Preparing Ser­vice­mem­bers for Success Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6115 To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish performance measures regard- ing the Credentialing Opportunities On-Line programs of the Armed Forces. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 5, 2020 Mr. LATTA (for himself, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. STEWART, Mr. GIBBS, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. AMODEI, Mr. STIVERS, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, and Mr. REED) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Armed Services A BILL To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish performance measures regarding the Credentialing Opportunities On- Line programs of the Armed Forces. 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 ‘‘Preparing Servicemem- 4 bers for Success Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:20 Mar 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6115.IH H6115 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6115 IH (1) In October, 2016, the Comptroller General 1 of the United States released a report detailing ef- 2 forts of the Department of Defense to establish pro- 3 grams to assist members of the Armed Forces in ob- 4 taining information on professional credentials re- 5 lated to their military occupational specialties so the 6 members may find employment after separating 7 from the Armed Forces. 8 (2) In such report, the Comptroller General 9 found that the Department of Defense failed to de- 10 velop performance measures to gauge the effective- 11 ness of such programs. 12 (3) The Secretary of Defense did not concur 13 with the recommendation of the Comptroller General 14 to develop and implement performance measures for 15 the programs. 16 (4) Since the release of such report, the Sec- 17 retary has sought to improve opportunities for mem- 18 bers of the Armed Forces to obtain professional cre- 19 dentials by establishing performance goals, such as 20 the integration of relevant policy of the Department 21 of Defense into the career investment portfolio con- 22 cept, and the implementation and integration of cer- 23 tain programs into the Service Member Outcomes 24 Portal. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:20 Mar 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6115.IH H6115 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6115 IH (5) Due to the lack of performance measures, 1 entities interested in the success of members of the 2 Armed Forces who separate from the Armed Forces, 3 including veteran service organizations, potential em- 4 ployers, education officials, and Members of Con- 5 gress, are unable to accurately gauge the success of 6 the Credentialing Opportunities On-Line programs 7 (hereinafter, ‘‘COOL programs’’) of each Armed 8 Force. 9 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PERFORMANCE MEASURES 10 FOR THE CREDENTIALING OPPORTUNITIES 11 ON-LINE PROGRAMS OF THE ARMED FORCES. 12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 13 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 14 shall establish additional performance measures to evalu- 15 ate the effectiveness of the COOL programs of each 16 Armed Force in connecting members of the Armed Forces 17 with professional credential programs. Such measures 18 shall include the following: 19 (1) The percentage of members of the Armed 20 Force concerned described in section 1142(a) of title 21 10, United States Code, who participate in a profes- 22 sional credential program through the COOL pro- 23 gram of the Armed Force concerned. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:20 Mar 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6115.IH H6115 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6115 IH (2) The percentage of members of the Armed 1 Force concerned described in paragraph (1) who 2 have completed a professional credential program de- 3 scribed in that paragraph. 4 (3) The percentage of members of the Armed 5 Force concerned described in paragraphs (1) and (2) 6 who are employed not later than one year after sepa- 7 ration or release from the Armed Forces. 8 (b) COORDINATION.—To carry out this section, the 9 Secretary of Defense may coordinate with the Secretaries 10 of Veterans Affairs and Labor. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:20 Mar 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6115.IH H6115 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS