II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2341 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to enhance the authority for members 

of the Armed Forces to obtain professional credentials. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 15, 2014 

Mr. KAINE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to enhance the 

authority for members of the Armed Forces to obtain 

professional credentials. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. ENHANCEMENT OF AUTHORITY FOR MEMBERS 

4 OF THE ARMED FORCES TO OBTAIN PROFES5 SIONAL CREDENTIALS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of subsection (a) 

7 of section 2015 of title 10, United States Code, is amend8 ed by striking ‘‘professional accreditation’’ and all that fol9 lows through ‘‘certification’’ and inserting ‘‘State-imposed 


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1 licenses, Federal occupational licenses, and professional 

2 certification’’. 

3 (b) LIMITATIONS.—Subsection (b) of such section is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘The authority’’; 

6 and 

7 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

8 paragraphs: 

9 ‘‘(2) The authority under subsection (a) may not be 

10 used to pay the expenses of a member to obtain profes11 sional credentials unless such credentials are recognized 

12 and approved by the armed force concerned as necessary 

13 to meet— 

14 ‘‘(A) readiness requirements or professional oc15 cupational development goals of such armed force; or 

16 ‘‘(B) the self-development requirements of the 

17 member. 

18 ‘‘(3) Except as provided in paragraph (4), the author19 ity under subsection (a) may not be used to pay the ex20 penses of obtaining professional credentials unless— 

21 ‘‘(A) such credentials are accredited under 

22 International Organization for Standardization/ 

23 International Commission (ISO/IEC) Standard 

24 17024–2012, entitled ‘General Requirements for 

25 Bodies Operating Certification of Persons’; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the entity accrediting such credentials pro2 vides documentary evidence to the Secretary of De3 fense that it complies International Organization for 

4 Standardization/International Commission Standard 

5 17011, entitled ‘Conformity assessment—General re6 quirements for accreditation bodies accrediting con7 formity assessment bodies’. 

8 ‘‘(4) During the three-year period beginning on the 

9 date of the authorization of the Credentialing agency by 

10 the Department of Defense, the authority under sub11 section (a) may be used to pay the expenses of obtaining 

12 professional credentials from an entity not complying with 

13 the Standards referred to in paragraph (3) if the entity 

14 certifies in writing to the Secretary of Defense that the 

15 entity agrees to seek to obtain certification of compliance 

16 with the Standards before the end of such period.’’. 

17 (c) FUNDS AVAILABLE.—Such section is further 

18 amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘may pay’’ in 

20 the matter preceding paragraph (1) and inserting 

21 ‘‘may, using funds described in subsection (c), pay’’; 

22 and 

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


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1 ‘‘(c) FUNDS AVAILABLE.—Payments may be made 

2 under the authority under subsection (a) by the Secretary 

3 making such payments from amounts available to such 

4 Secretary for tuition assistance for members under the ju5 risdiction of such Secretary.’’. 

6 (d) COVERED EXPENSES.—Such section is further 

7 amended by adding at the end the following new sub8 section: 

9 ‘‘(d) EXPENSES DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

10 ‘expenses’ means expenses for classroom instruction, 

11 hands-on training (and associated materials), manuals, 

12 study guides and materials, text books, processing fees, 

13 and test fees and related fees.’’. 

Æ 


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