I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3537 

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 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to codify the Boots to 

Business Program, 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. 

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.— 


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

2 subsection, the term ‘covered individual’ means— 

3 ‘‘(A) a member of the Armed Forces, in4 cluding the National Guard or Reserves; 

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

6 the Transition Assistance Program established 

7 under section 1144 of title 10, United States 

8 Code; 

9 ‘‘(C) an individual who— 

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

11 branch of the Armed Forces, including the 

12 National Guard or Reserves; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) was discharged or released from 

14 such service under conditions other than 

15 dishonorable; and 

16 ‘‘(D) a spouse or dependent of an indi17 vidual described in subparagraph (A), (B), or 

18 (C). 

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

20 October 1 after the enactment of this subsection and 

21 for the subsequent 4 fiscal years, the Administrator 

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

23 to Business Program’ to provide entrepreneurship 

24 training to covered individuals. 


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1 ‘‘(3) GOALS.—The goals of the Boots to Busi2 ness Program are to— 

3 ‘‘(A) provide assistance and in-depth train4 ing to covered individuals interested in business 

5 ownership; and 

6 ‘‘(B) provide covered individuals with the 

7 tools, skills, and knowledge necessary to identify 

8 a business opportunity, draft a business plan, 

9 identify sources of capital, connect with local 

10 resources for small business concerns, and start 

11 up a small business concern. 

12 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Boots to Busi14 ness Program may include— 

15 ‘‘(i) a presentation providing exposure 

16 to the considerations involved in self-em17 ployment and ownership of a small busi18 ness concern; 

19 ‘‘(ii) an online, self-study course fo20 cused on the basic skills of entrepreneur21 ship, the language of business, and the 

22 considerations involved in self-employment 

23 and ownership of a small business concern; 

24 ‘‘(iii) an in-person classroom instruc25 tion component providing an introduction 


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1 to the foundations of self employment and 

2 ownership of a small business concern; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) in-depth training delivered 

4 through online instruction, including an 

5 online course that leads to the creation of 

6 a business plan. 

7 ‘‘(B) COLLABORATION.—The Adminis8 trator may— 

9 ‘‘(i) collaborate with public and pri10 vate entities to develop course curricula for 

11 the Boots to Business Program; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) modify program components in 

13 coordination with entities participating in a 

14 Warriors in Transition program, as defined 

15 in section 738(e) of the National Defense 

16 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 

17 (10 U.S.C. 1071 note). 

18 ‘‘(C) USE OF RESOURCE PARTNERS.— 

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

20 shall— 

21 ‘‘(I) ensure that Veteran Busi22 ness Outreach Centers regularly par23 ticipate, on a nationwide basis, in the 

24 Boots to Business Program; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) to the maximum extent 

2 practicable, use a variety of other re3 source partners and entities in admin4 istering the Boots to Business Pro5 gram. 

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

7 out clause (i), the Administrator may make 

8 grants to Veteran Business Outreach Cen9 ters, other resource partners, or other enti10 ties to carry out components of the Boots 

11 to Business Program. 

12 ‘‘(D) AVAILABILITY TO DEPARTMENT OF

13 DEFENSE.—The Administrator shall make 

14 available to the Secretary of Defense informa15 tion regarding the Boots to Business Program, 

16 including all course materials and outreach ma17 terials related to the Boots to Business Pro18 gram, for inclusion on the website of the De19 partment of Defense relating to the Transition 

20 Assistance Program, in the Transition Assist21 ance Program manual, and in other relevant 

22 materials available for distribution from the 

23 Secretary of Defense. 

24 ‘‘(E) AVAILABILITY TO VETERANS AF25 FAIRS.—In consultation with the Secretary of 


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1 Veterans Affairs, the Administrator shall make 

2 available for distribution and display at local fa3 cilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs 

4 outreach materials regarding the Boots to Busi5 ness Program which shall, at a minimum— 

6 ‘‘(i) describe the Boots to Business 

7 Program and the services provided; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) include eligibility requirements 

9 for participating in the Boots to Business 

10 Program. 

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

12 the date of the enactment of this subsection and 

13 every year thereafter, the Administrator shall submit 

14 to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepre15 neurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small 

16 Business of the House of Representatives a report 

17 on the performance and effectiveness of the Boots to 

18 Business Program, which may be included as part of 

19 another report submitted to such Committees by the 

20 Administrator, and which shall include— 

21 ‘‘(A) information regarding grants award22 ed under paragraph (4)(C); 

23 ‘‘(B) the total cost of the Boots to Busi24 ness Program; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the number of program participants 

2 using each component of the Boots to Business 

3 Program; 

4 ‘‘(D) the completion rates for each compo5 nent of the Boots to Business Program; 

6 ‘‘(E) to the extent possible— 

7 ‘‘(i) the demographics of program par8 ticipants, to include gender, age, race, rela9 tionship to military, military occupational 

10 specialty, and years of service of program 

11 participants; 

12 ‘‘(ii) the number of small business 

13 concerns formed or expanded with assist14 ance under the Boots to Business Pro15 gram; 

16 ‘‘(iii) the gross receipts of small busi17 ness concerns receiving assistance under 

18 the Boots to Business Program; 

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

20 assistance under the Boots to Business 

21 Program; 

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

23 resources and programs of the Administra24 tion; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) the number of program partici2 pants receiving financial assistance under 

3 loan programs of the Administration; 

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

5 financial assistance received by program 

6 participants under any loan program of the 

7 Administration; and 

8 ‘‘(viii) results of participant satisfac9 tion surveys, including a summary of any 

10 comments received from program partici11 pants; 

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

13 the Boots to Business Program in each region 

14 of the Administration during the most recent 

15 fiscal year; 

16 ‘‘(G) an assessment of additional perform17 ance outcome measures for the Boots to Busi18 ness Program, as identified by the Adminis19 trator; 

20 ‘‘(H) any recommendations of the Admin21 istrator for improvement of the Boots to Busi22 ness Program, which may include expansion of 

23 the types of individuals who are covered individ24 uals; 


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

2 Business Program has been integrated with 

3 other transition programs and related resources 

4 of the Administration and other Federal agen5 cies; and 

6 ‘‘(J) any additional information the Ad7 ministrator determines necessary.’’. 

Æ 


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