IB 
Union Calendar No. 49 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2326 
[Report No. 116–73, Part I] 
To amend the Social Security Act, to amend the Dignified Burial and Other 
Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2012, and to direct the Secre-
taries of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Labor, and Homeland Security, and 
the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, to take certain 
actions to improve transition assistance to members of the Armed Forces 
who separate, retire, or are discharged from the Armed Forces, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 15, 2019 
Mr. LEVIN of California (for himself, Mr. ARRINGTON, Mr. CISNEROS, Mr. 
BILIRAKIS, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, and Mrs. LEE of Nevada) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, 
and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, and Ways and 
Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
MAY 20, 2019 
Additional sponsors: Mrs. RADEWAGEN, Ms. PORTER, Mr. VELA, Mr. 
WATKINS, Mr. TAYLOR, and Mr. FITZPATRICK 
MAY 20, 2019 
Reported from the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs with an amendment 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
MAY 20, 2019 
Committees on Armed Services and Ways and Means discharged; committed 
to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and or-
dered to be printed 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 15, 2019] 
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A BILL 
To amend the Social Security Act, to amend the Dignified 
Burial and Other Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act 
of 2012, and to direct the Secretaries of Veterans Af-
fairs, Defense, Labor, and Homeland Security, and the 
Administrator of the Small Business Administration, to 
take certain actions to improve transition assistance to 
members of the Armed Forces who separate, retire, or 
are discharged from the Armed Forces, and for other 
purposes. 
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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 Improve-
ment Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. TAP DEFINED. 
In this Act, the term ‘‘TAP’’ means the Transition As-
sistance Program under sections 1142 and 1144 of title 10, 
United States Code. 
SEC. 3. ACCESS FOR THE SECRETARIES OF LABOR AND VET-
ERANS 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 following 
new paragraph: 
‘‘(4) VETERAN EMPLOYMENT.—The Secretaries of 
Labor and of Veterans Affairs shall have access to in-
formation reported by employers pursuant to sub-
section (b) of this section for purposes of tracking em-
ployment of veterans.’’. 
SEC. 4. PILOT PROGRAM FOR OFF-BASE TRANSITION TRAIN-
ING FOR VETERANS AND SPOUSES. 
(a) EXTENSION OF PILOT PROGRAM.—Subsection (a) 
of section 301 of the Dignified Burial and Other Veterans’ 
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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’’ and 
inserting ‘‘During the five-year period beginning on 
the date of the enactment of the Navy SEAL Chief 
Petty Officer William ″Bill″ Mulder (Ret.) Transition 
Improvement Act of 2019’’; 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 fewer than 50 locations in States (as defined in 
section 101 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 sec-
tion is repealed. 
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SEC. 5. 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 provision 
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 
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the amount required by the organization to provide the serv-
ices described in subsection (b). 
(f) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall carry out this sec-
tion 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. 6. ONE-YEAR INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT OF THE EF-
FECTIVENESS 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 covered 
officials, shall enter into an agreement with an appropriate 
entity with experience in adult education to carry out a 
one-year independent assessment of TAP, including— 
(1) the effectiveness of TAP for members of each 
military department during the entire military life 
cycle; 
(2) the appropriateness of the TAP career readi-
ness standards; 
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(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 outcomes 
for members of the Armed Forces one year after sepa-
ration, retirement, or discharge from the Armed 
Forces; 
(7) what the Secretary, in consultation with the 
covered officials and veterans service organizations 
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-
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comes for members of the Armed Forces after separa-
tion, 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 comple-
tion of the independent assessment under subsection (a), the 
Secretary and the covered officials, shall submit to the Com-
mittees 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 (including 
recommended legislation) of the independent assess-
ment prepared by the entity described in subsection 
(a); and 
(2) responses of the Secretary and the covered of-
ficials to the findings and recommendations described 
in paragraph (1). 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘covered officials’’ is comprised 
of— 
(A) the Secretary of Defense; 
(B) the Secretary of Labor; 
(C) the Administrator of the Small Business 
Administration; and 
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(D) the Secretaries of the military depart-
ments. 
(2) The term ‘‘military department’’ has the 
meaning given that term in section 101 of title 10, 
United States Code. 
SEC. 7. 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 Administra-
tion, shall conduct a five-year longitudinal study regarding 
TAP on three separate cohorts of members of the Armed 
Forces who have separated from the Armed Forces, includ-
ing— 
(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 6(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 initiation 
of the study under subsection (a) and annually thereafter 
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for the three subsequent years, the Secretaries of Veterans 
Affairs, Defense, and Labor, and the Administrator of the 
Small Business Administration, shall submit to the Com-
mittees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of 
Representatives and the Committees on Armed Services of 
the Senate and House of Representatives a progress report 
of activities under the study during the immediately pre-
ceding year. 
(c) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the 
completion of the study under subsection (a), 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 
Services of the Senate and House of Representatives a re-
port of final findings and recommendations based on the 
study. 
(d) ELEMENTS.—The final report under subsection (c) 
shall include information regarding the following: 
(1) The percentage of each cohort that received 
unemployment benefits during the study. 
(2) The numbers of months members of each co-
hort were employed during the study. 
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(3) Annual starting and ending salaries of mem-
bers of each cohort who were employed during the 
study. 
(4) How many members of each cohort enrolled 
in an institution of higher learning, as that term is 
defined in section 3452(f) of title 38, United States 
Code. 
(5) The academic credit hours, degrees, and cer-
tificates obtained by members of each cohort during 
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 determined under 
section 6(a)(7) of this Act. 
(11) Other criteria the Secretaries and the Ad-
ministrator of the Small Business Administration de-
termine appropriate. 
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Union Calendar No. 49 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 2326 
[Report No. 116–73, Part I] 
A BILL 
To amend the Social Security Act, to amend the 
Dignified Burial and Other Veterans’ Benefits 
Improvement Act of 2012, and to direct the Sec-
retaries of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Labor, and 
Homeland Security, and the Administrator of the 
Small Business Administration, to take certain 
actions to improve transition assistance to mem-
bers of the Armed Forces who separate, retire, or 
are discharged from the Armed Forces, and for 
other purposes. 
MAY 20, 2019 
Reported from the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs with 
an amendment 
MAY 20, 2019 
Committees on Armed Services and Ways and Means dis-
charged; committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union and ordered to be 
printed 
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