IIB 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1606 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 21, 2023 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and 

Entrepreneurship 

AN ACT 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veteran Entrepreneur3 ship Training Act of 2023’’. 

4 SEC. 2. BOOTS TO BUSINESS PROGRAM. 

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

6 657b) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(h) BOOTS TO BUSINESS PROGRAM.— 

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

9 subsection, the term ‘covered individual’ means— 

10 ‘‘(A) a member of the Armed Forces, in11 cluding the National Guard or Reserves; 

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

13 the Transition Assistance Program established 

14 under section 1144 of title 10, United States 

15 Code; 

16 ‘‘(C) an individual who— 

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

18 branch of the Armed Forces, including the 

19 National Guard or Reserves; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) was discharged or released from 

21 such service under conditions other than 

22 dishonorable; and 

23 ‘‘(D) a spouse or dependent of an indi24 vidual described in subparagraph (A), (B), or 

25 (C). 


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1 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—During the period be2 ginning on the date of enactment of this subsection 

3 and ending on September 30, 2028, the Adminis4 trator shall carry out a program to be known as the 

5 ‘Boots to Business Program’ to provide entrepre6 neurship training to covered individuals. 

7 ‘‘(3) GOALS.—The goals of the Boots to Busi8 ness Program are to— 

9 ‘‘(A) provide assistance and in-depth train10 ing to covered individuals interested in business 

11 ownership; and 

12 ‘‘(B) provide covered individuals with the 

13 tools, skills, and knowledge necessary to identify 

14 a business opportunity, draft a business plan, 

15 identify sources of capital, connect with local 

16 resources for small business concerns, and start 

17 up a small business concern. 

18 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Boots to Busi20 ness Program may include— 

21 ‘‘(i) a presentation providing exposure 

22 to the considerations involved in self-em23 ployment and ownership of a small busi24 ness concern; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) an online, self-study course fo2 cused on the basic skills of entrepreneur3 ship, the language of business, and the 

4 considerations involved in self-employment 

5 and ownership of a small business concern; 

6 ‘‘(iii) an in-person classroom instruc7 tion component providing an introduction 

8 to the foundations of self employment and 

9 ownership of a small business concern; and 

10 ‘‘(iv) in-depth training delivered 

11 through online instruction, including an 

12 online course that leads to the creation of 

13 a business plan. 

14 ‘‘(B) COLLABORATION.—The Adminis15 trator may— 

16 ‘‘(i) collaborate with public and pri17 vate entities to develop course curricula for 

18 the Boots to Business Program; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) modify program components in 

20 coordination with entities participating in a 

21 Warriors in Transition program, as defined 

22 in section 738(e) of the National Defense 

23 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 

24 (10 U.S.C. 1071 note). 


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1 ‘‘(C) USE OF RESOURCE PARTNERS AND

2 DISTRICT OFFICES.— 

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

4 shall— 

5 ‘‘(I) ensure that Veteran Busi6 ness Outreach Centers regularly par7 ticipate, on a nationwide basis, in the 

8 Boots to Business Program; and 

9 ‘‘(II) to the maximum extent 

10 practicable, use district offices of the 

11 Administration and a variety of other 

12 resource partners and entities in ad13 ministering the Boots to Business 

14 Program. 

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

16 out clause (i), the Administrator may make 

17 grants, subject to the availability of appro18 priations in advance, to Veteran Business 

19 Outreach Centers, other resource partners, 

20 or other entities to carry out components 

21 of the Boots to Business Program. 

22 ‘‘(D) AVAILABILITY TO DEPARTMENT OF

23 DEFENSE AND THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.— 

24 The Administrator shall make available to the 

25 Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of 


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1 Labor information regarding the Boots to Busi2 ness Program, including all course materials 

3 and outreach materials related to the Boots to 

4 Business Program, for inclusion on the websites 

5 of the Department of Defense and the Depart6 ment of Labor relating to the Transition Assist7 ance Program, in the Transition Assistance 

8 Program manual, and in other relevant mate9 rials available for distribution from the Sec10 retary of Defense and the Secretary of Labor. 

11 ‘‘(E) AVAILABILITY TO DEPARTMENT OF

12 VETERANS AFFAIRS.—In consultation with the 

13 Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Adminis14 trator shall make available for distribution and 

15 display on the website of the Department of 

16 Veterans Affairs and at local facilities of the 

17 Department of Veterans Affairs outreach mate18 rials regarding the Boots to Business Program, 

19 which shall, at a minimum— 

20 ‘‘(i) describe the Boots to Business 

21 Program and the services provided; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) include eligibility requirements 

23 for participating in the Boots to Business 

24 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.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 20, 2023. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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