,,ii  #aagth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #cafa  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,november #c1  
#bjba,mrs4 ,blackburn 7for herself and  
,mrs4 ,gillibrand7 introduced the       
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,armed   
,services  ,a ,,bill  ,to require the   
,secretary of ,defense to carry out a   
pilot program to supplement the         
,transition ,assistance ,program of the 
,department of ,defense4  #a4 ,short    
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,onward to ,opportunity ,act4  #b4      
,pilot program to supplement the        
,transition ,assistance ,program of the 
,department of ,defense through grants  
7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of      
,defense1 in consultation with the      
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs1 shall 
carry out a pilot program under which   
the ,secretary of ,defense provides1    
through grants1 enhanced support and    
funding to eligible entities to         
supplement the ,transition ,assistance  

,program by providing job opportunities 
for industry-recognized certifications1 
job placement assistance1 and related   
employment services directly to covered 
individuals4  7b7 ,services ,in carrying
 out the pilot program1 the ,secretary  
of ,defense shall award grants to       
eligible entities to provide to covered 
individuals the following services3 7#a7
 ,using an industry-validated screening 
tool1 assessments of prior education1   
work history1 and employment aspirations
 of covered individuals in order to     
tailor appropriate employment services4 
7#b7 ,preparation for civilian          
employment through services such as mock
 interviews and salary negotiations1    
training on professional networking     
platforms1 and company research4  7#c7  
,several industry-specific learning     
pathways-- 7,a7 with entry-level1       
mid-level and senior versions2  7,b7 in 
fields such as project management1      
cybersecurity1 and information          
technology2  7,c7 in which each covered 

individual works with an academic       
advisor to choose a career pathway and  
navigate coursework during the training 
process2 and  7,d7 in which each covered
 individual can earn industry-recognized
 credentials and certifications1 at no  
charge to the covered individual4  7#d7 
,job placement services4  7c7 ,program  
organization and implementation model   
,the ,secretary of ,defense shall ensure
 that the pilot program follows economic
 opportunity program models in use as of
 the date of the enactment of this ,act 
that combine industry-recognized        
certification training1 furnished by    
professionals1 with online learning     
staff4  7d7 ,consultation ,the          
,secretary of ,defense shall seek to    
consult with private entities to        
identify the best economic opportunity  
program models for the pilot program to 
follow1 including economic opportunity  
models in use as of the date of the     
enactment of this ,act that are         
furnished through public-private        

partnerships4  7e7 ,eligibility ,to be  
eligible to receive a grant under the   
pilot program1 an entity shall-- 7#a7   
follow a job training and placement     
model2  7#b7 have a well-developed and  
rigorous practice of program measurement
 and evaluation that indicates program  
performance and efficiency1 with data   
that is high quality and shareable with 
partner entities2  7#c7 have established
 partnerships with entities 7such as    
employers1 governmental agencies1 and   
non-profit entities7 to provide services
 described in subsection 7b72 and  7#d7 
have online training capability to reach
 rural veterans1 reduce costs1 and      
comply with new conditions forced by    
,,covid-#ai4  7f7 ,coordination with    
,federal entities ,each grantee under   
the pilot program shall coordinate with 
,federal entities1 including-- 7#a7 the 
,office of ,transition and ,economic    
,development of the ,department of      
,veterans ,affairs2 and  7#b7 the       
,veterans' ,employment and ,training    

,service of the ,department of ,labor4  
7g7 ,performance metrics ,the ,secretary
 of ,defense shall ensure that          
performance outcomes of the pilot       
program-- 7#a7 are able to be verified  
using a third-party auditing method2 and
  7#b7 include-- 7,a7 the number of     
covered individuals who receive and     
complete skills training through the    
pilot program2  7,b7 the number of      
covered individuals who secure          
employment through the pilot program2   
7,c7 the retention rate for covered     
individuals described in subparagraph   
7,b72 and  7,d7 the median salary of    
covered individuals described in        
subparagraph 7,b74  7h7 ,site locations 
,the ,secretary of ,defense shall carry 
out the pilot program at five military  
installations in the ,united ,states    
where existing economic opportunity     
program models are successful4  7i7     
,assessment of possible expansion  7#a7 
,in general ,each grantee under the     
pilot program shall assess the          

feasibility of expanding the virtual    
training and career placement services  
offered under the pilot program to--    
7,a7 members of the reserve components  
of the ,armed ,forces2 and  7,b7 covered
 individuals outside the ,united        
,states4  7#b7 ,submittal to ,secretary 
of ,defense ,each grantee under the     
pilot program shall submit to the       
,secretary of ,defense the assessment of
 the grantee conducted under paragraph  
7#a74  7j7 ,duration ,the pilot program 
shall terminate on ,september #cj1      
#bjbe4  7k7 ,report ,not later than     
,march #cj1 #bjbf1 the ,secretary of    
,defense shall submit to the            
congressional defense committees a      
report that includes-- 7#a7 a           
description of the pilot program1       
including a description of specific     
activities carried out under this       
section2  7#b7 the metrics and          
evaluations used to assess the          
effectiveness of the pilot program2 and 
7#c7 the assessments submitted to the   

,secretary under subsection 7i77#b74    
7l7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 
,covered individual ,the term covered   
individual means-- 7,a7 a member of the 
,armed ,forces participating in the     
,transition ,assistance ,program2 or    
7,b7 a spouse of a member described in  
subparagraph 7,a74  7#b7 ,economic      
opportunity program model ,the term     
economic opportunity program model means
 a model of programmatic service        
delivery that expands economic          
opportunity and improves employment     
outcomes for members of the ,armed      
,forces transitioning to civilian life  
and military spouses through career     
exploration1 job training1 and          
credentialing4  7#c7 ,military          
installation ,the term military         
installation has the meaning given such 
term in section #bhja7;c7 of title #aj1 
,united ,states ,code4  7#d7 ,transition
 ,assistance ,program ,the term         
,transition ,assistance ,program means  
the program of the ,department of       

,defense for preseparation counseling1  
employment assistance1 and other        
transitional services provided under    
sections #aadb and #aadd of title #aj1  
,united ,states ,code4