To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish in the Department the Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transition Administration, and for other purposes.

IIB 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2494 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 19, 2021 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs AN ACT To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish in the Department the Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transition Administration, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2494.RFS H2494 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 HR 2494 RFS SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF VETERANS ECONOMIC OP- 1 PORTUNITY AND TRANSITION ADMINISTRA- 2 TION. 3 (a) VETERANS ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND TRAN- 4 SITION ADMINISTRATION.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Part V of title 38, United 6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 7 following new chapter: 8 ‘‘CHAPTER 80—VETERANS ECONOMIC OP- 9 PORTUNITY AND TRANSITION ADMIN- 10 ISTRATION 11 ‘‘Sec. ‘‘8001. Organization of Administration. ‘‘8002. Functions of Administration. ‘‘8003. Annual report to Congress. ‘‘§ 8001. Organization of Administration 12 ‘‘(a) VETERANS ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND 13 TRANSITION ADMINISTRATION.—There is in the Depart- 14 ment of Veterans Affairs a Veterans Economic Oppor- 15 tunity and Transition Administration. The primary func- 16 tion of the Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transi- 17 tion Administration is the administration of the programs 18 of the Department that provide assistance related to eco- 19 nomic opportunity to veterans and their dependents and 20 survivors. 21 ‘‘(b) UNDER SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC OPPOR- 22 TUNITY AND TRANSITION.—The Veterans Economic Op- 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2494.RFS H2494 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 HR 2494 RFS portunity and Transition Administration is under the 1 Under Secretary for Veterans Economic Opportunity and 2 Transition, who is directly responsible to the Secretary for 3 the operations of the Administration. 4 ‘‘§ 8002. Functions of Administration 5 ‘‘The Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transition 6 Administration is responsible for the administration of the 7 following programs of the Department: 8 ‘‘(1) Vocational rehabilitation and employment 9 programs. 10 ‘‘(2) Educational assistance programs. 11 ‘‘(3) Veterans’ housing loan and related pro- 12 grams. 13 ‘‘(4) The verification of small businesses owned 14 and controlled by veterans pursuant to subsection (f) 15 of section 8127 of this title, including the adminis- 16 tration of the database of veteran-owned businesses 17 described in such subsection. 18 ‘‘(5) The Transition Assistance Program under 19 section 1144 of title 10. 20 ‘‘(6) Any other program of the Department 21 that the Secretary determines appropriate. 22 ‘‘§ 8003. Annual report to Congress 23 ‘‘The Secretary shall include in the annual report to 24 the Congress required by section 529 of this title a report 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2494.RFS H2494 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 HR 2494 RFS on the programs administered by the Under Secretary for 1 Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transition. Each 2 such report shall include the following with respect to each 3 such program during the fiscal year covered by that re- 4 port: 5 ‘‘(1) The number of claims received. 6 ‘‘(2) The number of claims decided. 7 ‘‘(3) The average processing time for a claim. 8 ‘‘(4) The number of successful outcomes (as de- 9 termined by the Secretary). 10 ‘‘(5) The number of full-time equivalent em- 11 ployees. 12 ‘‘(6) The amounts expended for information 13 technology.’’. 14 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The tables of 15 chapters at the beginning of title 38, United States 16 Code, and of part V of title 38, United States Code, 17 are each amended by inserting after the item relat- 18 ing to chapter 79 the following new item: 19 ‘‘80. Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transition Ad- ministration ............................................................. 8001’’. (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Chapter 80 of title 38, 20 United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall take 21 effect on October 1, 2022. 22 (c) AUTHORIZATION FOR APPROPRIATIONS FOR VET- 23 ERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATIONS.—There is author- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2494.RFS H2494 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 HR 2494 RFS ized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2022 for the Gen- 1 eral Operating Expenses account of the Veterans Benefits 2 Administration $3,207,000,000. 3 (d) LABOR RIGHTS.—Any labor rights, inclusion in 4 the bargaining unit, and collective bargaining agreement 5 that affects an employee of the Department of Veterans 6 Affairs who is transferred to the Veterans Economic Op- 7 portunity and Transition Administration, as established 8 under chapter 80 of title 38, United States Code, as added 9 by subsection (a), shall apply in the same manner to such 10 employee after such transfer. 11 SEC. 2. UNDER SECRETARY FOR VETERANS ECONOMIC OP- 12 PORTUNITY AND TRANSITION. 13 (a) UNDER SECRETARY.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of title 38, United 15 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 16 306 the following new section: 17 ‘‘§ 306A. Under Secretary for Veterans Economic Op- 18 portunity and Transition 19 ‘‘(a) UNDER SECRETARY.—There is in the Depart- 20 ment an Under Secretary for Veterans Economic Oppor- 21 tunity and Transition, who is appointed by the President, 22 by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The 23 Under Secretary for Veterans Economic Opportunity and 24 Transition shall be appointed without regard to political 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2494.RFS H2494 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 HR 2494 RFS affiliation or activity and solely on the basis of dem- 1 onstrated ability in— 2 ‘‘(1) information technology; and 3 ‘‘(2) the administration of programs within the 4 Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transition Ad- 5 ministration or programs of similar content and 6 scope. 7 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Under Secretary for 8 Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transition is the 9 head of, and is directly responsible to the Secretary for 10 the operations of, the Veterans Economic Opportunity and 11 Transition Administration. 12 ‘‘(c) VACANCIES.—(1) Whenever a vacancy in the po- 13 sition of Under Secretary for Veterans Economic Oppor- 14 tunity and Transition occurs or is anticipated, the Sec- 15 retary shall establish a commission to recommend individ- 16 uals to the President for appointment to the position. 17 ‘‘(2) A commission established under this subsection 18 shall be composed of the following members appointed by 19 the Secretary: 20 ‘‘(A) Three persons representing education and 21 training, vocational rehabilitation, employment, real 22 estate, mortgage finance and related industries, and 23 survivor benefits activities affected by the Veterans 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2494.RFS H2494 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 HR 2494 RFS Economic Opportunity and Transition Administra- 1 tion. 2 ‘‘(B) Two persons representing veterans served 3 by the Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transi- 4 tion Administration. 5 ‘‘(C) Two persons who have experience in the 6 management of private sector benefits programs of 7 similar content and scope to the economic oppor- 8 tunity and transition programs of the Department. 9 ‘‘(D) The Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 10 ‘‘(E) The chairman of the Veterans’ Advisory 11 Committee on Education formed under section 3692 12 of this title. 13 ‘‘(F) One person who has held the position of 14 Under Secretary for Veterans Economic Opportunity 15 and Transition, if the Secretary determines that it 16 is desirable for such person to be a member of the 17 commission. 18 ‘‘(3) A commission established under this subsection 19 shall recommend at least three individuals for appoint- 20 ment to the position of Under Secretary for Veterans Eco- 21 nomic Opportunity and Transition. The commission shall 22 submit all recommendations to the Secretary. The Sec- 23 retary shall forward the recommendations to the President 24 and the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2494.RFS H2494 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 HR 2494 RFS and House of Representatives with any comments the Sec- 1 retary considers appropriate. Thereafter, the President 2 may request the commission to recommend additional in- 3 dividuals for appointment. 4 ‘‘(4) The Assistant Secretary or Deputy Assistant 5 Secretary of Veterans Affairs who performs personnel 6 management and labor relations functions shall serve as 7 the executive secretary of a commission established under 8 this subsection.’’. 9 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec- 10 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 11 by inserting after the item relating to section 306 12 the following new item: 13 ‘‘306A. Under Secretary for Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transition.’’. (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Title 38, United 14 States Code, is further amended— 15 (1) in section 306(c)(2), by striking subpara- 16 graphs (A) and (E) and redesignating subpara- 17 graphs (B), (C), (D), and (F), as subparagraphs (A) 18 through (D), respectively; 19 (2) in section 317(d)(2), by inserting after 20 ‘‘Under Secretary for Benefits,’’ the following: ‘‘the 21 Under Secretary for Veterans Economic Opportunity 22 and Transition,’’; 23 (3) in section 318(d)(2), by inserting after 24 ‘‘Under Secretary for Benefits,’’ the following: ‘‘the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2494.RFS H2494 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 HR 2494 RFS Under Secretary for Veterans Economic Opportunity 1 and Transition,’’; 2 (4) in section 516(e)(2)(C), by striking ‘‘Health 3 and the Under Secretary for Benefits’’ and inserting 4 ‘‘Health, the Under Secretary for Benefits, and the 5 Under Secretary for Veterans Economic Opportunity 6 and Transition’’; 7 (5) in section 541(a)(2)(B), by striking ‘‘Health 8 and the Under Secretary for Benefits’’ and inserting 9 ‘‘Health, the Under Secretary for Benefits, and the 10 Under Secretary for Veterans Economic Opportunity 11 and Transition’’; 12 (6) in section 542(a)(2)(B)(iii), by striking 13 ‘‘Health and the Under Secretary for Benefits’’ and 14 inserting ‘‘Health, the Under Secretary for Benefits, 15 and the Under Secretary for Veterans Economic Op- 16 portunity and Transition’’; 17 (7) in section 544(a)(2)(B)(vi), by striking 18 ‘‘Health and the Under Secretary for Benefits’’ and 19 inserting ‘‘Health, the Under Secretary for Benefits, 20 and the Under Secretary for Veterans Economic Op- 21 portunity and Transition’’; 22 (8) in section 709(c)(2)(A), by inserting after 23 ‘‘Under Secretary for Benefits,’’ the following: ‘‘the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2494.RFS H2494 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 HR 2494 RFS Under Secretary for Veterans Economic Opportunity 1 and Transition,’’; 2 (9) in section 7701(a), by inserting after ‘‘as- 3 sistance’’ the following: ‘‘, other than assistance re- 4 lated to Economic Opportunity and Transition,’’; 5 and 6 (10) in section 7703, by striking paragraphs (2) 7 and (3) and redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as 8 paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively. 9 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 306A of title 38, 10 United States Code, as added by subsection (a), and the 11 amendments made by this section, shall take effect on Oc- 12 tober 1, 2022. 13 SEC. 3. TRANSFER OF SERVICES. 14 (a) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 days 15 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 16 of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees on 17 Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representa- 18 tives a report on the progress toward establishing the Vet- 19 erans Economic Opportunity and Transition Administra- 20 tion, as established under section 8001 of title 38, United 21 States Code, as added by section 4, and the transition of 22 the provision of services to veterans by such Administra- 23 tion. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2494.RFS H2494 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 HR 2494 RFS (b) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary of Veterans Af- 1 fairs may not transfer the function of providing any serv- 2 ices to veterans to the Veterans Economic Opportunity 3 and Transition Administration, as established under sec- 4 tion 8001 of title 38, United States Code, as added by 5 section 4 until the Secretary submits to the Committees 6 on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Rep- 7 resentatives certification that— 8 (1) the transition of the provision of services to 9 such Administration will not negatively affect the 10 provision of such services to veterans; 11 (2) such services are ready to be transferred. 12 (c) DEADLINE FOR CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary 13 shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of 14 the Senate and House of Representatives the certification 15 required by subsection (b)— 16 (1) no earlier than April 1, 2022; and 17 (2) no later than September 1, 2022. 18 (d) FAILURE TO CERTIFY.—If the Secretary fails to 19 submit the certification required by subsection (b) by the 20 date specified in subsection (c)(2), the Secretary shall sub- 21 mit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate 22 and House of Representatives a report that includes— 23 (1) the reason why the certification was not 24 made by such date; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2494.RFS H2494 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 HR 2494 RFS (2) the estimated date when the certification 1 will be made. 2 Passed the House of Representatives May 18, 2021. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:12 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2494.RFS H2494 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS