[House Hearing, 110 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
EXAMINING THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY'S EFFORTS TO RECRUIT,
HIRE, AND PROMOTE VETERANS
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON MANAGEMENT,
INVESTIGATIONS, AND OVERSIGHT
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
NOVEMBER 13, 2007
__________
Serial No. 110-85
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TONGRESS.#13
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/
index.html
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
48-980 WASHINGTON : 2009
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
For Sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512-1800; (202) 512�091800
Fax: (202) 512�092104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402�0900012009
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Mississippi, Chairman
LORETTA SANCHEZ, California, PETER T. KING, New York
EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts LAMAR SMITH, Texas
NORMAN D. DICKS, Washington CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut
JANE HARMAN, California MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana
PETER A. DeFAZIO, Oregon TOM DAVIS, Virginia
NITA M. LOWEY, New York DANIEL E. LUNGREN, California
ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of MIKE ROGERS, Alabama
Columbia BOBBY JINDAL, Louisiana
ZOE LOFGREN, California DAVID G. REICHERT, Washington
SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas
DONNA M. CHRISTENSEN, U.S. Virgin CHARLES W. DENT, Pennsylvania
Islands GINNY BROWN-WAITE, Florida
BOB ETHERIDGE, North Carolina MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee
JAMES R. LANGEVIN, Rhode Island GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida
HENRY CUELLAR, Texas DAVID DAVIS, Tennessee
CHRISTOPHER P. CARNEY, Pennsylvania
YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York
AL GREEN, Texas
ED PERLMUTTER, Colorado
Jessica Herra-Flanigan, Staff Director & General Counsel
Rosaline Cohen, Chief Counsel
Michael Twinchek, Chief Clerk
Robert O'Connor, Minority Staff Director
______
SUBCOMMITTEE ON MANAGEMENT, INVESTIGATIONS, AND OVERSIGHT
CHRISTOPHER P. CARNEY, Pennsylvania, Chairman
PETER A. DeFAZIO, Oregon MIKE ROGERS, Alabama
YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York TOM DAVIS, Virginia
ED PERLMUTTER, Colorado MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas
BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Mississippi (Ex PETER T. KING, New York (Ex
Officio) Officio)
Jeff Greene, Director & Counsel
Brian Turbyfill, Clerk
Michael Russell, Senior Counsel
(II)
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
STATEMENTS
The Honorable Christopher P. Carney, a Representative in Congress
From the State of Pennsylvania, and Chairman, Subcommittee on
Management, Investigations, and Oversight...................... 1
The Honorable Mike Rogers, a Representative in Congress From the
State of Alabama, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on
Management, Investigations, and Oversight...................... 3
Witnesses
Ms. Leslye A. Arsht, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for
Military Community & Family Policy, Department of Defense:
Oral Statement................................................. 8
Prepared Statement............................................. 10
Mr. Eric A. Hilleman, Deputy Director, Legislative Affairs,
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States:
Oral statement................................................. 11
Prepared Statement............................................. 12
Ms. Marta Brito Perez, Chief Human Capital Officer, Department of
Homeland security:
Oral Statement................................................. 4
Prepared Statement............................................. 6
Appendix
Additional Questions and Responses:
Responses from Ms. Leslye A. Arsht............................. 27
Responses from Ms. Marta Brito Perez........................... 28
EXAMINING THE DEPARTMENT OF
HOMELAND SECURITY'S EFFORTS TO RECRUIT, HIRE, AND PROMOTE VETERANS
----------
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on Homeland Security,
Subcommittee on Management,
Investigations, and Oversight,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 2:02 p.m., in
Room 311, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Christopher P.
Carney [chairman of the subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Carney and Rogers.
Mr. Carney. The subcommittee will come to order.
The subcommittee is meeting today to receive testimony on
``Examining the Department of Homeland Security's Efforts to
Recruit, Hire, and Promote Veterans.''
Thanks for joining us today. Due to some unforeseen events
that came up on the calendar of the full committee over the
last few weeks, we have had to push this hearing back a couple
of times. So I appreciate your indulgence.
I am glad we are finally holding this meeting, especially
after just having observed Veterans Day. And it has been a full
weekend for me, certainly, of Veterans Day events. I would like
to thank my friend, Mr. Rogers, for his cooperation in holding
today's hearing, as well.
As this session winds down, there has certainly been no
shortage of partisanship on the House floor. I am glad that our
subcommittee, however, and that the committee have been able to
get past all that and continue to examine issues affecting the
Department of Homeland Security.
Thanks, also, to all of our witnesses for submitting their
testimony on time, especially Ms. Perez. I appreciate that very
much. I hope this is a sign of things to come.
In fact, while our committee has held countless meetings on
DHS shortcomings, hiring of veterans at DHS is an area where
the Department seems to be on the right track. As I mentioned a
few moments ago, this past Sunday we honored those who have
served our Nation. Over the years, Congress has seen fit to
ensure that there are laws in place to give vets an advantage
when it comes to both applying for and being hired for Federal
jobs.
In general I am pleased to see that DHS has been proactive
in recruiting vets. Just last week, the Department convened the
first meeting of its Veterans Advisory Council, comprised of
key veterans service organizations. And while the American
Legion has expressed concerns over DHS's efforts in general and
the Legion did not participate in last week's meetings,
feedback from our groups has been positive. These groups have
long assisted vets in finding their way back into Federal
service.
Aside from the Department of Defense, the Department of
Veterans Affairs and the Air Force, Army and Navy, the
Departments of Transportation and Homeland Security are atop
the list of the Federal agencies with a percentage of their
workforce being prize comprised of vets. As of last week, DHS
had almost 40,500 veterans on the payroll. That is to be
commended. This year alone, the Department has hired over 6,000
vets, twice as many as it hired in 2006 and four times as many
as it hired in 2005. This is obviously good news, both for DHS
and for veterans.
That said, I worry about massive retirements that our
Federal workforce will endure over the next decade. Over 60
percent of the Federal employees will be eligible to retire
over the next 10 years. The Department must do everything it
can to stay competitive with other Federal agencies when
recruiting, retaining and promoting veterans. Their
unquestionable service ethic makes them ideal Federal
employees. It is of the utmost importance that DHS leverage
their experience, dedication and training to strengthen the
Department.
While vets traditionally have strong ties with the VA, DOD
or other various agencies, DHS is in a unique position to
utilize skills that these former soldiers, seamen, airmen and
Marines honed while on active duty. To borrow from an old
recruiting phrase from the Army, is the Department being all it
can be when it comes to matching skills of veterans to new
careers at DHS? TSA sees attrition rates of roughly 15 percent.
Surely there are veterans with comparable skills who can come
back with little or no additional training, fill the vacancies
and stick around long enough to right some of the wrongs that
are driving screeners away.
Also, is the Department working to utilize the unique
intelligence analysis and translation skills of vets to augment
the existing intelligence functions? There are any number of
areas where the skills of veterans could easily pair up with
DHS job requirements. I think we all just want to ensure that
the Department isn't overlooking any of these qualified,
already-trained vets and instead hiring more costly private
contractors to fill positions.
This means that in addition to DHS recruiters continuing to
work at military hospitals and the Department working with the
various VSOs throughout the Veterans Advisory Council, that DHS
also expand recruiting to transition centers where veterans are
first put in touch with civil service opportunities. Even
though these vets are often in a hurry to get through the
transition centers' doors--we certainly understand that--any
contact with DHS is better than nothing.
I look forward to hearing what has been working and what
hasn't worked and what is planned for the future to ensure
DHS's success in recruitment and retention of these uniquely
qualified and dedicated Americans.
The Chair now recognizes the ranking member of the
subcommittee, the gentleman from Alabama, Mr. Rogers, for an
opening statement.
Mr. Rogers. Thank you, Chairman Carney, for holding this
hearing and the witnesses for participating in our effort to
review the progress that the Department of Homeland Security is
making to recruit, hire and retain veterans. It is timely,
since our Nation just honored Veterans Day, that we honor the
bravery and sacrifice of those men and women who served in
uniform.
I would like to also welcome back to the subcommittee Ms.
Marta Perez, Director of Human Resources for DHS. I know that
is not your new title yet, but we are still hoping the Senate
takes up the legislation Chairman Carney and I worked on for
your new title.
The employment of veterans by the Federal Government,
especially DHS, is a critically important issue. Veterans
employed at DHS bring a wealth of experience from the
specialized training they receive in the military. As a member
of the House Armed Services Committee, I am especially aware of
the sacrifices our brave men and women in uniform make every
day in keeping our country safe. During that committee's site
visits to Iraq, we saw firsthand the major challenges our
troops are facing. We also saw how well-trained they are and
what special skills they can bring to their future employers.
My home State of Alabama has over 412,000 veterans. Out of
all the civilian DHS employees living in Alabama, 263, or 28
percent, are veterans. According to the Office of Personnel
Management, in fiscal year 2006 DHS ranked seventh in the
percentage of veterans in a Federal agency's workforce. And
according to DHS, veterans constitute 24 percent of its
workforce. This percentage compares to the government-wide
average of employed veterans, which DHS states to be 26.3
percent. These numbers appear to indicate that folks at DHS are
doing a good job in hiring veterans to support the Department's
mission.
In addition to hiring veterans, it is also important to
have programs in place to retain them. In the last Congress and
earlier this year, this subcommittee held hearings on personnel
challenges facing the Department of Homeland Security,
including the retention of its valued employees. Last month, an
OPM official testified before the a Veterans Affairs
subcommittee that DHS has one of the highest retention rates of
veterans throughout the Federal Government. We look forward to
hearing more about DHS' efforts in these areas as well as more
that might be done to recruit those soldiers returning from the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
And, with that, I yield back.
Mr. Carney. Thank you, Mr. Rogers.
Should other members show up, their statements will be
submitted for the record.
I want to welcome the witnesses.
Our first witness has appeared before the subcommittee
several times before. Marta Brito Perez is the Chief Human
Capital Officer at the Department of Homeland Security. Ms.
Perez came to the Department late last year from the Office of
Personnel Management, where she led the Human Capital
Leadership and Merit System Accountability Division. Prior to
her Federal service, Ms. Perez was the director of the Office
of Human Resources of the Montgomery County, Maryland,
government, where she oversaw all aspects of human resource
management for more than 10,000 employees and 4,000 retired
employees and their dependents.
Our second witness is Ms. Leslye Arsht, Deputy Under
Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy
at the U.S. Department of Defense, a position she has held
since February 2006. She is responsible for policy advocacy and
oversight for all community support to service members and
their families, including, but not limited to, the Transition
Assistance Program for separated service members. Prior to her
current appointment, Ms. Arsht was part of the Under Secretary
of Defense for Personnel and Readiness team since June 2004.
Our third and final witness is Mr. Eric Hilleman, deputy
director of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States'
National Legislative Service, a position he has held since
March of 2007. Mr. Hilleman is a veteran himself, having served
in the United States Marine Corps in several assignments
overseas. Mr. Hilleman was honorably discharged in 1999 at the
rank of sergeant. After his service, he attended Utah State
University, where he was chosen as the Borg Scholar and studied
Arabic at the American University in Cairo from 2002 to 2003.
He graduated in 2004 from USU with a bachelor's of arts in
political science with a focus in the Middle East.
Without objection, the witnesses' full statements will be
inserted into the record. I now ask each witness to summarize
his or her statement for 5 minutes, beginning with Chief Perez.
STATEMENT OF MARTA BRITO PEREZ, CHIEF HUMAN CAPITAL OFFICER,
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Ms. Perez. Good afternoon. Thank you, Chairman Carney and
Ranking Member Rogers, for inviting me this afternoon. It is an
honor to appear today to update you on the Department of
Homeland Security's accomplishments and new initiatives to
recruit, hire and promote our veterans.
Today's competitive job market presents increasing
opportunities for the men and women--talented men and women--
for rewarding careers outside of the Federal Government. This,
coupled with our aggressive hiring goals, presents a challenge.
I believe that our veterans are a key source for the challenge
that we need at homeland security. We value the experience, the
commitment and the work ethics that veterans bring to the job,
as well as their skills and abilities. Their military
backgrounds and training are well-suited for our jobs. We
currently employ over 40,000, as you mentioned, 24 percent
veterans across our organizations. We also have 41,000 active-
duty and 8,000 reserve U.S. Coast Guardsmen and--women.
Over the last year, we have made progress in reaching out
to veterans. Although we are pleased with the results, we are
committed to doing more. This past year, the Department's human
resources directors joined me in drafting a 2-year operational
plan, which included veterans outreach as a priority for us. We
have had successes in recruiting veterans. Over 23 percent of
our headquarter employees are veterans. Over 4,000, or 27
percent, of our border patrol agents are veterans. Over 5,400,
or 29 percent, of our Customs and Border Protection officers
are veterans as well. Our criminal investigators, deportation
officers and detention center officers, almost 35 percent of
them are veterans. And in TSOs, transportation security
officers, over 22 percent are veterans.
I would like to update you on our progress in veterans
outreach and share with you some of our unique initiatives.
Recently we launched a one-stop Web site for veterans
seeking employment with DHS. The Web site contains job
listings, application information or requirements, an e-mail
box for inquiries and for them to submit documents, and a
converter to help veterans identify what civilian occupations
correlate to their military occupation.
Last week we also hosted the first meeting of the
Department's Veterans Outreach Advisory Council. The council is
composed of military representatives and representatives from
veterans support organizations such as the American Legion,
Veterans of Foreign Wars and Vietnam Veterans of America. The
council will advise us on the effectiveness of our veterans
outreach efforts on an ongoing basis. And we believe this is
the first council of its kind in the Federal Government.
We continue to conduct specific, targeted outreach efforts.
Over the past year, we participated in approximately 130
outreach and recruitment events, many targeting disabled
veterans.
While outreach is a vital element of our strategy, we are
also trying to improve our internal processes so we can
expedite our process. We are conducting enhanced training for
human resources specialists in the areas of veterans'
employment, authorities and rights. Our objective is to
increase our ability to recruit and hire veterans. I am pleased
to report that we are seeing progress. Over a 1-year period
ending this past June, we used special veterans employment
authorities to hire almost 600 veterans. These are very
important authorities for us.
I am sure you are all familiar with the wonderful program
sponsored by the Department of Defense, the Operation
Warfighter Program. Our Department was one of the first Federal
agencies invited to participate in the pilot program launch in
2005. And since that time, we have placed almost 40
participants, many of them on a permanent basis.
As we look back over the past few years, we see that we are
making significant progress. The number of veterans hired in
2006, as you mentioned, doubled the number we hired in 2005,
and we double the number in 2007 again.
With regard to disabled veterans, between 2006 and 2007 we
increased the number of disabled veterans we hired from 366 to
771, and we now employ approximately 6,400 disabled veterans.
While we take pride in our hiring of veterans and disabled
veterans, we continue to see separations, and, like you, we
watch retirements and all separations. Equally important to
hiring more veterans is ensuring that we have programs in place
that will continue to develop their talents and abilities. Last
year we implemented a brand-new comprehensive learning and
development strategy to better address the needs of our
employees, including our growing veteran population. The
Department recognizes the importance of fully utilizing the
talent, the skills and work ethics of our veterans. We value
the experience and character of those who have already served
their country and wish to continue to do so at DHS.
I thank you for your leadership and your support of our
efforts to increase our veterans and our workforce, and I will
be happy to answer any questions.
[The statement of Ms. Perez follows:]
Prepared Statement of Marta Brito Perez
Thank you, Chairman Carney, Ranking Members Rogers and Members of
the Subcommittee. It is an honor to appear before you to update you on
the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) accomplishments and new
initiatives to recruit and hire more of America's veterans.
Over the last year, and even since the last time we met, we have
made great progress in reaching out to veterans and in recruiting and
hiring disabled veterans. We are pleased with the positive results we
have seen from our efforts and we are committed to doing even more in
this area.
Prior to joining DHS, I worked at the Office of Personnel
Management where I had oversight of many veterans' initiatives. Since
arriving at DHS in September 2006, I have used that experience and have
worked to ensure we fully utilize as many programs as possible to
improve our veterans' outreach efforts.
Veterans Have the Talent DHS Needs
At DHS, we value the experience, commitment and work ethic that
veterans bring to the job, as well as their significant skills and
abilities. Their military backgrounds and training are well suited for
DHS jobs--and most importantly--to accomplishing our critical mission.
We are proud to provide opportunities to those who wish to serve their
country a second time.
The training, experience, resourcefulness and work ethic veterans
bring to the job enable them to take on challenges beyond the task at
hand. This unique combination makes them particularly well-suited for a
number of Mission Critical Occupations across DHS. The chart below
provides an illustration of the number of veterans in some of our
Mission Critical Occupations.
Veterans Serving in DHS Mission Critical Occupations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Component # of Employees # of Veterans % Veterans
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Customs and Border Protection...........................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Border Patrol Agents 14847 4044 27%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CBP Officers 18495 5429 29%
����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
U.S. Immigrations and Customs
Enforcement
����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
Criminal Investigators; Deportation 5351 1872 35%
Officers; Detention/Deportation Officers
����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
Federal Law Enforcement Training
Center
����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
Investigator Instructor 564 277 49%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DHS Veterans Outreach Initiatives
At DHS, we are working on numerous fronts to reach out to veterans.
I would like to update you on our progress and share with you some
results from this past year.
On October 9, 2007, my office, working in collaboration with our
Office of Public Affairs and Office for Civil Rights and Civil
Liberties (CRCL), launched a ``one stop'' website for veterans seeking
employment with DHS. This website contains current DHS job listings,
application information and requirements, an e-mail box for inquiries
and submitting documents and a ``converter'' to help veterans identify
which civilian occupations correlate to their military occupation
specialties.
On November 6, 2007, we hosted the first DHS Veterans Outreach
Advisory Council. Composed of military representatives and
representative from veterans support organizations, such as the
American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Vietnam Veterans of
America, the Council will advise us on the effectiveness of our
veterans outreach efforts on an ongoing basis. We believe this is the
first Council of its kind in the federal government.
In addition to these unique initiatives, we continue to conduct
specific, targeted outreach efforts.
In the past fiscal year, collectively we have participated in
approximately 130 outreach and recruitment events, many targeting
disabled veterans. Examples include:
DHS was represented at Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis'
4th Annual Veterans Care Day held in East Los Angeles on
October 6, 2007. I personally sent our Department Recruitment
Program Manager to the event.
DHS Headquarters sponsored a second annual open house
event called ``Connecting with Your Future'' on October 24,
2007. The purpose of this event was to provide Veterans,
Veterans with Disabilities and Students with Disabilities with
an opportunity to meet managers and supervisors from
organizations within DHS, and to obtain information about
career opportunities.
Representatives from DHS components attended the New
York Times' ``Annual Salute Our Heroes: Veterans Job Fair &
Career Expo'' held November 6, 2007 in New York City. This is
sponsored in part by the Department of Labor's (DOL) Veterans'
Employment and Training Service (VETS).
We also had representation at the League of Latin
American Citizens (LULAC) Veterans Conference in Orlando,
Florida, over the Veterans Day weekend.
Finally, we are conducting enhanced training for the Department's
HR specialists in the areas of veterans' employment programs,
authorities and rights. We will establish a network of specialists in
this arena dedicated to helping veterans join the DHS team.
Our objective in all of our efforts is to increase our ability to
recruit veterans, and I am pleased to report that we are seeing
progress. Over a one-year period ending this past June, we used the
following veterans' employment authorities to hire 591 veterans:
Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA):
408
Veterans Reemployment Appointment (VRA): 144
30% or more Disabled: 39
Operation Warfighter Program
DHS, under the leadership of CRCL, is very proud to have been among
the first federal agencies invited to participate in the April 12, 2005
meeting on the pilot program that launched the Department of Defense's
Operation Warfighter (OWF) program. The first OWF participants were
placed within CRCL. OWF is a temporary assignment program placing
severely wounded service members undergoing rehabilitative services at
Walter Reed Army Hospital or the National Naval Medical Center on
detail assignments with federal agencies in the greater Washington,
D.C. area. This program provides active duty wounded service members
with an opportunity to explore their skills, start networking,
experience a meaningful activity outside of the hospital environment
and begin a formal transition back into the workforce. OWF is a
collaborative effort between DoD and DOL/VETS.
In December 2005, DHS expanded its participation to include
permanent placements of OWF participants seeking to continue their
public service in civilian careers. Since inception, DHS has placed 36
OWF participants in components, of which 19 were placed during fiscal
year 2007, hiring five permanently. DHS also assists wounded service
members in their search for employment with locations in or near DHS
field offices if they decide not to remain in the DC area upon release
from Walter Reed Army Hospital or the National Naval Medical Center.
DHS components continually work with Operation WarFighter personnel
and other organizations to match veterans to careers in the Department.
CRCL provided the OWF Project Manager with a complete listing of major
components and sub agencies that is used to attract wounded service
members to DHS from Walter Reed Army Hospital and the National Naval
Medical Center.
DHS officials actively participate in OWF bi-weekly Briefings,
Transition Assistance Program sessions and career fairs at Walter Reed
Army Hospital and the National Naval Medical Center. On June 20, 2007,
Secretary Chertoff hosted a barbecue for Operation Warfighter
participants and their families at the Nebraska Avenue Complex. And as
indicated earlier, on October 24, 2007, DHS Headquarters Office of
Equal Employment Opportunity hosted their second ``Connecting with the
Future'' event to provide veterans and veterans with disabilities with
the opportunity to meet DHS managers and to obtain information about
career opportunities. All DHS components were invited to participate.
Results
We employ over 40,000 veterans at DHS.
The number of veterans hired in fiscal year 2006
(3,015) was double the fiscal year 2005 number (1,497), and in
fiscal year 2007 we increased the number of veterans hired
(6,013) by an additional 100%.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection hired
almost three times as many veterans in fiscal year 2007
than fiscal year 2006.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hired
almost three times as many veterans in fiscal year 2007
than fiscal year 2006
The Federal Emergency Management
Administration hired more than twice the number of
veterans in fiscal year 2007 than fiscal year 2006.
We also significantly increased the number of
disabled veterans hired in fiscal year 2007.
Conclusion
The Department recognizes the importance of fully utilizing the
talents, skills and work ethic of our veterans in meeting the DHS
mission of securing the American homeland. I hope you can appreciate
how much we value the experience and character of those who have
already served their country and wish to continue to do so with DHS.
My office plays an important role in ensuring and supporting DHS'
capacity to build and sustain a high-performing workforce and provide
programs to give employees at all levels the knowledge and tools they
need to drive mission success.
Thank you for your leadership and your continued support of the
Department of Homeland Security and the programs that support our
employees. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Mr. Carney. Thank you, Ms. Perez.
Ms. Arsht for 5 minutes, please.
STATEMENT OF LESLYE A. ARSHT, DEPUTY UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
FOR MILITARY COMMUNITY AND FAMILY POLICY, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Ms. Arsht. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Rogers, for the
opportunity to appear before you to reiterate the Department of
Defense's commitment to providing assistance and support that
is needed to meet the challenges confronting our severely
injured and wounded service members and their families.
In addition to the Department's efforts, each individual
military service has its own programs to assist wounded
warriors. We share this mission to support quality of life for
our families and service members.
The specific reason for my being here today is to highlight
just one of our programs, Operation Warfighter. The Department
has sponsored our Operation Warfighter for 2 years as a
temporary assignment program for service members who are
convalescing at military treatment facilities in the national
capital area.
This program is designed to provide recuperating service
members with meaningful activity outside of the hospital
environment that assists in their wellness and offers a formal
means of transition back to the military or to civilian
workforce. The program's goal is to match service members with
opportunities that consider their interests and utilize both
their military and nonmilitary skills, thereby creating
productive assignments that are beneficial for the recuperation
of the service member and their outlook on the future.
Since 2006, we have placed 315 service members within 80
participating Federal agencies and subcomponents. There is no
shortage of employment opportunity, and many of the new agency
partners result from specific requests by service members for a
particular kind of work. The average length of an assignment is
3 to 5 months for 15 to 25 hours a week.
To meet new service members for the program, the Department
holds regular information sessions twice a month at Walter Reed
Medical Center. Federal employers in the program are invited to
attend these sessions to speak about their job and career
opportunities. Service members must be medically cleared to
participate in Operation Warfighter, and work schedules need to
be flexible and considerate of the candidates' medical
appointments.
Through this program, service members are able to build
their resumes, explore employment interests, develop job skills
and gain valuable Federal Government work experience to help
prepare them for the future. The Federal agencies and
subcomponents acting as employers in the program have benefited
from the considerable talent and dedication of these
recuperating service members. Approximately 40 permanent job
placements have resulted from Operation Warfighter assignments
once the service member has separated from military service.
The Department of Homeland Security has been one of the
most active participating agencies in the Operation Warfighter
program. Within the Department of Homeland Security alone, we
have placed 40 service members, 12 of whom were permanently
placed.
One recent successful placement was that of Specialist
Robert Kaminski, who began working with the Federal Air Marshal
Service last April while he was convalescing at Walter Reed.
Specialist Kaminski was assigned to flight operations during
his recuperation from a loss of a leg from an improvised
explosive device. His colleagues remarked, ``Bob was given
relevant, meaningful work from day one, and he was a valued
asset. His qualities of dedication, good humor and courage were
an inspiration to the entire division and served as a reminder
of the importance of our ongoing mission.'' When he became
eligible for the community-based health-care organization
program to receive his outpatient care close to home in western
Pennsylvania, the Federal Air Marshal Service retained him in
their Pittsburgh field office. He recently wrote to us, ``If
you want to tell them about my story, I think it is a great
opportunity for wounded warriors coming back.''
Another success story is that of Sergeant Elmer Armstrong,
who worked on Operation Warfighter assignment with the Secret
Service for almost a year. When he transitioned out of the
military this past September, the Secret Service hired him.
Operation Warfighter is not just about employment. For many
recovering service members, the program represents the first
opportunity to return to work outside of the hospital
environment. It is a time for easing transitions, for
rediscovery during reintegration, for increasing self-worth.
Placing service members in supportive work settings that
positively impact the recuperation process is the underlying
purpose of the program. We view this program as being immensely
important to rebuilding lives one life at a time, and we
appreciate your interest in the program.
Thank you.
[The statement of Ms. Arsht follows:]
Prepared Statement of Leslye A. Arsht
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the Management,
Investigations, and Oversight Subcommittee, for the opportunity to
appear before you today to reiterate the Department of Defense's
commitment to providing the assistance and support that is needed to
meet the challenges confronting our severely injured and wounded
Service members and their families. In addition to the Department's
efforts, each individual Service has its own programs to assist wounded
warriors. We share the mission to improve the quality of life of our
wounded Service members and their families.
The specific reason for my being here today is to highlight just
one of our programs--Operation Warfighter. The Department has sponsored
Operation Warfighter for two years as a temporary assignment program
for Service members who are convalescing at Military Treatment
Facilities in the National Capital Region. This program is designed to
provide recuperating Service members with meaningful activity outside
of the hospital environment that assists in their wellness and offers a
formal means of transition back to the military or civilian workforce.
The program's goal is to match Service members with opportunities that
consider their interests and utilize both their military and non-
military skills, thereby creating productive assignments that are
beneficial to the recuperation of the Service member and their outlook
on the future.
Since 2006, we have placed 315 Service members within 80
participating Federal agencies and subcomponents. There is no shortage
of employment opportunities, and many of our new agency partners result
from specific requests by Service members for a particular type of
work. The average length of an assignment is three to five months for
15 to 25 hours a week.
To meet new Service members for the program, the Department holds
regular info sessions twice a month at Walter Reed Army Medical Center
(WRAMC). Federal employers in the program are also invited to attend
these sessions to speak about their job and career opportunities.
Service members must be medically cleared to participate in
Operation Warfighter, and work schedules need to be flexible and
considerate of the candidate's medical appointments. Under no
circumstance will any Operation Warfighter assignment interfere with a
Service member's medical treatment or adversely affect the well-being
and recuperation of Operation Warfighter participants.
Through this program, Service members are able to build their
resumes, explore employment interests, develop job skills, and gain
valuable Federal government work experience to help prepare them for
the future. Many Operation Warfighter participants will transition out
of the military due to a medical retirement. It has been our experience
that, while these Service members will no longer be in ``uniform,'' the
large majority are still interested in serving their country in some
capacity and see working for the Federal government as an ideal
solution.
The Federal agencies and subcomponents acting as employers in the
program have benefited from the considerable talent and dedication of
these recuperating Service members. Approximately 40 permanent job
placements have resulted from Operation Warfighter assignments upon the
Service member's medical retirement and separation from military
service.
The Department of Homeland Security has been one of the most active
participating agencies in the Operation Warfighter program. Within the
Department of Homeland Security alone, we have placed 40 Service
members, 12 of whom were permanently hired. One recent successful
placement was that of SPC Robert Kaminski, who began working with the
Federal Air Marshal Service last April while he was convalescing at
WRAMC. Specialist Bob Kaminski was assigned to Flight Operations during
his recuperation from loss of a leg from an Improvised Explosive Device
explosion. His colleagues remarked, ``Bob was given relevant,
meaningful work from day one, and he was a valued asset. His qualities
of dedication, good humor, and courage were an inspiration to the
entire division, and served as a reminder of the importance of our
ongoing mission.''
When he became eligible for the Community Based Health Care
Organization program to receive his outpatient care close to his home
in western Pennsylvania, the Federal Air Marshal Service retained him
in their Pittsburgh field office. He recently wrote to us, ``If you
want, tell them about my story. I think it's a great opportunity for
the wounded warriors coming back. Thanks again for all your help.''
Another success story is that of SGT Elmer Armstrong, who worked an
Operation Warfighter assignment with the United States Secret Service
for almost a year. When he transitioned out of the military this past
September, the Secret Service hired him. While the focus of Operation
Warfighter will always be on the work experience that a candidate
receives, many agency partners have looked at the program as a vehicle
to hire transitioning Service members.
Operation Warfighter is not just about employment. For many
recovering Service members, the program represents the first
opportunity to return to work outside of the hospital environment. It
is a time for easing transitions, for rediscovery during reintegration,
for increasing self-worth. Placing Service members in supportive work
settings that positively impact the recuperation process is the
underlying purpose of the program. We view this program as being
immensely important in rebuilding lives, one life at a time. We are
committed to helping any and all who need our help to do so, and we
appreciate your interest in the program.
Thank you.
Mr. Carney. Thank you, Secretary Arsht. I appreciate your
testimony.
And I recognize Mr. Hilleman to summarize his testimony for
5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF ERIC HILLEMAN, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, LEGISLATIVE
AFFAIRS, VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES
Mr. Hilleman. Thank you, Chairman Carney, Ranking Member
Rogers. I ask that my complete statement be made part of the
record, please.
Mr. Carney. Without objection, so ordered.
Mr. Hilleman. Thank you.
On behalf of the 2.3 million men and women of the Veterans
of War Foreign Wars and our auxiliaries, I thank you for
inviting us to testify at this important hearing today.
We strongly believe that recruiting, hiring and promoting
veterans into the Federal agencies is a natural fit for
veterans and for the Government. We have long advocated for
greater emphasis in the areas of veterans preference. We
believe that education and gainful employment are fundamental
for the transition back to civilian life.
The VFW applauds this committee for focusing its efforts on
veterans preference in the Department of Homeland Security. We
are heartily encouraged by the ongoing efforts and the
leadership that DHS has demonstrated in attracting veterans to
Federal employment.
The VFW recognizes the growth need to attract young,
talented veterans to Federal service. According to the Office
of Personnel Management, the Federal Government anticipates an
18.5 percent government-wide retirement rate between fiscal
year 2006 and fiscal year 2010, with a continuing upward trend
in the coming years.
Since the Civil War, veterans of the Armed Forces have been
given some degree of preference in obtaining Federal
employment. In recognition for their sacrifices, Congress
continues to enact laws to prevent discrimination for military
service.
The Office of Human Capital within DHS is filling vacancies
within the confines of these laws. With the recent formation of
the Veterans Outreach Council, they have enlisted the support
of numerous offices across Government throughout the veterans
service community, and they are interested in staffing higher
levels of veterans than ever before.
During a recent meeting on November 6, 2007, DHS reported
on recruitment activities and elicited ideas for future
endeavors. The three-part recruitment approach includes events,
outreach and partnership. The Department's veterans recruitment
strategy is in its early stages of development. DHS regularly
attends veterans-focused job fairs. They have also launched a
veterans-centric Web page. And the recent formation of their
advisory council draws on the experience and the ongoing
efforts to employ veterans and service disabled veterans.
The VFW sees a number of challenges in successfully
carrying out this campaign. The challenge primarily will be
funding. As we have seen with the VA and other agencies, DHS
could quickly become a victim of its own success. By increasing
veteran applicants and by wider publication of the program, the
large inflow of paper can quickly inundate a small staff. This
overburdened staff faces the daunting task of placing these
veterans within the numerous components of DHS. So, too,
educating DHS staffing managers on veterans preference law and
further training on accommodation of persons with disabilities
require a great deal of resources. We urge Congress to value
this program and implement a lasting funding stream for this
program.
Further consideration is needed in publicizing the program
externally. While DHS is ramping up efforts to attract
veterans, educate veterans, the key is letting veterans know
about the preferences and the fast-track authority.
Veterans with the greatest need for opportunities are
service-disabled veterans. There is no greater key to restoring
a disabled veteran's income, self-reliance and repaying our
Nation's eternal debt like that of providing a hand up, versus
a handout. We urge DHS to focus strongly on educating as a
means of publicizing employment opportunities within the
agency.
We believe a robust veterans employment preference program
could lead the way toward greater outreach efforts across the
Federal Government. The VFW hopes this program will be
developed and maintained as an example of efficient and
compassionate governance.
Continued congressional oversight, leadership within the
agency and feedback from veterans on this program will
determine the depth and breadth of its success. The VFW looks
forward to working with both this committee and the Department
of Homeland Security to make this program an example for others
to follow.
Thank you.
[The statement of Mr. Hilleman follows:]
Prepared Statement of Eric A. Hilleman
Mr. Chairman and Member of this Subcommittee:
On behalf of the 2.3 million men and women of the Veterans of
Foreign Wars of the U.S. (VFW), this nation's largest combat veterans'
organization, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to testify
today before you today.
We strongly believe that recruiting, hiring and promoting veterans
into the various Federal agencies is a natural fit for veterans and the
government. We have long advocated for greater emphasis in the areas of
veteran's preference in filling federal vacancies. We believe education
and gainful employment are the fundamentals for a successful transition
for all service members. The VFW applauds this committee for focusing
its efforts on veterans' preference within the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS). And we are heartily encouraged by the ongoing efforts
and leadership that DHS has demonstrated in attracting veterans to
federal employment.
The VFW recognizes the growing need to attract young and talented
employees to federal employment. According to the Office of Personal
Management (OPM), the federal government anticipates an 18.5 percent
retirement rate government wide between fiscal year 2006 to fiscal year
2010. The continuation of this trend shows the federal government
loosing 40 percent of its work force in the coming years. To fill this
yawning gap, the VFW believes, there is no better applicant than
Americas young veterans.
As employees, America's service members are known for their
discipline, technical skills, and leadership. Our military is the
finest and most technologically advanced in the world. Our nation
invests billions of dollars annually training and developing in our
troops the technical skills, loyalty, discipline, selflessness,
leadership, and the ability to follow instructions and perform under
pressure. This is the skill set of a military veteran.
Despite service members qualities, they experience trepidation in
entering the work force. A November 5th Military.com poll illustrates
the need for assistance for recently departed service members. Of 4,442
military or veteran respondents, eighty-one percent of transitioning
military personnel surveyed revealed that they do not feel fully
prepared to enter the job market. Of those who feel unprepared:
seventy-two percent of respondents feel unprepared to negotiate salary
and benefits, seventy-six percent report inabilities to effectively
translate their military skills to civilian terms, and fifty-seven
percent are unsure of how to network professionally. While our service
members may possess the skills to perform the job and the discipline to
see work through to completion, they lack the confidence and the
knowledge to market their own strengths.
This sector of the veterans' population is a rich environment for
federal recruiting. While service members may not be comfortable
navigating the job market, federal employment offers them many of the
same factors that attracted them to military service: a sense of
service, innovative training, opportunities for travel, and competitive
benefits. Also, the bulk of Military Occupational Specialties (MOS)
translate directly into federal job descriptions, especially when using
web based tools like the One Net Center: http://online.onetcenter.org/
crosswalk.
The Miltiary.com survey also included input from 287 recruiters and
hiring managers from a variety of businesses and industries of all
sizes. The survey results stated that sixty percent of hiring managers
and recruiters reported favorable attitudes toward employing veterans,
yet many face difficulties recruiting and hiring from this talent pool.
Sixty-one percent reveal they do not have a complete understanding of
the qualifications ex-service members offer. Sixty-four percent feel
that veterans need additional assistance to make a successful
transition into the civilian job-seeking market, with twenty-seven
percent citing the need for stronger interviewing skills. Fifty-three
percent of employers spend two percent or less of their recruitment
advertising budget on targeted military hiring. Due to employers' lack
of understanding and undervaluing veterans as employees, many do not
seek out these extraordinary Americans.
The lack of understanding by private industry further creates an
opportunity for federal employers, but it also presents a number of
challenges. The lack of private sector recruiting reduces the
competition for federal recruiters in attracting skilled veterans. In
order to capitalize on this market trend, federal recruiters and
managers must be able to recognize and translate military skill sets
into the needs of the given opening. The managers and recruiters must
also have current training in veterans' employment standards as
prescribed by the Office of Personal Management (OPM).
Veterans Preference Background
Since the Civil War, veterans of the Armed Forces have been given
some degree of preference in obtaining federal employment. In
recognition of their sacrifices, Congress continues to enact laws to
prevent veterans seeking federal employment from discrimination for
their military service. Veterans' preference recognizes the economic
loss suffered by citizens who have served in uniform, grants veterans a
favorable competitive position for Government employment, and
acknowledges the larger obligation owed to disabled veterans.
The Veterans' Preference Act of 1944, established the modern form
of veterans' preference and is now codified in various provisions of
Title 5, United States Code. Title 5 states that veterans, who served
in military campaigns or are disabled, are entitled to preference among
competitive applicants, and their retention is protected during
reductions of the work force. In addition to receiving preference in
competitive appointments, veterans may be considered for special
noncompetitive appointments for which only they are eligible.
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Pub. L. 9309112, Title V), as
amended (Pub. L. 9309516), requires the development and implementation
of affirmative employment programs for the hiring, placement, and
advancement of individuals with disabilities, as well as annual
reports. Further, Executive Order 13164 requires Federal agencies to
establish written procedures to facilitate the provision of reasonable
accommodation for individuals with disabilities so that they can enjoy
the benefits and privileges of employment equal to those enjoyed by
employees without disabilities.
Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Veterans Outreach Initiative
The office of Human Capital, within DHS, is engaging veterans at
many levels with the goal of recruiting from among their ranks. With
the recent formation of a Veterans Outreach Advisory Council they
enlisted the support of numerous offices across government and
throughout the Veterans Service Organization (VSO) community. During
the recent meeting of November 6, 2007, DHS reported on the past
recruitment activities and elicited ideas for future endeavors. The
three-part strategy recruitment approach includes events, outreach, and
partnership.
The veterans' recruitment strategy is in the early stages of
development. DHS regularly attends veterans-focused job fairs. They
have also recently launched a veterans-centric page with a number of
pertinent links on the DHS's web site. The recent formation of the
advisory council is a positive step to draw on the experiences and
ongoing efforts to employ veterans and service disabled veterans. The
VFW is very encouraged by the ongoing efforts and hopeful to broaden
the campaign to attract a dedicated and deserving population of
America's veterans.
The VFW sees a number of challenges in successfully carrying out
this campaign. Of which, the primary challenge is adequate funding and
more full time DHS staff solely dedicated to this program. As we have
seen in VA, and other agencies, DHS could quickly become a victim of
their own success. With an increase of veteran applicants and wider
recognition of DHS's desire to attract skilled applicants, the larger
number of applications and inflow of paper will quickly inundate the
small staff working on this initiative. This overburdened staff will
face the daunting task of placing these veterans within the numerous
components within DHS. The complexity of the training is great; each
component requires specific skills, each staffing manger of each
component will require training on veterans' preference law, and
further training on accommodation of persons with disabilities in the
workplace. We urge Congress to value this program and implement a
lasting funding stream to sustain it into the future.
Further consideration is needed in publicizing the program
externally. While DHS is ramping up efforts to attract veterans,
education on veterans' preference appointments is paramount. The
veterans with the greatest need for opportunities are service-disabled
veterans. There is no greater key to restoring a disabled veteran's
income, self-reliance, and repaying our nations eternal debt like that
of providing a hand-up vice a handout. We urge DHS to focus strongly on
educating as a means of publicizing opportunities within the agency.
We believe that a robust veterans' employment preference program,
such as this, could lead the way toward greater outreach efforts across
agencies to attract veterans. The VFW is hopeful that this program will
be developed and managed as an example of efficient and compassionate
governance. Continued Congressional oversight, leadership within the
agency, and feedback from veterans on this program will determine the
depth and breadth of its success as a model for future implementation
of veterans' preference.
The VFW looks forward to working with both this committee and DHS
to make this program a success. We welcome any questions that this
committee may have, thank you.
Mr. Carney. Thank you, Mr. Hilleman.
And I want to thank everyone for their testimony.
We will have 5 minutes of questions between Mr. Rogers and
myself, since we are just a duet today. We will go back and
forth until we are out of questions. But I will first recognize
myself for 5 minutes.
Ms. Perez, you tell us that there are over 40,000 veterans
employed by the Department. Very good news. Hiring numbers have
increased in the past 2 fiscal years, with CBP and Immigration,
at ICE, hiring three times more than the previous years, and
then FEMA doubled its numbers in the past 2 years. That is
correct?
To what can we attribute these increases? A large number of
vacancies? High attrition? Good recruiting? What types of
positions are veterans filling? Is there a breakout between
management and nonmanagement positions and those sorts of
things? Can you give us kind of a sense of that, please?
Ms. Perez. Sure, be happy to.
To what do we attribute the success? In my opinion, it is
all of the above. It is outreach. It is the fact that we have
increased the number of our vacancies at the Department, and
the number of new jobs in the Department has increased as a
result of presidential mandates, congressional mandates,
additional funding. So we have had a surge, if you will, of
opportunities to come to Homeland Security.
As a result of the opportunities and the commitments that
we have made that we would hire, you know, thousands of
individuals in 2006 and 2007 and 2008 and going forward, we
have done extensive outreach. And as I mentioned in my opening
statement, we feel that the veteran community is one where we
can draw from absolutely talented people with the experience
and the commitment that we need. So we do a lot of outreach in
the community that TSA does, CBP, all of our components, as
well as headquarters.
So that is the good news and the reason why I think so many
of them are coming onboard.
Our rate in our supervisory management ranks I think is
about 28 percent of them are veterans as well. So, you know, we
have veterans across the entire Department. We also have, as I
mentioned earlier, the disabled veterans as well.
Did I get at all the points you raised?
Mr. Carney. You did, actually. You did a very nice job.
Another question--This is for everyone, Ms. Arsht
especially. Mr. Hilleman highlights that there has been
success, and that is very good, especially within DHS. And what
we want to see is that success continue, but we don't want to
risk it by not having enough dedicated staff.
I mean, do you all see value in having somebody at DHS
dedicated--I mean, a line item dedicated to this kind of
recruiting and outreach to the Department of Defense and to
veterans, you know, rather than just have it--it is not exactly
ad hoc, but have it more formalized. Do you see a value in
that?
Ms. Perez. Well, at Homeland Security, absolutely, it would
be very beneficial. We have, sort of, centralized the
initiative at headquarters. It is out of my office. The
initiative around the employment, sort of the three-pronged
initiative is managed out of my office.
One of the concerns that I have, to be very candid with
both of you, is that we have, as you know, in the
appropriations, the House appropriations for 2008 and the
Senate appropriations, there is a recommendation that our
budget, the budget in my office, be cut from $15 million to $3
million in the House budget and to $5 million in the Senate
budget. Those budget cuts would have a significant impact on
any program that is outside of our normal, you know, salaries
and expenses.
So do I think that the funding for these programs is
absolutely important? Do we think that dedicated resources is
important? And do we think, as Mr. Hilleman mentioned, that we
may be the victim of our own success, in terms of influx of,
you know, e-mails and questions from our veterans? Possibly.
But we just think it is too important and too valuable a tool
not to utilize.
So with your help and if you call the appropriators and you
ask them to keep money coming our way, I think we will be in
good shape. Thank you.
Mr. Carney. Ah, those appropriators. I appreciate it.
Ms. Arsht, what is your opinion on that?
Ms. Arsht. Since you mentioned the transition assistance, I
thought I would take the opportunity to speak to a new, more
robust effort on our part, working with our partners at the
Department of Labor and at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
In transition assistance, we have launched a program called
TurboTap, initially designed to meet the considerable needs of
our Guard and Reserve members who don't want to stay at
demobilization sites to go through the traditional 2 1/2 days
of preseparation counseling, which we do, and the employment
and benefits counseling which Labor and VA do.
TurboTap is designed to be 24/7, anytime, anyplace access
to your benefits, where members can create their own accounts,
individual accounts. They can maintain them throughout their
service years. Initially, as I say, we are focusing on making
more robust services for Guard and Reserve, but eventually we
think this will be an active retention tool for our active duty
of all components.
Part of this new online service is an employment hub, which
the Department of Labor has created and which is cited there,
which connects into career one-stops but also allows other job
boards, some of them run by the VSOs, to post active jobs
directly for veterans.
So, again, I think that this relationship, the more that we
do focus on our service member as the client, the person that
we are all trying to serve, the more our services from across
the agencies and across the executive branch, those agencies
will dovetail and will support each other.
Mr. Carney. Well, as somebody who demobilized, I didn't
like the outprocesses very much myself, hanging out to do very
little, I thought. It makes sense to me that we encourage those
who don't have necessarily a direction to go to put them toward
Homeland Security. I think it makes a lot of sense.
I am over my time. I now recognize Mr. Rogers for 5
minutes.
Mr. Rogers. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I want to ask Ms. Perez if you can answer this with some
specificity. It may be a little bit too narrow a question. I
don't know.
You made reference to the fact that ICE and CBP have been
able to turn to veterans as an applicant pool. One of my
concerns and criticisms about CBP and its effort to grow the
Border Patrol's ranks to 19,000, roughly 19,000, agents is that
they don't seem to be able to attract a large enough pool of
qualified applicants to go into the academy in New Mexico in
order to turn out that number by the end of next year. When I
went out and toured the facility and asked the folks at the
Department exactly what they were doing to recruit this number
of people, they couldn't tell me exactly how they thought they
were going to be able to get these numbers.
Can you tell me specifically how you are trying to
recruit--it seems like the veterans are such a great match for
that institution. What are you doing, with some specificity, to
recruit those veterans for CBP?
Ms. Perez. Yeah, well, first of all, I would acknowledge
with my colleagues with CBP that the numbers that they have to
hire are staggering numbers. I am pleased to report that for
2007--we just completed our annual report, and they met their
targets for 2007, which were a little over 3,000 agents.
And their outreach--and I have actually been very involved
and briefed numerous times, because this is a priority,
obviously, of the administration. It is a priority of Secretary
Chertoff, so we have been briefed numerous times on the
outreach efforts.
It takes--and maybe, if I am wrong, I will come back to you
and correct myself, but my understanding is it is almost 30 to
one. They have to process 30 individuals in order to get one
individual into the academy, which is--if you were at the
academy--and I have been to the academy--the academy staff may
not be all aware of--they have basically decentralized their
hiring efforts, doing a lot of regional hiring that has reduced
the time that it takes to hire.
Part of the problem that we have in Government, sometimes
it takes us--it is a long time between when you first get a
notice that they are interested in you and then by the time the
applicant, you know, gets actually notified that they are
hired. CBP has made incredible progress in actually doing what
is called High Touch recruiting, which is where we actually
stay in touch with the applicants through the process.
So the Department, I think, is poised to meet the
requirements, but you are right in that the numbers are
staggering, and then putting them through the academy is more
complex.
The veterans--certainly my experience has been that they
are doing a great deal of outreach in the veterans community.
But I will get back--if there is a perception on your part that
we are not doing enough in that regard, I will go back. I think
I mentioned over 27 percent of our agents are, in fact,
veterans. For us, it is absolutely an applicant pool that is a
fabulous resource.
So we agree with you, it is challenging. We think we are
going to--we met it in 2007. We think we will continue to meet
the hiring targets and the commitments that we have made to the
administration.
Mr. Rogers. Do you know exactly how that outreach is being
made to veterans, for CBP in particular? I mean, what
methodology do you use to contact them?
And if one of you knows, I would love to hear from you.
Ms. Perez. Yeah, I would have to come back to you, sir,
with specific information in terms of--we do a lot of outreach
with the actual veterans services organizations, the TAP
programs, transition programs and so forth. But my preference
would be, Mr. Rogers, to come back with a more specific--from
the Department, from the component, specifics on veterans
outreach, rather than guess.
Mr. Rogers. Thank you.
Mr. Hilleman, you made reference to the fact that you would
like to see better notice to veterans about preference
programs. What could DHS do better to make veterans aware of
those preference programs?
Mr. Hilleman. Thank you for your question, sir.
There are a number of avenues available to DHS, as well as
Federal Government, to make the employment practices and the
hiring preferences known to veterans. DHS has a program for 30
percent disabled veterans, to fast-track their recruitment
effort. It allows them to forgo some of the cumbersome hiring
processes that all Government agencies are bound by but that
other veterans with only a five-point preference or lesser
disability do not qualify for. Making things like this known in
the community is very important.
I first came into contact with a member of DHS at a
recruiting fair, and he was very proactive. He came up to me,
introduced himself. He explained what they were doing. He
talked highly about how they have been able to attract more and
more disabled veterans. It was very heartening to me.
So every disabled veteran that I have come in contact with,
just as word of mouth, I let them know that DHS is hiring.
Publicizing something like the fast-track authority that they
are able to apply in hiring disabled veterans is huge. It means
a lot to young men and women who are trying to figure out how
they are going to get their lives back together.
Mr. Rogers. Are you aware of any exit package that is
presented to disabled veterans when they are looking at their
horizon of opportunities that might include these kind of
preference programs?
Mr. Hilleman. A number of veterans are made aware of the
different avenues for employment after service disability.
Typically, when a veteran is disabled, they are eligible for
vocational rehabilitation. They get special preferences.
Veterans get special preference when it comes to, like,
employment offices.
There are a number of means to explore publication. I would
be remiss if I sat here and said I could come up with all of
them. The Department of Homeland Security has done a good job
of bringing together some experts in an advisory setting. And I
know, from attending an advisory meeting, a number of ideas
have been discussed, some of which are making veterans-centric
pamphlets, catering hiring videos toward veterans.
In terms of getting that information before them, I would
suggest using Department of Labor's DVOPs and LVER program,
which is employment outreach, as well as VA's vocational
rehabilitation. Those are the two that make immediate contact
with veterans on a regular basis.
Mr. Rogers. Thank you.
Mr. Carney. Thank you, Mr. Rogers.
Mr. Hilleman, you cited in your testimony the November 5th
poll that a majority of respondents don't feel prepared to
enter the job market, the veterans. And we know that they
possess the kinds of skills that DHS could use, certainly the
Federal Government could use as well.
Are there ways, do you think, we could assist the veterans
getting out to feel more confident that they could actually
make a contribution, that they would be welcomed?
Mr. Hilleman. I think there is always work to be done, in
terms of transition. I hear the phrase ``seamless transition''
repeated and repeated and repeated on the Hill. And Government
and private-sector seamless transition is anything but
seamless. It is, in some places, beyond a gap. Many veterans
have to make that decision whether to go to work today or seek
an education to feed their families. And when they make those
simple decisions, it is a decision on the margin, what is best
for me. When they find out what they are entitled to in terms
of Government employment prospects, they have an opportunity.
And whether they seek to take that opportunity or not depends
on their personal circumstances.
Preparing them to enter the job market is something that
the Defense Department is not equipped to do. It is not tasked
with educating veterans on their employment opportunities. They
do a transitional assistance program.
Mr. Carney, you, yourself, talked about your outprocessing.
I imagine you got a lot of information in a very short period
of time. Not much was relevant to you at the immediate moment,
while you were thinking about returning to your family.
Mr. Carney. I already had a job, coming back. You know, I
was a professor at Penn State, so I was probably going to stay
there.
Mr. Hilleman. Yeah. So it is a tumultuous period for a
young person.
Mr. Carney. Right.
Mr. Hilleman. I am sorry. I wish could I say more about it.
I can speak anecdotally, but I really couldn't point to
anything more than that, sir.
Mr. Carney. But do you have a sense of why they don't feel
qualified?
Mr. Hilleman. I think that they feel qualified. They feel
qualified for the positions. They can do the job.
I will speak from my own personal experience. When I left
the United States Marine Corps after doing diplomatic security
for 2 1/2 years and working in some relatively hostile
environments, I felt pretty equipped to handle anything. Did I
know how to get there? No.
I have many counterparts who I served with who filled out
Federal applications that were pages and pages and pages long,
and they thought, ``Man, what is this going to get me?'' You
know, it is a shot in the dark.
Ms. Perez talked about, you know, High Touch. I think that
is very important. Letting a veteran know or an individual
know, ``Yes, we have gotten your application; we are still
reviewing it.'' But I applied to Federal jobs when I left
service. It was a black hole. My applications just went away.
It was a lot of work with little reward.
So, from my personal experiences, I would suggest some sort
of--I know Government doesn't do a very good job of this, but
some sort of personal contact with those veterans, giving them
some idea of what is in store for them, a little bit of
counseling along the way. And I know that it is burdensome and
it takes time out of people's schedules to sit down on the
phone and make themselves available, but that is what has to
happen.
Mr. Carney. Some more follow-up?
Mr. Hilleman. Yes, absolutely.
Mr. Carney. Ms. Perez?
Ms. Perez. Yes, one comment, that the veterans authorities
are absolutely fabulous and much needed. It is very difficult
to apply to a Federal job for a variety of reasons. But one of
the VRA, Veterans Recruitment Authority, is one that allows
them to bring them from a GS-5 up to a GS-11, where we can hire
noncompetitively, and then they can be, over a 2-year period,
be on the job, we require some training, and then they can be
promoted competitively.
It is a way to bring them in. It is early in their career,
and then be promoted up to GS-11, which in the Federal
Government is a reasonably good job, and not have to go through
the competitive process, which can be extremely long, you know,
takes a long time to process. We are also trying to expedite
that, but it still takes a long time.
Mr. Carney. Is there any way, Ms. Arsht, we can reduce the
paperwork, of filling that out? Because I had to do it, too.
Ms. Arsht. Well, I can't help you with the Federal
employment process. But in terms of what the service member
knows about his or her competitiveness in the marketplace and
how to get from the skills they have to the skills they need,
or understand they need, and how to position themselves, I do
think this is a place where TurboTap is a tool--just a tool--
that will allow service members to sort down to the priorities
of their interests at the moment.
I mean, I really think that this is--we are in a world of
immediate need. You want to be able to--when you realize you
have an issue, you want to go deal with it. You don't want to
have to hear about 20 other things in order to get to the one
that you want. And that is sort of the setting that we have had
in the past, the classroom setting where you had to sit through
everything to get to the thing you wanted. This will allow a
service member to go in and sort, ``I want to go back to
school,'' and look at the issues and benefits related to that
and what the rules are, and go to, then, your assistance
counselor to talk about that.
Or if it is--you don't want to go back to the job that you
had, which we often hear. You go down range, you have a whole
different perspective on life. You want to do something more.
You want to be in control. These kinds of experiences, to be
able to come back and say, ``I want to be counseled into a
career track.'' We actually believe that we need to start those
conversations earlier.
For instance, now the Navy links a credential to every rank
step-up improvement that you receive. So you are building your
credentials that are valued on the outside as well as on the
inside of the service. And each of the services are looking at
this mechanism for identifying career tracks and helping people
see that they are on a course. It is not a beginning, a middle
and an end and start over again. It is all connected.
So I really think we are all focused now on getting better
at this. Whether that works on the Federal application process,
I am not sure.
Mr. Carney. We will work on that, too.
Mr. Rogers?
Mr. Rogers. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Ms. Arsht, you made reference to the fact that in Operation
Warfighter you had 376 placements of veterans. I took it--and
maybe I am assuming incorrectly--these were people who were
either in Walter Reed or Bethesda. Is that the pool that you
are working with?
Ms. Arsht. Correct.
Mr. Rogers. This 376, is that drawn from a--how many
potentially could you have worked with? Is that half? Is that
75 percent, is that 100 percent of the people that would be
eligible for this program?
Ms. Arsht. No. The issue of eligibility really has to do
with readiness of the service member and the recovery period.
So the medical command has to have medically cleared the
service member to take the outside assignment. And that,
obviously, is very individual. So some service members are
eager earlier and capable of doing it, and they get right
onboard. Others, it takes longer. And so----
Mr. Rogers. Does this 376 represent all the people who want
to participate who are medically cleared and otherwise
eligible?
Ms. Arsht. Yes. There is probably a group. Every week we
add more service members who come to the every-other-week
meetings to see what it is about and whether they are ready and
to talk to employers. Some will start to pursue it right then.
Some will wait another month or 2. And so it is very
individual, both the placement and the desire to get involved.
Mr. Rogers. The same thing with the 40 permanent post-
separation placements. Does that represent pretty much most
everybody who was trying to get post-separation placements?
Ms. Arsht. Yes. And we have had other placements outside of
Operation Warfighter. Someone left Operation Warfighter and
went to a nongovernment position. We have many of those. I
don't have those numbers with me today.
Mr. Rogers. Okay.
Ms. Arsht. We actually seek to service members. So if he or
she wants to stay in the agency they are in, we will work with
that employer. If they are looking for a local job back home in
another activity but the same line of work, the Department of
Labor would step in and try to help with that.
Mr. Rogers. Thank you.
Ms. Perez, I want to visit this process of vets applying.
As a member whose largest employer in his district is a DOD
facility, I hear complaints all the time from folks applying,
particularly veterans, that they have to apply online. The
computer, from what I have learned, basically scans their
application for key words. And then those people who know how
to post their application and the correct wording get on the
eligible list. The thing occurs with promotions.
For a veteran or, for that matter, anybody else who wants
to come to work for DHS, what is the process mechanically to
apply? Is it all online?
Ms. Perez. The processes are pretty much online. And, in
fact, it is a requirement in the Federal Government that any
competitive promotion, any competitive advertisement has to be
done through the Office of Personnel Management, USAJOBS, which
is an online service. And, frankly, it is a way to provide
access to thousands of individuals outside of the immediate
area of recruitment and so forth. So, for the most part, it is
probably a good thing.
The problem becomes when you submit an application that is
either incomplete or--one of the problems that we have found
and the reason why we have incorporated into the Web site that
we have now for helping veterans apply is that sometimes they
would submit the application--when I was at OPM, I did a lot of
auditing of what agencies were doing relative to veterans'
hire, as well as work with the hospital in helping veterans who
wanted to find employment. Some of the problems that we
encountered were that when they submitted their application,
they would use a lot of the terminology they used in the
military that didn't really have any application in the
civilian world. So we are helping them, kind of doing
translating, if you will, converting, what we call the
converter, converting the jargon to the civilian jargon. So
that is a way that we are helping them.
We are actually looking to improve our outreach across the
board, veterans and nonveterans.
Mr. Rogers. Let me interrupt you just for a minute.
Ms. Perez. Yes.
Mr. Rogers. When you say you help them convert the jargon,
is this a live person who is helping them?
Ms. Perez. It is a tool, the online Web site. You can go to
a place, there is a converter and you can key in whatever the
numbers are. And we tested it when we had our meeting 2 weeks
ago with the veterans organizations. You put in whatever job,
you know, you did in the military. That might have had a number
or something associated. It actually converts it to civilian
jobs of that for which you are now eligible to apply or at
least have competencies and skills.
Mr. Rogers. Can I get one of those for my CPA? Because she
and I talk in completely different languages.
Ms. Perez. We can work on that, sir. Yeah.
Mr. Rogers. I know I interrupted you.
Ms. Perez. No, no. I was going to say, so that is just--we
are actually also trying to improve our recruitment period and
have engaged with organizations to help us do a lot more of the
outreach.
I think that the High Touch, it is a way that we are going
to--when we go to the applicants and you survey applicants
relative to the Federal process, time and time again the
biggest complaint is that we never hear back. So what we are
trying to do is, okay, we want to make sure that we respond to
the applicants, that we stay in touch with them. If we are not
interested, that we notify them, you know, right away that we
are not interested in them. Or if we think that, even it is a
protracted process, you know, that we just keep them involved
or at least knowledgeable.
We also are hoping to get available online our e-
recruitment system, which we are in the process of
implementing. We hope to have something in the beginning of the
year. You can actually, as an applicant, you can go online and
find out where you are in the application process. So we are
trying to get there. We are not there yet.
Mr. Rogers. Specifically, if veterans are interested in
going to work for DHS, where do they go on the Internet?
Ms. Perez. Right now you can go to dhs.gov and there is a
veterans link. So it is an all-inclusive or one-stop shop, and
you can go there. And from there, you can actually connect to
DOD, Department of Labor, OPM and all the other sites that have
veterans information. We think it is quite a helpful site.
Mr. Rogers. Okay.
My last question is, you all are at roughly 25 percent, and
rank seventh in Federal agencies in veteran hiring. What is
your target goal? Or do you have a target goal that you are
trying to achieve?
Ms. Perez. We have target goals to reach across the board,
in terms of our hiring, period. Meeting all of our target is
our goal. Leveraging the veterans population allows us to meet
those targets much quicker, because we have access to
individuals.
We don't have a number per se. It has to be 25, it has to
be 35 or whatever it has to be. We have to meet the targets,
and veterans is a place where we can go and meet them.
Mr. Rogers. Thank you very much.
Mr. Carney. Thank you, Mr. Rogers.
Ms. Perez, how does your office work with the DHS
components to identify staffing needs and match them to the
specific skill sets of veterans? How does that work?
Ms. Perez. I will explain the process, and hopefully I get
to your question.
Basically, my office, we do all the hiring for
headquarters. So hiring for headquarters happens through my
office. But in addition to that, we have various councils, that
we call them. We have a recruitment council--we have a variety
of councils that meet on a regular basis, where the components
are represented. My office has the lead.
And, basically, we work with the councils to ensure that
any outreach that we do--so, for instance, if we go to our
veterans, if we go to an event, a hiring/recruitment event, we
don't just send DHS headquarters, we send the entire DHS. We
work with the hiring council. We have a staffing council. We
have a variety of councils and opportunities to reach out to
the components, work with the components to make sure that we
leverage the resources of the Department well.
Does that get to your question?
Mr. Carney. Well, are the components required to provide to
you their needs and develop a sort of strategic recruitment
program?
Ms. Perez. They are required--yes. In the strategic plan,
the action plan that we developed last year, we laid out the
targets for each component. And part of the work that I did was
basically meet with the components and the leadership of the
components and said, ``Okay, what are you doing to meet your
hiring targets?'' FEMA, CBP, TSA, all of the components. So on
a regular basis, they have provided that information.
But in addition to that, it is in their interest to
collaborate. So there is nobody there that is saying, ``Gee,
these are my hiring needs, and I don't want anybody to know.''
They want us to know because they want us to help them with the
recruitment as well. So it is a very collaborative effort, in
my opinion.
Mr. Carney. Mr. Hilleman, do you want to comment on that?
The question, really, basically is, can DHS do better at
reaching out to veterans, to identifying, even before they made
a decision to get out of the military, so you are in that
phase, is there a way Ms. Arsht should identify those people?
Should we let the veterans organizations know, should we let
DHS know, or any Government organization, for that matter?
Mr. Hilleman. I think that would come through greater
agency cooperation. DOD has a pretty clear idea of who is
separating. I mean, VHA has the numbers on the Web site. I am
sorry; VHA is Veterans Health Administration. Since fiscal year
2002, over 751,000 service members have become eligible for
Veterans Health Administration. So there is a population out
there.
They are able to identify who is leaving through transition
assistance programs. That is certainly a jumping-off point. But
transition assistance programs vary from post to post, and they
vary from region to region. So standardization could be helpful
in implementing some sort of publication.
But cooperation I would suggest as first and foremost would
be required from DOD, but DOL as well because they contact
veterans at a much different level, when they are starting to
enter the workforce.
Mr. Carney. Uh-huh.
Do you see that as a problem, Ms. Arsht, that we don't
have, kind of, consistency across the posts in TAP?
Ms. Arsht. One of the challenges that we face, as you know,
each of our services are different. They have a different
vocabulary, they recruit from different pools, and they have
different cultures and characters. So there are these
differences. There is usually an underpinning of likeness in
the core activities.
One of the reasons that I hesitate to go toward what you
might call standardization is because our service members are
different. They are at different times in their lives. Our
young members need one set of supports; older service members,
after a career, need a different set. Our regular service,
active duty, needs a certain combination of things. Our Guard
and reserve components need other and additional things.
So we need flexibility. We need to be responsive. We need
to be able to map out those differences and be able to support
them in the way that they need. So that would be my response.
And I think that is where we are moving, and it is how we are
trying to organize ourselves.
I leave tomorrow afternoon to go down to a Department of
Labor council that is working both across the Federal agencies
and with the private sector to better understand these
opportunities and how these partnerships need to work in order
to become solid funnels of people from where they are to where
they want to go, but in a way that is, you know, part of our
culture. We need to be able to pass information, and people
need to be able to take it and move with it. And that is the
kind of system that we are working on.
Mr. Carney. Standardized flexibility, in other words.
Understood. Okay.
Well, while certainly no panacea, I think that DOD and
Veterans certainly can go a long way toward filling enormous
gaps, what with--DHS across the country, and Government as
well. I think it is incumbent upon veterans organizations and,
of course, the DOD to make sure that as much information as
possible is coming to veterans as they transition out of the
military, to let them know that they have meaningful positions
waiting for them once they get out.
We want to develop--I know Mr. Rogers and I talked about
this--we want to make sure that the Department of Homeland
Security develops the culture of what DHS is. When you take
transitioning veterans who know what the culture of an
organization means and integrate them into DHS, for example,
you are going to, I think, facilitate that culture again more
quickly. I certainly encourage you all to keep working on this.
I think it is something very, very valuable.
Hearing no further questions, we will stand adjourned in a
moment. I want to just make sure if we have further questions,
we will get them to you. Please respond in writing promptly.
With that, the committee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 3:00 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
Appendix: Additional Questions and Responses
----------
Questions from the Honorable Christopher P. Carney, Chairman,
Subcommittee on Management, Investigations, and Oversight
Responses from Ms. Leslye A. Arsht
Question 1.: In your testimony you stated that the goal of
Operation Warfighter is to match service members with opportunities
that consider their interest and utilize both military and non-military
skills. Please describe how a typical match occurs. Are you provided
with the skill set needs of each participating federal department and
their components? And regarding placements, has there been instances or
mismatches and if so, what happens in that case?
Response: To start the matching process, a Service member attends
an information session at the Walter Reed Amy Medical Center and signs
up for the program so that can begin the clearance process to
participate. At that information session, the individual peruses all of
the profiles that have been submitted by the different participating
agencies in the program. The Service member has the opportunity to
speak with agency representatives who are present to discuss their
particular organizations. The candidate indicates to the Operation
Warfighter (OWF) program manager the agencies vocational fields that
are of interest to Those agencies will then interview the candidate and
hopefully a match will be made that is to the satisfaction of both the
Service member and the employer.
The OWF program's focus is to assist and cater to the needs and
interests of wounded warriors in transition. We hope that the program
is malleable enough to accommodate Service members who are interested
in exploring new careers, or in furthering skills that they have
already developed. For some placements, candidates are looking for more
of a mentorship experience while others may be able to hit the ground
running in their areas of expertise.
There have been rare instances where after a couple months, it is
determined that the original placement is not working out as well as
the agency or Service member would have hoped. In those cases, a second
placement can be made.
Question 2.: What kind of staff resources are in place for
Operation Warfighter? And are there any specific time commitments or
placement commitments that federal agencies need to honor to
participate in the program? What makes the Department of Homeland
Security a particularly good partner in this program?
Response: The Operation Warfighter (OWF) program manager is
instrumental in connecting the Service member to the agency offering
the position. Although the program manager is pivotal in placing
Service members, they do not and cannot operate without other key
individuals the hospital and agencies.
Participating agencies understand that Service members' therapy and
treatment schedules can often prevent them from having standard or set
hours. The first priority for wounded warriors is to get well, and
wellness cannot take a backseat to OWF duties. The typical placement
starts at 2-3 days a week for roughly 15-25 hours. We encourage
individuals to start slowly, and work into additional hours per week if
their schedule permits an increased workload. We attempt only to place
individuals that have a minimum of 3 months to participate in the
program.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a great partner in OWF
since many of our candidates are interested in DHS jobs and the
participating DHS components have provided supportive work settings for
Service members in the program. Many participating DHS components have
also looked to use OWF as a vehicle for potentially hiring Service
members who have ``graduated'' from the program and are interested in
permanent Federal employment.
Question 3.: Does the Department of Homeland Security attend your
bimonthly sessions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to speak about
the job opportunities available at their Department? What other
Departments joining you in these sessions?
Response: The Department of Homeland Security components regularly
attend our information sessions at Walter Reed Medical Center to
present their opportunities to potential candidates for the program.
Every participating agency in Operation Warfighter (OWF) is invited and
strongly encouraged to attend these sessions as often as possible. Due
to the large number of agencies participating, however, attendance must
be coordinated through the OWF program manager. Typically, agencies
that have been proactively involved in these information sessions
receive the most placements.
Question 4.: What component or components hired the majority of the
veterans who have been placed in the Department of Homeland Security
through Operation Warfighter?
Response: No single Department of Homeland Security component has
hired a large number of Operation Warfighter (OWF) participants, but
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection,
United States Coast Guard, and United States Secret Service have all
had multiple OWF placements and have hired OWF graduates.
Questions from the Honorable Mike Rogers, Ranking Member, Subcommittee
on Management, Investigations, and Oversight
Responses from Leslye A. arsht
Question 5.: Could you please explain how DHS coordinates with
Operation Warfighter?
Response: At the headquarters level, the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) has a main representative that coordinates with the
Operation Warfighter program manager. Most DHS subcomponents also have
one additional individual who helps coordinate placements within their
particular organization.
Question 6.: How would you characterize the Department's
participation in that program?
REsponse: The Department of Homeland Security has been a very
strong supporter of Operation Warfighter over the past two years and
the Department of Defense hopes to continue this beneficial partnership
to assist more wounded warriors in 2008.
Question 7.: Do you believe that the Department of Homeland
Security has been a strong supporter of Operation Warfighter?
Response: The Department of Homeland Security has been a very
strong supporter of Operation Warfighter over the past two years and
the Department of Defense hopes to continue this beneficial partnership
to assist more wounded warriors in 2008.
Question 8.: Do you have any recommendations for how DHS--or other
Federal agencies--can expand use of Operation Warfighter?
REsponse: We hope to continue our partnership with the Department
of Homeland Security and other Federal agencies to provide meaningful
work opportunities for wounded warriors in transition. As the Operation
Warfighter program grows, we hope that agencies will continue to
support the program and encourage non-participating sub-components to
get involved.
Questions from the Honorable Christopher Carney, Chairman, Subcommittee
on Management, Investigations, and Oversight
Responses from Marta Brito Perez
Question 1: How did the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer
at the Department develop its veterans outreach strategy? Is the
strategy based on a review of best practices from other federal
agencies that demonstrated strong performance in the recruitment of
veterans?
Response: The three-prong Veterans Outreach Strategy was the result
of experience over the past year in addressing ongoing concerns of
Veteran applicants individually and collectively. The Department's
Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) identified trends
about the nature of applicants' questions, their lack of knowledge of
application requirements, and the need to have one information source
for DHS jobs. Based on this analysis, OCHCO created the one-stop web
page, established the Veteran's Outreach Advisory Council, and designed
additional training for the Human Resources and Equal Employment
Opportunity communities regarding Veterans Preference and other hiring
authorities.
Question 2.: As noted by your testimony, the one stop website for
veterans seeking employment with the Department has been running for
over one month now. In that time, how many inquires have resulted from
the website, how many documents have been submitted, and how many times
has the ``converter'' tool been utilized?
How is the Department publicizing this new website and what are the
future plans to get the word out to the Veterans community?
Response: Since the website's inception, the Department has
received 231 inquiries. Out of those 231 inquiries, approximately 81
have submitted attachments such as resumes, DD214's (Military Discharge
Papers), and VA Disability Letters. At this time, DHS is unable to
track hits to the converter tool because we are linking to the
Department of Labor's Occupational Information Network--O*NET--website.
Currently, the Department is publicizing the new website through word
of mouth and ongoing career fairs. Additionally, one of the Veterans
Organizations that participated in the Veterans Advisory Council, the
Reserve Officers Association, has linked the DHS Veterans page to their
site. OCHCO plans to further publicize the website on future printed
materials and recruitment brochures as additional resources become
available.
Question 3.: The inaugural meeting of the Department's Veterans
Outreach Advisory Council occurred in early November. What is the
specific function of the advisory council--will you develop a list of
action items, provide a forum for feedback? Are you reaching out to all
of the veteran's support organizations for their participation and
input? Who else is participating from the Department itself?
Response: The function of the Veterans Outreach Advisory Council
(VOAC) is to advise DHS on the effectiveness of the Department's
veterans outreach efforts and initiatives; i.e. are DHS efforts
designed and deployed in a manner that will attract more veterans and
assist them in applying for vacancies. Representatives at the inaugural
meeting were very enthusiastic and engaged. They supported the three-
prong strategy and recruitment video, and they recommended that DHS
develop a recruitment video and brochure specifically targeting
veterans. OCHCO has solicited their input on: (a) future meeting
frequency; (b) which additional Veterans Service Organizations to
include, and (c) agenda topics and potential for a VOAC charter. DHS
representatives include the Office of the OCHCO, the Office of Civil
Rights and Civil Liberties, and the U.S. Coast Guard.
Question 4.: I understand that the Office of Personnel Management
regularly visits transition centers to educate veterans who are
separating from the service about the opportunities available to them
in civil service.Does the Department visit these transition centers in
joint partnership with OPM or have plans to do so in the future?
Response: DHS, at the Departmental and component level, has made
frequent visits to transition centers to share information about
employment opportunities at DHS. While these visits are not done
specifically in joint partnership with OPM, DHS representatives
interact with OPM officials at Walter Reed Army Medical Center on a
frequent basis and plan to continue this in the future.
Question 5.: Other than career events at Bethesda Naval Hospital
and Walter Reed, to what extent does or will representatives from your
office visit other military hospitals across the nation to educate
Veterans about job opportunities at the Department?
Response: DHS components have also visited the following military
hospitals:
Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, TX
Madigan Army Medical Center Fort Lewis, WA
William Beaumont Army Medical Center, Ft. Bliss, TX
Question 6.: I've heard accounts that processing time for federal
employment, even where a security clearance is not required, takes too
long and acts as a deterrent to some service members. How long is the
typical processing time from the time a veteran's application is
submitted to start date? Do you consider this processing time
acceptable? What follow-up does the Department do with the veterans who
have applied to let them know their application has been received and
is under review?
Response: The Department adheres to the Government-wide mandate of
a 45-day hiring cycle, from the closing date of the vacancy
announcement to a tentative job offer. Once received, applications are
referred to the appropriate component(s), which in turn contact the
veteran with a copy to OCHCO. However, most DHS jobs require some type
of suitability investigation in addition to any required security
clearance. Depending upon the job and the selected candidate's
circumstances, this additional time period before a final job offer can
vary. In Fiscal Year 2008, OCHCO plans to explore means to streamline
the security process for veterans who are selected for DHS vacancies.
Question 7.: According to a 2006 Office of Personnel Management
report, agencies across the federal government are encouraged to
develop education and training programs that strike a balance between
the needs of agencies and the aspirations of veterans. To what extent
is the Department developing such programs for its hired veterans? If
it is not, are there plans to do so in the future?
Response The Department's many learning and development programs
are designed to advance the individual and organizational goals of all
employees, including veterans. The learning and development programs
within the DHS University System offer employees a variety of learning
opportunities in the areas of leadership, preparedness and homeland
security. Although these programs do not specifically target veterans,
veterans are able to participate in all DHS University System programs
and are also able to participate in components' training, education,
and professional development opportunities.
Questions from the Honorable MiKe Rogers, Ranking Member, Subcommittee
on Management, Investigations, and Oversight
Responses from Marita Brito Perez
Question 8.: Do you believe that the Department of Homeland
Security has made significant progress in its efforts to recruit, hire,
and promote veterans?
Response: Yes, especially in the areas of recruitment and hiring.
During Fiscal Year (FY) 2007, DHS:
Doubled the number of veterans hired from FY 2006:
6,013 were hired in FY 2007 versus 3,015 in FY 2006;
Recruited disabled veterans from 132 events and career
fairs nationwide;
Hired 771 disabled veterans, more than double the
number from FY 2006; and
Promoted 1,340 disabled veterans, an increase of 57.1
percent from FY 2006.
Question 9.: What specific steps have you taken since being
appointed as the Chief Human Capital Officer at DHS to expand outreach
to veterans and improve the DHS hiring process for veterans?
Response: OCHCO has launched a three-prong Veterans Outreach
strategy:
(1) We have created a one-stop veterans web page for veterans
seeking jobs in DHS. This contains application information, job
openings, a ``converter'' to compare military jobs to civilian
ones, and an e-mail box for one-on-one assistance;
(2) We established the first DHS Veterans Outreach Advisory
Council composed of various veterans service organizations to
advise us on our outreach programs and products; and
(3) We are conducting enhanced training for Human Resources and
Equal Employment Opportunity specialists in all components on
the various Veterans preference hiring authorities.
Finally, at our first DHS Career Fair, we had a booth specifically
for veterans and spoke to more than 200 veterans.
Question 10.: Are you considering implementing any new programs or
initiatives in Fiscal Year 2008 to enhance outreach to veterans?
Response: Yes, based on recommendations from the Advisory Council,
OCHCO is developing a recruitment video and brochure specifically
targeting veterans. OCHCO also plan to increase its presence at the
Transition Assistance Program centers, as well as numerous job fairs
held for veterans.
Question 11.: Are there any specific programs that reach out to
veterans who have recently returned from the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan?
Response: Non-disabled Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are
entitled to a ten-point hiring preference. DHS has an ambitious
training program for all Human Resources personnel on veterans'
preference issues, programs, and the Uniformed Services Employment and
Reemployment Rights Act, to ensure those preferences and programs are
recognized and adhered to by our Human Resources staff. For disabled
veterans, including those who have recently returned from the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan, the Department makes great use of DoD's Operation
War Fighter Program, which provides temporary assignments to wounded
service members receiving rehabilitation services at Walter Reed.
DHS is also involved in the Army's Wounded Warrior Program (WWP)
which places disabled service members who served in the Iraq and
Afghanistan theaters of war into temporary assignments. DHS
Headquarters established accounts with the WWP and the Marine for Life
program to provide additional methods to view job opportunities within
Headquarters. Other less formal programs are also utilized; for
example, to become more familiar with the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS), disabled veterans from Walter Reed spent
one day job-shadowing a USCIS manager.
DHS is an active partner in the Department of Veteran Affairs'
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment, though this is not specific
to those returning from war.
Question 12.: How do you measure the success of DHS' programs to
recruit, hire, and train veterans?
Response: I think you can measure the success in a number of ways.
First, by the number of veterans DHS hires: as mentioned, in each of
the past two years, the Department has doubled the number of veterans
hired over the previous year. In addition, a good measure will be the
numbers of veterans hired that satisfactorily complete their
probationary period at DHS and who progress in their careers by
benefiting from DHS career paths and learning and development
strategies. I am also proud to say that nearly 30 percent of our
managers and supervisors are veterans.
Question 13.: What additional resources would your office require
to enhance DHS' outreach and recruitment of veterans? How would you
utilize these additional resources?
Response: Resource needs for this office are reflected in the
upcoming FY2009 Budget. The resources will be used to establish a
Veterans Speakers Bureau and produce recruitment materials and video
specifically for veterans.
Question 14.: In your prepared statement (p. 2) you mention that
the Department has recently launched a ``one stop'' informational
website for veterans seeking employment with DHS.
Did you conduct any type of user testing with veterans for your new
veterans web page?
Have you received any positive feedback from veterans or veterans
service organizations (VSOs) regarding use of the website?
Response: Yes, OCHCO asked ten veterans who have been employed by
DHS for less than a year to test the web page, and the feedback has
been very beneficial. The web page has an e-mail box where potential
job applicants can comment on the web page and its various uses.
Yes, OCHCO demonstrated the web page at the first meeting of the
Veterans Outreach Advisory Council on November 6, 2007. There was very
favorable reaction from the entire group, and many comments were made
commending the entire concept.
Question 15.: The Department recently convened its newly
established DHS Veterans Advisory Council, which held its inaugural
meeting on November 6, 2007.
Could you please tell us how the first meeting went and what were
some of the topics that were covered?
Have you received any feedback from the veterans service
organizations that participated in the advisory council meeting?
How do you plan to implement the recommendations that resulted from
the Advisory Council meeting?
Will you be inviting additional member organizations to your
Veterans Outreach Advisory Council? If so, which ones?
How often do you expect the Advisory Council to meet?
Response: The meeting was a very positive beginning. It was evident
that the participants were engaged and vested in our common cause to
attract and hire more veterans. They were showed the Department's new
recruitment video, veterans web page, and recruitment brochure.
Reaction was overwhelmingly favorable, and they made recommendations
which we are pursuing such as a veteran-specific recruitment video and
brochure.
Yes, all the participants expressed interest in establishing the
Council as a permanent advisory body. Many commended DHS on
establishing this forum.
OCHCO is moving forward with two recruitment products recommended
by the Council: a veteran-specific recruitment video and brochure. I
have designated a member of my staff to serve as a coordinator for
Council activities and follow-up.
Based on advice from the Council, OCHCO is inviting the VA's Office
of Vocational Rehabilitation, and the Office of Personnel Management to
join the Veterans Outreach Advisory Council. OCHCO would welcome any
other suggestions from the Committee.
I prefer to allow the Council itself to determine the frequency of
Council meetings. I would hope they could meet and advise us on a
quarterly basis.
Question 16.: In your prepared statement (p. 3) you mention that
the Department is conducting ``enhanced training for the Department's
HR specialists in the area of Veterans employment programs, authorities
and rights.''
Could you please walk us through the hiring process--from posting a
position to selecting an applicant--and how the veterans preference is
considered during this process?
Could you please elaborate on that, and explain how DHS ensures
that its human resources specialists are knowledgeable about the
various veterans preference statutory authorities?
Response: The attached DHS Hiring Model can be used to walk through
hiring process:
In Step 13, veterans who meet the criteria for preference and who
are found eligible (achieve a score of 70 or higher either by a written
examination or an evaluation of their experience and education) have
five or ten points added to their numerical ratings depending on the
nature of their preference.
When the list of all that are qualified for scientific and
professional positions in grade GS-9 or higher is issued, the names of
all eligibles are listed in order of rating, augmented by veteran
preference, if any. For all other positions, the names of ten-point
preference eligibles who have a compensable, service-connected
disability of ten percent or more are placed ahead of the names of all
other eligibles on a given list of qualified applicants. The names of
other 10-point preference eligibles, five-point preference eligibles,
and non-veterans are listed in order of their numerical ratings.
From a Department-wide perspective, DHS is conducting classes on
Veterans Preference hiring authorities. Each component will send two
Human Resources (HR) specialists and one Equal Employment Opportunity
(EEO) specialist to the class. The graduates of this class will form a
new network of experts on veterans hiring which we can leverage across
the Department. In addition, some components have independently taken
similar steps. For example:
The U.S. Coast Guard prepared and conducted a training
module for all 35 Human Resources Specialists on Veterans'
Preference in Federal Hiring and the use of special appointing
authorities for disabled veterans. To assist managers and
supervisors, they have posted a recruitment guide on their
intranet that includes information on the process for hiring
disabled veterans.
The U.S. Secret Service sponsored a hiring
flexibilities seminar to provide hiring officials with
information regarding recruitment and retention, appointing
authorities for disabled veterans, direct hire, persons with
disabilities, excepted service employment and category rating.
Training for HR Specialists scheduled in early 2008 includes:
Four Hour Veterans' Preference Overview (January/February 2008)
Training using an agency partnership format with veteran employment
experts from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Department of
Labor (DOL), Department of Defense (DoD), and the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) for approximately 35 DHS HR/EEO employees.
Training format as follows:
Veterans' Preference--Interactive discussion on unique
processes, polices, and decisions and their impact on Hiring
Authorities and Adjudications (1 hour). Lead by OPM;
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights
Act of 1994 (USERRA) (1 hour). Lead by DOL;
Disabled Veterans Initiatives
Operation Warfighter Program--The Department
of Defense Military Severely Injured Center sponsors
this initiative which is a temporary assignment or
internship program for Service members who are
undergoing therapy at military treatment facilities in
the United States(1/2 hour). Lead by DoD; and
VA's Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment--
Coming Home to Work Program--The Coming Home to Work
(CHTW) Program is an integral part of VA's early
intervention and outreach efforts to Operation Enduring
Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom service members and
veterans. CHTW has provided opportunities for eligible
service members and veterans to obtain work experience,
develop skills needed to transition to civilian
employment, determine the suitability of a potential
career, and become suitably employed in the civilian
labor market. (1/2 hour). Led by VA.
Questions and Answers (15 minutes) following
each session.
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994
(USERRA)
Two USERRA training sessions:
8 Hours--Basic Level Overview for HR Specialists
The overview training will provide a review of the Veterans'
Reemployment Rights (VRR) Statute that will help to ensure that
returning service-members are reemployed in the job that they would
have attained had they not been absent for military service (the long-
standing ``escalator'' principle), with the same seniority, status and
pay, as well as other rights and benefits determined by seniority.
3 Days (six half day sessions)--Advance Class for
Veterans' Preference Experts
This class will provide an in depth look at Veterans' Reemployment
Rights (VRR) Statute and will cover reasonable efforts (such as
training or retraining) that must be made to enable returning service
members to refresh or upgrade their skills to help them qualify for
reemployment.
Question 17.: In your prepared statement (p. 2) you refer to
veterans and state that their ``military backgrounds and training are
well suited to DHS jobs--and most importantly--to accomplishing our
critical mission.''
Could you please provide us with some specific examples of how
veterans are able to apply their military background and training in
their employment at DHS?
What specific components of DHS or positions within DHS would best
enable veterans to utilize their special skills?
Response: Many veterans occupy military positions that require
skills and experience that are easily transferable to DHS civilian
careers. For instance, military competencies gained as the result of
working in law enforcement, security, and intelligence provide the
necessary background experience for many mission critical jobs
Department-wide. In addition, military training provides veterans with
the ability to, inherently, understand the national security mission
and the subsequent risks. All components, including Headquarters, can
utilize and benefit from the rich training and experience a veteran
brings. Border Patrol Agents and CBP Officers, Secret Service
personnel, Federal Air Marshals in TSA, Intelligence Analysts in
Headquarters, Enforcement Officers and Investigators in ICE and the
U.S. Coast Guard are just some of the areas in which veterans are
currently working. In addition, two Headquarters Operation Warfighter
alumnae are now permanent employees with the Office of Security,
providing security to the DHS Headquarters facility.