II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1218 

To promote Federal employment for veterans, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 24, 2017 

Ms. HEITKAMP (for herself, Mr. SULLIVAN, and Ms. HARRIS) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To promote Federal employment for veterans, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Empowering Federal 

5 Employment for Veterans Act of 2017’’ or the ‘‘Empow6 ering FED Vets Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF VETERANS EMPLOYMENT PRO8 GRAMS IN FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

10 (1) the term ‘‘covered agency’’ means— 


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1 (A) the Department of State; 

2 (B) the Department of the Treasury; 

3 (C) the Department of Defense; 

4 (D) the Department of Justice; 

5 (E) the Department of the Interior; 

6 (F) the Department of Agriculture; 

7 (G) the Department of Commerce; 

8 (H) the Department of Labor; 

9 (I) the Department of Health and Human 

10 Services; 

11 (J) the Department of Housing and Urban 

12 Development; 

13 (K) the Department of Transportation; 

14 (L) the Department of Energy; 

15 (M) the Department of Education; 

16 (N) the Department of Veterans Affairs; 

17 (O) the Department of Homeland Security; 

18 (P) the Environmental Protection Agency; 

19 (Q) the National Aeronautics and Space 

20 Administration; 

21 (R) the Agency for International Develop22 ment; 

23 (S) the General Services Administration; 

24 (T) the National Science Foundation; 

25 (U) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; 


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1 (V) the Office of Personnel Management; 

2 (W) the Small Business Administration; 

3 (X) the Social Security Administration; 

4 and 

5 (Y) any other Executive agency (as defined 

6 in section 105 of title 5, United States Code) 

7 that the President may designate; 

8 (2) the term ‘‘transitioning member of the 

9 Armed Forces’’ means a member of the Armed 

10 Forces who is expected to be discharged or released 

11 from active duty in the Armed Forces within 180 

12 days; and 

13 (3) the term ‘‘veterans employment official’’ 

14 means— 

15 (A) the head of a Veterans Employment 

16 Program Office established under subsection 

17 (b)(1)(A); and 

18 (B) an employee designated to carry out a 

19 Veterans Employment Program for a covered 

20 agency under subsection (b)(1)(B). 

21 (b) VETERANS EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS.—The head 

22 of a covered agency shall— 

23 (1)(A) establish or maintain a Veterans Em24 ployment Program Office within the covered agency; 

25 or 


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1 (B) designate an employee of the covered agen2 cy who shall have full-time responsibility for carrying 

3 out a Veterans Employment Program for the cov4 ered agency; and 

5 (2) ensure the public availability of contact in6 formation for veterans employment officials to en7 sure engagement with prospective applicants. 

8 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—A veterans employment offi9 cial of a covered agency shall— 

10 (1) enhance employment opportunities for vet11 erans within the agency, consistent with law and 

12 merit system principles, including by developing and 

13 implementing— 

14 (A) the agency’s plan for promoting em15 ployment opportunities for veterans; 

16 (B) veterans recruitment programs; and 

17 (C) training programs for veterans with 

18 disabilities; 

19 (2) coordinate and provide employment coun20 seling and training programs to prospective appli21 cants to help match the skills and career aspirations 

22 of veterans to the needs of the agency, targeting 

23 high-demand Federal occupations that are projected 

24 to have heavy recruitment needs; 


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1 (3) participate in skills-based, cross-govern2 mental, and individual agency career development 

3 programs to leverage those programs in matching 

4 veterans’ career aspirations with high-growth occu5 pations; and 

6 (4) provide mandatory annual training to 

7 human resources employees and hiring managers of 

8 the agency concerning veterans’ employment, includ9 ing training on veterans’ preferences and special au10 thorities for the hiring of veterans. 

11 (d) COORDINATION BY OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MAN12 AGEMENT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 

14 Personnel Management shall facilitate coordination 

15 among veterans employment officials, including ap16 propriate sharing of resources and information to 

17 help match the skills and career aspirations of vet18 erans to the needs of the agencies. 

19 (2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Director of the 

20 Office of Personnel Management shall— 

21 (A) establish a Veterans Program Office to 

22 provide Government-wide leadership in recruit23 ment and employment of veterans in the execu24 tive branch of the Federal Government; 


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1 (B) regularly convene veterans employment 

2 officials for working-level meetings to share in3 formation on best practices, prospective appli4 cants, and strategies for matching veterans with 

5 appropriate employment; 

6 (C) develop mandatory annual training for 

7 human resources employees and hiring man8 agers of covered agencies concerning veterans’ 

9 employment, including training on veterans’ 

10 preferences and special authorities for the hir11 ing of veterans; 

12 (D) develop a skills-based, cross-govern13 mental career development program for covered 

14 agencies to leverage in matching veterans’ ca15 reer aspirations with high-growth occupations; 

16 (E) promote the Federal Government as 

17 an employer of choice to transitioning members 

18 of the Armed Forces and veterans; 

19 (F) market the talent, experience, and 

20 dedication of transitioning members of the 

21 Armed Forces and veterans to Federal agen22 cies; and 

23 (G) disseminate Federal employment infor24 mation to veterans and hiring officials. 


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1 (3) ACCOUNTABILITY.—Not later than 1 year 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 

3 of the Office of Personnel Management shall submit 

4 to Congress a report on— 

5 (A) progress made toward the sharing of 

6 resources among veterans employment officials; 

7 (B) progress made toward the sharing of 

8 information among veterans employment offi9 cials, including steps to promote face-to-face 

10 interaction and the use of Federal information 

11 gateways; 

12 (C) the development and implementation of 

13 training programs for human resources employ14 ees and hiring managers of Federal agencies; 

15 (D) career development programs for vet16 erans seeking employment; and 

17 (E) efforts to promote the Federal Govern18 ment as an employer of choice to transitioning 

19 members of the Armed Forces and veterans. 

20 SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON VETERANS EMPLOY21 MENT. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established an 

24 interagency council on matters relating to the em25 ployment of veterans. 


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1 (2) DESIGNATION.—The council established 

2 under paragraph (1) shall be known as the ‘‘Inter3 agency Council on Veterans Employment’’ (in this 

4 section the ‘‘Council’’). 

5 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

6 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Council shall consist of 

7 the heads of— 

8 (A) each covered agency (as defined in sec9 tion 2(a)); and 

10 (B) any other Executive agency (as defined 

11 in section 105 of title 5, United States Code) 

12 that the President may designate. 

13 (2) CO-CHAIRS.—The Secretary of Labor and 

14 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall serve as Co15 Chairs of the Council. 

16 (3) VICE-CHAIR.—The Director of the Office of 

17 Personnel Management shall serve as the Vice Chair 

18 of the Council. 

19 (c) DUTIES.—The duties of the Council shall include 

20 each of the following: 

21 (1) To advise and assist the President and the 

22 Director of the Office of Personnel Management on 

23 matters relating to maintaining a coordinated Gov24 ernment-wide effort to increase the number of vet25 erans employed by the Federal Government in posiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Jun 01, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1218.IS S1218

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1 tions that match the skills and career aspirations of 

2 veterans, by enhancing recruiting, hiring, retention, 

3 training and skills development, and job satisfaction. 

4 (2) To serve as a national forum for promoting 

5 employment opportunities for veterans in the execu6 tive branch of the Federal Government. 

7 (3) To establish performance measures to as8 sess the effectiveness of efforts to promote recruit9 ing, hiring, retention, training and skills develop10 ment, and job satisfaction of veterans by the Federal 

11 Government. 

12 (4) Not later than 1 year after the date of en13 actment of this Act and not less frequently than 

14 once each year thereafter, to submit to the President 

15 and Congress a report on the effectiveness of those 

16 efforts. 

17 (d) ADMINISTRATION.— 

18 (1) DUTIES OF CO-CHAIRS.—The Co-Chairs 

19 shall convene regular meetings of the Council, deter20 mine its agenda, and direct its work. 

21 (2) STEERING COMMITTEE.—At the direction of 

22 the Co-Chairs, the Council may establish— 

23 (A) a Steering Committee to provide lead24 ership, accountability, and strategic direction to 

25 the Council; and 


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1 (B) subgroups to promote coordination 

2 among veterans employment officials (as de3 fined in section 2(a)). 

4 (3) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Vice Chair 

5 shall designate an Executive Director for the Council 

6 to support the Vice Chair in managing the Council’s 

7 activities. 

8 (4) OPM.—The Office of Personnel Manage9 ment shall provide administrative support for the 

10 Council to the extent permitted by law and within 

11 existing appropriations (as of the date of the provi12 sion). 

13 SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF SKILLBRIDGE INITIATIVE TO IN14 CLUDE PARTICIPATION BY FEDERAL AGEN15 CIES. 

16 (a) MODIFICATION OF INITIATIVE BY SECRETARY OF

17 DEFENSE.—The Secretary of Defense, in consultation 

18 with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, 

19 shall make such modifications to the SkillBridge initiative 

20 of the Department of Defense as the Secretary considers 

21 appropriate to enable Federal agencies to participate in 

22 the initiative as employers and trainers, including the pro23 vision of training by Federal agencies under the initiative 

24 to transitioning members of the Armed Forces. 


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1 (b) PARTICIPATION BY FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The 

2 Director, in consultation with the Secretary, shall take 

3 such actions as may be necessary to ensure that each Fed4 eral agency participates in the SkillBridge initiative of the 

5 Department of Defense as described in subsection (a). 

6 (c) TRANSITIONING MEMBERS OF THE ARMED

7 FORCES DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

8 ‘‘transitioning member of the Armed Forces’’ means a 

9 member of the Armed Forces who is expected to be dis10 charged or released from active duty in the Armed Forces 

11 not more than 180 days after the member commences 

12 training under the SkillBridge initiative. 

Æ 


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