying out activities using grant funds4 7d7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,the term minority serving institution means a historically ,black college or university1 a ,hispanic-serving institution1 a ,tribal ,college or ,university1 or a ,predominantly ,black ,institution4 7#b7 ,the term historically ,black college has the meaning given the term part ,b institution as defined in section #cbb7b7 of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajfa7b774 7#c7 ,the term ,hispanic-serving institution has the meaning given that term in as section #ejb7;a77#e7 of such ,act 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #aaja;a7a77#e774 7#d7 ,the term ,tribal ,college or ,university has the meaning given that term in section #caf7;b77#c7 of such ,act 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajei;c7b77#c774 7#e7 ,the term ,predominantly ,black ,institution has the meaning given that term in section #cah7;b77#f7 of such ,act 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajei;e7b77#f774 7e7 ,termination ,the ,secretary may only make a grant under this section during fiscal years #bjaf through #bjba4