Several federal agencies, including the Small Business Administration (SBA), provide training and other assistance to veterans seeking civilian employment. For example, the Department of Labor, in cooperation with the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, operates the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) and the Disabled Transition Assistance Program (DTAP). Both programs provide employment information and training to service members within 180 days of their separation from military service, or retirement, to assist them in transitioning from the military to the civilian labor force. In recent years, the SBA has focused increased attention on meeting the needs of veteran small business owners and veterans interested in starting a small business, especially veterans who are transitioning from military to civilian life. In FY2011, the SBA provided management and technical assistance services to more than 100,000 veterans through its various management and technical assistance training partners (e.g., Small Business Development Centers, Women Business Centers, Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), and Veteran Business Outreach Centers). The SBA also responded to more than 85,000 veteran inquires through its SBA district offices. In addition, the SBA's Office of Veterans Business Development administers several programs to assist veteran-owned small businesses. Congressional interest in the SBA's veterans assistance programs has increased in recent years primarily due to reports by veterans organizations that veterans were experiencing difficulty accessing the SBA's programs, especially the SBA's Patriot Express loan guarantee program. There is also a continuing congressional interest in assisting veterans, especially those returning from overseas in recent years, in their transition from military into civilian life. Although the unemployment rate (as of July 2012) among veterans as a whole (6.9%) was lower than for nonveterans (8.3%), the unemployment rate of veterans who have left the military since September 2001 (8.9%) was higher than the unemployment rate for non-veterans. The expansion of federal employment training programs targeted at specific populations, such as women and veterans, has also led some Members and organizations to ask if these programs should be consolidated. In their view, eliminating program duplication among federal business assistance programs across federal agencies, and within the SBA, would result in lower costs and improved services. Others argue that keeping these business assistance programs separate enables them to offer services that match the unique needs of various underserved populations, such as veterans. In their view, instead of considering program consolidation as a policy option, the focus should be on improving communication and cooperation among the federal agencies providing assistance to entrepreneurs. This report opens with an examination of the current economic circumstances of veteran-owned businesses drawn from the Bureau of the Census 2007 Survey of Business Owners, which was administered in 2008 and 2009, and released on the Internet on May 17, 2011. It then provides a brief overview of veteran employment experiences, comparing unemployment and labor force participation rates for veterans, veterans who have left the military since September 2001, and non-veterans. The report then describes the employment assistance programs offered by several federal agencies to assist veterans in their transition from the military to the civilian labor force, and examines, in greater detail, the SBA's veteran business development programs, the SBA's Patriot Express loan guarantee program, and veteran contracting programs. The SBA's Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is also discussed.

Several federal agencies, including the Small Business Administration (SBA), provide training and other assistance to veterans seeking civilian employment. For example, the Department of Defense, in cooperation with the SBA, Department of Labor, Department of Veterans Affairs, and several other federal agencies, operates the Transition Goals Plans Success program (Transition GPS), which provides employment information and entrepreneurship training to exiting military servicemembers to assist them in transitioning from the military to the civilian labor force. In recent years, the SBA has focused increased attention on meeting the needs of veteran small business owners and veterans interested in starting a business. The SBA provides management and technical assistance services to more than 100,000 veterans each year through its various management and technical assistance training partners (e.g., Small Business Development Centers, Women's Business Centers [WBCs], Service Corps of Retired Executives [SCORE], and Veterans Business Outreach Centers [VBOCs]). The SBA's Office of Veterans Business Development (OVBD) also administers several programs to assist veterans. Congressional interest in the SBA's veteran assistance programs has increased in recent years primarily due to reports by veteran organizations that veterans were experiencing difficulty accessing the SBA's programs. Congress also has a continuing interest in assisting veterans, especially those returning from overseas in recent years, in their transition from military into civilian life. The unemployment rate (as of July 2017) among veterans (3.1%) was lower than for nonveterans 18 years and older (4.4%). However, the unemployment rate of veterans who have left the military since September 2001 (4.6%) was higher than for nonveterans. The expansion of federal employment training programs targeted at specific populations, such as women and veterans, has also led some Members and organizations to ask if these programs should be consolidated. In their view, eliminating program duplication among federal business assistance programs across federal agencies, and within the SBA, would result in lower costs and improved services. Others argue that keeping these business assistance programs separate enables them to offer services that match the unique needs of various underserved populations, such as veterans. In their view, instead of considering program consolidation as a policy option, the focus should be on improving communication and cooperation among the federal agencies providing assistance to entrepreneurs. This report opens with an examination of the economic circumstances of veteran-owned businesses drawn from the Bureau of the Census's 2012 Survey of Business Owners (SBO). It then provides a brief overview of veterans' employment experiences, comparing unemployment and labor force participation rates for veterans, veterans who have left the military since September 2001, and nonveterans. The report also describes the employment assistance programs offered by several federal agencies to assist veterans in their transition from the military to the civilian labor force and examines, in greater detail, the SBA's veteran business development programs, the SBA's efforts to assist veterans' access to capital, and the SBA's veteran contracting programs. It also discusses the SBA's Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and P.L. 114-38, the Veterans Entrepreneurship Act of 2015, which authorized and made permanent the SBA's recent practice of waiving the SBAExpress loan program's one time, up-front loan guarantee fee for veterans (and their spouse).

Several federal agencies, including the Small Business Administration (SBA), provide training and other assistance to veterans seeking civilian employment. For example, the Department of Defense, in cooperation with the Department of Labor, Department of Veterans Affairs, and several other federal agencies, including the SBA, operates the Transition Goals Plans Success program (Transition GPS), which provides employment information and entrepreneurship training to exiting military servicemembers to assist them in transitioning from the military to the civilian labor force. In recent years, the SBA has focused increased attention on meeting the needs of veteran small business owners and veterans interested in starting a small business. In FY2013, the SBA provided management and technical assistance services to more than 100,000 veterans through its various management and technical assistance training partners (e.g., Small Business Development Centers, Women's Business Centers [WBCs], Service Corps of Retired Executives [SCORE], and Veterans Business Outreach Centers [VBOCs]). In addition, the SBA's Office of Veterans Business Development (OVBD) administers several programs to assist veteran-owned small businesses. Congressional interest in the SBA's veteran assistance programs has increased in recent years primarily due to reports by veteran organizations that veterans were experiencing difficulty accessing the SBA's programs. Congress also has a continuing interest in assisting veterans, especially those returning from overseas in recent years, in their transition from military into civilian life. Although the unemployment rate (as of November 2014) among veterans (4.5%) was lower than for nonveterans aged 18 years and older (5.5%), the unemployment rate of veterans who have left the military since September 2001 (5.7%) was higher than the unemployment rate for nonveterans. The expansion of federal employment training programs targeted at specific populations, such as women and veterans, has also led some Members and organizations to ask if these programs should be consolidated. In their view, eliminating program duplication among federal business assistance programs across federal agencies, and within the SBA, would result in lower costs and improved services. Others argue that keeping these business assistance programs separate enables them to offer services that match the unique needs of various underserved populations, such as veterans. In their view, instead of considering program consolidation as a policy option, the focus should be on improving communication and cooperation among the federal agencies providing assistance to entrepreneurs. This report opens with an examination of the current economic circumstances of veteran-owned businesses drawn from the Bureau of the Census's 2007 Survey of Business Owners, which was administered in 2008 and 2009 and released on May 17, 2011. It then provides a brief overview of veterans' employment experiences, comparing unemployment and labor force participation rates for veterans, veterans who have left the military since September 2001, and nonveterans. The report describes the employment assistance programs offered by several federal agencies to assist veterans in their transition from the military to the civilian labor force and examines, in greater detail, the SBA's veteran business development programs, the SBA's efforts to assist veterans' access to capital, and the SBA's veteran contracting programs. It also discusses the SBA's Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.

In this book, 50 experts study the lives of U.S. veterans at work, at home, and in American society as they navigate issues regarding health, gender, public service, substance abuse, and homelessness. The aftermath of modern war includes a population of veterans whose needs last for many decades—far longer than the war itself. This in-depth study looks at life after the military, considering the dual conundrum of a population benefiting from the perks of their duty, yet continuing to deal with trauma resulting from their service, and of former servicemen and servicewomen trying to fit into civilian life—in a system designed to keep them separate. Through two comprehensive volumes, essays shed light on more than 30 topics involving or affecting former servicemen and servicewomen, offering a blueprint for the formal study of U.S. veterans in the future. Contributions from dozens of experts in the field of military science cover such issues as unemployment, homelessness, disability, access to higher education, health, media portrayal, criminal justice, substance abuse, guns, suicide, and politics. Through information gleaned from surveys, interviews, participant observations, secondary analyses, and content analyses, the chapters reveal how veterans are able to successfully contribute to civilian life and show how the American workforce can benefit from their unique set of skills.

Nearly 1.9 million U.S. troops have been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq since October 2001. Many service members and veterans face serious challenges in readjusting to normal life after returning home. This initial book presents findings on the most critical challenges, and lays out the blueprint for the second phase of the study to determine how best to meet the needs of returning troops and their families.