I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3405 
To better connect current and former members of the Armed Forces with 
employment opportunities by consolidating duplicative Federal Govern-
ment Internet websites into a single portal, to conserve resources by 
merging redundant and competing programs, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 30, 2013 
Mr. DENHAM (for himself and Mr. WALZ) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the 
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To better connect current and former members of the Armed 
Forces with employment opportunities by consolidating 
duplicative Federal Government Internet websites into 
a single portal, to conserve resources by merging redun-
dant and competing programs, 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 ‘‘United We Stand to 
Hire Veterans Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. CONSOLIDATED AND COORDINATED FEDERAL GOV-
ERNMENT INTERNET PORTAL TO CONNECT 
CURRENT AND FORMER MEMBERS OF THE 
ARMED FORCES WITH EMPLOYERS SEEKING 
EMPLOYEES WITH SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE 
DEVELOPED THROUGH MILITARY SERVICE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
ings: 
(1) Although significant progress has been 
made, unemployment among veterans remains stub-
bornly high. 
(2) The unemployment rate among younger vet-
erans, ages 18 to 24, remains well above the na-
tional average. 
(3) This problem impacts the Department of 
Defense budget. Over the past 10 years, the Federal 
Government 
has 
expended 
more 
than 
$9,600,000,000 on unemployment compensation 
benefits for former members of the Armed Forces. 
(4) The Department makes significant invest-
ments in members of the Armed Forces including 
specialized technical training in skills that are easily 
transferrable to civilian career fields. 
(5) Beyond specific technical training, veterans 
gain unique leadership, organizational, and other 
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skills that make them valued employees in the pri-
vate sector. 
(6) Government agencies, private sector enti-
ties, and nonprofit organizations are responding to 
the issue of unemployment among veterans. 
(7) There are now so many programs to assist 
veterans in finding employment, many within the 
Government, that veterans may not know where to 
turn to find assistance in finding employment. While 
these programs are well intentioned, many are dupli-
cative in nature, and compete for scarce resources. 
(8) The Department of Labor, the Department 
of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, and 
the Office of Personnel Management are currently 
working to consolidate the veterans employment ini-
tiatives of the Government into a single, consolidated 
Internet portal with the goal of connecting veterans 
who are seeking employment with employers who 
want to employ them. 
(9) The consolidated portal would prevent Fed-
eral Government agencies from competing with each 
other to accomplish the same goal, and will save the 
Federal Government money while providing a com-
prehensive, coordinated tool for employers and vet-
erans seeking employment. 
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(10) The Federal Government can accomplish 
this by leveraging the best practices of current pro-
grams. 
(11) While progress has been made, there is no 
statutory requirement to streamline these Govern-
ment programs and coordinate the resources that 
are all intended to achieve the same goal. 
(b) 
CONSOLIDATED
INTERNET
PORTAL
RE-
QUIRED.—Commencing not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor 
shall, in conjunction with the Secretary of Defense and 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, consolidate Internet 
portals of the Federal Government on employment for cur-
rent and former members of the Armed Forces into a com-
prehensive consolidated Internet portal for the purposes 
of connecting current and former members of the Armed 
Forces who are seeking employment with employers who 
want to employ them. 
(c) ELEMENTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The consolidated Internet 
portal under subsection (b) should include the fol-
lowing: 
(A) A means through which current and 
former members of the Armed Forces may con-
nect for employment purposes with employers 
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(2) MATTERS CONSIDERED.—In developing the 
consolidated Internet portal, the Secretaries referred 
to in subsection (b) should consider, at a minimum, 
the following: 
(A) Public and private sector resources on 
matters relating to the portal. 
(B) Opportunities to incorporate local em-
ployment networks into the portal. 
(C) Methodologies to determine the most 
effective employment resources and programs to 
be incorporated into the portal. 
(D) Means for streamlining processes 
through the portal for employers to find and 
employ former members of the Armed Forces. 
(d) MEMBER PARTICIPATION.—Participation by a 
member or former member of the Armed Force in the con-
solidated Internet portal under subsection (b) shall be vol-
untary. A member or former member participating in the 
portal may cease participation in the portal at any time. 
(e) PILOT PROJECT AUTHORITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to expedite imple-
mentation of the consolidated Internet portal under 
subsection (b), the Secretaries may carry out one or 
more pilot projects to evaluate the feasibility and ad-
visability of various options for the portal. Any such 
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pilot project may only be a continuation or modifica-
tion of an existing program. 
(2) SUNSET.—The authority to carry out pilot 
projects under this subsection shall expire on the 
date that is five years after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act. 
(f) REPORTS.— 
(1) PRELIMINARY REPORT.—Not later than six 
months after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretaries shall submit to the appropriate com-
mittees of Congress a report on the consolidated 
Internet portal under subsection (b). The report 
shall include the following: 
(A) A list of the Internet portals of the 
Federal Government that are redundant to, or 
duplicative of, the consolidated Internet portal. 
(B) An estimate of the cost savings to be 
achieved by the Federal Government through 
the consolidated Internet portal, including 
through the elimination or consolidation into 
the consolidated Internet portal of the Internet 
portals listed under subparagraph (A). 
(2) REPORT FOLLOWING IMPLEMENTATION OF 
PORTAL.—Not later than one year after the date of 
the implementation of the portal under subsection 
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(b), the Secretaries shall submit to the appropriate 
committees of Congress a report on the portal. 
(3) ELEMENTS.—Each report under this sub-
section shall include a description of the portal and 
such other information on the portal as the Secre-
taries consider appropriate. 
(4) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS 
DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘appro-
priate committees of Congress’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Armed Services, the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions, the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, 
and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
Senate; and 
(B) the Committee on Armed Services, the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce, 
the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and the 
Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
Representatives. 
Æ 
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