,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #abgg  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,may #be1      
#bjag,mr4 ,boozman 7for himself1 ,mr4   
,heller1 ,mrs4 ,capito1 and ,mr4 ,risch7
 introduced the following bill2 which   
was read twice and referred to the      
,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs  ,a   
,,bill  ,to require the ,secretary of   
,veterans ,affairs to carry out a high  
technology education pilot program1 and 
for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the ,veteran 
,employment ,through ,technology        
,education ,courses ,act of #bjag or the
 ,,vet ,,tec ,act of #bjag4  #b4        
,department of ,veterans ,affairs high  
technology pilot program  7a7 ,pilot    
program ,the ,secretary of ,veterans    
,affairs shall carry out a pilot program
 under which the ,secretary shall       
provide eligible veterans with the      
opportunity to enroll in high technology
 programs of education4  7b7            
,eligibility ,for purposes of the pilot 

program under this section1 an eligible 
veteran is a veteran who is entitled to 
educational assistance under the laws   
administered by the ,secretary4  7c7    
,contracts  7#a7 ,in general ,for       
purposes of carrying out subsection 7a71
 by not later than #ahj days after the  
date of the enactment of this ,act1 the 
,secretary shall1 in consultation with  
the ,state approving agencies and as the
 ,secretary considers applicable1 seek  
to enter into contracts with multiple   
qualified providers of high technology  
programs of education for the provision 
of such programs to eligible veterans   
under the pilot program4  7#b7 ,payment 
of contractors ,a contract under this   
subsection shall provide that the       
,secretary shall pay to a provider--    
7,a7 #be percent of the cost of         
providing the program of education upon 
the enrollment of an eligible veteran in
 the program2  7,b7 #be percent of such 
cost upon the completion of the program 
by the veteran2 and  7,c7 #ej percent of

 such cost upon the employment of the   
veteran in a field related to the course
 of study1 following completion of the  
program4  7#c7 ,qualified providers ,for
 purposes of the pilot program1 a       
provider of a high technology program of
 education is qualified if the          
provider--  7,a7 has been operational   
for at least two years and has offered1 
for at least two years1 the credential  
it plans to offer under the pilot       
program2  7,b7 verifies1 to the         
satisfaction of the ,secretary1 that    
each credential it plans to offer       
through the pilot program has           
demonstrated market value based on the  
employment and earnings of its          
participants in that program during the 
most recent two-year period2 and  7,c7  
has the ability to evaluate job         
placement rates and earnings through    
means other than survey data or         
self-reported data1 such as through     
agreements with ,state or ,federal      
agencies4  7#d7 ,tuition reimbursement  

,in entering into contracts to carry out
 the pilot program1 the ,secretary shall
 give preference to a qualified provider
 that offers tuition reimbursement for  
any student who--  7,a7 completes a     
program of education offered by the     
provider2 and  7,b7 does not find       
full-time meaningful employment within  
the #ahj-;day period beginning on the   
date the student completes the program4 
7#e7 ,limitation on tuition ,in the case
 of a qualified provider that is a      
for-profit organization1 the tuition    
charged for a high technology program of
 education under a contract under this  
subsection may not exceed #abe percent  
of the average tuition charged by       
nonprofit organizations for similar     
programs1 as determined by the          
,secretary4  7#f7 ,removal of           
contractors ,the ,secretary shall remove
 from participation in the pilot program
 any qualified provider that increases  
the tuition for a high technology       
program of education under a contract   

under this subsection by more than #aj  
percent in any year as compared to the  
previous year4  7d7 ,housing stipend    
,the ,secretary shall pay to each       
eligible veteran who is enrolled in a   
high technology program of education    
under the pilot program on a full-time  
basis a monthly housing stipend equal to
 the product--  7#a7 of-- 7,a7 in the   
case of a veteran pursuing resident     
training1 the monthly amount of the     
basic allowance for housing payable     
under section #djc of title #cg1 ,united
 ,states ,code1 for a member with       
dependents in pay grade ,e-#e residing  
in the military housing area that       
encompasses all or the majority portion 
of the ,,zip code area in which is      
located the institution at which the    
individual is enrolled2 or  7,b7 in the 
case of a veteran pursuing a program of 
education through distance learning1 a  
monthly amount equal to #ej percent of  
the amount payable under subparagraph   
7,a71 multiplied by  7#b7 the lesser    

of-- 7,a7 #a4j2 or  7,b7 the number of  
course hours borne by the individual in 
pursuit of the program of education     
involved1 divided by the minimum number 
of course hours required for full-time  
pursuit of such program of education1   
rounded to the nearest multiple of #aj4 
7e7 ,reports  7#a7 ,secretary of        
,veterans ,affairs ,not later than one  
year after the date of the enactment of 
this ,act1 and annually thereafter1 the 
,secretary shall submit to ,congress a  
report on the pilot program under this  
section4  7#b7 ,comptroller ,general    
7,a7 ,interim report ,not later than    
three years after the date on which the 
,secretary first enters into a contract 
under this section1 the ,comptroller    
,general of the ,united ,states shall   
submit to ,congress a report containing 
the results of the interim assessment of
 the ,comptroller ,general4 ,such report
 shall include the following3  7i7 ,the 
recommendations of the ,comptroller     
,general for improving the pilot        

program4  7ii7 ,an assessment of each of
 the following3  7,i7 ,the technology   
experience of the directors and         
instructors of the providers of high    
technology programs of education under  
the pilot program4  7,,ii7 ,whether the 
providers cooperated with the technology
 industry to create the curriculum for  
the program of education4  7,,iii7      
,whether the providers use an open      
source curriculum for the program of    
education4  7,,iv7 ,the admittance rate 
into the pilot program4  7,v7 ,the      
completion rate for veterans who        
participate in the pilot program4       
7,,vi7 ,the average age of veterans who 
participate in the pilot program4       
7,,vii7 ,the job placement rate for     
veterans who completed a program of     
education under the pilot program4      
7,,viii7 ,whether the employment of     
veterans who completed a program of     
education under the pilot program was   
part or full time4  7,,ix7 ,whether a   
veteran who found employment after      

completing a program of education under 
the pilot program was employed in a     
field related to the course of study    
under the program of education4  7,b7   
,final report ,not later than five years
 after the date on which the ,secretary 
first enters into a contract under this 
section1 the ,comptroller ,general shall
 submit to ,congress a final report on  
the pilot program4 ,such report shall   
include the recommendation of the       
,comptroller ,general with respect to   
whether the program should be extended  
and an assessment of each of the        
following3  7i7 ,each item described in 
subclauses 7,i7 through 7,,ix7 of       
subparagraph 7,a77ii74  7ii7 ,the       
percentage of veterans who completed a  
program of education under the pilot    
program who were subsequently employed  
for a period of six months or longer4   
7f7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 
,high technology program of education   
,the term high technology program of    
education means a program of education  

that--  7,a7 is offered by an entity    
other than an institution of higher     
learning2  7,b7 does not lead to a      
degree2 and  7,c7 provides instruction  
in computer programming1 computer       
software1 media application1 data       
processing1 or information sciences4    
7#b7 ,state approving agency ,the term  
,state approving agency means a         
department or agency of a ,state        
designated under section #cfga of title 
#ch1 ,united ,states ,code4  7g7        
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
is authorized to be appropriated to the 
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs        
#ae1jjj1jjj for each fiscal year during 
which the ,secretary carries out a pilot
 program under this section4  7h7       
,termination ,the authority to carry out
 a pilot program under this section     
shall terminate on the date that is five
 years after the date on which the      
,secretary first enters into a contract 
under this section4