IB 

Union Calendar No. 75 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1606 

[Report No. 118–98] 

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

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 14, 2023 

Mr. SCHNEIDER (for himself, Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas, Mr. MCGARVEY, and 

Mr. ELLZEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Small Business 

JUNE 5, 2023 

Additional sponsors: Mr. KILDEE, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. MOLINARO, Mr. MANN, 

and Mr. THANEDAR

JUNE 5, 2023 

Reported from the Committee on Small Business; committed to the Committee 

of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


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A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to codify the Boots to 

Business Program, 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 ‘‘Veteran Entrepreneur5 ship Training Act of 2023’’. 

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: 

9 ‘‘(h) BOOTS TO BUSINESS PROGRAM.— 

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

11 subsection, the term ‘covered individual’ means— 

12 ‘‘(A) a member of the Armed Forces, in13 cluding the National Guard or Reserves; 

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

15 the Transition Assistance Program established 

16 under section 1144 of title 10, United States 

17 Code; 

18 ‘‘(C) an individual who— 

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

20 branch of the Armed Forces, including the 

21 National Guard or Reserves; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) was discharged or released from 

23 such service under conditions other than 

24 dishonorable; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) a spouse or dependent of an indi2 vidual described in subparagraph (A), (B), or 

3 (C). 

4 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—During the period be5 ginning on the date of enactment of this subsection 

6 and ending on September 30, 2028, the Adminis7 trator shall carry out a program to be known as the 

8 ‘Boots to Business Program’ to provide entrepre9 neurship training to covered individuals. 

10 ‘‘(3) GOALS.—The goals of the Boots to Busi11 ness Program are to— 

12 ‘‘(A) provide assistance and in-depth train13 ing to covered individuals interested in business 

14 ownership; and 

15 ‘‘(B) provide covered individuals with the 

16 tools, skills, and knowledge necessary to identify 

17 a business opportunity, draft a business plan, 

18 identify sources of capital, connect with local 

19 resources for small business concerns, and start 

20 up a small business concern. 

21 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Boots to Busi23 ness Program may include— 

24 ‘‘(i) a presentation providing exposure 

25 to the considerations involved in self-emVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:52 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1606.RH H1606

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1 ployment and ownership of a small busi2 ness concern; 

3 ‘‘(ii) an online, self-study course fo4 cused on the basic skills of entrepreneur5 ship, the language of business, and the 

6 considerations involved in self-employment 

7 and ownership of a small business concern; 

8 ‘‘(iii) an in-person classroom instruc9 tion component providing an introduction 

10 to the foundations of self employment and 

11 ownership of a small business concern; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) in-depth training delivered 

13 through online instruction, including an 

14 online course that leads to the creation of 

15 a business plan. 

16 ‘‘(B) COLLABORATION.—The Adminis17 trator may— 

18 ‘‘(i) collaborate with public and pri19 vate entities to develop course curricula for 

20 the Boots to Business Program; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) modify program components in 

22 coordination with entities participating in a 

23 Warriors in Transition program, as defined 

24 in section 738(e) of the National Defense 


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1 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 

2 (10 U.S.C. 1071 note). 

3 ‘‘(C) USE OF RESOURCE PARTNERS AND

4 DISTRICT OFFICES.— 

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

6 shall— 

7 ‘‘(I) ensure that Veteran Busi8 ness Outreach Centers regularly par9 ticipate, on a nationwide basis, in the 

10 Boots to Business Program; and 

11 ‘‘(II) to the maximum extent 

12 practicable, use district offices of the 

13 Administration and a variety of other 

14 resource partners and entities in ad15 ministering the Boots to Business 

16 Program. 

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

18 out clause (i), the Administrator may make 

19 grants to Veteran Business Outreach Cen20 ters, other resource partners, or other enti21 ties to carry out components of the Boots 

22 to Business Program. 

23 ‘‘(D) AVAILABILITY TO DEPARTMENT OF

24 DEFENSE AND THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.— 

25 The Administrator shall make available to the 


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1 Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of 

2 Labor information regarding the Boots to Busi3 ness Program, including all course materials 

4 and outreach materials related to the Boots to 

5 Business Program, for inclusion on the websites 

6 of the Department of Defense and the Depart7 ment of Labor relating to the Transition Assist8 ance Program, in the Transition Assistance 

9 Program manual, and in other relevant mate10 rials available for distribution from the Sec11 retary of Defense and the Secretary of Labor. 

12 ‘‘(E) AVAILABILITY TO DEPARTMENT OF

13 VETERANS AFFAIRS.—In consultation with the 

14 Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Adminis15 trator shall make available for distribution and 

16 display on the website of the Department of 

17 Veterans Affairs and at local facilities of the 

18 Department of Veterans Affairs outreach mate19 rials regarding the Boots to Business Program, 

20 which shall, at a minimum— 

21 ‘‘(i) describe the Boots to Business 

22 Program and the services provided; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) include eligibility requirements 

24 for participating in the Boots to Business 

25 Program. 


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1 ‘‘(F) AVAILABILITY TO OTHER PARTICI2 PATING AGENCIES.—The Administrator shall 

3 ensure information regarding the Boots to 

4 Business program, including all course mate5 rials and outreach materials related to the 

6 Boots to Business Program, is made available 

7 to other participating agencies in the Transition 

8 Assistance Program and upon request of other 

9 agencies. 

10 ‘‘(5) COMPETITIVE BIDDING PROCEDURES.— 

11 The Administration shall use relevant competitive 

12 bidding procedures with respect to any contract or 

13 cooperative agreement executed by the Administra14 tion under the Boots to Business Program. 

15 ‘‘(6) PUBLICATION OF NOTICE OF FUNDING OP16 PORTUNITY.—Not later than 30 days before the 

17 deadline for submitting applications for any funding 

18 opportunity under the Boots to Business Program, 

19 the Administration shall publish a notice of the 

20 funding opportunity. 

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

22 the date of enactment of this subsection, and not 

23 less frequently than annually thereafter, the Admin24 istrator shall submit to the Committee on Small 

25 Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and 


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1 the Committee on Small Business of the House of 

2 Representatives a report on the performance and ef3 fectiveness of the Boots to Business Program, 

4 which— 

5 ‘‘(A) may be included as part of another 

6 report submitted to such committees by the Ad7 ministrator related to the Office of Veterans 

8 Business Development; and 

9 ‘‘(B) shall summarize available information 

10 relating to— 

11 ‘‘(i) grants awarded under paragraph 

12 (4)(C); 

13 ‘‘(ii) the total cost of the Boots to 

14 Business Program; 

15 ‘‘(iii) the number of program partici16 pants using each component of the Boots 

17 to Business Program; 

18 ‘‘(iv) the completion rates for each 

19 component of the Boots to Business Pro20 gram; 

21 ‘‘(v) to the extent possible— 

22 ‘‘(I) the demographics of pro23 gram participants, to include gender, 

24 age, race, ethnicity, and relationship 

25 to military; 


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1 ‘‘(II) the number of program 

2 participants that connect with a dis3 trict office of the Administration, a 

4 Veteran Business Outreach Center, or 

5 another resource partner of the Ad6 ministration; 

7 ‘‘(III) the number of program 

8 participants that start a small busi9 ness concern; 

10 ‘‘(IV) the results of the Boots to 

11 Business and Boots to Business 

12 Reboot course quality surveys con13 ducted by the Office of Veterans Busi14 ness Development before and after at15 tending each of those courses, includ16 ing a summary of any comments re17 ceived from program participants; 

18 ‘‘(V) the results of the Boots to 

19 Business Program outcome surveys 

20 conducted by the Office of Veterans 

21 Business Development, including a 

22 summary of any comments received 

23 from program participants; and 

24 ‘‘(VI) the results of other ger25 mane participant satisfaction surveys; 


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1 ‘‘(C) an evaluation of the overall effective2 ness of the Boots to Business Program based 

3 on each geographic region covered by the Ad4 ministration during the most recent fiscal year; 

5 ‘‘(D) an assessment of additional perform6 ance outcome measures for the Boots to Busi7 ness Program, as identified by the Adminis8 trator; 

9 ‘‘(E) any recommendations of the Adminis10 trator for improvement of the Boots to Busi11 ness Program, which may include expansion of 

12 the types of individuals who are covered individ13 uals; 

14 ‘‘(F) an explanation of how the Boots to 

15 Business Program has been integrated with 

16 other transition programs and related resources 

17 of the Administration and other Federal agen18 cies; and 

19 ‘‘(G) any additional information the Ad20 ministrator determines necessary.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 75 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1606 

[Report No. 118–98] 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to codify the 

poses. Boots to Business Program, and for other purJUNE 5, 2023 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS