I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3453 

To reauthorize the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011, to provide assistance 

to small businesses owned by veterans, to improve enforcement of employment and reemployment rights of members of the uniformed services, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 12, 2013 

Mr. HORSFORD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Armed 

Services, Oversight and Government Reform, the Judiciary, and Science, 

Space, and Technology, 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 reauthorize the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011, to 

provide assistance to small businesses owned by veterans, 

to improve enforcement of employment and reemployment rights of members of the uniformed services, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Putting Our Veterans Back to Work Act of 2013’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—RENEWING OUR VOW TO HIRE HEROES 

Sec. 101. Reauthorization of veterans retraining assistance program. 

Sec. 102. Extension of authority of Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide rehabilitation and vocational benefits to members of Armed 

Forces with severe injuries or illnesses. 

Sec. 103. Extension of additional rehabilitation programs for persons who have 

exhausted rights to unemployment benefits under State law. 

Sec. 104. Reauthorization of collaborative veterans’ training, mentoring, and 

placement program. 

TITLE II—BUILDING ON OUR VOW TO HIRE HEROES 

Sec. 201. Unified employment portal for veterans. 

Sec. 202. Grants to hire veterans as first responders. 

Sec. 203. Employment of veterans as evaluation factor in the awarding of Federal contracts. 

TITLE III—IMPROVING EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT 

RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES 

Sec. 301. Enforcement of rights of members of uniformed services with respect 

to States and private employers. 

Sec. 302. Suspension, termination, or debarment of contractors for repeated 

violations of employment or reemployment rights of members 

of uniformed services. 

Sec. 303. Subpoena power for Special Counsel in enforcement of employment 

and reemployment rights of members of uniformed services 

with respect to Federal executive agencies. 

Sec. 304. Issuance and service of civil investigative demands by Attorney General. 

3 TITLE I—RENEWING OUR VOW 

4 TO HIRE HEROES 

5 SEC. 101. REAUTHORIZATION OF VETERANS RETRAINING 

6 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

7 (a) EXTENSION.—Subsection (k) of section 211 of 

8 the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 (Public Law 112– 

9 56; 38 U.S.C. 4100 note) is amended by striking ‘‘March 

10 31, 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘March 31, 2016’’. 


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1 (b) NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE VETERANS.—Subsection 

2 (a)(2) of such section is amended— 

3 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

4 the end; 

5 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period 

6 at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

7 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub8 paragraphs: 

9 ‘‘(C) 50,000 during the period beginning 

10 April 1, 2014, and ending March 31, 2015; and 

11 ‘‘(D) 50,000 during the period beginning 

12 April 1, 2015, and ending March 31, 2016.’’. 

13 (c) CLARIFICATION OF LIMITATION ON AGGREGATE

14 AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.—Subsection (b) of such section 

15 is amended by striking ‘‘up to 12 months of retraining 

16 assistance provided by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘an aggregate of not more than 12 months 

18 of retraining assistance provided by the Secretary of Vet19 erans Affairs under this section’’. 


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1 SEC. 102. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF 

2 VETERANS AFFAIRS TO PROVIDE REHABILI3 TATION AND VOCATIONAL BENEFITS TO 

4 MEMBERS OF ARMED FORCES WITH SEVERE 

5 INJURIES OR ILLNESSES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1631(b)(2) of the Wound7 ed Warrior Act (title XVI of Public Law 110–181; 10 

8 U.S.C. 1071 note) is amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 

9 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2016’’. 

10 (b) REPORT.— 

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

12 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec13 retary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the appro14 priate committees of Congress a report on the bene15 fits provided by the Secretary under section 1631(b) 

16 of such Act. 

17 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON18 GRESS.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘appropriate 

19 committees of Congress’’ means— 

20 (A) the Committee on Armed Services and 

21 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen22 ate; and 

23 (B) the Committee on Armed Services and 

24 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

25 House of Representatives. 


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1 SEC. 103. EXTENSION OF ADDITIONAL REHABILITATION 

2 PROGRAMS FOR PERSONS WHO HAVE EX3 HAUSTED RIGHTS TO UNEMPLOYMENT BENE4 FITS UNDER STATE LAW. 

5 Section 3102(b)(4) of title 38, United States Code, 

6 is amended by striking ‘‘March 31, 2014’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘March 31, 2016’’. 

8 SEC. 104. REAUTHORIZATION OF COLLABORATIVE VET9 ERANS’ TRAINING, MENTORING, AND PLACE10 MENT PROGRAM. 

11 Subsection (e) of section 4104A of title 38, United 

12 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

15 amounts as follows: 

16 ‘‘(1) $4,500,000 for the period consisting of fis17 cal years 2012 and 2013. 

18 ‘‘(2) $4,500,000 for the period consisting of fis19 cal years 2014 and 2015.’’. 

20 TITLE II—BUILDING ON OUR 

21 VOW TO HIRE HEROES 

22 SEC. 201. UNIFIED EMPLOYMENT PORTAL FOR VETERANS. 

23 Section 4105 of title 38, United States Code is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(c)(1) The Secretary shall develop a single, unified 

26 Federal web-based employment portal, for use by veterans, 


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1 containing information regarding all Federal programs 

2 and activities concerning employment, unemployment, and 

3 training to the extent the programs and activities affect 

4 veterans. 

5 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall work with representatives 

6 from the Department of Defense, the Department of Vet7 erans Affairs, the Small Business Administration, and 

8 other Federal agencies and organizations concerned with 

9 veterans’ issues, to determine an appropriate platform and 

10 implementing agency for the portal. The Secretary shall 

11 enter into an agreement with the other Federal agencies 

12 for the implementation of the portal.’’. 

13 SEC. 202. GRANTS TO HIRE VETERANS AS FIRST RESPOND14 ERS. 

15 (a) GRANTS FOR FIREFIGHTERS.—The Secretary of 

16 Homeland Security shall award grants under section 34 

17 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 

18 (15 U.S.C. 2229a) to hire veterans as firefighters. 

19 (b) GRANTS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.— 

20 The Attorney General shall award grants under part Q 

21 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 

22 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd et seq.) to hire veterans 

23 as law enforcement officers. 

24 (c) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec25 tion to hire veterans, the Secretary of Homeland Security 


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1 and the Attorney General shall give priority to the hiring 

2 of veterans who served on active duty in the Armed Forces 

3 on or after September 11, 2011. 

4 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

5 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

6 $250,000,000. 

7 SEC. 203. EMPLOYMENT OF VETERANS AS EVALUATION 

8 FACTOR IN THE AWARDING OF FEDERAL 

9 CONTRACTS. 

10 (a) CIVILIAN CONTRACTS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 33 of title 41, 

12 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

13 end the following new section: 

14 ‘‘§ 3313. Employment of veterans as evaluation factor 

15 ‘‘The head of each executive agency shall consider fa16 vorably as an evaluation factor in solicitations for con17 tracts and task or delivery order valued at or above 

18 $25,000,000 the employment by a prospective contractor 

19 of veterans constituting at least 5 percent of the contrac20 tor’s workforce.’’. 

21 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec22 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 

23 by adding after the item relating to section 3312 the 

24 following new item: 

‘‘3313. Employment of veterans as evaluation factor.’’. 

25 (b) DEFENSE CONTRACTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 137 of title 10, 

2 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

3 end the following new section: 

4 ‘‘§ 2338. Employment of veterans as evaluation factor 

5 ‘‘The head of each agency shall consider favorably as 

6 an evaluation factor in solicitations for contracts and task 

7 or delivery order valued at or above $25,000,000 the em8 ployment by a prospective contractor of veterans consti9 tuting at least five percent of the contractor’s workforce.’’. 

10 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec11 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 

12 by adding after the item relating to section 2337 the 

13 following new item: 

‘‘2338. Employment of veterans as evaluation factor.’’. 

14 (c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

15 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisi16 tion Regulatory Council shall amend the Federal Acquisi17 tion Regulation to carry out the provisions of section 3313 

18 of title 41, United States Code, and section 2338 of title 

19 10, United States Code, as added by subsections (a) and 

20 (b), respectively. 


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1 TITLE III—IMPROVING EMPLOY2 MENT AND REEMPLOYMENT 

3 RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF THE 

4 UNIFORMED SERVICES 

5 SEC. 301. ENFORCEMENT OF RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF UNI6 FORMED SERVICES WITH RESPECT TO 

7 STATES AND PRIVATE EMPLOYERS. 

8 (a) ACTION FOR RELIEF.—Subsection (a) of section 

9 4323 of title 38, United States Code, is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘appear on behalf of, and 

12 act as attorney for, the person on whose behalf 

13 the complaint is submitted and’’; 

14 (B) by striking ‘‘for such person’’; 

15 (C) by striking the fourth sentence; and 

16 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘The person on whose behalf the complaint is 

18 referred may, upon timely application, intervene 

19 in such action, and may obtain such appro20 priate relief as is provided in subsections (d) 

21 and (e).’’; 

22 (2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 

23 following new paragraph (2): 

24 ‘‘(2)(A) Not later than 60 days after the date the 

25 Attorney General receives a referral under paragraph (1), 


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1 the Attorney General shall transmit, in writing, to the per2 son on whose behalf the complaint is submitted— 

3 ‘‘(i) if the Attorney General has made a deci4 sion to commence an action for relief under para5 graph (1) relating to the complaint of the person, 

6 notice of the decision; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) if the Attorney General has not made such 

8 a decision, notice of when the Attorney General ex9 pects to make such a decision. 

10 ‘‘(B) If the Attorney General notifies a person that 

11 the Attorney General expects to make a decision under 

12 subparagraph (A)(ii), the Attorney General shall, not later 

13 than 30 days after the date on which the Attorney General 

14 makes such decision, notify, in writing, the person of such 

15 decision.’’; 

16 (3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para17 graph (4); 

18 (4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol19 lowing new paragraph (3): 

20 ‘‘(3) Whenever the Attorney General has reasonable 

21 cause to believe that a State (as an employer) or a private 

22 employer is engaged in a pattern or practice of resistance 

23 to the full enjoyment of any of the rights and benefits pro24 vided for under this chapter, and that the pattern or prac25 tice is of such a nature and is intended to deny the full 


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1 exercise of such rights and benefits, the Attorney General 

2 may commence an action for relief under this chapter.’’; 

3 and 

4 (5) in paragraph (4), as redesignated by para5 graph (3), by striking subparagraph (C) and insert6 ing the following new subparagraph (C): 

7 ‘‘(C) has been notified by the Attorney General 

8 that the Attorney General does not intend to com9 mence an action for relief under paragraph (1) with 

10 respect to the complaint under such paragraph.’’. 

11 (b) STANDING.—Subsection (f) of such section is 

12 amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(f) STANDING.—An action under this chapter may 

14 be initiated only by the Attorney General or by a person 

15 claiming rights or benefits under this chapter under sub16 section (a).’’. 

17 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (h)(2) 

18 of such section is amended by striking ‘‘under subsection 

19 (a)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘under paragraph (1) or (4) of sub20 section (a)’’. 


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1 SEC. 302. SUSPENSION, TERMINATION, OR DEBARMENT OF 

2 CONTRACTORS FOR REPEATED VIOLATIONS 

3 OF EMPLOYMENT OR REEMPLOYMENT 

4 RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF UNIFORMED SERV5 ICES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 43 of 

7 title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

8 end the following new section: 

9 ‘‘§ 4328. Suspension, termination, or debarment of 

10 contractors 

11 ‘‘(a) GROUNDS FOR SUSPENSION, TERMINATION, OR

12 DEBARMENT.—Payment under a contract awarded by a 

13 Federal executive agency may be suspended and the con14 tract may be terminated, and the contractor who made 

15 the contract with the agency may be suspended or 

16 debarred in accordance with the requirements of this sec17 tion, if the head of the agency determines that the con18 tractor as an employer has repeatedly been convicted of 

19 failing or refusing to comply with one or more provisions 

20 of this chapter. 

21 ‘‘(b) EFFECT OF DEBARMENT.—A contractor 

22 debarred by a final decision under this section is ineligible 

23 for award of a contract by a Federal executive agency, 

24 and for participation in a future procurement by a Federal 

25 executive agency, for a period specified in the decision, not 

26 to exceed five years.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

2 at the beginning of chapter 43 of such title is amended 

3 by inserting after the item relating to section 4327 the 

4 following new item: 

‘‘4328. Suspension, termination, or debarment of contractor.’’. 

5 (c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

6 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisi7 tion Regulatory Council shall amend the Federal Acquisi8 tion Regulation to carry out section 4328 of title 38, 

9 United States Code, as added by subsection (a). 

10 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 4328 of title 38, 

11 United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall 

12 apply with respect to failures and refusals to comply with 

13 provisions of chapter 43 of such title occurring on or after 

14 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

15 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.—Section 4332(a) of such title 

16 is amended— 

17 (1) by redesignating paragraph (10) as para18 graph (11); and 

19 (2) by inserting after paragraph (9) the fol20 lowing new paragraph (10): 

21 ‘‘(10) The number of suspensions, terminations, 

22 and debarments under section 4328 of this title, 

23 disaggregated by the agency or department imposing 

24 the suspension or debarment.’’. 


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1 SEC. 303. SUBPOENA POWER FOR SPECIAL COUNSEL IN EN2 FORCEMENT OF EMPLOYMENT AND REEM3 PLOYMENT RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF UNI4 FORMED SERVICES WITH RESPECT TO FED5 ERAL EXECUTIVE AGENCIES. 

6 Section 4324 of title 38, United States Code, is 

7 amended by adding at the end the following new sub8 section: 

9 ‘‘(e)(1) In order to carry out the Special Counsel’s 

10 responsibilities under this section, the Special Counsel 

11 may require by subpoena the attendance and testimony 

12 of Federal employees and the production of documents 

13 from Federal employees and Federal executive agencies. 

14 ‘‘(2) In the case of contumacy or failure to obey a 

15 subpoena issued under paragraph (1), upon application by 

16 the Special Counsel, the Merit Systems Protection Board 

17 may issue an order requiring a Federal employee or Fed18 eral executive agency to comply with a subpoena of the 

19 Special Counsel. 

20 ‘‘(3) An order issued under paragraph (2) may be 

21 enforced by the Merit Systems Protection Board in the 

22 same manner as any order issued under section 1204 of 

23 title 5.’’. 


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1 SEC. 304. ISSUANCE AND SERVICE OF CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE 

2 DEMANDS BY ATTORNEY GENERAL. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4323 of title 38, United 

4 States Code, is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection 

6 (j); and 

7 (2) by inserting after subsection (h) the fol8 lowing new subsection (i): 

9 ‘‘(i) ISSUANCE AND SERVICE OF CIVIL INVESTIGA10 TIVE DEMANDS.—(1) Whenever the Attorney General has 

11 reason to believe that any person may be in possession, 

12 custody, or control of any documentary material relevant 

13 to an investigation under this subchapter, the Attorney 

14 General may, before commencing a civil action under sub15 section (a), issue in writing and serve upon such person, 

16 a civil investigative demand requiring— 

17 ‘‘(A) the production of such documentary mate18 rial for inspection and copying; 

19 ‘‘(B) that the custodian of such documentary 

20 material answer in writing written questions with re21 spect to such documentary material; or 

22 ‘‘(C) the production of any combination of such 

23 documentary material or answers. 

24 ‘‘(2) The provisions of section 3733 of title 31 gov25 erning the authority to issue, use, and enforce civil inves26 tigative demands shall apply with respect to the authority 


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1 to issue, use, and enforce civil investigative demands under 

2 this section, except that, for purposes of applying such sec3 tion 3733— 

4 ‘‘(A) references to false claims law investigators 

5 or investigations shall be considered references to in6 vestigators or investigations under this subchapter; 

7 ‘‘(B) references to interrogatories shall be con8 sidered references to written questions, and answers 

9 to such need not be under oath; 

10 ‘‘(C) the definitions relating to ‘false claims 

11 law’ shall not apply; and 

12 ‘‘(D) provisions relating to qui tam relators 

13 shall not apply.’’. 

14 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (i) of such sec15 tion, as added by subsection (a)(2), shall take effect on 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply with 

17 respect to violations of chapter 43 of such title alleged to 

18 have occurred on or after such date. 

19 (c) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Section 4332(b)(2) of such 

20 title is amended— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘Not later than’’ and inserting 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than’’; and 

24 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub25 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(B) ANNUAL SUPPLEMENT ON CIVIL IN2 VESTIGATIVE DEMANDS.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney 

4 General shall include with each report sub5 mitted under subparagraph (A) for the last 

6 quarter of each fiscal year a report on the 

7 issuance of civil investigative demands 

8 under section 4323(i) of this title during 

9 the most recently completed fiscal year. 

10 ‘‘(ii) ELEMENTS.—Each report sub11 mitted under clause (i) shall include the 

12 following for the fiscal year covered by the 

13 report: 

14 ‘‘(I) The number of times that a 

15 civil investigative demand was issued 

16 under section 4323(i) of this title. 

17 ‘‘(II) For each civil investigative 

18 demand issued under such section 

19 with respect to an investigation, 

20 whether such investigation resulted in 

21 a settlement, order, or judgment.’’. 

Æ 


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