I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4765

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve employment and training

services provided to veterans and disabled veterans by requiring the

use of measurable performance outcomes in an era of electronic-based

self services and one-stop career service centers.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 27, 2000

Mr. QUINN (for himself, Mr. FILNER, Mr. STUMP, and Mr. EVANS) introduced

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

A BILL

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve employment and training services provided to veterans and disabled veterans by requiring the use of measurable performance outcomes in an era of electronic-based self

services and one-stop career service centers.

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS; REF4 ERENCES TO TITLE 38, UNITED STATES CODE.

5 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

6 ‘‘21st Century Veterans Employment and Training Act’’.
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; references to title 38, United States Code.

Sec. 2. Priority of service for veterans in Federal employment and training programs.

Sec. 3. Modernization of veterans employment and training services.

Sec. 4. Committee to raise employer awareness of skills of veterans and benefits

of hiring veterans.

Sec. 5. Sense of Congress commending veterans service organizations.

Sec. 6. Study on economic benefits to the United States of long-term sustained

employment of veterans.

3 (c) REFERENCES TO TITLE 38, UNITED STATES

4 CODE.—Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever

5 in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms

6 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi7 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a

8 section or other provision of title 38, United States Code.

9 SEC. 2. PRIORITY OF SERVICE FOR VETERANS IN FEDERAL

10 EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING PROGRAMS.

11 (a) VETERANS’ EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING AS12 SISTANCE.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 42 is amended by

14 adding at the end the following new section:

15 ‘‘§ 4215. Priority of service for veterans in Federal

16 employment and training programs

17 ‘‘(a) ENTITLEMENT TO PRIORITY OF SERVICE.—A

18 covered person is entitled to priority of service under any

19 qualified employment training program if the person oth20 erwise meets the eligibility requirements for participation

21 in such program.
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1 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAMS AT STATE AND

2 LOCAL LEVELS.—(1) An entity of a State or a political

3 subdivision of the State that administers or delivers serv4 ices under a qualified employment training program

5 shall—

6 ‘‘(A) provide information and effective referral

7 assistance to covered persons regarding benefits and

8 services that may be obtained through other entities

9 or service providers; and

10 ‘‘(B) ensure that each covered person who ap11 plies to or who is assisted by such a program is in12 formed of the employment-related rights and bene13 fits to which the person is entitled under this sec14 tion.

15 ‘‘(2) Each council, board, or advisory body of a State

16 or a political subdivision of the State that is established

17 in support of a qualified employment training program

18 shall include representation from the veterans community,

19 particularly from veterans service organizations.

20 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL REPORT.—By not later than December

21 31, 2001, and each December 31 thereafter, the Secretary

22 of Labor, following review and comment by the Advisory

23 Committee on Veterans Employment and Training, shall

24 submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the

25 House of Representatives and Senate a report. The report
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1 shall evaluate whether covered persons are receiving pri2 ority of service and are being fully served by qualified em3 ployment training programs, and whether the levels of

4 service of such programs are in proportion to the incidence

5 of representation of veterans in the labor market, includ6 ing within groups targeted by such programs, if any.

7 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:

8 ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered person’ means any of

9 the following individuals:

10 ‘‘(A) A veteran who has a service-con11 nected disability.

12 ‘‘(B) A veteran who served on active duty

13 in the Armed Forces during a war or in a cam14 paign or expedition for which a campaign badge

15 has been authorized.

16 ‘‘(C) The spouse of any of the following

17 persons:

18 ‘‘(i) Any person who died of a service19 connected disability.

20 ‘‘(ii) Any member of the Armed

21 Forces serving on active duty who, at the

22 time of application for assistance under

23 this section, is listed, pursuant to section

24 556 of title 37 and regulations issued

25 thereunder, by the Secretary concerned in
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1 one or more of the following categories and

2 has been so listed for a total of more than

3 90 days: (I) missing in action, (II) cap4 tured in line of duty by a hostile force, or

5 (III) forcibly detained or interned in line of

6 duty by a foreign government or power.

7 ‘‘(iii) Any person who has a total dis8 ability permanent in nature resulting from

9 a service-connected disability.

10 ‘‘(iv) A veteran who died while a dis11 ability so evaluated was in existence.

12 ‘‘(2) The term ‘qualified employment training

13 program’ means any work force preparation, devel14 opment, or delivery program or service that receives

15 federal funding, and includes the following:

16 ‘‘(A) Any such program or service that

17 uses technology to assist individuals to access

18 work force development programs (such as job

19 and training opportunities, labor market infor20 mation, career assessment tools, and related

21 support services).

22 ‘‘(B) Any such program or service under

23 the public employment service system, one-stop

24 career centers, the Workforce Investment Act of

25 1998, a demonstration or other temporary pro-
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1 gram, and those programs implemented by

2 States or local service providers based on Fed3 eral block grants.

4 ‘‘(C) Any such program or service that is

5 a work force development program targeted to

6 specific groups.

7 ‘‘(3) The term ‘priority of service’ means, with

8 respect to any qualified employment training pro9 gram, that a covered veteran shall be given priority

10 over nonveterans of the employment and training

11 services provided under that program notwith12 standing any priority list, directive, rule, regulation,

13 or other order from any Department or agency of

14 the United States.’’.

15 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec16 tions at the beginning of chapter 42 is amended by

17 inserting after the item relating to section 4214 the

18 following new item:

‘‘4215. Priority of service for veterans in Federal employment and training programs.’’.

19 (b) EMPLOYMENT OF VETERANS WITH RESPECT TO

20 FEDERAL CONTRACTS.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 4212(a) is amended

22 to read as follows:

23 ‘‘(a)(1) Any contract in the amount of $25,000 or

24 more entered into by any department or agency of the
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1 United States for the procurement of personal property

2 and nonpersonal services (including construction) for the

3 United States, shall contain a provision requiring that the

4 party contracting with the United States take affirmative

5 action to employ and advance in employment qualified cov6 ered veterans. This section applies to any subcontract en7 tered into by a prime contractor in carrying out any such

8 contract.

9 ‘‘(2) In addition to requiring affirmative action to

10 employ such qualified covered veterans under such con11 tracts and subcontracts and in order to promote the imple12 mentation of such requirement, the Secretary of Labor

13 shall prescribe regulations requiring that—

14 ‘‘(A) each such contractor undertake in each

15 such contract to list all of its employment openings

16 immediately with the appropriate employment serv17 ice delivery system (as defined in section 4101(7) of

18 this title), including local employment service offices,

19 one-stop career centers under the Workforce Invest20 ment Act of 1998, other appropriate service delivery

21 points, or America’s Job Bank (or any additional or

22 subsequent national computerized job bank estab23 lished by the Department of Labor), except that the

24 contractor may exclude openings for positions which
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1 are to be filled from within the contractor’s organi2 zation and positions lasting three days or less;

3 ‘‘(B) each such employment service delivery sys4 tem shall give such qualified covered veterans pri5 ority in referral to such employment openings; and

6 ‘‘(C) each such employment service delivery sys7 tem shall provide a list of such employment openings

8 to private entities or organizations under contract

9 with the Secretary under section 4103(e) of this

10 title, and to States, political subdivisions of States,

11 or qualified organizations or entities competing

12 under section 4103(d)(5) of this title to furnish em13 ployment and training services under this chapter.

14 ‘‘(3) As used in this section:

15 ‘‘(A) The term ‘covered veteran’ means any of

16 the following veterans:

17 ‘‘(i) Disabled veterans.

18 ‘‘(ii) Veterans who served on active duty in

19 the Armed Forces during a war or in a cam20 paign or expedition for which a campaign badge

21 has been authorized.

22 ‘‘(iii) Veterans who, while serving on active

23 duty in the Armed Forces, participated in a

24 United States military operation for which an

25 Armed Forces service medal was awarded pur-
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1 suant to Executive Order 12985 (61 Fed. Reg.

2 1209).

3 ‘‘(B) The term ‘qualified’, with respect to an

4 employment position, means having the ability to

5 perform the essential functions of the position with

6 reasonable accommodation.’’.

7 (2) CONFORMING AND TECHNICAL AMEND8 MENTS.—Section 4212 is amended—

9 (A) by striking subsection (b) and redesig10 nating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections

11 (b) and (c), respectively;

12 (B) in subsection (b), as so redesignated—

13 (i) by striking ‘‘filed pursuant to sub14 section (b) of this section’’ and inserting

15 ‘‘relating to this section filed pursuant to

16 section 4216 of this title’’;

17 (ii) by striking ‘‘suitable’’; and

18 (iii) by striking ‘‘subsection (a)(2) of

19 this section’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection

20 (a)(2)(B)’’; and

21 (C)(i) in paragraph (1) of subsection (c),

22 as so redesignated—

23 (I) in the matter preceding subpara24 graph (A), by striking ‘‘subsection (a) of
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1 this section’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection

2 (a)’’; and

3 (II) by amending subparagraphs (A)

4 and (B) to read as follows:

5 ‘‘(A) the number of employees in the work force

6 of such contractor, by job category and hiring loca7 tion, and the number of such employees, by job cat8 egory and hiring location, who are qualified covered

9 veterans;

10 ‘‘(B) the total number of new employees hired

11 by the contractor during the period covered by the

12 report and the number of such employees who are

13 qualified covered veterans; and’’; and

14 (ii) in paragraph (2) of such subsection, by

15 striking ‘‘paragraph (1) of this subsection’’ and

16 inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)’’.

17 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made

18 by this subsection shall apply with respect to con19 tracts entered into on or after the date that is 60

20 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

21 (c) EMPLOYMENT WITHIN THE FEDERAL GOVERN22 MENT.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The second sentence of sec24 tion 4214(a) is amended—
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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘, competent’’ after ‘‘ef2 fective’’; and

3 (B) by striking ‘‘major’’ and inserting

4 ‘‘uniquely qualified’’.

5 (2) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—(A) Section

6 4214(b)(1) is amended by striking ‘‘readjustment’’

7 and inserting ‘‘recruitment’’.

8 (B) Section 4214(g) is amended by striking

9 ‘‘qualified’’ the first place it occurs and all that fol10 lows through ‘‘era’’ and inserting ‘‘qualified covered

11 veterans (as described in section 4212(a) of this

12 title)’’.

13 (d) ENFORCEMENT OF VETERANS’ EMPLOYMENT

14 RIGHTS AND BENEFITS.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 42 as amended by

16 subsection (a)(1), is further amended by adding at

17 the end the following new section:

18 ‘‘§ 4216. Enforcement of veterans’ employment rights

19 and benefits

20 ‘‘(a) ASSISTANCE OF SECRETARY OF LABOR.—The

21 Secretary of Labor (through the Assistant Secretary of

22 Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training) shall pro23 vide assistance to any person or entity with respect to the

24 requirements of sections 4212 (relating to United States
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1 contracts) and 4215 (relating to federally funded work

2 force programs and services) of this title.

3 ‘‘(b) COMPLAINT.—(1) An individual described in

4 section 4212(a) or in section 4215(a) of this title may file

5 a complaint with the Secretary of Labor if the individual

6 believes that—

7 ‘‘(A) the individual is entitled to rights or bene8 fits under section 4212 or 4215; and

9 ‘‘(B) an entity with obligations under either of

10 such sections has failed to comply or refuses to com11 ply with the provisions of such sections.

12 ‘‘(2) Such complaint shall be in writing, be in such

13 form as the Secretary of Labor may prescribe, include the

14 name and address of the party against whom the com15 plaint is filed, and contain a summary of the allegations

16 that form the basis for the complaint.

17 ‘‘(3) A complaint may only be filed under paragraph

18 (1) within 90 days after the date of a failure or refusal

19 described in paragraph (1)(B).

20 ‘‘(c) INVESTIGATION OF COMPLAINT.—(1) The Sec21 retary of Labor shall promptly investigate the complaint

22 filed under subsection (b). If the Secretary of Labor deter23 mines as a result of the investigation that the action al24 leged in such complaint occurred, that Secretary shall at25 tempt to resolve the complaint by making reasonable ef-
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1 forts to ensure that the party named in the complaint

2 complies with the provisions of section 4212 or 4215, as

3 appropriate.

4 ‘‘(2) If, within 90 days after the date on which the

5 complaint is filed, the efforts to resolve the complaint are

6 unsuccessful, the Secretary of Labor shall notify the indi7 vidual who submitted the complaint of—

8 ‘‘(A) the results of the investigation; and

9 ‘‘(B) the individual’s rights.

10 ‘‘(d) ACTION FOR RELIEF.—(1) An individual who

11 receives from the Secretary of Labor a notification under

12 subsection (c) relating to a complaint may request that

13 Secretary to refer the complaint to the Attorney General

14 of the United States. If the Attorney General is reasonably

15 satisfied that the person on whose behalf the complaint

16 is referred is entitled to the rights or benefits sought, the

17 Attorney General may appear on behalf of, and act as at18 torney for, the person on whose behalf the complaint is

19 submitted and commence an action for relief for such per20 son in any United States district court.

21 ‘‘(2) An individual may commence an action for relief

22 with respect to a complaint if that individual—

23 ‘‘(A) has chosen not to file a complaint under

24 subsection (b);
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1 ‘‘(B) has chosen not to request that the Sec2 retary of Labor refer the complaint to the Attorney

3 General under paragraph (1); or

4 ‘‘(C) has been refused representation by the At5 torney General with respect to the complaint under

6 such paragraph.

7 ‘‘(e) REMEDIES.—(1) In any action under this sec8 tion, the court may award relief as follows:

9 ‘‘(A) The court may require the entity to com10 ply with the provisions of section 4212 or 4215 of

11 this title, as appropriate.

12 ‘‘(B) The court may require the entity to com13 pensate the individual for any loss of wages or bene14 fits suffered by reason of such entity’s failure to

15 comply with the such provisions.

16 ‘‘(C) The court may require the entity to pay

17 the individual an amount equal to the amount re18 ferred to in clause (ii) as liquidated damages, if the

19 court determines that the entity’s failure to comply

20 with the provisions of such section was willful.

21 ‘‘(2) Any compensation under subparagraph (B) or

22 (C) of paragraph (1) shall be in addition to, and shall not

23 diminish, any of the other rights and benefits provided for

24 in such section.
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1 ‘‘(3) The United States and a State shall be subject

2 to the same remedies, including prejudgment interest, as

3 may be imposed upon any private entity under this sec4 tion.

5 ‘‘(f) FEES.—In any action or proceeding to enforce

6 a provision of section 4212 or 4215 of this title by an

7 individual under subsection (d)(2) who obtained private

8 counsel for such action or proceeding, the court may

9 award any such individual who prevails in such action or

10 proceeding reasonable attorney fees, expert witness fees,

11 and other litigation expenses.

12 ‘‘(g) EQUITY POWERS.—The court may use its full

13 equity powers, including temporary or permanent injunc14 tions, temporary restraining orders, and contempt orders,

15 to vindicate fully the rights or benefits of individuals pur16 suant to this section.

17 ‘‘(h) STANDING.—An action under this section may

18 be initiated only by an individual claiming rights or bene19 fits under section 4212 or 4215 of this title, not by any

20 other entity with obligations under such section.

21 ‘‘(i) RESPONDENT.—In any such action, only an enti22 ty with obligations under section 4212 or 4215, as the

23 case may be, shall be a necessary party respondent.
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1 ‘‘(j) INAPPLICABILITY OF STATE STATUTE OF LIMI2 TATIONS.—No State statute of limitations shall apply to

3 any proceeding pursuant to this section.’’.

4 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec5 tions at the beginning of chapter 42, as amended by

6 subsection (a)(2), is further amended by inserting

7 after the item relating to section 4215 the following

8 new item:

‘‘4216. Enforcement of veterans’ employment rights and benefits.’’.

9 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made

10 by this subsection shall apply with respect to com11 plaints filed on or after the date that is 60 days

12 after the date of the enactment of this Act.

13 (e) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—The Secretary of

14 Labor is authorized to allocate an additional 10 full-time

15 equivalent positions from the Employment and Training

16 Administration to the Veterans’ Employment and Train17 ing Service to carry out chapter 42 of title 38, United

18 States Code, as amended by this Act.

19 SEC. 3. MODERNIZATION OF VETERANS EMPLOYMENT AND

20 TRAINING SERVICES.

21 (a) DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM TO MODERNIZE EM22 PLOYMENT, TRAINING, AND PLACEMENT SERVICES.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 41 is amended by

24 adding at the end the following new section:
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1 ‘‘§ 4112. Demonstration program to modernize vet2 erans employment, training, and place3 ment services

4 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF 5-YEAR DEMONSTRATION

5 PROGRAM.—(1) During the five-fiscal-year period begin6 ning fiscal year 2002, the Secretary shall carry out the

7 provisions of this chapter under the demonstration pro8 gram established under this section to improve and mod9 ernize employment, training, and placement services under

10 this chapter. The Secretary shall carry out the demonstra11 tion project through the Assistant Secretary of Labor for

12 Veterans’ Employment and Training.

13 ‘‘(2) Sums authorized to be appropriated to carry out

14 this chapter under section 4106 of this title shall, for such

15 five-fiscal-year period, be made available only to carry out

16 the demonstration program under this section. In no case

17 may the aggregate amount of funds made available to the

18 Secretary under subsections (a) though (d) of section

19 4106 of this title for fiscal year 2001 and each succeeding

20 fiscal year be less than the sum of—

21 ‘‘(A) such aggregate amount made available to

22 the Secretary for fiscal year 2000, and

23 ‘‘(B) amounts that, by reason of law or regula24 tion, are attributable to the increases in salaries of

25 individuals providing employment and training serv-
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1 ices under such chapters from fiscal year 2000 up

2 to the fiscal year involved.

3 ‘‘(3)(A) The Secretary shall establish a panel within

4 the Advisory Committee on Veterans Employment and

5 Training under section 4110 of this title comprised of

6 State public employment service officials, including dis7 abled veterans’ outreach program specialists and local vet8 erans’ employment representatives. Such officials shall ad9 vise the Secretary on the development and implementation

10 of the demonstration program under this section with re11 spect to matters arising under the program at local deliv12 ery points in the employment service delivery system.

13 ‘‘(B) Representation on the panel of State public em14 ployment service officials shall consist of 7 members ap15 pointed from among disabled veterans’ outreach program

16 specialists, local veterans’ employment representatives,

17 State employment service agencies, and other officials that

18 the Secretary determines to be appropriate.

19 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PERFORMANCE STAND20 ARDS AND OUTCOMES MEASURES.—(1) By not later than

21 September 30, 2001, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for

22 Veterans’ Employment and Training shall establish and

23 implement a comprehensive performance accountability

24 system to measure the performance of veterans employ25 ment and training staff (as defined in paragraph (3)) to
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1 provide accountability of such staff to the Secretary for

2 purposes of subsection (c), and to determine compliance

3 by State public employment service agencies with the pro4 visions of this chapter and chapter 42 of this title.

5 ‘‘(2) Such standards and measures shall—

6 ‘‘(A) be consistent with State performance

7 measures applicable under section 136(b) of the

8 Workforce Investment Act of 1998;

9 ‘‘(B) include the core indicators of performance

10 described in subclauses (I) through (III) of section

11 136(b)(2)(A)(i) of that Act; and

12 ‘‘(C) be appropriately weighted to provide spe13 cial consideration for placement of (i) veterans with

14 barriers to employment, such as special disabled vet15 erans, and disabled veterans, and (ii) veterans who

16 enroll in readjustment counseling under section

17 1712A of this title.

18 ‘‘(3) In this section, the term ‘veterans employment

19 and training staff’ means an individual providing services

20 required under this chapter who is an employee of a State,

21 a political subdivision of a State, in a region, of the Vet22 erans’ Employment and Training Service, or an individual

23 under a contract to provide those services.
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1 ‘‘(c) GRANT PROGRAMS.—Under the demonstration

2 program, the Secretary shall make grants to States as fol3 lows:

4 ‘‘(1)(A) From the applicable percentage (de5 scribed in subparagraph (C)) of the aggregate

6 amount of sums appropriated under subsection

7 (a)(2) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall make

8 grants to States to provide veterans employment,

9 training, and placement programs and services

10 through employment service delivery systems in the

11 State. Such grants shall include sums for the rea12 sonable expenses of individuals providing such serv13 ices for training, travel, supplies, and costs of at14 tendance at the National Veterans’ Employment and

15 Training Services Institute established under section

16 4109 of this title. A grant under this paragraph is

17 hereinafter in this section referred to as a ‘base

18 grant’.

19 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall determine the amount

20 of the base grant to a State based on (i) the funding

21 requirements for veterans employment, training, and

22 placement services demonstrated by the State on the

23 application submitted under subsection (d), and (ii)

24 the amount of funds made available to the State
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1 under section 4102A(b) to the State in years pre2 ceding the demonstration program.

3 ‘‘(C) The applicable percentage referred to in

4 subparagraph (A) is—

5 ‘‘(i) for fiscal year 2002, 95 percent,

6 ‘‘(ii) for fiscal year 2003, 92.5 percent,

7 and

8 ‘‘(iii) for each of fiscal years 2004 through

9 2006, 90 percent.

10 ‘‘(2)(A) For each fiscal year under the dem11 onstration program, from amounts remaining in the

12 aggregate amount of sums appropriated under sub13 section (a)(2) after the application of paragraph (1),

14 the Secretary shall make grants to a State, political

15 subdivisions of the State, or qualified organizations

16 or entities to enter into contracts with the Secretary

17 to carry out employment, training, and placement

18 services. A grant under this paragraph is hereinafter

19 in this section referred to as an ‘incentive grant’.

20 ‘‘(B)(i) The amount of a incentive grant made

21 under subparagraph (A) shall be determined by the

22 Secretary based on the measures of performance

23 under subsection (b) of employment, training, and

24 placement services furnished in each State. An in25 centive grant may only be made to a State that the
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1 Secretary determines has met a minimum standard

2 of performance (established by the Secretary) under

3 such measures.

4 ‘‘(ii) Subject to clause (iii), in determining the

5 amount of an incentive grant to a State, the Sec6 retary shall (I) provide greater sums to those States

7 which the Secretary determines furnished, during

8 the preceding fiscal year, the highest quality employ9 ment, training, and placement services based on

10 measures of performance, and (II) consider factors

11 such as prevailing economic and unemployment con12 ditions that affect performance of individuals pro13 viding employment, training, and placement services

14 in the State.

15 ‘‘(iii) In no case may the amount of an incen16 tive grant under this paragraph be less than the dif17 ference between the amount of a State’s base grant

18 as calculated in accordance with paragraph (1)(C)

19 and the amount of the State’s base grant as would

20 be calculated without regard to that paragraph.

21 ‘‘(C) In addition to amounts authorized to be

22 appropriated to carry out this chapter, there are au23 thorized to be appropriated annually to the Sec24 retary $10,000,000 to make incentive grants under

25 this paragraph.
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1 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—(1) A State shall prepare and

2 submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in

3 such manner, and containing such assurances and infor4 mation as the Secretary may require, including in the ap5 plication for fiscal year 2002 a proposal for a 5-year plan

6 that describes the manner in which the State shall furnish

7 employment, training, and placement services under the

8 demonstration program.

9 ‘‘(2)(A) Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), a

10 State may include in its application under paragraph (1)

11 for a base grant for a fiscal year a proposal to establish

12 within the State a pilot program under which the State

13 may enter into a contract with organizations or entities

14 to carry out employment, training, and placement services

15 within a designated labor market area of the State in that

16 fiscal year.

17 ‘‘(B) A proposal under subparagraph (A) shall in18 clude a description of the organization or entity, the num19 ber (if any) of qualified disabled veterans and qualified

20 veterans employed by the organization or entity, and pro21 posals (if any) to employ such veterans to provide employ22 ment, training, and placement services under the contract.

23 ‘‘(C)(i) A State may not submit more than three pro24 posals described in subparagraph (A).
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1 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary may not approve proposals sub2 mitted by more than 10 States.

3 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall approve an application sub4 mitted under this subsection that contains the assurances

5 and information that the Secretary requires.

6 ‘‘(e) TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF GRANTS.—(1) The

7 distribution and use of funds under a grant under sub8 section (c)—

9 ‘‘(A) shall be subject to such terms and condi10 tions as the Secretary may establish,

11 ‘‘(B) shall be subject to the continuing super12 vision and monitoring of the Secretary, and

13 ‘‘(C) shall not be governed by the provisions of

14 the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, the Wagner15 Peyser Act, or any other law, or any regulations pre16 scribed thereunder, that are inconsistent with this

17 section.

18 ‘‘(2) Not more than 20 percent of the funds received

19 by a State under a base grant in a fiscal year may be

20 used for administrative purposes in providing the employ21 ment, training, and placement services required under this

22 section.

23 ‘‘(3) Each base grant shall contain a provision requir24 ing the recipient of the funds to comply with the provisions

25 of this section.’’.
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1 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec2 tions at the beginning of chapter 42 is amended by

3 inserting after the item relating to section 4214 the

4 following new item:

‘‘4112. Demonstration program to modernize veterans employment, training,

and placement services.’’.

5 (b) FLEXIBILITY IN STAFFING.—

6 (1) REPEAL.—Effective October 1, 2001, sec7 tions 4102A, 4103, 4103A, 4104, and 4104A are re8 pealed.

9 (2) PROVISION OF FLEXIBILITY.—Chapter 41

10 is amended by inserting after section 4102 the fol11 lowing new section:

12 ‘‘§ 4103. Employment, training, and placement service

13 personnel

14 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF POSITION OF ASSISTANT

15 SECRETARY OF LABOR FOR VETERANS’ EMPLOYMENT

16 AND TRAINING.—(1) There is established within the De17 partment of Labor an Assistant Secretary of Labor for

18 Veterans’ Employment and Training, appointed by the

19 President by and with the advice and consent of the Sen20 ate, who shall formulate and implement all departmental

21 policies and procedures to carry out (A) the purposes of

22 this chapter, chapter 42, and chapter 43 of this title, and

23 (B) all other Department of Labor employment, unem24 ployment, and training programs to the extent they affect
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1 veterans. The employees of the Department of Labor ad2 ministering chapter 43 of this title shall be administra3 tively and functionally responsible to the Assistant Sec4 retary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training.

5 ‘‘(2)(A) There shall be within the Department of

6 Labor a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Vet7 erans’ Employment and Training. The Deputy Assistant

8 Secretary shall perform such functions as the Assistant

9 Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Train10 ing prescribes. The Deputy Assistant Secretary shall be

11 a veteran.

12 ‘‘(B) No individual may be appointed as a Deputy

13 Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment

14 and Training unless the individual has at least five years

15 of continuous service in the Federal civil service in the

16 executive branch immediately preceding appointment as

17 the Deputy Assistant Secretary. For purposes of deter18 mining such continuous service of an individual, there

19 shall be excluded any service by the individual in a

20 position—

21 ‘‘(i) of a confidential, policy-determining, policy22 making, or policy-advocating character;

23 ‘‘(ii) in which the individual served as a non24 career appointee in the Senior Executive Service, as
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1 such term is defined in section 3132(a)(7) of title 5;

2 or

3 ‘‘(iii) to which the individual was appointed by

4 the President.

5 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL FEDERAL PERSONNEL.—(1) The

6 Secretary shall assign to each State a representative of

7 the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service to serve

8 as the Director for Veterans’ Employment and Training,

9 and shall assign full-time Federal clerical or other support

10 personnel to each such Director. Full-time Federal clerical

11 or other support personnel assigned to Directors for Vet12 erans’ Employment and Training shall be appointed in ac13 cordance with the provisions of title 5 governing appoint14 ments in the competitive service and shall be paid in ac15 cordance with the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter

16 III of chapter 53 of title 5.

17 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may also assign as supervisory

18 personnel such representatives of the Veterans’ Employ19 ment and Training Service as the Secretary determines

20 appropriate to carry out the employment, training, and

21 placement services required under this chapter, including

22 Assistant Directors for Veterans’ Employment and Train23 ing.

24 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall assign to each region for

25 which the Secretary operates a regional office a represent-
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1 ative of the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service

2 to serve as the Regional Administrator for Veterans’ Em3 ployment and Training in such region. A person may not

4 be assigned after October 9, 1996, as such a Regional Ad5 ministrator unless the person is a veteran.

6 ‘‘(c) PREFERENCE FOR QUALIFIED VETERANS IN

7 SUPERVISORY POSITIONS.—The Secretary shall, to the ex8 tent practicable, appoint qualified veterans as supervisory

9 personnel.

10 ‘‘(d) AUTHORITY TO EMPLOY CERTAIN STATE EM11 PLOYMENT SERVICE OFFICIALS.—A State may employ

12 such disabled veterans’ outreach program specialists and

13 local veterans’ employment representatives as the State

14 determines appropriate and efficient to carry out employ15 ment, training, and placement services under this chapter.

16 ‘‘(e) REQUIREMENT ON THE SECRETARY TO

17 PROMPTLY ESTABLISH ONE-STOP EMPLOYMENT SERV18 ICES.—By not later than 18 months after the date of the

19 enactment of 21st Century Veterans Employment and

20 Training Act, the Secretary shall provide one-stop services

21 and assistance to eligible veterans and eligible persons

22 under this chapter electronically by means of the Internet,

23 as defined in section 231(e)(3) of the Communications Act

24 of 1934, and such other electronic means as facilitates the

25 delivery of such services and assistance.’’.
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1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(A) The last

2 sentence of section 4106(a) is amended to read as

3 follows: ‘‘Each budget submission with respect to

4 such funds shall include a separate listing of the

5 amount for the National Veterans’ Employment and

6 Training Services Institute together with informa7 tion demonstrating the compliance of such budget

8 submission with the funding requirements specified

9 in the preceding sentence.’’.

10 (B) Section 4107(c)(2) is amended by striking

11 ‘‘under sections 4103A and 4104 of this title;’’ and

12 inserting ‘‘under section 4103 of this title;’’.

13 (C) Section 4107(c)(5) is amended by striking

14 ‘‘(including the need’’ and all that follows through

15 ‘‘representatives)’’.

16 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of sec17 tions at the beginning of chapter 41 is amended—

18 (A) by striking the items relating to sec19 tions 4102A, 4103, 4103A, 4104, and 4104A,

20 respectively, and

21 (B) by inserting after the item relating to

22 section 4102 the following new item:

‘‘4103. Employment, training, and placement services personnel.’’.

23 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made

24 by this subsection take effect on December 1, 2000,
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1 and shall apply to appointments made on or after

2 that date.

3 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The repeals made by

4 subsection (b) shall not be construed to—

5 (1) require the Secretary of Labor or a State

6 to terminate personnel employed under those sec7 tions in effect on the date of the enactment of this

8 Act,

9 (2) terminate job training intensive services and

10 placement services furnished to veterans under chap11 ter 41 of title 38, United States Code, and

12 (3) affect the aggregate amount of Federal

13 funds made available to carry out that chapter.

14 (d) REPORT.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec17 retary of Labor shall submit to Congress a report

18 containing the Secretary’s recommendations with re19 spect to the matters described in paragraph (2) in

20 order to provide the best possible employment and

21 training services to meet the needs of veterans in the

22 21st century, taking into consideration methods and

23 delivery systems for job training intensive services

24 and placement services in effect by reason of the

25 Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and availability
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1 of employment and training services through the

2 Internet and other electronic means that facilitate

3 the delivery of such services and assistance. The

4 Secretary shall consult with State agencies as the

5 Secretary determines appropriate in the preparation

6 of the report.

7 (2) MATTERS DESCRIBED.—Recommendations

8 of the Secretary with respect to the matters referred

9 to in paragraph (1) include the following:

10 (A) Recommendations for revised duties of

11 Directors and Assistant Directors for Veterans’

12 Employment and Training established under

13 section 4103 of title 38, United States Code.

14 (B) Recommendations for revised titles

15 and duties of—

16 (i) disabled veterans’ outreach pro17 gram specialists established under section

18 4103A of such title, as in effect on the

19 date of the enactment of this Act, and

20 (ii) local veterans’ employment rep21 resentatives established under section 4104

22 of such title, as in effect on such date.

23 (e) INCLUSION OF INTENSIVE SERVICES.—

24 (1) DEFINITION.—Section 4101 is amended by

25 adding at the end the following new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(9) The term ‘intensive services’ means local

2 employment and training services of the type de3 scribed in section 134(d)(3) of the Workforce Invest4 ment Act of 1998.’’.

5 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(A) Section

6 4102 is amended by striking ‘‘job and job training

7 counseling service program,’’ and inserting ‘‘job and

8 job training intensive services program,’’.

9 (B) Section 4106(a) is amended by striking

10 ‘‘proper counseling’’ and inserting ‘‘proper intensive

11 services’’.

12 (C) Section 4107(a) is amended by striking

13 ‘‘employment counseling services’’ and inserting ‘‘in14 tensive services’’.

15 (D) Section 4107(c)(1) is amended by striking

16 ‘‘the number counseled’’ and inserting ‘‘the number

17 who received intensive services’’.

18 (E) Section 4109(a) is amended by striking

19 ‘‘counseling,’’ each place it appears and inserting

20 ‘‘intensive services’’.

21 (g) ADDITIONAL VETS DUTY TO IMPLEMENT TRAN22 SITIONS TO CIVILIAN CAREERS.—Section 4102 is amend23 ed by striking the period in the last sentence and inserting

24 ‘‘including programs carried out by the Veterans’ Employ25 ment and Training Service to implement all efforts to ease
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1 the transition of servicemembers to civilian careers that

2 are consistent with, or an outgrowth of, the military expe3 rience of the servicemembers.’’.

4 (h) MODERNIZATION OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICE DE5 LIVERY POINTS TO INCLUDE TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVA6 TIONS.—Section 4101(7) is amended to read as follows:

7 ‘‘(7) The term ‘employment service delivery sys8 tem’ means a service delivery system at which or

9 through which labor exchange services, including em10 ployment services, are offered in a manner con11 sistent with the provision of such labor exchange

12 services under the Workforce Investment Act of

13 1998.’’.

14 (i) INCREASE IN ACCURACY OF REPORTING SERV15 ICES FURNISHED TO VETERANS.—(1) Section 4107(c)(1)

16 is amended by striking ‘‘and eligible persons who reg17 istered for assistance with’’ and inserting ‘‘, eligible per18 sons, and servicemembers transitioning to civilian careers

19 who registered for assistance with, or who are identified

20 as veterans by,’’.

21 (2) Section 4107(c)(2) is amended—

22 (A) by striking ‘‘the job placement rate’’ the

23 first place it appears and inserting ‘‘core indicators

24 of performance (described in subsection (b)(1)’’; and
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1 (B) by striking ‘‘the job placement rate’’ the

2 second place it appears and inserting ‘‘such core in3 dicators of performance’’.

4 (3) Section 4107(c)(4) is amended by striking ‘‘sec5 tions 4103A and 4104’’ and inserting ‘‘section 4212(d)’’.

6 (4) Section 4107(c) is amended—

7 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

8 (4);

9 (B) by striking the period at the end of para10 graph (5) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

11 (C) by adding at the end the following new

12 paragraph:

13 ‘‘(6) a report on the operation during the pre14 ceding program year of the financial incentives pro15 gram for outstanding employment services under

16 section 4112(c)(3) of this title, including an analysis

17 of aggregate amount of incentives distributed to

18 each State and the rationale for such distribution.’’.

19 (5) Section 4107(b) is amended to read as follows:

20 ‘‘(b) Not later than December 1 of each year, the Sec21 retary shall report to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs

22 of the Senate and the House of Representatives on the

23 performance of States and organizations and entities car24 rying out employment, training, and placement services

25 under this chapter, as measured under subsection (b) of
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1 section 4112 of this title. In the case of a State that the

2 Secretary determines has not met the minimum standard

3 of performance (established by the Secretary) to qualify

4 for an incentive grant under subsection (c)(2) of such sec5 tion, the Secretary shall include a complete analysis of the

6 extent and reasons for the State’s failure to meet that

7 minimum standard, together with the State’s plan for cor8 rective action during the succeeding year.’’.

9 SEC. 4. COMMITTEE TO RAISE EMPLOYER AWARENESS OF

10 SKILLS OF VETERANS AND BENEFITS OF HIR11 ING VETERANS.

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTEE.—There is es13 tablished within the Department of Labor a committee to

14 be known as the President’s National Hire Veterans Com15 mittee (hereinafter in this section referred to as the ‘‘Com16 mittee’’).

17 (b) DUTIES.—The Committee shall establish and

18 carry out a national program to do the following:

19 (1) To furnish information to employers with

20 respect to the training and skills of veterans and dis21 abled veterans, and the advantages afforded employ22 ers by hiring of veterans with such training and

23 skills.

24 (2) To facilitate employment of veterans and

25 disabled veterans through participation in America’s
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1 Career Kit national labor exchange, and other

2 means.

3 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—(1) The Secretary of Labor shall

4 appoint 12 individuals to serve as members of the Com5 mittee, of whom 9 shall be appointed from among rep6 resentatives nominated by organizations described in sub7 paragraph (A) and of whom 3 shall be appointed from

8 among representatives nominated by organizations de9 scribed in subparagraph (B).

10 (A) Organizations described in this subpara11 graph are the following:

12 (i) The Ad Council.

13 (ii) The National Committee for Employer

14 Support of the Guard and Reserve.

15 (iii) Veterans’ service organizations that

16 have a national employment program.

17 (iv) State employment security agencies.

18 (v) State departments of veterans affairs.

19 (vi) Military service organizations.

20 (B) Organizations described in this subpara21 graph are such business, small business, civic

22 groups,S and labor unions as the Secretary of Labor

23 determines appropriate.

24 (2) The following shall be ex officio, nonvoting mem25 bers of the Committee:
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1 (A) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

2 (B) The Secretary of Defense.

3 (C) The Assistant Secretary of Labor for Vet4 erans Employment and Training.

5 (D) The Administrator of the Small Business

6 Administration.

7 (3) A vacancy in the Committee shall be filled in the

8 manner in which the original appointment was made.

9 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.—(1) The Committee

10 shall meet at least quarterly.

11 (2) The Secretary of Labor shall appoint the chair12 man of the Committee.

13 (3)(A) Members of the Committee shall serve without

14 compensation.

15 (B) Members of the Committee shall be allowed rea16 sonable and necessary travel expenses, including per diem

17 in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for persons serv18 ing intermittently in the Government service in accordance

19 with the provisions of subchapter I of chapter 57 of title

20 5 while away from their homes or regular places of busi21 ness in the performance of the responsibilities of the Com22 mittee.

23 (4) The Secretary of Labor shall provide staff and

24 administrative support to the Committee to assist it in

25 carrying out its duties under this section. The Secretary
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1 shall assure positions on the staff of the Committee are

2 filled by the following individuals:

3 (A) Staff of the Assistant Secretary of Labor

4 for Veterans’ Employment and Training under sec5 tion 4102A of title 38, United States Code.

6 (B) Directors for Veterans’ Employment and

7 Training under section 4103 of such title as in effect

8 on the date of the enactment of this Act.

9 (C) Assistant Director for Veterans’ Employ10 ment and Training under such section as in effect

11 on such date.

12 (D) Disabled veterans’ outreach program spe13 cialists under section 4103A of such title as in effect

14 on such date.

15 (E) Local veterans’ employment representatives

16 under section 4104 of such title as in effect on such

17 date.

18 (5) Upon request of the Committee, the head of any

19 Federal department or agency may detail, on a non20 reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of that depart21 ment or agency to the Committee to assist it in carrying

22 out its duties.

23 (6) The Committee may contract with and com24 pensate government and private agencies or persons to

25 carry out the information campaign under subsection
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1 (b)(1) without regard to section 3709 of the Revised Stat2 utes (41 U.S.C. 5).

3 (e) REPORT.—Not later than December 31, 2001

4 through 2003, the Secretary of Labor shall submit to Con5 gress a report on the activities of the Committee under

6 this section during the previous fiscal year, and shall in7 clude in such report data with respect to placement and

8 retention of veterans in jobs attributable to the activities

9 of the Committee.

10 (f) TERMINATION.—The Committee shall terminate

11 60 days after submitting the report that is due on Decem12 ber 31, 2003.

13 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

14 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of

15 Labor from the Employment Security Administration ac16 count in the Unemployment Trust Fund $3,000,000 for

17 each of fiscal years 2001 through 2003 to carry out this

18 section.

19 SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS COMMENDING VETERANS

20 SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS.

21 It is the sense of Congress that—

22 (1) veterans service organizations are to be

23 commended for the continued assistance the organi24 zations provide veterans; and
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1 (2) veterans service organizations should pro2 vide job placement assistance to veterans who are

3 job-ready by making personal computers available

4 with access to electronic job placement services and

5 programs available at local posts and through other

6 means.

7 SEC. 6. STUDY ON ECONOMIC BENEFITS TO THE UNITED

8 STATES OF LONG-TERM SUSTAINED EMPLOY9 MENT OF VETERANS.

10 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Labor shall enter into

11 a contract with an appropriate organization or entity to

12 conduct a study to quantify the economic benefit to the

13 United States attributable to the provision of employment

14 and training services under chapter 41 of title 38, United

15 States Code, in assisting veterans attain long-term, sus16 tained employment. Such study shall include analyses on

17 the impact of such employment on Federal, State, and

18 local tax generated by reason of such employment, the

19 contributions of such employment on the domestic gross

20 national product, and such other indictors of the impact

21 of such employment on the economy of the United States.

22 (b) REPORT.—A condition of the contract under sub23 section (a) shall be that the organization submit to the

24 Secretary of Labor a report on the study conducted by
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1 the organization not later than 18 months after the date

2 on which that Secretary enters into such contract.

3 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

4 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of

5 Labor $1,000,000 to carry out the provisions of this sec6 tion, such sums to remain available until expended.

Æ