Educational assistance under this chapter shall be provided through the Department of Veterans Affairs, under agreements to be entered into by the Secretary of Defense, and by the Secretary of Homeland Security, with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Such agreements shall include administrative procedures to ensure the prompt and timely transfer of funds from the Secretary concerned to the Department of Veterans Affairs for the making of payments under this chapter.

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the provisions of sections 3470, 3471, 3474, 3476, 3482(g), 3483, and 3485 of title 38 and the provisions of subchapters I and II of chapter 36 of such title (with the exception of sections 3686(a), 3687, and 3692) shall be applicable to the provision of educational assistance under this chapter. The term “eligible veteran” and the term “a person”, as used in those provisions, shall be deemed for the purpose of the application of those provisions to this chapter to refer to a person eligible for educational assistance under this chapter.

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may approve the pursuit of flight training (in addition to a course of flight training that may be approved under section 3680A(b) of title 38) by an individual entitled to educational assistance under this chapter if—

(1) such training is generally accepted as necessary for the attainment of a recognized vocational objective in the field of aviation;

(2) the individual possesses a valid private pilot certificate and meets, on the day the individual begins a course of flight training, the medical requirements necessary for a commercial pilot certificate; and

(3) the flight school courses meet Federal Aviation Administration standards for such courses and are approved by the Federal Aviation Administration and the State approving agency.

(Added Pub. L. 98–525, title VII, § 705(a)(1), Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2567, § 2136; amended Pub. L. 101–189, div. A, title VI, §§ 642(c), 645(a)(1), Nov. 29, 1989, 103 Stat. 1457, 1458; Pub. L. 101–237, title IV, §§ 405(d)(3), 422(b)(1), Dec. 18, 1989, 103 Stat. 2081, 2089; Pub. L. 101–510, div. A, title XIV, § 1484(j)(3), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1718; Pub. L. 102–16, § 10(b), Mar. 22, 1991, 105 Stat. 56; Pub. L. 102–568, title III, §§ 313(a)(6), 319, 320(a)(3), Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4333, 4335, 4336; renumbered § 16136, Pub. L. 103–337, div. A, title XVI, § 1663(b)(2), Oct. 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 3006; Pub. L. 103–446, title VI, § 601(c), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4670; Pub. L. 105–368, title II, § 204(b), Nov. 11, 1998, 112 Stat. 3327; Pub. L. 107–296, title XVII, § 1704(b)(1), Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2314.)