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Us Congress Senate Bill SB38

Us Congress 2023-2024 Regular Session

Us Congress Senate Bill SB38 Compare Versions

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11 II
2-Calendar No. 162
32 118THCONGRESS
43 1
54 STSESSION S. 38
65 To amend the Small Business Act to codify the Boots to Business Program,
76 and for other purposes.
87 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
98 JANUARY24 (legislative day, JANUARY3), 2023
109 Ms. D
1110 UCKWORTH(for herself and Ms. ERNST) introduced the following bill;
1211 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business
1312 and Entrepreneurship
14-J
15-ULY25, 2023
16-Reported by Mr. C
17-ARDIN, with an amendment
18-[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
1913 A BILL
2014 To amend the Small Business Act to codify the Boots to
2115 Business Program, and for other purposes.
2216 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
2317 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
2418 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
2519 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veteran Entrepreneur-4
2620 ship Training Act of 2023’’. 5
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29-•S 38 RS
30-SEC.2.BOOTSTOBUSINESSPROGRAM. 1
31-Section32oftheSmallBusinessAct(15U.S.C. 2
32-657b)isamendedbyaddingattheendthefollowing: 3
33-‘‘(h)BOOTSTOBUSINESSPROGRAM.— 4
34-‘‘(1)COVEREDINDIVIDUALDEFINED.—Inthis 5
35-subsection,theterm‘coveredindividual’means— 6
36-‘‘(A)amemberoftheArmedForces,in-7
37-cludingtheNationalGuardorReserves; 8
38-‘‘(B)anindividualwhoisparticipatingin 9
39-theTransitionAssistanceProgramestablished 10
40-undersection1144oftitle10,UnitedStates 11
41-Code; 12
42-‘‘(C)anindividualwho— 13
43-‘‘(i)servedonactivedutyinany 14
44-branchoftheArmedForces,includingthe 15
45-NationalGuardorReserves;and 16
46-‘‘(ii)wasdischargedorreleasedfrom 17
47-suchserviceunderconditionsotherthan 18
48-dishonorable;and 19
49-‘‘(D)aspouseordependentofanindi-20
50-vidualdescribedinsubparagraph(A),(B),or 21
51-(C). 22
52-‘‘(2)ESTABLISHMENT.—Duringtheperiodbe-23
53-ginningonthedateofenactmentofthissubsection 24
54-andendingonSeptember30,2028,theAdminis-25
55-tratorshallcarryoutaprogramtobeknownasthe 26
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58-•S 38 RS
59-‘BootstoBusinessProgram’toprovideentrepre-1
60-neurshiptrainingtocoveredindividuals. 2
61-‘‘(3)GOALS.—ThegoalsoftheBootstoBusi-3
62-nessProgramareto— 4
63-‘‘(A)provideassistanceandin-depthtrain-5
64-ingtocoveredindividualsinterestedinbusiness 6
65-ownership;and 7
66-‘‘(B)providecoveredindividualswiththe 8
67-tools,skills,andknowledgenecessarytoidentify 9
68-abusinessopportunity,draftabusinessplan, 10
69-identifysourcesofcapital,connectwithlocal 11
70-resourcesforsmallbusinessconcerns,andstart 12
71-upasmallbusinessconcern. 13
72-‘‘(4)PROGRAMCOMPONENTS.— 14
73-‘‘(A)INGENERAL.—TheBootstoBusi-15
74-nessProgrammayinclude— 16
75-‘‘(i)apresentationprovidingexposure 17
76-totheconsiderationsinvolvedinself-em-18
77-ploymentandownershipofasmallbusi-19
78-nessconcern; 20
79-‘‘(ii)anonline,self-studycoursefo-21
80-cusedonthebasicskillsofentrepreneur-22
81-ship,thelanguageofbusiness,andthe 23
82-considerationsinvolvedinself-employment 24
83-andownershipofasmallbusinessconcern; 25
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86-•S 38 RS
87-‘‘(iii)anin-personclassroominstruc-1
88-tioncomponentprovidinganintroduction 2
89-tothefoundationsofselfemploymentand 3
90-ownershipofasmallbusinessconcern;and 4
91-‘‘(iv)in-depthtrainingdelivered 5
92-throughonlineinstruction,includingan 6
93-onlinecoursethatleadstothecreationof 7
94-abusinessplan. 8
95-‘‘(B)COLLABORATION.—TheAdminis-9
96-tratormay— 10
97-‘‘(i)collaboratewithpublicandpri-11
98-vateentitiestodevelopcoursecurriculafor 12
99-theBootstoBusinessProgram;and 13
100-‘‘(ii)modifyprogramcomponentsin 14
101-coordinationwithentitiesparticipatingina 15
102-WarriorsinTransitionprogram,asdefined 16
103-insection738(e)oftheNationalDefense 17
104-AuthorizationActforFiscalYear2013 18
105-(10U.S.C.1071note). 19
106-‘‘(C)USEOFRESOURCE PARTNERS AND 20
107-DISTRICTOFFICES.— 21
108-‘‘(i)INGENERAL.—TheAdministrator 22
109-shall— 23
110-‘‘(I)ensurethatVeteranBusi-24
111-nessOutreachCentersregularlypar-25
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114-•S 38 RS
115-ticipate,onanationwidebasis,inthe 1
116-BootstoBusinessProgram;and 2
117-‘‘(II)tothemaximumextent 3
118-practicable,usedistrictofficesofthe 4
119-Administrationandavarietyofother 5
120-resourcepartnersandentitiesinad-6
121-ministeringtheBootstoBusiness 7
122-Program. 8
123-‘‘(ii)GRANTAUTHORITY.—Incarrying 9
124-outclause(i),theAdministratormaymake 10
125-grantstoVeteranBusinessOutreachCen-11
126-ters,otherresourcepartners,orotherenti-12
127-tiestocarryoutcomponentsoftheBoots 13
128-toBusinessProgram. 14
129-‘‘(D)AVAILABILITYTODEPARTMENT OF 15
130-DEFENSEANDTHEDEPARTMENT OFLABOR.— 16
131-TheAdministratorshallmakeavailabletothe 17
132-SecretaryofDefenseandtheSecretaryof 18
133-LaborinformationregardingtheBootstoBusi-19
134-nessProgram,includingallcoursematerials 20
135-andoutreachmaterialsrelatedtotheBootsto 21
136-BusinessProgram,forinclusiononthewebsites 22
137-oftheDepartmentofDefenseandtheDepart-23
138-mentofLaborrelatingtotheTransitionAssist-24
139-anceProgram,intheTransitionAssistance 25
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142-•S 38 RS
143-Programmanual,andinotherrelevantmate-1
144-rialsavailablefordistributionfromtheSec-2
145-retaryofDefenseandtheSecretaryofLabor. 3
146-‘‘(E)AVAILABILITYTODEPARTMENT OF 4
147-VETERANS AFFAIRS.—Inconsultationwiththe 5
148-SecretaryofVeteransAffairs,theAdminis-6
149-tratorshallmakeavailablefordistributionand 7
150-displayonthewebsiteoftheDepartmentof 8
151-VeteransAffairsandatlocalfacilitiesofthe 9
152-DepartmentofVeteransAffairsoutreachmate-10
153-rialsregardingtheBootstoBusinessProgram, 11
154-whichshall,ataminimum— 12
155-‘‘(i)describetheBootstoBusiness 13
156-Programandtheservicesprovided;and 14
157-‘‘(ii)includeeligibilityrequirements 15
158-forparticipatingintheBootstoBusiness 16
159-Program. 17
160-‘‘(F)AVAILABILITYTOOTHERPARTICI-18
161-PATINGAGENCIES.—TheAdministratorshall 19
162-ensureinformationregardingtheBootsto 20
163-Businessprogram,includingallcoursemate-21
164-rialsandoutreachmaterialsrelatedtothe 22
165-BootstoBusinessProgram,ismadeavailable 23
166-tootherparticipatingagenciesintheTransition 24
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169-•S 38 RS
170-AssistanceProgramanduponrequestofother 1
171-agencies. 2
172-‘‘(5)COMPETITIVE BIDDINGPROCEDURES.— 3
173-TheAdministrationshalluserelevantcompetitive 4
174-biddingprocedureswithrespecttoanycontractor 5
175-cooperativeagreementexecutedbytheAdministra-6
176-tionundertheBootstoBusinessProgram. 7
177-‘‘(6)PUBLICATIONOFNOTICEOFFUNDINGOP-8
178-PORTUNITY.—Notlaterthan30daysbeforethe 9
179-deadlineforsubmittingapplicationsforanyfunding 10
180-opportunityundertheBootstoBusinessProgram, 11
181-theAdministrationshallpublishanoticeofthe 12
182-fundingopportunity. 13
183-‘‘(7)REPORT.—Notlaterthan180daysafter 14
184-thedateofenactmentofthissubsection,andnot 15
185-lessfrequentlythanannuallythereafter,theAdmin-16
186-istratorshallsubmittotheCommitteeonSmall 17
187-BusinessandEntrepreneurshipoftheSenateand 18
188-theCommitteeonSmallBusinessoftheHouseof 19
189-Representativesareportontheperformanceandef-20
190-fectivenessoftheBootstoBusinessProgram, 21
191-which— 22
192-‘‘(A)maybeincludedaspartofanother 23
193-reportsubmittedtosuchcommitteesbytheAd-24
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196-•S 38 RS
197-ministratorrelatedtotheOfficeofVeterans 1
198-BusinessDevelopment;and 2
199-‘‘(B)shallsummarizeavailableinformation 3
200-relatingto— 4
201-‘‘(i)grantsawardedunderparagraph 5
202-(4)(C); 6
203-‘‘(ii)thetotalcostoftheBootsto 7
204-BusinessProgram; 8
205-‘‘(iii)theamountofprogramfunds 9
206-usedfordomesticandinternationaltravel 10
207-expenses; 11
208-‘‘(iv)thenumberofprogrampartici-12
209-pantsusingeachcomponentoftheBoots 13
210-toBusinessProgram; 14
211-‘‘(v)thecompletionratesforeach 15
212-componentoftheBootstoBusinessPro-16
213-gram; 17
214-‘‘(vi)totheextentpossible— 18
215-‘‘(I)thedemographicsofpro-19
216-gramparticipants,toincludegender, 20
217-age,race,ethnicity,andrelationship 21
218-tomilitary; 22
219-‘‘(II)thenumberofprogram 23
220-participantsthatconnectwithadis-24
221-trictofficeoftheAdministration,a 25
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224-•S 38 RS
225-VeteranBusinessOutreachCenter,or 1
226-anotherresourcepartneroftheAd-2
227-ministration; 3
228-‘‘(III)thenumberofprogram 4
229-participantsthatstartasmallbusi-5
230-nessconcern; 6
231-‘‘(IV)theresultsoftheBootsto 7
232-BusinessandBootstoBusiness 8
233-Rebootcoursequalitysurveyscon-9
234-ductedbytheOfficeofVeteransBusi-10
235-nessDevelopmentbeforeandafterat-11
236-tendingeachofthosecourses,includ-12
237-ingasummaryofanycommentsre-13
238-ceivedfromprogramparticipants; 14
239-‘‘(V)theresultsoftheBootsto 15
240-BusinessProgramoutcomesurveys 16
241-conductedbytheOfficeofVeterans 17
242-BusinessDevelopment,includinga 18
243-summaryofanycommentsreceived 19
244-fromprogramparticipants;and 20
245-‘‘(VI)theresultsofotherger-21
246-maneparticipantsatisfactionsurveys; 22
247-‘‘(C)anevaluationoftheoveralleffective-23
248-nessoftheBootstoBusinessProgrambased 24
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251-•S 38 RS
252-oneachgeographicregioncoveredbytheAd-1
253-ministrationduringthemostrecentfiscalyear; 2
254-‘‘(D)anassessmentofadditionalperform-3
255-anceoutcomemeasuresfortheBootstoBusi-4
256-nessProgram,asidentifiedbytheAdminis-5
257-trator; 6
258-‘‘(E)anyrecommendationsoftheAdminis-7
259-tratorforimprovementoftheBootstoBusi-8
260-nessProgram,whichmayincludeexpansionof 9
261-thetypesofindividualswhoarecoveredindivid-10
262-uals; 11
263-‘‘(F)anexplanationofhowtheBootsto 12
264-BusinessProgramhasbeenintegratedwith 13
265-othertransitionprogramsandrelatedresources 14
266-oftheAdministrationandotherFederalagen-15
267-cies;and 16
268-‘‘(G)anyadditionalinformationtheAd-17
269-ministratordeterminesnecessary.’’. 18
270-SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 19
271-This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veteran Entrepreneur-20
272-ship Training Act of 2023’’. 21
273-SEC. 2. BOOTS TO BUSINESS PROGRAM. 22
274-Section 32 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657b) 23
275-is amended by adding at the end the following: 24
21+SEC. 2. BOOTS TO BUSINESS PROGRAM. 6
22+Section 32 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 7
23+657b) is amended by adding at the end the following: 8
27624 ‘‘(h) B
277-OOTS TOBUSINESSPROGRAM.— 25
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25+OOTS TOBUSINESSPROGRAM.— 9
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28129 ‘‘(1) COVERED INDIVIDUAL DEFINED .—In this 1
28230 subsection, the term ‘covered individual’ means— 2
283-‘‘(A) a member of the Armed Forces, includ-3
284-ing the National Guard or Reserves; 4
31+‘‘(A) a member of the Armed Forces, in-3
32+cluding the National Guard or Reserves; 4
28533 ‘‘(B) an individual who is participating in 5
28634 the Transition Assistance Program established 6
28735 under section 1144 of title 10, United States 7
28836 Code; 8
28937 ‘‘(C) an individual who— 9
29038 ‘‘(i) served on active duty in any 10
29139 branch of the Armed Forces, including the 11
29240 National Guard or Reserves; and 12
29341 ‘‘(ii) was discharged or released from 13
29442 such service under conditions other than 14
29543 dishonorable; and 15
29644 ‘‘(D) a spouse or dependent of an indi-16
29745 vidual described in subparagraph (A), (B), or 17
29846 (C). 18
29947 ‘‘(2) E
30048 STABLISHMENT.—During the period be-19
30149 ginning on the date of enactment of this subsection 20
302-and ending on September 30, 2028, the Administrator 21
303-shall carry out a program to be known as the ‘Boots 22
304-to Business Program’ to provide entrepreneurship 23
305-training to covered individuals. 24
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309-‘‘(3) GOALS.—The goals of the Boots to Business 1
310-Program are to— 2
50+and ending on September 30, 2028, the Adminis-21
51+trator shall carry out a program to be known as the 22
52+‘Boots to Business Program’ to provide entrepre-23
53+neurship training to covered individuals. 24
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57+‘‘(3) GOALS.—The goals of the Boots to Busi-1
58+ness Program are to— 2
31159 ‘‘(A) provide assistance and in-depth train-3
31260 ing to covered individuals interested in business 4
31361 ownership; and 5
31462 ‘‘(B) provide covered individuals with the 6
31563 tools, skills, and knowledge necessary to identify 7
31664 a business opportunity, draft a business plan, 8
317-identify sources of capital, connect with local re-9
318-sources for small business concerns, and start up 10
319-a small business concern. 11
65+identify sources of capital, connect with local 9
66+resources for small business concerns, and start 10
67+up a small business concern. 11
32068 ‘‘(4) P
32169 ROGRAM COMPONENTS .— 12
32270 ‘‘(A) I
323-N GENERAL.—The Boots to Business 13
324-Program may include— 14
325-‘‘(i) an in-person and virtual, as ap-15
326-plicable, presentation providing exposure to 16
327-the considerations involved in self-employ-17
328-ment and ownership of a small business 18
329-concern; 19
330-‘‘(ii) an online, self-study course fo-20
331-cused on the basic skills of entrepreneurship, 21
332-the language of business, and the consider-22
333-ations involved in self-employment and 23
334-ownership of a small business concern; 24
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337-•S 38 RS
338-‘‘(iii) an in-person and virtual, as ap-1
339-plicable, classroom instruction component 2
340-providing an introduction to the founda-3
341-tions of self employment and ownership of 4
342-a small business concern; and 5
343-‘‘(iv) in-depth training delivered 6
344-through online instruction, including an on-7
345-line course that leads to the creation of a 8
346-business plan. 9
347-‘‘(B) T
348-RAVEL COSTS.— 10
71+N GENERAL.—The Boots to Busi-13
72+ness Program may include— 14
73+‘‘(i) a presentation providing exposure 15
74+to the considerations involved in self-em-16
75+ployment and ownership of a small busi-17
76+ness concern; 18
77+‘‘(ii) an online, self-study course fo-19
78+cused on the basic skills of entrepreneur-20
79+ship, the language of business, and the 21
80+considerations involved in self-employment 22
81+and ownership of a small business concern; 23
82+‘‘(iii) an in-person classroom instruc-24
83+tion component providing an introduction 25
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87+to the foundations of self employment and 1
88+ownership of a small business concern; and 2
89+‘‘(iv) in-depth training delivered 3
90+through online instruction, including an 4
91+online course that leads to the creation of 5
92+a business plan. 6
93+‘‘(B) C
94+OLLABORATION.—The Adminis-7
95+trator may— 8
96+‘‘(i) collaborate with public and pri-9
97+vate entities to develop course curricula for 10
98+the Boots to Business Program; and 11
99+‘‘(ii) modify program components in 12
100+coordination with entities participating in a 13
101+Warriors in Transition program, as defined 14
102+in section 738(e) of the National Defense 15
103+Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 16
104+(10 U.S.C. 1071 note). 17
105+‘‘(C) U
106+SE OF RESOURCE PARTNERS AND 18
107+DISTRICT OFFICES.— 19
349108 ‘‘(i) I
350-N GENERAL.—Subject to the other 11
351-provisions of this subparagraph, of the total 12
352-amount of grant funding that a Veteran 13
353-Business Outreach Center participating in 14
354-the Boots to Business Program receives from 15
355-the Administration, the center may not ex-16
356-pend more than 35 percent of that funding 17
357-on costs relating to international travel 18
358-with respect to the Boots to Business Pro-19
359-gram. 20
360-‘‘(ii) C
361-OSTS NOT INCLUDED IN CAP .— 21
362-Costs relating to the salaries of, or stipends 22
363-for, instructors under the Boots to Business 23
364-Program shall not be included for the pur-24
365-poses of the limitation under clause (i). 25
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369-‘‘(iii) PETITION.— 1
370-‘‘(I) I
371-N GENERAL.—A Veteran 2
372-Business Outreach Center may petition 3
373-the Administrator for the center to ex-4
374-pend additional funds beyond the limi-5
375-tation under clause (i) for the purposes 6
376-described in that clause. 7
377-‘‘(II) N
378-OTIFICATION REQUIRE -8
379-MENT.—If the Administrator grants 9
380-any petition submitted under subclause 10
381-(I), the Administrator shall submit to 11
382-the Committee on Small Business and 12
383-Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the 13
384-Committee on Small Business of the 14
385-House of Representatives a notification 15
386-regarding that decision by the Admin-16
387-istrator. 17
388-‘‘(C) C
389-OLLABORATION.—The Administrator 18
390-may— 19
391-‘‘(i) collaborate with public and pri-20
392-vate entities to develop course curricula for 21
393-the Boots to Business Program; 22
394-‘‘(ii) modify program components in 23
395-coordination with entities participating in 24
396-a Warriors in Transition program, as de-25
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400-fined in section 738(e) of the National De-1
401-fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2
402-2013 (10 U.S.C. 1071 note); and 3
403-‘‘(iii) consult with Directors of Veteran 4
404-Business Outreach Centers regarding the ne-5
405-cessity of instructor international travel 6
406-and the feasibility of incorporating virtual 7
407-classroom components. 8
408-‘‘(D) U
409-SE OF RESOURCE PARTNERS AND 9
410-DISTRICT OFFICES.— 10
411-‘‘(i) I
412-N GENERAL.—The Administrator 11
413-shall— 12
414-‘‘(I) ensure that Veteran Business 13
415-Outreach Centers regularly participate, 14
416-on a nationwide basis, in the Boots to 15
417-Business Program; and 16
418-‘‘(II) to the maximum extent 17
419-practicable, use district offices of the 18
420-Administration and a variety of other 19
421-resource partners and entities in ad-20
422-ministering the Boots to Business Pro-21
423-gram. 22
109+N GENERAL.—The Administrator 20
110+shall— 21
111+‘‘(I) ensure that Veteran Busi-22
112+ness Outreach Centers regularly par-23
113+ticipate, on a nationwide basis, in the 24
114+Boots to Business Program; and 25
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118+‘‘(II) to the maximum extent 1
119+practicable, use district offices of the 2
120+Administration and a variety of other 3
121+resource partners and entities in ad-4
122+ministering the Boots to Business 5
123+Program. 6
424124 ‘‘(ii) G
425-RANT AUTHORITY.—In carrying 23
426-out clause (i), the Administrator may make 24
427-grants to Veteran Business Outreach Cen-25
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430-•S 38 RS
431-ters, other resource partners, or other enti-1
432-ties to carry out components of the Boots to 2
433-Business Program. 3
125+RANT AUTHORITY.—In carrying 7
126+out clause (i), the Administrator may make 8
127+grants to Veteran Business Outreach Cen-9
128+ters, other resource partners, or other enti-10
129+ties to carry out components of the Boots 11
130+to Business Program. 12
131+‘‘(D) A
132+VAILABILITY TO DEPARTMENT OF 13
133+DEFENSE AND THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR .— 14
134+The Administrator shall make available to the 15
135+Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of 16
136+Labor information regarding the Boots to Busi-17
137+ness Program, including all course materials 18
138+and outreach materials related to the Boots to 19
139+Business Program, for inclusion on the websites 20
140+of the Department of Defense and the Depart-21
141+ment of Labor relating to the Transition Assist-22
142+ance Program, in the Transition Assistance 23
143+Program manual, and in other relevant mate-24
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146+•S 38 IS
147+rials available for distribution from the Sec-1
148+retary of Defense and the Secretary of Labor. 2
434149 ‘‘(E) A
435-VAILABILITY TO DEPARTMENT OF DE -4
436-FENSE AND THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR .—The 5
437-Administrator shall make available to the Sec-6
438-retary of Defense and the Secretary of Labor in-7
439-formation regarding the Boots to Business Pro-8
440-gram, including all course materials and out-9
441-reach materials related to the Boots to Business 10
442-Program, for inclusion on the websites of the De-11
443-partment of Defense and the Department of 12
444-Labor relating to the Transition Assistance Pro-13
445-gram, in the Transition Assistance Program 14
446-manual, and in other relevant materials avail-15
447-able for distribution from the Secretary of De-16
448-fense and the Secretary of Labor. 17
150+VAILABILITY TO DEPARTMENT OF 3
151+VETERANS AFFAIRS.—In consultation with the 4
152+Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Adminis-5
153+trator shall make available for distribution and 6
154+display on the website of the Department of 7
155+Veterans Affairs and at local facilities of the 8
156+Department of Veterans Affairs outreach mate-9
157+rials regarding the Boots to Business Program, 10
158+which shall, at a minimum— 11
159+‘‘(i) describe the Boots to Business 12
160+Program and the services provided; and 13
161+‘‘(ii) include eligibility requirements 14
162+for participating in the Boots to Business 15
163+Program. 16
449164 ‘‘(F) A
450-VAILABILITY TO DEPARTMENT OF 18
451-VETERANS AFFAIRS.—In consultation with the 19
452-Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Administrator 20
453-shall make available for distribution and display 21
454-on the website of the Department of Veterans Af-22
455-fairs and at local facilities of the Department of 23
456-Veterans Affairs outreach materials regarding 24
457-VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S38.RS S38
458-pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 17
459-•S 38 RS
460-the Boots to Business Program, which shall, at 1
461-a minimum— 2
462-‘‘(i) describe the Boots to Business Pro-3
463-gram and the services provided; and 4
464-‘‘(ii) include eligibility requirements 5
465-for participating in the Boots to Business 6
466-Program. 7
467-‘‘(G) A
468-VAILABILITY TO OTHER PARTICI -8
469-PATING AGENCIES.—The Administrator shall en-9
470-sure information regarding the Boots to Business 10
471-program, including all course materials and out-11
472-reach materials related to the Boots to Business 12
473-Program, is made available to other partici-13
474-pating agencies in the Transition Assistance 14
475-Program and upon request of other agencies. 15
476-‘‘(5) C
477-OMPETITIVE BIDDING PROCEDURES .—The 16
478-Administration shall use relevant competitive bidding 17
479-procedures with respect to any contract or cooperative 18
480-agreement executed by the Administration under the 19
481-Boots to Business Program. 20
165+VAILABILITY TO OTHER PARTICI -17
166+PATING AGENCIES.—The Administrator shall 18
167+ensure information regarding the Boots to 19
168+Business program, including all course mate-20
169+rials and outreach materials related to the 21
170+Boots to Business Program, is made available 22
171+to other participating agencies in the Transition 23
172+Assistance Program and upon request of other 24
173+agencies. 25
174+VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:55 Jan 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S38.IS S38
175+kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7
176+•S 38 IS
177+‘‘(5) COMPETITIVE BIDDING PROCEDURES .— 1
178+The Administration shall use relevant competitive 2
179+bidding procedures with respect to any contract or 3
180+cooperative agreement executed by the Administra-4
181+tion under the Boots to Business Program. 5
482182 ‘‘(6) P
483-UBLICATION OF NOTICE OF FUNDING OP -21
484-PORTUNITY.—Not later than 30 days before the dead-22
485-line for submitting applications for any funding op-23
486-portunity under the Boots to Business Program, the 24
487-VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S38.RS S38
488-pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 18
489-•S 38 RS
490-Administration shall publish a notice of the funding 1
491-opportunity. 2
183+UBLICATION OF NOTICE OF FUNDING OP -6
184+PORTUNITY.—Not later than 30 days before the 7
185+deadline for submitting applications for any funding 8
186+opportunity under the Boots to Business Program, 9
187+the Administration shall publish a notice of the 10
188+funding opportunity. 11
492189 ‘‘(7) R
493-EPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the 3
494-date of enactment of this subsection, and not less fre-4
495-quently than annually thereafter, the Administrator 5
496-shall submit to the Committee on Small Business and 6
497-Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on 7
498-Small Business of the House of Representatives a re-8
499-port on the performance and effectiveness of the Boots 9
500-to Business Program, which— 10
501-‘‘(A) may be included as part of another re-11
502-port submitted to such committees by the Admin-12
503-istrator related to the Office of Veterans Business 13
504-Development; and 14
505-‘‘(B) shall summarize available information 15
506-relating to— 16
507-‘‘(i) grants awarded under paragraph 17
508-(4)(D); 18
509-‘‘(ii) the total cost of the Boots to Busi-19
510-ness Program; 20
511-‘‘(iii) the amount of program funds 21
512-used for domestic and international travel 22
513-expenses; 23
514-VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S38.RS S38
515-pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 19
516-•S 38 RS
517-‘‘(iv) each domestic location and inter-1
518-national location traveled to for Boots to 2
519-Business program instruction; 3
520-‘‘(v) the number of program partici-4
521-pants using each component of the Boots to 5
190+EPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 12
191+the date of enactment of this subsection, and not 13
192+less frequently than annually thereafter, the Admin-14
193+istrator shall submit to the Committee on Small 15
194+Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and 16
195+the Committee on Small Business of the House of 17
196+Representatives a report on the performance and ef-18
197+fectiveness of the Boots to Business Program, 19
198+which— 20
199+‘‘(A) may be included as part of another 21
200+report submitted to such committees by the Ad-22
201+ministrator related to the Office of Veterans 23
202+Business Development; and 24
203+VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:55 Jan 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S38.IS S38
204+kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8
205+•S 38 IS
206+‘‘(B) shall summarize available information 1
207+relating to— 2
208+‘‘(i) grants awarded under paragraph 3
209+(4)(C); 4
210+‘‘(ii) the total cost of the Boots to 5
522211 Business Program; 6
523-‘‘(vi) the completion rates for each 7
524-component of the Boots to Business Pro-8
525-gram; and 9
526-‘‘(vii) to the extent possible— 10
527-‘‘(I) the demographics of program 11
528-participants, to include gender, age, 12
529-race, ethnicity, and relationship to the 13
530-Armed Forces; 14
531-‘‘(II) the number of program par-15
532-ticipants that connect with a district 16
533-office of the Administration, a Veteran 17
534-Business Outreach Center, or another 18
535-resource partner of the Administration; 19
536-‘‘(III) the number of program 20
537-participants that start a small busi-21
538-ness concern; 22
539-‘‘(IV) the results of the Boots to 23
540-Business and Boots to Business Reboot 24
541-course quality surveys conducted by the 25
542-VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S38.RS S38
543-pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 20
544-•S 38 RS
545-Office of Veterans Business Develop-1
546-ment before and after attending each of 2
547-those courses, including a summary of 3
548-any comments received from program 4
549-participants; 5
550-‘‘(V) the results of the Boots to 6
551-Business Program outcome surveys 7
552-conducted by the Office of Veterans 8
553-Business Development, including a 9
554-summary of any comments received 10
555-from program participants; and 11
556-‘‘(VI) the results of other germane 12
557-participant satisfaction surveys; 13
558-‘‘(C) an evaluation of the overall effective-14
559-ness of the Boots to Business Program based on 15
560-each geographic region covered by the Adminis-16
561-tration during the most recent fiscal year; 17
562-‘‘(D) an assessment of additional perform-18
563-ance outcome measures for the Boots to Business 19
564-Program, as identified by the Administrator; 20
565-‘‘(E) any recommendations of the Adminis-21
566-trator for improvement of the Boots to Business 22
567-Program, which may include expansion of the 23
568-types of individuals who are covered individuals; 24
569-VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S38.RS S38
570-pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 21
571-•S 38 RS
572-‘‘(F) an explanation of how the Boots to 1
573-Business Program has been integrated with other 2
574-transition programs and related resources of the 3
575-Administration and other Federal agencies; and 4
576-‘‘(G) any additional information the Ad-5
577-ministrator determines necessary.’’. 6
578-VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S38.RS S38
579-pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB Calendar No.
580-162
581-118
582-TH
583-CONGRESS
584-1
585-ST
586-S
587-ESSION
588-
589-S. 38 A BILL
590-To amend the Small Business Act to codify the
591-Boots to Business Program, and for other pur-
592-poses.
593-J
594-ULY
595-25, 2023
596-Reported with an amendment
597-VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\S38.RS S38
598-pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
212+‘‘(iii) the amount of program funds 7
213+used for domestic and international travel 8
214+expenses; 9
215+‘‘(iv) the number of program partici-10
216+pants using each component of the Boots 11
217+to Business Program; 12
218+‘‘(v) the completion rates for each 13
219+component of the Boots to Business Pro-14
220+gram; 15
221+‘‘(vi) to the extent possible— 16
222+‘‘(I) the demographics of pro-17
223+gram participants, to include gender, 18
224+age, race, ethnicity, and relationship 19
225+to military; 20
226+‘‘(II) the number of program 21
227+participants that connect with a dis-22
228+trict office of the Administration, a 23
229+Veteran Business Outreach Center, or 24
230+VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:55 Jan 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S38.IS S38
231+kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9
232+•S 38 IS
233+another resource partner of the Ad-1
234+ministration; 2
235+‘‘(III) the number of program 3
236+participants that start a small busi-4
237+ness concern; 5
238+‘‘(IV) the results of the Boots to 6
239+Business and Boots to Business 7
240+Reboot course quality surveys con-8
241+ducted by the Office of Veterans Busi-9
242+ness Development before and after at-10
243+tending each of those courses, includ-11
244+ing a summary of any comments re-12
245+ceived from program participants; 13
246+‘‘(V) the results of the Boots to 14
247+Business Program outcome surveys 15
248+conducted by the Office of Veterans 16
249+Business Development, including a 17
250+summary of any comments received 18
251+from program participants; and 19
252+‘‘(VI) the results of other ger-20
253+mane participant satisfaction surveys; 21
254+‘‘(C) an evaluation of the overall effective-22
255+ness of the Boots to Business Program based 23
256+on each geographic region covered by the Ad-24
257+ministration during the most recent fiscal year; 25
258+VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:55 Jan 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S38.IS S38
259+kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10
260+•S 38 IS
261+‘‘(D) an assessment of additional perform-1
262+ance outcome measures for the Boots to Busi-2
263+ness Program, as identified by the Adminis-3
264+trator; 4
265+‘‘(E) any recommendations of the Adminis-5
266+trator for improvement of the Boots to Busi-6
267+ness Program, which may include expansion of 7
268+the types of individuals who are covered individ-8
269+uals; 9
270+‘‘(F) an explanation of how the Boots to 10
271+Business Program has been integrated with 11
272+other transition programs and related resources 12
273+of the Administration and other Federal agen-13
274+cies; and 14
275+‘‘(G) any additional information the Ad-15
276+ministrator determines necessary.’’. 16
277+Æ
278+VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:55 Jan 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S38.IS S38
279+kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS