I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1796 

To ensure that the education and training provided members of the Armed 

Forces and veterans better assists members and veterans in obtaining 

civilian certifications and licenses, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 26, 2013 

Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. BILIRAKIS, 

Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. MAFFEI, Mr. GALLEGO, 

Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. 

FOSTER, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. ENYART, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. SHEAPORTER, Mr. JONES, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Ms. ESTY, Ms. GABBARD, 

Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. HARPER, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. JOHNSON

of Ohio, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. HONDA, and Mr. BARBER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and 

in addition to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 

such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To ensure that the education and training provided members 

of the Armed Forces and veterans better assists members 

and veterans in obtaining civilian certifications and licenses, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Troop Talent Act of 

3 2013’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress makes the following findings: 

6 (1) According to the Bureau of Labor Statis7 tics, the unemployment rate for recent veterans of 

8 military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan was 9.4 

9 percent in February 2013, compared with 7.6 per10 cent in February 2012. 

11 (2) With the unemployment rate among such 

12 veterans higher than the national average and the 

13 number of veterans receiving unemployment benefits 

14 doubling since 2002, there is a significant need to 

15 assist members of the Armed Forces as they transi16 tion to the civilian workforce. 

17 (3) In order to remain competitive in the civil18 ian employment market, members of the Armed 

19 Forces and veterans require information about how 

20 their military skill sets translate to the requirements 

21 of the civilian workforce. Members of the Armed 

22 Forces currently receive insufficient or inadequate 

23 information during their training for military occu24 pational specialties on translating skills obtained 

25 during such training to civilian occupations and cre26 dentials. 


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1 (4) In addition, there is a need for enhanced ac2 cess by accredited credentialing agencies to military 

3 training curricula in order to facilitate and enhance 

4 the correlation between military training and appli5 cable civilian credentialing courses and exams. 

6 (5) The information technology sector is one of 

7 the fastest growing industries, with tremendous job 

8 growth and demand for talented, qualified individ9 uals. The information technology sector has an un10 employment rate of 3.5 percent according to a Bu11 reau of Labor Statistics report from February 2013. 

12 (6) The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 

13 need for 110,000 computer support specialists over 

14 the next decade. Currently, the size of the informa15 tion technology workforce in the Armed Forces is 

16 about 160,000 members. 

17 SEC. 3. ENHANCEMENT OF MECHANISMS TO CORRELATE 

18 SKILLS AND TRAINING FOR MILITARY OCCU19 PATIONAL SPECIALTIES WITH SKILLS AND 

20 TRAINING REQUIRED FOR CIVILIAN CERTIFI21 CATIONS AND LICENSES. 

22 (a) IMPROVEMENT OF INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO

23 MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES ABOUT CORRELA24 TION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries of the mili2 tary departments, in coordination with the Under 

3 Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, 

4 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, make in5 formation on civilian credentialing opportunities 

6 available to members of the Armed Forces beginning 

7 with, and at every stage of, training of members for 

8 military occupational specialties, in order to permit 

9 members— 

10 (A) to evaluate the extent to which such 

11 training correlates with the skills and training 

12 required in connection with various civilian cer13 tifications and licenses; and 

14 (B) to assess the suitability of such train15 ing for obtaining or pursuing such civilian cer16 tifications and licenses. 

17 (2) COORDINATION WITH TRANSITION GOALS

18 PLANS SUCCESS PROGRAM.—Information shall be 

19 made available under paragraph (1) in a manner 

20 consistent with the Transition Goals Plans Success 

21 (GPS) program. 

22 (3) TYPES OF INFORMATION.—The information 

23 made available under paragraph (1) shall include, 

24 but not be limited to, the following: 


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1 (A) Information on the civilian occupa2 tional equivalents of military occupational spe3 cialties (MOS). 

4 (B) Information on civilian license or cer5 tification requirements, including examination 

6 requirements. 

7 (C) Information on the availability and op8 portunities for use of educational benefits avail9 able to members of the Armed Forces, as ap10 propriate, corresponding training, or continuing 

11 education that leads to a certification exam in 

12 order to provide a pathway to credentialing op13 portunities. 

14 (4) USE AND ADAPTATION OF CERTAIN PRO15 GRAMS.—In making information available under 

16 paragraph (1), the Secretaries of the military de17 partments may use and adapt appropriate portions 

18 of the Credentialing Opportunities On-Line (COOL) 

19 programs of the Army and the Navy and the 

20 Credentialing and Educational Research Tool 

21 (CERT) of the Air Force. 

22 (b) IMPROVEMENT OF ACCESS OF ACCREDITED CI23 VILIAN CREDENTIALING AGENCIES TO MILITARY TRAIN24 ING CONTENT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries of the mili2 tary departments, in coordination with the Under 

3 Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, 

4 shall, to the maximum extent practicable consistent 

5 with national security requirements, make available 

6 to accredited civilian credentialing agencies that 

7 issue certifications or licenses, upon request of such 

8 agencies, information such as military course train9 ing curricula, syllabi, and materials, levels of mili10 tary advancement attained, and professional skills 

11 developed. 

12 (2) CENTRAL REPOSITORY.—The actions taken 

13 pursuant to paragraph (1) may include the estab14 lishment of a central repository of information on 

15 training and training materials provided members in 

16 connection with military occupational specialties that 

17 is readily accessible by accredited civilian 

18 credentialing agencies described in that paragraph in 

19 order to meet requests described in that paragraph. 

20 SEC. 4. USE OF EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR COURSES 

21 IN PURSUIT OF CIVILIAN CERTIFICATIONS 

22 OR LICENSES. 

23 (a) COURSES UNDER DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

24 EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE AUTHORITIES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 101 of title 10, 

2 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

3 section 2015 the following new section: 

4 ‘‘§ 2015a. Civilian certifications and licenses: use of 

5 educational assistance for courses in pur6 suit of civilian certifications or licenses 

7 ‘‘(a) LIMITATION ON USE OF ASSISTANCE.—In the 

8 case of a member of the armed forces who is enrolled in 

9 an educational institution in a State for purposes of ob10 taining employment in an occupation or profession requir11 ing the approval or licensure of a board or agency of that 

12 State, educational assistance specified in subsection (b) 

13 may be used by the member for a course offered by the 

14 educational institution that is a required element of the 

15 curriculum to be satisfied to obtain employment in that 

16 occupation or profession only if— 

17 ‘‘(1) the successful completion of the cur18 riculum fully qualifies a student to— 

19 ‘‘(A) take any examination required for 

20 entry into the occupation or profession, includ21 ing satisfying any State or professionally man22 dated programmatic and specialized accredita23 tion requirements; and 

24 ‘‘(B) be certified or licensed or meet any 

25 other academically related pre-conditions that 


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1 are required for entry into the occupation or 

2 profession; and 

3 ‘‘(2) in the case of State licensing or profes4 sionally mandated requirements for entry into the 

5 occupation or profession that require specialized ac6 creditation, the curriculum meets the requirement 

7 for specialized accreditation through its accreditation 

8 or pre-accreditation by an accrediting agency or as9 sociation recognized by the Secretary of Education 

10 or designated by that State as a reliable authority 

11 as to the quality or training offered by the institu12 tion in that program. 

13 ‘‘(b) COVERED EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE.—The 

14 educational assistance specified in this subsection is edu15 cational assistance as follows: 

16 ‘‘(1) Educational assistance for members of the 

17 armed forces under section 2007 and 2015 of this 

18 title. 

19 ‘‘(2) Educational assistance for persons enlist20 ing for active duty under chapter 106A of this title. 

21 ‘‘(3) Educational assistance for members of the 

22 armed forces held as captives under section 2183 of 

23 this title. 

24 ‘‘(4) Educational assistance for members of the 

25 Selected Reserve under chapter 1606 of this title. 


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1 ‘‘(5) Educational assistance for reserve compo2 nent members supporting contingency operations 

3 and other operations under chapter 1607 of this 

4 title. 

5 ‘‘(6) Such other educational assistance provided 

6 members of the armed forces under the laws admin7 istered by the Secretary of Defense or the Secre8 taries of the military departments as the Secretary 

9 of Defense shall designate for purposes of this sec10 tion.’’. 

11 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec12 tions at the beginning of chapter 101 of such title 

13 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

14 section 2015 the following new item: 

‘‘2015a. Civilian certifications and licenses: use of educational assistance for 

courses in pursuit of civilian certifications or licenses.’’. 

15 (b) COURSES UNDER EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE

16 AUTHORITIES ADMINISTERED BY SECRETARY OF VET17 ERANS AFFAIRS.—Section 3679 of title 38, United States 

18 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 

19 subsection: 

20 ‘‘(c) A course offered by an educational institution 

21 in a State that is a required element of the curriculum 

22 to be satisfied to obtain employment in an occupation or 

23 profession requiring the approval or licensure of a board 

24 or agency of that State may be treated as approved for 


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1 purposes of this chapter by an individual seeking to obtain 

2 employment in that occupation or profession only if— 

3 ‘‘(1) the successful completion of the cur4 riculum fully qualifies a student to— 

5 ‘‘(A) take any examination required for 

6 entry into the occupation or profession, includ7 ing satisfying any State or professionally man8 dated programmatic and specialized accredita9 tion requirements; and 

10 ‘‘(B) be certified or licensed or meet any 

11 other academically related pre-conditions that 

12 are required for entry into the occupation or 

13 profession; and 

14 ‘‘(2) in the case of State licensing or profes15 sionally mandated requirements for entry into the 

16 occupation or profession that require specialized ac17 creditation, the curriculum meets the requirement 

18 for specialized accreditation through its accreditation 

19 or pre-accreditation by an accrediting agency or as20 sociation recognized by the Secretary of Education 

21 or designated by that State as a reliable authority 

22 as to the quality or training offered by the institu23 tion in that program.’’. 

24 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

25 this section shall take effect on August 1, 2014, and shall 


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1 apply with respect to courses pursued on or after that 

2 date. 

3 SEC. 5. COVERAGE OF MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIAL4 TIES RELATING TO MILITARY INFORMATION 

5 TECHNOLOGY UNDER PILOT PROGRAM ON 

6 RECEIPT OF CIVILIAN CREDENTIALS FOR 

7 SKILLS REQUIRED FOR MILITARY OCCUPA8 TIONAL SPECIALTIES. 

9 The military occupational specialties designated for 

10 purposes of the pilot program on receipt of civilian creden11 tials for skills required for military occupational specialties 

12 under section 558 of the National Defense Authorization 

13 Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (10 U.S.C. 2015 note) shall in14 clude military occupational specialties relating to the mili15 tary information technology workforce. 

16 SEC. 6. REVIVAL OF PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION AND 

17 LICENSURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE 

18 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

20 shall reestablish the Professional Certification and Licen21 sure Advisory Committee of the Department of Veterans 

22 Affairs provided for under section 3689(e) of title 38, 

23 United States Code. The Committee shall be reestablished 

24 in accordance with the provisions of such section 3689(e), 

25 as amended by subsection (b), and shall carry out its duVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:14 May 01, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1796.IH H1796

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1 ties in conformance with, and subject to the requirements 

2 of such section, as so amended. 

3 (b) MODIFICATION OF AUTHORITIES AND REQUIRE4 MENTS.—Section 3689(e) of title 38, United States Code, 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

7 (A) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(2)’’; and 

8 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

9 subparagraph: 

10 ‘‘(B) In addition to the duties under subparagraph 

11 (A), the Committee shall— 

12 ‘‘(i) develop, in coordination with other appro13 priate agencies, guidance to be used by the Depart14 ment or other entities to perform periodic audits of 

15 licensure and certification programs to ensure the 

16 highest quality education is available to veterans and 

17 members of the Armed Forces; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) develop, in coordination with the Depart19 ment of Defense, appropriate certification agencies, 

20 and other appropriate non-profit organizations, a 

21 plan to improve outreach to veterans and members 

22 of the Armed Forces on the importance of licensing 

23 and certification, as well as educational benefits 

24 available to them.’’; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ‘‘and the 

2 Secretary of Defense’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretary 

3 of Defense, and the Secretary of Education’’; 

4 (3) in paragraph (4), by striking subparagraph 

5 (B) and inserting the following new subparagraph: 

6 ‘‘(B) The Committee shall meet with such frequency 

7 as the Committee determines appropriate.’’; and 

8 (4) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘December 

9 31, 2006’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2019’’. 

10 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

11 of the reestablishment of the Professional Certification 

12 and Licensure Advisory Committee of the Department of 

13 Veterans Affairs pursuant to this section, the Committee 

14 shall submit to Congress a report setting forth an assess15 ment of the feasibility and advisability of permitting mem16 bers of the Armed Forces to use educational assistance 

17 to which they are entitled under chapters 30 and 33 of 

18 title 38, United States Code, to obtain or pursue civilian 

19 employment certifications or licenses without the use of 

20 such assistance for that purpose being charged against the 

21 entitlement of such members to such educational assist22 ance. 

Æ 


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