II 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2326 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
MAY 22, 2019 
Received 
AN ACT 
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 Im-
provement Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. TAP DEFINED. 
In this Act, the term ‘‘TAP’’ means the Transition 
Assistance Program under sections 1142 and 1144 of title 
10, United States Code. 
SEC. 3. 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. 4. 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-
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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’’ 
and inserting ‘‘During the 5-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 
section 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 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 
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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 6 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 5 
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 cov-
ered officials, shall enter into an agreement with an appro-
priate entity with experience in adult education to carry 
out a 1-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 read-
iness 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 out-
comes for members of the Armed Forces 1 year 
after separation, 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 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) 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 Busi-
ness 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 
Administration, shall conduct a 5-year longitudinal study 
regarding TAP on three separate cohorts of members 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 
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 1 year after the date of the initiation 
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of the study under subsection (a) and annually thereafter 
for the 3 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 
preceding year. 
(c) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 
the completion of the study under subsection (a), the Sec-
retaries of Veterans Affairs, Defense, and Labor, and the 
Administrator of the Small Business Administration, shall 
submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen-
ate and House of Representatives and the Committees on 
Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representa-
tives a report 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 
cohort were employed during the study. 
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(3) Annual starting and ending salaries of 
members 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 
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 6(a)(7) of this Act. 
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(11) Other criteria the Secretaries and the Ad-
ministrator of the Small Business Administration 
determine appropriate. 
Passed the House of Representatives May 21, 2019. 
Attest: 
CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 
Clerk. 
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