90TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 2911 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 1, 1968 Mr. YARBOROUGH (for himself and Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare A BILL To amend title 38 of the United States Code to improve vocational rehabilitation training for service-connected veterans by authorizing pursuit of such training on a part-time basis. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 That section 1504 of title 38, United States Code, is amended 4 by (1) deleting in subsection (b) the table contained there5 in its entirety and substituting in lieu thereof the following: 6 and (2) inserting in the first sentence following the table 2 1 immediately before the word "trainee" the following: "full2 time"; and (3) by inserting at the end of such section im3 mediately after subsection (c) the following new subsection: "(d) The Administrator shall define full-time and part 4 5 time training in the case of all eligible veterans pursuing a 6 course of vocational rehabilitation training under this 7 chapter." Hon. LISTER HILL, VETERANS ADMINISTRATION, OFFICE OF THE ADMINISTRATOR OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, Chairman, Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in response to your request for a report by the Veterans Administration on S. 2911, a bill "To amend title 38 of the United States Code to improve vocational rehabilitation training for service-connected veterans by authorizing pursuit of such training on a part-time basis." S. 2911 would authorize the furnishing of vocational rehabilitation training under chapter 31 of title 38, United States Code, on a part-time basis. The bill is identical to the draft bill forwarded to the President of the Senate by my letter of January 30, 1968, a copy of which is enclosed. We were advised by the Bureau of the Budget in connection with that letter that there was no objection to the presentation of the draft bill and that is enactment would be in accord with the program of the President. The estimated first-year cost of S. 2911 is $5.3 million. We recommend favorable consideration of S. 2911 by your Committee. Sincerely, W. J. DRIVER, Administrator. VETERANS ADMINISTRATION, Washington, D.C., January 30, 1968. OFFICE OF THE ADMINISTRATOR OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, Hon. HUBERT H. HUMPHREY, DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: There is enclosed herewith to implement the recommendation of the President in his message of this date on America's Servicemen and Veterans a draft bill "To amend title 38 of the United States Code to improve rehabilitation training for service-connected veterans by authorizing pursuit of such training on a part-time basis." Chapter 31 of title 38, United States Code, now authorizes the furnishing of Vocational rehabilitation training to veterans with service-connected disabilities who are in need of such training in order to restore their employablity. This program involves the payment of subsistence allowance, as well as tuition, fees, books, supplies, and equipment, during the period in which training under such program is being pursued. Generally, training may be afforded during the 9-year period immediately following the veteran's discharge or release from service. Except for special circumstances, training may be authorized under the present law only on a full-time basis. From the beginning of the program, it has been recognized that in dealing with the severely disabled any definition of full-time training could not be a static concept, but must be geared to the individual work tolerance of the veteran-trainee (38 CFR 21.202). Other limited situations where vocational rehabilitation training may be pursued on less than a full-time basis are set forth in Veterans Administration Regulation 10203 (38 CFR 21.203). Experience has shown that some additional eligible veterans who would have benefited from a vocational rehabilitation training program have had to forego the pursuit of such a program because their economic situation precluded fulltime pursuit. If the law had permitted, they could have gained benefits through a part-time program which would have allowed them to supplement their income by full or part-time employment. The foregoing statement may be illustrated by the case of a veteran who was service-connected for disability of his leg and back, and had to wear a leg-brace. Despite his disability, he was able to build up a rather successful trade delivering beverages to private homes. This was a one-man operation and he was netting over $10,000 annually. After a period of time, the strain of driving his truck and lifting crates of bottles led to an increase in severity of his disability. The veteran wanted to take vocational rehabilitation training to learn a new trade and would have qualified for such training because his work was unsuitable in light of his increasing disablement. He nevertheless felt that he could not afford to totally abandon his present occupation due to his immediate obligations (he had a large family to support and had to meet monthly payments on a home mortgage). This veteran would have benefited from a part-time training program. Of at least equal importance is the fact that the full-time requirement has often worked to the detriment of those veterans in need of training who would rather continue unsuitable employment than risk the uncertainly of full-time training. These persons have been reluctant to give up their jobs to take training on a fulltime basis because they lacked confidence in themselves or the program and had no assurance that such training would improve their job potential. If part-time training were permitted, such persons could start training on a trial basis without giving up their jobs. If the training proved successful and the veteran gained confidence in the program, he would be encouraged to take training full-time. If the part-time training did not prove beneficial, he would still have this job and would not have jeopardized his immediate source of income. The Administrator's Vocational Rehabilitation and Education Advisory Committee, established pursuant to section 1788 of title 38, considered this problem in depth and recommended that necessary steps be taken to authorize the pursuit of part-time institutional training for chapter 31 trainees. Consistent with these recommendations, the draft bill would provide subsistence allowance rates for three-quarter-time and one-half-time institutional training. As is the case with respect to veterans educational assistance program under chapter 34 of title 38, however, the pursuit of a program consisting of institutional on-farm, apprentice, or other on-the-job training would not be authorized on less than a full-time basis. Specific language would be enacted to authorize the Administrator to define by regulation "full-time" and "less than full-time" training for vocational rehabilitation purposes. If enacted, we would propose to promulgate regulations under chapter 31 which would be as nearly the same as practical to those applicable to persons in pursuit of training under the new GI educational assistance program, the war orphans educational program, and the special circumstances in the definition of "full-time" training contained in the regulations discussed above. The estimated cost for direct benefits under the proposed bill are as follows: In addition to the above stated estimated cost of direct benefits, there would be additional administrative costs resulting mainly from the increased counseling of veteran-trainees which would be required. The estimated first five year additional administrative costs are as follows: There is enclosed a draft bill, section-by-section analysis and changes in the present law, as well as a copy of the pertinent Veterans Administration regulations. We hope that the proposed legislation will receive early and favorable consideration. We are advised by the Bureau of the Budget that there is no objection to the presentation of this draft bill and its enactment would be in accord with the program of the President. Sincerely, 20-143 0-68 W. J. DRIVER, Administrator. A BILL To amend title 38 of the United States Code to improve vocational rehabilitation training for service-connected veterans by authorizing pursuit of such training on a part-time basis Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 1504 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by (1) deleting in subsection (b) the table contained therein in its entirety and substituting in lieu thereof the following: and (2) inserting in the first sentence following the table immediately before the word "trainee" the following: "full-time"; and (3) by inserting at the end of such section immediately after subsection (c) the following new subsection: "(d) The Administrator shall define full-time and part-time training in the case of all eligible veterans pursuing a course of vocational rehabilitation training under this chapter." CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW TITLE 38-VETERANS' BENEFITS PART III-READJUSTMENT AND RELATED BENEFITS § 1504. Subsistence allowance (a) While pursuing a course of vocational rehabilitation training and for two months after his employability is determined, each veteran shall be paid a subsistence allowance as prescribed in this section. (b) The subsistence allowance of a veteran-trainee is to be determined in accordance with the following table, and shall be the monthly amount shown in column II, III, or IV (whichever is applicable as determined by the veteran's dependency status) opposite the appropriate type of training as specified in column I: |