I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5193 

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

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 7, 2018 

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

which was referred to the Committee on Small Business, and in addition 

to the Committee on Armed Services, 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 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 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of De8 fense should coordinate with the Administrator of the 

9 Small Business Administration to include relevant aspects 


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1 of veterans assistance programs of the Small Business Ad2 ministration in the Transition Assistance Program estab3 lished under section 1144 of title 10, United States Code. 

4 SEC. 3. BOOTS TO BUSINESS PROGRAM. 

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

6 657b) is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub8 section (g); and 

9 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol10 lowing new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(f) BOOTS TO BUSINESS PROGRAM.— 

12 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

13 ‘‘(A) the term ‘covered individual’ means— 

14 ‘‘(i) a member of the Armed Forces, 

15 including the National Guard or Reserves; 

16 ‘‘(ii) an individual who is participating 

17 in the Transition Assistance Program es18 tablished under section 1144 of title 10, 

19 United States Code; 

20 ‘‘(iii) an individual who— 

21 ‘‘(I) served on active duty in any 

22 branch of the Armed Forces, includ23 ing the National Guard or Reserves; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(II) was discharged or released 

2 from such service under conditions 

3 other than dishonorable; and 

4 ‘‘(iv) a spouse or dependent of an in5 dividual described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii); 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(B) the term ‘Vet Center’ has the mean8 ing given in section 1712A(h) of title 38, 

9 United States Code. 

10 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator 

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

12 to Business Program’ to provide entrepreneurship 

13 training to covered individuals. 

14 ‘‘(3) GOALS.—The goals of the Boots to Busi15 ness Program are to— 

16 ‘‘(A) provide assistance and in-depth train17 ing to covered individuals interested in business 

18 ownership; and 

19 ‘‘(B) provide covered individuals with the 

20 tools, skills, and knowledge necessary to identify 

21 a business opportunity, draft a business plan, 

22 identify sources of capital, connect with local 

23 resources for small business concerns, and 

24 launch a small business concern. 

25 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Boots to Busi2 ness Program may include— 

3 ‘‘(i) a presentation providing exposure 

4 to the considerations involved in self-em5 ployment and ownership of a small busi6 ness concern; 

7 ‘‘(ii) an online, self-study course fo8 cused on the basic skills of entrepreneur9 ship, the language of business, and the 

10 considerations involved in self-employment 

11 and ownership of a small business concern; 

12 ‘‘(iii) an in-person classroom instruc13 tion component providing an introduction 

14 to the foundations of self employment and 

15 ownership of a small business concern; and 

16 ‘‘(iv) in-depth training delivered 

17 through online instruction, including an 

18 online course that leads to the creation of 

19 a business plan. 

20 ‘‘(B) COLLABORATION.—The Adminis21 trator may— 

22 ‘‘(i) collaborate with public and pri23 vate entities to develop course curricula for 

24 the Boots to Business Program; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) modify program components in 

2 coordination with entities participating in a 

3 Warriors in Transition program, as defined 

4 in section 738(e) of the National Defense 

5 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 

6 (10 U.S.C. 1071 note). 

7 ‘‘(C) UTILIZATION OF RESOURCE PART8 NERS.— 

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

10 shall— 

11 ‘‘(I) ensure that Veteran Busi12 ness Outreach Centers regularly par13 ticipate, on a nationwide basis, in the 

14 Boots to Business Program; and 

15 ‘‘(II) to the maximum extent 

16 practicable, use a variety of other re17 source partners and entities in admin18 istering the Boots to Business Pro19 gram. 

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

21 out clause (i), the Administrator may make 

22 grants to Veteran Business Outreach Cen23 ters, other resource partners, or other enti24 ties to carry out components of the Boots 

25 to Business Program. 


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1 ‘‘(D) AVAILABILITY TO DEPARTMENT OF

2 DEFENSE.—The Administrator shall make 

3 available to the Secretary of Defense informa4 tion regarding the Boots to Business Program, 

5 including all course materials created for the 

6 Boots to Business Program, for inclusion on 

7 the website of the Department of Defense relat8 ing to the Transition Assistance Program, in 

9 the Transition Assistance Program manual, and 

10 in other relevant materials available for dis11 tribution from the Secretary of Defense. 

12 ‘‘(E) AVAILABILITY TO VETERANS AF13 FAIRS.—In consultation with the Secretary of 

14 Veterans Affairs, the Administrator shall make 

15 available outreach materials regarding the 

16 Boots to Business Program for distribution and 

17 display at local facilities of the Department of 

18 Veterans Affairs which shall, at a minimum— 

19 ‘‘(i) describe the Boots to Business 

20 Program and the services provided; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) include eligibility requirements 

22 for participating in the Boots to Business 

23 Program. 

24 ‘‘(5) REVIEW.—The Inspector General of the 

25 Administration shall submit to the Committee on 


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1 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 

2 and the Committee on Small Business of the House 

3 of Representatives an annual report regarding the 

4 awarding of grants to entities under paragraph 

5 (4)(C). 

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

7 the date of enactment of this subsection and every 

8 year thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to 

9 the Committee on Small Business and Entrepre10 neurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small 

11 Business of the House of Representatives a report 

12 on the performance and effectiveness of the Boots to 

13 Business Program, which may be included as part of 

14 another report submitted to such Committees by the 

15 Administrator, and which shall include— 

16 ‘‘(A) the number of program participants 

17 using each component of the Boots to Business 

18 Program; 

19 ‘‘(B) the completion rates for each compo20 nent of the Boots to Business Program; 

21 ‘‘(C) to the extent possible— 

22 ‘‘(i) the demographics of program par23 ticipants, to include gender, age, race, rela24 tionship to military, military occupational 


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1 specialty, and years of service of program 

2 participants; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the number of small business 

4 concerns formed or expanded with assist5 ance under the Boots to Business Pro6 gram; 

7 ‘‘(iii) the gross receipts of small busi8 ness concerns receiving assistance under 

9 the Boots to Business Program; 

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

11 assistance under the Boots to Business 

12 Program; 

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

14 resources and programs of the Administra15 tion; 

16 ‘‘(vi) the number of program partici17 pants receiving financial assistance under 

18 loan programs of the Administration; 

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

20 financial assistance received by program 

21 participants under any loan program of the 

22 Administration; and 

23 ‘‘(viii) results of participant satisfac24 tion surveys, including a summary of any 


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1 comments received from program partici2 pants; 

3 ‘‘(D) an evaluation of the effectiveness of 

4 the Boots to Business Program in each region 

5 of the Administration during the most recent 

6 fiscal year; 

7 ‘‘(E) an assessment of additional perform8 ance outcome measures for the Boots to Busi9 ness Program, as identified by the Adminis10 trator; 

11 ‘‘(F) any recommendations of the Adminis12 trator for improvement of the Boots to Busi13 ness Program, which may include expansion of 

14 the types of individuals who are covered individ15 uals; 

16 ‘‘(G) an explanation of how the Boots to 

17 Business Program has been integrated with 

18 other transition programs and related resources 

19 of the Administration and other Federal agen20 cies; and 

21 ‘‘(H) any additional information the Ad22 ministrator determines necessary.’’. 

Æ 


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