HUBS for Veterans Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 711 To require the Secretary of Labor to award grants to organizations for the provision of transition assistance to members and former members of the Armed Forces who are separated, retired, or discharged from the Armed Forces, and spouses of such members, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 11, 2021 Mr. BENNET (for himself and Mr. CRAPO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To require the Secretary of Labor to award grants to organi- zations for the provision of transition assistance to mem- bers and former members of the Armed Forces who are separated, retired, or discharged from the Armed Forces, and spouses of such members, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Helping Unleash Bene- 4 fits and Services for Veterans Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘HUBS 5 for Veterans Act of 2021’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:53 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S711.IS S711 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 711 IS SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR PROVISION OF TRANSITION ASSIST- 1 ANCE TO MEMBERS AND FORMER MEMBERS 2 OF THE ARMED FORCES AFTER SEPARATION, 3 RETIREMENT, OR DISCHARGE. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Commencing not later than 180 5 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 6 retary of Labor shall, in coordination with the Secretary 7 of Veterans Affairs, carry out a program to award grants 8 to eligible organizations for the provision of assistance to 9 covered individuals on the transition of a member or 10 former member of the Armed Forces from service in the 11 Armed Forces to civilian life. 12 (b) COVERED INDIVIDUALS.—For purposes of this 13 section, a covered individual is— 14 (1) a member of the Armed Forces who is eligi- 15 ble for preseparation counseling under sections 1142 16 and 1144 of title 10, United States Code; 17 (2) a former member of the Armed Forces who 18 is transitioning from service in the Armed Forces to 19 civilian life; or 20 (3) a spouse of a member described in para- 21 graph (1) or a former member described in para- 22 graph (2). 23 (c) DURATION OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary of 24 Labor shall carry out the program during the five-year 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:53 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S711.IS S711 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 711 IS period beginning on the date of the commencement of the 1 program. 2 (d) GRANTS.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall 4 carry out the program through the award of grants 5 to eligible organizations for the provision of assist- 6 ance described in subsection (a). 7 (2) MATCHING FUNDS REQUIRED.—A grant 8 under this section shall be in an amount that does 9 not exceed 50 percent of the amount required by the 10 organization to provide the services described in sub- 11 section (g). 12 (e) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.—For purposes of this 13 section, an eligible organization is any nonprofit organiza- 14 tion that the Secretary of Labor determines, in consulta- 15 tion with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, is suitable for 16 receipt of a grant under the program pursuant to receipt 17 by the Secretary of Labor of an application submitted 18 under subsection (f)(1). 19 (f) SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENTS.— 20 (1) APPLICATIONS.—An organization seeking a 21 grant under the program shall submit to the Sec- 22 retary of Labor an application therefor at such time, 23 in such manner, and containing such information 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:53 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S711.IS S711 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 711 IS and assurances as the Secretary, in consultation 1 with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, may require. 2 (2) PRIORITY FOR HUBS OF SERVICES.—In 3 awarding grants under the program, the Secretary 4 of Labor shall give priority to an organization that 5 provides multiple forms of services described in sub- 6 section (g). 7 (g) USE OF FUNDS.—The recipient of a grant under 8 the program shall use the grant to coordinate for covered 9 individuals the following: 10 (1) Job recruitment training, including re´sume´ 11 assistance and interview training. 12 (2) Behavioral health services. 13 (3) Financial services. 14 (4) Legal assistance. 15 (5) Educational supportive services. 16 (6) Assistance with accessing benefits provided 17 under laws administered by the Secretary of Vet- 18 erans Affairs. 19 (7) Non-clinical case management. 20 (8) Entrepreneurship training. 21 (9) Such other services that may be related to 22 the assistance and services set forth in this sub- 23 section as the Secretary of Labor determines may 24 lead directly to successful transition to civilian life. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:53 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S711.IS S711 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 711 IS (h) INCLUSION IN TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PRO- 1 GRAM COUNSELING.—The Secretary concerned shall in- 2 clude in the information provided to a member of the 3 Armed Forces during Transition Assistance Program in- 4 formation regarding any recipient of a grant under this 5 section that is located in the community in which that 6 member will reside after separation, retirement, or dis- 7 charge from the Armed Forces. 8 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 9 authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 to carry out 10 this section. 11 (j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 12 (1) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 13 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ is an organization that is 14 described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev- 15 enue Code of 1986 and is exempt from taxation 16 under section 501(a) of such Code. 17 (2) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec- 18 retary concerned’’ has the meaning given such term 19 in section 101 of title 10, United States Code. 20 (3) TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—The 21 term ‘‘Transition Assistance Program’’ means the 22 Transition Assistance Program under sections 1142 23 and 1144 of title 10, United States Code. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:53 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S711.IS S711 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS