U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine announced the Servicemember Education Reform and Vocational Enhancement (SERVE) Act of 2013 at veterans events in Winchester and Richmond today.
The SERVE Act, which is a companion to Kaine’s first bill, the Troop Talent Act, will improve the quality of education received by servicemembers and veterans. The legislation will also create pilot programs to facilitate the use of veterans’ education benefits for employment and on-the-job training programs and will require that institutions accepting Veterans Administration (VA) and Department of Defense (DoD) education benefits provide access to academic or career counseling.
“I’m proud to introduce a second piece of legislation that seeks to help veterans transition to the civilian workforce,” said Kaine. “Access to high-quality education and job training is the best tool we can provide to our nation’s veterans as they return home and transition into civilian life. This bill increases minimum standards for programs and institutions accepting va and DoD education benefits to be consistent with other types of federal tuition assistance, including Pell Grants, Stafford Loans and Perkins Loans. A companion to my first bill, the Troop Talent Act, this bill will also facilitate the use of educational benefits for apprenticeships, vocational, and on-the-job training programs which often get veterans employed faster and at a lower cost.”
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