Veteran Entrepreneurship and Training Opportunities Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2396
Sponsor: Sen. Pryor, Mark L. [D-AR]
Introduced: 2014-05-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Business education
Business investment and capital
Congressional oversight
Credit and credit markets
Disability and paralysis
Employment and training programs
Government studies and investigations
Military personnel and dependents
Public contracts and procurement
Public-private cooperation
Small business
Teaching, teachers, curricula
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Women in business
Women's employment

Summary:
action_date: 2014-05-22
text: 
Veteran Entrepreneurship and Training Opportunities Act of 2014 - Amends the Small Business Act to the repeal the requirement that the Associate Administrator for Veterans Business Development of the Small Business Administration (SBA) increase veteran outreach by ensuring that Veteran Business Outreach Centers regularly participate, on a nationwide basis, in the workshops of the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) of the Department of Labor (DOL).
 
Establishes the Boots to Business Program under which the SBA Administrator shall provide entrepreneurship training to:
 
 
members of the Armed Forces,
 
individuals who separated from the Armed Forces during the one-year period ending on the date on which the individuals receive assistance under this Act,
 
as well as their spouses or dependents.
 
 
Requires the Administrator to make available electronically to the Secretary of Defense (DOD) all course materials created for this Program for inclusion in the TAP manual.
 
Requires the Administrator to establish a Veteran Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship Program to provide specific training for female members of the Armed Forces, veterans, or female spouses or dependents of Armed Forces members or veterans who are interested in exploring careers as small business owners.
 
Requires the Administrator to establish an Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities Program to provide specific training for service-disabled veterans interested in exploring careers as small business owners.
 
Directs the Associate Administrator to establish an online mechanism to assist, and coordinate and leverage the work of, veterans' assistance providers.
 
Requires the Associate Administrator to establish a veterans' business outreach center program to provide financial assistance of between $100,000 and $300,000 per fiscal year to educational institutions, veterans' nonprofit community-based organizations, and federal, state, and local departments and agencies to conduct renewable five-year projects for the benefit of small businesses owned and controlled by veterans. Directs each assisted entity to establish a veterans' business outreach center to provide specific assistance to veterans, service-disabled veterans, and reservists, as well as their spouses, and the spouses of active duty members of the Armed Forces.
 
Requires the Administrator to designate at least one individual in each SBA district as a veterans business ownership representative.
 
Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to: (1) report to specified congressional committees regarding the ability to access credit of small businesses owned and controlled by veterans, service-disabled veterans, reservists, as well as their spouses, or spouses of an Armed Forces member; and (2) evaluate the effectiveness of the veterans' business outreach center program after two years.
 
Requires the Administrator to report to Congress at least annually: (1) discussing appointments made to, and activities of, an interagency task force established for small businesses owned and controlled by veterans and service-disabled veterans; and (2) identifying and outlining a plan for outreach and promotion of programs authorized under this Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-05-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
action_date: 2014-05-22
text: Introduced in Senate