Armed Services Bill II
H. R. 2413
A BILL
To
amend title 10, United States Code, to establish a program of employment
assistance, including employment-related tuition assistance, for military
spouses.
Be
it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of
America in Congress assembled,
SECTION
1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a)
SHORT TITLE- This Act may be cited as the `Military Spouse Employment Assistance
Act of 2001'.
(b)
TABLE OF CONTENTS- The table of contents of this Act is as follows:
Sec.
1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Military spouse employment financial assistance program.
Sec. 3. Department of Defense employment and training opportunities.
Sec. 4. Encouragement of Federal partnerships in support of military spouse
employment.
Sec. 5. Encouragement of private-sector employment of military spouses.
Sec. 6. Employment of military spouses by defense contractors.
Sec. 7. Effective date.
SEC.
2. MILITARY SPOUSE EMPLOYMENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
(a)
AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE SPECIFIED FORMS OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO MILITARY
SPOUSES- (1) Chapter 88 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting
after section 1784 the following new section:
`Sec.
1784a. Spouse employment financial assistance program
`(a)
ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM- The Secretary of Defense may conduct a program to
provide financial assistance to military spouses to assist them in gaining
employment. As part of such a program, the Secretary may carry out a program of
tuition assistance for military spouses pursuing a program of employment-related
education or training.
`(b)
MILITARY SPOUSE DEFINED- In this section, the term `military spouse' means the
spouse of a member of the armed forces on active duty.
`(c)
PROGRAM GOALS- The Secretary shall prescribe specific goals for the program
under this section. Those goals shall include goals for improvements in
retention for married members of the armed forces on active duty attributable to
improvements in family income of those members and resulting improvements in the
quality of life of those members and their families.
`(d)
TYPES OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE- Under the program, the Secretary may provide
financial assistance for military spouses for one or more of the following
purposes, as specified in regulations prescribed under this section:
`(1)
Career-related education, in accordance with subsection (e).
`(2) Certification and license fees for employment-related purposes.
`(3) Apprenticeships and internships.
`(4) Technical training.
`(5) Training to improve job skills.
`(6) Career counseling.
`(7) Skills assessment.
`(8) Job-search skills.
`(9) Job-related transportation.
`(10) Child care.
`(11) Any additional employment-related purpose specified in the regulations
prescribed under subsection (g).
`(e)
TUITION ASSISTANCE- Financial assistance under subsection (d)(1) for
career-related education shall be provided through a tuition assistance program
offering benefits similar to those provided under the tuition assistance program
for members of the armed forces under section 2007 of this title that will
improve education and employment opportunities for military spouses.
`(f)
COORDINATION WITH OTHER PROGRAMS- The Secretary shall ensure that the provisions
of this section are carried out in coordination with other programs of the
Department of Defense (including the relocation assistance program under section
1056 of this title) under which employment-related assistance may be provided to
spouses of members of the armed forces.
`(g)
REGULATIONS- The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations for the
purposes of the program under this section. In those regulations, the Secretary
shall specify the following:
`(1)
Eligibility for financial assistance under the program , including eligibility
for tuition assistance under subsection (e).
`(2) The types of assistance that may be provided.
`(3) The maximum amount of such assistance that may be provided for each of the
types of assistance specified under subsection (d).
`(h)
INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION ON PILOT BASIS- (1) During the first three fiscal years
during which the program under this section is carried out, the program shall be
conducted on a pilot basis in a limited number of geographic areas, including
bases overseas, for the purpose of evaluating different program options and
program effectiveness.
`(2)
The Secretary shall conduct an evaluation of the program at the mid-term point
of the pilot program period under paragraph (1) and at the conclusion of the
pilot program period. Each such evaluation shall assess the success of the
program, including the success of the program in meeting the goals specified for
the program. The Secretary shall submit a report on each such evaluation to the
Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of
the House of Representatives.'.
(2)
The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting
after the item relating to section 1784 the following new item:
`1784a.
Spouse employment financial assistance program.'.
(b)
AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There is authorized to be appropriated for the
military spouse employment assistance program under section 1784a of title 10,
United States Code, as added by subsection (a), a total of $12,000,000 for the
first three fiscal years during which the program is in operation.
(c)
INITIAL LOCATIONS- The Secretary shall specify the specific locations, including
bases overseas, at which the military spouse employment assistance program under
section 1784a of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), is to
be conducted for the period under subsection (h) of that section during which
the program is to be conducted on a pilot basis.
SEC.
3. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES.
(a)
REVIEW OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE POLICIES- The Secretary of Defense shall review
Department of Defense policies that affect employment opportunities for military
spouses in the Department of Defense in order to maximize those opportunities.
The review shall include the consideration of providing, to the extent
authorized by law, separate spouse preferences for employment by appropriated
and nonappropriated fund operations.
(b)
SPACE-AVAILABLE USE OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FACILITIES FOR TRAINING PURPOSES-
Section 1784 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end
the following new subsection:
`(d)
SPACE-AVAILABLE USE OF FACILITIES FOR TRAINING PURPOSES- The Secretary of
Defense shall take such steps as appropriate to maximize opportunities for
spouses of members of the armed forces to be provided employment-related
training in Department of Defense facilities on a space-available basis during
normal duty hours and during other periods when those facilities are not being
fully utilized.'.
SEC.
4. ENCOURAGEMENT OF FEDERAL PARTNERSHIPS IN SUPPORT OF MILITARY SPOUSE
EMPLOYMENT.
Section
1784 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by section 3(b), is further
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
`(e)
EMPLOYMENT BY OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES- The Secretary of Defense shall work with
the Director of the Office of Personnel Management and the heads of other
Federal departments and agencies to facilitate the appropriate use of existing
Federal programs and resources in support of military spouse employment.'.
SEC.
5. ENCOURAGEMENT OF PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYMENT OF MILITARY SPOUSES.
Section
1784 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by section 4, is further
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
`(f)
PRIVATE-SECTOR EMPLOYMENT- The Secretary of Defense--
`(1)
shall seek to develop partnerships with firms in the private sector to enhance
employment opportunities for spouses of members of the armed forces and to
provide for improved job portability for such spouses, especially in the case of
the spouse of a member of the armed forces accompanying the member to a new
geographical area because of a change of permanent duty station of the member;
and
`(2)
shall work with the United States Chamber of Commerce and other appropriate
private-sector entities to facilitate the formation of such partnerships.'.
SEC.
6. EMPLOYMENT OF MILITARY SPOUSES BY DEFENSE CONTRACTORS.
Section
1784 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by section 5, is further
amended adding at the end the following new subsection:
`(g)
EMPLOYMENT WITH DEFENSE CONTRACTORS- The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe
regulation to ensure, to the extent practicable, that private-sector entities,
in hiring for work to be performed on a contract with the Department of Defense,
provide preference to qualified spouses of members of the armed forces and other
employment opportunities for such spouses in the same manner as is provided for
positions in the Department of Defense under subsection (b).'.
SEC.
7. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on June 1, 2002.