I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1401 

To create a service corps of veterans called Veterans Engaged for Tomorrow 

(VET) Corps focused on promoting and improving the service opportunities for veterans and retired members of the military by engaging such 

veterans and retired members in projects designed to meet identifiable 

public needs with a specific emphasis on projects to support veterans, 

including disabled and older veterans and retired members of the military. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 9, 2009 

Mr. SARBANES (for himself, Mr. HARE, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. 

LOEBSACK, Mr. WILSON of Ohio, Mr. MOLLOHAN, Mr. ROTHMAN of New 

Jersey, Ms. SUTTON, Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, Mr. SIRES, Mr. ARCURI, Mr. 

PERLMUTTER, and Ms. DEGETTE) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To create a service corps of veterans called Veterans Engaged for Tomorrow (VET) Corps focused on promoting 

and improving the service opportunities for veterans and 

retired members of the military by engaging such veterans and retired members in projects designed to meet 

identifiable public needs with a specific emphasis on 

projects to support veterans, including disabled and older 

veterans and retired members of the military. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘VET Corps Act of 2009’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.— 

Sec. 1. Short title; Table of Contents. 

Sec. 2. VET Corps. 

‘‘Subtitle J—VET Corps 

‘‘Sec. 199AA. Purposes of Vet Corps. 

‘‘Sec. 199BB. Establishment of VET Corps; Administrative provisions. 

‘‘Sec. 199CC. VET Corps members. 

‘‘Sec. 199DD. Authority to provide assistance to VET Corps projects. 

‘‘Sec. 199EE. Consultation. 

‘‘Sec. 199FF. Training and Technical assistance. 

‘‘Sec. 199GG. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Authorization of Appropriations. 

5 SEC. 2. VET CORPS. 

6 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) The veteran population is estimated by the 

8 Department of Veterans Affairs to be around 

9 23,400,000 and growing. 

10 (2) Today, an estimated 1,640,000 United 

11 States troops have deployed as part of Operation 

12 Enduring Freedom (OEF; Afghanistan) and Oper13 ation Iraqi Freedom (OIF; Iraq). In total 2,950,000 

14 veterans receive disability compensation, with 

15 261,897 having a 100 percent disability rating. As 

16 of September of 2007, 223,564 OEF/OIF veterans 

17 filed for disability claims. 

18 (3) A 2007 survey for the Department of Vet19 erans Affairs discovered veterans of all ages tend to 


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1 have an unemployment rate double that of similar 

2 nonveterans, with returning veterans experiencing 

3 the highest rate of unemployment at 18 percent. 

4 (4) Veterans often have difficulty transitioning 

5 to civilian life. 

6 (5) Military and national service is a foundation 

7 for a continued commitment to service. 

8 (6) The specific experience and expertise of vet9 erans make them uniquely qualified to serve other 

10 veterans. 

11 (7) The Civilian Conservations Corps (CCC) es12 tablished in 1933, which provided work and voca13 tional training for 3,500,000 unemployed young 

14 Americans, was one of the singularly successful Fed15 eral programs in American history. 

16 (8) The Senior Corps established in 1973 to ex17 pand the role of older volunteers, enrolls more than 

18 500,000 volunteers each year and in their first 10 

19 years contributed over 1,100,000,000 hours of serv20 ice to communities nationwide. 

21 (9) In a manner similar to the CCC of the 

22 1930s and the Senior Corps of today, veterans can 

23 be mobilized to perform outreach to the veteran 

24 community to guide them to appropriate services 

25 and assist them in necessary activities. 


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1 (b) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Title I of the National 

2 and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12511 

3 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘Subtitle J—VET Corps 

5 ‘‘SEC. 199AA. PURPOSES OF VET CORPS. 

6 ‘‘It is the purpose of this subtitle to authorize the 

7 establishment of Veterans Engaged for Tomorrow Corps 

8 (in this Act referred to as ‘VET Corps’)— 

9 ‘‘(1) to create a service corps of veterans, com10 posed of veterans, retired military personnel, or fam11 ily members of veterans, or retired military per12 sonnel to help such individuals to obtain job train13 ing, professional certification, or access to post-sec14 ondary education or employers and otherwise to 

15 serve their communities through national and com16 munity service programs; 

17 ‘‘(2) to create a service corps that supports ex18 isting outreach efforts of Veteran Service Organiza19 tions, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the 

20 Department of Defense in order to inform veterans 

21 about available services and benefits; 

22 ‘‘(3) to create a service corps that will act as 

23 a clearinghouse to direct any person desiring to 

24 serve the veteran population to such opportunities in 

25 cooperation with other service corps programs, VetVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:58 Mar 10, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1401.IH H1401

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1 erans Service Organizations, the Department of Vet2 erans Affairs, and the Department of Defense; 

3 ‘‘(4) to create a service corps to coordinate with 

4 the Veteran Service Organizations, the Department 

5 of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, and 

6 other Federal agencies to identify and address exist7 ing and future needs and challenges of veterans; and 

8 ‘‘(5) to create a service corps that provides vet9 erans of all ages with opportunities to adjust to civil10 ian life. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 199BB. ESTABLISHMENT OF VET CORPS; ADMINIS12 TRATIVE PROVISIONS. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall establish 

14 VET Corps to carry out the purposes described in section 

15 199AA. 

16 ‘‘(b) STAFF.— 

17 ‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT.—Upon the establishment 

18 of VET Corps, the Chief Executive Officer shall ap19 point a Director. The Director may be selected from 

20 among retired commissioned officers of the Armed 

21 Forces of the United States. 

22 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Director shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) design, develop, and administer the 

24 VET Corps programs; 


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1 ‘‘(B) be responsible for managing the daily 

2 operations of the Corps; and 

3 ‘‘(C) report to the Chief Executive Officer. 

4 ‘‘(3) AUTHORITY TO EMPLOY STAFF.—The Di5 rector may employ such staff as is necessary to 

6 carry out this subtitle. The Director shall, to the 

7 maximum extent practicable, utilize in staff positions 

8 personnel who are detailed from departments and 

9 agencies of the Federal Government and, to the ex10 tent the Director considers appropriate, shall request 

11 and accept detail of personnel from such depart12 ments and agencies in order to do so. 

13 ‘‘(4) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERV14 ICE LAWS.—The Director and staff personnel shall 

15 be appointed without regard to provisions of title 5, 

16 United States Code, governing appointments in the 

17 competitive service. The rates of pay of such persons 

18 may be established without regard to the provisions 

19 of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of 

20 such title. 

21 ‘‘(5) VOLUNTARY SERVICES.—Notwithstanding 

22 any other provision of law, the Director may accept 

23 the voluntary services of individuals. While away 

24 from their homes or regular places of business on 

25 the business of the Corps, such individuals may be 


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1 allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 

2 subsistence, in the same amounts and to the same 

3 extent, as authorized under section 5703 of title 5, 

4 United States Code, for persons employed intermit5 tently in the Federal Government. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 199CC. VET CORPS MEMBERS. 

7 ‘‘(a) MEMBERSHIP IN VET CORPS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) PARTICIPANTS TO BE MEMBERS.—Persons 

9 selected to participate in any VET Corps project re10 ceiving a grant under the 199DD shall become mem11 bers of the VET Corps. 

12 ‘‘(2) SELECTION OF MEMBERS.—The Director 

13 shall select individuals for membership in the Corps. 

14 Such individuals shall consist of veterans, retired 

15 military personnel, or family members of veterans or 

16 retired military personnel, with preference given to 

17 veterans and retired military personnel. 

18 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP.—To be se19 lected to become a Corps member an individual shall sub20 mit an application to the Director or any other office as 

21 the Director may designate, at such time, in such manner, 

22 and containing such information as the Director shall re23 quire. At a minimum, the application shall contain an as24 surance that the individual is a veteran or retired military 


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1 personnel who did not withdraw from military service for 

2 the purpose of becoming a member of VET Corps. 

3 ‘‘(c) DURATION.—Individuals may be members of 

4 VET Corps for up to 24 months. 

5 ‘‘(d) STATUS OF CORPS MEMBERS UNDER FEDERAL

6 LAW.—Except as otherwise provided in this subtitle, mem7 bers of VET Corps shall not, by reason of their status 

8 as such members, be considered Federal employees or be 

9 subject to the provisions of law relating to Federal employ10 ment. 

11 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZED BENEFITS FOR CORPS MEM12 BERS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall provide 

14 for members of the VET Corps to receive benefits 

15 authorized by this subsection. 

16 ‘‘(2) LIVING ALLOWANCE.—The Director shall 

17 provide a living allowance to members of the Corps 

18 for the period during which such members are en19 gaged in residential Corps programs. 

20 ‘‘(3) OTHER AUTHORIZED BENEFITS.—While 

21 receiving training or engaging in service projects as 

22 members of the VET Corps, members may be pro23 vided the following benefits: 

24 ‘‘(A) Allowance for travel expenses, per25 sonal expenses, and other expenses. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Quarters. 

2 ‘‘(C) Subsistence. 

3 ‘‘(D) Transportation. 

4 ‘‘(E) Other services determined by the Di5 rector to be consistent with the purposes of 

6 VET Corps. 

7 ‘‘(4) NATIONAL SERVICE EDUCATIONAL

8 AWARDS.—A Corps member who successfully com9 pletes a period of agreed service in the Corps shall 

10 be considered to have served in an approved national 

11 service position and, upon meeting the requirements 

12 of section 147 for full-time or part-time national 

13 service, shall be eligible for a national service edu14 cational award described in such section. The Cor15 poration (through the Director) shall transfer an ap16 propriate amount of funds to the National Service 

17 Trust to provide for the national service educational 

18 awards for such member. 

19 ‘‘(5) HEALTH INSURANCE.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A VET Corps project 

21 receiving assistance under section 199DD shall 

22 provide a basic health care policy for each full23 time participant in a service project carried out 

24 or supported using the assistance, if the partici25 pant is not otherwise covered by a health care 


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1 policy. Not more than 85 percent of the cost of 

2 a premium shall be provided by the Director, 

3 with the remaining cost paid by the entity re4 ceiving assistance under section 199DD. The 

5 Director shall establish minimum standards 

6 that all plans must meet in order to qualify for 

7 payment under this section, any circumstances 

8 in which an alternative health care policy may 

9 be substituted for the basic health care policy, 

10 and mechanisms to prohibit participants from 

11 dropping existing coverage. 

12 ‘‘(B) OPTION.—A VET Corps project re13 ceiving assistance under section 199DD may 

14 elect to provide from its own funds a health 

15 care policy for participants that does not meet 

16 all of the standards established by the Director 

17 if the fair market value of such policy is equal 

18 to or greater than the fair market value of a 

19 plan that meets the minimum standards estab20 lished by the Director, and is consistent with 

21 other applicable laws. 

22 ‘‘(6) DETERMINATION OF BENEFITS.—In deter23 mining the authorized benefits a member receives 

24 under this subsection, the Director shall take into 

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1 cumstances of such member, including whether such 

2 member has graduated from an institution of higher 

3 education, is unemployed, or has had contact with 

4 the justice system. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 199DD. AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO VET 

6 CORPS PROJECTS. 

7 ‘‘(a) PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE.—From amounts 

8 appropriated for a fiscal year under section 501(a)(4), the 

9 Corporation shall make grants to Veteran Service Organi10 zations, nonprofit organizations, Federal agencies, State 

11 or local governments, or institutions of higher education 

12 for the purpose of establishing, operating, and supporting 

13 a VET Corps project. 

14 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive as16 sistance under this section, a Veteran Service Orga17 nizations, nonprofit organization, Federal, State, or 

18 local government, or institution of higher education 

19 shall prepare and submit to the Director an applica20 tion at such time, in such manner, and containing 

21 such information as the Corporation may reasonably 

22 require. 

23 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—An application 

24 submitted under paragraph (1) shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a description of how the VET Corps 

2 project to be carried out directly by such appli3 cant using funds provided under this section— 

4 ‘‘(i) will assist participants in obtain5 ing admission into an institution of higher 

6 education, a job credential, further job 

7 training, or employment; 

8 ‘‘(ii) will meet all the VET indicators, 

9 and engage participants in activities that 

10 will improve the project’s performance on 

11 such indicators; and 

12 ‘‘(iii) will improve performance on the 

13 VET indicators in a geographic area dem14 onstrating the need to improve such indica15 tors based on the demographic information 

16 of veterans and retired military personnel 

17 in such area and other statistics; 

18 ‘‘(B) a description of the type of positions 

19 which participants will be placed into using the 

20 funds under this section, including descriptions 

21 of the specific tasks to be performed by such 

22 participants, and the minimum qualifications 

23 that individuals will be required to meet to be24 come participants in such project; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the number of proposed full- and 

2 part-time national service positions for which 

3 participants will receive the national service 

4 educational award described in subtitle D; 

5 ‘‘(D) an assurance that the applicant will 

6 comply with the nonduplication and non7 displacement provisions of section 177; and 

8 ‘‘(E) a description of how the applicant— 

9 ‘‘(i) in cooperation with other service 

10 corps authorized under the national service 

11 laws, Veterans Service Organizations, the 

12 Department of Veterans Affairs, and the 

13 Department of Defense will act as a clear14 inghouse by directing any person desiring 

15 to serve the veteran population to such op16 portunities; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) if applicable, will work with other 

18 community-based agencies to carry out ac19 tivities to improve performance of the VET 

20 Corps indicators 

21 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE VET CORPS PROJECTS.—The recipi22 ent of a grant under this section shall use the grant funds 

23 to carry out service projects that address veteran needs, 

24 which may include— 


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1 ‘‘(1) building housing for veterans and others in 

2 need of such services; 

3 ‘‘(2) assisting with rehabilitative classes such as 

4 physical therapy or life skills development; 

5 ‘‘(3) providing services in veterans’ hospitals or 

6 community-based outpatient clinics; 

7 ‘‘(4) assisting with outreach of Veteran Services 

8 Organizations and other service corps to help vet9 erans and retired military personnel with the transi10 tion from active duty service as a member of the 

11 Armed Forces to becoming a veteran or retiring 

12 from military life; 

13 ‘‘(5) the repair, renovation, or adaption of 

14 homes or vehicles of disabled veterans; 

15 ‘‘(6) performing outreach to the veteran and re16 tired military personnel community to provide them 

17 information and access to services available to them; 

18 ‘‘(7) assisting in other such activities as a re19 cipient of a grant under this section may identify; 

20 ‘‘(8) providing services to military families dur21 ing overseas deployment; and 

22 ‘‘(9) fostering mentoring relationships between 

23 veterans and nonveterans. 


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1 ‘‘(d) PREFERENCE FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS.—In the 

2 consideration of applications submitted under this section, 

3 the Director shall give preference to projects that— 

4 ‘‘(1) provide development, training, and prac5 tical work experience for veterans and retired mem6 bers of the military in important career fields and 

7 act as preparation for additional education or per8 manent employment for veterans and retired mem9 bers of the military which will provide long-term 

10 benefits to the public; 

11 ‘‘(2) can be planned and initiated promptly; and 

12 ‘‘(3) will provide academic, experiential, or com13 munity education opportunities. 

14 ‘‘(e) EVALUATION.— 

15 ‘‘(1) EVALUATION.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

16 the Director shall develop evaluation criteria and 

17 performance goals, including recruitment and reten18 tion goals, applicable to all VET Corps projects car19 ried out with assistance provided under this section. 

20 ‘‘(2) ALTERNATIVE EVALUATION REQUIRE21 MENTS.—The Director may establish alternative 

22 evaluation requirements, such as requirements that 

23 provide flexibility in the recruitment and retention 

24 outcomes, for VET Corps projects based upon the 


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1 amount of assistance received in this section and the 

2 demographics of participants. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 199EE. CONSULTATION. 

4 ‘‘The Director shall consult with the Secretary of Vet5 erans Affairs and Veteran Service Organizations, the Sec6 retary of Defense, and the heads of other Federal agen7 cies, as appropriate, in making grants under subsection 

8 199DD, developing additional VET indicators, and in re9 cruiting VET Corps members. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 199FF. TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

11 ‘‘From amounts appropriated for a fiscal year under 

12 section 501(a), the Director shall ensure that the VET 

13 Corps (including each recipient of a grant under this sub14 title) has adequate access to relevant training and tech15 nical assistance services, such as services to assist with 

16 improving performance on VET indicators, which shall be 

17 provided, by grant or contract, through at least 1 national 

18 non-profit organization with a demonstrated record of ex19 perience in promoting and disseminating effective prac20 tices among service corps. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 199GG. DEFINITIONS. 

22 ‘‘For the purposes of this subtitle: 

23 ‘‘(a) VETERAN.—The term ‘veteran’ means a person 

24 who— 


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1 ‘‘(1) serves on active duty (other than active 

2 duty for training) as a member of the Armed 

3 Forces— 

4 ‘‘(A) for a period of at least 180 days; or 

5 ‘‘(B) for a shorter period of time in the 

6 case of a person who is discharged or released 

7 from such service for a service-connected dis8 ability; and 

9 ‘‘(2) is discharged or released from such service 

10 under conditions other than dishonorable. 

11 ‘‘(b) RETIRED MILITARY PERSONNEL.—The term 

12 ‘retired military personnel’ means the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) Regular and Reserve officers and enlisted 

14 members who retire from the Military Services under 

15 chapters 61, 63, 65, 67, 367, 571, 573, or 867 of 

16 title 10, United States Code, and chapters 11 and 

17 21 of title 14, United States Code. 

18 ‘‘(2) Reserve officers and enlisted members eli19 gible for retirement who have not reached age 60 

20 and who have not elected discharge or are not mem21 bers of the Ready Reserve or Standby Reserve (in22 cluding members of the Inactive Standby Reserve). 

23 ‘‘(3) Members of the Fleet Reserve and Fleet 

24 Marine Corps Reserve under section 6330 of title 

25 10, United States Code. 


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1 ‘‘(c) VET INDICATORS.—The term ‘VET Indicators’ 

2 means— 

3 ‘‘(1) promoting and improving the service op4 portunities for veterans; 

5 ‘‘(2) engaging veterans and retired military per6 sonnel; and 

7 ‘‘(3) projects designed to meet identifiable pub8 lic needs with a specific emphasis on projects in sup9 port of veterans, especially disabled and older vet10 erans and retired military personnel.’’. 

11 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 Section 501(a) of the National and Community Serv13 ice Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12681(a)) is amended— 

14 (1) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(4) SUBTITLE J.—There are authorized to be 

17 appropriated $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

18 2010 through 2014 to carry out subtitle J.’’; and 

19 (2) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para20 graph (5). 

Æ 


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