I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4380 

To make certain improvements relating to the hiring and employment of 

members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their spouses, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 13, 2017 

Mr. KIND (for himself and Mr. JONES) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to 

the Committees on Armed Services, and 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 make certain improvements relating to the hiring and 

employment of members of the Armed Forces, veterans, 

and their spouses, 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 ‘‘Better Jobs for Vet5 erans Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. VETERANS RETRAINING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

2 (a) PERMANENT PROGRAM.—Section 211 of the 

3 VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 (Public Law 112–56; 

4 38 U.S.C. 4100 note) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a)(2)(B), by striking ‘‘the pe6 riod beginning October 1, 2012, and ending March 

7 31, 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘each subsequent fiscal 

8 year that the program is carried out’’; and 

9 (2) by striking subsection (k). 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Such section is 

11 further amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘Not later 

13 than July 1, 2012, the’’ and inserting ‘‘The’’; 

14 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘Except as 

15 provided by subsection (k), each’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘Each’’; 

17 (3) in subsection (e)(1)(G), by striking ‘‘by not 

18 later than October 1, 2013,’’; 

19 (4) by striking subsection (i); and 

20 (5) by redesignating subsections (j) and (l) as 

21 subsections (i) and (j), respectively. 


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1 SEC. 3. IMPROVED EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE FOR MEM2 BERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AND VET3 ERANS. 

4 (a) IMPROVED EMPLOYMENT SKILLS

5 VERIFICATION.—Section 1143(a) of title 10, United 

6 States Code, is amended— 

7 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘The Secretary of 

8 Defense’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

10 paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(2) In order to improve the accuracy and complete12 ness of a certification or verification of job skills and expe13 rience required by paragraph (1), the Secretary of Defense 

14 and the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to 

15 the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in 

16 the Navy shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) establish a database to record all training 

18 performed by members of the armed forces that may 

19 have application to employment in the civilian sector; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(B) make unclassified information regarding 

22 such information available to States and other po23 tential employers referred to in subsection (c) so 

24 that State and other entities may allow military 

25 training to satisfy licensing or certification require26 ments to engage in a civilian profession.’’. 


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1 (b) IMPROVED ACCURACY OF CERTIFICATES OF

2 TRAINING AND SKILLS.—Section 1143(a) of title 10, 

3 United States Code, is further amended by inserting after 

4 paragraph (2), as added by subsection (a), the following 

5 new paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(3) The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of 

7 Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when 

8 it is not operating as a service in the Navy shall ensure 

9 that a certification or verification of job skills and experi10 ence required by paragraph (1) is rendered in such a way 

11 that States and other potential employers can confirm the 

12 accuracy and authenticity of the certification or verifica13 tion.’’. 

14 (c) IMPROVED RESPONSIVENESS TO CERTIFICATION

15 REQUESTS.—Section 1143(c) of title 10, United States 

16 Code, is amended— 

17 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘For the pur18 pose’’; and 

19 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

20 paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(2) A State may use a certification or verification 

22 of job skills and experience provided to a member of the 

23 armed forces under subsection (a) and request the Depart24 ment of Defense or the Coast Guard, as the case may be, 

25 to confirm the accuracy and authenticity of the certifiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Nov 17, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4380.IH H4380

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1 cation or verification. A response confirming or denying 

2 the information shall be provided within five business 

3 days.’’. 

4 (d) IMPROVED PORTABILITY OF CERTIFICATES OF

5 TRAINING AND SKILLS.—Section 1143 of title 10, United 

6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(e) PORTABILITY.—A certification or verification of 

9 job skills and experience provided to a member of the 

10 armed forces under subsection (a) and accepted by a State 

11 to satisfy licensing or certification requirements to engage 

12 in a civilian profession shall be valid in all States once 

13 used in the accepting States.’’. 

14 (e) IMPROVED NOTICE TO MEMBERS.—Section 

15 1142(b)(4)(A) of title 10, United States Code, is amended 

16 by inserting before the semicolon the following: ‘‘, includ17 ing State-submitted and approved lists of military training 

18 and skills that satisfy occupational certifications and li19 censes’’. 

20 SEC. 4. WORK OPPORTUNITY CREDIT TO SMALL BUSI21 NESSES FOR HIRING MEMBERS OF READY 

22 RESERVE OR NATIONAL GUARD. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 51(d)(1) of the Internal 

24 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

25 end of subparagraph (I), by striking the period at the end 


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1 of subparagraph (J) and inserting ‘‘, or’’, and by adding 

2 at the end the following new subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(K) in the case of an eligible employer (as 

4 defined in section 408(p)(2)(C)(i)), an indi5 vidual who is a member of— 

6 ‘‘(i) the Ready Reserve (as described 

7 in section 10142 of title 10, United States 

8 Code), or 

9 ‘‘(ii) the National Guard (as defined 

10 in section 101(c)(1) of such title 10).’’. 

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendment made by 

13 this section shall apply to wages paid or incurred 

14 after the date of the enactment of this Act in tax15 able years ending after such date. 

16 (2) CURRENT EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CRED17 IT.—For purposes of applying section 51 of the In18 ternal Revenue Code of 1986, individuals described 

19 in section 51(d)(1)(K) of such Code, as added by 

20 this section, who are employed by an eligible em21 ployer (as defined in section 408(p)(2)(C)(i) of such 

22 Code) on the date of the enactment of this Act shall 

23 be treated as beginning work for such employer on 

24 such date. 


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1 SEC. 5. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF WORK OPPORTUNITY 

2 CREDIT FOR EMPLOYERS HIRING QUALIFIED 

3 VETERANS AND MEMBERS OF READY RE4 SERVE AND NATIONAL GUARD. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 51(c)(4) of the Internal 

6 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting ‘‘(other 

7 than any individual described in subparagraph (B) or (K) 

8 of subsection (d)(1))’’ after ‘‘individual’’. 

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

10 this section shall apply to individuals who begin work for 

11 the employer after December 31, 2016. 

12 SEC. 6. ELIGIBILITY OF SPOUSES OF MILITARY PERSONNEL 

13 FOR THE WORK OPPORTUNITY CREDIT. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 51(d)(1) of the Internal 

15 Revenue Code of 1986, as amended by this Act, is amend16 ed by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph (J), by 

17 striking the period at the end of subparagraph (K) and 

18 inserting ‘‘, or’’, and by adding at the end the following 

19 new subparagraph: 

20 ‘‘(L) a qualified military spouse.’’. 

21 (b) QUALIFIED MILITARY SPOUSE.—Section 51(d) of 

22 such Code is amended by adding at the end the following 

23 new paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(16) QUALIFIED MILITARY SPOUSE.—The 

25 term ‘qualified military spouse’ means any individual 

26 who is certified by the designated local agency as 


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1 being (as of the hiring date) a spouse of a member 

2 of the Armed Forces of the United States.’’. 

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

4 this section shall apply to amounts paid or incurred after 

5 the date of the enactment of this Act to individuals who 

6 begin work for the employer after such date. 

Æ 


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