II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 700 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 10, 2013 

Mr. KAINE (for himself, Mr. CHAMBLISS, and Mr. BAUCUS) introduced the 

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

Armed Services 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

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1 (1) According to the Bureau of Labor Statis2 tics, the unemployment rate for recent veterans of 

3 military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan was 9.4 

4 percent in February 2013, compared with 7.6 per5 cent in February 2012. 

6 (2) With the unemployment rate among such 

7 veterans higher than the national average and the 

8 number of veterans receiving unemployment benefits 

9 doubling since 2002, there is a significant need to 

10 assist members of the Armed Forces as they transi11 tion to the civilian workforce. 

12 (3) In order to remain competitive in the civil13 ian employment market, members of the Armed 

14 Forces and veterans require information about how 

15 their military skill sets translate to the requirements 

16 of the civilian workforce. Members of the Armed 

17 Forces currently receive insufficient or inadequate 

18 information during their training for military occu19 pational specialties on translating skills obtained 

20 during such training to civilian occupations and cre21 dentials. 

22 (4) In addition, there is a need for enhanced ac23 cess by accredited credentialing agencies to military 

24 training curricula in order to facilitate and enhance 

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1 the correlation between military training and appli2 cable civilian credentialing courses and exams. 

3 (5) The information technology sector is one of 

4 the fastest growing industries, with tremendous job 

5 growth and demand for talented, qualified individ6 uals. The information technology sector has an un7 employment rate of 3.5 percent according to a Bu8 reau of Labor Statistics report from February 2013. 

9 (6) The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 

10 need for 110,000 computer support specialists over 

11 the next decade. Currently, the size of the informa12 tion technology workforce in the Armed Forces is 

13 about 160,000 members. 

14 SEC. 3. ENHANCEMENT OF MECHANISMS TO CORRELATE 

15 SKILLS AND TRAINING FOR MILITARY OCCU16 PATIONAL SPECIALTIES WITH SKILLS AND 

17 TRAINING REQUIRED FOR CIVILIAN CERTIFI18 CATIONS AND LICENSES. 

19 (a) IMPROVEMENT OF INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO

20 MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES ABOUT CORRELA21 TION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries of the mili23 tary departments, in coordination with the Under 

24 Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, 

25 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, make inmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 formation on civilian credentialing opportunities 

2 available to members of the Armed Forces beginning 

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

4 military occupational specialties, in order to permit 

5 members— 

6 (A) to evaluate the extent to which such 

7 training correlates with the skills and training 

8 required in connection with various civilian cer9 tifications and licenses; and 

10 (B) to assess the suitability of such train11 ing for obtaining or pursuing such civilian cer12 tifications and licenses. 

13 (2) COORDINATION WITH TRANSITION GOALS

14 PLANS SUCCESS PROGRAM.—Information shall be 

15 made available under paragraph (1) in a manner 

16 consistent with the Transition Goals Plans Success 

17 (GPS) program. 

18 (3) TYPES OF INFORMATION.—The information 

19 made available under paragraph (1) shall include, 

20 but not be limited to, the following: 

21 (A) Information on the civilian occupa22 tional equivalents of military occupational spe23 cialties (MOS). 

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1 (B) Information on civilian license or cer2 tification requirements, including examination 

3 requirements. 

4 (C) Information on the availability and op5 portunities for use of educational benefits avail6 able to members of the Armed Forces, as ap7 propriate, corresponding training, or continuing 

8 education that leads to a certification exam in 

9 order to provide a pathway to credentialing op10 portunities. 

11 (4) USE AND ADAPTATION OF CERTAIN PRO12 GRAMS.—In making information available under 

13 paragraph (1), the Secretaries of the military de14 partments may use and adapt appropriate portions 

15 of the Credentialing Opportunities On-Line (COOL) 

16 programs of the Army and the Navy and the 

17 Credentialing and Educational Research Tool 

18 (CERT) of the Air Force. 

19 (b) IMPROVEMENT OF ACCESS OF ACCREDITED CI20 VILIAN CREDENTIALING AGENCIES TO MILITARY TRAIN21 ING CONTENT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries of the mili23 tary departments, in coordination with the Under 

24 Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, 

25 shall, to the maximum extent practicable consistent 

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1 with national security requirements, make available 

2 to accredited civilian credentialing agencies that 

3 issue certifications or licenses, upon request of such 

4 agencies, information such as military course train5 ing curricula, syllabi, and materials, levels of mili6 tary advancement attained, and professional skills 

7 developed. 

8 (2) CENTRAL REPOSITORY.—The actions taken 

9 pursuant to paragraph (1) may include the estab10 lishment of a central repository of information on 

11 training and training materials provided members in 

12 connection with military occupational specialties that 

13 is readily accessible by accredited civilian 

14 credentialing agencies described in that paragraph in 

15 order to meet requests described in that paragraph. 

16 SEC. 4. USE OF EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR COURSES 

17 IN PURSUIT OF CIVILIAN CERTIFICATIONS 

18 OR LICENSES. 

19 (a) COURSES UNDER DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

20 EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE AUTHORITIES.— 

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

22 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

23 section 2015 the following new section: 

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1 ‘‘§ 2015a. Civilian certifications and licenses: use of 

2 educational assistance for courses in pur3 suit of civilian certifications or licenses 

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

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

6 an educational institution in a State for purposes of ob7 taining employment in an occupation or profession requir8 ing the approval or licensure of a board or agency of that 

9 State, educational assistance specified in subsection (b) 

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

11 educational institution that is a required element of the 

12 curriculum to be satisfied to obtain employment in that 

13 occupation or profession only if— 

14 ‘‘(1) the successful completion of the cur15 riculum fully qualifies a student to— 

16 ‘‘(A) take any examination required for 

17 entry into the occupation or profession, includ18 ing satisfying any State or professionally man19 dated programmatic and specialized accredita20 tion requirements; and 

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

22 other academically related pre-conditions that 

23 are required for entry into the occupation or 

24 profession; and 

25 ‘‘(2) in the case of State licensing or profes26 sionally mandated requirements for entry into the 

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1 occupation or profession that require specialized ac2 creditation, the curriculum meets the requirement 

3 for specialized accreditation through its accreditation 

4 or pre-accreditation by an accrediting agency or as5 sociation recognized by the Secretary of Education 

6 or designated by that State as a reliable authority 

7 as to the quality or training offered by the institu8 tion in that program. 

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

10 educational assistance specified in this subsection is edu11 cational assistance as follows: 

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

13 armed forces under section 2007 and 2015 of this 

14 title. 

15 ‘‘(2) Educational assistance for persons enlist16 ing for active duty under chapter 106A of this title. 

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

18 armed forces held as captives under section 2183 of 

19 this title. 

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

21 Selected Reserve under chapter 1606 of this title. 

22 ‘‘(5) Educational assistance for reserve compo23 nent members supporting contingency operations 

24 and other operations under chapter 1607 of this 

25 title. 

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1 ‘‘(6) Such other educational assistance provided 

2 members of the armed forces under the laws admin3 istered by the Secretary of Defense or the Secre4 taries of the military departments as the Secretary 

5 of Defense shall designate for purposes of this sec6 tion.’’. 

7 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec8 tions at the beginning of chapter 101 of such title 

9 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

10 section 2015 the following new item: 

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

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

11 (b) COURSES UNDER EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE

12 AUTHORITIES ADMINISTERED BY SECRETARY OF VET13 ERANS AFFAIRS.—Section 3679 of title 38, United States 

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

15 subsection: 

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

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

18 to be satisfied to obtain employment in an occupation or 

19 profession requiring the approval or licensure of a board 

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

21 purposes of this chapter by an individual seeking to obtain 

22 employment in that occupation or profession only if— 

23 ‘‘(1) the successful completion of the cur24 riculum fully qualifies a student to— 

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1 ‘‘(A) take any examination required for 

2 entry into the occupation or profession, includ3 ing satisfying any State or professionally man4 dated programmatic and specialized accredita5 tion requirements; and 

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

7 other academically related pre-conditions that 

8 are required for entry into the occupation or 

9 profession; and 

10 ‘‘(2) in the case of State licensing or profes11 sionally mandated requirements for entry into the 

12 occupation or profession that require specialized ac13 creditation, the curriculum meets the requirement 

14 for specialized accreditation through its accreditation 

15 or pre-accreditation by an accrediting agency or as16 sociation recognized by the Secretary of Education 

17 or designated by that State as a reliable authority 

18 as to the quality or training offered by the institu19 tion in that program.’’. 

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

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

22 apply with respect to courses pursued on or after that 

23 date. 

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1 SEC. 5. COVERAGE OF MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIAL2 TIES RELATING TO MILITARY INFORMATION 

3 TECHNOLOGY UNDER PILOT PROGRAM ON 

4 RECEIPT OF CIVILIAN CREDENTIALS FOR 

5 SKILLS REQUIRED FOR MILITARY OCCUPA6 TIONAL SPECIALTIES. 

7 The military occupational specialties designated for 

8 purposes of the pilot program on receipt of civilian creden9 tials for skills required for military occupational specialties 

10 under section 558 of the National Defense Authorization 

11 Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (10 U.S.C. 2015 note) shall in12 clude military occupational specialties relating to the mili13 tary information technology workforce. 

14 SEC. 6. REVIVAL OF PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION AND 

15 LICENSURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE 

16 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

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

18 shall reestablish the Professional Certification and Licen19 sure Advisory Committee of the Department of Veterans 

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

21 United States Code. The Committee shall be reestablished 

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

23 as amended by subsection (b), and shall carry out its du24 ties in conformance with, and subject to the requirements 

25 of such section, as so amended. 

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1 (b) MODIFICATION OF AUTHORITIES AND REQUIRE2 MENTS.—Section 3689(e) of title 38, United States Code, 

3 is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

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

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

7 subparagraph: 

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

9 (A), the Committee shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) develop, in coordination with other appro11 priate agencies, guidance to be used by the Depart12 ment or other entities to perform periodic audits of 

13 licensure and certification programs to ensure the 

14 highest quality education is available to veterans and 

15 members of the Armed Forces; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) develop, in coordination with the Depart17 ment of Defense, appropriate certification agencies, 

18 and other appropriate non-profit organizations, a 

19 plan to improve outreach to veterans and members 

20 of the Armed Forces on the importance of licensing 

21 and certification, as well as educational benefits 

22 available to them.’’; 

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

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

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

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

2 (B) and inserting the following new subparagraph: 

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

4 as the Committee determines appropriate.’’; and 

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

6 31, 2006’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2019’’. 

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

8 of the reestablishment of the Professional Certification 

9 and Licensure Advisory Committee of the Department of 

10 Veterans Affairs pursuant to this section, the Committee 

11 shall submit to Congress a report setting forth an assess12 ment of the feasibility and advisability of permitting mem13 bers of the Armed Forces to use educational assistance 

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

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

16 employment certifications or licenses without the use of 

17 such assistance for that purpose being charged against the 

18 entitlement of such members to such educational assist19 ance. 

Æ 

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