Sec. 3. Veterans' business programs
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Section 32 of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 657b ), as amended by section 2, is amended by inserting after subsection
(d)the following: In this subsection— the term covered individual means— a member of the Armed Forces, without regard to whether the member is participating in the Transition Assistance Program of the Department of Defense; an individual who is participating in the Transition Assistance Program of the Department of Defense; an individual who— served on active duty in any branch of the Armed Forces, including the National Guard and Reserves; and was discharged or released from such service under conditions other than dishonorable; and a spouse or dependent of an individual described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii); and the term Vet Center means a center for readjustment counseling and related mental health services for veterans under section 1712A of title 38, United States Code. There is established a program to be known as the Boots to Business Program to provide entrepreneurship training to covered individuals, which shall be carried out by the Administrator. The goals of the Boots to Business Program are to— provide exposure, introduction, and in-depth training for covered individuals interested in business ownership; and provide covered individuals with the tools and knowledge necessary to identify a business opportunity, draft a business plan, identify sources of capital, connect with local small business resources, and launch a small business concern. The Boots to Business Program may include— a brief presentation providing exposure to the considerations involved in self-employment and small business ownership; an online, self-study course focused on the basic skills of entrepreneurship, the language of business, and the considerations involved in self-employment and small business ownership; an in-person classroom instruction component providing an introduction to the foundations of self employment and small business ownership; and in-depth training delivered through online instruction, including an online course that leads to the creation of a business plan. The Administrator may— collaborate with public and private entities to develop a course curriculum for the Boots to Business Program; and modify program components in coordination with entities participating in the Warriors in Transition programs, as defined in section 738(f) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 ( 10 U.S.C. 1071 note). The Associate Administrator shall, to the maximum extent practicable, use a variety of resource partners and entities in administering the Boots to Business Program. In carrying out clause (i), the Associate Administrator may make grants to resource partners and other entities to carry out components of the Boots to Business Program. The Administrator shall— make available electronically information regarding the Boots to Business Program and all course materials created for the Boots to Business Program to the Secretary of Defense for inclusion on the website of the Department of Defense relating to the Transition Assistance Program and in the Transition Assistance Program manual and other publications and materials available for distribution from the Secretary of Defense; and fully participate in the interagency governance of the Transition Assistance Program. In consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Associate Administrator shall make available outreach materials regarding the Boots to Business Program for distribution and display at local facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs (including medical centers, community-based outpatient clinics, Vet Centers, and other facilities determined appropriate by the Associate Administrator and the Secretary), which shall, at a minimum— describe the Boots to Business Program, including a description of services provided; and include eligibility requirements for participating in the Boots to Business Program. The Inspector General of the Administration shall submit to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives an annual report regarding the awarding of grants under the Boots to Business Program. The Administrator shall designate not fewer than 1 individual in each district office of the Administration as a veterans business development officer, who shall communicate and coordinate activities of the district office with entities that receive financial assistance under this subsection. The first individual in each district office of the Administration designated by the Administrator as a veterans business development officer under paragraph
(1)shall be an individual that is employed by the Administration on the date of enactment of this subsection. In this subsection, the term veterans' assistance provider means— an employee of the Administration assigned to the Office of Veterans Business Development; or a veterans business development officer designated under subsection (f). The Associate Administrator shall establish an online mechanism to— provide information that assists veterans' assistance providers in carrying out the activities of the veterans' assistance providers; and coordinate and leverage the work of the veterans' assistance providers, including by allowing a veterans' assistance provider to— distribute best practices and other materials; communicate with other veterans' assistance providers regarding the activities of the veterans' assistance provider on behalf of veterans; and pose questions to and request input from other veterans' assistance providers. Financial assistance made available under this section may not be used for travel outside of the United States (as defined in section 202(a)(7) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 ( 22 U.S.C. 4302(a)(7) )) until after the date on which the Administrator submits to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives a plan describing how services will be provided by recipients, and how the Administrator will oversee the provision of services, outside of the United States. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Veterans Small Business Ownership Improvements Act and every year thereafter, the Associate Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives a report on the performance and effectiveness for the programs authorized under this section, which may be included as part of another report submitted to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives by the Associate Administrator, and which shall include the following: For the Veteran's Business Outreach Center Program under subsection (d), with respect to each veteran's business center established under such subsection— the effectiveness of all projects conducted by the veteran's business outreach center; the number of individuals receiving assistance; the number of startup business concerns formed; the gross receipts of assisted concerns; the employment increases or decreases of assisted concerns; to the maximum extent practicable, increases or decreases in profits of assisted concerns; and the most recent analysis, as required under clause
(ii)of subsection (d)(6)(A), and the subsequent determination made by the Administration under that clause. For the Boots to Business Program under subsection (e)— the number of program participants using each component of the Boots to Business Program; the completion rates for each component of the Boots to Business Program; to the extent possible— the demographics of program participants, to include gender, age, race, relationship to military, Military Occupational Code, and years of service of program participants; the number of small business concerns formed or expanded with assistance under the Boots to Business Program; the gross receipts of small business concerns receiving assistance under the Boots to Business Program; the number of jobs created with assistance under the Boots to Business Program; the number of referrals to other resources and programs of the Administration; the number of program participants receiving financial assistance under loan programs of the Administration; the type and dollar amount of financial assistance received by program participants under loan programs of the Administration; and the results of participant satisfaction surveys, including a summary of any comments received from program participants; an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Boots to Business Program in each region of the Administration during the most recent fiscal year; an assessment of additional performance outcome measures for the Boots to Business Program, as identified by the Associate Administrator; any recommendations of the Administrator for improvement of the Boots to Business Program, which may include expansion of the types of individuals who are covered individuals; an explanation of how the Boots to Business Program has been integrated with other transition programs and related resources of the Administration and other Federal agencies; and any additional information the Administrator determines necessary. An evaluation of the effectiveness of any other activities and programs administered by the Office of Veterans Business Development, including using the metrics identified in paragraphs
(1)and (2). . In this subsection— the term covered individual means— a veteran; a service-disabled veteran; a Reservist; the spouse of an individual described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii); or the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces; the term Reservist means a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces, as described in section 10101 of title 10, United States Code; the term small business concern owned and controlled by veterans — has the meaning given the term in section 3(q) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 632(q) ); and includes a small business concern— not less than 51 percent of which is owned by 1 or more spouses of veterans or, in the case of any publicly owned business, not less than 51 percent of the stock of which is owned by 1 or more spouses of veterans; and the management and daily business operations of which are controlled by 1 or more spouses of veterans; the terms service-disabled veteran , small business concern , and veteran have the meanings given those terms under section 3 of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 632 ). Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit a report regarding the ability of small business concerns owned and controlled by covered individuals to access credit to— the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate; and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives. The report submitted under subparagraph
(A)shall include an analysis of— the sources of credit used by small business concerns owned and controlled by covered individuals and the percentage of the credit obtained by small business concerns owned and controlled by covered individuals that is obtained from each source; the default rate for small business concerns owned and controlled by covered individuals separately for each source of credit described in clause (i), as compared to the default rate for the source of credit for small business concerns generally; the Federal lending programs available to provide credit to small business concerns owned and controlled by covered individuals; gaps, if any, in the availability of credit for small business concerns owned and controlled by covered individuals that are not being filled by the Federal Government or private sources; obstacles faced by covered individuals in trying to access credit; the extent to which deployment and other military responsibilities affect the credit history of veterans and Reservists; and the extent to which covered individuals are aware of Federal programs targeted towards helping covered individuals access credit.
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