[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 38 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 38

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             January 24 (legislative day, January 3), 2023

  Ms. Duckworth (for herself and Ms. Ernst) introduced the following 
   bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small 
                     Business and Entrepreneurship

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 2023''.

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:
    ``(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.--During the period beginning on the 
        date of enactment of this subsection and ending on September 
        30, 2028, 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 and district 
                offices.--
                            ``(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 district offices of 
                                the Administration and 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 and the 
                department of labor.--The Administrator shall make 
                available to the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary 
                of Labor 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 websites of the Department of Defense 
                and the Department of Labor 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 and the Secretary of Labor.
                    ``(E) Availability to department of veterans 
                affairs.--In consultation with the Secretary of 
                Veterans Affairs, the Administrator shall make 
                available for distribution and display on the website 
                of the Department of Veterans Affairs and 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.
                    ``(F) Availability to other participating 
                agencies.--The Administrator shall ensure information 
                regarding the Boots to Business program, including all 
                course materials and outreach materials related to the 
                Boots to Business Program, is made available to other 
                participating agencies in the Transition Assistance 
                Program and upon request of other agencies.
            ``(5) Competitive bidding procedures.--The Administration 
        shall use relevant competitive bidding procedures with respect 
        to any contract or cooperative agreement executed by the 
        Administration under the Boots to Business Program.
            ``(6) Publication of notice of funding opportunity.--Not 
        later than 30 days before the deadline for submitting 
        applications for any funding opportunity under the Boots to 
        Business Program, the Administration shall publish a notice of 
        the funding opportunity.
            ``(7) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this subsection, and not less frequently than 
        annually 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--
                    ``(A) may be included as part of another report 
                submitted to such committees by the Administrator 
                related to the Office of Veterans Business Development; 
                and
                    ``(B) shall summarize available information 
                relating to--
                            ``(i) grants awarded under paragraph 
                        (4)(C);
                            ``(ii) the total cost of the Boots to 
                        Business Program;
                            ``(iii) the amount of program funds used 
                        for domestic and international travel expenses;
                            ``(iv) the number of program participants 
                        using each component of the Boots to Business 
                        Program;
                            ``(v) the completion rates for each 
                        component of the Boots to Business Program;
                            ``(vi) to the extent possible--
                                    ``(I) the demographics of program 
                                participants, to include gender, age, 
                                race, ethnicity, and relationship to 
                                military;
                                    ``(II) the number of program 
                                participants that connect with a 
                                district office of the Administration, 
                                a Veteran Business Outreach Center, or 
                                another resource partner of the 
                                Administration;
                                    ``(III) the number of program 
                                participants that start a small 
                                business concern;
                                    ``(IV) the results of the Boots to 
                                Business and Boots to Business Reboot 
                                course quality surveys conducted by the 
                                Office of Veterans Business Development 
                                before and after attending each of 
                                those courses, including a summary of 
                                any comments received from program 
                                participants;
                                    ``(V) the results of the Boots to 
                                Business Program outcome surveys 
                                conducted by the Office of Veterans 
                                Business Development, including a 
                                summary of any comments received from 
                                program participants; and
                                    ``(VI) the results of other germane 
                                participant satisfaction surveys;
                    ``(C) an evaluation of the overall effectiveness of 
                the Boots to Business Program based on each geographic 
                region covered by the Administration during the most 
                recent fiscal year;
                    ``(D) an assessment of additional performance 
                outcome measures for the Boots to Business Program, as 
                identified by the Administrator;
                    ``(E) 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;
                    ``(F) 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
                    ``(G) any additional information the Administrator 
                determines necessary.''.
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