I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5563 
To authorize the Secretary of Labor to award special recognition to employers 
for veteran-friendly employment practices. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 
Mr. CA´RDENAS (for himself, Mr. JOLLY, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. 
MCGOVERN, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. 
JONES, and Mr. BUTTERFIELD) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addi-
tion to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of Labor to award special recogni-
tion to employers for veteran-friendly employment prac-
tices. 
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 ‘‘Honoring the Hiring 
of Heroes Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. VETERAN-FRIENDLY BUSINESS AWARDS. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION AND CRITERIA FOR AWARD.— 
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of Labor (in this Act referred as the 
Secretary) and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
jointly establish a program to award special recognition 
to employers for veteran-friendly employment practices 
and, in coordination with the Secretaries of Defense and 
Commerce, shall establish criteria for determining recipi-
ents of such awards. 
(b) RECOGNITION.—An award of recognition granted 
under the program established by the Secretary under this 
Act shall be known as an Employment Salute Award. 
(c) ELIGIBILITY.— 
(1) EMPLOYER DEFINED.—As used in this Act, 
the term ‘‘employer’’ means any person engaged in 
a business affecting commerce who has employees, 
but does not include the United States or any State 
or political subdivision of a State. 
(2) CATEGORIES.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish different categories of employers eligible for the 
awards based on the size of the employers. Recogni-
tion shall be awarded separately for employers hav-
ing from 1 to 50 employees, from 51 to 500 employ-
ees, and more than 500 employees. 
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(d) APPLICATION.—An employer seeking an award of 
recognition under this Act shall provide the Secretary with 
an application at such time and containing such informa-
tion as the Secretary shall require after establishing the 
criteria described in subsection (a). 
(e) APPLICATION FEE AND FUNDING.— 
(1) FEE AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary may as-
sess a reasonable application fee on employers seek-
ing such an award. 
(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There is es-
tablished in the Treasury of the United States a sep-
arate account for the deposit of fees collected under 
this subsection to be known as the Employment Sa-
lute Award Fund. 
(3) DEPOSIT.—The Secretary shall deposit any 
fees collected pursuant to paragraph (1) into the 
Fund established by paragraph (2). 
(4) USE.—Amounts in the Employment Salute 
Award Fund shall be available to the Secretary, as 
provided in paragraph (5), for making expenditures 
to carry out the program established pursuant to 
subsection (a). 
(5) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There is authorized to be appropriated from the Em-
ployment Salute Award Fund to the Secretary for 
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each fiscal year in which fees are collected under 
this subsection an amount equal to the total amount 
collected during the previous fiscal year from fees 
assessed pursuant to this subsection. Such amounts 
are authorized to remain available until expended. 
(6) CREDITING AND AVAILABILITY OF FEES.— 
Fees authorized under paragraph (1) shall be col-
lected and available for obligation only to the extent 
and in the amount provided in advance in appropria-
tions Acts. 
(f) PUBLICIZATION.—The Secretary shall publicize 
the recipients of the award by listing such recipients in 
a separate section on the Department of Labor’s website 
and through such other methods as the Secretary may de-
termine. 
(g) NO MONETARY AWARD.—An award granted 
under a program established pursuant to subsection (a) 
shall be for recognition only and not be monetary in na-
ture. 
Æ 
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