I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 996 

To direct the Secretary of Labor to establish a competitive grant program 

for community colleges to train veterans for local jobs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 9, 2017 

Mr. KIHUEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Labor to establish a competitive 

grant program for community colleges to train veterans 

for local jobs. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Service, Training, 

5 Education, and Preparation for Veterans Act’’ or the 

6 ‘‘STEP for Veterans Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM TO TRAIN VETERANS FOR LOCAL 

8 JOBS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

10 with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall establish a 


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1 program to award competitive grants to eligible commu2 nity colleges (as described in subsection (b)) to train cov3 ered veterans for jobs in the local community. 

4 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—In order to be eligible to receive 

5 a grant under this section, a community college shall sub6 mit an application to the Secretary that demonstrates, to 

7 the satisfaction of the Secretary, that the local community 

8 in which the community college is located has— 

9 (1) employment opportunities that require 

10 trained workers; and 

11 (2) a significant population of covered veterans 

12 that might pursue the employment opportunities de13 scribed in paragraph (1) if given access to necessary 

14 training. 

15 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—A community college receiving 

16 a grant under this section shall use amounts under the 

17 grant to— 

18 (1) conduct an analysis of— 

19 (A) the demand for additional trained em20 ployees among local employers, including local 

21 manufacturers; and 

22 (B) the skills and training possessed by 

23 covered veterans seeking employment with local 

24 employers, including local manufacturers; 


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1 (2) carry out an existing, or develop and imple2 ment a new, certificate or degree program at the 

3 community college that provides training to covered 

4 veterans that addresses the demand for additional 

5 trained employees among local employers, including 

6 local manufacturers; and 

7 (3) facilitate the establishment of an advisory 

8 board that consists of representatives from the local 

9 business community and the employee from the De10 partment of Veterans Affairs detailed under section 

11 4— 

12 (A) to provide assistance regarding the 

13 training described in paragraph (2); and 

14 (B) to assist covered veterans who have 

15 successfully completed the training described in 

16 paragraph (2) in their pursuit of local employ17 ment opportunities. 

18 SEC. 3. DETAIL OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 

19 EMPLOYEE. 

20 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall detail an em21 ployee of the Department of Veterans Affairs to partici22 pate on the supervisory board established in section 

23 2(c)(3). 


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1 SEC. 4. GRANT AMOUNT. 

2 To the maximum extent practicable, the amount of 

3 a grant under section 2 shall not exceed $2,000,000. 

4 SEC. 5. REPORT. 

5 Not later than one year after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a re7 port— 

8 (1) evaluating the success of the program estab9 lished under section 2; and 

10 (2) making recommendations as to whether the 

11 program should be continued, and if so, whether the 

12 program should be expanded. 

13 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘‘commu16 nity college’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘junior 

17 or community college’’ in section 312(f) of the High18 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058(f)). 

19 (2) COVERED VETERAN.—The term ‘‘covered 

20 veteran’’ means a veteran receiving educational as21 sistance under chapter 33 of title 38, United States 

22 Code. 

23 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

24 the Secretary of Labor. 


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1 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro3 priated to the Secretary $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2018 

4 to carry out this Act. 

5 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pursuant 

6 to the authorization of appropriations under subsection (a) 

7 are authorized to remain available until expended. 

Æ 


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