SEC. 2. COMPETITIVE AWARD OF GRANTS TO NONPROFIT 
ORGANIZATIONS FOR ASSISTANCE OF MEM-
BERS 
AND 
FORMER 
MEMBERS 
OF 
THE 
ARMED FORCES IN SECURING PRIVATE SEC-
TOR EMPLOYMENT. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
(1) the unemployment rate of former members 
of the Armed Forces who served in Iraq or Afghani-
stan exceeds the national average unemployment 
rate; and 
(2) career training and employment services 
dedicated to providing former members of the 
Armed Forces with professional skills and technical 
competency in various trades have shown remarkable 
levels of success and are helping to ameliorate the 
high unemployment rate among former members of 
the Armed Forces. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the Federal Government should support private 
sector employment initiatives for military personnel in 
order to help ensure that those who serve or have served 
in the Armed Forces have access to gainful employment. 
(c) AWARD OF GRANTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Chief of the National 
Guard Bureau may, utilizing amounts authorized to 
be appropriated by subsection (h), award grants to 
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nonprofit organizations to assist individuals de-
scribed in paragraph (2) in securing employment in 
the private sector. The nonprofit organizations to be 
awarded grants shall be determined on a competitive 
basis. 
(2) COVERED INDIVIDUALS.—An individual de-
scribed in this paragraph is any individual as fol-
lows: 
(A) A member of the National Guard or 
Reserve. 
(B) A member of the Armed Forces who is 
nearing separation, discharge, or release from 
the Armed Forces. 
(C) A former member of the Armed 
Forces. 
(3) GRANT TERM.—A grant under paragraph 
(1) may be for a term of one or more years, as de-
termined by the Chief of the National Guard Bu-
reau. 
(4) EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS.—The Chief of 
the National Guard Bureau may specify in any 
grant under paragraph (1) dates by which specific 
percentages of funds under the grant shall be ex-
pended. 
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(5) EMPLOYMENT
IN
PARTICULAR
AREAS
OF 
ECONOMY.—It is the sense of Congress that the 
Chief of the National Guard Bureau should, in 
awarding grants under this section, consider non-
profit organizations that partner with entities and 
associations in the private sector involved in con-
struction, energy, transportation, aerospace, domes-
tic security, and other areas of the economy in which 
the employment of individuals having past military 
service would be of particular utility. 
(d) UTILIZATION OF GRANT AMOUNTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—A nonprofit organization 
awarded a grant under subsection (c) may utilize the 
grant for operating expenses, job training, public in-
formation activities, and such other activities as the 
Chief of the National Guard Bureau determines ap-
propriate. 
(2) EXCEPTION FOR SALARIES.—The Chief of 
the National Guard Bureau shall determine the per-
centage of amounts received by a nonprofit organiza-
tion pursuant to a grant awarded under subsection 
(c) that may be used to provide salaries to employ-
ees of the organization. Any such determination 
shall be made on a case-by-case basis. 
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(e) FISCAL CONTROL, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND PRO-
GRAM PERFORMANCE.—The Chief of the National Guard 
Bureau shall establish fiscal control, accountability, and 
program performance measures for nonprofit organiza-
tions awarded grants under subsection (c) in the adminis-
tration of such grants. 
(f) REPORTS.— 
(1) PROGRESS REPORT.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Chief of the National Guard Bureau shall submit to 
the congressional defense committees a report set-
ting forth the following: 
(A) An assessment of the progress made 
toward implementing the requirements of this 
section. 
(B) A description of any grants awarded 
under subsection (c). 
(2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an-
nually thereafter, the Chief of the National Guard 
Bureau shall submit to the congressional defense 
committees a report containing a description of each 
grant awarded under subsection (c) during the pre-
ceding fiscal year. 
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(g) CONGRESSIONAL DEFENSE COMMITTEES DE-
FINED.—The term ‘‘congressional defense committees’’ 
has the meaning given that term in section 101(a)(16) of 
title 10, United States Code. 
(h) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be appro-
priated for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012 for the 
Department of Defense for operation and maintenance for 
the Army National Guard, $25,000,000 to carry out this 
section. 
Æ 
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