II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3161 

To require the Secretary of Defense to carry out a pilot program to 

supplement the Transition Assistance Program of the Department of Defense. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 3, 2021 

Mrs. BLACKBURN (for herself and Mrs. GILLIBRAND) introduced the following 

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

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Defense to carry out a pilot 

program to supplement the Transition Assistance Program of the Department of Defense. 

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 ‘‘Onward to Opportunity 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM TO SUPPLEMENT THE TRANSI7 TION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM OF THE DE8 PARTMENT OF DEFENSE THROUGH GRANTS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, in con10 sultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall 


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1 carry out a pilot program under which the Secretary of 

2 Defense provides, through grants, enhanced support and 

3 funding to eligible entities to supplement the Transition 

4 Assistance Program by providing job opportunities for in5 dustry-recognized certifications, job placement assistance, 

6 and related employment services directly to covered indi7 viduals. 

8 (b) SERVICES.—In carrying out the pilot program, 

9 the Secretary of Defense shall award grants to eligible en10 tities to provide to covered individuals the following serv11 ices: 

12 (1) Using an industry-validated screening tool, 

13 assessments of prior education, work history, and 

14 employment aspirations of covered individuals in 

15 order to tailor appropriate employment services. 

16 (2) Preparation for civilian employment 

17 through services such as mock interviews and salary 

18 negotiations, training on professional networking 

19 platforms, and company research. 

20 (3) Several industry-specific learning path21 ways— 

22 (A) with entry-level, mid-level and senior 

23 versions; 

24 (B) in fields such as project management, 

25 cybersecurity, and information technology; 


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1 (C) in which each covered individual works 

2 with an academic advisor to choose a career 

3 pathway and navigate coursework during the 

4 training process; and 

5 (D) in which each covered individual can 

6 earn industry-recognized credentials and certifi7 cations, at no charge to the covered individual. 

8 (4) Job placement services. 

9 (c) PROGRAM ORGANIZATION AND IMPLEMENTATION

10 MODEL.—The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the 

11 pilot program follows economic opportunity program mod12 els in use as of the date of the enactment of this Act that 

13 combine industry-recognized certification training, fur14 nished by professionals, with online learning staff. 

15 (d) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary of Defense shall 

16 seek to consult with private entities to identify the best 

17 economic opportunity program models for the pilot pro18 gram to follow, including economic opportunity models in 

19 use as of the date of the enactment of this Act that are 

20 furnished through public-private partnerships. 

21 (e) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

22 under the pilot program, an entity shall— 

23 (1) follow a job training and placement model; 

24 (2) have a well-developed and rigorous practice 

25 of program measurement and evaluation that indiVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Nov 04, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3161.IS S3161

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1 cates program performance and efficiency, with data 

2 that is high quality and shareable with partner enti3 ties; 

4 (3) have established partnerships with entities 

5 (such as employers, governmental agencies, and non6 profit entities) to provide services described in sub7 section (b); and 

8 (4) have online training capability to reach 

9 rural veterans, reduce costs, and comply with new 

10 conditions forced by COVID–19. 

11 (f) COORDINATION WITH FEDERAL ENTITIES.— 

12 Each grantee under the pilot program shall coordinate 

13 with Federal entities, including— 

14 (1) the Office of Transition and Economic De15 velopment of the Department of Veterans Affairs; 

16 and 

17 (2) the Veterans’ Employment and Training 

18 Service of the Department of Labor. 

19 (g) PERFORMANCE METRICS.—The Secretary of De20 fense shall ensure that performance outcomes of the pilot 

21 program— 

22 (1) are able to be verified using a third-party 

23 auditing method; and 

24 (2) include— 


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1 (A) the number of covered individuals who 

2 receive and complete skills training through the 

3 pilot program; 

4 (B) the number of covered individuals who 

5 secure employment through the pilot program; 

6 (C) the retention rate for covered individ7 uals described in subparagraph (B); and 

8 (D) the median salary of covered individ9 uals described in subparagraph (B). 

10 (h) SITE LOCATIONS.—The Secretary of Defense 

11 shall carry out the pilot program at five military installa12 tions in the United States where existing economic oppor13 tunity program models are successful. 

14 (i) ASSESSMENT OF POSSIBLE EXPANSION.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each grantee under the pilot 

16 program shall assess the feasibility of expanding the 

17 virtual training and career placement services of18 fered under the pilot program to— 

19 (A) members of the reserve components of 

20 the Armed Forces; and 

21 (B) covered individuals outside the United 

22 States. 

23 (2) SUBMITTAL TO SECRETARY OF DEFENSE.— 

24 Each grantee under the pilot program shall submit 


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1 to the Secretary of Defense the assessment of the 

2 grantee conducted under paragraph (1). 

3 (j) DURATION.—The pilot program shall terminate 

4 on September 30, 2025. 

5 (k) REPORT.—Not later than March 30, 2026, the 

6 Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional de7 fense committees a report that includes— 

8 (1) a description of the pilot program, including 

9 a description of specific activities carried out under 

10 this section; 

11 (2) the metrics and evaluations used to assess 

12 the effectiveness of the pilot program; and 

13 (3) the assessments submitted to the Secretary 

14 under subsection (i)(2). 

15 (l) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 (1) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘covered 

17 individual’’ means— 

18 (A) a member of the Armed Forces partici19 pating in the Transition Assistance Program; or 

20 (B) a spouse of a member described in 

21 subparagraph (A). 

22 (2) ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM

23 MODEL.—The term ‘‘economic opportunity program 

24 model’’ means a model of programmatic service de25 livery that expands economic opportunity and imVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Nov 04, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3161.IS S3161

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1 proves employment outcomes for members of the 

2 Armed Forces transitioning to civilian life and mili3 tary spouses through career exploration, job train4 ing, and credentialing. 

5 (3) MILITARY INSTALLATION.—The term ‘‘mili6 tary installation’’ has the meaning given such term 

7 in section 2801(c) of title 10, United States Code. 

8 (4) TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—The 

9 term ‘‘Transition Assistance Program’’ means the 

10 program of the Department of Defense for 

11 preseparation counseling, employment assistance, 

12 and other transitional services provided under sec13 tions 1142 and 1144 of title 10, United States Code. 

Æ 


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