Veteran Entrepreneurship Training Act of 2021

IIB 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3469 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 3, 2021 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship AN ACT 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 Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:03 Nov 04, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3469.RFS H3469 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 3469 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veteran Entrepreneur- 2 ship Training Act of 2021’’. 3 SEC. 2. BOOTS TO BUSINESS PROGRAM. 4 Section 32 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 5 657b) is amended by adding at the end the following new 6 subsection: 7 ‘‘(h) BOOTS TO BUSINESS PROGRAM.— 8 ‘‘(1) COVERED INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—In this 9 subsection, the term ‘covered individual’ means— 10 ‘‘(A) a member of the Armed Forces, in- 11 cluding the National Guard or Reserves; 12 ‘‘(B) an individual who is participating in 13 the Transition Assistance Program established 14 under section 1144 of title 10, United States 15 Code; 16 ‘‘(C) an individual who— 17 ‘‘(i) served on active duty in any 18 branch of the Armed Forces, including the 19 National Guard or Reserves; and 20 ‘‘(ii) was discharged or released from 21 such service under conditions other than 22 dishonorable; and 23 ‘‘(D) a spouse or dependent of an indi- 24 vidual described in subparagraph (A), (B), or 25 (C). 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:03 Nov 04, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3469.RFS H3469 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 3469 RFS ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—Beginning on the first 1 October 1 after the enactment of this subsection and 2 for the subsequent 4 fiscal years, the Administrator 3 shall carry out a program to be known as the ‘Boots 4 to Business Program’ to provide entrepreneurship 5 training to covered individuals. 6 ‘‘(3) GOALS.—The goals of the Boots to Busi- 7 ness Program are to— 8 ‘‘(A) provide assistance and in-depth train- 9 ing to covered individuals interested in business 10 ownership; and 11 ‘‘(B) provide covered individuals with the 12 tools, skills, and knowledge necessary to identify 13 a business opportunity, draft a business plan, 14 identify sources of capital, connect with local 15 resources for small business concerns, and start 16 up a small business concern. 17 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.— 18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Boots to Busi- 19 ness Program may include— 20 ‘‘(i) a presentation providing exposure 21 to the considerations involved in self-em- 22 ployment and ownership of a small busi- 23 ness concern; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:03 Nov 04, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3469.RFS H3469 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 3469 RFS ‘‘(ii) an online, self-study course fo- 1 cused on the basic skills of entrepreneur- 2 ship, the language of business, and the 3 considerations involved in self-employment 4 and ownership of a small business concern; 5 ‘‘(iii) an in-person classroom instruc- 6 tion component providing an introduction 7 to the foundations of self employment and 8 ownership of a small business concern; and 9 ‘‘(iv) in-depth training delivered 10 through online instruction, including an 11 online course that leads to the creation of 12 a business plan. 13 ‘‘(B) COLLABORATION.—The Adminis- 14 trator may— 15 ‘‘(i) collaborate with public and pri- 16 vate entities to develop course curricula for 17 the Boots to Business Program; and 18 ‘‘(ii) modify program components in 19 coordination with entities participating in a 20 Warriors in Transition program, as defined 21 in section 738(e) of the National Defense 22 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 23 (10 U.S.C. 1071 note). 24 ‘‘(C) USE OF RESOURCE PARTNERS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:03 Nov 04, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3469.RFS H3469 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 3469 RFS ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 1 shall— 2 ‘‘(I) ensure that Veteran Busi- 3 ness Outreach Centers regularly par- 4 ticipate, on a nationwide basis, in the 5 Boots to Business Program; and 6 ‘‘(II) to the maximum extent 7 practicable, use a variety of other re- 8 source partners and entities in admin- 9 istering the Boots to Business Pro- 10 gram. 11 ‘‘(ii) GRANT AUTHORITY.—In carrying 12 out clause (i), the Administrator may make 13 grants to Veteran Business Outreach Cen- 14 ters, other resource partners, or other enti- 15 ties to carry out components of the Boots 16 to Business Program. 17 ‘‘(D) AVAILABILITY TO DEPARTMENT OF 18 DEFENSE.—The Administrator shall make 19 available to the Secretary of Defense informa- 20 tion regarding the Boots to Business Program, 21 including all course materials and outreach ma- 22 terials related to the Boots to Business Pro- 23 gram, for inclusion on the website of the De- 24 partment of Defense relating to the Transition 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:03 Nov 04, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3469.RFS H3469 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 3469 RFS Assistance Program, in the Transition Assist- 1 ance Program manual, and in other relevant 2 materials available for distribution from the 3 Secretary of Defense. 4 ‘‘(E) AVAILABILITY TO VETERANS AF- 5 FAIRS.—In consultation with the Secretary of 6 Veterans Affairs, the Administrator shall make 7 available for distribution and display at local fa- 8 cilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs 9 outreach materials regarding the Boots to Busi- 10 ness Program which shall, at a minimum— 11 ‘‘(i) describe the Boots to Business 12 Program and the services provided; and 13 ‘‘(ii) include eligibility requirements 14 for participating in the Boots to Business 15 Program. 16 ‘‘(5) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 17 the date of the enactment of this subsection and 18 every year thereafter, the Administrator shall submit 19 to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepre- 20 neurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small 21 Business of the House of Representatives a report 22 on the performance and effectiveness of the Boots to 23 Business Program, which may be included as part of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:03 Nov 04, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3469.RFS H3469 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 3469 RFS another report submitted to such Committees by the 1 Administrator, and which shall include— 2 ‘‘(A) information regarding grants award- 3 ed under paragraph (4)(C); 4 ‘‘(B) the total cost of the Boots to Busi- 5 ness Program; 6 ‘‘(C) the number of program participants 7 using each component of the Boots to Business 8 Program; 9 ‘‘(D) the completion rates for each compo- 10 nent of the Boots to Business Program; 11 ‘‘(E) to the extent possible— 12 ‘‘(i) the demographics of program par- 13 ticipants, to include gender, age, race, rela- 14 tionship to military, military occupational 15 specialty, and years of service of program 16 participants; 17 ‘‘(ii) the number of small business 18 concerns formed or expanded with assist- 19 ance under the Boots to Business Pro- 20 gram; 21 ‘‘(iii) the gross receipts of small busi- 22 ness concerns receiving assistance under 23 the Boots to Business Program; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:03 Nov 04, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3469.RFS H3469 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 HR 3469 RFS ‘‘(iv) the number of jobs created with 1 assistance under the Boots to Business 2 Program; 3 ‘‘(v) the number of referrals to other 4 resources and programs of the Administra- 5 tion; 6 ‘‘(vi) the number of program partici- 7 pants receiving financial assistance under 8 loan programs of the Administration; 9 ‘‘(vii) the type and dollar amount of 10 financial assistance received by program 11 participants under any loan program of the 12 Administration; and 13 ‘‘(viii) results of participant satisfac- 14 tion surveys, including a summary of any 15 comments received from program partici- 16 pants; 17 ‘‘(F) an evaluation of the effectiveness of 18 the Boots to Business Program in each region 19 of the Administration during the most recent 20 fiscal year; 21 ‘‘(G) an assessment of additional perform- 22 ance outcome measures for the Boots to Busi- 23 ness Program, as identified by the Adminis- 24 trator; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:03 Nov 04, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3469.RFS H3469 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 HR 3469 RFS ‘‘(H) any recommendations of the Admin- 1 istrator for improvement of the Boots to Busi- 2 ness Program, which may include expansion of 3 the types of individuals who are covered individ- 4 uals; 5 ‘‘(I) an explanation of how the Boots to 6 Business Program has been integrated with 7 other transition programs and related resources 8 of the Administration and other Federal agen- 9 cies; and 10 ‘‘(J) any additional information the Ad- 11 ministrator determines necessary.’’. 12 Passed the House of Representatives November 2, 2021. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:03 Nov 04, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3469.RFS H3469 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS