115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5649 

AN ACT 

To amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to amend 

the Social Security Act, and to direct the Secretaries 

of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Labor, and Homeland Security, and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, to take certain actions to improve transition 

assistance to members of the Armed Forces who separate, retire, or are discharged from the Armed Forces, 

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 ‘‘Navy SEAL Chief 

5 Petty Officer William ‘Bill’ Mulder (Ret.) Transition Im6 provement Act of 2018’’. 

7 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

8 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—IMPROVEMENTS TO TRANSITION ASSISTANCE 

Sec. 101. Access for the Secretaries of Labor and Veterans Affairs to the Federal directory of new hires. 

Sec. 102. Pilot program for off-base transition training for veterans and 

spouses. 

Sec. 103. Grants for provision of transition assistance to members of the 

Armed Forces after separation, retirement, or discharge. 

Sec. 104. Study of community-based transition assistance programs for members of the Armed Forces after separation, retirement, or discharge. 

Sec. 105. One-year independent assessment of the effectiveness of TAP. 

Sec. 106. Longitudinal study on changes to TAP. 

TITLE II—EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 

Sec. 201. Improvements to assistance for certain flight training and other programs of education. 

Sec. 202. Elimination of the period of eligibility for the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment program of the Department of Veterans 

Affairs. 

Sec. 203. Educational assistance during extended school closures due to natural 

disasters. 

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) The term ‘‘TAP’’ means the Transition As12 sistance Program under sections 1142 and 1144 of 

13 title 10, United States Code. 
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1 (2) The term ‘‘military departments’’ has the 

2 meaning given that term in section 101 of title 10, 

3 United States Code. 

4 TITLE I—IMPROVEMENTS TO 

5 TRANSITION ASSISTANCE 

6 SEC. 101. ACCESS FOR THE SECRETARIES OF LABOR AND 

7 VETERANS AFFAIRS TO THE FEDERAL DIREC8 TORY OF NEW HIRES. 

9 Section 453A(h) of the Social Security Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 653a(h)) is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing new paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(4) VETERAN EMPLOYMENT.—The Secretaries 

13 of Labor and of Veterans Affairs shall have access 

14 to information reported by employers pursuant to 

15 subsection (b) of this section for purposes of track16 ing employment of veterans.’’. 

17 SEC. 102. PILOT PROGRAM FOR OFF-BASE TRANSITION 

18 TRAINING FOR VETERANS AND SPOUSES. 

19 (a) EXTENSION OF PILOT PROGRAM.—Subsection 

20 (a) of section 301 of the Dignified Burial and Other Vet21 erans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2012 (Public Law 

22 112–260; 10 U.S.C. 1144 note) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘During the two-year period be24 ginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, 

25 the’’ and inserting ‘‘During the five-year period be-
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1 ginning on the date of the enactment of the Navy 

2 SEAL Chief Petty Officer William ‘Bill’ Mulder 

3 (Ret.) Transition Improvement Act of 2018, the’’; 

4 and 

5 (2) by striking ‘‘to assess the feasibility and ad6 visability of providing such program to eligible indi7 viduals at locations other than military installa8 tions’’. 

9 (b) LOCATIONS.—Subsection (c) of such section is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘not less than 

12 three and not more than five States’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘not less than 50 locations in States (as defined in 

14 section 101(20) of title 38, United States Code)’’; 

15 and 

16 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘at least two’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘at least 20’’. 

18 (c) CONFORMING REPEAL.—Subsection (f) of such 

19 section is repealed. 

20 SEC. 103. GRANTS FOR PROVISION OF TRANSITION ASSIST21 ANCE TO MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES 

22 AFTER SEPARATION, RETIREMENT, OR DIS23 CHARGE. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

25 shall make grants to eligible organizations for the provi-
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1 sion of transition assistance to members of the Armed 

2 Forces who are separated, retired, or discharged from the 

3 Armed Forces, and spouses of such members. 

4 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—The recipient of a grant under 

5 this section shall use the grant to provide to members of 

6 the Armed Forces and spouses described in subsection (a) 

7 resume assistance, interview training, job recruitment 

8 training, and related services leading directly to successful 

9 transition, as determined by the Secretary. 

10 (c) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.—To be eligible for a 

11 grant under this section, an organization shall submit to 

12 the Secretary an application containing such information 

13 and assurances as the Secretary, in consultation with the 

14 Secretary of Labor, may require. 

15 (d) PRIORITY FOR HUBS OF SERVICES.—In making 

16 grants under this section, the Secretary shall give priority 

17 to an organization that provides multiple forms of services 

18 described in subsection (b). 

19 (e) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—A grant under this section 

20 shall be in an amount that does not exceed 50 percent 

21 of the amount required by the organization to provide the 

22 services described in subsection (b). 

23 (f) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall carry out this 

24 section not later than six months after the effective date 

25 of this Act. 
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1 (g) TERMINATION.—The authority to provide a grant 

2 under this section shall terminate on the date that is five 

3 years after the date on which the Secretary implements 

4 the grant program under this section. 

5 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

6 authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 to carry out 

7 this section. 

8 SEC. 104. STUDY OF COMMUNITY-BASED TRANSITION AS9 SISTANCE PROGRAMS FOR MEMBERS OF THE 

10 ARMED FORCES AFTER SEPARATION, RE11 TIREMENT, OR DISCHARGE. 

12 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in 

13 consultation with State entities that serve members of the 

14 Armed Forces who are retired, separated, or discharged 

15 from the Armed Forces, shall enter into an agreement 

16 with an appropriate non-Federal entity to carry out a 

17 study to identify community-based programs— 

18 (1) that provide transition assistance to such 

19 members; and 

20 (2) operated by nonprofit entities. 

21 (b) TRANSMISSION TO MEMBERS.—The Secretary of 

22 Veterans Affairs shall transmit the list of programs identi23 fied under this section to the Secretary of Defense so the 

24 Secretaries of the military departments may provide infor-
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1 mation in the list to members of the Armed Forces who 

2 participate in TAP. 

3 (c) ONLINE PUBLICATION.—The Secretary of Vet4 erans Affairs shall publish the most recent version of the 

5 list of programs identified under this section on a public 

6 website of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

7 SEC. 105. ONE-YEAR INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT OF THE 

8 EFFECTIVENESS OF TAP. 

9 (a) INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 90 

10 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec11 retary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the cov12 ered officials, shall enter into an agreement with an appro13 priate entity with experience in adult education to carry 

14 out a one-year independent assessment of TAP, includ15 ing— 

16 (1) the effectiveness of TAP for members of 

17 each military department during the entire military 

18 life cycle; 

19 (2) the appropriateness of the TAP career read20 iness standards; 

21 (3) a review of information that is provided to 

22 the Department of Veterans Affairs under TAP, in23 cluding mental health data; 

24 (4) whether TAP effectively addresses the chal25 lenges veterans face entering the civilian workforce 
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1 and in translating experience and skills from mili2 tary service to the job market; 

3 (5) whether TAP effectively addresses the chal4 lenges faced by the families of veterans making the 

5 transition to civilian life; 

6 (6) appropriate metrics regarding TAP out7 comes for members of the Armed Forces one year 

8 after separation, retirement, or discharge from the 

9 Armed Forces; 

10 (7) what the Secretary, in consultation with the 

11 covered officials, veterans service organizations, and 

12 organizations described in section 203(a) of this Act, 

13 determine to be successful outcomes for TAP; 

14 (8) whether members of the Armed Forces 

15 achieve successful outcomes for TAP, as determined 

16 under paragraph (7); 

17 (9) how the Secretary and the covered officials 

18 provide feedback to each other regarding such out19 comes; 

20 (10) recommendations for the Secretaries of the 

21 military departments regarding how to improve out22 comes for members of the Armed Forces after sepa23 ration, retirement, and discharge; and 
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1 (11) other topics the Secretary and the covered 

2 officials determine would aid members of the Armed 

3 Forces as they transition to civilian life. 

4 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the com5 pletion of the independent assessment under subsection 

6 (a), the Secretary and the covered officials, shall submit 

7 to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 

8 House of Representatives and the Committees on Armed 

9 Services of the Senate and House of Representatives— 

10 (1) the findings and recommendations (includ11 ing recommended legislation) of the independent as12 sessment prepared by the entity described in sub13 section (a); and 

14 (2) responses of the Secretary and the covered 

15 officials to the findings and recommendations de16 scribed in paragraph (1). 

17 (c) COVERED OFFICIALS DEFINED.—In this section, 

18 the term ‘‘covered officials’’ is comprised of— 

19 (1) the Secretary of Defense; 

20 (2) the Secretary of Labor; 

21 (3) the Administrator of the Small Business 

22 Administration; and 

23 (4) the Secretaries of the military departments. 
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1 SEC. 106. LONGITUDINAL STUDY ON CHANGES TO TAP. 

2 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

3 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 

4 Affairs, in consultation with the Secretaries of Defense 

5 and Labor and the Administrator of the Small Business 

6 Administration, shall conduct a five-year longitudinal 

7 study regarding TAP on three separate cohorts of mem8 bers of the Armed Forces who have separated from the 

9 Armed Forces, including— 

10 (1) a cohort that has attended TAP counseling 

11 as implemented on the date of the enactment of this 

12 Act; 

13 (2) a cohort that attends TAP counseling after 

14 the Secretaries of Defense and Labor implement 

15 changes recommended in the report under section 

16 205(b) of this Act; and 

17 (3) a cohort that has not attended TAP coun18 seling. 

19 (b) PROGRESS REPORTS.—Not later than 90 days 

20 after the day that is one year after the date of the initi21 ation of the study under subsection (a) and annually 

22 thereafter for the three subsequent years, the Secretaries 

23 of Veterans Affairs, Defense, and Labor, and the Adminis24 trator of the Small Business Administration, shall submit 

25 to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 

26 House of Representatives and the Committees on Armed 
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1 Services of the Senate and House of Representatives a 

2 progress report of activities under the study during the 

3 immediately preceding year. 

4 (c) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 

5 the completion of the study under subsection (a), the Sec6 retaries of Veterans Affairs, Defense, and Labor, and the 

7 Administrator of the Small Business Administration, shall 

8 submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen9 ate and House of Representatives and the Committees on 

10 Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representa11 tives a report of final findings and recommendations based 

12 on the study. 

13 (d) ELEMENTS.—The final report under subsection 

14 (c) shall include information regarding the following: 

15 (1) The percentage of each cohort that received 

16 unemployment benefits during the study. 

17 (2) The numbers of months members of each 

18 cohort were employed during the study. 

19 (3) Annual starting and ending salaries of 

20 members of each cohort who were employed during 

21 the study. 

22 (4) How many members of each cohort enrolled 

23 in an institution of higher learning, as that term is 

24 defined in section 3452(f) of title 38, United States 

25 Code. 
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1 (5) The academic credit hours, degrees, and 

2 certificates obtained by members of each cohort dur3 ing the study. 

4 (6) The annual income of members of each co5 hort. 

6 (7) The total household income of members of 

7 each cohort. 

8 (8) How many members of each cohort own 

9 their principal residences. 

10 (9) How many dependents that members of 

11 each cohort have. 

12 (10) The percentage of each cohort that 

13 achieves a successful outcome for TAP, as deter14 mined under section 205(a)(6) of this Act. 

15 (11) Other criteria the Secretaries and the Ad16 ministrator of the Small Business Administration 

17 determine appropriate. 

18 TITLE II—EDUCATIONAL 

19 ASSISTANCE 

20 SEC. 201. IMPROVEMENTS TO ASSISTANCE FOR CERTAIN 

21 FLIGHT TRAINING AND OTHER PROGRAMS 

22 OF EDUCATION. 

23 (a) USE OF ENTITLEMENT FOR PRIVATE PILOT’S LI24 CENSES.—Section 3034(d) of title 38, United States Code, 

25 is amended— 
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1 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking the semicolon 

2 and inserting the following: ‘‘and is required for the 

3 course of education being pursued (including with 

4 respect to a dual major, concentration, or other ele5 ment of a degree); and’’; 

6 (2) by striking paragraph (2); and 

7 (3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para8 graph (2). 

9 (b) ACCELERATED PAYMENTS FOR FLIGHT TRAIN10 ING.—Section 3313 of such title is amended by adding 

11 at the end the following new subsection: 

12 ‘‘(k) ACCELERATED PAYMENTS FOR CERTAIN

13 FLIGHT TRAINING.— 

14 ‘‘(1) PAYMENTS.—An individual enrolled in a 

15 program of education pursued at a vocational school 

16 or institution of higher learning in which flight 

17 training is required to earn the degree being pursued 

18 (including with respect to a dual major, concentra19 tion, or other element of such a degree) may elect 

20 to receive accelerated payments of amounts for tui21 tion and fees determined under subsection (c). The 

22 amount of each accelerated payment shall be an 

23 amount equal to twice the amount for tuition and 

24 fee so determined under such subsection, but the 

25 total amount of such payments may not exceed the 
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1 total amount of tuition and fees for the program of 

2 education. The amount of monthly stipends shall be 

3 determined in accordance with such subsection (c) 

4 and may not be accelerated under this paragraph. 

5 ‘‘(2) EDUCATIONAL COUNSELING.—An indi6 vidual may make an election under paragraph (1) 

7 only if the individual receives educational counseling 

8 under section 3697A(a) of this title. 

9 ‘‘(3) CHARGE AGAINST ENTITLEMENT.—The 

10 number of months of entitlement charged an indi11 vidual for accelerated payments made pursuant to 

12 paragraph (1) shall be determined at the rate of two 

13 months for each month in which such an accelerated 

14 payment is made.’’. 

15 (c) FLIGHT TRAINING AT PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS.— 

16 Subsection (c)(1)(A) of such section 3313 is amended— 

17 (1) in clause (i)— 

18 (A) by redesignating subclauses (I) and 

19 (II) as items (aa) and (bb), respectively; 

20 (B) by striking ‘‘In the case of a program 

21 of education pursued at a public institution of 

22 higher learning’’ and inserting ‘‘(I) Subject to 

23 subclause (II), in the case of a program of edu24 cation pursued at a public institution of higher 
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1 learning not described in clause (ii)(II)(bb)’’; 

2 and 

3 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

4 subclause: 

5 ‘‘(II) In determining the actual net 

6 cost for in-State tuition and fees pursuant 

7 to subclause (I), the Secretary may not 

8 pay for tuition and fees relating to flight 

9 training.’’; and 

10 (2) in clause (ii)— 

11 (A) in subclause (I), by redesignating 

12 items (aa) and (bb) as subitems (AA) and 

13 (BB), respectively; 

14 (B) in subclause (II), by redesignating 

15 items (aa) and (bb) as subitems (AA) and 

16 (BB), respectively; 

17 (C) by redesignating subclauses (I) and 

18 (II) as items (aa) and (bb), respectively; 

19 (D) by striking ‘‘In the case of a program 

20 of education pursued at a non-public or foreign 

21 institution of higher learning’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘(I) In the case of a program of education de23 scribed in subclause (II)’’; and 

24 (E) by adding at the end the following new 

25 subclause: 
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1 ‘‘(II) A program of education de2 scribed in this subclause is any of the fol3 lowing: 

4 ‘‘(aa) A program of education 

5 pursued at a non-public or foreign in6 stitution of higher learning. 

7 ‘‘(bb) A program of education 

8 pursued at a public institution of 

9 higher learning in which flight train10 ing is required to earn the degree 

11 being pursued (including with respect 

12 to a dual major, concentration, or 

13 other element of such a degree).’’. 

14 (d) CERTAIN PROGRAMS OF EDUCATION CARRIED

15 OUT UNDER CONTRACT.—Section 3313(c)(1)(A)(ii)(II) of 

16 title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection 

17 (c)(2)(E), is amended by adding at the end the following 

18 new item: 

19 ‘‘(cc) A program of education 

20 pursued at a public institution of 

21 higher learning in which the public in22 stitution of higher learning enters into 

23 a contract or agreement with an enti24 ty (other than another public institu25 tion of higher learning) to provide 
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1 such program of education or a por2 tion of such program of education.’’. 

3 (e) APPLICATION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided by para5 graph (2), the amendments made by this section 

6 shall apply with respect to a quarter, semester, or 

7 term, as applicable, commencing on or after the date 

8 of the enactment of this Act. 

9 (2) SPECIAL RULE FOR CURRENT STUDENTS.— 

10 In the case of an individual who, as of the date of 

11 the enactment of this Act, is using educational as12 sistance under chapter 33 of title 38, United States 

13 Code, to pursue a course of education that includes 

14 a program of education described in item (bb) or 

15 (cc) of section 3313(c)(1)(A)(ii)(II) of title 38, 

16 United States Code, as added by subsections (c) and 

17 (d), respectively, the amendment made by such sub18 section shall apply with respect to a quarter, semes19 ter, or term, as applicable, commencing on or after 

20 the date that is two years after the date of the en21 actment of this Act. 
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1 SEC. 202. ELIMINATION OF THE PERIOD OF ELIGIBILITY 

2 FOR THE VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION AND 

3 EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM OF THE DEPART4 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3103 of title 38, United 

6 States Code, is repealed. 

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

8 at the beginning of chapter 31 of such title is amended 

9 by striking the item relating to section 3103. 

10 SEC. 203. EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE DURING EXTENDED 

11 SCHOOL CLOSURES DUE TO NATURAL DISAS12 TERS. 

13 Section 3680 of title 38, United States Code, is 

14 amended by adding at the end the following new sub15 section: 

16 ‘‘(h) SCHOOL CLOSURE DURING NATURAL DISAS17 TERS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An individual described in 

19 paragraph (2) shall be entitled to a monthly stipend 

20 in the amount to which the individual would be enti21 tled were the individual pursuing a course of edu22 cation at an institution of higher education through 

23 resident training but for a school closure described 

24 under paragraph (4). 

25 ‘‘(2) INDIVIDUAL DESCRIBED.—An individual 

26 described in this paragraph is an individual pursuing 
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1 a course of education at an institution of higher edu2 cation using educational assistance under chapter 

3 32, 33, 34, or 35 of this title, who— 

4 ‘‘(A) is forced to discontinue pursuing such 

5 course at such institution by reason of a school 

6 closure described under paragraph (4); and 

7 ‘‘(B) opts to— 

8 ‘‘(i) pursue that course of education 

9 solely by distance learning; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) pursue an alternative course of 

11 education solely by distance learning. 

12 ‘‘(3) DURATION.—The duration of the monthly 

13 stipends payable to an individual under paragraph 

14 (1) shall be the shorter of the following: 

15 ‘‘(A) The period of time necessary to com16 plete the quarter, semester, term or academic 

17 period during which the school closure described 

18 in paragraph (4) occurs. 

19 ‘‘(B) Four months. 

20 ‘‘(4) SCHOOL CLOSURE.—A school closure de21 scribed in this paragraph is the closure of an institu22 tion of higher education— 

23 ‘‘(A) by reason of a natural disaster; 

24 ‘‘(B) for a period of time that— 
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1 ‘‘(i) the institution confirms will last 

2 for four weeks or longer; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) the institution describes as in4 definite and that endures for a period of 

5 four weeks or longer; and 

6 ‘‘(C) that the Secretary confirms is covered 

7 for purposes of this subsection. 

8 ‘‘(5) NATURAL DISASTER DEFINED.—In this 

9 subsection, the term ‘natural disaster’ means a spe10 cific weather event or earth process, including a hur11 ricane, tornado, wildfire or forest fire, earthquake, 

12 avalanche, mudslide, hailstorm, thunderstorm, light13 ning storm, freeze, blizzard, sinkhole, or other disas14 trous event that occurs as a result of such an event 

15 or process, that the President or the governor of a 

16 State declares a natural disaster. 

17 ‘‘(6) NO CHARGE TO ENTITLEMENT.—No 

18 charge shall be made to the entitlement of any indi19 vidual to educational assistance under chapter 32, 
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1 33, 34, or 35 of this title by reason of a payment 

2 under this subsection.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 24, 2018. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 
115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5649 

AN ACT 

To amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to 

and for other purposes. retire, or are discharged from the Armed Forces, to members of the Armed Forces who separate, certain actions to improve transition assistance of the Small Business Administration, to take and Homeland Security, and the Administrator Secretaries of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Labor, amend the Social Security Act, and to direct the