I 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8511 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 22, 2024 Mrs. Torres of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To direct the Secretary of Defense to submit to Congress a report on transitioning military acquired credentials to the civilian workforce. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the “Servicemember Equal Recognition and Transition Support Act” or the “SERTS Act”. 2. Report on the number of veterans who have their military acquired credentials recognized at the State-level for the civilian workforce (a) Report Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of Labor, shall submit to Congress a report that builds on the data reported in the “DoD Credentialing Utilization” report from 2018 (3-BB02A16) to better assess the effectiveness of the Credentialing Programs for post-military civilian employment. (b) Matters included The report under subsection (a) shall include the following: (1) An assessment of the number of veterans who successfully transfer their eligible professional credentials to civilian jobs. (2) An assessment of which certifications were most commonly used for post-military civilian employment, such as airplane mechanics. (3) An assessment on any other barriers veterans face to transferring military mechanical skills to State certifications. (c) Definitions In this section: (1) The term applicable licensing authority means the licensing authority by a State for a given vocation in which the veteran works or would like to work. (2) The term eligible professional credential means a professional credential, including a professional credential in the field of airplane mechanics, obtained using expenses paid pursuant to the program under section 2015 of title 10, United States Code. (3) The term expenses has the meaning given such term in such section. (4) The term servicemember has the meaning given such term in section 101 of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. 4025a). (5) The term State means each of the several States and territories and the District of Columbia.