S.Amdt. 723

SA 723. Mr. BENNET submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill H.R. 2810, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2018 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

[[Page S4604]]

On page 190 between lines 22 and 23, insert the following:
(6) A mechanism (to be know as ``Clean Energy-Ready Vets'')
to provide workforce training, in coordination the Secretary
of Energy, junior or community colleges (as defined in
section 312(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1058(f))) in the vicinity of such location, private industry,
and nonprofit organizations, for members of the Armed Forces
participating in the pilot program to transition to jobs in
the clean energy industry, including in the cyber and grid
security, natural gas, solar, wind, geothermal fields. In
carrying out the mechanism, the Secretary of Defense shall--
(A) coordinate with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to
consider opportunities to--
(i) streamline the approval of appropriate workforce
training programs for which members participating in the
pilot program and following their transition to civilian life
may use veterans educational assistance; and
(ii) enhance distance learning in connection with such
workforce training using such assistance;
(B) enhance the process, in coordination with power
companies, by which members of the Armed Forces participating
in the pilot program who serve or have served in system
administrator positions, information technology positions,
and other relevant cybersecurity duties and positions in the
Armed Forces may transition to civilian careers in electric
grid security;
(C) consider opportunities for the use of veterans
educational assistance for on-the-job working training
activities under the pilot program that are conducted outside
the military installation concerned; and
(D) ensure that members of the Armed Forces are provided
information at appropriate times and locations regarding
eligibility to participate in similar energy and grid
security workforce training programs, including through the
Transition Assistance Program (TAP) of the Department of
Defense.
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