1.This Act may be cited as the
Careers for Veterans Act of
2012
.
2.Employment of
veterans with the Federal Government
(a)Section 4214 of title
38, United States Code, is amended—
(1)in subsection
(b), by adding at the end the following:
(4)(A)The requirement under
this section is in addition to the appointment of qualified covered veterans
under the authority under paragraph (1) by the Department of Veterans Affairs
and the Department of Defense.
(B)The head of each agency, in
consultation with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall
develop a plan for exercising the authority under paragraph (1) during the
five-year period beginning on the date of enactment of the
Careers for Veterans Act of
2012.
(C)The Director of the Office of
Personnel Management shall ensure that under the plans developed under
subparagraph (B) agencies shall appoint to existing vacancies not fewer than
10,000 qualified covered veterans during the five-year period beginning on the
date of enactment of the Careers for Veterans
Act of
2012.
;
(2)in subsection
(d), in the third sentence, by inserting (including, during the 5-year
period beginning on the date of enactment of the
Careers for Veterans Act of
2012, the development and implementation by each agency of the
plan required under subsection (b)(4), which shall include information
regarding the grade or pay level of appointments by the agency under the plan
and whether the appointments are, or are converted to, career or
career-conditional appointments)
after subsection (b) of this
section
; and
(3)in subsection
(e)—
(A)in paragraph
(1)—
(i)in
the matter before subparagraph (A), by striking to the Congress
and inserting to the appropriate committees of Congress
;
and
(ii)in
subparagraph (A), by inserting (including, during the 5-year period
beginning on the date of enactment of the Careers for Veterans Act of 2012, the
development and implementation by the agency of the plan required under
subsection (b)(4), which shall include information regarding the grade or pay
level of appointments by the agency under the plan and whether the appointments
are, or are converted to, permanent appointments)
before the period;
and
(B)by adding at the
end the following new paragraph:
(3)In this subsection, the term
appropriate committees of Congress means—
(A)the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
and
(B)the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and
the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of
Representatives.
.
(b)Not
later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of
the Office of Personnel Management shall submit to the appropriate committees
of Congress (as defined under section 4214(e)(3) of title 38, United States
Code, as amended by subsection (a)) regarding the development of a plan to
carry out the amendments made by subsection (a).
3.Requirement that
States recognize military experience of veterans when issuing licenses and
credentials to veterans
(a)Section 4102A(c) of
title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
(9)(A)As a condition of a grant or contract under
which funds are made available to a State under subsection (b)(5) in order to
carry out section 4103A or 4104 of this title, the State shall—
(i)establish a program under which the State
administers an examination to each veteran seeking a license or credential
issued by the State and issues such license or credential to such veteran
without requiring such veteran to undergo any training or apprenticeship if the
veteran—
(I)receives a satisfactory score on completion
of such examination, as determined by the State; and
(II)has not less than 10 years of
experience in a military occupational specialty that, as determined by the
State, is similar to a civilian occupation for which such license or credential
is required by the State; and
(ii)submit each year to the Secretary a
report on the exams administered under clause (i) during the most recently
completed 12-month period that includes, for the period covered by the report
the number of veterans who completed an exam administered by the State under
clause (i) and a description of the results of such exams, disaggregated by
occupational field.
(B)Not less frequently than once each year,
the Secretary shall submit to Congress and the Secretary of Defense a report
summarizing the information received by the Secretary under subparagraph
(A)(ii).
.
(b)
(1)Subparagraph
(A) of section 4102A(c)(9) of such title, as added by subsection (a), shall
take effect on the date that is one year after the date of the enactment of
this Act and shall apply with respect to grants and contracts described in such
subparagraph awarded after such date.
(2)Subparagraph
(B) of section 4102A(c)(9), as added by subsection (a), shall take effect on
the date that is one year after the date of the enactment of this Act and the
Secretary of Labor shall submit the first report under such subparagraph not
later than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
4.Support for job
searches of veterans through one-stop centers
(a)Furnishing of
list of Internet resourcesNot later than 30 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall furnish each
one-stop center with a list of all Internet websites and applications that the
Secretary has identified as beneficial for veterans in pursuit of employment to
their pursuit.
(b)Identification
of additional resourcesThe Secretary shall coordinate with
public and private sector entities to identify Internet websites and
applications not already included in a list furnished under subsection (a)
that—
(1)match veterans
seeking employment with available jobs based on the skills the veterans
acquired as members of the Armed Forces; and
(2)allow employers
to post information about available jobs.
(c)The
Secretary of Labor shall furnish each one-stop center with a list of Internet
websites and applications identified under subsection (b).
(d)Not
later than 455 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
of Labor shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the
use of the Internet websites and applications identified under subsection (b)
for the benefit of veterans in pursuit of employment.
(e)In
this section:
(1)Appropriate
committees of CongressThe term appropriate committees of
Congress means—
(A)the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
of the Senate; and
(B)the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House
of Representatives.
(2)The term one-stop center means a center
described in section 134(c) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C.
2864(c)).
5.Expansion of
contracting goals and preferences of Department of Veterans Affairs to include
small business concerns 100 percent but conditionally owned by
veteransSection 8127(l) of
title 38, United States Code, is amended—
(1)in paragraph (2),
by inserting unconditionally
before owned by
each
place it appears; and
(2)by adding at the
end the following new paragraph:
(3)The term
unconditionally owned includes, with respect to ownership of a
small business concern, conditional ownership of such small business concern if
such business concern is 100 percent owned by one or more
veterans.
.
6.Modification of
treatment under contracting goals and preferences of Department of Veterans
Affairs for small businesses owned by veterans of small businesses after death
of disabled veteran owners
(a)Section 8127(h) of
title 38, United States Code, is amended—
(1)in paragraph (3),
by striking rated as
and all that follows through
disability.
and inserting a period; and
(2)in paragraph (2),
by amending subparagraph (C) to read as follows:
(C)The date that—
(i)in the case of a surviving spouse
of a veteran with a service-connected disability rated as 100 percent disabling
or who dies as a result of a service-connected disability, is 10 years after
the date of the veteran's death; or
(ii)in the case of a surviving spouse
of a veteran with a service-connected disability rated as less than 100 percent
disabling who does not die as a result of a service-connected disability, is
three years after the date of the veteran's
death.
.
(b)The amendments made by subsection (a) shall take effect on
the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and shall
apply with respect to contracts awarded on or after such date.
7.Treatment of
businesses after deaths of servicemember-owners for purposes of Department of
Veterans Affairs contracting goals and preferences
(a)Section 8127 of title 38, United States Code, is
amended—
(1)by redesignating
subsections (i) through (l) as subsections (j) through (m), respectively;
and
(2)by inserting
after subsection (h) the following new subsection (i):
(i)Treatment of
businesses after death of servicemember-Owner(1)If a member of the
Armed Forces owns at least 51 percent of a small business concern and such
member is killed in line of duty in the active military, naval, or air service,
the surviving spouse or dependent of such member who acquires such ownership
rights in such small business concern shall, for the period described in
paragraph (2), be treated as if the surviving spouse or dependent were a
veteran with a service-connected disability for purposes of determining the
status of the small business concern as a small business concern owned and
controlled by veterans for purposes of contracting goals and preferences under
this section.
(2)The period referred to in paragraph
(1) is the period beginning on the date on which the member of the Armed Forces
dies and ending on the date as follows:
(A)In the case of a surviving spouse, the
earliest of the following dates:
(i)The date on which the surviving
spouse remarries.
(ii)The date on which the surviving
spouse relinquishes an ownership interest in the small business concern and no
longer owns at least 51 percent of such small business concern.
(iii)The date that is ten years after
the date of the member's death.
(B)In the case of a dependent who is not
a spouse, the earliest of the following dates:
(i)The date on which the surviving
dependant relinquishes an ownership interest in the small business concern and
no longer owns at least 51 percent of such small business concern.
(ii)The date that is ten years after
the date of the member's
death.
.
(b)Subsection (i) of section 8127 of such title, as added by
subsection (a), take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall
apply with respect to the deaths of members of the Armed Forces occurring on or
after such date.
8.Special rule for
treatment under contracting goals and preferences of Department of Veterans
Affairs of small business concerns licensed in community property
StatesSection 8127 of title
38, United States Code, as amended by section 7, is further amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:
(n)Special rule
for community property StatesWhenever the Secretary assesses,
for purposes of this section, the degree of ownership by an individual of a
small business concern licensed in a community property State, the Secretary
shall also assess what that degree of ownership would be if such small business
concern had been licensed in a State other than a community property State. If
the Secretary determines that such individual would have had a greater degree
of ownership of the small business concern had such small business concern been
licensed in a State other than a community property State, the Secretary shall
treat, for purposes of this section, such small business concern as if it had
been licensed in a State other than a community property
State.
.
9.Off-base
transition training
(a)Provision of
off-Base transition trainingDuring the three-year period beginning on
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall provide the
Transition Assistance Program under section 1144 of title 10, United States
Code, to eligible individuals at locations other than military installations in
not less than three and not more than five States selected by the
Secretary.
(b)In selecting States in which to carry out the training
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall select the States with the highest
rates of veteran unemployment. The Secretary shall provide such training to
veterans at a sufficient number of locations within the selected States to meet
the need. The Secretary shall select such locations to facilitate access by
participants and may not select any location on a military installation other
than a National Guard or reserve facility that is not located on an active duty
military installation.
(c)For purposes of this section, an eligible individual
is a veteran or the spouse of a veteran.
(d)Inclusion of
information about veterans benefitsThe Secretary shall ensure
that the training provided under subsection (a) generally follows the content
of the Transition Assistance Program under section 1144 of title 10, United
States Code.
(e)Integrating
subject matter expertsThe
Secretary of Labor shall include in any contract entered into pursuant to
section 1144 of title 10, United States Code, or section 4113 of title 38,
United States Code, a requirement to include experts in subject matters
relating to human resources practices, including resume writing, interviewing
and job searching skills, and the provision of information about post-secondary
education.
(f)Not later than March 1 of any year during which the
Secretary provides training under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to
Congress a report on the provision of such training.
(g)Comptroller
General reportNot later than 180 days after the termination of
the three-year period described in subsection (a), the Comptroller General of
the United States shall submit to Congress a report on the training provided
under such subsection. The report shall include the evaluation of the
Comptroller General regarding the feasibility of carrying out off-base
transition training at locations nationwide.