Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act of 2020

S. 3266 · 116th Congress · Feb 11, 2020 · Lineage

A BILL

To amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure that the time during which members of the Armed Forces serve on active duty for training qualifies for entitlement to Post-9/11 Educational Assistance of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the “Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act of 2020”.

2. Addition of other duty statuses to qualify for Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Program

(a)

Qualifying duty— Section 3311(b) of title 38, United States Code, is amended—

(1)

by striking “(including” each place it appears and inserting “(including other qualifying duty and”;

(2)

by striking “(excluding” each place it appears and inserting “(including other qualifying duty but excluding”; and

(3)

in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting “or other qualifying duty” after “active duty”.

(b)

Other qualifying duty defined— Section 3301 of such title is amended—

(1)

by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and

(2)

by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new paragraph (3):

“(3) The term other qualifying duty means the following:

“(A) Duty under section 502 of title 32.

“(B) Duty for which a member is eligible to receive pay under section 204, 206, or 372 of title 37.”

(c)

Effective date— The amendments made by this section shall take effect on August 1, 2021, and shall apply with respect to—

(1)

academic years beginning on or after August 1, 2021; and

(2)

service performed before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

3. Simplification of eligibility criteria for Department of Veterans Affairs Post-9/11 Educational Assistance

(a)

In general— Paragraph (1) of section 3301 of title 38, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

“(1) The term active duty has the meanings as follows (subject to the limitations specified in sections 3002(6) and 3311(b) of this title):

“(A) Active duty as described in section 101(21)(A) of this title.

“(B) Active duty for training as described in section 101(22)(A), (C), and (E) of this title.

“(C) Active duty as defined in section 101(12) of title 32.

“(D) Full-time National Guard duty as defined in section 101(19) of title 32.”

(b)

Effective date— The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect on August 1, 2021, and shall apply with respect to—

(1)