1.This Act may be cited as the
Revamping the Education of our Veterans to Align
Manufacturing through Partnerships with Community Colleges Act of
2012
or REVAMP with Community
Colleges Act of 2012
.
2.Congress finds the following:
(1)In December 2011, the unemployment rate for
veterans who had returned from Iraq and Afghanistan was 13.1 percent, a rate
above the national average. Unemployment among returning female and minority
veterans was even higher, and also was above the national average.
(2)Such veterans have benefits to use under
chapter 33 of title 38, United States Code.
(3)Manufacturing companies have approximately
600,000 vacancies they are struggling to fill.
3.Grant program to
train veterans for local jobs
(a)The Secretary, in
consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall establish a program
to award competitive grants to eligible community colleges (as described in
subsection (b)) to train covered veterans for jobs in the local
community.
(b)In
order to be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a community college
shall submit an application to the Secretary that demonstrates, to the
satisfaction of the Secretary, that the local community in which the community
college is located has—
(1)employment
opportunities that require trained workers; and
(2)a
significant population of covered veterans that might pursue the employment
opportunities described in paragraph (1) if given access to necessary
training.
(c)A community college
receiving a grant under this section shall use amounts under the grant
to—
(1)conduct an
analysis of—
(A)the demand for additional trained employees
among local employers, including local manufacturers; and
(B)the skills and training possessed by
covered veterans seeking employment with local employers, including local
manufacturers;
(2)carry out an existing, or develop and
implement a new, certificate or degree program at the community college that
provides training to covered veterans that addresses the demand for additional
trained employees among local employers, including local manufacturers;
and
(3)facilitate the establishment of an advisory
board that consists of representatives from the local business community and
the employee from the Department of Veterans Affairs detailed under section
4—
(A)to provide
assistance regarding the training described in paragraph (2); and
(B)to assist covered
veterans who have successfully completed the training described in paragraph
(2) in their pursuit of local employment opportunities.
4.Detail of
Department of Veterans Affairs employeeThe Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
detail an employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs to participate on the
supervisory board established in section 3(c)(3).
5.To the maximum extent practicable, the
amount of a grant under section 3 shall not exceed $2,000,000.
6.Not later than one year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report—
(1)evaluating the
success of the program established under section 3; and
(2)making
recommendations as to whether the program should be continued, and if so,
whether the program should be expanded.
7.In this Act:
(1)The term
community college has the meaning given the term junior or
community college in section 312(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1058(f)).
(2)The term covered veteran means a veteran
receiving educational assistance under chapter 33 of title 38, United States
Code.
(3)The term Secretary means the
Secretary of Labor.
8.Authorization of
appropriations
(a)There is authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2013 to carry
out this Act.
(b)Amounts appropriated pursuant to the
authorization of appropriations under subsection (a) are authorized to remain
available until expended.