[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2413 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2413

   To amend title 10, United States Code, to establish a program of 
employment assistance, including employment-related tuition assistance, 
                         for military spouses.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 28, 2001

  Mr. Riley (for himself, Mrs. Tauscher, Ms. McKinney, Mr. Kennedy of 
  Rhode Island, Mr. Frost, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Evans, Mr. Langevin, Mr. 
Gibbons, Mr. Simmons, and Mrs. Jones of Ohio) introduced the following 
      bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 10, United States Code, to establish a program of 
employment assistance, including employment-related tuition assistance, 
                         for military spouses.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Military Spouse 
Employment Assistance Act of 2001''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Military spouse employment financial assistance program.
Sec. 3. Department of Defense employment and training opportunities.
Sec. 4. Encouragement of Federal partnerships in support of military 
                            spouse employment.
Sec. 5. Encouragement of private-sector employment of military spouses.
Sec. 6. Employment of military spouses by defense contractors.
Sec. 7. Effective date.

SEC. 2. MILITARY SPOUSE EMPLOYMENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) Authority To Provide Specified Forms of Financial Assistance to 
Military Spouses.--(1) Chapter 88 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 1784 the following new section:
``Sec. 1784a. Spouse employment financial assistance program
    ``(a) Establishment of Program.--The Secretary of Defense may 
conduct a program to provide financial assistance to military spouses 
to assist them in gaining employment. As part of such a program, the 
Secretary may carry out a program of tuition assistance for military 
spouses pursuing a program of employment-related education or training.
    ``(b) Military Spouse Defined.--In this section, the term `military 
spouse' means the spouse of a member of the armed forces on active 
duty.
    ``(c) Program Goals.--The Secretary shall prescribe specific goals 
for the program under this section. Those goals shall include goals for 
improvements in retention for married members of the armed forces on 
active duty attributable to improvements in family income of those 
members and resulting improvements in the quality of life of those 
members and their families.
    ``(d) Types of Financial Assistance.--Under the program, the 
Secretary may provide financial assistance for military spouses for one 
or more of the following purposes, as specified in regulations 
prescribed under this section:
            ``(1) Career-related education, in accordance with 
        subsection (e).
            ``(2) Certification and license fees for employment-related 
        purposes.
            ``(3) Apprenticeships and internships.
            ``(4) Technical training.
            ``(5) Training to improve job skills.
            ``(6) Career counseling.
            ``(7) Skills assessment.
            ``(8) Job-search skills.
            ``(9) Job-related transportation.
            ``(10) Child care.
            ``(11) Any additional employment-related purpose specified 
        in the regulations prescribed under subsection (g).
    ``(e) Tuition Assistance.--Financial assistance under subsection 
(d)(1) for career-related education shall be provided through a tuition 
assistance program offering benefits similar to those provided under 
the tuition assistance program for members of the armed forces under 
section 2007 of this title that will improve education and employment 
opportunities for military spouses.
    ``(f) Coordination With Other Programs.--The Secretary shall ensure 
that the provisions of this section are carried out in coordination 
with other programs of the Department of Defense (including the 
relocation assistance program under section 1056 of this title) under 
which employment-related assistance may be provided to spouses of 
members of the armed forces.
    ``(g) Regulations.--The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe 
regulations for the purposes of the program under this section. In 
those regulations, the Secretary shall specify the following:
            ``(1) Eligibility for financial assistance under the 
        program , including eligibility for tuition assistance under 
        subsection (e).
            ``(2) The types of assistance that may be provided.
            ``(3) The maximum amount of such assistance that may be 
        provided for each of the types of assistance specified under 
        subsection (d).
    ``(h) Initial Implementation on Pilot Basis.--(1) During the first 
three fiscal years during which the program under this section is 
carried out, the program shall be conducted on a pilot basis in a 
limited number of geographic areas, including bases overseas, for the 
purpose of evaluating different program options and program 
effectiveness.
    ``(2) The Secretary shall conduct an evaluation of the program at 
the mid-term point of the pilot program period under paragraph (1) and 
at the conclusion of the pilot program period. Each such evaluation 
shall assess the success of the program, including the success of the 
program in meeting the goals specified for the program. The Secretary 
shall submit a report on each such evaluation to the Committee on Armed 
Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House 
of Representatives.''.
    (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1784 the 
following new item:

``1784a. Spouse employment financial assistance program.''.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated for the military spouse employment assistance program 
under section 1784a of title 10, United States Code, as added by 
subsection (a), a total of $12,000,000 for the first three fiscal years 
during which the program is in operation.
    (c) Initial Locations.--The Secretary shall specify the specific 
locations, including bases overseas, at which the military spouse 
employment assistance program under section 1784a of title 10, United 
States Code, as added by subsection (a), is to be conducted for the 
period under subsection (h) of that section during which the program is 
to be conducted on a pilot basis.

SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES.

    (a) Review of Department of Defense Policies.--The Secretary of 
Defense shall review Department of Defense policies that affect 
employment opportunities for military spouses in the Department of 
Defense in order to maximize those opportunities. The review shall 
include the consideration of providing, to the extent authorized by 
law, separate spouse preferences for employment by appropriated and 
nonappropriated fund operations.
    (b) Space-Available Use of Department of Defense Facilities for 
Training Purposes.--Section 1784 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Space-Available Use of Facilities for Training Purposes.--The 
Secretary of Defense shall take such steps as appropriate to maximize 
opportunities for spouses of members of the armed forces to be provided 
employment-related training in Department of Defense facilities on a 
space-available basis during normal duty hours and during other periods 
when those facilities are not being fully utilized.''.

SEC. 4. ENCOURAGEMENT OF FEDERAL PARTNERSHIPS IN SUPPORT OF MILITARY 
              SPOUSE EMPLOYMENT.

    Section 1784 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by section 
3(b), is further amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(e) Employment by Other Federal Agencies.--The Secretary of 
Defense shall work with the Director of the Office of Personnel 
Management and the heads of other Federal departments and agencies to 
facilitate the appropriate use of existing Federal programs and 
resources in support of military spouse employment.''.

SEC. 5. ENCOURAGEMENT OF PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYMENT OF MILITARY SPOUSES.

    Section 1784 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by section 
4, is further amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(f) Private-Sector Employment.--The Secretary of Defense--
            ``(1) shall seek to develop partnerships with firms in the 
        private sector to enhance employment opportunities for spouses 
        of members of the armed forces and to provide for improved job 
        portability for such spouses, especially in the case of the 
        spouse of a member of the armed forces accompanying the member 
        to a new geographical area because of a change of permanent 
        duty station of the member; and
            ``(2) shall work with the United States Chamber of Commerce 
        and other appropriate private-sector entities to facilitate the 
        formation of such partnerships.''.

SEC. 6. EMPLOYMENT OF MILITARY SPOUSES BY DEFENSE CONTRACTORS.

    Section 1784 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by section 
5, is further amended adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(g) Employment With Defense Contractors.--The Secretary of 
Defense shall prescribe regulation to ensure, to the extent 
practicable, that private-sector entities, in hiring for work to be 
performed on a contract with the Department of Defense, provide 
preference to qualified spouses of members of the armed forces and 
other employment opportunities for such spouses in the same manner as 
is provided for positions in the Department of Defense under subsection 
(b).''.

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on October 1, 
2001.
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