I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 366 

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 

JANUARY 14, 2015 

Mr. COHEN (for himself, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. NORTON, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. TSONGAS, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. RUSH, Ms. 

BORDALLO, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, 

Ms. BASS, and Mr. SERRANO) 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Putting Our Veterans Back to Work Act of 2015’’. 

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

5 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. 

6 TITLE I—RENEWING OUR VOW 

7 TO HIRE HEROES 

8 SEC. 101. REAUTHORIZATION OF VETERANS RETRAINING 

9 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

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

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


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1 56; 38 U.S.C. 4100 note) is amended by striking ‘‘March 

2 31, 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2018’’. 

3 (b) NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE VETERANS.—Subsection 

4 (a)(2) of such section is amended— 

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

6 the end; 

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

8 at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

9 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub10 paragraphs: 

11 ‘‘(C) 50,000 during fiscal year 2015; 

12 ‘‘(D) 50,000 during fiscal year 2016; 

13 ‘‘(E) 50,000 during fiscal year 2017; and 

14 ‘‘(F) 50,000 during the period beginning 

15 October 1, 2017, and ending December 31, 

16 2018.’’. 

17 (c) CLARIFICATION OF LIMITATION ON AGGREGATE

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

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

20 assistance provided by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs’’ 

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

22 of retraining assistance provided by the Secretary of Vet23 erans Affairs under this section’’. 


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1 (d) UPDATED REPORT.—Subsection (i) of such sec2 tion is amended by adding at the end the following new 

3 paragraph: 

4 ‘‘(3) UPDATE.—Not later than December 31, 

5 2019, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in collabo6 ration with the Secretary of Labor, shall submit to 

7 the appropriate committees of Congress an update 

8 to the report described in paragraph (1).’’. 

9 SEC. 102. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF 

10 VETERANS AFFAIRS TO PROVIDE REHABILI11 TATION AND VOCATIONAL BENEFITS TO 

12 MEMBERS OF ARMED FORCES WITH SEVERE 

13 INJURIES OR ILLNESSES. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1631(b)(2) of the Wound15 ed Warrior Act (title XVI of Public Law 110–181; 10 

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

17 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2018’’. 

18 (b) REPORT.— 

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

20 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec21 retary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the appro22 priate committees of Congress a report on the bene23 fits provided by the Secretary under section 1631(b) 

24 of such Act. 


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1 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON2 GRESS.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘appropriate 

3 committees of Congress’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Armed Services and 

5 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen6 ate; and 

7 (B) the Committee on Armed Services and 

8 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

9 House of Representatives. 

10 SEC. 103. EXTENSION OF ADDITIONAL REHABILITATION 

11 PROGRAMS FOR PERSONS WHO HAVE EX12 HAUSTED RIGHTS TO UNEMPLOYMENT BENE13 FITS UNDER STATE LAW. 

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

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

16 ‘‘March 31, 2018’’. 

17 SEC. 104. REAUTHORIZATION OF COLLABORATIVE VET18 ERANS’ TRAINING, MENTORING, AND PLACE19 MENT PROGRAM. 

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

21 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

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

23 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

24 amounts as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(1) $4,500,000 for the period consisting of fis2 cal years 2016 and 2017. 

3 ‘‘(2) $4,500,000 for the period consisting of fis4 cal years 2018 and 2019.’’. 

5 TITLE II—BUILDING ON OUR 

6 VOW TO HIRE HEROES 

7 SEC. 201. UNIFIED EMPLOYMENT PORTAL FOR VETERANS. 

8 Section 4105 of title 38, United States Code is 

9 amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

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

12 containing information regarding all Federal programs 

13 and activities concerning employment, unemployment, and 

14 training to the extent the programs and activities affect 

15 veterans. 

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

17 from the Department of Defense, the Department of Vet18 erans Affairs, the Small Business Administration, and 

19 other Federal agencies and organizations concerned with 

20 veterans’ issues, to determine an appropriate platform and 

21 implementing agency for the portal. The Secretary shall 

22 enter into an agreement with the other Federal agencies 

23 for the implementation of the portal.’’. 


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1 SEC. 202. GRANTS TO HIRE VETERANS AS FIRST RESPOND2 ERS. 

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

4 Homeland Security shall award grants under section 34 

5 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 

6 (15 U.S.C. 2229a) to hire veterans as firefighters. 

7 (b) GRANTS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.— 

8 The Attorney General shall award grants under part Q 

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

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

11 as law enforcement officers. 

12 (c) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec13 tion to hire veterans, the Secretary of Homeland Security 

14 and the Attorney General shall give priority to the hiring 

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

16 on or after September 11, 2001. 

17 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

18 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

19 $250,000,000. 

20 SEC. 203. EMPLOYMENT OF VETERANS AS EVALUATION 

21 FACTOR IN THE AWARDING OF FEDERAL 

22 CONTRACTS. 

23 (a) CIVILIAN CONTRACTS.— 

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

25 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

26 end the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 3313. Employment of veterans as evaluation factor 

2 ‘‘The head of each executive agency shall consider fa3 vorably as an evaluation factor in solicitations for con4 tracts and task or delivery order valued at or above 

5 $25,000,000 the employment by a prospective contractor 

6 of veterans constituting at least 5 percent of the contrac7 tor’s workforce.’’. 

8 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec9 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 

10 by adding after the item relating to section 3312 the 

11 following new item: 

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

12 (b) DEFENSE CONTRACTS.— 

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

14 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

15 end the following new section: 

16 ‘‘§ 2338. Employment of veterans as evaluation factor 

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

18 an evaluation factor in solicitations for contracts and task 

19 or delivery order valued at or above $25,000,000 the em20 ployment by a prospective contractor of veterans consti21 tuting at least five percent of the contractor’s workforce.’’. 

22 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec23 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 


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1 by adding after the item relating to section 2337 the 

2 following new item: 

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

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

4 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisi5 tion Regulatory Council shall amend the Federal Acquisi6 tion Regulation to carry out the provisions of section 3313 

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

8 10, United States Code, as added by subsections (a) and 

9 (b), respectively. 

10 TITLE III—IMPROVING EMPLOY11 MENT AND REEMPLOYMENT 

12 RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF THE 

13 UNIFORMED SERVICES 

14 SEC. 301. ENFORCEMENT OF RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF UNI15 FORMED SERVICES WITH RESPECT TO 

16 STATES AND PRIVATE EMPLOYERS. 

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

18 4323 of title 38, United States Code, is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

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

21 act as attorney for, the person on whose behalf 

22 the complaint is submitted and’’; 

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

24 (C) by striking the fourth sentence; and 


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

2 ‘‘The person on whose behalf the complaint is 

3 referred may, upon timely application, intervene 

4 in such action, and may obtain such appro5 priate relief as is provided in subsections (d) 

6 and (e).’’; 

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

8 following new paragraph (2): 

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

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

11 the Attorney General shall transmit, in writing, to the per12 son on whose behalf the complaint is submitted— 

13 ‘‘(i) if the Attorney General has made a deci14 sion to commence an action for relief under para15 graph (1) relating to the complaint of the person, 

16 notice of the decision; and 

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

18 a decision, notice of when the Attorney General ex19 pects to make such a decision. 

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

21 the Attorney General expects to make a decision under 

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

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

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

25 decision.’’; 


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1 (3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para2 graph (4); 

3 (4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol4 lowing new paragraph (3): 

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

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

7 employer is engaged in a pattern or practice of resistance 

8 to the full enjoyment of any of the rights and benefits pro9 vided for under this chapter, and that the pattern or prac10 tice is of such a nature and is intended to deny the full 

11 exercise of such rights and benefits, the Attorney General 

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

13 and 

14 (5) in paragraph (4), as redesignated by para15 graph (3), by striking subparagraph (C) and insert16 ing the following new subparagraph (C): 

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

18 that the Attorney General does not intend to com19 mence an action for relief under paragraph (1) with 

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

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

22 amended to read as follows: 

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

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


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1 claiming rights or benefits under this chapter under sub2 section (a).’’. 

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

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

5 (a)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘under paragraph (1) or (4) of sub6 section (a)’’. 

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

8 CONTRACTORS FOR REPEATED VIOLATIONS 

9 OF EMPLOYMENT OR REEMPLOYMENT 

10 RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF UNIFORMED SERV11 ICES. 

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

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

14 end the following new section: 

15 ‘‘§ 4328. Suspension, termination, or debarment of 

16 contractors 

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

18 DEBARMENT.—Payment under a contract awarded by a 

19 Federal executive agency may be suspended and the con20 tract may be terminated, and the contractor who made 

21 the contract with the agency may be suspended or 

22 debarred in accordance with the requirements of this sec23 tion, if the head of the agency determines that the con24 tractor as an employer has repeatedly been convicted of 


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1 failing or refusing to comply with one or more provisions 

2 of this chapter. 

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

4 debarred by a final decision under this section is ineligible 

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

6 and for participation in a future procurement by a Federal 

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

8 to exceed five years.’’. 

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

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

11 by inserting after the item relating to section 4327 the 

12 following new item: 

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

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

14 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisi15 tion Regulatory Council shall amend the Federal Acquisi16 tion Regulation to carry out section 4328 of title 38, 

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

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

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

20 apply with respect to failures and refusals to comply with 

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

22 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

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

24 is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraph (10) as para2 graph (11); and 

3 (2) by inserting after paragraph (9) the fol4 lowing new paragraph (10): 

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

6 and debarments under section 4328 of this title, 

7 disaggregated by the agency or department imposing 

8 the suspension or debarment.’’. 

9 SEC. 303. SUBPOENA POWER FOR SPECIAL COUNSEL IN EN10 FORCEMENT OF EMPLOYMENT AND REEM11 PLOYMENT RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF UNI12 FORMED SERVICES WITH RESPECT TO FED13 ERAL EXECUTIVE AGENCIES. 

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

15 amended by adding at the end the following new sub16 section: 

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

18 responsibilities under this section, the Special Counsel 

19 may require by subpoena the attendance and testimony 

20 of Federal employees and the production of documents 

21 from Federal employees and Federal executive agencies. 

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

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

24 the Special Counsel, the Merit Systems Protection Board 

25 may issue an order requiring a Federal employee or FedVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:00 Jan 24, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H366.IH H366

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1 eral executive agency to comply with a subpoena of the 

2 Special Counsel. 

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

4 enforced by the Merit Systems Protection Board in the 

5 same manner as any order issued under section 1204 of 

6 title 5.’’. 

7 SEC. 304. ISSUANCE AND SERVICE OF CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE 

8 DEMANDS BY ATTORNEY GENERAL. 

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

10 States Code, is amended— 

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

12 (j); and 

13 (2) by inserting after subsection (h) the fol14 lowing new subsection (i): 

15 ‘‘(i) ISSUANCE AND SERVICE OF CIVIL INVESTIGA16 TIVE DEMANDS.—(1) Whenever the Attorney General has 

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

18 custody, or control of any documentary material relevant 

19 to an investigation under this subchapter, the Attorney 

20 General may, before commencing a civil action under sub21 section (a), issue in writing and serve upon such person, 

22 a civil investigative demand requiring— 

23 ‘‘(A) the production of such documentary mate24 rial for inspection and copying; 


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

2 material answer in writing written questions with re3 spect to such documentary material; or 

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

5 documentary material or answers. 

6 ‘‘(2) The provisions of section 3733 of title 31 gov7 erning the authority to issue, use, and enforce civil inves8 tigative demands shall apply with respect to the authority 

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

10 this section, except that, for purposes of applying such sec11 tion 3733— 

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

13 or investigations shall be considered references to in14 vestigators or investigations under this subchapter; 

15 ‘‘(B) references to interrogatories shall be con16 sidered references to written questions, and answers 

17 to such need not be under oath; 

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

19 law’ shall not apply; and 

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

21 shall not apply.’’. 

22 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (i) of such sec23 tion, as added by subsection (a)(2), shall take effect on 

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


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

2 have occurred on or after such date. 

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

4 title is amended— 

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

6 the following: 

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

8 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub9 paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(B) ANNUAL SUPPLEMENT ON CIVIL IN11 VESTIGATIVE DEMANDS.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney 

13 General shall include with each report sub14 mitted under subparagraph (A) for the last 

15 quarter of each fiscal year a report on the 

16 issuance of civil investigative demands 

17 under section 4323(i) of this title during 

18 the most recently completed fiscal year. 

19 ‘‘(ii) ELEMENTS.—Each report sub20 mitted under clause (i) shall include the 

21 following for the fiscal year covered by the 

22 report: 

23 ‘‘(I) The number of times that a 

24 civil investigative demand was issued 

25 under section 4323(i) of this title. 


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1 ‘‘(II) For each civil investigative 

2 demand issued under such section 

3 with respect to an investigation, 

4 whether such investigation resulted in 

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

Æ 


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