[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3537 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3537

    To amend the Small Business Act to codify the Boots to Business 
                    Program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 27, 2019

  Mr. Schneider (for himself and Mr. Spano) introduced the following 
      bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Small Business Act to codify the Boots to Business 
                    Program, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veteran Entrepreneurship Training 
Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. BOOTS TO BUSINESS PROGRAM.

    Section 32 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657b) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(h) Boots to Business Program.--
            ``(1) Covered individual defined.--In this subsection, the 
        term `covered individual' means--
                    ``(A) a member of the Armed Forces, including the 
                National Guard or Reserves;
                    ``(B) an individual who is participating in the 
                Transition Assistance Program established under section 
                1144 of title 10, United States Code;
                    ``(C) an individual who--
                            ``(i) served on active duty in any branch 
                        of the Armed Forces, including the National 
                        Guard or Reserves; and
                            ``(ii) was discharged or released from such 
                        service under conditions other than 
                        dishonorable; and
                    ``(D) a spouse or dependent of an individual 
                described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C).
            ``(2) Establishment.--Beginning on the first October 1 
        after the enactment of this subsection and for the subsequent 4 
        fiscal years, the Administrator shall carry out a program to be 
        known as the `Boots to Business Program' to provide 
        entrepreneurship training to covered individuals.
            ``(3) Goals.--The goals of the Boots to Business Program 
        are to--
                    ``(A) provide assistance and in-depth training to 
                covered individuals interested in business ownership; 
                and
                    ``(B) provide covered individuals with the tools, 
                skills, and knowledge necessary to identify a business 
                opportunity, draft a business plan, identify sources of 
                capital, connect with local resources for small 
                business concerns, and start up a small business 
                concern.
            ``(4) Program components.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Boots to Business Program 
                may include--
                            ``(i) a presentation providing exposure to 
                        the considerations involved in self-employment 
                        and ownership of a small business concern;
                            ``(ii) an online, self-study course focused 
                        on the basic skills of entrepreneurship, the 
                        language of business, and the considerations 
                        involved in self-employment and ownership of a 
                        small business concern;
                            ``(iii) an in-person classroom instruction 
                        component providing an introduction to the 
                        foundations of self employment and ownership of 
                        a small business concern; and
                            ``(iv) in-depth training delivered through 
                        online instruction, including an online course 
                        that leads to the creation of a business plan.
                    ``(B) Collaboration.--The Administrator may--
                            ``(i) collaborate with public and private 
                        entities to develop course curricula for the 
                        Boots to Business Program; and
                            ``(ii) modify program components in 
                        coordination with entities participating in a 
                        Warriors in Transition program, as defined in 
                        section 738(e) of the National Defense 
                        Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (10 
                        U.S.C. 1071 note).
                    ``(C) Use of resource partners.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Administrator 
                        shall--
                                    ``(I) ensure that Veteran Business 
                                Outreach Centers regularly participate, 
                                on a nationwide basis, in the Boots to 
                                Business Program; and
                                    ``(II) to the maximum extent 
                                practicable, use a variety of other 
                                resource partners and entities in 
                                administering the Boots to Business 
                                Program.
                            ``(ii) Grant authority.--In carrying out 
                        clause (i), the Administrator may make grants 
                        to Veteran Business Outreach Centers, other 
                        resource partners, or other entities to carry 
                        out components of the Boots to Business 
                        Program.
                    ``(D) Availability to department of defense.--The 
                Administrator shall make available to the Secretary of 
                Defense information regarding the Boots to Business 
                Program, including all course materials and outreach 
                materials related to the Boots to Business Program, for 
                inclusion on the website of the Department of Defense 
                relating to the Transition Assistance Program, in the 
                Transition Assistance Program manual, and in other 
                relevant materials available for distribution from the 
                Secretary of Defense.
                    ``(E) Availability to veterans affairs.--In 
                consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 
                the Administrator shall make available for distribution 
                and display at local facilities of the Department of 
                Veterans Affairs outreach materials regarding the Boots 
                to Business Program which shall, at a minimum--
                            ``(i) describe the Boots to Business 
                        Program and the services provided; and
                            ``(ii) include eligibility requirements for 
                        participating in the Boots to Business Program.
            ``(5) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this subsection and every year thereafter, the 
        Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Small Business 
        and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small 
        Business of the House of Representatives a report on the 
        performance and effectiveness of the Boots to Business Program, 
        which may be included as part of another report submitted to 
        such Committees by the Administrator, and which shall include--
                    ``(A) information regarding grants awarded under 
                paragraph (4)(C);
                    ``(B) the total cost of the Boots to Business 
                Program;
                    ``(C) the number of program participants using each 
                component of the Boots to Business Program;
                    ``(D) the completion rates for each component of 
                the Boots to Business Program;
                    ``(E) to the extent possible--
                            ``(i) the demographics of program 
                        participants, to include gender, age, race, 
                        relationship to military, military occupational 
                        specialty, and years of service of program 
                        participants;
                            ``(ii) the number of small business 
                        concerns formed or expanded with assistance 
                        under the Boots to Business Program;
                            ``(iii) the gross receipts of small 
                        business concerns receiving assistance under 
                        the Boots to Business Program;
                            ``(iv) the number of jobs created with 
                        assistance under the Boots to Business Program;
                            ``(v) the number of referrals to other 
                        resources and programs of the Administration;
                            ``(vi) the number of program participants 
                        receiving financial assistance under loan 
                        programs of the Administration;
                            ``(vii) the type and dollar amount of 
                        financial assistance received by program 
                        participants under any loan program of the 
                        Administration; and
                            ``(viii) results of participant 
                        satisfaction surveys, including a summary of 
                        any comments received from program 
                        participants;
                    ``(F) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the 
                Boots to Business Program in each region of the 
                Administration during the most recent fiscal year;
                    ``(G) an assessment of additional performance 
                outcome measures for the Boots to Business Program, as 
                identified by the Administrator;
                    ``(H) any recommendations of the Administrator for 
                improvement of the Boots to Business Program, which may 
                include expansion of the types of individuals who are 
                covered individuals;
                    ``(I) an explanation of how the Boots to Business 
                Program has been integrated with other transition 
                programs and related resources of the Administration 
                and other Federal agencies; and
                    ``(J) any additional information the Administrator 
                determines necessary.''.
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