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Union Calendar No. 188 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3537 

[Report No. 116–236] 

To amend the Small Business Act to codify the Boots to Business Program, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 27, 2019 

Mr. SCHNEIDER (for himself and Mr. SPANO) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Small Business 

OCTOBER 15, 2019 

Additional sponsors: Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. DELGADO, Ms. FINKENAUER, Mr. 

FITZPATRICK, Mr. BALDERSON, and Ms. UNDERWOOD

OCTOBER 15, 2019 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 

and ordered to be printed 


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A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to codify the Boots to 

Business Program, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Veteran Entrepreneur5 ship Training Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. BOOTS TO BUSINESS PROGRAM. 

7 Section 32 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

8 657b) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

9 subsection: 

10 ‘‘(h) BOOTS TO BUSINESS PROGRAM.— 

11 ‘‘(1) COVERED INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—In this 

12 subsection, the term ‘covered individual’ means— 

13 ‘‘(A) a member of the Armed Forces, in14 cluding the National Guard or Reserves; 

15 ‘‘(B) an individual who is participating in 

16 the Transition Assistance Program established 

17 under section 1144 of title 10, United States 

18 Code; 

19 ‘‘(C) an individual who— 

20 ‘‘(i) served on active duty in any 

21 branch of the Armed Forces, including the 

22 National Guard or Reserves; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) was discharged or released from 

24 such service under conditions other than 

25 dishonorable; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) a spouse or dependent of an indi2 vidual described in subparagraph (A), (B), or 

3 (C). 

4 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—Beginning on the first 

5 October 1 after the enactment of this subsection and 

6 for the subsequent 4 fiscal years, the Administrator 

7 shall carry out a program to be known as the ‘Boots 

8 to Business Program’ to provide entrepreneurship 

9 training to covered individuals. 

10 ‘‘(3) GOALS.—The goals of the Boots to Busi11 ness Program are to— 

12 ‘‘(A) provide assistance and in-depth train13 ing to covered individuals interested in business 

14 ownership; and 

15 ‘‘(B) provide covered individuals with the 

16 tools, skills, and knowledge necessary to identify 

17 a business opportunity, draft a business plan, 

18 identify sources of capital, connect with local 

19 resources for small business concerns, and start 

20 up a small business concern. 

21 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Boots to Busi23 ness Program may include— 

24 ‘‘(i) a presentation providing exposure 

25 to the considerations involved in self-emVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Oct 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3537.RH H3537

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1 ployment and ownership of a small busi2 ness concern; 

3 ‘‘(ii) an online, self-study course fo4 cused on the basic skills of entrepreneur5 ship, the language of business, and the 

6 considerations involved in self-employment 

7 and ownership of a small business concern; 

8 ‘‘(iii) an in-person classroom instruc9 tion component providing an introduction 

10 to the foundations of self employment and 

11 ownership of a small business concern; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) in-depth training delivered 

13 through online instruction, including an 

14 online course that leads to the creation of 

15 a business plan. 

16 ‘‘(B) COLLABORATION.—The Adminis17 trator may— 

18 ‘‘(i) collaborate with public and pri19 vate entities to develop course curricula for 

20 the Boots to Business Program; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) modify program components in 

22 coordination with entities participating in a 

23 Warriors in Transition program, as defined 

24 in section 738(e) of the National Defense 


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1 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 

2 (10 U.S.C. 1071 note). 

3 ‘‘(C) USE OF RESOURCE PARTNERS.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

5 shall— 

6 ‘‘(I) ensure that Veteran Busi7 ness Outreach Centers regularly par8 ticipate, on a nationwide basis, in the 

9 Boots to Business Program; and 

10 ‘‘(II) to the maximum extent 

11 practicable, use a variety of other re12 source partners and entities in admin13 istering the Boots to Business Pro14 gram. 

15 ‘‘(ii) GRANT AUTHORITY.—In carrying 

16 out clause (i), the Administrator may make 

17 grants to Veteran Business Outreach Cen18 ters, other resource partners, or other enti19 ties to carry out components of the Boots 

20 to Business Program. 

21 ‘‘(D) AVAILABILITY TO DEPARTMENT OF

22 DEFENSE.—The Administrator shall make 

23 available to the Secretary of Defense informa24 tion regarding the Boots to Business Program, 

25 including all course materials and outreach maVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Oct 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3537.RH H3537

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1 terials related to the Boots to Business Pro2 gram, for inclusion on the website of the De3 partment of Defense relating to the Transition 

4 Assistance Program, in the Transition Assist5 ance Program manual, and in other relevant 

6 materials available for distribution from the 

7 Secretary of Defense. 

8 ‘‘(E) AVAILABILITY TO VETERANS AF9 FAIRS.—In consultation with the Secretary of 

10 Veterans Affairs, the Administrator shall make 

11 available for distribution and display at local fa12 cilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs 

13 outreach materials regarding the Boots to Busi14 ness Program which shall, at a minimum— 

15 ‘‘(i) describe the Boots to Business 

16 Program and the services provided; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) include eligibility requirements 

18 for participating in the Boots to Business 

19 Program. 

20 ‘‘(5) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 

21 the date of the enactment of this subsection and 

22 every year thereafter, the Administrator shall submit 

23 to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepre24 neurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small 

25 Business of the House of Representatives a report 


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1 on the performance and effectiveness of the Boots to 

2 Business Program, which may be included as part of 

3 another report submitted to such Committees by the 

4 Administrator, and which shall include— 

5 ‘‘(A) information regarding grants award6 ed under paragraph (4)(C); 

7 ‘‘(B) the total cost of the Boots to Busi8 ness Program; 

9 ‘‘(C) the number of program participants 

10 using each component of the Boots to Business 

11 Program; 

12 ‘‘(D) the completion rates for each compo13 nent of the Boots to Business Program; 

14 ‘‘(E) to the extent possible— 

15 ‘‘(i) the demographics of program par16 ticipants, to include gender, age, race, rela17 tionship to military, military occupational 

18 specialty, and years of service of program 

19 participants; 

20 ‘‘(ii) the number of small business 

21 concerns formed or expanded with assist22 ance under the Boots to Business Pro23 gram; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the gross receipts of small busi2 ness concerns receiving assistance under 

3 the Boots to Business Program; 

4 ‘‘(iv) the number of jobs created with 

5 assistance under the Boots to Business 

6 Program; 

7 ‘‘(v) the number of referrals to other 

8 resources and programs of the Administra9 tion; 

10 ‘‘(vi) the number of program partici11 pants receiving financial assistance under 

12 loan programs of the Administration; 

13 ‘‘(vii) the type and dollar amount of 

14 financial assistance received by program 

15 participants under any loan program of the 

16 Administration; and 

17 ‘‘(viii) results of participant satisfac18 tion surveys, including a summary of any 

19 comments received from program partici20 pants; 

21 ‘‘(F) an evaluation of the effectiveness of 

22 the Boots to Business Program in each region 

23 of the Administration during the most recent 

24 fiscal year; 


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1 ‘‘(G) an assessment of additional perform2 ance outcome measures for the Boots to Busi3 ness Program, as identified by the Adminis4 trator; 

5 ‘‘(H) any recommendations of the Admin6 istrator for improvement of the Boots to Busi7 ness Program, which may include expansion of 

8 the types of individuals who are covered individ9 uals; 

10 ‘‘(I) an explanation of how the Boots to 

11 Business Program has been integrated with 

12 other transition programs and related resources 

13 of the Administration and other Federal agen14 cies; and 

15 ‘‘(J) any additional information the Ad16 ministrator determines necessary.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 188 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3537 

[Report No. 116–236] 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to codify the 

poses. Boots to Business Program, and for other purOCTOBER 15, 2019 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS