Colonel John M. McHugh Tuition Fairness for Survivors Act of 2021

Mr. President, I wish to submit to the Senate a budget scorekeeping report. The report, which covers fiscal year 2022, was prepared by my staff on the Budget Committee and the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 308(b) and in aid of section 311 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as amended. This information allows the Senate Budget Committee to determine if budgetary points of order lie against pending legislation.

The report shows the effect on spending and revenues of congressional action through September 15, 2022, as compared to the levels the Senate agreed to in the budget resolution for fiscal year 2022, S. Con. Res. 14. Since my last scorekeeping report on April 28, seven laws with significant budgetary effects have been signed by the President, and I have revised the levels in the budget resolution two times for legislation.

The Democratic staff of the Budget Committee prepared tables 1 and 2. Table 1 compares the mandatory spending of each authorizing committee against the enforceable allocations under section 302 of the Congressional Budget Act. It shows 10 of the 16 authorizing committees are in compliance with their allocations, either because no legislation with significant budgetary costs was enacted or the legislation qualified under the budget resolution for an allocation adjustment. Most of the spending above allowable levels is attributed to either the CHIPS Act of 2022 or the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022.

Table 2 shows the Senate pay-as-you-go--PAYGO--scorecard tallying enacted legislation with significant effects on mandatory spending and revenues. The scorecard shows a savings of $4.7 billion in 2022, a deficit of $174 billion over the 2022-2026 period, and a deficit of $528 billion over the 2022-2031 period. When compared to the allowable amounts on the PAYGO scorecard last adjusted on September 12, there is a deficit of $1.3 billion on the scorecard for 2022, $185 billion over the 2022-2026 period, and $667 billion over the 2022-2031 period.

In addition to these tables, I am submitting a letter from the Congressional Budget Office with further detail. For fiscal year 2022, current budgetary levels are within allowed amounts. Current law budget authority is $2.6 billion below the maximum allowed in the revised budget resolution, outlays are $17 billion below the allowed maximum, and revenues are $68 million above the allowed minimum. The tables also show that there has been no net change for Social Security.

I ask unanimous consent that the letter and accompanying tables from CBO be printed in the Congressional Record.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S.

1095) to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the disapproval by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of courses of education offered by public institutions of higher learning that do not charge veterans the in-State tuition rate for purposes of Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance Program, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on S. 1095.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 1095, the Colonel John M. McHugh Tuition Fairness for Survivors Act.

This bill codifies an important protection for beneficiaries using the Department of Veterans Affairs Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance Program, or DEA. Through the DEA program, VA helps cover the cost of a beneficiary's school or job training.

This bill requires that public institutions of higher learning only charge in-State tuition for those utilizing the DEA program.

There are currently over 150,000 beneficiaries utilizing the DEA program. These beneficiaries are the survivors of brave women and men who died serving our country and the dependents of 100 percent service- connected disabled veterans.

Currently, this benefit equates to about $11,000 a year for most students. With the increasing costs of higher education, $11,000 does not cover all of a beneficiary's tuition costs at most schools, including public institutions where the student beneficiary would be considered out-of-State.

S. 1095 would provide parity for students using the DEA program with the Forever GI Bill program by requiring public institutions to charge in-State tuition for student veterans. This legislation has the strong endorsement of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank Speaker Pelosi and Leader Hoyer for bringing this legislation to the floor, and I urge the rest of my colleagues to support this legislation to ensure the survivors and dependents of those who bravely serve our country are not hindered by tuition costs when pursuing their education.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in passing S. 1095, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I wish to submit to the Senate a budget scorekeeping report. The report, which covers fiscal year 2022, was prepared by the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 308(b) and in aid of section 311 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as amended. This information allows the Senate Budget Committee to determine if budgetary

points of order lie against pending legislation.

The report shows the effect on spending and revenues of congressional action through April 25, 2022, as compared to the levels the Senate agreed to in the budget resolution for fiscal year 2022, S. Con. Res 14. I have revised the levels in the budget resolution five times for legislation, as authorized by the resolution. The report shows the effects of the 11 laws signed by the President since the passage of the budget resolution with significant effects on budget authority, outlays, or revenues.

Tables 1 and 2 show that for fiscal year 2022, current law budget authority is $27 billion below the maximum allowed in the revised budget resolution, outlays are $18 billion below the allowed maximum, and revenues are $0.1 billion above the allowed minimum. They also show there has been no net change for Social Security.

The third table shows the Senate pay-as-you-go scorecard tallying enacted legislation with significant effects on mandatory spending and revenues. The scorecard shows a savings of $7.8 billion in 2022, $74.8 billion over the 2022-2026 period, and $139.9 billion over the 2022- 2031 period. When compared to the allowable amounts on the PAYGO scorecard last adjusted on March 2, there is a deficit of $668 million on the scorecard for 2022, a deficit of $687 million over the 2022-2026 period, and a surplus of $1.09 billion over the 2022-2031 period.

I ask unanimous consent that the letter and accompanying tables from CBO be printed in the Record.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in support of the Senate version of my bill, the Colonel John M. McHugh Tuition Fairness for Survivors Act.

Members of our military and their families sacrifice so much in service to our country. As a grateful Nation, we have accepted a responsibility to ensure that the educational needs of the survivors and dependents of our fallen heroes are provided for.

The Dependents Educational Assistance program currently provides $1,224 a month to eligible participants to help cover the costs of higher education. The program is available for survivors, dependents of certain servicemembers who died on Active Duty, or later found to be 100 percent service-connected disabled or died in a service-connected disability.

The Colonel John M. McHugh Tuition Fairness for Survivors Act would expand the DEA program benefits, requiring GI Bill eligible schools to extend in-State tuition benefits to beneficiaries of the Dependents Educational Assistance Program, bringing the rules for this program in line with the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

It is fitting that this bill bears the name of U.S. Army Colonel John McHugh. Colonel McHugh was tragically killed 11 years ago by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. The loved ones left behind by this fallen hero have suffered unimaginable pain. The least we can do for his family and others like him is to honor our commitment to them and ensure their education is affordable. Colonel McHugh's family resides in my southeast Alabama district in Enterprise. It gives me great pride to name this bill in honor of the Colonel McHugh's legacy.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation is a commonsense solution to help our heroes' families meet their higher education goals. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1095, the Colonel John M. McHugh Tuition Fairness for Survivors Act of 2021. This bill would expand the in-State tuition requirements to dependents and survivors of eligible veterans through the Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance, or the DEA program.

The DEA program provides $1,224 a month in tax-free benefits directly to the eligible participants to help cover the costs of higher education or training.

Dependents are eligible for this program if the veteran died while on Active Duty, is a former prisoner of war, or has a permanent and total service-connected disability rating or dies from a service-connected disability.

By expanding the in-State tuition requirements, we will make it easier for DEA participants to complete their studies without additional debt.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the bill is named in honor of Colonel John McHugh. Colonel McHugh was killed in action on May 18, 2010, by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan after serving his country for 24 years. This bill honors his sacrifice.

I thank Senator Moran, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, as well as Congressman Moore, for their hard work in crafting this commonsense piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support S. 1095, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Moore), my friend.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.