I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5649 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 27, 2018 

Mr. ARRINGTON (for himself, Mr. O’ROURKE, Mr. BANKS of Indiana, Mr. 

BILIRAKIS, Mr. RUTHERFORD, and Mr. WENSTRUP) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and 

in addition to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs, and Ways and 

Means, 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 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 TAP 

Sec. 101. Pathways for TAP. 

Sec. 102. Contents of TAP. 

TITLE II—OTHER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE 

Sec. 201. Access for the Secretaries of Labor and Veterans Affairs to the Federal directory of new hires. 

Sec. 202. Pilot program for off-base transition training for veterans and 

spouses. 

Sec. 203. Grants for provision of transition assistance to members of the 

Armed Forces after separation, retirement, or discharge. 

Sec. 204. Study of community-based transition assistance programs for members of the Armed Forces after separation, retirement, or discharge. 

Sec. 205. One-year independent assessment of the effectiveness of TAP. 

Sec. 206. Longitudinal study on changes to TAP. 

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 ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ has the 

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

3 United States Code. 

4 TITLE I—IMPROVEMENTS TO 

5 TAP 

6 SEC. 101. PATHWAYS FOR TAP. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1142 of title 10, United 

8 States Code, is amended— 

9 (1) in the section heading by striking ‘‘med10 ical’’ and inserting ‘‘certain’’; 

11 (2) in subsection (a)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘(re13 gardless of character of discharge)’’ after ‘‘dis14 charge’’; 

15 (B) in paragraph (3)(A)— 

16 (i) by inserting ‘‘or other separation’’ 

17 after ‘‘anticipated retirement’’ each place it 

18 appears; 

19 (ii) by striking the second sentence; 

20 (iii) by striking ‘‘90 days’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘365 days’’; and 

22 (iv) by striking ‘‘discharge or release’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘retirement or other separa24 tion’’; and 

25 (C) in paragraph (3)(B)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘90’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘365’’; and 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘90-day’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘365-day’’; 

5 (3) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub6 section (d); 

7 (4) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol8 lowing new subsection (c): 

9 ‘‘(c) COUNSELING PATHWAYS.—(1) Each Secretary 

10 concerned, in consultation with the Secretaries of Labor 

11 and Veterans Affairs, shall establish at least three path12 ways for members of the military department concerned 

13 receiving individualized counseling under this section. The 

14 Secretaries shall design the pathways to address the needs 

15 of members, based on the following factors: 

16 ‘‘(A) Rank. 

17 ‘‘(B) Term of service. 

18 ‘‘(C) Gender. 

19 ‘‘(D) Whether the member was a member 

20 of a regular or reserve component of an armed 

21 force. 

22 ‘‘(E) Disability. 

23 ‘‘(F) Character of discharge (including ex24 pedited discharge and discharge under condi25 tions other than honorable). 


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1 ‘‘(G) Health (including mental health). 

2 ‘‘(H) Military occupational specialty. 

3 ‘‘(I) Whether the member intends, after 

4 separation, retirement, or discharge, to— 

5 ‘‘(i) seek employment; 

6 ‘‘(ii) enroll in a program of higher 

7 education; 

8 ‘‘(iii) enroll in a program of vocational 

9 training; or 

10 ‘‘(iv) become an entrepreneur. 

11 ‘‘(J) The educational history of the mem12 ber. 

13 ‘‘(K) The employment history of the mem14 ber. 

15 ‘‘(L) Whether the member has secured— 

16 ‘‘(i) employment; 

17 ‘‘(ii) enrollment in a program of edu18 cation; or 

19 ‘‘(iii) enrollment in a program of voca20 tional training. 

21 ‘‘(M) Other factors the Secretary of De22 fense and the Secretary of Homeland Security, 

23 in consultation with the Secretaries of Labor 

24 and Veterans Affairs, determine appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Each member described in subsection (a) shall 

2 meet in person or by video conference with a counselor 

3 before beginning counseling under this section to— 

4 ‘‘(A) take a self-assessment designed by the 

5 Secretary concerned (in consultation with the Secre6 taries of Labor and Veterans Affairs) to ensure that 

7 the Secretary concerned places the member in the 

8 appropriate pathway under this subsection; and 

9 ‘‘(B) receive information from the counselor re10 garding reenlistment in the armed forces; and 

11 ‘‘(C) receive information from the counselor re12 garding resources— 

13 ‘‘(i) for members of the armed forces sepa14 rated, retired, or discharged; 

15 ‘‘(ii) located in the community in which the 

16 member will reside after separation, retirement, 

17 or discharge. 

18 ‘‘(3) At the meeting under paragraph (2), the mem19 ber may elect to have the Secretary concerned (in con20 sultation with the Secretaries of Labor and Veterans Af21 fairs) provide the contact information of the member to 

22 the resources described in paragraph (2)(B).’’; and 

23 (5) by adding at the end the following new sub24 section: 


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1 ‘‘(e) JOINT SERVICE TRANSCRIPT.—(1) The Sec2 retary concerned shall provide a copy of the joint service 

3 transcript of a member described in subsection (a) to— 

4 ‘‘(A) that member— 

5 ‘‘(i) at the meeting with a counselor under 

6 subsection (c)(2); and 

7 ‘‘(ii) on the day the member separates, re8 tires, or is discharged; and 

9 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on the 

10 day the member separates, retires, or is discharged. 

11 ‘‘(2) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure 

12 that a member who has separated, retired, or is discharged 

13 may access the joint service transcript of that member 

14 from a website of the Department of Veterans Affairs not 

15 later than one year after the day the member separates, 

16 retires, or is discharged.’’. 

17 (b) DEADLINE.—Each Secretary concerned shall 

18 carry out subsection (c) of such section, as amended by 

19 subsection (a), not later than one year after the date of 

20 the enactment of this Act. 

21 (c) GAO STUDY.—Not later than one year after the 

22 Secretaries concerned carry out subsection (c) of such sec23 tion, as amended by subsection (a), the Comptroller Gen24 eral of the United States shall submit to Congress a review 


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1 of the pathways for the Transition Assistance Program 

2 established under such subsection (c). 

3 SEC. 102. CONTENTS OF TAP. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1144 of title 10, United 

5 States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Such serv7 ices’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to subsection (f)(2), 

8 such services’’; and 

9 (2) by amending subsection (f) to read as fol10 lows: 

11 ‘‘(f) PROGRAM CONTENTS.—(1) The program carried 

12 out under this section shall consist of at least five days 

13 of instruction as follows: 

14 ‘‘(A) One day of preseparation training 

15 specific to the armed force concerned, as deter16 mined by the Secretary concerned. 

17 ‘‘(B) One day of instruction regarding— 

18 ‘‘(i) benefits under laws administered 

19 by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) other subjects determined by the 

21 Secretary concerned. 

22 ‘‘(C) One day of instruction regarding 

23 preparation for employment. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Two days of instruction regarding a 

2 topic selected by the member from the following 

3 subjects: 

4 ‘‘(i) Preparation for employment. 

5 ‘‘(ii) Preparation for education. 

6 ‘‘(iii) Preparation for vocational train7 ing. 

8 ‘‘(iv) Preparation for entrepreneur9 ship. 

10 ‘‘(v) Other options determined by the 

11 Secretary concerned. 

12 ‘‘(2) The Secretary concerned may permit a member 

13 to attend training and instruction under the program es14 tablished under this section— 

15 ‘‘(A) before the time periods established under 

16 section 1142(a)(3) of this title; 

17 ‘‘(B) in addition to such training and instruc18 tion required during such time periods.’’. 

19 (b) DEADLINE.—TAP shall comply with the require20 ments of subsection (f) of such section, as amended by 

21 subsection (a)(2), not later than one year after the date 

22 of the enactment of this Act. 

23 (c) REPORT.—On the date that is two years after the 

24 date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter 

25 for the subsequent four years, the Secretary of Defense 


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1 shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services and 

2 Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Rep3 resentatives a report regarding members of the Armed 

4 Forces who have attended TAP counseling during the pre5 ceding year. The report shall detail the following: 

6 (1) The total number of members who attended 

7 TAP counseling. 

8 (2) The number of members who attended TAP 

9 counseling under paragraph (1) of section 1142(f) of 

10 title 10, as amended by subsection (a). 

11 (3) The number of members who attended TAP 

12 counseling under paragraph (2) of such section. 

13 (4) The number of members who elected to at14 tend each two-day instruction under paragraph 

15 (1)(D) of such section. 

16 TITLE II—OTHER TRANSITION 

17 ASSISTANCE 

18 SEC. 201. ACCESS FOR THE SECRETARIES OF LABOR AND 

19 VETERANS AFFAIRS TO THE FEDERAL DIREC20 TORY OF NEW HIRES. 

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

22 U.S.C. 653a(h)) is amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing new paragraph: 

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

25 of Labor and of Veterans Affairs shall have access 


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1 to information reported by employers pursuant to 

2 subsection (b) of this section for purposes of track3 ing employment of veterans.’’. 

4 SEC. 202. PILOT PROGRAM FOR OFF-BASE TRANSITION 

5 TRAINING FOR VETERANS AND SPOUSES. 

6 (a) EXTENSION OF PILOT PROGRAM.—Subsection 

7 (a) of section 301 of the Dignified Burial and Other Vet8 erans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2012 (Public Law 

9 112–260; 10 U.S.C. 1144 note) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘During the two-year period be11 ginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, 

12 the’’ and inserting ‘‘During the five-year period be13 ginning on the date of the enactment of the Navy 

14 SEAL Chief Petty Officer William ‘Bill’ Mulder 

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

16 and 

17 (2) by striking ‘‘to assess the feasibility and ad18 visability of providing such program to eligible indi19 viduals at locations other than military installa20 tions’’. 

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

22 amended— 

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

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

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


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

2 and 

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

4 and inserting ‘‘at least 20’’. 

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

6 section is repealed. 

7 SEC. 203. GRANTS FOR PROVISION OF TRANSITION ASSIST8 ANCE TO MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES 

9 AFTER SEPARATION, RETIREMENT, OR DIS10 CHARGE. 

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

12 shall make grants to eligible organizations for the provi13 sion of transition assistance to members of the Armed 

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

15 Armed Forces, and spouses of such members. 

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

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

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

19 resume assistance, interview training, job recruitment 

20 training, and related services leading directly to successful 

21 transition, as determined by the Secretary. 

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

23 grant under this section, an organization shall submit to 

24 the Secretary an application containing such information 


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1 and assurances as the Secretary, in consultation with the 

2 Secretary of Labor, may require. 

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

4 grants under this section, the Secretary shall give priority 

5 to an organization that provides multiple forms of services 

6 described in subsection (b). 

7 (e) INCLUSION IN TAP COUNSELING.—The Sec8 retary of the military department concerned shall include 

9 in the information provided to a member of the Armed 

10 Forces during TAP counseling under section 

11 1142(c)(2)(B) of title 10, United States Code, as amended 

12 by section 101 of this Act, information regarding any re13 cipient of a grant under this section that is located in the 

14 community in which that member will reside after separa15 tion, retirement, or discharge from the Armed Forces. 

16 (f) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—A grant under this section 

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

18 of the amount required by the organization to provide the 

19 services described in subsection (b). 

20 (g) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall carry out this 

21 section not later than six months after the effective date 

22 of this Act. 

23 (h) TERMINATION.—The authority to provide a grant 

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


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1 years after the date on which the Secretary implements 

2 the grant program under this section. 

3 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

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

5 this section. 

6 SEC. 204. STUDY OF COMMUNITY-BASED TRANSITION AS7 SISTANCE PROGRAMS FOR MEMBERS OF THE 

8 ARMED FORCES AFTER SEPARATION, RE9 TIREMENT, OR DISCHARGE. 

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

11 consultation with State entities that serve members of the 

12 Armed Forces who are retired, separated, or discharged 

13 from the Armed Forces, shall enter into an agreement 

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

15 study to identify community-based programs— 

16 (1) that provide transition assistance to such 

17 members; and 

18 (2) operated by nonprofit entities. 

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

20 Veterans Affairs shall transmit the list of programs identi21 fied under this section to the Secretary of Defense so the 

22 Secretaries of the military departments may carry out sec23 tion 1142(c)(2)(B) of title 10, United States Code, as 

24 amended by section 101 of this Act. 


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1 (c) ONLINE PUBLICATION.—The Secretary of Vet2 erans Affairs shall publish the most recent version of the 

3 list of programs identified under this section on a public 

4 website of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

5 SEC. 205. ONE-YEAR INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT OF THE 

6 EFFECTIVENESS OF TAP. 

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

8 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec9 retary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the cov10 ered officials, shall enter into an agreement with an appro11 priate entity with experience in adult education to carry 

12 out a one-year independent assessment of TAP, includ13 ing— 

14 (1) the effectiveness of TAP for members of 

15 each military department during the entire military 

16 life cycle; 

17 (2) the appropriateness of the TAP career read18 iness standards; 

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

20 the Department of Veterans Affairs under TAP, in21 cluding mental health data; 

22 (4) whether TAP effectively addresses the chal23 lenges veterans face entering the civilian workforce 

24 and in translating experience and skills from mili25 tary service to the job market; 


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1 (5) whether TAP effectively addresses the chal2 lenges faced by the families of veterans making the 

3 transition to civilian life; 

4 (6) appropriate metrics regarding TAP out5 comes for members of the Armed Forces one year 

6 after separation, retirement, or discharge from the 

7 Armed Forces; 

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

9 covered officials, veterans service organizations, and 

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

11 determine to be successful outcomes for TAP; 

12 (8) whether members of the Armed Forces 

13 achieve successful outcomes for TAP, as determined 

14 under paragraph (7); 

15 (9) how the Secretary and the covered officials 

16 provide feedback to each other regarding such out17 comes; 

18 (10) recommendations for the Secretaries of the 

19 military departments regarding how to improve out20 comes for members of the Armed Forces after sepa21 ration, retirement, and discharge; and 

22 (11) other topics the Secretary and the covered 

23 officials determine would aid members of the Armed 

24 Forces as they transition to civilian life. 


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1 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the com2 pletion of the independent assessment under subsection 

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

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

5 House of Representatives and the Committees on Armed 

6 Services of the Senate and House of Representatives— 

7 (1) the findings and recommendations (includ8 ing recommended legislation) of the independent as9 sessment prepared by the entity described in sub10 section (a); and 

11 (2) responses of the Secretary and the covered 

12 officials to the findings and recommendations de13 scribed in paragraph (1). 

14 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 (1) The term ‘‘covered officials’’ is comprised 

16 of— 

17 (A) the Secretary of Defense; 

18 (B) the Secretary of Labor; 

19 (C) the Administrator of the Small Busi20 ness Administration; and 

21 (D) the Secretaries of the military depart22 ments. 

23 (2) The term ‘‘military departments’’ has the 

24 meaning given such term in section 101(8) of title 

25 10, United States Code. 


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1 SEC. 206. 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. 

Æ 


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