H.R. 9379 — Introduced in House

I 117th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 9379 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 1, 2022Mr. Cartwright (for himself, Ms. Norton, Mr. San Nicolas, Mr. O'Halleran, Mr. Case, Mr. Lieu, Ms. Titus, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Mr. Carson, Ms. Dean, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mrs. Kirkpatrick, Ms. Ross, Mr. Wittman, Mr. Moulton, Ms. Sherrill, Mr. Soto, Mr. Kilmer, Ms. Wexton, Ms. Wild, Mr. Trone, and Ms. Kuster) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs A BILL To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the VA Work-Study program. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the VA Work-Study Improvement Act. 2. Improvements to VA Work-Study program (a) Authorized activities Subsection (a)(5) of section 3485 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: (L) Any other activity at an agency of a State or local government or a nonprofit organization that would benefit, directly or indirectly, veterans or members of the Armed Forces. . (b) Applicable hourly minimum wage Paragraph (7) of subsection (a) of such section is amended to read as follows: (7) For the purposes of this subsection and subsection (e), the term applicable hourly minimum wages means the higher of the following wages: (A) The hourly minimum wage under section 6(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)). (B) The hourly minimum wage under comparable law of the State in which the services are to be performed. (C) The hourly minimum wage under comparable law of the local government with jurisdiction over the area in which the services are to be performed. . (c) Increased number of work hours authorized Paragraph (3) of such subsection is amended by striking 25 and inserting 40. (d) Electronic timesheets Such section is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (f) The Secretary shall ensure that— (1) an individual participating in a qualifying work-study activity may electronically record the hours worked under such activity; and (2) the supervisor of such individual may electronically approve such records. . (e) Publication of data Such section, as amended by subsection (d), is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (g) On an annual basis, the Secretary shall publish the following information regarding qualifying work-study activities carried out during the covered year: (1) The number of individuals who participated in a qualifying work-study activity. (2) The demographics of such individuals. (3) A description of such activities. (4) The wages paid to such individuals. (5) The number of hours worked by such individuals. (6) A list of the participating educational institutions. . (f) Applicability The amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to a payment of work-study allowance made under section 3485 of title 38, United States Code, on or after January 1, 2025.