[House Hearing, 112 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
HIRING HEROES: JOB CREATION FOR
VETERANS AND GUARD/RESERVE MEMBERS
=======================================================================
FIELD HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
of the
COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
OCTOBER 17, 2011
FIELD HEARING HELD IN WATERLOO, IA
__________
Serial No. 112-32
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
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COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS
JEFF MILLER, Florida, Chairman
CLIFF STEARNS, Florida BOB FILNER, California, Ranking
DOUG LAMBORN, Colorado CORRINE BROWN, Florida
GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida SILVESTRE REYES, Texas
DAVID P. ROE, Tennessee MICHAEL H. MICHAUD, Maine
MARLIN A. STUTZMAN, Indiana LINDA T. SANCHEZ, California
BILL FLORES, Texas BRUCE L. BRALEY, Iowa
BILL JOHNSON, Ohio JERRY McNERNEY, California
JEFF DENHAM, California JOE DONNELLY, Indiana
JON RUNYAN, New Jersey TIMOTHY J. WALZ, Minnesota
DAN BENISHEK, Michigan JOHN BARROW, Georgia
ANN MARIE BUERKLE, New York RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri
TIM HUELSKAMP, Kansas
MARK E. AMODEI, Nevada
ROBERT L. TURNER, New York
Helen W. Tolar, Staff Director and Chief Counsel
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
MARLIN A. STUTZMAN, Indiana, Chairman
GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida BRUCE L. BRALEY, Iowa, Ranking
BILL JOHNSON, Ohio LINDA T. SANCHEZ, California
TIM HUELSKAMP, Kansas TIMOTHY J. WALZ, Minnesota
MARK E. AMODEI, Nevada
Pursuant to clause 2(e)(4) of Rule XI of the Rules of the House, public
hearing records of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs are also
published in electronic form. The printed hearing record remains the
official version. Because electronic submissions are used to prepare
both printed and electronic versions of the hearing record, the process
of converting between various electronic formats may introduce
unintentional errors or omissions. Such occurrences are inherent in the
current publication process and should diminish as the process is
further refined.
C O N T E N T S
__________
October 17, 2011
Page
Hiring Heroes: Job Creation for Veterans and Guard/Reserve....... 1
OPENING STATEMENTS
Chairman Marlin A. Stutzman...................................... 1
Prepared statement of Chairman Stutzman...................... 41
Hon. Bruce L. Braley, Ranking Democrat Member.................... 2
Prepared statement of Congressman Braley..................... 41
WITNESSES
Staff Sergeant Nathaniel Rose, ARNG, North Liberty, IA........... 4
Prepared statement of Staff Sergeant Rose.................... 42
Captain Aaron L. Robinson, ARNG, Des Moines, IA.................. 6
Prepared statement of Captain Robinson....................... 44
Stacy Litchfield, Regional Manager, Talent Acquisition and
Performance Consulting, Deere & Company, Inc., Moline, IL...... 14
Prepared statement of Ms. Litchfield......................... 45
MAJ Kerry M. Studer, USA, Assistant Managing Director, Commercial
Real Estate Division, Principal Financial Group, Waterloo, IA.. 16
Prepared statement of Major Studer........................... 46
Stacey May, Manager, Tax Credit Program, Honkamp Krueger & Co.,
P.C., Dubuque, IA.............................................. 18
Prepared statement for Ms. May............................... 50
Timothy J. Carson, Manager, Veterans Initiatives, Office of
Diversity, Rockwell Collins, Inc., Cedar Rapids, IA............ 19
Prepared statement for Mr. Carson............................ 51
COL Benjamin J. Corell, Commander, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat
Team, 34th Infantry Division, Iowa National Guard, Johnston, IA 27
Prepared statement for Colonel Corell........................ 54
Mark Hennessey, Iowa Committee for Employer Support of the Guard
and Reserve, Johnston, IA...................................... 30
Prepared statement for Mr. Hennessey......................... 54
Anthony Smithhart, Iowa State Director, Veterans' Employment and
Training Service, U.S. Department of Labor..................... 30
Prepared statement for Mr. Smithhard......................... 56
Teresa Wahlert, Director, Iowa Workforce Development, Des Moines,
IA............................................................. 32
Prepared statement for Ms. Wahlert........................... 60
SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD
RADM T. L. McCreary, USN (Ret.), President, Military.com......... 61
Jennifer J. Suchan, Assistant Registrar and Coordinator, Veterans
Student Services, University of Northern Iowa.................. 64
MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD
Question for the Record from Chairman Stutzman to Mr. Smithhart.. 66
HIRING HEROES: JOB CREATION FOR
VETERANS AND GUARD/RESERVE MEMBERS
----------
MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2011
U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on Veterans' Affairs,
Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity,
Washington, DC.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:00 a.m., at
Waterloo Community Schools' Education Service Center, 1516
Washington Street, Waterloo, Iowa, Hon. Marlin A. Stutzman
[Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Stutzman and Braley.
OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN STUTZMAN
Mr. Stutzman. Good morning. I would like to welcome
everyone this morning to start this oversight hearing of the
Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity. I want to welcome every
one of you this morning. Thanks for being here.
Delighted to be here in Waterloo. My name is Congressman
Marlin Stutzman. I am from Indiana, from the Fort Wayne area.
And so, it is a delight to be here.
And I want to especially thank your congressman,
Congressman Braley, for hosting us today and for bringing us
here to the district.
I am the chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs
Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, and I represent Indiana's
Third District. And I actually have quite a few Iowa ties. And
so, I was talking to my parents about the connections here, and
I actually found out that my great-aunt is actually buried just
not too far from here in Dunkerton, and my grandparents were
married in Dubuque as well. And I had some relatives that were
born here in Iowa, and they made their way back to Indiana.
So it is a privilege to be here again. My district is very
similar to Iowa's First Congressional District. We are very
proud of our Midwestern values and proud of America. So it is a
privilege to be here with you all. And I know that you are very
proud of the veterans that you have here, as well as we are in
northeast Indiana, where we have about 48,000 veterans who
served our Nation from the Third District.
It is also a privilege to serve alongside Congressman
Braley. I call him a friend as well as an advocate for veterans
issues, as well as a great Member of Congress. And so, thank
you again for your service.
We are here today to hear from Iowans about the employment
difficulties facing far too many members of the Iowa National
Guard, the Reserves, and those returning from active duty.
While the unemployment rate for all Iowa veterans in September
was 5.8 percent, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show
that 35.6 percent of America's Gulf Era II veterans ages 20 to
24 were unemployed, while 8.8 percent of Gulf Era II veterans
ages 25 to 54 were unemployed.
More shocking is information that as much as 30 percent of
returning members of the Guard and Reserves do not come home to
a job. Clearly, we need to find ways to reduce all of those
numbers.
The House Committee on Veterans' Affairs has taken a first
step towards that end last week by passing House Resolution
2433, a bill that would provide up to a year of Chapter 30 GI
bill benefits to unemployed veterans between the ages of 35 and
60. The bill now goes to the Senate, and we hope to get the
bill to the President by Veterans Day, along with several other
improvements to veterans benefits.
Again, I am delighted to be here with you today. We are
anxious to hear from you all who are going to be testifying,
and at this time, I will yield to the gentleman whose office is
actually just right next door to mine as well in Washington, a
good friend, the Honorable Bruce Braley.
[The prepared statement of Chairman Stutzman appears on p.
41.]
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BRUCE BRALEY
Mr. Braley. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And welcome home. We are delighted to have you back in
Iowa.
And I want to make sure that we welcome everyone to the
hearing and let you know how important this field hearing is to
the ongoing work of the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee that
Chairman Stutzman and I are proud to serve on. Our Subcommittee
literally is the point line of how we address the important
challenge of finding work for every veteran who wants to work,
and it is an issue that we struggle with every day, based upon
some of the enormous challenges that the Chairman identified.
I am very proud to welcome all of you to my hometown of
Waterloo, Iowa, home of the five Sullivan brothers, home of the
Iowa Veterans Museum, which we are very proud of, and a city
that knows about sacrifice and service.
One of the things I tried to do to prepare for this hearing
is think back on how the challenge of finding work for veterans
has affected me and my family personally. So one of the things
I brought to the hearing were my dad's discharge papers from
the Marine Corps when he came home from Iwo Jima. And it is
really instructive in how far we have come in dealing with the
issue of separation of people from the military looking for
work, and yet how far we have to go.
My dad was discharged on May 3rd of 1946 from the Marine
separation center at Great Lakes Naval Training Center in
Illinois. And on the back of this form, he was required to list
his employment and nonservice educational data. And I am sure
that many people in your district in Indiana filled out similar
forms with similar types of information.
Under job summary, he wrote ``drove steel-type tractor
while working, a general farm hand, works with father and
brother on 240-acre farm, did plowing, cultivating, and
harvesting of crops and livestock.'' Under preferences for
additional training, he listed ``college,'' which he never
pursued. And under job preference, ``farming for self.''
I think of my dad as a 19-year-old Marine who had never
worked outside of the home, and what he must have been going
through as he was preparing to get on that train with a train
ticket back to Grinnell, Iowa, and probably not much more than
that to help him face the enormous challenge of an unemployed
veteran who was looking to make his way in the world.
We have some Iowa veterans who are going to be testifying
on our first panel about some of the challenges they are
facing, and I am very proud of the fact that we have
implemented much more comprehensive programs to help veterans
preparing for that transition to the civilian workforce. And,
some of those programs have been highly successful, but we have
a long way to go before we reach the objective that we all want
to happen.
Because I think that the thing we should be focusing on
today is on imagining what it would say about our country if
every veteran who wanted a job had a job. And the bottom line
for me is the best way to thank a veteran is to hire a veteran.
And what we are going to focus on at this hearing today is ways
that we can try to bridge that gap between the civilian
employment marketplace and the needs of our returning veterans
who are looking for work and unable to find it at this time.
So I welcome all of you here. We want to be talking not
just about how we can put together programs through the
Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs,
but also how we create incentives for employers to look at
veterans as a hiring opportunity that is going to make their
workplace a better place for all their employees.
And that is why I was proud to introduce the Combat
Veterans Back to Work Act, modeled on the highly successful
Back to Work Act we had in the civilian workforce that gives
employers incentives to put an unemployed veteran on their
payroll and gives them further incentives if they keep them on
that payroll for up to a year.
So I welcome all of you. We look forward to the testimony
of our witnesses, and with that, I will yield back.
[The prepared statement of Hon. Bruce Braley appears on p.
41.
Mr. Stutzman. Thank you, Congressman Braley.
And one of the things I just want to say quickly before we
invite the first panel here is that the reason this hearing is
important to both of us is that with the economy so--the
difficulties that we are facing in the economy right now, one
of the areas that we believe success has to happen is with our
veterans. And so, this really is an opportunity for us to
highlight to our colleagues back in Washington how we can help
those who are serving our country, the challenges that they are
going to be having when we have more veterans coming home from
Iraq and Afghanistan.
And if we can have success here, we can hopefully translate
that into success other places within our economy. But what
greater place to serve those who have served us in protecting
our freedom?
So, with that, we want to invite our first panel to come
forward to the witness table this morning. We are joined by
Staff Sergeant Nathan Rose and Captain Aaron Robinson.
Appreciate your service to our country.
Thank you for being here, first of all, and we are looking
forward to your testimony, and we want to give each of you 5
minutes to share with us your statements. And why don't we
begin with Staff Sergeant Nathan Rose
STATEMENTS OF STAFF SERGEANT NATHAN ROSE, ARNG, NORTH LIBERTY,
IOWA; AND CAPTAIN AARON L. ROBINSON, ARNG, DES MOINES, IOWA
STATEMENT OF NATHAN ROSE
Sergeant Rose. Chairman Stutzman, Ranking Member Braley,
and Members of the Subcommittee, I would like to extend my
gratitude for being giving the opportunity to testify at this
hearing today. It is an honor to lend my voice to fellow
veterans in the ongoing economic struggles we face.
My name is Nathaniel Rose. I am currently a staff sergeant
in the Iowa Army National Guard, as well as a senior at the
University of Iowa.
I have been deployed to Iraq, and I have just returned from
a deployment to Afghanistan in July. To help pay for my
studies, I currently receive the GI bill, along with State and
Federal tuition assistance.
I speak based solely on my experiences in the Iowa Army
National Guard and experiences of those that have served with
me. I cannot accurately speak regarding any other branch of
service or any other State's National Guard.
I decided to join the National Guard during my freshman
year of college, looking for adventure, but also for economic
reasons. I come from a hard-working, middle-class family, and
if I wanted to attend college, I would have to pay for it
myself.
I did not receive many scholarships, and I did not want to
incur a large amount of student loan debt. So I joined the
National Guard because the tuition assistance and GI bill would
pay for my education.
If it wasn't for tuition assistance and the GI bill, I
might have quit going to school or not have joined the National
Guard at all. Joining the military is a very hard decision to
make, but the benefits one might receive helped make the
decision easier.
The GI bill has been one benefit that I have come to
appreciate more over time. When I first began receiving the
benefit, it was not a large amount. This was fine because State
and Federal tuition assistance paid for all my tuition and
fees, and I could use the GI bill for other things.
After two deployments, I now receive a much larger amount
because it is prorated based off the active duty amount and how
much time I have spent deployed. The amount is actually enough,
when coupled with my drill pay every month, that I do not have
to work. I am able to concentrate completely on my studies,
which any senior will tell you is a hard thing to do.
I, however, do not have all the obligations that a number
of soldiers I know have. I have no wife, no children, no car
payments, and so on. Many National Guard soldiers cannot go to
school full time and take care of their family with tuition
assistance and GI bill alone, especially if they have not been
deployed and receive a smaller, prorated amount. This forces
them to work while attending school.
Now there is nothing wrong with working while going to
school, but for some soldiers I know personally, they have had
to stop going because they needed to move to full time at work,
their grades were slipping, or they weren't spending as much
time with their family as they wanted to.
The post-9/11 GI bill has attempted to address some of
these issues by paying basic allowance for housing to students.
The only problem with that is that, once again, it is prorated
for National Guard soldiers.
One solution to this problem might be to have National
Guard members pay into the GI bill like active duty members do.
Another possible solution would be to put everyone on the same
level and not prorate the payments. Neither of these solutions
is perfect, but they might be a good starting point.
Education benefits to me seem more complicated. If a
soldier doesn't sit down with an expert, it is hard to figure
out the ins and outs of benefits. The difference between the
five GI bill programs is not easily ascertained by looking at
the Web site or reading pamphlets.
If soldiers are better informed about their benefits, it is
easier to make decisions about whether they can afford to go
back to school or not, especially those with families. The GI
bill needs to take into account that soldiers do have families.
They may not be able to support a family and go to school at
the same time.
The National Guard has delayed my education twice, but I
cannot fault them for that because they are essentially paying
for it. Also, I believe that the National Guard has made me a
more marketable person, and when my education is over, I hope
being more marketable aids me in securing not just a job, but a
career.
The problem with this is how do I convey to potential
employers the significance of what I have done, experienced,
and learned in the National Guard? Resumes are the most popular
way of conveying these things. Some of my experiences are
difficult to put in a resume.
If I put ``led over 150 combat missions in Afghanistan'' in
my resume, most employers would not understand the significance
of that, nor would many soldiers know how to convert that into
a resume-friendly statement. One way soldiers could translate
their skills into civilian terms would be to get help from a
resume-writing professional. I could receive help on my resume
from the career center at my school, but I feel that they don't
understand what I have done either. So the significance of it
won't be conveyed in my resume if they help me.
I am lucky enough to go to a school that has a large
veteran population. Someone is always available to critique my
resume if need be. Many National Guard soldiers are not that
lucky and must either drive long distances or email resumes to
more qualified help.
Educating job recruiters or resume helpers better on
military may help remedy the problem but is easier said than
done. I believe that by bringing in military resume-writing
professionals on drill weekends or by incorporating them more
at demobilization sites might better help the soldiers.
I am set to graduate in May, and I have been exploring job
possibilities of what I am qualified for. The economy may be
down, but there is a plethora of job postings on Internet job
search sites, companies' Web sites, and newspapers, et cetera.
The hard part becomes determining what employers are looking
for and if I am qualified.
I have spoken to many soldiers since returning from
Afghanistan, and this process is the only one that they are
having the most trouble with. A suggestion that a fellow
veteran presented to me would be to bring the job recruiters
from the mobilized units area to the demobilization site and
recruit from there.
Soldiers and recruiters would have a chance to speak about
qualifications, job descriptions, and even do interviews if
need be. Even if soldiers did not get hired, they would have an
understanding of what employers are looking for and how to
better prepare themselves for the job search once their
mobilization is over.
I appreciate what the Government and the military have done
for me, but I think more can be done to help soldiers, sailors,
airmen, and Marines. I have noticed things improving in my 6
years in the military, from drill to drill and deployment to
deployment. There are many new programs starting up throughout
the country and within our Government that are dedicated to
helping veterans, which is a sign of forward progress.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my testimony. I would be
honored to answer any questions that the Committee might have.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to testify, and
thank you for all the Committee does for my fellow veterans.
[The prepared statement of Nathan Rose appears on p. 42.]
Mr. Stutzman. All right. Thank you.
Captain Aaron Robinson, we will take your testimony.
STATEMENT OF AARON L. ROBINSON
Captain Robinson. Good morning. My name is Aaron Robinson.
I live with my wife and my two children in Des Moines. I am a
commissioned officer with the Iowa Army National Guard, and I
have recently returned from a 1-year deployment in Afghanistan.
In my civilian career, I am currently pursuing jobs related
to project management and data analysis. I want to share with
you some of the impressions that I have had.
Is that better? Okay.
I would like to start today with three impressions I have
had looking for a job post deployment. First, repeated military
deployments have given Iowans like me world-class skills and
experiences, but these are not widely recognized or rewarded
when searching for civilian work in our home State.
Second, employers are nearing the exhaustion part of their
patriotic feelings towards veterans. Despite the laws existing
protecting against discrimination based on military service,
employers seem to shy away from hiring citizen soldiers.
Third, searching for a job while deployed overseas is next
to impossible, and waiting until after deployment adds stress
to an already stressful situation, reintegrating with family
and friends. Let me tell you where I am coming from.
I grew up on a farm approximately an hour west of Des
Moines in Yale and graduated from Perry High School in 1992. I
studied mass communications at Grand View College in Des
Moines. And after college, I bounced around to various retail
jobs.
I enlisted in the Iowa National Guard in 1998. I was
trained as a tank mechanic. In 2002, I continued my time with
the National Guard, and I commissioned as an officer in armor.
I married my wife, Kate, in 2003 and was deployed to Kosovo. My
child, Amelia, was born at the same time.
When I returned home, I transferred to military
intelligence and attended multiple military schools. In my
civilian career, I worked as an employment counselor for
homeless veterans and as a general manager for a convenience
store. After that, I spent a number of years on temporary full-
time active duty status here in Iowa, helping train and
mobilize more than 16 National Guard units for overseas
training.
Last year, I was deployed to Afghanistan, where I served as
the intelligence officer for the 113th Cavalry Squadron. The
experiences I received there were excellent, and I could not
have received them anywhere else.
Since coming home to Iowa in July, I have been steadily
looking for work. As of today, I have been unable to find any.
I know I am not alone.
For example, an enlisted soldier of mine that was our
database manager for our security clearances--and that was 500
pieces of information, that is about the size of a small
company--wasn't able to find a job. To add insult to injury, he
can't even find work in his old civilian application as a
welder.
I face similar challenges as my friend, trying to figure
out how to translate my military language into human resource
speak. After some resume coaching, I found that work in
intelligence most closely applies to business analysis and
project management.
However, unlike my purely civilian counterparts, I am not
necessarily versed in the latest business acronyms and
buzzwords, which increase my likelihood of getting through H.R.
filters. Also, while I am proficient in military computer
software and hardware, I am not specifically trained in systems
most familiar to potential civilian employers.
Employers, politicians, and even the media talk up certain
ideas about veterans. They are hard working. They are
motivated, that we are mission focused and people focused, and
we handle pressure extremely well. Beyond this and the
occasional job fair and welcome home, we don't seem to get a
lot of practical help getting hired.
I had said this many times. Everybody wants to help, but no
one really seems to know how. I have received lots of well-
intended suggestions, sometimes conflicting. But none of them
have gotten me much farther in my job search.
Maybe employers are getting burned out. Ten years of war
and Iowa's river floods and blizzards and other State
emergencies might do that. Maybe they are worried that I am
going to deploy again. Maybe they really don't see the economic
values inherent to my military skills and experiences.
I know times are tough for a lot of Iowans. I don't want to
get a job just because I am a veteran. But I would like to at
least get a chance to get an interview and prove that I am a
good employee. I also want to keep my family in Iowa to give my
kids the same values and experiences that I had.
But for now, my family's life is on hold. The military gave
me time after deployment to unwind and reintegrate and get into
a normal life. I don't feel like I have done that. I plan on
going back to school. I have been putting it off because of the
lack of stability in my life and the life of my family.
Interviewers don't ask me about my military experience, but
they know it is there. If I didn't put it on my resume, they
would know from talking to me. I am proud of the work I have
done and some of the people I have served with. I am just an
Iowa farm kid that got a chance to do some exciting things in
some pretty unpleasant places with some really great people.
I just want to get back to my civilian life, get a normal
job, and be a regular person for a while. My wife and my kids
would like that, too.
Thank you for my opportunity to share my experiences.
[The prepared statement of Aaron L. Robinson appears on p.
44.]
Mr. Stutzman. Well, thank you.
And I would like to ask a couple of questions, and then
Congressman Braley has some as well.
First of all, thank you just to both of you again for your
service. Your stories are very compelling, and I am sure, as
you said, there are others that have the same stories. I grew
up as a farm kid as well. So I know the background that you
have, but the challenges that you face are, obviously, very
frustrating, I am sure, to you and your family.
To both of you, what type of transition services have you
received from the Iowa National Guard or DoD following your
deployment?
Sergeant Rose. At demobilization site, they give us
briefings on different help that is available, as well as
overviews of that help. And then we have what is called a
``Yellow Ribbon event,'' where we go to more briefings that
tell us about all of the services that are available to us or
if we need help where to go.
Captain Robinson. Can I piggyback on that?
Sergeant Rose. Yes.
Captain Robinson. Okay. Of course, my experiences are very
similar to his. I have had the opportunity to also talk with
Iowa Workforce Development and their vet reps out in Des
Moines. They have been great.
I have talked with JSEP. I sent my resume to them for some
resume critiquing. Those are probably the big ones.
The Yellow Ribbon event was a really good job of putting
all the information I think that you really need to know in one
spot. But if you didn't want to run it down, I don't know if
you really got it. Because a lot of people come in and say,
``We will help,'' but I didn't really see----
Sergeant Rose. It seems like it is just more of an
overview, like, ``This is available to you,'' but you have to
go do it on your own. You have to go find it on your own.
Mr. Stutzman. Well, Staff Sergeant Rose, you mention in
your testimony that ``a suggestion that a fellow veteran
presented to me would be to bring job recruiters from the
mobilized units area to the demobilization site and recruit
from there.'' Can you kind of follow up on that a little bit
more and how that works?
Sergeant Rose. Well, his idea was that like since a lot
of--in Iowa, you could bring in the companies from like Des
Moines, Waterloo, the bigger areas that are actually
recruiting, and you could bring their recruiters up to
demobilization site. And then, once there, while we are going
through the process of demobilizing, you could also have them
there.
So the people that need jobs or are going to look for jobs
once they come off active duty, they could talk to them there.
And then if the recruiters liked what they saw, they could set
up interviews, maybe hire from there. If not, at least people
would know what is out there, what is needed to actually get a
job when they come back.
Mr. Stutzman. Okay. And then, Captain Robinson, have you
utilized the services provided at the One-Stop by DVOP or
LVERs? And if so, did you find these services helpful at all?
Captain Robinson. I don't believe I have at this time.
Mr. Stutzman. Do you know what those--the DVOPs and LVERs
were. Were those presented to you at all?
Captain Robinson. You know, they throw so much stuff at us
in such a short period of time that you do almost get--it
almost becomes white noise. I know what DVOP is. I have been
lucky enough to work with them on the periphery before. But I
haven't used them.
Really, one of the bigger things I have used since I have
been home is the Iowa Workforce Development.
Mr. Stutzman. Okay. That is who they work for? Yes. So you
should be working with--you say you are working with Workforce
Development? That is what we call it in Indiana?
Captain Robinson. Yes, absolutely.
Mr. Stutzman. Okay. And then, what was your civilian job
before you went on your most recent deployment?
Captain Robinson. Well, I went on active duty operational
support back in I think it was--might have been '08. I was on
long enough everybody thought I was active duty. I was actually
working for a convenience store.
I had gone--I was working for the convenience store. They
were great. While I went to active duty operational support,
they downsized themselves by about 36 stores, and they
liquidated all the employees. So there is no job there anymore.
Prior to that, like I said, I have worked with the
Department of Labor, HVRP, Homeless Veterans Reintegration
Program, and that is probably the one I put more towards. I
worked with them for about a year and a half.
Mr. Stutzman. Now did you mention you were a welder or your
friend was a welder?
Captain Robinson. My friend was a welder, sir.
Mr. Stutzman. Your friend was a welder. What happened with
him?
Captain Robinson. The company that he was working with is
not hiring. He also came on early. We brought him on early to
do our database management for our security clearances. He came
on early, and when he went back to his job, they said they
weren't hiring.
I think he probably falls into what you call an
``underemployed.'' ``Oh, well, if I lose my job while I am
gone, I don't really care. I am not going to make a fight out
of it. I am going to be gone for a year and a half'' is kind of
what he was thinking. When he came back, now he kind of--when
he could have run something down earlier, I think he lost that
opportunity.
Mr. Stutzman. Yes. I mean, would you feel that you or him,
your rights were violated under USERRA as far as a job?
Captain Robinson. I don't think that my rights--I can't
comment to this soldier, but I can comment to mine. I don't
think my rights were violated. I think they have had 10 years
to find new and creative ways not to violate your rights, if
you are somebody who is going to be an issue. H.R. people, I am
sure, figured out the way.
But I don't think necessarily my rights are violated. And
honestly, I don't want to go back to a company that was going
to make it a big deal. I want to work for a company that wants
to have me.
Mr. Stutzman. Right.
Captain Robinson. I don't want to have one I have to fight
to stay with.
Mr. Stutzman. Yes. I appreciate that.
Congressman Braley.
Mr. Braley. Thank you.
I want to thank both of you for your eloquent testimony.
You both touched on something that we hear over and over at our
Economic Opportunity Subcommittee hearings. Staff Sergeant
Rose, you said in your statement, ``How do I convey to
potential employers the significance of what I have done,
experienced, and learned in the National Guard?'' which was
incredibly eloquent.
And Captain Robinson, you said that you are trying to
figure out how to translate military language into civilian
human resources speak. And as I am sitting here, I am thinking
what we really need is a Rosetta Stone program for people
coming off of active duty or Guard and Reserve service and for
human relations employees and companies who are looking to hire
them.
Because so much of what you did and the experiences you had
have valuable application in the civilian work setting, but we
seem to have an extraordinary challenge of bridging that gap
between the two worlds. So do either of you have suggestions on
what we can tell civilian employers to help them better
understand how you were shaped by your experiences and why that
makes you a valuable employee?
Captain Robinson. I will go first. Okay. I think your use
of the term like a ``Rosetta Stone'' is a great idea. I think
everyone understands, especially when they talk about
officers--NCOs, staff sergeants, and above--equals leadership.
And I have never met anybody that doesn't go, okay, well, yes,
you obviously have leadership skills.
That is great. I also can do database management. I have
also worked negotiation skills. I have worked with multiple
different countries while I was deployed. And some kind of
Rosetta Stone, yes, that would say ``if I am an intelligence
officer, this is what skills I picked up'' would be great.
Same thing with a mechanic or an infantryman or a medic I
think is the way we need to go because when I say mechanic, you
know kind of what he or she can do if they were in the service.
But when I say intelligence officer, outside of the snickers
that come from everybody else that has ever been in the
military, you don't really know what I am doing.
[Laughter.]
Captain Robinson. And how to translate those less parallel
ones would be great.
Mr. Braley. Staff Sergeant Rose.
Sergeant Rose. It is tricky. It is easy to identify
problems, but it is hard to come up with the solutions. Maybe
just employers need a better understanding of the military
overall because like you said, like officer and NCO is a
leadership position. But if I tell someone I was a
noncommissioned officer, they are either going to go Google it
and read the first thing that, okay, he is a noncommissioned
officer. You led people in Afghanistan or Iraq.
But then, still, that is not telling them what I did. It is
just a real quick overview. It is a very broad view of what I
have done. If they had some better process of me being able to
list what I have done and then have better understanding of
that, they may be able to translate it better what they are
thinking. Like I said, it is a tough problem to solve.
Mr. Braley. But do you think that programs like the one
that I saw down at Camp Shelby where civilian employers were
actually given the opportunity to travel to your pre-deployment
training area and get to experience more of the world you were
preparing to enter and spend time with you, do you think those
programs are helpful in terms of bridging some of the gaps of
understanding you have identified?
Sergeant Rose. I think so because then they actually get to
see us in the environment we work in. Even though it is
training, but it is training to be in the actual theater. But I
believe it would be helpful.
They would see how--what officers do for their men, what
NCOs do for their men, what the privates and the specialists
and all of them do out there in the training environment and
what they are actually responsible for and things like that.
So, yes, I believe that it would be extremely helpful.
Mr. Braley. Captain Robinson, as I was reading from my
father's discharge papers, could you identify with some of
those things, as a farm kid growing up in Iowa?
Captain Robinson. I did. And I will be honest, I never
would have wanted to go back to farming. But----
Mr. Braley. The reason I ask you that is you made a comment
in your statement that veterans don't seem to get a lot of
practical help in getting hired, and I think this is one of the
biggest problems I hear of. We hear of this on the Committee
all the time.
We had General Petraeus's wife, Holly, testifying at one of
these get-togethers, and they were all talking about what we
can do to better inform veterans when they are being
demobilized of all of their legal rights and how to protect
themselves. And I said, you know, back in Iowa, we would just
give somebody a refrigerator magnet, and they would have that
on the refrigerator. And when they needed that 800-number, they
would know where to find it.
And Senator Rockefeller was at that meeting, and he was, I
think, pretty shocked by the fact that a refrigerator magnet
might be an actual practical thing to help people in a time of
need.
Captain Robinson. It is right there. I mean, you are
absolutely right. I like to start with the fact that if I knew
what the golden answer was to being able to be employed, I
wouldn't probably be here today. I know it is a tongue-in-cheek
statement, but it is absolutely true.
It is amazing how just in the few months that I have been
home how my job search has changed from for some reason, when I
first came home, I felt like it was the most important thing I
needed to get done. And then I tried to take a breath and tried
to really enjoy being home with the family.
And then, once again, I am coming back to, oh, yes, I need
to have a job because if I don't have one not only am I not
working, but I am driving my wife insane, and it is time to go
away--for anybody who has ever been there. But being able to
call somebody when it is time to look for work I think is a
great idea.
Mr. Braley. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Stutzman. Captain Robinson, I would like to ask just a
couple of questions yet. Have you had any interviews since you
have been back?
Captain Robinson. Ironically, the only interview I have had
I got from a conversation I started while I was in Afghanistan,
and then my second one will be tomorrow. I am not getting
interviews. And I have actually talked to my civilian
counterpart friends, saying the interviews aren't coming for
anyone, or at least they aren't where I am looking and in the
venue I am.
So I don't really get any feedback. I never know if my
resume is good. I don't know if I am putting the wrong thing
out there. And that is the hardest thing. With no feedback, I
don't know if I am right or wrong. I could be completely off
base.
Mr. Stutzman. Yes. Because that is what I am wondering.
What are the reasons for not furthering their interest in you?
Are you hearing anything from any of your friends, either one
of you, on some of the reasons why they may not be hiring?
I know we are in a tough economy and things like that. That
doesn't make the job any easier for anybody. But I mean, both
of you, I mean, represent a lot of men and women across this
country that people should be looking to to hire.
Captain Robinson. I believe it is a hard time just of the
year to hire, to be honest. As we get closer to the end of the
year, more people take more time off. H.R. people aren't nearly
as vested in that. So I think that plays into it.
But everyone I have talked to, and I have gotten phone
calls and texts and every other version of communication we
have these days, on people saying, ``I am not getting calls
back either.'' I am putting out. I know people who have put out
15 resumes and haven't gotten a call back.
So these are all veterans. I mean, we are all in the same
boat. But like I said, I don't know if it is because we are
veterans or if it is just because nobody is getting a call
back.
Sergeant Rose. I have talked to quite a few veterans as
well that echo that statement. They are not getting calls back.
I have talked to one soldier. He has expanded his search from
the Iowa/Minnesota area to the whole country, and he is still
not getting calls back. And he is not sure why.
I mean, he has used the resume help. He has done things
like that, but he is just still not getting calls.
Mr. Stutzman. If we were able to offer the active duty
Transition Assistance Program at locations around Iowa, do you
think you would take time or others that you know would take
time to attend any of those?
Captain Robinson. I can say for myself, I would. I am also
lucky enough to live relatively close. Living in Des Moines, it
is very easy when one of those things pops up because it is
probably going to be close to me.
But if you live in Waterloo and it is in Des Moines, if you
live in Sioux City and it is in Des Moines, I think it is even
harder out there. Because of the squadron, a lot of people are
in Sioux City, and that is the people I talk to. I would
absolutely go.
Mr. Stutzman. Okay.
Sergeant Rose. Oh, I was also going to say that I feel that
some of the younger soldiers don't quite fully understand the
importance of programs like that. So it is really tough to get
them to go to events like that because they are still young.
They still have that kind of carefree attitude.
I am not saying all of them are like that, but I am saying
a lot of them that I know are. So it is very tough to get them
to voluntarily go to a program like this when it is tough to
see a year or two down the road for them.
Mr. Braley. Well, I am just struck by the fact that you are
referring to people as younger soldiers, Staff Sergeant Rose.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Braley. Because from where I sit, you look like a young
soldier. But I had the great privilege of traveling home from
Atlanta with Staff Sergeant Rose and getting a chance to meet
Captain Robinson today. I would just say that any employer
would be lucky to have either of you.
And if you are representative of the people we are
producing in the Iowa National Guard, this State should be very
proud. And we thank you and wish you the best of luck in the
future.
Mr. Stutzman. Thank you to both of you, and appreciate your
testimony. It has been very helpful to both of us and our
staff. And at this time, you are excused.
And please feel free to keep in contact. I am sure
Congressman Braley would love if you stayed in contact with his
office, and anything that we could ever do to help. But we
really appreciate you, and at this time, we will excuse both of
you and invite our second panel now to join us.
The second panel is going to consist of Ms. Stacy
Litchfield with Deere and Company. Mr. Kerry Studer--I hope I
said that right.
Major Studer. Studer.
Mr. Stutzman. Studer, okay. It is kind of like Stutzman--
``Stootzman,'' ``Stutzman.'' And he is with the Principal
Financial Group. Ms. Stacey May with Honkamp, Krueger and
Company. And finally, Mr. Tim Carson with Rockwell Collins.
I want to welcome all of you to this hearing and thank you
for your time this morning, and we are anxious to hear what you
all have to say. And we will start with Ms. Litchfield with
Deere and Company. Each of you will have 5 minutes to share
your testimony with us.
So, Ms. Litchfield.
STATEMENTS OF STACY LITCHFIELD, REGIONAL MANAGER, TALENT
ACQUISITION AND PERFORMANCE CONSULTING, DEERE AND COMPANY,
MOLINE, ILLINOIS; MAJOR KERRY M. STUDER, USA, ASSISTANT
MANAGING DIRECTOR, COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE DIVISION, PRINCIPAL
FINANCIAL GROUP, WATERLOO, IOWA; STACEY MAY, MANAGER, TAX
CREDIT PROGRAM, HONKAMP, KRUEGER AND COMPANY, P.C., DUBUQUE,
IOWA; AND TIMOTHY J. CARSON, MANAGER, VETERANS INITIATIVES,
OFFICE OF DIVERSITY, ROCKWELL COLLINS, INC., CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA
STATEMENT OF STACY LITCHFIELD
Ms. Litchfield. Thank you.
Congressman Braley and distinguished Members of the
Committee, my name is Stacy Litchfield. I am the U.S. regional
manager for talent acquisition with Deere and Company. On
behalf of John Deere, thank you for the opportunity to provide
testimony today on this important topic.
John Deere is a worldwide leader in providing advanced
products and services for agriculture, forestry, construction,
turf care, landscaping, and irrigation. We are a leading
manufacturer of off-highway diesel engines and one of the
largest equipment finance companies in the United States. We
have operations in 30 U.S. States.
As an employer, we focus on attracting, developing, and
retaining the best global talent from all backgrounds. At
times, our recruiting efforts focus on access and visibility to
specific groups. One is veterans.
We identify organizations that provide the broadest reach
and help our staffing team leverage various military recruiting
initiatives and related events. John Deere staffing
participates in several recruiting events targeting veterans,
including career fairs, conferences, and virtual career fairs.
We also work directly with the military when appropriate,
and we have participated in the Army Partnership for Youth
Success, PaYS, Program since its inception. Young men and women
can enter the service knowing that they will receive
specialized training and develop skills that are in demand in
the private and public sectors, and Deere gets access to a pool
of skilled candidates.
John Deere is also active in a variety of outreach programs
and job boards that help us connect with veterans who offer a
broad array of skills and experiences. We also work with
military staffing organizations to recruit veterans. For
example, the Army Partnership Program, a job posting and resume
database, has provided us with candidates for both mid-career
and wage positions.
Along with employing veterans, we support programs that
help veterans start businesses and become suppliers to
companies like ours. Our suppliers include about 200 veteran-
owned businesses and about 50 businesses owned by service-
disabled veterans.
At John Deere, we recognize that engaged employees working
together create a competitive advantage. We cultivate an
environment of inclusive teamwork through programs such as our
employee networks. One of these resource groups is composed of
employees who have a connection to the U.S. military. The group
brings employees together to build relationships, provide
support, and sponsor military outreach activities.
Deere also has military leave of absence provisions for
Reservists and Guardsmen who are called up for active duty in
Iraq and Afghanistan. To help ease the financial hardship
endured by these soldiers and their families, Deere voluntarily
provides up to 2 years of differential pay, where applicable,
along with health benefits, life insurance, and other benefits.
The impact on retention has been significant. Since 2001,
more than 200 Deere employees have been deployed. Over 96
percent of those soldiers still work for John Deere.
Even though veterans are purposely included in our
recruiting, development, and retention efforts, we do face
challenges in effectively bringing them into our organization.
First, with the variety of organizations and job boards
available, it is difficult to determine the best way to connect
with job candidates from the military workforce.
Our recommendation would be a central data source that
offers links to standardized job, industry, and geographic
classification codes to other reported Federal labor,
employment, economic, and census data. This would help improve
results for job posting visibility among the right candidates.
Additionally, many veterans are challenged to translate
their education and skills to fit requirements for nonmilitary
positions. Transitioning military may also be at a disadvantage
without accreditation or certification required by some
professions.
To remedy this, all levels of government could implement
solutions that effectively balance current challenges with
educational system gaps, the accreditation of job seekers, and
the fiscal demands and resources of employers.
In closing, I want to highlight again the importance,
priority, and demonstrated focus John Deere places on hiring,
outreach, skill development, and training of veterans. Thank
you again for the opportunity to share our views and on
improving employment opportunities for veterans.
I would be happy to answer any questions.
[The prepared statement of Stacy Litchfield appears on p.
45.]
Mr. Stutzman. Good. Thank you.
Mr. Studer.
STATEMENT OF KERRY M. STUDER
Major Studer. Thank you.
Chairman Stutzman, Ranking Member Braley, and Members of
the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the
Principal Financial Group's commitment to protecting the rights
of veterans and our Guard and Reserve members.
I am Kerry Studer, a recently deployed Army major and
assistant managing director at Principal Financial Group in
their Commercial Real Estate Division. I have been mobilized on
deployments 3 times over my 22-year military career and had the
opportunity to see firsthand how two different civilian
employers and one university handled those such deployments.
Principal, as an employer with more than 200 veteran and
military employees, with the experience of having 9 employees
on emergency leave in the last 2 years, Principal is committed
to protecting the job rights of employees who serve their State
and country through the uniformed services. I am here today to
talk about that such commitment.
I have submitted a formal written statement, which I would
like to summarize in these verbal comments today with really
three primary areas of focus. One, what we are doing on the
front end in getting more veterans within our Principal ranks.
Two, what we are doing to support our current veterans and
employees that are currently within our ranks. And three, and
probably most importantly, what are currently doing to increase
awareness of corporate and community outreach within central
Iowa.
Recruiting and retention. The Principal has clearly
targeted outreach efforts in order to attract and retain
military employees and veterans. We have a successful hiring
process of previously deployed soldiers with a specific target
on really focusing on co-ops and internship programs of those
students that are currently in or completing their 4-year
degree.
Over the last 10 years, there is a lot of soldiers that
have not had the opportunity to sit, unannounced, in a 4-year
academic institution and complete their degree. Whether it be
one or two deployments, we find that this is a current process.
When hiring constraints tend to be tough, we have really
focused in on these co-op opportunities. It is a 9-month
snapshot to bring them in-house, get them out of their academic
curriculum and get them exposed to corporate America before
they complete their degree to give them a little bit more
snapshot and guidance in corporate America.
We also proactively participate in veteran-focused career
fairs, such as the upcoming Hiring Heroes event scheduled in
early November. And we think it is important not only to have
H.R. support there, we took a step above, and we are sending
30--over 30, actually, current veterans that are within our
ranks at Principal to really act as ambassadors of what it is
like to work at Principal. And sometimes we feel that these
veterans do a better job of bridging that gap between deployed
veterans and the H.R. area.
Our internal support of our military and our military
families, what I call kind of creating a culture, it is well
documented. We are a recent Freedom Award recipient. But I
wanted to highlight just a few things about Principal and what
they did to me as my deployment.
Not only did my company support me, my family, and my unit,
they took the time to understand what the deployment did to
both the soldier and the families back at home. While H.R.
guidelines and corporate support are all important to success
in supporting deployed soldiers, we think the very best
companies take that personal approach to company support and
extend that assistance at a very personal level. It is that
personal touch that, in my personal opinion, solidifies the
relationship both to and from that soldier and corporate
America.
We think awareness is the key to driving additional
support. Our CEO, Larry Zimpleman, is very involved in
supporting the Guard and Reserves. A member of our senior
management, usually which is Larry, provides a keynote address
every year near Veterans Day to our current employees. The
nature of this event varies from year to year. But this year,
we are providing all of our units, all of our veterans within
our ranks a military coin that just says ``Thank you from
Principal.''
While this may seem like a small token from senior
leadership, I have personally been to these events. It is a way
that veterans can get together within the ranks not only to
talk about their experiences, but to talk about other veterans
that they know and how we can bridge the gap in getting more
veterans into our ranks.
Most veterans are generally humble in nature, but our
senior executives take the time each and every year to remind
each of the veterans of their personal sacrifice and the fact
that our company generally appreciates their service.
Community outreach and support. Senior leaders at the
Principal, I can attest personally and publicly, express the
support of their military employees, family members, and
veterans through a number of things. When I think one of the
most important items that we do is we recently did a hosting of
an Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve statement at a
workshop event.
While these happen across all States and they have happened
certainly within Iowa, I think the components of this in
bringing other corporate citizens to an event, highlighting one
corporate supporting this with the right people, the right
members, the right venue, and the right passion, we have seen
that these events can spread the word within corporate America
on what value these veterans bring to the table and what ways
we can do to attract and do best practices of bridging those
gaps.
To close, as I mentioned earlier, I have been mobilized or
deployed 3 times in my 22 years of military service. Without
question, the Principal has set itself apart from all others in
supporting me and my family. The cumulative effect of all the
programs, events, and activities I have mentioned today is a
work environment where military and veteran employees feel
supported in their military leave while they are away and of
value for the service they have provided for their State or
country once they return.
While senior management can lead with the support and
encouragement, each department and every individual at all of
our companies plays a vital role in creating that supportive
culture. I can't say enough about the commitment that the
leaders and employees have shown personally and publicly by
expressing support of the military and veterans at Principal
and beyond.
I am lucky to be a citizen of this great country. I am now
a retired major in the United States Army and an employee of
the Principal. I feel I have benefitted from the best-case
scenario in terms of the relationship between my military
service and my employment at Principal.
What we need now is for more companies to step up, create a
platform for even more best-case scenarios so that they can
become the norm, not the exception. I look forward to that
happening, and I am happy to help in any way.
I am honored to be here today. Thank you for your time.
[The prepared statement of Kerry M. Studer appears on p.
46.]
Mr. Stutzman. Thank you, and thank you for your service as
well.
Ms. May.
STATEMENT OF STACEY MAY
Ms. May. Chairman Stutzman, Ranking Member Braley, and
Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to
speak today.
I am Stacey May. I work at Honkamp Krueger out of Dubuque,
Iowa, and we have a little bit different take than some of the
other committee members today, or people doing testimony.
Honkamp Krueger has a service that we provide to our clients
that benefits veterans, and so that is what I am going to talk
about today.
According to the Department of Labor, the unemployment rate
for veterans ages 18 to 24 in 2010 was 20.9 percent. Even more
astonishing is that veterans as a whole accounted for a total
1.02 million people looking for work in the United States.
To make matters worse, on October 5th, Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben Bernanke warned, while addressing Congress, that
the economic recovery, as it currently stands, ``is close to
faltering''. He later stated, ``We need to make sure that the
recovery continues and doesn't drop back and that unemployment
rate continues to fall''.
To sum it up, we need action, action to keep this economic
recovery going and action to make sure businesses continue to
hire, otherwise, the unemployment rate for veterans and the
country as a whole will continue down a path toward higher
unemployment and further economic turmoil.
I believe the core part of the action needed to sustain a
continued recovery is a permanent employment tax credit that
incentivizes business to hire. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit
does just that. The WOTC program is a perfect example of a
successful Government program that rewards businesses for
hiring employees from certain target groups that have
consistently faced barriers in seeking employment.
These groups, known as target groups, include veterans,
people on Government assistance, the disabled, ex-offenders.
According to the Department of Labor, the WOTC program
processed 849,868 certificates in fiscal year 2010 that allowed
employers to claim the tax credit on their income tax return.
Currently, employers that hire qualifying employees generally
may be eligible for a 1-year Federal income tax credit worth
anywhere from $1,200 to $4,800 and, in some cases, a 2-year
credit worth up to $9,000.
Unfortunately, the WOTC program is set to expire at the end
of the year, December 31, 2011, which would be an additional
blow to the veteran community when seeking employment.
I believe that we can get our unemployed veterans back to
work with the WOTC program by making three changes. One, make
the Work Opportunity Tax Credit permanent. Since its creation
in 1996, the WOTC program has been up for renewal eight times.
By making the program permanent, it would add stability in the
hiring process.
Two, expand the program by adding a target group for hiring
unemployed veterans. President Obama mentioned this in his
proposed American Jobs Bill, naming it the ``returning heroes
tax credit.'' It would allow unemployed veterans to qualify
their employer for WOTC.
Three, increase the maximum tax credit amount an employer
may receive for hiring qualified veterans. Increasing the tax
credit amount would further incentivize employers to hire
veterans.
The unemployment rate for the veterans in our country is
too high. We need action by our leaders in Washington to help
veterans who served our country get back to work. With
modifications to the WOTC program, such as making the WOTC
program permanent, creating an unemployed veterans target
group, and increasing the tax credit for hiring veterans, it
will not only fuel employers to create jobs, it will fuel
employers to hire our brave veterans.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Stacey May appears on p. 50.]
Mr. Stutzman. Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Carson.
STATEMENT OF TIMOTHY J. CARSON
Mr. Carson. Thank you.
Congressman Stutzman, Congressman Braley, my name is Tim
Carson, and I serve as a manager of veterans initiatives with
the Office of Diversity at Rockwell Collins, a global aerospace
and defense company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
In my position, I work closely with Rockwell Collins human
resources organization and a variety of external partners to
promote outreach to veterans and veterans organizations. I am
pleased to have the opportunity to talk to you today, and I
appreciate that you are taking time to listen to the
perspectives of business and the community.
It is particularly germane to this State, which has one of
the highest number of per capita Reservists serving on active
duty of any State in the union. And on behalf of Rockwell
Collins, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for
the invitation to speak about the importance of helping
veterans secure meaningful employment.
The valuable service these men and women provide is
undeniable and so are the core skills they developed in the
service--leadership, discipline, responsibility, and
technological savvy--that can be invaluable to civilian
employers.
However, today more than 870,000 young veterans are
unemployed, a rate higher than the national unemployment rate,
according to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. And
the wind-down of engagements abroad will lead to an additional
million seeking civilian employment in the next 5 years.
When Rockwell Collins talks about these soldiers, we are
not just speaking about them as a simple subpopulation amongst
all of today's unemployed. We are talking about the people that
we serve. They have relied upon our communication technology to
stay connected with their leadership in harsh, remote settings
around the globe.
They have used our navigation systems to ensure the
pinpoint accuracy of weapon systems in areas where civilians
and combatants often live side by side. They have identified
friend and foe with our helmet-mounted displays, and they have
given us feedback based on their own experiences to make these
systems better for the next generation of warfighters.
We are grateful for their service and are dedicated to
helping them successfully transition from their military
service and bring their skills and experiences to the civilian
workforce. To that end, Rockwell Collins has always prioritized
the hiring and retention of veterans and advocates that
businesses across the State and Nation do so as well.
We also believe it is important for us and other companies
to partner with local and national organizations to ensure
veterans receive the counseling, training, and guidance that
they need to secure and make the most of meaningful employment
opportunities.
Today, I am going to talk about some of the initiatives
Rockwell Collins has pursued to build our veteran workforce and
the partnerships we maintain. These aren't necessarily the only
answer. In fact, I am sure there isn't one single answer to
this challenge. But we recognize that you are seeking a breadth
of ideas, and I think we have some good ones.
Internally, our company has practices and policies in place
to ensure that we attract and retain veterans and their spouses
as employees. Nearly 8 percent of our domestic workforce is
made up of veterans, and at any given time, a number of them
are serving active duty through the Guard and Reserve. In fact,
we are a strong advocate of the principles of the Iowa Employer
Support of the Guard and Reserve, or IESGR, which has been
mentioned.
The organization calls for companies to adhere to and go
beyond the provisions of the Uniformed Services Employment and
Reemployment Rights Act, including maintaining benefits,
contributing to employee 401(k)s during military active duty,
and maintaining vacation accrual and raises. Because Rockwell
Collins follows these guidelines and also promotes these
principles to others in the community, we have earned a five-
star rating from the IESGR.
We also recognize that legal issues can be a burden on Iowa
servicemen and women before, during, and after their deployment
and provide ongoing support of the Iowa Returning Veterans
Project to provide them with free legal assistance. Our human
resources group has a full-time recruiter devoted to
identifying and hiring military talent, and we allocate a
specific and growing percentage of our annual recruitment
advertising budget to military outreach.
Through these efforts, we have consistently grown our share
of veterans as a part of our total workforce, including a 4
percent increase over the past fiscal year. But there is more
to go.
Our leadership has identified the hiring of even more of
yesterday's warriors as a key business goal for fiscal year
2012. And we are launching an enterprise-wide strategy to
increase our outreach, recruitment, hiring, and retention
efforts for veterans and veterans with disabilities.
Once hired, we further the well-being and retention of
these individuals through a veterans employee network group,
corporate networking opportunities, and special engagements
such as transition think tanks and PTSD seminars. We
collaborate with the Veterans Administration and other subject
matter experts to ensure that the necessary supports and
services are made available and are also accessible to our
employees.
We also recognize the importance of supporting veterans
through our business contracting with suppliers. Year-to-date,
Rockwell Collins has spent $57 million, nearly 5 percent of
total corporate spending, with suppliers with veteran-owned
small businesses and $13.6 million with service-disabled
veteran-owned small businesses.
Now, we are fortunate to have gained some recognition for
these efforts. Rockwell Collins has been named a top 100
military-friendly employer by GI Jobs magazine for the past 2
years, and we strive every day to continue to deserve that
recognition. Beyond our own hiring practices, Rockwell Collins
seeks to support initiatives that promote hiring of veterans
across the Nation.
We are a proud corporate sponsor of the jobs and internship
program, a partnership championed by the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce and Student Veterans of America. In fact, we recently
made a significant contribution to the Chamber, specifically
earmarked for their partnership with the SVA and development of
the Hiring Our Heroes Initiative.
We attended the SVA's leadership summit and career fair
this past summer in Madison, Wisconsin, and we will support the
SVA's national conference this December as a corporate partner,
exhibitor, and employment panel participant.
An initiative that is a personal passion for me, we also
work to bring disabled veterans into the workplace through a
relationship with the National Organization on Disability,
known as NOD, and its Wounded Warriors program. As a primary
sponsor of the organization, one of our senior executives sits
on the board for NOD and is engaged in communicating core
messages, events, and opportunities for Rockwell Collins to
both support and influence.
And we continue to seek additional relationships or
opportunities to promote veteran hiring wherever we do business
and to talk about it at every opportunity, like we are here
today.
Now there is no one, single solution to the complex
challenge to veteran unemployment, and it is a pleasure to hear
from the other participants today and to get new ideas to
consider. But I hope that my and Rockwell Collins' contribution
to the conversation is helpful as you consider the public and
private strategies to tackle this issue.
These men and women willingly accepted one of our Nation's
most vital and precious responsibilities of protecting the
country from harm, and in turn, we commit to fulfill our
responsibility to help them put the unique and desirable skills
they developed in that endeavor to work for the well-being of
themselves, their families, and their future.
I welcome any questions you may have today, and I also
encourage you to contact Rockwell Collins if you would like to
know more specifics about some of the initiatives that I have
outlined for you here today.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Timothy J. Carson appears on p.
51.]
Mr. Stutzman. All right. Thank you very much to each of
your testimony. It has, again, been very helpful.
A couple of questions. Ms. Litchfield, I will start with
you. First of all, we have all John Deere on our farm. We do
have a couple of red ones. They are just for show, but----
Ms. Litchfield. I am glad to hear that.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Stutzman. In your written statement, you talked about
the difficulties in matching veterans with the appropriate
positions due to the numerous boards that are available. I am
sure that is a challenge. Can you talk a little bit about have
you ever used the National Labor Exchange's job board, run by
the Direct Employers Association, and kind of how can you--has
one board been more successful than another?
Ms. Litchfield. I can't speak specific to the job board
success or nonsuccess, but we are in a partnership with Direct
Employers Association. So we do use that particular job board.
In regards to matching skill sets with openings that we
have, I think it relates back to the comments we heard from
Captain Robinson and Staff Sergeant Rose related to being able
to clearly articulate what those skills and experiences are and
as they relate to specific job openings.
Each of our jobs are posted with specific requirements and
experiences that we are looking for in candidates. And much of
the process is an automated process, not an individual looking
through that. So sometimes it is difficult to get a direct
match when you are looking for key words or experiences on
those resumes. And so, that does become a challenge for us.
We have a number of openings right now in the U.S., and
many of them are targeted around specific technical skills that
we are hiring for. And sometimes we don't get access to the
candidates within the U.S. as well.
So those are some of the challenges that we are facing.
Mr. Stutzman. Okay. And Ms. May, you talked quite a bit
about the tax credit, and I would like to follow up a little
bit more on that because I like where you are going with that.
And one of the complaints that we have heard, though, is the
intensive paperwork that goes along with that.
I mean, can you touch on that, and anybody else on the
panel touch on that?
Ms. May. It is only two forms.
Mr. Stutzman. Two forms?
Ms. May. It is two forms. Two forms get added to the H.R.
paperwork, and they complete those when they do their new hire
paperwork. So when they are doing their W-4, they have these
two forms. They answer a few questions, and based on that, we
process and determine who is qualified and who is not. So it is
not that complicated, not too bad.
Mr. Stutzman. It doesn't sound too bad.
Ms. May. No.
Mr. Stutzman. Coming from an accounting background as well,
that doesn't, I mean, sound terribly hard.
Ms. May. No, now computing the credit can get a little bit
complicated because there are different target groups and
different levels, and the legislation continues to change. And
right now, there is pending legislation to add these two new
target groups.
So that is what we keep up on. So that makes it a little
complicated if you are trying to do it in-house and do it on
your own. But----
Mr. Stutzman. Okay. So doing it in-house might be more
difficult?
Ms. May. It may be because you would probably have to have
a specific person dedicated to doing it and keeping up with the
forms, sending them off to the appropriate State, then waiting
for a certificate to come back and then processing the credit.
Mr. Stutzman. Okay. If I am a small business owner and I am
looking to use the credit--which I am a small business owner
and didn't even know about the credit until becoming a Member
of Congress and a part of this committee--what, do you find
very many people interested in the credit, and how do they
usually hear about it?
Ms. May. They hear about it various ways. There are still
businesses out there that aren't doing it, yet it is something
that gets promoted. You know, of course, there are different
Government representatives talking about it. President Obama
has been talking about this, in particular. He hasn't actually
said the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, but yet when you are
talking about adding the veterans credit, it is specifically
for that program.
So, is there acknowledgment of the program out there for
businesses? Yes. There are some businesses--retail,
manufacturing, staffing, call centers--they are the ones that
are more prevalent doing that program. But small businesses can
benefit, too, because if they get one credit, if they are
hiring one veteran, they could get a credit of $2,400, $4,800.
Mr. Stutzman. And you mentioned increasing the tax credit.
Any number that you have in mind?
Ms. May. $5,600 for unemployed veterans and $9,600 for
hiring unemployed veterans with a service-connected disability
is what is out on the table right now.
Mr. Stutzman. Okay. And it is currently $2,400?
Ms. May. Correct. There is two veteran credits right now
currently with WOTC, and it is for a disabled veteran and for
somebody who has been on assistance and is also a veteran. So
those exist currently.
And then, a year ago, they actually had an unemployed
veteran as a target group, and that went away as of last year.
Which is what they are trying to bring that one back and then
increase the credit.
Mr. Stutzman. Do you find very many employers utilizing
those credits?
Ms. May. Definitely.
Mr. Stutzman. Yes?
Ms. May. And making thousands and thousands of dollars in 1
year, in 1 tax year. So there are a lot of companies that are
benefitting from the Work Opportunity Tax Credit program. It
would be a shame for it to go away.
Mr. Stutzman. Sure. Yes.
What do we normally extend it? You said in your testimony
that we have renewed it eight times since '96. So----
Ms. May. Typically, it is a 2-year renewal.
Mr. Stutzman. Yes.
Ms. May. Last time, because they extended--they didn't
renew it until December of the year that it needed to get
renewed. So because of the big delay, they did 3 years. And so,
that took us to the end of this year. And now the legislation
is for another 3-year extension.
Mr. Stutzman. Okay. Mr. Braley.
Mr. Braley. Well, Mr. Chairman, I am certainly not going to
let you upstage me on tractor discussions in my hometown of
Waterloo.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Braley. And Ms. Litchfield, that steel-type tractor my
father was driving was green. So let us just get that on the
record.
Ms. Litchfield. Okay.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Braley. One of the things that I was very interested in
is your job title because you are listed as the manager of
talent acquisition, and that got me thinking about the whole
focus of this hearing. Because most employers that I talk to,
when they are looking for someone to add to their workforce,
they are looking for someone who is highly motivated, who has
highly developed critical thinking skills, who has creative
problem-solving experience, and who is disciplined.
Does anybody disagree on this panel with what I just said?
[No response.]
Mr. Braley. And yet it seems like the two young men that we
heard from earlier certainly meet that criteria. Most of the
people who have experienced combat would not survive unless
they had some level of experience with all of those criteria.
Yet we have this enormous challenge of bridging the gap between
military service experience and civilian workforce demands.
So what can you share with us about those real world
challenges that employers face in trying to identify workers
who meet their job criteria and people like the two witnesses
we heard from on our first panel, who are ready, willing, and
able to work? How do we solve that problem?
Let us start with you, Ms. Litchfield.
Ms. Litchfield. Well, one of the challenges that I think we
face is there is a number of job boards that are available for
us to use to get access to military veterans and individuals
interested in working for our organization and others. And I
think if we could find a way to streamline how we get access to
the right candidates for the right type of skills, that helps
us then, in turn, get to a job opportunity for that individual
and for us to get access to talent to help support our business
objectives.
And so, I think one of the challenges that we do face is
there is a broad array out there for us to target and knowing
which ones get you the best access to the right candidates. We
have limited resources, just like any other organization does,
and so we want to make sure we are spending our money around
our advertising and our efforts targeted for recruiting on the
right types of activities.
So that would be one area that I think if we could come
together and figure out how we get access to the right skills
and capabilities to match up with the opportunities that we
have to offer.
Mr. Braley. I was kind of joking about that Rosetta Stone
thing, but in reality, the Chamber is putting a lot of money
into trying to help address this very problem.
Ms. Litchfield. Right.
Mr. Braley. And it seems to me that the DoD and Veterans
Affairs Departments, working in conjunction with private
employers, could do a better job of trying to bridge this gap.
Ms. Litchfield. Absolutely.
Mr. Braley. Major Studer.
Major Studer. Sure. I think it is obviously multiple front.
I have been impressed with the ESGR work. There is some resume-
building things that I think they have tapped into corporate
America on. Send H.R. people in a non-interview mode to get
soldiers over--most soldiers tend to be fairly humble.
When you come through and say, hey, how am I going to
compete for this job and orate the differences between what
this guy is doing in the civilian sector and what I have just
done for the last 12 months? I think there are a lot of things
to trump. But navigating and cross that bridge, they talked
about a lot of the previous testimony as kind of white noise,
but that last 30 days----
Mr. Braley. Death by PowerPoint?
Major Studer. A little bit. But the last 30 days in country
and then the first 90 days that you are back here, soldiers are
going through a lot. I think there are bridges to be built
between corporate America and not necessarily trying to reach
individual soldiers. But they all have a chain of command, a
peacetime chain of command.
We knew 3,500 soldiers were coming back to Iowa in a fairly
finite amount of time. I would like to say all corporate
citizens were as proactive as we should have been, but it is
kind of looking in building the bridge between I think the
military chain of command. They all have full-time civilian
staff.
That is one of the first people soldiers go to. ``Hey, my
unit administrator or my first sergeant, I need work.'' They
know about it there. It is just how do we get ``I need work''
from the unit itself to a corporate? A lot of endeavors on how
to bridge that, but it starts at the unit, and it ends at the
employer.
And that is where if we could have more, my opinion, more
resources dedicated to--some companies don't know the Reserve
units that are local to them. Some companies don't know how
many veterans they currently have employed. It is increasing
the awareness and starting the push.
Mr. Braley. Well, and let us face it. We have three of
Iowa's largest employers represented here, and the resources
your companies have to commit to this type of an outcome can be
different than a small mom-and-pop business that may be no less
patriotic in their commitment to hiring veterans, but just
doesn't have access to the same resources to help them make
these choices.
Ms. May.
Ms. May. I would agree with Mr. Studer. I mean, the time to
do it would be the time before they come back because there is
downtime. My husband was deployed, and there is time at that
point because of their downtime. I would think that would be
the great opportunity to start working with them and talking
about their resumes.
I mean, the people that are going to need to get jobs, they
do need to have the skills to be able to match up what is
needed in corporate America versus what their military
experience is, and I think that is key, and being able to do
that before they come home. Because when they come home, there
is a lot of challenges. Medically, there can be a lot of mental
things going on.
So if you try to do those things before they come back.
Plus, I think that would give them peace of mind. Having a job
and being employed is one of the most important things when you
come back.
Mr. Braley. Mr. Carson.
Mr. Carson. Yes. So I would say that some of the challenges
that we heard from the first panel are no different than those
that I faced 20 years ago when I got out of the Army, trying to
translate military experience and training and schooling into
the civilian workforce.
What, of course, amplifies that today is our economy. And I
think that it would be very helpful to continue to have these
public discussions maybe in town hall forums on a drill weekend
out at a Reserve center and get some of the larger employers
there, where we walk through the facilities and H.R.
representatives, hiring managers are able to see our soldiers
in action, in drill, and understand what they do and then have
a town hall discussion about that publicly.
Mr. Braley. Well, and you and Ms. Litchfield both talked
about the very important component of your companies'
businesses, which is small business suppliers who hire
veterans.
Mr. Carson. Yes. Exactly.
Mr. Braley. And I know, Ms. May, your company works with
many small businesses, and not every veteran wants or is
prepared to go to work for someone. And I think one of the
unaddressed issues that we need to spend more time talking
about is how we provide veterans who want to start their own
small business the resources to be successful when the rate of
failure for small business is so high and what types of
different programming we need to be offering them so they can
achieve their dreams of being a self-employed veteran some day,
too.
I see my time has expired, and so I will yield back, Mr.
Chairman.
Mr. Stutzman. Okay. Thank you very much.
I guess I would just like to ask all of you on this
particular panel. I mean, you heard the challenges that Mr.
Rose and Mr. Robinson are having, and I know there are many
more men and women that have the same challenges. But would,
just asking as maybe a committee here, just if you could talk
with them. And Mr. Rose mentioned challenges with his resume
and I know Mr. Robinson is looking for a job--any ideas?
Because I think that with their commitment to what they
have done for our country and also your commitment to what you
have done for job creation in this part of the country is
crucial. But also connecting people is really what a lot of
this is about.
So I want to say just thank you to all of you for what you
do do. Because I know we are going through some very difficult
times, and your testimony has been very helpful. Appreciate the
comments on tax credits and the challenges of connecting
people. We are just going to continue to have to work at it,
and I believe that we can be successful.
So, with that, we will excuse all of you. Thank you again
for coming.
And at this time, we would like to welcome our third and
final panel. Our third group of witnesses includes Colonel
Benjamin Corell with the Iowa National Guard. This would be
personal comments with Mark Hennessey, which I will explain in
a little bit.
And then Ms. Teresa Wahlert with Iowa Workforce Development
and Mr. Anthony Smithhart with the U.S. Department of Labor.
Of course, all of these will have 5 minutes. We had some
issues logistically with Mr. Hennessey's testimony. So he is
appearing on his own behalf today.
Mr. Hennessey. Yes, sir.
Mr. Stutzman. Which we appreciate you being here, and we do
want to hear from you personally.
So we will begin with Colonel Corell, and thank you for
your service, and we recognize you for 5 minutes.
STATEMENTS OF COLONEL BENJAMIN CORELL, COMMANDER, SECOND
BRIGADE COMBAT TEAM, IOWA NATIONAL GUARD, JOHNSTON, IOWA; MARK
HENNESSEY, IOWA COMMITTEE FOR EMPLOYER SUPPORT OF THE GUARD AND
RESERVE, JOHNSTON, IOWA; TERESA WAHLERT, DIRECTOR, IOWA
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, DES MOINES, IOWA; AND ANTHONY SMITHHART,
IOWA STATE DIRECTOR, VETERANS EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING SERVICE,
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
STATEMENT OF COLONEL BENJAMIN CORELL
Colonel Corell. Yes, sir. Chairman Stutzman, Congressman
Braley, I am Colonel Ben Corell. I am the commander of the
Second 34th Brigade Combat Team just returned from service in
Afghanistan, brought back about 3,100 troops to Iowa here in
the July time frame.
I am from a small town, too, and I take things in bite-
sized chunks, and up in the Strawberry Point area. Congressman
Braley knows this. But I look at what is the problem that we
are trying to identify here?
And from Ben Corell's perspective, I think we are looking
at Reserve and National Guard employers. And that is really my
framework here. I think that includes veterans, but I think it
is different when we talk about those coming off active duty.
They have ended their service. They are reentering the
workforce with really an active duty background behind them.
As I look at what we have done in the Reserve and National
Guard in the last 10 years, it is different because we continue
to go back to the well. We continue to ask our employers to
sacrifice as we continue to mobilize our Guard and Reserve for
contingency operations, whether it be combat, peacekeeping, and
in some cases, we have domestic responsibilities that we have
within the borders of our own States.
So I look at that a little bit differently. It is still the
same problems that we have as far as how do we keep those
soldiers employed? And how do we incentivize it to those Guard
and Reserve employers that says I am going to go through that
sacrifice?
Because at some point, the patriotic aspect of it loses its
attraction. You have to put some type of incentive that says I
clearly want to keep this not because of all those other things
that we talked about already in this hearing today about
discipline and hard work, but because it is now costing my
business something.
I will give you a little bit of my background. I have
deployed four times. The first time that I deployed, well, my
first 15 years in the Reserve components, I did just like the
commercial said, 1 weekend a month, 2 weeks in the summer. And
I went to the schooling requirements that I had.
In 2000, I had the opportunity to deploy into Saudi Arabia
as part of Operation Southern Watch. We secured Patriot missile
batteries. I thought that was my one and only opportunity to
deploy onto active duty outside the United States and serve my
country. So I took that with pride.
I came back home. And that fall, 9/11 happened. At that
time, I owned a small business. My brother-in-law and I were in
partnership together. We had a BP-Amoco tank wagon business up
in Strawberry Point, Iowa.
I deployed again in 2003-2004 to do a peacekeeping mission
in the Sinai. Came back. 2005, I deployed again as a battalion
commander to Iraq. We got extended. I was gone 1 week short of
2 years.
When I came back to my small business, my brother-in-law
said to me, ``You know, this isn't what I signed up for. We
built the business for both of us to operate and make a living
off of. It no longer fits my business model.'' So I said I will
go find something else to do.
But I think that is reflective of others who are small
business owners or who work for those small mom-and-pop
companies that only have a handful of employees. When one is
gone, it is a significant impact on that business.
And then I just returned from my fourth deployment as a
brigade commander into Afghanistan.
Our Nation's military has sacrificed a lot in the last 10
years. One percent of our population has served in uniform.
Take that out of the Reserve and the National Guard, I don't
believe that we could have been successful as a military
without the Reserve and National Guard with what we have added
to the fight, just based on my experience. And I think most of
my brothers on active duty would echo those same comments.
I think that we have spent a lot of time working very hard
on building resume-writing capabilities. We do job fairs for
our soldiers. We have a great team of ESGR representatives. A
lot of volunteers that go in, and we do lunch and learns. We do
those BOSS lists that Congressman Braley talked about.
But I think it has got to go beyond that. I think we have
to identify how do we make an incentive for an employer to hire
a Reserve and National Guardsman. I think the veterans piece of
it has to be included in that, but I think it is even more
difficult when we talk about Guard and Reserve, who continue to
be drawn away for different requirements.
At some point, the well starts to go dry. And I think as we
lay it out, if everything is equal, if I am that hiring board
member, if everything is equal, I am not sure that being a
member of the Guard and Reserve is a bonus when I look at that.
Even though they may have some additional leadership qualities,
that I don't really know how I quantitate that because I think
we have discussed that already.
But if everything else is equal, I am probably going to
lend the vote to this person that isn't in the Guard and
Reserve because I know they are going to be there every day,
and I know that I can count on them to be there. With what we
have done with the Guard and Reserve in the last 10 years, we
can't always say that.
So whether that is some type of tax incentive, whether that
is a grant, whether that is a forgivable loan, I think that is
where the focus has got to be so we have some type of a reward.
In my career, I worked in recruiting. And I know that when
times get tough, everything is the same, people are going to
join the Guard and Reserve because of patriotic commitment,
because it is in their family lineage, or it is just something
that they always wanted to do.
Once you run out of those folks, then everything equals
out, and you have to have some sort of incentive for those
people to come in and say, well, I want to go to college, what
can you give me? I want to help put food on the table, what can
you give me? What incentive do I have to do something different
to join the Guard and Reserve, compared to going and getting a
part-time job somewhere else?
And that is really what I see is the problem, how we
identify that piece. I think that is all I have. I have
submitted my written comments, and I will stand by for your
questions.
Thanks for the opportunity here.
[The prepared statement of Benjamin Corell appears on p.
54.]
Mr. Stutzman. Thank you.
Mr. Hennessey, we will go ahead and recognize you just for
some personal comments, if you would like?
STATEMENT OF MARK HENNESSEY
Mr. Hennessey. Absolutely. Thank you, gentlemen.
My name is Mark Hennessey. I live in Robins, and I am just
here as a concerned civilian.
My father was an Army vet. My father-in-law was a Navy vet.
I have numerous friends that have served and several friends
that are still active members of the Guard and Reserve, and
just somebody that has talked on both sides of that with local
employers in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area, as well as
veterans, and how to bridge that gap and get those two parties
together, help them understand the needs that the employers
have.
And as we talked about translating that military resume to
the civilian world, doing things that expand the initiatives,
such as the ESGR initiative, such as the BOSS lists, those
things like that. And so, it is just something that I hear
echoed throughout the community.
I am very involved in a lot of networking events. So I talk
with a lot of people, and that is something that I regularly
hear is how do we bridge that gap?
[The prepared statement of Mark Hennessey appears on p.
54.]
Mr. Stutzman. Thank you.
Mr. Smithhart, you are recognized for your testimony.
STATEMENT OF ANTHONY SMITHHART
Mr. Smithhart. Thank you, Congressman.
Chairman Stutzman, Ranking Member Braley, and Members of
the Committee, thank you for this opportunity to testify before
the Committee about the work we are doing at the Department of
Labor to address important issues of decreasing unemployment
rate for veterans, National Guard, and Reservists.
We also appreciate the--with over 240,000 veterans living
in a State, it is critical that we provide them with the
services and support they need to find and obtain good jobs. My
name is Tony Smithhart, and as Iowa State director for the
Department of Labor's Veterans Employment Training Service, I
am dedicated to helping our veterans and servicemembers
returning and achieve that goal.
VETS proudly serves veterans and transitioning
servicemembers by providing resources and expertise to assist
and prepare them to obtain meaningful careers, maximize their
employment opportunities, protect their employment rights. We
do this through a variety of nationwide programs that are an
integral part of Secretary Solis's vision of good jobs for
everyone.
I would like to begin by briefly discussing some of the
programs along with initiatives to assist America's veterans in
getting to or back to work from, and then focus specifically on
the information from Iowa that you requested.
The first program I would like to highlight for you is the
Jobs for Veterans State program. Under this program, the
department offers employment and training services to eligible
veterans by allocating funds to the State workforce development
agencies.
The Jobs for Veterans program funds two programs, the
Disabled Veterans Outreach Specialist and the LVERs.
Congressman Stutzman, you had mentioned and asked I think it
was Captain Robinson about that in Iowa. In Iowa, we absolutely
have the two programs, but it is primarily DVOPs, and we call
them veteran representatives. We put almost all of our
positions are DVOP. So when they come in, they see a DVOP, they
provide intensive services.
So if he is being seen by one of our veteran
representatives within the workforce, he is being case managed
or receiving intensive service, effective October 3rd. But we
call them vet reps, and there is a delineation, but they are
DVOPs because we only have one and a half LVERs. The rest are
DVOP. So absolutely we do that.
Last year, nationwide, the Jobs for Veterans State grant
provided services to nearly 589,000 veterans, 201,000 of those
found jobs. To meet the needs of homeless veterans and help
reintegrate them into the workforce, VETS administers the
Homeless Veteran Reintegration Program. Through HVRP, the
department provides competitive grants to States and local
workforce investment boards, State agencies, local public
agencies, and private nonprofits.
HVRP grantees provide an array of services utilizing a
holistic case management approach, directly assists homeless
veterans, provide training services to help them successfully.
Program year 2009, we had over 14,000 homeless veterans
participating in the program. Ninety-six grants, 8,470 were
placed into employment. The 2010 numbers are still not
available.
Here, in Iowa, we are very fortunate. We have two programs,
both of them located in the Iowa City area, with services being
provided in the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids and in the Quad Cities.
The Iowa City one is really new. This is their first year. It
started August 5 th. And the other one, the Quad Cities, is
very successful and love to show you that program if you would
like to take time to tour the facilities and meet with the
veterans. A really good program.
I think you can all read, and my time is running low. So I
will go to the information you asked about Iowa. You requested
information about veterans in Iowa. While some specific data is
unavailable, we have nevertheless been able to provide current
information.
As you know, Iowa operates the Public Labor Exchange and
funded by the Department of Labor to assist veterans. While it
is available to all populations, veterans are given priority
within the services. The services and assistance offered range
from employment preparation, comprehensive employment placement
services, to intensive services through case management.
The levels of education, in the past year, 19,687 veterans
received services through Iowa Workforce Development. Of those,
1,074 were less than a high school education; 9,000, or 45.7
percent, had a high school degree; and 31 percent had above
that or a certificate.
Talk about the average wage and the length of unemployment.
We are not able to provide that, as far as how many--if there
is a correlation between the age and the number unemployed.
The USERRA cases you could read there. Since 2007, you have
seen a decline. One of the things, we work really hard with the
Employer Support for Guard and Reserve, the Chamber of
Commerce, the employer groups, the gentleman from Principal,
and Kelly. We do presentations to employers to really talk
about what the law requires and to try to be proactive versus
reactive, as far as taking care of issues.
So our cases have gone down. Now one of the anomalies, of
course, is the big deployment. So coming back, we will see if
all our work has paid off. So far, it has. Our number of cases
are down.
Right now, I have only got one active case. So good things
are happening. So, any questions?
[The prepared statement of Anthony Smithhart appears on p.
56.]
Mr. Stutzman. Thank you.
Ms. Wahlert.
STATEMENT OF TERESA WAHLERT
Ms. Wahlert. Thank you.
My name is Teresa Wahlert, and I am the director at Iowa
Workforce Development.
I am not going to read through my testimony. I am just
going to recognize a couple of things that we are doing at
Workforce Development.
I know, of course, you have heard a lot from the
representatives here on any number of issues, which, of course,
are all contained in my written testimony. But the one area I
would really like to talk about here today is the area of new
deployment of technology that Iowa Workforce Development has
been involved in for the past 6 months or so.
One of the things we recognized at Iowa Workforce
Development was the issue of connectivity between a veteran or
a National Guard/Reservist and the working world and how to
really connect people with jobs. And so, we thought that it
might be a great opportunity to really go out and visit with
the National Guard as to how do they really connect their
servicemen and women back into the community when they come
home?
And it is through those discussions that I am proud to say
that on the 27th of July, we announced the first in the Nation
partnership with the Iowa National Guard. With our access point
technology, we are going to deploy services to veterans and
returning Guard members in all of their 43 armories. So we are
really trying to put access to services onto the campuses and
in the areas where returning soldiers are most comfortable.
I am also proud to say that, as of this past Friday, we
have deployed 261 of these access points throughout the State
of Iowa. We have over 850 new workstations that people can use.
So not only at the armories, but in all of these other
locations throughout the State of Iowa.
We have a current list of about 120-some to install here in
the next 2 or 3 weeks, and we have a list of interested
partners outside of the National Guard, which include over 900
more partnerships throughout the State of Iowa for access to
this technology, where we have things like job openings, things
like career services, things for unemployment, opportunities
for businesses to also see where there are services there for
them.
Although we are a small State and have a small grant, we do
deploy our DVOPs into all of our integrated centers. We have 16
integrated centers where we have specialists in all sorts of
areas to assist and help not only all job seekers, but
specifically, as Mr. Smithhart mentioned, veterans and National
Guard folks.
We have brochures that go throughout the State. I have some
of them out at the front table. And it lists, of course, on the
back of the brochure where each one of our 16 One-Stop shops
are. The important thing about this is we have extended our
hours so that people on their own time frame can then access
our specialists, either by a toll-free call or by a live chat
opportunity session through a computer.
Our hours now are 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Monday through
Friday, and 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays. And it is
interesting, although this is a pilot program, we are finding
that most of the interest and where we see our volumes
increasing ever more are on Saturdays, a day we have never been
open in the past until about the last 3 months.
So we are really involved with this intensive deployment of
services through technology, with also making our individual
specialists open and available for questions, long hours and on
Saturdays. Currently, we have converted 9 of the 43 armories
that we have in the State, and within the next 2 weeks or so,
we will have the rest of our armories converted to our new
technology.
The reason this is important is because we are putting this
technology and this access onto the Federal system, and so the
National Guard actually had to carve out some broadband
capacity in order for us to be able to deploy our services,
which they did successfully accomplish in the last couple of
weeks. And so, it will only take us about another 10 days to
get through to each one of the other armories.
I am proud to say that our folks have worked very hard with
National Guard and ESGR and many other organizations that do
help our returning soldiers to get a connection back in the
working world, and we will continue to try to do that
throughout the rest of the time that I intend to be working at
Iowa Workforce Development.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Teresa Wahlert appears on p. 60.
Mr. Stutzman. Thank you.
A couple of questions, and I will start with Colonel
Corell. Could you talk just a little bit about your veterans?
How many are unemployed, who they are, the challenges that they
have, and what they are hearing as they are out pursuing work.
Colonel Corell. I will do the best I can, and when I can, I
will pass to Mark. He has, I think, got some of that data for
me as well.
There was three specific questions that when I got this
were kind of contained of what your question is right now.
Current level for unemployment, members in the Iowa National
Guard, and this goes back as an aggregate of Army and Air Guard
collectively, the most recent data we have is in August, which
probably isn't a good representation of those of the brigade
combat team that just came back.
At 7 percent unemployment in August, I believe that what we
are tracking today, for those members of the brigade combat
team that just came back, we had 630 that were unemployed prior
to the mobilization and 721 that we are tracking post
mobilization, post deployment that are unemployed, looking for
work. So somewhere in the figures of before deployment, 15 to
20 percent unemployment to now 20 to 25 percent unemployment
within that small group.
Reasons why? I think probably, you know, I think the
increase, just like Captain Robinson indicated, was we had a
lot of people that were on duty that had a job for a couple of
years prior to the mobilization. And we knew the brigade was
going to go out the door within this window. So with that comes
the resources and Federal funding to bring more people on to
get the organization ready to go out the door. So I think that
is a significant number.
I think when we go through the Yellow Ribbon process--we
have completed Yellow Ribbon 1 events across the brigade combat
team. I think as we go into the Yellow Ribbon 2, I think that
as we track that information, I think we are going to be a
little bit healthier than what these numbers indicate because I
believe that, in some cases, people are going to go back to
school because of the benefits that they have earned.
It is in their best interest, number one, to get the
education. But number two, with the incentives from the GI
bill, post-9/11, they can get paid a pretty decent wage just to
go to school as well. So I think that will mitigate some of
that and get us through these difficult times that we are in,
plus make them more marketable with a higher education as well.
Did I answer what you were looking for?
Mr. Stutzman. Yes, and Mr. Hennessey, any personal
observations?
Mr. Hennessey. Just from personal observations, what I am
hearing is that individuals that are coming back, some of them
feel that they are underemployed now. That they had a command
role or a leadership role in the Guard and Reserve or active
duty and have come back and have decided, no, this is not--my
civilian job is not really what I am looking for right now. And
then, again, it is how to translate that experience and find
that right opportunity.
We see a lot of opportunities. One of the things that I
have seen out there, we talked earlier about job boards. One of
the things, just for future reference, if you look at a job
board called ``indeed.com'' and do a search just on your local
area, I think you will be amazed at the number of openings that
are out there.
So there are jobs out there for individuals that really
want to work. The problem is matching those up with those
individuals that are looking for the work and then getting the
employers to find those individuals.
Mr. Stutzman. Okay. Mr. Smithhart, how many veteran job
placements did Iowa State Workforce complete in the last year,
roughly?
Mr. Smithhart. I did not bring that information with me,
but I will provide it to the Committee.
Mr. Stutzman. Okay. Okay, that is fine.
And then, Ms. Wahlert, what--and I will maybe reference
this back to Mr. Smithhart. And I guess one of the comments
that Captain Robinson mentioned about his friend the welder,
and I think any time whenever men and women go into the
military and they come out, obviously, we want them to better
themselves and move on to better employment.
But the welder situation, did that cause any concern with
you about the situation, him coming back and not having a job?
Mr. Smithhart. Absolutely, sir. A lot of the information
that Captain Robinson and the staff sergeant said really hit
home because every day that is what we deal with. You know, we
really want to help those folks.
And especially in the Des Moines area, for that welder
person, we have John Deere there that is hiring. They probably
have 40 or 50 openings. I don't know if Stacy could tell me. In
the Ankeny office area, we have a lot of openings and work
really closely with them to do that.
So it is really--there is a shortcoming in ours, within the
Department of Labor and Workforce, of trying to match those
individuals and for them to identify their skills and make sure
that that match is what the employer needs. Because there are
seats out there. We just have to be able to get that person.
Now we are working with our current initiatives. In the Des
Moines area, we are going to do a State-wide job fair on
November 8th with the Employer Support for Guard and Reserve.
And to start that, on November 5th, we are going to have an
employment program that will teach people how to present
themselves, how to demilitarize their resumes.
We are going to bring in--with the Employer Support for
Guard and Reserve, we are going to bring in civilian employers
to do mock interviews that afternoon to help those individuals
do that. We are going to follow that up with a seminar on how
to market yourself at a career fair, at a job fair. And then we
are going to have the big job fair November 8th.
And it is a State-wide one. So it is going to include from
all, from Dubuque. You have employers from all over the State.
Right now, we have 50 employers.
Now the key is, as Colonel Corell and a lot of other
individuals have said, it is getting the individuals to attend.
We did the series of these seminars around the State. Did one
in Waterloo on September 13th. We had to cancel it. We didn't
have enough participation.
We just canceled one this week in Sioux City, again because
we only had two individuals that signed up in that area. The
ones that have come, they have been very happy. We have tested
it, refined it. And so, it is really--the captain and the staff
sergeant really hit home. It is to get the individuals that
could use it and benefit, to get them to actually produce
because unlike the active duty folks, these folks don't get
paid to be there.
And Colonel Corell can attest, on a weekend drill, there is
a lot of activities going on there that can we fit this in?
That is the command's thing, and I don't know. So there is a
lot going on. It is just--it is really we are missing getting
it to the right individuals.
Mr. Stutzman. Sure.
Mr. Smithhart. But the employers are there. The soldiers
are there to match them, I don't know.
Mr. Stutzman. Sure. Okay.
Mr. Braley.
Mr. Braley. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
One of the things that I need to do is embarrass Colonel
Corell at this point because he has been a great asset to me
during my entire period serving in Congress. But one of the
things that was not mentioned was that all three of his sons
are members of the Iowa National Guard and have deployed and
served under their father in either Operation Enduring Freedom
or Operation Iraqi Freedom.
And that is an extraordinary part of the legacy of Iowa's
proud military heritage. I can't think of any place better to
recognize that service than here in the home of the five
Sullivan brothers.
And Mr. Chairman, on Memorial Day weekend of 2007, CBS News
devoted its entire 60 Minutes program to the extraordinary work
of the Iowa National Guard in a program called ``Fathers, Sons,
and Brothers'' that won an Emmy. And I think that it was a
great way to honor the incredible sacrifice that all of our men
and women in uniform make. But we are very, very proud of our
National Guard, and I just wanted to make that point.
To follow up on another point you raised, Colonel, and that
is the extraordinary burden placed on our Guard and Reserve
units even when they are not deployed in combat. And all you
have to do is look at my brief career in Congress, and I just
was thinking about this.
February of 2007, I was sworn in in January. We had an ice
storm that cost 500,000 people power in this State, and the
Guard was out helping. I worked with them. Then you had the
demobilization from Iraq, and all the welcome home ceremonies
and all of the same things we are dealing with now after this
Afghanistan demobilization.
2008, in May, we had the worst tornado in the country here
in this district, followed by the worst flooding in our State.
And the Guard was active and involved in that. June of 2010,
more flooding in our State, and the mobilization to Afghanistan
with an extraordinary burden on the Guard. And then, this year,
we have the demobilization and more record-setting flooding in
our State.
And I think that is a microcosm of the challenges that you
were talking about when employers are constantly being stressed
on their own level from all of these natural disasters. They
have their own workforce being disrupted, and I think we don't
talk enough about these challenges and the extraordinary work
that employers do who continue to live up to their commitment
under USERRA.
So, with that as a backdrop, how does that impact the work
you and the other people at Camp Dodge are doing to try to keep
this cohesion together?
Colonel Corell. I think the employers that we work with--
through the dedication of the ESGR folks, the dedication of the
leadership of the Iowa Guard--doing the outreach to inform and
educate, I think it has bought us a lot. My concern is at some
point, we are going to run out of that goodwill, and I think we
are right on the edge of that, if we are not already past it.
And I think it comes back to there has got to be some
incentive, and whatever that is, whether it is small, it
doesn't matter. But something that you can go in and leverage
from an employer standpoint of those people that are out
seeking veterans or National Guard and Reserve soldiers,
looking to fill those vacancies in the workplace. There has got
to be some leverage tool, and I will let you guys figure out
the nug work on it. I can't tell you what that incentive is,
but I think it has got to be something.
Day to day, we are out working it. It is just like those
soldiers that continue to refine their resume. You can only do
that so long. You can only send it out so many times before you
reach the point of frustration. You can only go to so many job
fairs. There has got to be a way to stick a pole in there and
move yourself up the ladder of potential candidates, and the
way to do that is to make some sort of incentive to do it.
So is it hard work? Are we concerned about it? Every day we
are. And that is why there is so much effort that has been put
into our relationships with our employers, relationships with
the Workforce Development folks to bring those access points
into our armories. Because we know how critical it is because,
number one, just because of the cost, you take the cost
effectiveness of the Guard and Reserve, when you look at the
cost of manning a full-time military.
And you all know that better than what I do. But we have to
have a way for those National Guard/Reserve component soldiers
to feed their families in the interim when we don't need them
to be called up for some type of a peacekeeping mission, combat
operation, or a domestic need here at home. And that is really
what we are focused on and why we are here today and why this
is so important to us.
Mr. Braley. Well, I appreciate that, and we have talked
previously about the Work Opportunity Tax Credit. And one of
the things that I have introduced in Congress is a bill called
the Combat Veterans Back to Work Act, modeled on the previous
back to work incentives we had for employers to hire unemployed
workers by giving them a break on their FICA taxes on the front
end if they hire an unemployed worker, in this case an
unemployed veteran, and then if they keep them on the payroll
for a year, another modest, but important incentive so that we
get more longevity out of those initial hires.
And I think you are right. It is not going to make somebody
decide to hire an employee, but if they are thinking about
expanding their workforce, and we give them added incentives to
get an unemployed veteran back to work, I think it can make a
difference.
Colonel Corell. I agree, and I think the panel number two
that had our friends in the corporate world here, they touched
on it a little bit. Once they get those either former active
duty military veterans in the door or the members of the Guard
and Reserve in the door, they are great employees. And they are
so good and so valuable to them, they are going to give them a
pay offset when they do get called back to active duty that
they will match whatever money shortfall there is between what
they are making in the military and what they would make at
their civilian job.
Give us the opportunity. I think that is what we are saying
is get us the incentive to get us in the door. We will sink or
swim on our own merits, but we are looking for a leverage
point, an incentive to get us in the door. And that is the
difference that I am talking about.
Mr. Braley. Thank you.
Ms. WAHLERT, I want to thank you for the tremendous work
that your office is doing to try to address this. And you
talked a little bit about some of the unique challenges a State
like Iowa has.
And you have talked about how you are deploying new
technology and trying to make it available in more service
areas. One of the things you talked about was the deployment of
261 workstations. And since we have 45 armories and 16 veteran
representative offices, can you give us some examples of where
those other workstations might be?
Ms. Wahlert. Let me just--I would love to, Congressman. Let
me just first clarify that 261 are new offices, new locations.
We have over 800 workstations within each one of those new
opportunities.
For instance, we have also partnered with the Veterans
Affairs offices. They are in every county seat. We are in
courthouses. We are in halfway houses. We are in correctional
institutions. We are at the three regent colleges. We are on
many private university and college campus in the State of
Iowa. We are in 13 of 15 community colleges and all of their
campuses.
We are at Goodwill. We are at faith-based organizations. We
are at any place that can have public traffic other than the
National Guard because we understand the special nature of the
National Guard with soldiers and their families.
So the thought here is the next place we are going to try
to deliver the technology is through all of the high schools
within the State of Iowa. There are 359 high schools. And the
point of this is to, first, be able to have access to services,
but to also have people understand what the expectation is of
the corporate world when they go into the corporate world,
whether it be out of high school or whether it be coming back
from Afghanistan.
The other important thing I just wanted to mention that
seems to be ironic. I am from the business world, and so I
bring kind of panel two with me when I came into this
opportunity. And you would be amazed over the last 3 or 4
months. I have had new incentive business outreach by all of
Workforce Development, and we have had a number of calls from
small and medium-sized businesses who are crying for welders
throughout the State.
And who are crying for a lot of the kinds of technical
programs and project management that you would assume that a
returning serviceperson would have in their resume. And many of
these companies have never thought of or considered hiring a
veteran.
And so, of course, we are now instituting an outreach from
our office to help businesses, and the first folks we call, of
course, are veterans within that geographical area. We can also
understand where they are from, from their zip code area. But
one of the things you really always need, and we have discussed
this with the Guard on several meetings, and that is you need
to have that continual hook back to the veteran, back to the
Reservist so that when they have their downtime, when they are
coming back into the community and reenergizing themselves,
sometimes there is just not the effort to go to an office or to
get in the car and go somewhere.
And part of the process we do is we make sure everybody has
an email account. And so, that if it is midnight or if it is
2:00 a.m. or whenever the right time is for that person to go
and to look at jobs or to work on their resume or to actually
see what is new for them in their area, we have a way to
connect with them. All those email services are free, just like
our toll-free number and our live chat options as well.
And so, the connection we make is really important. My goal
is by the end of the year, Congressman, to have it so that
there is no city or town in the State of Iowa that you drive
through that there are not access points in.
Mr. Braley. Great. Thank you very much.
And I will yield back.
Mr. Stutzman. Okay. Thank you.
This concludes our oversight hearing today. I just want to
say in closing to our Iowa veterans that the House Committee on
Veterans' Affairs is committed to this issue, and I know
Congressman Braley and I especially are very interested and
want to help make sure that any veteran who wants a job gets
one.
And I know it is a tall order, but our chairman, Jeff
Miller from Florida, has said that he wants to reduce
unemployment for veterans to less than 5 percent or half of
what it is currently. So that is a tall order, but I believe,
working together, we can all accomplish that.
And one final thing, and I know that the Colonel will
appreciate this. Last week, the House passed a bill that was
introduced by Congressman Tim Walz of Minnesota that will allow
retirees of the Guard and Reserves to be called veterans.
You know, it seems like a long time coming. But we passed
that in the House, and I know while this bill doesn't bestow
any additional benefits, I definitely believe that it is worthy
and needs the recognition. You all deserve the recognition to
be called veterans for your service.
Mr. Braley, any closing remarks?
Mr. Braley. No, I just want to comment on that last
statement because former Sergeant Major Tim Walz from Minnesota
worked very closely with me and other Members of Congress to
get much-needed benefits for the Iowa National Guard when they
came home from Iraq. And because of his real world experience
in that capacity, he had an extraordinary voice, and we were
very proud that we were finally able to make that happen last
week.
But I do also want to apologize to Mr. Smithhart and Mr.
Hennessey. Because of the lack of time, and I know the chairman
has to catch a flight, I did want to highlight a very important
event that is coming up that you mentioned, Mr. Smithhart.
And that is there is a State-wide Hiring Our Heroes job
fair in Des Moines on November 8, 2011. It is going to be at
Hy-Vee Hall from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and the U.S. Chamber,
the Greater Des Moines Partnership, the Employer Support of
Guard and Reserve, and DMAC and others are going to be there.
And I hope that this is the first step in a very long process
to address some of the concerns we have talked about here
today.
Thank you both for your willingness to be here today and
share your testimony with us, and to all the great witnesses
who joined us today.
And I will yield back.
Mr. Stutzman. Okay. Thank you.
I want to thank everyone for being here today--to the
witnesses for your testimony, to those who have served, thank
you for your service. Thank our staff as well for their hard
work in helping set this meeting up.
And looking forward to having Mr. Braley in Fort Wayne. You
will find the same hospitality, I am sure, in Indiana as I have
here in Iowa. And I have enjoyed being here, and it feels very
much like home.
So I want to ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5
legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
Hearing no objection, so ordered.
Mr. Stutzman. Thank you again, and this hearing is now
adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:55 a.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
----------
Prepared Statement of Hon. Marlin Stutzman,
Chairman, Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity
Good morning. I am delighted to be here in Waterloo with your
Congressman, Bruce Braley and I thank him for bringing us to his
district. My name is Marlin Stutzman. I am the Chairman of the House
Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, and represent
Indiana's 3rd Congressional District in northeast Indiana. I have Iowa
ties- my great-grandparents lived in Washington, Iowa, and are buried
there. My aunt was born on Independence Day in Independence Iowa, where
she lived alongside my grandparents. My district is very similar to
Iowa's first Congressional District. We are very proud of our
Midwestern values and proud of America. In northeast Indiana, we are
especially proud of our 48,000 veterans who have served our Nation. I
am honored to serve as their voice in Congress and serve alongside
Ranking Member Bruce Braley, who is a great member, veterans advocate,
and a friend.
We are here today to here from Iowans about the employment
difficulties facing far too many members of the Iowa National Guard,
the Reserves, and those returning from active duty. While the
unemployment rate for all Iowa veterans in September was 5.8 percent,
data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that 35.6 percent of
America's Gulf Era II veterans ages 20 to 24 were unemployed, while 8.8
percent of Gulf Era II veterans ages 25-54 were unemployed.
More shocking is anecdotal information that as much as 30 percent
of returning members of the Guard and Reserves do not come home to a
job. Clearly, we need to find ways to reduce all of those numbers. The
House Committee on Veterans' Affairs has taken a first step toward that
end last week by passing H.R. 2433, a bill that would provide up to a
year of GI Bill benefits to unemployed veterans between the ages of 35
and 60. The bill now goes to the Senate and we hope to get the bill to
the President by Veterans Day along with several other improvements to
veterans benefits.
Again, I am delighted to be with you today and I will now yield to
the gentleman whose office is next to mine, the distinguished Ranking
Member of the Subcommittee, my good friend, the Honorable Bruce Braley.
Prepared Statement of Hon. Bruce L. Braley,
Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity
I am honored to hold this field hearing today here in Waterloo and
would like to welcome Chairman Marlin Stutzman to my hometown, my
district and the great state of Iowa. I know you will enjoy your visit
here with the good folks from Iowa.
In July and August of this year, over 3000 Iowa National Guard
troops returned from active duty in Afghanistan, and we have a number
of these hard working Guardsmen looking for jobs. Iowa and our
servicemembers, National Guard, Reservists, and veterans are not immune
to the economic hardships facing the rest of the country. That is why I
am glad to have the opportunity today to hear about these growing
concerns surrounding veterans; specifically, employment, transition,
and education matters affecting National Guard Members, Reservists and
veterans in Iowa, and across the Nation. This is a great opportunity to
be part of an open discussion to find solutions to these problems.
Transitioning services are critical for the success of our men and
women in the Armed Forces. Joining the military is not just about
following orders and completing the mission, it's a way of life. But
when it's time to join the civilian world, it can sometimes be a
challenge to translate skills learned in the military into talking
points on a job resume. That's why it is crucial that transitioning
services should be provided to everyone leaving the military.
An education can help you learn a new skill or reinforce the skills
you already know, but it can also help you adapt as a civilian. The
Committee recognizes the importance of servicemembers and veterans
pursuing an education which is why we continue to fight so hard to
improve education benefits. Current education benefits allows certain
veterans to attend school full-time while getting a housing stipend,
thus allowing veterans to be fully engaged in academics.
We are all well aware of the current employment crisis facing our
Nation. With an unemployment rate of 6.1 percent in Iowa, I am
constantly working with my colleagues in Congress to find solutions to
the recent economic downturn. I understand how these hardships can be,
and I find the high unemployment rate for veterans unacceptable.
Earlier this year I introduced a bill to cut payroll taxes for
businesses that hire unemployed veterans. The Combat Veterans Back to
Work Act provides employers with a payroll tax break if they hire
recently returned veterans who are unemployed. After their
distinguished service in Afghanistan and Iraq, we should do all we can
to help veterans and members of the Iowa Guard find employment in their
communities. This legislation will support our friends and neighbors in
the Iowa National Guard, Reserves, and other military branches who have
recently returned home and face a difficult job market.
Today I look forward to hearing from Iowa National Guard Members
about some of the challenges they face as they make the transition back
into society after serving overseas. I have invited local businesses to
testify to hear about initiatives they are taking to get veterans back
to work. I also look forward to hearing from different agencies and the
work they are doing related to veterans employment.
I hope we can all have an open and honest dialogue about problems
and concerns facing our veterans today that will continue after this
hearing in Washington, DC as we work together to address these issues.
Servicemembers and veterans are dedicated and hard working. Their
experience is invaluable. Thousands of Iowans have returned home after
serving proudly overseas this past year alone. Now we must support them
and help them transition their great experience and talent back into
the Iowa workforce.
Mr. Chairman, I look forward to this hearing. Thank you and I yield
back.
Prepared Statement of Staff Sergeant Nathaniel Rose,
ARNG, North Liberty, IA
Chairman Stutzman, Ranking Member Braley and Members of the
Subcommittee. I would like to extend my gratitude for being given the
opportunity to testify at this hearing today. It is an honor to lend my
voice to my fellow veterans and the ongoing economic struggles we face.
My Name is Nathaniel Rose. I am currently a Staff Sergeant in the
Iowa Army National Guard as well as a senior at the University of Iowa.
I have been deployed to Iraq and I have just returned from a deployment
to Afghanistan in July. To help pay for my studies I currently receive
the GI Bill along with state and Federal tuition assistance. I speak
based solely on my experiences in the Iowa Army National Guard and
experiences of those that have served with me. I cannot accurately
speak regarding any other branch of service or any other state's
National Guard.
I decided to join the National Guard during my freshman year of
college, looking for adventure, but also for economic reasons. I come
from a hard working middle class family and if I wanted to attend
college I would have to pay for it myself. I did not receive many
scholarships and I did not want to incur a large amount of student loan
debt so I joined the National Guard because the tuition assistance and
GI Bill would pay for my education. If it wasn't for tuition assistance
and the GI Bill I might have quit going to school or not have joined
the National Guard at all. Joining the military is a very hard decision
to make but the benefits one might receive help make the decision
easier.
The GI Bill has been one benefit that I have come to appreciate
more over time. When I first began receiving the benefit it was not a
large amount. This was fine because state and Federal tuition
assistance paid for all my tuition and fees and I could use the GI Bill
for other things. After two deployments I now receive a much larger
amount because it is prorated based off the active duty amount and how
much time I've spent deployed. The amount is actually enough, when
coupled with my drill pay every month, that I do not have to work. I am
able to concentrate completely on my studies, which any senior will
tell you, is a hard thing to do.
I, however, do not have all the obligations that a number of
soldiers I know have. I have no wife, no children, no car payments and
so on. Many National Guard soldiers cannot go to school full time and
take care of their family with tuition assistance and GI Bill alone,
especially if they have not been deployed and receive a smaller pro-
rated amount. This forces them to work while attending school. There is
nothing wrong with working while going to school but for some soldiers
I know personally they have had to stop going because they needed to
move to full time at work, their grades were slipping or they weren't
spending as much time with their family as they wanted to. The Post-9/
11 GI Bill has attempted to address some of these issues by paying
basic allowance for housing to students. The only problem with this is
that once again it is pro-rated for National Guard members. One
solution to this problem might be to have National Guard members pay
into the GI Bill like active duty members do. Another possible solution
would be to put everyone on the same level and not pro-rate the
payments. Neither of these solutions is perfect but they might be a
good starting point.
Education benefits, to me, seem more complicated. If a soldier
doesn't sit down with an expert it's hard to figure out the ins and
outs of the benefits. The difference between the 5 GI Bill programs is
not easily ascertained by looking at the Web site or reading pamphlets.
If soldiers are better informed about their benefits it's easier for
them make decisions about whether they can afford to go back to school
or not, especially those with families. The GI Bill needs take into
account that soldiers do have families. They may not be able to support
a family and go to school at the same time.
The National Guard has delayed my education twice but I cannot
fault them for that because they are essentially paying for it. Also I
believe that my time in the National Guard has made me a more
marketable person and when my education is over I hope being more
marketable aids me in securing not just a job but a career. The problem
with this is how do I convey to potential employers the significance of
what I've done, experienced and learned in the National Guard?
Resumes are the most popular way of conveying these things. Some of
my experiences are difficult to put in a resume. If I put ``led over
150 combat missions in Afghanistan'' in my resume most employers would
not understand the significance of that nor would many soldiers know
how to convert that into a resume friendly statement. One way soldiers
could translate their skills into civilian terms would be to get help
from a resume writing professional. I could receive help on my resume
from the career center at my school but I feel that they don't
understand what I've done either, so the significance of it won't be
conveyed in my resume if they help me. I'm lucky enough to go to a
school that has a large veteran population, someone is always available
to critique my resume if need be. Many National Guard soldiers are not
that lucky and must either drive long distances or email resumes to
more qualified help. Educating job recruiters or resume helpers better
on the military may help remedy the problem, but it is easier said than
done. I believe that by bringing in military resume writing
professionals on drill weekends or by incorporating them more at
demobilization sites might be the help that soldiers need.
I am set to graduate in May and I have been exploring job
possibilities and what I am qualified for. The economy may be down but
there is a plethora of job postings on internet job search sights,
companies' Web sites, in newspapers, etc. The hard part becomes
determining what employers are looking for and if I am qualified. I
have spoken to many soldiers since returning from Afghanistan and this
process is the one that they are having the most trouble with. A
suggestion that a fellow veteran presented to me would be to bring job
recruiters from the mobilized units' area to the demobilization site
and recruit from there. Soldiers and recruiters would have a chance to
speak about qualifications, job descriptions and even do interviews if
need be. Even if soldiers did not get hired they would have an
understanding of what employers are looking for and how to better
prepare themselves for the job search once their mobilization is over.
Another cause for problems is that many civilian employers don't
know enough about the military to effectively hire or help a veteran.
If soldiers can learn to effectively market themselves and civilian
employers can learn more about the military both sides could reach a
common ground so soldiers aren't passed over for jobs and employers
don't miss opportunities to hire great workers.
I appreciate what the government and the military has done for me
but I think more can be done to help soldiers, sailors, airman and
marines. I have noticed things improving in my 6 years in the military,
from drill to drill and deployment to deployment. There are many new
programs starting up throughout the country and within our government
that are dedicated to helping veterans which is a sign of forward
progress. Mr. Chairman, this concludes my testimony. I would be honored
to answer any questions that the Committee might have. Thank you for
giving me the opportunity to testify and thank you for all that this
committee does for my fellow veterans.
Prepared Statement of Captain Aaron Robinson,
ARNG, Des Moines, IA
My Name is Aaron Robinson. I reside with my wife and two children
in Des Moines. I am a commissioned officer in the Iowa Army National
Guard. I recently returned from a 1-year deployment to Afghanistan. In
my civilian career, I am currently pursuing jobs related to business,
Project Management or data-analysis.
I want to share with you today three impressions I have from
looking for a job, post-deployment.
First, repeated military deployments have given Iowans like me
world-class skills and experiences, but that these are not widely
recognized or rewarded when searching for civilian work in our home
state.
Second, employers are nearing the exhaustion of their patriotic
feelings toward veterans. Despite the existing laws protecting against
discrimination based on military service, employers seem to shy away
from hiring citizen-soldiers.
Third, searching for a job while deployed overseas is next to
impossible--and waiting until after deployment adds more stress to an
already stressful situation: reintegration with family and friends.
Let me tell you where I'm coming from:
I grew up on a farm approximately an hour west of Des Moines in
Yale, and graduated from Perry High School in 1992. I studied Mass
Communication at Grand View College in Des Moines. After college, I
bounced around various retail jobs. I enlisted with the Iowa National
Guard in 1998, and was trained as a tank mechanic.
In 2002, I commissioned as an officer specializing in tanks and
other armored vehicles. I married my wife Katie, in 2003 and I deployed
to Kosovo, where I commanded a platoon. My first child, Amelia, was
born while I was overseas.
When I returned home, I transferred to Military Intelligence and
attended multiple military schools. In my civilian career, I worked as
an employment counselor for homeless veterans, and as a general manager
of a convenience store. After that I spent a number of years on
temporary full-time active-duty here in Iowa, helping train and
mobilize more than 16 National Guard units for overseas deployment.
Last year, I was deployed to Afghanistan where I served as the
Intelligence Officer of Iowa's 113th Cavalry Squadron. The experiences
that I received there were excellent and I could not have received them
anywhere else. Since coming home to Iowa in late July, I have been
steadily seeking employment. As of today, however, I have been unable
to find work.
I am not alone.
For example an enlisted soldier friend of mine was the database
manager for our unit's personnel records pertaining to security
clearances. (That's 500 records--the size of a good-sized company.)
However, now that he's back at home, civilian employers don't seem to
recognize his abilities to learn new computer systems, and to manage
highly sensitive data on a daily basis. To add insult to injury, he
can't even find work in his old civilian occupation--he's a welder.
I've faced similar challenges to that of my friend, trying to
figure out how to translate military language into civilian Human
Resources-speak. After some resume coaching, I found my work in
intelligence most closely applies to business analysis and project
management. However, unlike my purely civilian counterparts, I'm not
necessarily versed in the latest business acronyms and buzz-phrases,
which decreases the likelihood of getting through H.R. filters. Also,
while I am proficient in military computer software and hardware, I am
not specifically trained in systems most-familiar to potential civilian
employers.
Employers, politicians, and even the media talk up certain ideas
about veterans: that we're hard-working and motivated, that we're
mission- and people-focused, and that we handle pressure extremely
well. Beyond this, however, and the occasional job-fair and ``welcome
home'' PowerPoint show, veterans don't seem to get a lot of practical
help in getting hired. I have said many times that everyone wants to
help, but no one seems to know how. I have received lots of well
intended suggestions, sometimes conflicting, but none of them have
gotten me much farther in my job search.
Maybe employers are getting burned out. Ten years of war--and
Iowa's river floods and blizzards and other state emergencies--might do
that. Maybe they're worried that we're going to get deployed again.
Maybe they really don't see the economic values inherent in our
military skills and experiences.
I know times are tough for a lot of Iowans. I don't want to get a
job just because I am a returning veteran, but I would at least like a
chance to get to an interview and prove I am a good employee. I also
want to keep my family in Iowa, to give my kids the same kind of values
and experiences I had.
For now, however, our life is on hold. The military gave me time
off after the deployment to unwind and reintegrate into ``normal''
life. I do not feel like I have done that. I plan to go back to school,
but I am putting that off because of a lack of stability in my life and
the life of my family. Interviewers do not ask me about my military
experience, but they know it is there. If I didn't put it on my resume,
you would be able to tell just from talking to me. I am proud of the
work I have done and the people with whom I have served.
I'm just an Iowa farm kid that just got a chance do some exciting
things, in some pretty unpleasant places, with some really great
people. I just want to get back to my civilian life, get a normal job,
and be a regular person for a while.
My family would like that, too.
Thank you for this opportunity to talk about my experiences looking
for employment.
Prepared Statement of Stacy Litchfield, Regional Manager,
Talent Acquisition and Performance Consulting,
Deere & Company, Inc., Moline, IL
Congressman Braley and distinguished Members of the Committee, my
name is Stacy Litchfield. I am the United States Regional Manager,
Talent Acquisition for Deere & Company. On behalf of John Deere, thank
you for the opportunity to provide testimony today on this important
topic.
John Deere is a worldwide leader in providing advanced products and
services for agriculture, forestry, construction, turf care,
landscaping and irrigation. We're a leading manufacturer of off-highway
diesel engines and one of the largest equipment finance companies in
the United States. We have operations in 30 U.S. states.
Attracting Veterans at John Deere
As an employer, we focus on attracting, developing and retaining
the best global talent from all backgrounds. At times our recruiting
efforts focus on access and visibility to specific groups. One is
veterans. We identify organizations that provide the broadest reach and
help our staffing team leverage various military recruiting initiatives
and related events.
John Deere staffing participates in several recruiting events
targeting veterans, including career fairs, conferences and virtual
career fairs.
We also work directly with the military when appropriate. We've
participated in the Army Partnership for Youth Success (PaYS) Program
since its inception. Young men and women can enter the service knowing
that they will receive specialized training and develop skills that are
in demand in the private and public sectors, and Deere gets access to a
pool of skilled candidates.
John Deere is also active in a variety of outreach programs and job
boards that help us connect with veterans who offer a broad array of
skills and experience. We also work with military staffing
organizations to recruit veterans. For example, the Army Partnership
Program, a job posting and resume database, has provided us with
candidates for both mid-career and wage positions.
Along with employing veterans, we support programs that help
veterans start businesses and become suppliers to companies like ours.
Our suppliers include about 200 veteran-owned businesses, and about 50
businesses owned by service-disabled veterans.
Developing and Retaining Veterans at John Deere
At John Deere, we recognize that engaged employees working together
create a competitive advantage. We cultivate an environment of
inclusive teamwork through programs such as our employee networks. One
of these resource groups is composed of employees who have a connection
to the U.S. military. The group brings employees together to build
relationships, provide support and sponsor military outreach
activities.
Deere also has military leave of absence provisions for reservists
and guardsmen who are called up for active duty in Iraq and
Afghanistan. To help ease the financial hardship endured by these
soldiers and their families, Deere voluntarily provides up to 2 years
of differential pay where applicable along with health benefits, life
insurance, and other benefits. The impact on retention has been
significant. Since 2001, more than 200 Deere employees have been
deployed. Over 96 percent of those soldiers still work for John Deere.
Decreasing Unemployment among Veterans
Even though veterans are purposely included in our recruiting,
development and retention efforts, we face challenges in effectively
bringing them into our organization.
First, with the variety of organizations and job boards available,
it's difficult to determine the best way to connect with job candidates
from the military workforce.
Our recommendation would be a central data source that offers links
to standardized job, industry, and geographic classification codes to
other reported Federal labor, employment, economic and census data.
This would help improve results for job posting visibility among the
right candidates.
Additionally, many veterans are challenged to translate their
education and skills to fit requirements for non-military positions.
Transitioning military may also be at a disadvantage without
accreditation or certification required by some professions.
To remedy this, all levels of government could implement solutions
that effectively balance current challenges with educational system
gaps, the accreditation of job seekers, and the fiscal demands and
resources of employers.
In closing, I want to highlight again the importance, priority and
demonstrated focus John Deere places on hiring, outreach, skill
development and training of veterans.
Thank you again for the opportunity to share our views on improving
employment opportunities for veterans. I will be happy to respond to
any questions.
Prepared Statement of Major Kerry M. Studer, USA, Assistant
Managing Director, Commercial Real Estate Division,
Principal Financial Group, Waterloo, IA
Chairman Stutzman, Ranking Member Braley and Members of the
Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the Principal
Financial Group's commitment to protecting the job rights of veterans
and Guard/Reserve members.
1 am Kerry Studer, a recently deployed Anny Major and assistant
managing director in the commercial real estate division of the
Principal Financial Group. I have been mobilized for deployments three
times in my military career and have had the opportunity to see
firsthand how two different employers and one university handled my
time away from the office or school. My most recent deployment was in
2009-20 I 0 when I was employed with the Principal Financial Group.
The Principal Financial Group, based in Des Moines Iowa, is a
FORTUNE 500 company and a retirement and global investment management
leader. We have roughly 8,900 employees in Iowa and more than 13,000
worldwide.
The Principal offers businesses, individuals and institutional
clients a wide range of financial products and services, including
retirement, investment services and insurance.
As an employer with more than 200 veteran and active military
employees and the experience of having nine employees on emergency
military leave in the last 2 years, The Principal is committed to
protecting the job rights of employees who serve their state and
country through the uniformed services.
I am here today to talk with you about that commitment.
We, as employers, have clearly come a long ways in supporting
Soldiers and families since my first deployment in 1990 for Desert
Shield/Desert Storm. While I have clearly seen improvements over my 22
years of military service, I had the opportunity during my last
deployment to command over 300 Soldiers from 19 different states, and I
saw firsthand how Soldiers view the ir civilian employer while they are
deployed.
Personally, I had the benefit of working for an exceptional company
that clearly supported me, my family and my unit. Given this
experience, I was asked by our Chairman, President and CEO, Larry
Zimpleman, to testify here today to discuss insights on how employers
can successfully support their Soldiers whether they are deployed or
serving in a peacetime mission.
Recruiting and Retention
The first step in the process is recruitment and retention. The
Principal has targeted outreach efforts in order to attract and retain
members of the military. We maintain an ai11nnative action plan for
covered veterans and actively pursue good faith efforts in recruiting
practices to target veterans and individuals with a military
background.
Specifically:
Our recruiting team receives education and awareness
through our partnership with Iowa Works, Iowa ESGR and U.S. Department
of Veteran's Affairs.
In return, our recruiting team is available to train Iowa
veterans on interview and resume writing skills as they re-enter the
workforce.
We post job opportunities on military-specific Web sites,
and recruitment representatives attend military related job fairs.
We have a designated H.R. department that manages
military leaves, USERRA requirements, etc. In addition, we provide
USERRA information to leaders to raise their awareness.
We have a very active internship/co-op program, which I
personally do a fair amount of recruiting for, with the help of our
campus relations group in Human Resources. We have been successful in
hiring previously deployed veterans who are currently completing their
4-year degrees. These students have already had to delay their
education due to the deployment, and we see great benefit in providing
an internship or co-op to these young veterans. These internships/co-
ops greatly benefit the student/Soldier in providing a corporate
experience and give us as an employer an insight as to how we can
attract some of the best talent available before they graduate from
college.
Benefits for employees who are Servicemembers
For employees who are servicemembers, our military leave policy
ensures full pay for eligible emergency military leave for 30 days. In
addition, we pay a differential for the remainder of the first year.
This is something we've chosen to do-not only to comply with the letter
of the law, but what we believe to be the spirit of the law.
Regarding all other benefits:
Medical, vision and dental coverage continue for the
employee and their dependents for 12 months.
Regarding our pension plan, military service is counted
for vesting and accrual service.
With our 401(k) plan, military service is counted for
vesting service. When you return from leave, you may make up missed
elective deferral contributions, and the company will make the
corresponding match based on the salary you would have received had you
remained active with the company. The time period to make up missed
payments is three times the period of military service (up to a maximum
of 5 years).
In addition, reservists who volunteer for active duty are eligible
for continued pay, and we cover all servicemembers in any military
branch.
Benefits for military family members
The Principal ensures military family members are taken care of. In
addition to the community of support I'll discuss later, two specific
benefits help this group:
Military Family Active Duty Leave This program allows up
to 12 work weeks of unpaid leave in a calendar year in the event an
eligible family member is called to full-time covered active duty or is
on full-time active duty. The program is designed to allow for
management of family, child care or financial matters that may arise
because of a family member's covered active duty military service.
Military Family Leave to Care for a Covered Servicemember
or Veteran Employees are allowed up to 26 work weeks of unpaid leave in
a calendar year to care for their spouse, parent, child or next of kin
who is a covered servicemember. This leave applies if the covered
servicemember has a serious illness or injury sustained in the line of
military duty and is on active military duty. It also applies if a
veteran, for up to 5 years after he/she leaves the military, has a
service related injury or illness that was incurred or aggravated while
on covered active duty.
Internal support of our Military and Military Families
In addition to employee benefits, a number of other resources
contribute to a supportive environment for employees who are members of
the military, as well as their families:
As a 2011 winner of the Freedom Award from the Employer
Support of the Reserve and Guard (ESGR), based upon my personal
nomination, our internal support for Soldiers and military families is
well documented. But I wanted to highlight just a few examples of what
sets The Principal apart from other companies.
Not only did my company support me, my family and my unit, they
took the time to understand what deployments do to both the Soldier
overseas and also the spouse/children back home. While I-IR guidelines
and corporate support are all important to supporting deployed
Soldiers, the very best companies take a personal approach to company
support and extend assistance at a very personal level. It is this
personal touch that solidifies the commitment both to and from the
Soldier and his/her family.
Here is a brief list of examples of those personal touches with
the Soldier, the family and the unit:
Occasionally bringing over food to the family just to
say hello and ask if anything is needed
Taking the dependent children to high school and
college sporting events
Offering to assist with lawn care/snow removal
Raising money 10 purchase unit specific physical
fitness uniforms for the unit overseas
Designing and purchasing unit coins that were
distributed to Soldiers overseas
Sending countless care packages not only to the
deployed Soldier but also to other Soldiers within the unit who
maybe do not receive as many care packages
Providing the occasional babysitter for the state-
side spouse to enjoy some time away from the everyday grind of
being a single parent
In addition:
Employees returning from military service receive
education and support as they transition back to work.
Employees may network with other employees via the
Military Family Support Special Interest Public Folder in our email
system.
Employees returning from military service and their
families receive support from their departments and individual
employees. For instance:
Various departments have honored those serving in
Iraq and Afghanistan by promoting Red Shirt Day and creating
care packages.
Raising awareness at The Principal The Principal ensures its entire
employee population supports its commitment to active military and
veteran employees through a number of initiatives.
Our Chairman, President and CEO Larry Zimpleman annually
sends a personal note of thanks to all employees who are veterans,
military, guard and reserve.
During National Veterans Awareness Week, employees who
are veterans or Guard/Reserve members are invited to a special event
honoring them for their service. A member of senior management provides
the keynote address each year. In addition, we seek ways to honor
veterans each year-the nature of which vary from year to year. This
year we're providing all veterans with a unit coin.
While this may seem like a small token from senior
leadership, I can assure you that this one event has a great
impact with our currently employed veterans. Not only do you
get to hear firsthand from our C-level executives, you clearly
leave knowing that your military service is valued within the
halls oft he Principal Financial Group. It is also a time for
all the veterans to get together and discuss their respective
experience and service within the military ranks. Most veterans
are generally humble in nature but our senior executives take
the time every year to remind each of the veterans of their
personal sacrifice and the fact that our company genuinely
appreciates our service.
Human Resources representatives, department leaders and
senior leaders have participated in ESGR's Boss Lift. This event
familiarizes employers with the National Guard and Reserve's role in
our Nation's defense by letting them experience some of what their
employees in the Guard or Reserve go through. During the 2010 event,
one of the participants blogged about her experience for the company's
intranet so all employees could gain appreciation for the Guard and
Reserve.
Our internal communications regularly highlight military
employees, veterans and military family members for their service and
sacrifices and to share their experiences and lessons learned.
Community Outreach and Support
In addition to supporting our own military and veteran employees,
we encourage other companies in the communities in which we have
locations to develop similar programs which we believe benefit the
veterans, their families and the community at large.
Senior leaders at The Principal personally and publicly express
support of military employees, family members and veterans through:
Hosting an Employer Support of Guard and Reserve
Statement of Support and workshop event. This past January, our
Chairman, President and CEO Larry Zimpleman hosted ill1 event where he
encouraged attendance from other local businesses to sign the SGR
Statement of Support and to learn more about ESGR and the services they
offer, including hiring of those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
I was personally invited to this event and witnessed
the amount of positive influence that one company can have on
other companies within a community. Larry's comments clearly
demonstrated his and our company's sincere commitment to the
members of the Guard and Reserve. The event provided a venue
for companies to discuss and ask what we can do better to
support our local military. We would encourage more of these
types of events with broader participation. If done correctly
with the right participants and support, the awareness of
supporting the Guard and Reserve will be increased
exponentially.
Participation in Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad's inaugural
event saluting the Iowa National Guard. Ralph Eucher, senior vice
president of human resources, attended on behalf of The Principal.
Participation in Gov. Branstad's recent ESGR event to
recognize the three Iowa nominees for the National Freedom Award. Dan
Houston, president-retirement, insurance and financial services at The
Principal, accepted the award on behalf of The Principal.
Our support extends to the community in other ways, including:
Placing an ad in the Des Moines Register, thanking our
veteran and military employees and retirees
Offering a Military Appreciation Day during The Principal
Charity Classic, one of the top golf Champions Tour events
Encouraging employees to use their 8 hours of Volunteer
Time Off each year, which they can use to volunteer at an organization
of their choosing, including military-related causes
Providing financial and in-kind contributions to non-
profit military-related organizations through our Foundation, including
the following:
Children of Fallen Servicemembers Scholarship fund
(The Principal donated $25,000 as part of the Branstad-Reynolds
Scholarship Fund.)
Iowa National Guard Officers Auxiliary
Sight for Soldiers
Iowa Gold Star Museum
Fort Des Moines Museum and Educational Center
Veterans of Foreign War
Disabled American Veterans
Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.
Recognition
In recent years, The Principal's commitment to military and veteran
employees has been recognized by several organizations, including:
The Above and Beyond Award: The Principal received the
``Above and Beyond'' Award from the ESGR in 2010 and 2011. The award
recognizes employers at the state and local level that have exceeded
the legal requirements for granting leave and providing support for
military duty for employees who serve in the Guard & Reserve.
The Patriotic Employer Award: The Principal received this
honor from the ESGR in 2009.
The 2011 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom
Award: The Principal is one of 15 recipients for 2011 out of a field of
4,049 nominations submitted by Guard and Reserve servicemembers.
Freedom award recipients distinguish themselves by going to
extraordinary lengths to support their military employees.
As I mentioned earlier, I have been mobilized or deployed three
times in my 22+ years of military service. Without question, The
Principal has set itself apart from all others in supporting me, my
family and my unit.
While all deployments are hard on families and Soldiers, I
personally experienced what actions can be taken by a proactive company
committed to supporting deployed Soldiers. It is clearly these actions
that will be remembered by both the Soldier and his/her family long
after the deployment is over and the Soldier is back at work.
Because of the support from The Principal, I was able to focus
completely on the critical tasks at hand in Iraq with the knowledge
that my family was taken care of, my job was waiting for me when I got
back and my co-workers were rooting for me, praying for me and
supporting me. Itmade all the difference,
With this type of support, you are able to be a better Soldier and
a better employee when you return.
That's why I felt compelled to nominate The Principal for the
Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. I'm so proud they
were selected from thousands of nominations to get the recognition I
feel they so richly deserve.
Call to action
The cumulative effect of all of the programs, events and activities
I've mentioned today is a work environment where military and veteran
employees feel supported in their military leave while they're away and
valued for the service they've provided to their state/country once
they return. While senior management can lead with their support and
encouragement, each employee plays a role in creating that supportive
culture.
J can't say enough about the commitment our leaders and employees
have shown, personally and publicly, by expressing support of military
and veteran employees at The Principal and beyond.
I'm lucky to be a citizen of this great country, a Major in our
great Army and an employee of The Principal. I feel I've benefited from
a best case scenario in terms of the relationship between my military
service and my employment at The Principal.
What we need is for marc companies to step up and create a platform
for even more best case scenarios, so they can become the norm, not the
exception. I look forward to that happening, and I'm happy to help in
any way I can,
I'm honored to be here today, Thank you for your time.
Prepared Statement of Stacey May, Manager, Tax Credit
Program, Honkamp Krueger & Co., P.C., Dubuque, IA
Hire Heroes
According to the Department of Labor, the unemployment rate for
veterans ages 18 to 24 in 2010 was 20.9 percent. Even more astonishing
is that veterans, as a whole, accounted for a total 1,020,000 people
looking for work in the United States. To make matters worse, on
October 5, Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke warned, while
addressing Congress, that the economic recovery, as it currently
stands, ``is close to faltering.'' He later stated, ``We need to make
sure that the recovery continues and doesn't drop back and that the
unemployment rate continues to fall.''
To sum it up, we need action, action to keep this economic recovery
going and action to make sure businesses continue to hire, otherwise,
the unemployment rate for veterans and the country as a whole will
continue down a path toward higher unemployment and further economic
turmoil. I believe the core part of the action needed to sustain a
continued recovery is a permanent employment tax credit that
incentivizes businesses to hire. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)
does just that.
The WOTC program is a perfect example of a successful government
program that rewards businesses for hiring employees from certain
groups that have consistently faced barriers in seeking employment.
These groups, known as target groups, include veterans, people on
government assistance, the disabled and ex-offenders. According to the
Department of Labor, the WOTC program processed 849,868 certificates in
fiscal year 2010 that allowed employers to claim the tax credit on
their income tax return. Currently, employers that hire qualifying
employees generally may be eligible for a 1-year Federal income tax
credit worth anywhere from $1,200 to $4,800 and in some cases a 2-year
credit worth up to $9,000. Unfortunately, the WOTC program is set to
expire at the end of the year, December 31, 2011, which would be an
additional blow to the veteran community when seeking employment.
I believe that we can get our unemployed veterans back to work with
the WOTC program by making three changes.
1. Make the Work Opportunity Tax Credit permanent
Since its creation in 1996, the WOTC program has been
up for renewal eight times. By making the program permanent, it
would add stability in the hiring process.
2. Expand the program by adding a target group for hiring
unemployed veterans
President Obama mentioned this in his proposed
American Jobs Bill, naming it the Returning Heroes Tax Credit.
It would allow unemployed veterans to qualify their employer
for WOTC.
3. Increase the maximum tax credit amount an employer may receive
for hiring qualified veterans.
Increasing the tax credit amount would further
incentivize employers to hire veterans.
The unemployment rate for the veterans in our country is too high.
We need action by our leaders in Washington to help veterans who served
our country get back to work. With modifications to the WOTC program,
such as making the WOTC program permanent, creating an unemployed
veterans target group, and increasing the tax credit for hiring
veterans, it will not only fuel employers to create jobs, it will fuel
employers to hire our brave veterans.
Prepared Statement of Timothy J. Carson, Manager,
Veterans Initiatives, Office of Diversity,
Rockwell Collins, Inc., Cedar Rapids, IA
Executive Summary
As a global company pioneering innovative communication and
aviation electronic solutions for both commercial and government/
defense applications, Rockwell Collins is deeply invested in the well-
being of military personnel, and that concern continues after their
active duty is complete. The high rate of veteran unemployment--which
is higher than the national average--demands private and public
response.
In that spirit, Rockwell Collins pursues an aggressive veteran
recruitment strategy internally, and works with a number of
organizations externally to extend this approach to other employers
across the Nation.
The components of this strategy include:
Support of organizations that advocate for employee
rights and benefits during active service with the Guard and Reserve
such as the Iowa Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (IESGR).
Support of organizations offering legal assistance to
servicemen and women before, during and after deployment.
A full-time recruiter devoted to identifying and hiring
military talent and advertising budget targeted toward veteran
recruitment.
Support and retention efforts such as Rockwell Collins'
Veterans Employee Network Group, corporate networking opportunities and
special events, and collaborations with the Veterans Administration to
ensure necessary supports and services are available.
Working with suppliers that are veteran-owned and service
disabled veteran-owned small businesses.
Support for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Student
Veterans of America's jobs and internship program and ``Hiring Our
Heroes'' initiative.
Collaboration with the National Organization on
Disability's Wounded Warriors Program.
We hope the ideas embedded in this multi-pronged strategy
contribute to the important national discussion surrounding this issue
and help move businesses and policy makers closer to a strategy that
reduces the veteran unemployment rate and helps veterans put the unique
and desirable skills they developed to work for the well-being of
themselves, their families and their future.
__________
Prepared Remarks
Thank you, Congressman Braley and Congressman Stutzman. My name is
Tim Carson. I serve as a manager of veterans initiatives with the
Office of Diversity at Rockwell Collins, a global aerospace and defense
company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In my position, I work
closely with Rockwell Collins' human resources organization and a
variety of external partners to promote outreach to veterans and
veterans organizations.
I am pleased to have the opportunity to talk to you today, and
appreciate that you are taking time to listen to the perspectives of
business and the community. It is particularly germane to this state,
which has the one of the highest number per capita of reservists
serving on active duty of any state in the union.
And on behalf of Rockwell Collins, I would like to express my
sincere appreciation for the invitation to speak about the importance
of helping veterans secure meaningful employment.
The valuable service these men and women provide is undeniable. And
so are the core skills they developed in the service--leadership,
discipline, responsibility and technological savvy--that can be
invaluable to civilian employers.
However, today more than 870,000 young veterans are unemployed--a
rate higher than the national unemployment rate, according to the Iraq
and Afghanistan Veterans of America. And the wind-down of engagements
abroad will lead to an additional million seeking civilian employment
in the next 5 years.
When Rockwell Collins talks about these soldiers, we're not just
speaking about them as a simple subpopulation amongst all of today's
many unemployed. We're talking about the people we serve.
They've relied upon our communication technology to stay connected
with their leadership in harsh, remote settings around the globe.
They've used our navigation systems to ensure the pinpoint accuracy of
weapons systems in areas where civilians and combatants often live side
by side. They've identified friend and foe with our helmet-mounted
displays. And they've given us feedback, based upon their own
experiences, to make these systems better for the next generation of
warfighters.
We are grateful for their service, and are dedicated to helping
them successfully transition from their military service and bring
their skills and experiences to the civilian workforce.
To that end, Rockwell Collins has always prioritized the hiring and
retention of veterans, and advocates that businesses across the state
and nation do so as well. We also believe it's important for us and
other companies to partner with local and national organizations to
ensure veterans receive the job counseling, training and guidance they
need to secure and make the most of employment opportunities.
Today, I'm going to talk about some of the initiatives Rockwell
Collins has pursued to build our veteran workforce, and the
partnerships we maintain. These aren't necessarily the only answer; in
fact, I'm sure there isn't one single answer to this challenge. But we
recognize you're seeking a breadth of ideas, and I think we have some
good ones.
Internally, our company has practices and policies in place to
ensure we attract and retain veterans and their spouses as employees.
Nearly 8 percent of our domestic workforce is made up of veterans,
and at any given time a number of them are serving active duty through
the Guard and Reserve. In fact, we are a strong advocate of the
principles of the Iowa Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, or
IESGR. The organization calls for companies to adhere to, and go
beyond, the provisions of the Uniformed Services Employment and
Reemployment Rights Act, including maintaining benefits, contributing
to employee 401(k)s during military duty, and maintaining vacation
accrual and raises. Because Rockwell Collins follows these guidelines
and also promotes these principles to others in the community, we have
earned a five-star rating from the IESGR.
We also recognize that legal issues can be a burden on Iowa's
servicemen and women before, during and after their deployment, and
provide ongoing support of the Iowa Returning Veterans Project to
provide them with free legal assistance.
Our human resources group has a full-time recruiter devoted to
identifying and hiring military talent, and we allocate a specific and
growing percentage of our annual recruitment/advertising budget to
military outreach. Through these efforts, we have consistently grown
our share of veterans as part of our total workforce, including a 4
percent increase in the past fiscal year.
But there's more to go. Our leadership has identified the hiring of
even more of yesterday's warriors as a key business goal for FY 2012,
and we are launching an enterprise-wide strategy to increase our
outreach, recruitment, hiring and retention efforts for veterans and
veterans with disabilities.
Once hired, we further the well-being and retention of these
individuals through a Veterans Employee Network Group, corporate
networking opportunities and special engagements such as Transition
Think Tanks and PTSD seminars. We collaborate with the Veterans
Administration and other subject matter experts, to ensure that the
necessary supports and services are made available and are accessible
to our employees.
We also recognize the importance of supporting veterans through our
business contracting with suppliers. Year to date, Rockwell Collins has
spent $57 million--nearly 5 percent of total corporate spending with
suppliers--with Veteran-Owned Small Businesses, and $13.6 million with
Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses.
We are fortunate to have gained some recognition for these efforts.
Rockwell Collins has been named a ``Top 100 Military-Friendly
Employer'' by G.I. Jobs magazine for the past 2 years, and we strive
every day to continue to deserve that recognition.
Beyond our own hiring practices, Rockwell Collins seeks to support
initiatives that promote hiring of veterans across the Nation.
We are a proud corporate sponsor of the Jobs and Internship
Program, a partnership championed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and
Student Veterans of America (SVA). In fact, we recently made a
significant contribution to the Chamber, specifically earmarked for
their partnership with the SVA and development of the ``Hiring Our
Heroes'' initiative.
We attended the SVA's Leadership Summit and Career Fair this past
summer in Madison, Wis., and will support the SVA's National Conference
this December as a corporate partner, exhibitor and employment panel
participant.
In an initiative that is a personal passion for me, we also work to
bring disabled veterans into the workplace, through a relationship with
the National Organization on Disability, know as NOD, and its Wounded
Warriors Program. As a primary sponsor of the organization, one of our
senior executives sits on the board for NOD and is engaged in
communicating core messages, events and opportunities for Rockwell
Collins to both support and influence.
And we continue to seek additional relationships or opportunities
to promote veteran hiring wherever we do business, and to talk about it
at every opportunity, like we are today.
Now, there's no single solution to the complex challenge of veteran
unemployment, and it's a pleasure to hear from the other participants
today and get new ideas to consider.
But I hope my and Rockwell Collins' contribution to the
conversation is helpful as you consider the public and private
strategies to tackle this issue.
These men and women willingly accepted one of our Nation's most
vital and precious responsibilities, of protecting the country from
harm. And in turn, we commit to fulfill our responsibility to help them
put the unique and desirable skills they developed in that endeavor to
work for the well-being of themselves, their families and their future.
I welcome any questions you may have today. I also encourage you to
contact Rockwell Collins if you'd like to know more specifics about
some of the initiatives I've outlined for you today.
Thank you again for your time and attention.
__________
Response to House Rule XI clause 2(g)(5): Tim Carson did not
receive any Federal grant or subgrants thereof during the current
fiscal year or either of the two previous fiscal years.
Prepared Statement of Colonel Benjamin J. Corell,
Commander, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry
Division, Iowa National Guard, Johnston, IA
Executive Summary
I appear in front of you today to ask for your help in addressing
the continued issue of high unemployment rates for returning Reserve
and National Guard veterans of our Nation's wars. I know that
addressing this issue and applying additional resources to help solve
this problem is the right thing to do. Our Nation has been at war now
longer than any other armed conflict in the history of our country.
This last decade has been a long, tough fight for our military forces.
I, like others have personally answered the call to duty time and time
again. I have witnessed our hard-earned success in both Iraq and in
Afghanistan. I have seen the sacrifice required by our men and women in
uniform and by our families. Reserve and National Guard employers have
quietly sacrificed at great costs with little thanks and no financial
incentives to hire and retain our veterans.
The burden of carrying out the directives of our senior leadership
and prosecuting these conflicts has been borne by less than 1 percent
of our Nation's population. These are the dedicated men and women of
our Nation's military. Never before has our Nation asked for so much
from an all-volunteer military. Never before has our Nation and the
senior military leadership asked so much of the Reserve and National
Guard. Not since the days of a national draft and conscription for
World War II have we asked so much from our civilian employers. They
have gone without some of their best and brightest who have left to
support the war effort as we call up our Reserve Component
servicemembers. I am here today to ask you to start the process to
produce incentives for those employers who hire and retain our veterans
in their workforce. In addition, we need to find a way to provide
incentives for small business owners who are members of our Reserve
Components in order to help these veterans sustain their livelihood
after they return from answering our country's call.
Our Nation and our people are currently in challenging financial
times. Hard discussions and difficult decisions about spending are
occurring not just in Washington DC, but across this Nation. These same
hard discussions are taking place at every business, large and small
and at kitchen tables across our country. Our returning veterans, our
Reserve and National Guard members have repeatedly answered the call to
duty serving in these current wars. It is because of their continued
sacrifice that America has remained safe while allowing the pursuit of
these wars with a smaller active military force and with no draft.
These veterans have skills and experience that many employers desire.
The aggregate unemployment rate for our veterans is habitually higher
than the national average rate of unemployment. I need your help to
correct this. All of the job fairs and resume writing workshops in the
world will only get my fellow veterans so far. I believe that we need
to review and update the 1994 Cold War-focused Uniformed Services
Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994. Concurrently we must
develop and implement legislation that will provide real incentives to
the business sector and for those veterans that own small business or
private professional practices. Once that is completed, we need to
market it to employers and ensure that it is enforced.
This effort will introduce true benefits for hiring and retaining
our veterans and enable veterans who own a business to remain
competitive in today's challenging environment. I need your assistance
to do this, and I ask for your help today.
Prepared Statement of Mark Hennessey, Iowa Committee for
Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, Johnston, IA
Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve
Iowa Committee for Employer Support
Johnston, IA.
13 October 2011
The Honorable Marlin Stutzman,
Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity
335 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Re: ``Hiring Heroes: Job Creation for Veterans and Guard/Reserve
Members.''
Chairman Stutzman,
Executive Summary
The primary missions of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserves
(ESGR) are to educate, provide consultation to, and assist with
reemployment challenges for Iowa employers, National Guard members, and
Reservists. The Employment Initiative Program (EIP) was added to our
mission in the fall of 2010 and is designed to facilitate employment
opportunities for unemployed and underemployed servicemembers and their
spouses.
The Iowa National Guard's returning 2nd Brigade Combat Team survey
results of 2,356 Soldiers, 721 consider themselves unemployed on their
return. Prior to their deployment 630 of them considered themselves
unemployed according to the Civilian Employment Information (CEI) data.
Statewide statistics are less comprehensive. Data has not been
effectively gathered from servicemembers outside of the Brigade
deployers.
Each military component enters CEI data into separate systems that
eventually are filtered into the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC)
where employment information is managed. The different entry system's
of each military component creates challenges when attempting to draw
accurate statistics. What it does provide is a picture of the % of
fulltime vs. part time jobs, top occupations, types of employers that
most often hire servicemembers, and types of industries.
ESGR have partnerships with Employer Partnership of the Armed
Forces (EPO), Iowa Workforce Development, the National Guard and
Reserves, Job Connections Education Program (JCEP) and a large number
of Association groups. These partnerships are solid and will be vital
to assisting our servicemembers in their employment search. ESGR
volunteers are also be a link statewide and can assist in the efforts
by directing servicemembers and employers to the sources that will
benefit them both.
The Iowa ESGR team will continue to facilitate with our partners
Employment Assistance Training Events statewide. We will also continue
to participate and assist in the promotion of job fair activities
through our Guard and Reserve contacts.
The primary missions of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserves
(ESGR) are to educate, provide consultation to, and assist with
reemployment challenges for Iowa employers, National Guard members, and
Reservists. The Employment Initiative Program (EIP) was added to our
mission set in the fall of 2010 and is designed to facilitate
employment opportunities for unemployed and underemployed
servicemembers and their spouses. This program is an outgrowth of our
ESGR Outreach Programs, corresponds with the current economic realities
in our state, and is consistent with our President's New Veterans
Employment Initiative.
This past July, the Iowa National Guard's 2nd Brigade Combat Team
recently returned home from a 1-year deployment to Afghanistan. As they
were out processing from this deployment at Ft. McCoy, Wis., 2,356 of
these Soldiers completed a survey regarding their employment status.
721 Soldiers responded they considered themselves unemployed on their
return to Iowa. According to the Civilian Employment Information (CEI)
data collected from these same Soldiers prior to the deployment, 630 of
them considered themselves unemployed. CEI data is entered into the
Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) by the servicemembers and is only
as accurate as the information they entered. We are able to request
data through National ESGR regarding statistics on the ``not'' employed
status of our servicemembers of all services.
National ESGR has partnered with the Employer Partnership of the
Armed Forces (EPO) under the EIP program. EPO specializes in
identifying civilian employers that are seeking to hire servicemembers
and their spouses. They also assist servicemembers and spouses in all
phases of the job search process. This organization is one resource
ESGR refers servicemembers and employers to in order to match job
seekers and job providers for civilian employment positions.
Iowa ESGR has also partnered with Iowa Workforce Development (IWD),
offering free Employment Assistance Training (EAT) workshops to
servicemembers and their spouses. These workshops are designed to teach
job search skills to job seekers. Topics covered include the Transition
Assistance Program (TAP), resume' writing, job interview skills
training, and online job search techniques. Civilian human resources
representatives volunteer to provide constructive critiques on prepared
resumes and also provide practice interviews for participants with
immediate feedback of their interview.
Since September 2011, ESGR and IWD have offered employment events
around the state in Waterloo, Des Moines, and Iowa City. These
locations were selected based on the survey results acquired in July
during Soldier out processing at Ft. McCoy. Unfortunately the Waterloo
event was canceled due to a low number of RSVPs. Individuals interested
in attending the Waterloo event alternatively scheduled individual
sessions with the local Veterans Representative at IWD. The Des Moines
event had 18 registrations with 9 actual attendees. Iowa City had 10
registrations, with 7 individuals participating in the training. When
compared to the survey results and the fact that more than 400 2nd
Brigade Combat Team Soldiers expressed interest in receiving employment
assistance while out processing at Fort McCoy, the rate of
participation is much lower than expected. From our perspective
potential reasons for the low participation could be that the
employment events were scheduled too soon after their return home,
Soldiers are not in a duty status and simply want a break from the
military, knowledge and use of unemployment benefits, or they simply
are not ready to think about finding a job.
Iowa ESGR is working with Guard and Reserve units to promote not
only the training events, but job fair opportunities throughout the
state. ESGR volunteers have briefed the job search opportunities and
training events during the Yellow Ribbon post-mobilization events
(reintegration briefings and activities) and also during unit annual
briefings. Information regarding upcoming employment events is
consistently emailed to all interested individuals, including command
and staff of the Guard and Reserves, Guard and Reserve members
returning from deployments, and ESGR military outreach volunteers.
The Iowa National Guard has worked closely with the National Guard
Bureau to hire an individual to work one-on-one with unemployed Guard
members as they search for employment. This individual will assist
servicemembers on resume writing and job search resources. They will
also build relationships with employers statewide to encourage the
hiring of our qualified servicemembers. ESGR will also work closely
with them, sharing resources, contacts, and strategies to build a
productive employer network.
ESGR has a long and successful history of helping Guard and Reserve
servicemembers and their employers understand their rights and
requirements under the Uniform Servicemembers Employment and Re-
Employment Rights Act (USERRA). Now, with the Employment Initiative
Program and associated partnerships, we have the opportunity to assist
servicemembers and employers connect more effectively and more often.
Prepared Statement of Anthony Smithhart, Iowa State Director,
Veterans' Employment and Training Service, U.S. Department of Labor
Chairman Stutzman, Ranking Member Braley, and Members of the
Committee:
Thank you for the opportunity to testify before the Committee about
the work we are doing at the Department of Labor (DOL or Department) to
address the important issue of decreasing the unemployment rate for
Veterans, National Guard, and Reservists. We also appreciate the
opportunity to discuss the work we are doing here in Iowa. With over
240,000 veterans living in the state, it is critical that we provide
them with the services and support they need to find and obtain good
jobs.
My name is Tony Smithhart, and as the Iowa State Director for the
Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS),
I am dedicated to helping our Veterans and returning Servicemembers
achieve that goal.
VETS proudly serves Veterans and transitioning Servicemembers by
providing resources and expertise to assist and prepare them to obtain
meaningful careers, maximize their employment opportunities and protect
their employment rights. We do this through a variety of nationwide
programs that are an integral part of Secretary Solis's vision of
``Good Jobs for Everyone.''
I would like to begin by briefly discussing some of those programs
along with other initiatives that assist America's Veterans in getting
to or back to work and then focus specifically on information for Iowa
you requested in your invitation.
Jobs for Veterans State Grants Program
The first program that I would like to highlight for you is the
Jobs for Veterans State Grants (JVSG) Program. Under this grant
program, the Department offers employment and training services to
eligible Veterans by allocating funds to State Workforce Agencies in
direct proportion to the number of Veterans seeking employment within
their state.
The Jobs for Veterans State Grants (JVSG) program funds two
occupations, the Disabled Veterans Outreach Program specialist (DVOP)
and the Local Veterans Employment Representatives (LVER). DVOP
specialists provide outreach services, and intensive employment
assistance to meet the employment needs of eligible Veterans. LVER
staff conducts outreach to employers and engages in advocacy efforts
with hiring executives to increase employment opportunities for
Veterans, encourages the hiring of disabled Veterans, and generally
assists Veterans to gain and retain employment.
Last year, the JVSG provided services to nearly 589,000 Veterans,
and 201,000 Veterans found jobs.
Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Program
To meet the needs of homeless Veterans and help reintegrate them
into the workforce VETS administers the Homeless Veterans'
Reintegration Program (HVRP). Through H.R.VP, the Department provides
competitive grants to state and local workforce investment boards,
state agencies, local public agencies, and private non-profit
organizations, including faith-based organizations and neighborhood
partnerships. HVRP grantees provide an array of services utilizing a
holistic case management approach that directly assists homeless
Veterans and provides training services to help them to successfully
transition into the labor force.
In Program Year (PY) 2009, over 14,000 homeless Veterans
participated in this program through 96 grants, and 8,470 were placed
into employment. Data for PY 2010 is not yet available, as figures for
the 4th quarter are still being verified. Here in Iowa, the HVRP has
touched many lives and helped hundreds of homeless Veterans because of
grants to programs such as the Goodwill Industries of the Heartland and
Shelter House Community Shelter & Transition Services.
Veterans' Workforce Investment Program
Yet another way the Department is working to help Veterans get back
to work is through the Veterans' Workforce Investment Program (VWIP).
Through VWIP, the Department awards competitive grants geared toward
focused training, re-training and employment opportunities for recently
separated Veterans, Veterans with service-connected disabilities,
Veterans with significant barriers to employment and Veterans who
served on active duty during expeditions or campaigns for which
specific badges were awarded. These grants are awarded to meet the
needs of employers for qualified workers in high demand industries,
particularly those occupations requiring a license or certification.
These grants also promote the integration of public, private, and
philanthropic organizations with the workforce system to create synergy
and encourage innovative strategies to serve our Veterans better.
In FY 2009, VWIP was refocused to provide training and employment
services in green energy occupations as envisioned in the Green Jobs
Act of 2007. There are currently 22 grants serving 4,600 Veterans.
Transition Assistance Program
Our primary program for assisting individuals with their transition
from the military to the civilian workforce is the Transition
Assistance Program (TAP). TAP is an interagency program delivered via a
partnership involving the Department of Defense, DOL VETS, the
Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Homeland
Security. VETS provides an employment workshop that is a comprehensive
two and a half day program during which participants are provided
relevant skills and information, such as job search techniques, career
decision-making processes, and current labor market conditions.
Currently, VETS uses a mix of contractors, VETS Federal staff,
DVOPs, and LVERs as TAP facilitators. Starting in late 2012, VETS will
transition to all skilled contract facilitators.
As you know, VETS is currently in the process of redesigning and
transforming the TAP employment workshop. We are creating experiential,
effective, and enduring solutions for a successful transition from
military to civilian life and employment. The new TAP will be based on
established best practices in career transition.
Last year, nearly 130,000 transitioning Servicemembers and spouses
attended a TAP employment workshop given at one of 272 locations world-
wide.
Employer Partnerships
VETS is also implementing a new approach to employer outreach that
involves pilot programs and partnerships with the private sector,
including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Society for Human
Resource Management (SHRM). These partnerships are giving us much
broader access to employers so that we can communicate the value of
hiring a Veteran and how to access this extraordinary source of talent.
It also allows us to educate employers about the unique skills Veterans
bring with them based on their military experience. Connecting the
talent pool with the many companies looking to hire Veterans allows for
a more efficient hiring process for many Veterans and employers.
The Chamber is working to hold 100 hiring fairs exclusively for
Veterans, transitioning Servicemembers and their spouses. In the
partnership, the U.S. Chamber and its affiliates focus primarily on
securing the participation of employers while the VETS team focuses on
obtaining participation by Veterans, transitioning Servicemembers and
their spouses.
In fact, VETS is participating in our State-wide 2011 ``Hiring Our
Heroes'' Job Fair in Des Moines, Iowa on November 8th, 2011. The event
will be held at the Hy-Vee Hall (Hall ``C''), 730 Third Street, Des
Moines, Iowa, 50309 from 10:00AM-4:00PM and is being put on by the
Greater Des Moines Partnership, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce along
with the Iowa Works, the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve
(ESGR), Des Moines Area Community College, and the Military Services.
VETS is working with SHRM to identify opportunities for VETS state
managers to meet with local SHRM chapters to connect Veterans seeking
employment with companies who are hiring. For VETS this is an effective
and efficient way to connect employers and Veterans. We are also
working with SHRM in the development of an H.R. Toolkit that will
provide employers with the methods and procedures to establish a
Veteran hiring program and to hire Veterans.
Iowa Specific Information
In your letter of invitation, you requested certain information
about Veterans in Iowa. While some specific data is unavailable, we
have nevertheless been certain to provide the most current information
available. As you know, Iowa operates a Public Labor Exchange primarily
funded by the U.S. Department of Labor to assist all job seekers with
their employment needs. While it is available to all populations,
Veterans are given priority of service. In Iowa, the Public Labor
Exchange is known as the Iowa Workforce Development (IWD). The services
and assistance offered at IWD range from employment preparation and
comprehensive employment placement services, to intensive services
through a case management approach for Veterans with special needs.
Level of Education of Veterans Seeking Employment Assistance
Over the past year, 19,687 Veterans have received services through
IWD. Of the total population of Veterans served through the public
labor exchange, 1074 or 5.5 percent reported less than a high school
diploma while 9,000 or 45.7 percent have a high school degree or a GED.
The total number of Veterans reporting achievement of a post-high
school degree or certification is 6144, or 31.2 percent. (See table
below.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Data Element Iowa Percent
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Number of Vets, Eligibles and Transitioning 19,687
Servicemembers
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Number of Vets, Eligibles and Transitioning 1,074 5.5%
Servicemembers who were not HS Graduates
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Number of Vets Eligibles and Transitioning 9,000 46%
Servicemembers who had a HS degree or GED
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Number of Vets, Eligi8bles and Transitioning 6,144 31%
Servicemembers who had a Post-Secondary degree or are
Certified
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training
Administration Form ETA 9002 A: ``Services to Participants'' July 1,
2010 through June 30, 2011. U.S. Department of Labor, and Employment
and Training Administration Form ETA 9002 D Services to Participants,
April 1, 2010 through March 31, 2011.
Education level is not a required field when registering with the
One-Stop Career Center system; therefore, the breakdown by education
level does equal the total number of Veterans served.
Average Placement Salary by Level of Education for Veterans.
In Iowa, the 6 month Average Earnings for veterans are; $15, 346 or
$30,692 per annum. The principle source of information for this data
element is the U.S. Department of Labor's, Employment and Training
Administration from the ETA 9002, Services to Participants for Program
Year Period July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011. While specific
placement salary data by education level are not available, the ETA
9002, Performance Outcomes for Veterans, Eligible Persons and
Transitioning Servicemembers does provide Average Earnings data.
Length of Unemployment for Veterans by Education Level
The Current Population Survey provides national data about the
employment status of the civilian non-institutional population by
educational attainment, age, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino and Non-
Hispanic ethnicity. The same source provides data for unemployed
persons by duration of unemployment, educational attainment, sex, and
age as an annual average for the general population. However, data for
length of unemployment by education level for Veterans as a separate
population is not available.
Rate of Unemployment for Veterans by Education Level
In terms of unemployment rates for the general population, the
Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) reports a 6.1 percent rate
for Iowa in 2010. Comparatively, the Current Population Survey (CPS),
collected by the Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
shows that the unemployment rate for Veterans was 6.4 percent in Iowa
in 2010. Unemployment rate data by education level by state is not
available. (See table below.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Data Element Iowa
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unemployment Rates: 6.1%
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Calendar Year 2010 (LAUS) General Population 6.1%
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Calendar Year 2010 (CPS)-Veterans 6.4%
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Number of Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
(USERRA) Complaints Filed
VETS is honored to serve our Nation's Veterans. One of the agency's
top priorities is to protect the employment rights of servicemembers
when called to serve on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. The goal
of the USERRA is to ensure that no member or prospective member of the
U.S. Armed forces endures any disadvantage or discrimination in
employment because of their affiliation with the military, and to
secure the reemployment rights of members of the military after active
duty service.
VETS works closely with DoD's Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Reserve Affairs' Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) to
ensure that servicemembers are informed on their USERRA rights before
and after they are mobilized. We conduct continuous USERRA outreach to
educate and inform servicemembers and employers of their rights and
responsibilities under the law.
The use of the National Guard and Reserves has increased
dramatically in recent years, with more called to active duty than any
other time since the Korean War. This has increased the complexity of
issues resulting from the challenges faced by servicemembers and their
families due to lengthier and multiple deployments. This is true for
all servicemembers but because many National Guard and Reserve Units,
in particular, contend with civilian employment issues, the claims
activity post 9-11 has increased dramatically nationwide. Employers
face equal hardships in the reintegration of servicemembers into the
labor force as they deal with lengthy and multiple absences.
Your invitation asked for the number of USERRA complaints filed in
Iowa. Below, is the breakdown of complaints filed within the last 5
years. Despite the increase nationally, the number of complaints have
decreased in Iowa over this time period.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Data Element Iowa
------------------------------------------------------------------------
USERRA Complaints Filed:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal Fiscal Year 2007 38
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal Fiscal Year 2008 39
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal Fiscal Year 2009 34
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal Fiscal Year 2010 24
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal Fiscal Year 2011 19
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: USDOL/VETS Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment
Rights Act Information Management System
Conclusion:
Thank you again for allowing me to testify today and for your
tireless support and commitment to our Nations Veterans. DOL and VETS
look forward to continuing to work with you and your staff on Veterans'
employment initiatives. I look forward to responding to your questions.
Prepared Statement of Teresa Wahlert, Director,
Iowa Workforce Development, Des Moines, IA
Strengthening Veteran Employment Opportunities in Iowa
Throughout the country countless men and women have dedicated their
lives and made extreme sacrifices for the safety of everyone. Hundreds
of thousands of Americans have deployed to serve our great country, yet
when they come home a fundamental step in returning to a civilian life
is difficult to obtain: employment. Iowa is one of the few states
without an active military installation; however our National Guard and
Reservists have been deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and other world
locations in record numbers, often for multiple deployments.
Iowa receives a small grant for the veterans program within our 16
one-stop integrated centers. As such, we have developed creative
alternatives to ensure our entire workforce staff members are trained
in providing priority of service activities for Iowa's veterans. This
allows our targeted veteran staff members to focus on active case
management for veterans in need. This level of case management has
developed new meaning with the record number of returning
servicemembers over the last few years. Recently, Iowa welcomed home
nearly 3,000 servicemembers from Afghanistan follow a long deployment.
While this should be a time for celebration for our returning heroes,
the Adjutant General of the Iowa National Guard, Major General Tim Orr,
recently noted that nearly 25 percent of these individuals would be
seeking full-time employment. Unfortunately, our servicemen and women
have faced hiring difficulties and problems with USERRA compliance upon
their recent return. Although Federal regulations require veterans be
returned to their former positions, frequently this is not the case.
Further promotion of USERRA requirements is needed to ensure our
veterans are treated appropriately.
Iowa is working to develop a new service delivery model that
benefits all job seekers, including veterans. The integration service
delivery model works to identify the needs and barriers of job seekers
early on to ensure the client receives all of the benefits of programs
within the workforce system. This allows staff members to quickly
identify veterans to ensure their immediate connection to a veteran
specialist. A significant barrier for individuals transitioning to
civilian employment is translating the military skill set to civilian
skills. It's difficult for the veteran who is so entrenched in military
language to develop the talking points to sell his/her skill sets as
valuable within the civilian workforce. Iowa's veteran specialists work
diligently on a daily basis to assist with this process and to educate
employers on the benefits of hiring veterans.
Although Iowa is a smaller state, time and time again we've been
recognized for our outstanding efforts in providing services to
veterans. Our staff developed a veteran's services guide that details
programs and services for veterans in a format that is easy to navigate
and understand. Additionally, the department instituted a peer-to-peer
case review system on a quarterly basis to provide ongoing training and
develop best practices for all program specialists to use throughout
the state. Both of these initiatives have been replicated by states
throughout the country.
On July 27th, Iowa Workforce Development announced a first in the
Nation partnership with the Iowa National Guard. The state's workforce
access point technology is being introduced onsite at the 43 National
Guard Armories across the state. This is the same virtual service
deployed across Iowa in hundreds of new sites. Veterans will have
immediate access to job search technology, resume development software,
labor market information, veteran specific resources, unemployment
information and access to one-stop workforce specialists via live chat
or a toll free number from 8:00AM to 8:00PM Monday through Friday and
10:00AM to 2:00PM on Saturdays all from an environment where the
veterans currently seek a variety of services and contacts.
Although Iowa is a small state with a limited grant, we've taken
innovative approaches to maximize the funding for the entire state.
Iowa focuses its staffing dollars towards the DVOP case management side
and trains everyone on our business outreach teams to educate employers
and promote the hiring of veterans. Our entire workforce team works to
educate employers on the benefits of hiring veterans. This provides our
state with a larger portion of resources to direct at intensive case
management activities. This process has been recognized by other states
such as Oregon, Nevada, Connecticut and others as a best practice for
ensuring veterans receive dedicated services. Every year, states are
allowed to use 1 percent of their veteran services grant as incentive
awards to the regional one-stop centers. Iowa Workforce Development
uses this opportunity to reward our specialists who go above and beyond
in service delivery and develop creative means for reaching veterans in
the community. The inventive awards are used in a variety of ways
including providing bedding for local veteran homeless shelters,
purchasing gas cards to ensure the veteran has the means to attend an
interview, sponsoring honor flights and more. In 2010, a DVOP
specialist received the distinguished national Mark Sanders Award for
outstanding service to disabled veterans in Iowa.
While Iowa and other states have taken creative steps to assist
veterans, more needs to be done to ensure that veterans find
successful, sustaining employment opportunities that meet their unique
needs and allow each individual to utilize the skills developed during
their selfless service to the country.
Prepared Statement of Rear Admiral T. L. McCreary, USN (Ret.),
President, Military.com
Chairman Stutzman, Ranking Member Braley, and Members of the
Subcommittee, thank you for your focus on the critical issue of veteran
employment.
As a 27 year veteran of the Navy and the current President of
Military.com, I have experienced the issue of veteran employment from
both sides. As such, I would like to share with you what our
organization is doing to help veterans find career opportunities as
well as our belief that aligning government and the private sector will
best connect our servicemembers with jobs.
Post-WWII our country experienced what can be called the ``Golden
Age of Higher Education.'' Armed with their GI Bill Benefits, 4.4
million servicemembers went to college to build the foundation for a
better life.
While today's veterans and servicemembers in transition are still
pursuing their educational dreams with the enhanced GI Bill, a weakened
economy makes it tougher to find excellent job opportunities. There is
a disconnect with the private sector on the transportability of
military skills and our veterans are finding it more difficult than
ever to translate their total military experience into a civilian
career.
The numbers are disturbing. The unemployment rate for all veterans
remains stubbornly at 9 percent, the unemployment rate for post 9/11
veterans is roughly 11 percent--higher than the national average. Young
male veterans between the ages of 18 to 24 had an unemployment rate of
21.9 percent% in 2010 and female veterans face unemployment at a rate
of 13.5 percent, versus 8.4 percent for non-veteran women.
Many Americans enter the military because of the opportunity to
acquire marketable skills along with the ability for advanced degrees.
Yet when the time comes to transition today, they are not finding as
much opportunity in today's economy. Worse yet, the connection between
unemployment and homelessness is irrefutable. Right now the VA
estimates there are over 100,000 veterans who have no home.
The reality is, as we continue to reduce our troop end strength,
more veterans will be looking for civilian employment while job growth
has not accelerated as much as hoped.
Competition will be stiff and we already know that unemployment is
higher for veterans than for civilians.
Military culture, language and job skills are not easily translated
to the civilian world. Potential employers have very little
understanding of the diverse jobs and skill sets one can learn in the
military. Additionally, our veterans are coming out of the service with
little experience in writing a civilian resume and no exposure to
private sector business culture or language.
There is no doubt that given the service these veterans have
provided us during wartime, we owe them the best support possible in
their post-service life.
So how do we do that?
First, programs that allow those who have served in uniform and who
desire to continue their government service in a civilian capacity
should be embraced. There is great value in the government competing
for these outstanding men and women.
But the majority of transitioning servicemembers do look to the
private sector for employment so focus should be put on public, private
efforts to land veterans jobs.
So to assist, military personnel need more exposure to the private
sector before they leave the service. That exposure needs to happen in
the form of enhanced Transition Assistance Programs (TAP), where the
focus needs to be on the veteran getting ahead rather than just getting
out. The employment curriculum of TAP needs to be taught by human
resource professionals from the private sector with some military
knowledge so instructors can provide the best chance for the military
member to find the best opportunity on the outside. It must include
skill-specific resume writing services, information on private sector
business culture and hands-on training on how to use all available
private sector resources so veterans can get in front of the employers
and compete in the human resource networks that exist in the private
sector. And it must teach networking and where to find those who can
help and give our veterans insight into the marketplace.
Post-service employment preparation should be focused on how to
enter the civilian job market rather than trying to create stand-alone
programs run by the government. The vast majority of companies in the
private sector have very good and generally very efficient ways to find
good talent. The key must be to help the veterans get into that system,
be identified as veterans . . . and compete.
Second, if government wants a program they can sink their teeth
into, it should fund training for those in the field of human resources
on how to understand military skill sets and how those skills apply to
the civilian world. This training needs to include explanations for
primary, secondary and tertiary duties an individual may have had in
the service. The Department of Labor has a basic program around this
but it could be greatly enhanced.
Third, a better understanding of how military certifications
translate to civilian professional certifications should be addressed
with all state governments.
My Military.com director of community outreach visited a number of
military installations overseas in February of this year. During his
visit to Marine Corps Base Camp Butler in Okinawa Japan, he met a Navy
Hospital Corpsman Second Class who had recently returned from his
second tour in Afghanistan. The Navy Corpsman earned a Bronze Star with
a Combat ``V'' for his heroic efforts in performing a tracheotomy on a
wounded Marine during a firefight engagement with insurgents. This Navy
Corpsman has the exceptional skills and abilities to perform such a
task under extreme hazardous conditions and do it effectively, yet does
not warrant becoming a qualified emergency medical technician in the
civilian community unless he goes through a full training and
certification program where he probably is more qualified than the
instructor.
It astounds me that a soldier, sailor, airman, Marine or
Coastguardsman can perform surgery on the battlefield but not be
certified an EMT in the civilian world without starting from scratch.
An all-out effort between VA, Labor and DoD with the 50 states could
probably develop a program of what knowledge, skills and abilities
would be accepted as certifications within all states with a very short
testing period.
Finally, leveraging the expertise of private companies like
Monster.com and Military.com is crucial to sustaining any successful,
long-term veteran employment efforts.
Military.com knows the private sector; with our parent company,
Monster.com we can and do specialize in harnessing the best technology
along with the most effective methods to connect our servicemembers
with employers. And while most employers don't tell us how many vets
they hire, we do know they continually search resumes with veteran
status and continually advertise their positions on Monster and
Military.com
While the government assists servicemembers with getting out
through the Transition Assistance Program, we at Monster.com and
Military.com help them get ahead by tapping into our large data base of
jobs and providing the guidance needed to enter the civilian job world.
Military.com was founded in 1999 by a young Navy reservist to
revolutionize the way our 30 million Americans with military affinity
stay connected and informed.
Today, Military.com is the largest military and veteran membership
organization with more than 10 million members and we're one of the
largest news destination sites on the Internet. Our free membership
connects servicemembers, military families and veterans to each other
and to all the benefits of service at all stages in their lives --
government benefits, resources and career services, education
information and scholarships, discounts, news and discussion forums to
share the great stories and challenges inherent in military life, and
more.
In 2004, Military.com joined forces with Monster Worldwide to
accelerate our growth and change the playing field for career and
educational opportunities for active duty personnel, as well as Guard
and reservists, veterans and military spouses. We work hard every day
to serve those who serve our country and we're committed to helping our
members find work and enter into career paths that will compliment and
build on the skills they acquired in the military.
We do this both online and offline.
Online, we offer a comprehensive offering of services, resources
and information to support every stage of a military career, from
recruitment to boot camp to promotions, retirement, education and
second careers.
Military.com created a veteran career center using technology to
successfully deliver a personalized experience with a variety of
interactive tools and resources. We offer the largest veteran job board
in the world featuring military-friendly employers as well as hundreds
of thousands of job postings available through our Monster.com
database.
We also offer personalized email alerts for new postings that match
a veteran's resume and job interests, as well as resume writing tools,
education and training information, mentoring through our Veteran
Career Network, and electronic newsletters with news and employer
information.
To help veterans begin their new career search, we developed our
Military Skills Translator. We use the Department of Labor's online
resource known as ``O-Net,'' or Occupational Data Network as a baseline
to translate current and older military occupational specialty codes
into civilian occupations
Then Military.com is taking it one step further. We present the
veteran with equivalent jobs currently posted on the Monster job board,
including those posted by thousands of military employers specifically
looking for veterans. The veteran can immediately apply to one of these
jobs from our site or review the job postings and learn what specific
experiences, skills, education, and training employers are seeking for
this type of position. This information can help the job seeker better
``civilianize'' their military experience on their resume and best
communicate the skill, knowledge, and abilities they acquired while in
service. Over the last year, we had over 250,000 separate individuals
use our translator an average of 4-5 times per person.
Through the Military Skills Translator, not only are veterans
empowered to apply to currently available jobs, they can also see
members of our Military.com's Veteran Career Network who have indicated
they held that same Military Occupational Specialty.
One of our fastest growing services that is still in beta form is
this mentor network that connects veterans seeking new careers with
employed veterans as well as military supporters. Military.com members
who volunteer for this feature create a profile containing details
about their military experience, professional interests, and their
current job position and employer.
Veterans using this feature can find a career network mentor by
company, government agency, career field, industry or geographic
location. Once the veteran job seeker has identified someone with whom
they would like to network, he or she can contact a mentor directly
through our secure Military.com email tool.
Since the implementation of our Veteran Career Network in 2007,
over one million Military.com members have signed on to network with
other veterans and help transitioning servicemembers jumpstart their
civilian careers.
Our members also access financial information and guidance. Our
Finance Channel drew over 450,000 views in March 2011 because of the
comprehensive information VA home loans and our relocation guide which
helps military families through their mandatory moves.
For example, in March of 2011 alone we had 3 million views on our
Benefits and Education Channel which includes information on Tricare,
GI Bill, VA health care, survivor benefits and information on PTSD
resources and support.
We keep our members in touch with the latest information about
their benefits and interests with our email newsletters, of which 35
million are sent each month to our members who subscribe to them. Our
most popular newsletters are the Veterans Insider with over 8 million
subscribers, our Careers newsletters with over 800,000 subscribers and
our Active Duty Insider with over 4 million subscribers. These
newsletters offer tailored content and feature relevant information and
resource links for our audience.
Offline, we actively engage with the communities we serve through
in person events.
Currently we host, in conjunction with our non-profit partner, the
Non-Commissioned Officers Association, over 40 career expos a year.
In 2010, over 15,000 members attended our 33 career fair events
across the country. Since January of this year, we have held 11 career
fair events, attended by more than 3500 veterans and transitioning
servicemembers. We have also recently begun hosting Veteran Power
Seeker Workshops in advance of our career fairs to help attendees write
resumes, acquire interviewing and networking skills and research
employers so they are prepared to most successfully engage with
employers at the event.
These career fairs are important because it gives us one to one
interaction with both employers and transitioning servicemembers. Here
we are able to walk job seekers through the interview process, review
resumes and counsel them about the many opportunities outside of the
government that they may not have known they were qualified for.
Conversely we get the chance to meet with employers and ``de-code'' the
military skills or vernacular they are seeing on resumes and point out
what skills sets will best fit their needs.
If you question the ability of the private sector to embrace and
assist our veterans in their job search, look no further than
Military.com and the solid relationships we have created between our
servicemembers, veterans and employers.
In conclusion, we no longer have finite wars with treaties being
signed on the deck of a battleship. Today's changing global environment
means that any time our military can be called to action, tapped for
humanitarian assistance or used to quell instability around the globe.
As such, we have a much longer-term obligation to understand
veterans and the employment they seek. Rather than the ``home from
war'' mentality of previous generations, we now have to see veteran's
employment as a rolling responsibility that will remain a permanent
fixture on our national landscape.
Just as the Post WWII generation enjoyed the ``Golden Age of
Education'' we can and should see this as our opportunity to create the
``Golden Age of Employment'' for those who have served our Nation so
proudly. We are fortunate enough here in our country to have an all-
volunteer force, one that emerges from, and ultimately goes back into
the civilian population.
It stands to reason that a crucial component in ensuring jobs for
those veterans who return to civilian life is leveraging the expertise
and involvement of the private sector.
Madam Chairwoman and Members of the Subcommittee, this concludes my
statement. I would be pleased to answer any questions you may have.
Prepared Statement of Jennifer J. Suchan, Assistant Registrar
and Coordinator, Veterans Student Services, University of Northern Iowa
October 21, 2011
The Honorable Marlin Stutzman, Chair
House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity
The Honorable Bruce Braley, Ranking Member
House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity
Dear Congressman Stutsman and Congressman Braley:
The University of Northern Iowa commends the Committee for its
commitment to economic opportunity for returning veterans. Education is
directly related to an individual's economic opportunity. On behalf of
the University, I would like to share with you our commitment to
veterans, as well as provide for your consideration some
recommendations to further assist returning veterans.
The University of Northern Iowa established the Veterans Student
Services Committee in fall 2009. The 21 members include students,
faculty and staff, officers with the ROTC program, and members of the
Cedar Valley community. Preference for appointments are given to
individuals who are veterans, who have particular research or content
knowledge about veterans' matters, or who have professional
responsibilities related to military service.
In the 2 years since its creation, the Committee has:
Conducted a survey to determine the needs and desires of
student veterans
Launched the UNI Student Veterans Association
Initiated participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program
Initiated campus-wide recognition activities for Veterans
Day
In July 2011, I was appointed Coordinator, Veterans Student
Services (VSSC). Among my duties is serving as Chair of the Veteran
Student Services Committee. The following goals have been set for the
2011-12 academic year:
Conduct a faculty and staff awareness survey
Create a university veterans-specific Web site
Establish a faculty/staff-to-student veteran mentoring
program
Launch UNI VETS (UNI Veterans Educating Tomorrow's
Students)
Add elements into the existing orientation programming to
meet the specific needs of veterans
The VSSC is comprised of four Subcommittees: (1) Communications and
Outreach; (2) Education and Assessment; (3) Transitions and Retention;
and (4) UNI Student Veterans Association. Each Subcommittee has a
number of goals and initiatives that they work to accomplish. Today's
hearing sheds light on some additional goals that could be pursued: A
job fair and on-campus interviews specific to student veterans; resume-
critiquing and mock interviews to aid student veterans in translating
their military skills, training, and experience in civilian terms; and
encouragement of student-veterans to partake in the many internship
opportunities that are available.
UNI is also proud to announce that it was included in the 2012
Military Friendly Schools List published by G.I. Jobs magazine. The
list recognizes the top 15 percent of colleges, universities, and trade
schools that are supporting the educational pursuits of veterans.
Criteria for inclusion in the Military Friendly Schools List include a
strong commitment to recruiting, retaining, and providing financial,
academic, and social services to student veterans.
Recommendations:
We are committed at all levels to supporting the transition from
``boots to books,'' and as a result, support measures that contribute
to a more seamless transition from military to civilian life. Colleges
and universities should be urged to provide an office or staff person
to serve as coordinator for veterans services and to expand the
availability of training on veterans' needs and issues for campus
officials, faculty and staff.
We would be pleased to meet with you and Members of the Committee
to discuss further these comments, as well as to respond to questions
and provide additional information.
Sincerely,
Jennifer J. Suchan
Assistant Registrar and Coordinator,
Veterans Student Servicesq02
MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD
QUESTION FOR THE RECORD FROM
CHAIRMAN STUTZMAN TO MR. SMITHHART
Mr. Stutzman. How many veteran job placements did Iowa State
Workforce complete in the last year, roughly?
Mr. Smithhart. For the period ending on December 31, 2011, the
number of Veterans/eligible persons that were reported as entered
employment in Iowa was 6,209.