I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8511 
To direct the Secretary of Defense to submit to Congress a report on 
transitioning military acquired credentials to the civilian workforce. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 22, 2024 
Mrs. TORRES of California 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 determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Defense to submit to Congress 
a report on transitioning military acquired credentials 
to the civilian workforce. 
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 ‘‘Servicemember Equal 
Recognition and Transition Support Act’’ or the ‘‘SERTS 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. REPORT ON THE NUMBER OF VETERANS WHO HAVE 
THEIR MILITARY ACQUIRED CREDENTIALS 
RECOGNIZED AT THE STATE-LEVEL FOR THE 
CIVILIAN WORKFORCE. 
(a) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in con-
sultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the 
Secretary of Labor, shall submit to Congress a report that 
builds on the data reported in the ‘‘DoD Credentialing 
Utilization’’ report from 2018 (3-BB02A16) to better as-
sess the effectiveness of the Credentialing Programs for 
post-military civilian employment. 
(b) MATTERS INCLUDED.—The report under sub-
section (a) shall include the following: 
(1) An assessment of the number of veterans 
who successfully transfer their eligible professional 
credentials to civilian jobs. 
(2) An assessment of which certifications were 
most commonly used for post-military civilian em-
ployment, such as airplane mechanics. 
(3) An assessment on any other barriers vet-
erans face to transferring military mechanical skills 
to State certifications. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘applicable licensing authority’’ 
means the licensing authority by a State for a given 
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vocation in which the veteran works or would like to 
work. 
(2) The term ‘‘eligible professional credential’’ 
means a professional credential, including a profes-
sional credential in the field of airplane mechanics, 
obtained using expenses paid pursuant to the pro-
gram under section 2015 of title 10, United States 
Code. 
(3) The term ‘‘expenses’’ has the meaning given 
such term in such section. 
(4) The term ‘‘servicemember’’ has the meaning 
given 
such 
term 
in 
section 
101 
of 
the 
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. 4025a). 
(5) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 
States and territories and the District of Columbia. 
Æ 
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