115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5649 
AN ACT 
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 Se-
curity, and the Administrator of the Small Business Ad-
ministration, to take certain actions to improve transition 
assistance to members of the Armed Forces who sepa-
rate, retire, or are discharged from the Armed Forces, 
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Navy SEAL Chief 
Petty Officer William ‘Bill’ Mulder (Ret.) Transition Im-
provement Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
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 TRANSITION ASSISTANCE 
Sec. 101. Access for the Secretaries of Labor and Veterans Affairs to the Fed-
eral directory of new hires. 
Sec. 102. Pilot program for off-base transition training for veterans and 
spouses. 
Sec. 103. Grants for provision of transition assistance to members of the 
Armed Forces after separation, retirement, or discharge. 
Sec. 104. Study of community-based transition assistance programs for mem-
bers of the Armed Forces after separation, retirement, or dis-
charge. 
Sec. 105. One-year independent assessment of the effectiveness of TAP. 
Sec. 106. Longitudinal study on changes to TAP. 
TITLE II—EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE 
Sec. 201. Improvements to assistance for certain flight training and other pro-
grams of education. 
Sec. 202. Elimination of the period of eligibility for the Vocational Rehabilita-
tion and Employment program of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs. 
Sec. 203. Educational assistance during extended school closures due to natural 
disasters. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) The term ‘‘TAP’’ means the Transition As-
sistance Program under sections 1142 and 1144 of 
title 10, United States Code.
(2) The term ‘‘military departments’’ has the 
meaning given that term in section 101 of title 10, 
United States Code. 
TITLE I—IMPROVEMENTS TO 
TRANSITION ASSISTANCE 
SEC. 101. ACCESS FOR THE SECRETARIES OF LABOR AND 
VETERANS AFFAIRS TO THE FEDERAL DIREC-
TORY OF NEW HIRES. 
Section 453A(h) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 653a(h)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(4) VETERAN EMPLOYMENT.—The Secretaries 
of Labor and of Veterans Affairs shall have access 
to information reported by employers pursuant to 
subsection (b) of this section for purposes of track-
ing employment of veterans.’’. 
SEC. 102. PILOT PROGRAM FOR OFF-BASE TRANSITION 
TRAINING FOR VETERANS AND SPOUSES. 
(a) EXTENSION
OF PILOT PROGRAM.—Subsection 
(a) of section 301 of the Dignified Burial and Other Vet-
erans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2012 (Public Law 
112–260; 10 U.S.C. 1144 note) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘During the two-year period be-
ginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the’’ and inserting ‘‘During the five-year period be-
ginning on the date of the enactment of the Navy 
SEAL Chief Petty Officer William ‘Bill’ Mulder 
(Ret.) Transition Improvement Act of 2018, the’’; 
and 
(2) by striking ‘‘to assess the feasibility and ad-
visability of providing such program to eligible indi-
viduals at locations other than military installa-
tions’’. 
(b) LOCATIONS.—Subsection (c) of such section is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘not less than 
three and not more than five States’’ and inserting 
‘‘not less than 50 locations in States (as defined in 
section 101(20) of title 38, United States Code)’’; 
and 
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘at least two’’ 
and inserting ‘‘at least 20’’. 
(c) CONFORMING REPEAL.—Subsection (f) of such 
section is repealed. 
SEC. 103. GRANTS FOR PROVISION OF TRANSITION ASSIST-
ANCE TO MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES 
AFTER SEPARATION, RETIREMENT, OR DIS-
CHARGE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall make grants to eligible organizations for the provi-
sion of transition assistance to members of the Armed 
Forces who are separated, retired, or discharged from the 
Armed Forces, and spouses of such members. 
(b) USE OF FUNDS.—The recipient of a grant under 
this section shall use the grant to provide to members of 
the Armed Forces and spouses described in subsection (a) 
resume assistance, interview training, job recruitment 
training, and related services leading directly to successful 
transition, as determined by the Secretary. 
(c) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.—To be eligible for a 
grant under this section, an organization shall submit to 
the Secretary an application containing such information 
and assurances as the Secretary, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Labor, may require. 
(d) PRIORITY FOR HUBS OF SERVICES.—In making 
grants under this section, the Secretary shall give priority 
to an organization that provides multiple forms of services 
described in subsection (b). 
(e) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—A grant under this section 
shall be in an amount that does not exceed 50 percent 
of the amount required by the organization to provide the 
services described in subsection (b). 
(f) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall carry out this 
section not later than six months after the effective date 
of this Act.
(g) TERMINATION.—The authority to provide a grant 
under this section shall terminate on the date that is five 
years after the date on which the Secretary implements 
the grant program under this section. 
(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 to carry out 
this section. 
SEC. 104. STUDY OF COMMUNITY-BASED TRANSITION AS-
SISTANCE PROGRAMS FOR MEMBERS OF THE 
ARMED FORCES AFTER SEPARATION, RE-
TIREMENT, OR DISCHARGE. 
(a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in 
consultation with State entities that serve members of the 
Armed Forces who are retired, separated, or discharged 
from the Armed Forces, shall enter into an agreement 
with an appropriate non-Federal entity to carry out a 
study to identify community-based programs— 
(1) that provide transition assistance to such 
members; and 
(2) operated by nonprofit entities. 
(b) TRANSMISSION TO MEMBERS.—The Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs shall transmit the list of programs identi-
fied under this section to the Secretary of Defense so the 
Secretaries of the military departments may provide infor-
mation in the list to members of the Armed Forces who 
participate in TAP. 
(c) ONLINE PUBLICATION.—The Secretary of Vet-
erans Affairs shall publish the most recent version of the 
list of programs identified under this section on a public 
website of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 
SEC. 105. ONE-YEAR INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT OF THE 
EFFECTIVENESS OF TAP. 
(a) INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 90 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the cov-
ered officials, shall enter into an agreement with an appro-
priate entity with experience in adult education to carry 
out a one-year independent assessment of TAP, includ-
ing— 
(1) the effectiveness of TAP for members of 
each military department during the entire military 
life cycle; 
(2) the appropriateness of the TAP career read-
iness standards; 
(3) a review of information that is provided to 
the Department of Veterans Affairs under TAP, in-
cluding mental health data; 
(4) whether TAP effectively addresses the chal-
lenges veterans face entering the civilian workforce
and in translating experience and skills from mili-
tary service to the job market; 
(5) whether TAP effectively addresses the chal-
lenges faced by the families of veterans making the 
transition to civilian life; 
(6) appropriate metrics regarding TAP out-
comes for members of the Armed Forces one year 
after separation, retirement, or discharge from the 
Armed Forces; 
(7) what the Secretary, in consultation with the 
covered officials, veterans service organizations, and 
organizations described in section 203(a) of this Act, 
determine to be successful outcomes for TAP; 
(8) whether members of the Armed Forces 
achieve successful outcomes for TAP, as determined 
under paragraph (7); 
(9) how the Secretary and the covered officials 
provide feedback to each other regarding such out-
comes; 
(10) recommendations for the Secretaries of the 
military departments regarding how to improve out-
comes for members of the Armed Forces after sepa-
ration, retirement, and discharge; and
(11) other topics the Secretary and the covered 
officials determine would aid members of the Armed 
Forces as they transition to civilian life. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the com-
pletion of the independent assessment under subsection 
(a), the Secretary and the covered officials, shall submit 
to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 
House of Representatives and the Committees on Armed 
Services of the Senate and House of Representatives— 
(1) the findings and recommendations (includ-
ing recommended legislation) of the independent as-
sessment prepared by the entity described in sub-
section (a); and 
(2) responses of the Secretary and the covered 
officials to the findings and recommendations de-
scribed in paragraph (1). 
(c) COVERED OFFICIALS DEFINED.—In this section, 
the term ‘‘covered officials’’ is comprised of— 
(1) the Secretary of Defense; 
(2) the Secretary of Labor; 
(3) the Administrator of the Small Business 
Administration; and 
(4) the Secretaries of the military departments.
SEC. 106. LONGITUDINAL STUDY ON CHANGES TO TAP. 
(a) STUDY.—Not later than 90 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs, in consultation with the Secretaries of Defense 
and Labor and the Administrator of the Small Business 
Administration, shall conduct a five-year longitudinal 
study regarding TAP on three separate cohorts of mem-
bers of the Armed Forces who have separated from the 
Armed Forces, including— 
(1) a cohort that has attended TAP counseling 
as implemented on the date of the enactment of this 
Act; 
(2) a cohort that attends TAP counseling after 
the Secretaries of Defense and Labor implement 
changes recommended in the report under section 
205(b) of this Act; and 
(3) a cohort that has not attended TAP coun-
seling. 
(b) PROGRESS REPORTS.—Not later than 90 days 
after the day that is one year after the date of the initi-
ation of the study under subsection (a) and annually 
thereafter for the three subsequent years, the Secretaries 
of Veterans Affairs, Defense, and Labor, and the Adminis-
trator of the Small Business Administration, shall submit 
to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 
House of Representatives and the Committees on Armed
(5) The academic credit hours, degrees, and 
certificates obtained by members of each cohort dur-
ing the study. 
(6) The annual income of members of each co-
hort. 
(7) The total household income of members of 
each cohort. 
(8) How many members of each cohort own 
their principal residences. 
(9) How many dependents that members of 
each cohort have. 
(10) The percentage of each cohort that 
achieves a successful outcome for TAP, as deter-
mined under section 205(a)(6) of this Act. 
(11) Other criteria the Secretaries and the Ad-
ministrator of the Small Business Administration 
determine appropriate. 
TITLE II—EDUCATIONAL 
ASSISTANCE 
SEC. 201. IMPROVEMENTS TO ASSISTANCE FOR CERTAIN 
FLIGHT TRAINING AND OTHER PROGRAMS 
OF EDUCATION. 
(a) USE OF ENTITLEMENT FOR PRIVATE PILOT’S LI-
CENSES.—Section 3034(d) of title 38, United States Code, 
is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1) by striking the semicolon 
and inserting the following: ‘‘and is required for the 
course of education being pursued (including with 
respect to a dual major, concentration, or other ele-
ment of a degree); and’’; 
(2) by striking paragraph (2); and 
(3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para-
graph (2). 
(b) ACCELERATED PAYMENTS FOR FLIGHT TRAIN-
ING.—Section 3313 of such title is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(k) 
ACCELERATED
PAYMENTS
FOR
CERTAIN 
FLIGHT TRAINING.— 
‘‘(1) PAYMENTS.—An individual enrolled in a 
program of education pursued at a vocational school 
or institution of higher learning in which flight 
training is required to earn the degree being pursued 
(including with respect to a dual major, concentra-
tion, or other element of such a degree) may elect 
to receive accelerated payments of amounts for tui-
tion and fees determined under subsection (c). The 
amount of each accelerated payment shall be an 
amount equal to twice the amount for tuition and 
fee so determined under such subsection, but the 
total amount of such payments may not exceed the
total amount of tuition and fees for the program of 
education. The amount of monthly stipends shall be 
determined in accordance with such subsection (c) 
and may not be accelerated under this paragraph. 
‘‘(2) EDUCATIONAL
COUNSELING.—An indi-
vidual may make an election under paragraph (1) 
only if the individual receives educational counseling 
under section 3697A(a) of this title. 
‘‘(3) CHARGE
AGAINST
ENTITLEMENT.—The 
number of months of entitlement charged an indi-
vidual for accelerated payments made pursuant to 
paragraph (1) shall be determined at the rate of two 
months for each month in which such an accelerated 
payment is made.’’. 
(c) FLIGHT TRAINING AT PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS.— 
Subsection (c)(1)(A) of such section 3313 is amended— 
(1) in clause (i)— 
(A) by redesignating subclauses (I) and 
(II) as items (aa) and (bb), respectively; 
(B) by striking ‘‘In the case of a program 
of education pursued at a public institution of 
higher learning’’ and inserting ‘‘(I) Subject to 
subclause (II), in the case of a program of edu-
cation pursued at a public institution of higher
learning not described in clause (ii)(II)(bb)’’; 
and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
subclause: 
‘‘(II) In determining the actual net 
cost for in-State tuition and fees pursuant 
to subclause (I), the Secretary may not 
pay for tuition and fees relating to flight 
training.’’; and 
(2) in clause (ii)— 
(A) in subclause (I), by redesignating 
items (aa) and (bb) as subitems (AA) and 
(BB), respectively; 
(B) in subclause (II), by redesignating 
items (aa) and (bb) as subitems (AA) and 
(BB), respectively; 
(C) by redesignating subclauses (I) and 
(II) as items (aa) and (bb), respectively; 
(D) by striking ‘‘In the case of a program 
of education pursued at a non-public or foreign 
institution of higher learning’’ and inserting 
‘‘(I) In the case of a program of education de-
scribed in subclause (II)’’; and 
(E) by adding at the end the following new 
subclause:
‘‘(II) A program of education de-
scribed in this subclause is any of the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(aa) A program of education 
pursued at a non-public or foreign in-
stitution of higher learning. 
‘‘(bb) A program of education 
pursued at a public institution of 
higher learning in which flight train-
ing is required to earn the degree 
being pursued (including with respect 
to a dual major, concentration, or 
other element of such a degree).’’. 
(d) CERTAIN PROGRAMS OF EDUCATION CARRIED 
OUT UNDER CONTRACT.—Section 3313(c)(1)(A)(ii)(II) of 
title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection 
(c)(2)(E), is amended by adding at the end the following 
new item: 
‘‘(cc) A program of education 
pursued at a public institution of 
higher learning in which the public in-
stitution of higher learning enters into 
a contract or agreement with an enti-
ty (other than another public institu-
tion of higher learning) to provide