[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 22, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S45-S47]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REID (for himself, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Schumer, 
        Mr. Udall of New Mexico, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Brown, Mr. Schatz, Mr. 
        Tester, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Warner, Mr. Cardin, Ms. Hirono, Mr. 
        Begich, Mr. Casey, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. 
        Coons, Mr. Levin, and Mr. Heinrich):
  S. 6. A bill to reauthorize the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011, to 
provide assistance to small businesses owned by veterans, to improve 
enforcement of employment and reemployment rights of members of the 
uniformed services, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the 
bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record as follows:

                                  S. 6

       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 ``Putting 
     Our Veterans Back to Work Act of 2013''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

                TITLE I--RENEWING OUR VOW TO HIRE HEROES

Sec. 101. Reauthorization of veterans retraining assistance program.
Sec. 102. Extension of authority of Secretary of Veterans Affairs to 
              provide rehabilitation and vocational benefits to members 
              of Armed Forces with severe injuries or illnesses.
Sec. 103. Extension of additional rehabilitation programs for persons 
              who have exhausted rights to unemployment benefits under 
              State law.
Sec. 104. Reauthorization of collaborative veterans' training, 
              mentoring, and placement program.

        TITLE II--EXPANDING OUR VOW TO VETERAN SMALL BUSINESSES

Sec. 201. Patriot Express Loan Program.
Sec. 202. SBA Surety Bond Program.

             TITLE III--BUILDING ON OUR VOW TO HIRE HEROES

Sec. 301. Unified employment portal for veterans.
Sec. 302. Grants to hire veterans as first responders.
Sec. 303. Employment of veterans as evaluation factor in the awarding 
              of Federal contracts.

 TITLE IV--IMPROVING EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF 
                         THE UNIFORMED SERVICES

Sec. 401. Enforcement of rights of members of uniformed services with 
              respect to States and private employers.
Sec. 402. Suspension, termination, or debarment of contractors for 
              repeated violations of employment or reemployment rights 
              of members of uniformed services.
Sec. 403. Subpoena power for Special Counsel in enforcement of 
              employment and reemployment rights of members of 
              uniformed services with respect to Federal executive 
              agencies.
Sec. 404. Issuance and service of civil investigative demands by 
              Attorney General.

                TITLE I--RENEWING OUR VOW TO HIRE HEROES

     SEC. 101. REAUTHORIZATION OF VETERANS RETRAINING ASSISTANCE 
                   PROGRAM.

       (a) Extension.--Subsection (k) of section 211 of the VOW to 
     Hire Heroes Act of 2011 (Public Law 112-56; 38 U.S.C. 4100 
     note) is amended by striking ``March 31, 2014'' and inserting 
     ``March 31, 2016''.
       (b) Number of Eligible Veterans.--Subsection (a)(2) of such 
     section is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting a semicolon; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
       ``(C) 50,000 during the period beginning April 1, 2014, and 
     ending March 31, 2015; and
       ``(D) 50,000 during the period beginning April 1, 2015, and 
     ending March 31, 2016.''.
       (c) Clarification of Limitation on Aggregate Amount of 
     Assistance.--Subsection (b) of such section is amended by 
     striking ``up to 12 months of retraining assistance provided 
     by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs'' and inserting ``an 
     aggregate of not more than 12 months of retraining assistance 
     provided by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs under this 
     section''.

     SEC. 102. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF VETERANS 
                   AFFAIRS TO PROVIDE REHABILITATION AND 
                   VOCATIONAL BENEFITS TO MEMBERS OF ARMED FORCES 
                   WITH SEVERE INJURIES OR ILLNESSES.

       (a) In General.--Section 1631(b)(2) of the Wounded Warrior 
     Act (title XVI of Public Law 110-181; 10 U.S.C. 1071 note) is 
     amended by striking ``December 31, 2014'' and inserting 
     ``December 31, 2016''.
       (b) Report.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
     shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 
     report on the benefits provided by the Secretary under 
     section 1631(b) of such Act.
       (2) Appropriate committees of congress.--In this 
     subsection, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' 
     means--
       (A) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on 
     Veterans' Affairs of the Senate; and
       (B) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on 
     Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives.

     SEC. 103. EXTENSION OF ADDITIONAL REHABILITATION PROGRAMS FOR 
                   PERSONS WHO HAVE EXHAUSTED RIGHTS TO 
                   UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS UNDER STATE LAW.

       Section 3102(b)(4) of title 38, United States Code, is 
     amended by striking ``March 31, 2014'' and inserting ``March 
     31, 2016''.

     SEC. 104. REAUTHORIZATION OF COLLABORATIVE VETERANS' 
                   TRAINING, MENTORING, AND PLACEMENT PROGRAM.

       Subsection (e) of section 4104A of title 38, United States 
     Code, is amended to read as follows:

[[Page S46]]

       ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
     amounts as follows:
       ``(1) $4,500,000 for the period consisting of fiscal years 
     2012 and 2013.
       ``(2) $4,500,000 for the period consisting of fiscal years 
     2014 and 2015.''.

              TITLE II--BUILDING ON OUR VOW TO HIRE HEROES

     SEC. 201. UNIFIED EMPLOYMENT PORTAL FOR VETERANS.

       Section 4105 of title 38, United States Code is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:
       ``(c)(1) The Secretary shall develop a single, unified 
     Federal web-based employment portal, for use by veterans, 
     containing information regarding all Federal programs and 
     activities concerning employment, unemployment, and training 
     to the extent the programs and activities affect veterans.
       ``(2) The Secretary shall work with representatives from 
     the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs, the Small Business Administration, and other Federal 
     agencies and organizations concerned with veterans' issues, 
     to determine an appropriate platform and implementing agency 
     for the portal. The Secretary shall enter into an agreement 
     with the other Federal agencies for the implementation of the 
     portal.''.

     SEC. 202. GRANTS TO HIRE VETERANS AS FIRST RESPONDERS.

       (a) Grants for Firefighters.--The Secretary of Homeland 
     Security shall award grants under section 34 of the Federal 
     Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229a) to 
     hire veterans as firefighters.
       (b) Grants for Law Enforcement Officers.--The Attorney 
     General shall award grants under part Q of title I of the 
     Omnibus Crime Control and SAfe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
     3796dd et seq.) to hire veterans as law enforcement officers.
       (c) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section to 
     hire veterans, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the 
     Attorney General shall give priority to the hiring of 
     veterans who served on active duty in the Armed Forces on or 
     after September 11, 2011.
       (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $250,000,000.

     SEC. 203. EMPLOYMENT OF VETERANS AS EVALUATION FACTOR IN THE 
                   AWARDING OF FEDERAL CONTRACTS.

       (a) Civilian Contracts.--
       (1) In general.--Chapter 33 of title 41, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     section:

     ``Sec. 3312. Employment of veterans as evaluation factor

       ``The head of each executive agency shall consider 
     favorably as an evaluation factor in solicitations for 
     contracts and task or delivery order valued at or above 
     $25,000,000 the employment by a prospective contractor of 
     veterans constituting at least 5 percent of the contractor's 
     workforce.''.
       (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of such chapter is amended by adding after the item 
     relating to section 3311 the following new item:

``3312. Employment of veterans as evaluation factor.''.

       (b) Defense Contracts.--
       (1) In general.--Chapter 137 of title 10, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     section:

     ``Sec. 2336. Employment of veterans as evaluation factor

       ``The head of each agency shall consider favorably as an 
     evaluation factor in solicitations for contracts and task or 
     delivery order valued at or above $25,000,000 the employment 
     by a prospective contractor of veterans constituting at least 
     5 percent of the contractor's workforce.''.
       (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of such chapter is amended by adding after the item 
     relating to section 2335 the following new item:

``2336. Employment of veterans as evaluation factor.''.

       (c) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory 
     Council shall amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to 
     carry out the provisions of section 3313 of title 41, United 
     States Code, and section 2336 of title 10, United States 
     Code, as added by subsections (a) and (b), respectively.

 TITLE III--IMPROVING EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF 
                         THE UNIFORMED SERVICES

     SEC. 301. ENFORCEMENT OF RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF UNIFORMED 
                   SERVICES WITH RESPECT TO STATES AND PRIVATE 
                   EMPLOYERS.

       (a) Action for Relief.--Subsection (a) of section 4323 of 
     title 38, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)--
       (A) by striking ``appear on behalf of, and act as attorney 
     for, the person on whose behalf the complaint is submitted 
     and'';
       (B) by striking ``for such person'';
       (C) by striking the fourth sentence; and
       (D) by adding at the end the following: ``The person on 
     whose behalf the complaint is referred may, upon timely 
     application, intervene in such action, and may obtain such 
     appropriate relief as is provided in subsections (d) and 
     (e).'';
       (2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following 
     new paragraph (2):
       ``(2)(A) Not later than 60 days after the date the Attorney 
     General receives a referral under paragraph (1), the Attorney 
     General shall transmit, in writing, to the person on whose 
     behalf the complaint is submitted--
       ``(i) if the Attorney General has made a decision to 
     commence an action for relief under paragraph (1) relating to 
     the complaint of the person, notice of the decision; and
       ``(ii) if the Attorney General has not made such a 
     decision, notice of when the Attorney General expects to make 
     such a decision.
       ``(B) If the Attorney General notifies a person that the 
     Attorney General expects to make a decision under 
     subparagraph (A)(ii), the Attorney General shall, not later 
     than 30 days after the date on which the Attorney General 
     makes such decision, notify, in writing, the person of such 
     decision.'';
       (3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4);
       (4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new 
     paragraph (3):
       ``(3) Whenever the Attorney General has reasonable cause to 
     believe that a State (as an employer) or a private employer 
     is engaged in a pattern or practice of resistance to the full 
     enjoyment of any of the rights and benefits provided for 
     under this chapter, and that the pattern or practice is of 
     such a nature and is intended to deny the full exercise of 
     such rights and benefits, the Attorney General may commence 
     an action for relief under this chapter.''; and
       (5) in paragraph (4), as redesignated by paragraph (3), by 
     striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the following new 
     subparagraph (C):
       ``(C) has been notified by the Attorney General that the 
     Attorney General does not intend to commence an action for 
     relief under paragraph (1) with respect to the complaint 
     under such paragraph.''.
       (b) Standing.--Subsection (f) of such section is amended to 
     read as follows:
       ``(f) Standing.--An action under this chapter may be 
     initiated only by the Attorney General or by a person 
     claiming rights or benefits under this chapter under 
     subsection (a).''.
       (c) Conforming Amendment.--Subsection (h)(2) of such 
     section is amended by striking ``under subsection (a)(2)'' 
     and inserting ``under paragraph (1) or (4) of subsection 
     (a)''.

     SEC. 302. SUSPENSION, TERMINATION, OR DEBARMENT OF 
                   CONTRACTORS FOR REPEATED VIOLATIONS OF 
                   EMPLOYMENT OR REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF 
                   UNIFORMED SERVICES.

       (a) In General.--Subchapter III of chapter 43 of title 38, 
     United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new section:

     ``Sec. 4328. Suspension, termination, or debarment of 
       contractors

       ``(a) Grounds for Suspension, Termination, or Debarment.--
     Payment under a contract awarded by a Federal executive 
     agency may be suspended and the contract may be terminated, 
     and the contractor who made the contract with the agency may 
     be suspended or debarred in accordance with the requirements 
     of this section, if the head of the agency determines that 
     the contractor as an employer has repeatedly been convicted 
     of failing or refusing to comply with one or more provisions 
     of this chapter.
       ``(b) Effect of Debarment.--A contractor debarred by a 
     final decision under this section is ineligible for award of 
     a contract by a Federal executive agency, and for 
     participation in a future procurement by a Federal executive 
     agency, for a period specified in the decision, not to exceed 
     5 years.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 43 of such title is amended by inserting 
     after the item relating to section 4327 the following new 
     item:

``4328. Suspension, termination, or debarment of contractor.''.

       (c) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory 
     Council shall amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to 
     carry out section 4328 of title 38, United States Code, as 
     added by subsection (a).
       (d) Effective Date.--Section 4328 of title 38, United 
     States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall apply with 
     respect to failures and refusals to comply with provisions of 
     chapter 43 of such title occurring on or after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act.
       (e) Annual Report.--Section 4332(a) of such title is 
     amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraph (10) as paragraph (11); and
       (2) by inserting after paragraph (9) the following new 
     paragraph (10):
       ``(10) The number of suspensions, terminations, and 
     debarments under section 4328 of this title, disaggregated by 
     the agency or department imposing the suspension or 
     debarment.''.

     SEC. 303. SUBPOENA POWER FOR SPECIAL COUNSEL IN ENFORCEMENT 
                   OF EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OF 
                   MEMBERS OF UNIFORMED SERVICES WITH RESPECT TO 
                   FEDERAL EXECUTIVE AGENCIES.

       Section 4324 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(e)(1) In order to carry out the Special Counsel's 
     responsibilities under this section, the Special Counsel may 
     require by subpoena the attendance and testimony of Federal 
     employees and the production of documents from Federal 
     employees and Federal executive agencies.

[[Page S47]]

       ``(2) In the case of contumacy or failure to obey a 
     subpoena issued under paragraph (1), upon application by the 
     Special Counsel, the Merit Systems Protection Board may issue 
     an order requiring a Federal employee or Federal executive 
     agency to comply with a subpoena of the Special Counsel.
       ``(3) An order issued under paragraph (2) may be enforced 
     by the Merit Systems Protection Board in the same manner as 
     any order issued under section 1204 of title 5.''.

     SEC. 304. ISSUANCE AND SERVICE OF CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE DEMANDS 
                   BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.

       (a) In General.--Section 4323 of title 38, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection (j); and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (h) the following new 
     subsection (i):
       ``(i) Issuance and Service of Civil Investigative 
     Demands.--(1) Whenever the Attorney General has reason to 
     believe that any person may be in possession, custody, or 
     control of any documentary material relevant to an 
     investigation under this subchapter, the Attorney General 
     may, before commencing a civil action under subsection (a), 
     issue in writing and serve upon such person, a civil 
     investigative demand requiring--
       ``(A) the production of such documentary material for 
     inspection and copying;
       ``(B) that the custodian of such documentary material 
     answer in writing written questions with respect to such 
     documentary material; or
       ``(C) the production of any combination of such documentary 
     material or answers.
       ``(2) The provisions of section 3733 of title 31 governing 
     the authority to issue, use, and enforce civil investigative 
     demands shall apply with respect to the authority to issue, 
     use, and enforce civil investigative demands under this 
     section, except that, for purposes of applying such section 
     3733--
       ``(A) references to false claims law investigators or 
     investigations shall be considered references to 
     investigators or investigations under this subchapter;
       ``(B) references to interrogatories shall be considered 
     references to written questions, and answers to such need not 
     be under oath;
       ``(C) the definitions relating to `false claims law' shall 
     not apply; and
       ``(D) provisions relating to qui tam relators shall not 
     apply.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--Subsection (i) of such section, as 
     added by subsection (a)(2), shall take effect on the date of 
     the enactment of this Act and shall apply with respect to 
     violations of chapter 43 of such title alleged to have 
     occurred on or after such date.
       (c) Annual Reports.--Section 4332(b)(2) of such title is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``Not later than'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(A) In general.--Not later than''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
       ``(B) Annual supplement on civil investigative demands.--
       ``(i) In general.--The Attorney General shall include with 
     each report submitted under subparagraph (A) for the last 
     quarter of each fiscal year a report on the issuance of civil 
     investigative demands under section 4323(i) of this title 
     during the most recently completed fiscal year.
       ``(ii) Elements.--Each report submitted under clause (i) 
     shall include the following for the fiscal year covered by 
     the report:

       ``(I) The number of times that a civil investigative demand 
     was issued under section 4323(i) of this title.
       ``(II) For each civil investigative demand issued under 
     such section with respect to an investigation, whether such 
     investigation resulted in a settlement, order, or 
     judgment.''.

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