[House Hearing, 116 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                 ECONOMIC WELL-BEING OF WOMEN VETERANS

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                  SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY

                                 OF THE

                     COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS

                     U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                     ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                             JULY 10, 2019

                               __________

                           Serial No. 116-24

                               __________

       Printed for the use of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
       
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                    Available via http://govinfo.gov
                    
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                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
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                     COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS

                   MARK TAKANO, California, Chairman

JULIA BROWNLEY, California           DAVID P. ROE, Tenessee, Ranking 
KATHLEEN M. RICE, New York               Member
CONOR LAMB, Pennsylvania, Vice-      GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida
    Chairman                         AUMUA AMATA COLEMAN RADEWAGEN, 
MIKE LEVIN, California                   American Samoa
MAX ROSE, New York                   MIKE BOST, Illinois
CHRIS PAPPAS, New Hampshire          NEAL P. DUNN, Florida
ELAINE G. LURIA, Virginia            JACK BERGMAN, Michigan
SUSIE LEE, Nevada                    JIM BANKS, Indiana
JOE CUNNINGHAM, South Carolina       ANDY BARR, Kentucky
GILBERT RAY CISNEROS, JR.,           DANIEL MEUSER, Pennsylvania
    California                       STEVE WATKINS, Kansas
COLLIN C. PETERSON, Minnesota        CHIP ROY, Texas
GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN,      W. GREGORY STEUBE, Florida
    Northern Mariana Islands
COLIN Z. ALLRED, Texas
LAUREN UNDERWOOD, Illinois
ANTHONY BRINDISI, New York

                 Ray Kelley, Democratic Staff Director
                 Jon Towers, Republican Staff Director

                  SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY

                    MIKE LEVIN, California, Chairman

KATHLEEN M. RICE, New York           GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida Ranking 
ANTHONY BRINDISI, New York               Member
CHRIS PAPPAS, New Hampshire          JACK BERGMAN, Michigan
ELAINE G. LURIA, Virginia            JIM BANKS, Indiana
SUSIE LEE, Nevada                    ANDY BARR, Kentucky
JOE CUNNINGHAM, South Carolina       DANIEL MEUSER, Pennsylvania

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

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                             JULY 10, 2019

                                                                   Page

ECONOMIC WELL-BEING OF WOMEN VETERANS............................     1

                           OPENING STATEMENTS

Honorable Mike Levin, Chairman...................................     1
Honorable Gus M. Bilirakis, Ranking Member.......................     2
Honorable Julia Brownley.........................................    16
Honorable Jack Bergman...........................................    17
Honorable Kathleen M. Rice.......................................    18
Honorable Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen..........................    20
Honorable Anthony Brindisi.......................................    22
Honorable Daniel Meuser..........................................    24
Honorable Susie Lee..............................................    25
Honorable Andy Barr..............................................    27

                               WITNESSES

Ms. Lauren Augustine, Vice President of Government Affairs, 
  Student Veterans of America....................................     4

Ms. Maureen Casey, J.D., Chief Operating Officer, Institute for 
  Veterans and Military Families.................................     6

Ms. Jas Boothe, Founder, Final Salute, Inc.......................     8

Ms. Christine Schwartz, Chief Executive Officer, Service to 
  School.........................................................     9

Ms. Jodie Grenier, Chief Executive Officer, Foundation for Women 
  Warriors.......................................................    11

                                APPENDIX

                     Prepared Statements of Witness

Ms. Lauren Augustine Prepared Statement..........................    33
Ms. Maureen Casey Prepared Statement.............................    42
Ms. Jas Boothe Prepared Statement................................    55
Ms. Christine Schwartz Prepared Statement........................    65
Ms. Jodie Grenier Prepared Statement.............................    66

                       Submission For The Record

Ms. Joy J. Ilem, National Legislative Director, Disabled American 
  Veterans (DAV).................................................    73

 
                 ECONOMIC WELL-BEING OF WOMEN VETERANS

                              ----------                              


                        Wednesday, July 10, 2019

             Committee on Veterans' Affairs
               Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity
                              U.S. House of Representatives
                                                   Washington, D.C.

    The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:05 a.m., in 
room 210, House Visitors Center, Hon. Mike Levin(chairman of 
the subcommittee) presiding.
    Present: Representatives Levin, Rice, Brindisi, Pappas, 
Lee, Cunningham, Bilirakis, Bergman, Banks, Barr, and Meuser.
    Also present: Representative Brownley and Representative 
Radewagen.

           OPENING STATEMENT OF MIKE LEVIN, CHAIRMAN

    Mr. Levin. I call this hearing to order.
    I request unanimous consent that the chair is authorized to 
declare a recess at any time. Hearing no objection, I want to 
welcome everyone to today's joint hearing with the Economic 
Opportunity Subcommittee and Women Veterans Task Force on the 
``Economic Well-Being of Women Veterans.''
    With that said, I would like to request unanimous consent 
that Congresswoman Brownley, as well as Congresswoman 
Radewagen, join us at the dais for this hearing. Hearing no 
objection, today, we will examine the State of women veterans 
in the economy and how Congress can continue to support these 
brave women.
    As always, I am pleased by the bipartisan work of the 
Economic Opportunity Subcommittee on this issue and on many 
issues, and I thank my friend, the ranking member, Mr. 
Bilirakis for that.
    I also would like to thank the staff for helping us put 
together this hearing and these witnesses together in a 
bipartisan fashion. I wish all of Congress operated in a 
similar bipartisan fashion.
    I am excited for the five panelists we have joining us. And 
I would like to note, for procedure's sake, that in accordance 
with committee rules the committee minority was offered the 
opportunity to invite a witness.
    For far too long; Congress and the Department of Veterans 
Affairs have overlooked the unique barriers that women veterans 
face after leaving military service. The Women Veterans Task 
Force, chaired by Congresswoman Julia Brownley, seeks to 
increase the visibility of the 2 million women who have served 
in the U.S. military, and promote inclusivity and equitable 
access to comprehensive health care, benefits, education, and 
economic opportunity and other Federal resources, particularly 
at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
    Thanks to the Women Veterans Task Force and several pieces 
of legislation introduced by our members, Congress is starting 
to address hurdles that impede the economic mobility of women 
veterans, but we still have much longer to go.
    Women veterans comprise the fastest-growing demographic in 
the veterans community. With an average of 18,000 new women 
veterans per year, women veterans will make up over 10 percent 
of the veterans population by 2020 and close to 15 percent by 
2035. We can and, in fact, we must start prioritizing the brave 
women of our Nation, which is why we are here today.
    Congress must have a better understanding of the barriers 
that women veterans face in accessing their VA benefits, 
enrolling in institutions of higher learning, and securing 
meaningful employment with a livable wage.
    It is also important that we recognize the many ways in 
which women veterans thrive. We know that women veterans have 
been over-represented in the otherwise under-utilized 
Vocational Rehabilitation and Education Program; we know that a 
higher percentage of women veterans have Bachelor's degrees 
when compared to non-veteran women; and we know that the wage 
gap decreases if a woman is a veteran, especially if she is a 
minority veteran.
    Most economic indicators find that women veterans, 
particularly younger women veterans, are outperforming some 
male veterans and many women civilians, but somehow women 
veterans are also the fastest-growing population of homeless 
veterans. The population of homeless women veterans has more 
than doubled since 2006. Think of that, more than doubled since 
2006; unacceptable. It is obvious that the numbers do not paint 
a comprehensive picture of women veterans, and it is also 
painfully obvious that Congress can and must do more. That is 
why our work today here is so important.
    With that, I would like to recognize my friend Ranking 
Member Bilirakis for 5 minutes for any opening remarks that he 
may wish to make.

       OPENING STATEMENT OF GUS BILIRAKIS, RANKING MEMBER

    Mr. Bilirakis. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate it 
very much.
    Mr. Chairman, before I begin my question, I would like to 
clock--well, I just wanted a parliamentary inquiry as to what--
as far as the witnesses are concerned, if you can give me a 
little clarification. You pointed out that the minority did not 
have a witness today. That is something new and I wanted to get 
some clarification on that, because obviously, in the future, 
we plan to bring in minority witnesses.
    Mr. Levin. Well, Mr. Ranking Member, we certainly intend to 
work on a bipartisan basis, as we have and will continue to, 
and I would suggest that after the hearing today our respective 
staffs can get together and ensure that we always have fair 
representation from the witnesses that we both feel best 
represent the topics that we choose to cover in these hearings. 
So----
    Mr. Bilirakis. Very good.
    Mr. Levin.--we absolutely want to work with you.
    Mr. Bilirakis. And, you know, so far, and I expect this to 
continue, we have had bipartisan hearings and these witnesses 
in most cases are speaking for the veteran, whether, you know, 
minority or majority. I appreciate that very much. Thank you 
for working with me, Mr. Chairman.
    I want to thank all of you for joining us today in the 
subcommittee hearing. Today's hearing topic is of great 
importance. Women make up 10 percent of America's veteran 
population and are the fastest--as the chairman says, the 
fastest-growing segment of the veteran population; we must do 
everything we can to ensure that they are being given the same 
opportunities to succeed and prosper in civilian life as their 
male counterparts.
    It is heartbreaking to hear the stories of women veterans, 
especially single mothers with families, who fall into extreme 
poverty and homelessness after separating from the military. 
Again, as the chairman said, this is unacceptable. No one who 
has served this country should struggle to provide food and 
shelter for themselves or their families.
    I am interested in hearing from our panel today about ways 
that we can help women veterans thrive by using their hard-
earned housing, education, and employment benefits after 
separation from the military.
    Mr. Chairman, we should focus today's discussion on 
addressing challenges that are specific to women veterans, as 
you agree. In written statements provided to the committee, 
many of our witnesses reference childcare needs as a barrier to 
women veterans. While this may be the case and, again, it is 
worth future discussion, absolutely, I think it is fair to 
include men as well veterans who are raising their children. 
And, you know, I know of many examples of that in my district, 
so I appreciate that.
    Congress has the responsibility to ensure that women 
veterans receive the same amount of care and benefits as male 
veterans. We also need to ensure that our goal of providing 
more care and services doesn't have the unintended effect of 
isolating them from the rest of the veteran population.
    Since 2010, there has been a 49-percent decrease in veteran 
homelessness, with over 700,000 veterans and their families 
being permanently housed or prevented from becoming homeless. 
Again, we have really made a huge dent in that figure, but we 
have got much more to do. Again, with that being said, I am 
interested to hear from the panel why women veteran 
homelessness has increased, as well as ways that Congress can 
help eliminate this increase and begin decreasing women 
veterans homelessness nationwide.
    We have also seen recent success with the Veterans Affairs 
Air Force Women's Health Transition Training Pilot, which 
focuses on giving women veterans a better chance at successful 
reintegration into civilian life by providing them information 
about enrolling and using VA health care. I hope today we hear 
ways that this program can be improved in and, if necessary, 
expanded, as well as other ways we can improve the transition 
process for women veterans.
    We are facing some major challenges in helping our women 
veterans reintegrate back into civilian life and I hope that 
today's hearing sheds light on ways Congress can help solve 
these problems facing our brave female servicemembers.
    Finally, I want to recognize some of the active women 
veterans in my district, constituent advocates, who have done a 
tremendous amount of work for our veteran community in the 
Tampa Bay area and many of whom serve on my Veterans Advisory 
Council. This includes Julie Daniels, Maryann Keckler, Ruth 
Rymal, Jennifer Smith, Lauren Price, Kathleen Vanek, Kari 
Kirkpatrick, and Patricia Young. I thank these women for their 
service, and more women in my district, veteran women, that do 
an outstanding job for our community and they serve our 
country, and for their continued input into how we can continue 
to improve the lives of our veterans in the community and 
across the country.
    I want to thank our panel. Thank you for giving me the 
extra time, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back.
    Mr. Levin. Thank you, Mr. Ranking Member. I appreciate your 
comments.
    We have a great panel joining us today and I thank you all 
again for coming. We have Ms. Lauren Augustine, Vice President 
at the Student Veterans of America; Ms. Maureen Casey, the 
Chief Operating Officer for the Institute for Veterans and 
Military Families at Syracuse University; Ms. Jas Boothe, the 
Founder of Final Salute, Incorporated; Ms. Christine Schwartz, 
Chief Executive Officer at Service to School; and Ms. Jodie 
Grenier, Chief Executive Officer at Foundation for Women 
Warriors, a Southern California nonprofit that serves women 
veterans in my district in Southern California.
    Your insight is crucial to ensuring that the work we do 
today and in the weeks and months ahead is most effective, so I 
am very grateful that you are all here. With that, I would like 
to recognize Ms. Augustine for 5 minutes.

                 STATEMENT OF LAUREN AUGUSTINE

    Ms. Augustine. Chairman Levin, Ranking Member Bilirakis, 
and members of the subcommittee, good morning and thank you for 
inviting Student Veterans of America to submit our testimony on 
the impact of higher education and the GI Bill on women 
veterans' economic well-being.
    Established in 2008, SVA is a national higher education 
nonprofit founded to empower student veterans to, through, and 
beyond their higher education journey. With over 1500 campus 
chapters across the United States and in four countries 
overseas, serving over 750,000 student veterans, SVA maintains 
a life-long commitment to each student's success, from campus 
life to employment.
    Through research like our National Veterans Education 
Success Tracker and SVA Census, we are able to look at the 
population of student veterans as a whole to better understand 
their successes and opportunities for additional support.
    For women veterans and higher education, the research 
broadly illustrates a good-news story. First, women veterans 
are over-represented in higher education when compared to the 
overall percentage of women veterans in America. Women veterans 
pursuing higher education comprise 26 percent of all student 
veterans, compared to comprising about 10 percent of the 
overall veteran population and about 17 percent of the post-9/
11 (September 11, 2001) veteran population.
    Second, women veterans not only have a propensity to seek 
out higher education, but to also succeed.
    In its first 6 years, the post-9/11 GI Bill enabled over 
346,000 veterans to complete a post-secondary degree or 
certificate, 23 percent of whom are women. Additionally, women 
veterans consistently earned degrees at higher levels than 
their civilian peers, solidifying that these students are worth 
the investment America is making in them.
    Last, when we look internal to SVA chapters, women veterans 
are, quite frankly, crushing it as leaders on their campuses. 
Women make up nearly half of all of our chapter leaders and 
have comprised nearly half of all of our student veterans of 
the year. These are student leaders like Alex Sawin, SVA's 
current Student Veteran of the Year and former chapter leader 
at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In addition to leading the 
Rebel Vets at UNLV, Alex helped organize the first Operation 
Battle Born Ruck March in Nevada, which brought together 
student veterans and supporters to carry close to 7,000 dog 
tags through Nevada in honor of the post-9/11 servicemembers 
killed in action over Memorial Day last year.
    These women leaders bring traits from military service such 
as persistence, resiliency, the ability to work as a member of 
a team, and to commitment to service that help enhance their 
campuses and chapters. That leadership on campus leads to 
leadership in careers and communities, and promotes a holistic 
well-being for a lifetime.
    While women veterans are doing markedly well in higher 
education, there are of course opportunities to better empower 
and support them, and their nontraditional student peers. 
Access to childcare is consistently a top concern from chapters 
and women student veterans, which makes sense given 46 percent 
of student veterans have children and 14 percent of those 
parents are single parents.
    In addition to concerns around access to childcare in 
general, students also express a concern around needing 
childcare during off hours, on weekends, or during exam study 
times that do not always align with traditional childcare 
options. Examining ways to help alleviate these concerns, which 
admittedly goes beyond just the student veteran population, 
will help empower these students to succeed.
    Supporting women veterans and, again, their nontraditional 
student peers, pursuing STEM degrees is also an opportunity for 
further review and analysis. While women veterans work in STEM 
occupations at twice the rate of non-veteran women and STEM 
degrees are in the top three types of degrees earned by student 
veterans as a whole, examining things like attending school 
part-time, heavy course loads, and time-intensive laboratory 
work, and how those might interact with students balancing 
additional work and family obligations, could show interesting 
opportunities to better support STEM degree-seeking women.
    Additional opportunities for support include encouraging 
schools to better utilize tools like prior learning assessments 
and flexible course sequencing, ensuring VA has what it needs 
to provide timely and accurate GI Bill payments to schools and 
student veterans, and maintaining key student protections.
    Chairman, Ranking Member, and the subcommittee, thank you 
for your time and attention and devotion to the cause of women 
and all veterans in higher education. I look forward to your 
questions.

    [The Prepared Statement of Lauren Augustine Appears in the 
Appendix]

    Mr. Levin. Thank you, Ms. Augustine. I appreciate your 
testimony.
    I would now like to recognize Ms. Casey for 5 minutes.

                   STATEMENT OF MAUREEN CASEY

    Ms. Casey. Chairman Levin, Ranking Member Bilirakis, and 
members of the subcommittee, thank you for your work on behalf 
of veterans and their families, and for the opportunity to 
address you today.
    Today, I represent Syracuse University's Institute for 
Veterans and Military Families, the only academic institute of 
its kind in the Nation, focused exclusively on enhancing the 
post-service lives of veterans and their military-connected 
families. More than 120,000 servicemembers and veterans have 
participated in the IVMF's programs to date, and an ever-
increasing number of them are women.
    While, as a community, we have made significant progress to 
better understand and address the needs of women veterans, more 
remains to be done. I say this because one of the most 
consistent findings stemming from our work and scholarship is 
the powerful and enduring link between the lived experience of 
transition from military service and the financial health and 
overall well-being of our women veterans.
    Getting their transition right is core to ensuring long-
term employability and financial independence. Alternatively, a 
negative transition experience is likely to position a woman 
veteran--and, by extension, her family--on a trajectory of 
compromised financial stability, from which our experience 
suggests it is often exceedingly difficult to recover.
    We know from our work and research that the point of 
transition from the military to civilian life is a challenge. 
The number one reason women leave the military is significantly 
different from men; 41 percent of women transition out due to 
family reasons. Additionally, women on average leave the 
military sooner, also likely for the same reason, given that 
women are more likely to be both servicemember and spouse, and 
therefore potentially shouldering added family and work 
responsibilities.
    The challenges women veterans often face as they transition 
to civilian life have the potential to impact their financial 
stability for months and years after taking off the uniform. 
Two thirds of women veterans find their financial transition 
from the military difficult, compared to 47 percent of men. 
Similarly, more than one third of women veterans cite loss of 
income as a key transition challenge, compared to a rate that 
is lower for men.
    In addition, women veterans take 3 months longer, on 
average, to find civilian employment compared to male veterans. 
Finally, consistent with the general population, women veterans 
earn less than male veterans, despite having the same skills 
enhanced by their military service. At the IVMF, we have seen 
the impact that an employment program tailored specifically for 
women veterans can have on their financial well-being post-
service.
    Our V-WISE program provides small business training 
specifically to women veterans. The success of the program 
speaks for itself. Of the more than 3,000 graduates, over 65 
percent of these women have started their own business and, of 
those, more than 90 percent are still in operation today.
    Tailored employment programs for women veterans alone are 
not sufficient to tackle their economic well-being. Access and 
navigation of community-based care, services, and resources is 
the most commonly cited challenge associated with military 
transition.
    Further, the IVMF recently published a journal article 
reviewing over 60 needs assessments in communities across the 
country. Unfortunately, it found that many localities are not 
sufficiently aware of the many specific needs our women 
veterans face. To address this, the IVMF launched 
AmericaServes, an innovative community care coordination 
program now operating in 16 U.S. communities. Its premise is a 
simple one: getting the veteran and their family to the right 
services in the least amount of time.
    Leveraging a unique technology platform and a person-
centered local coordination center, Serves' networks have 
addresses more than 55,000 unique service requests for more 
than 26,000 individuals. Of note, women veterans are seeking 
assistance from our Serves networks at rates higher than their 
representation in the veteran population.
    Our data also tells us that employment support is the 
second most commonly requested service behind housing.
    Therefore, based both on our practical experience and 
academic research, it is clear that if we are going to have a 
meaningful impact on the economic well-being of our women 
veterans, the public and private sectors must collaborate in 
two key ways: first, we must design and deliver new and 
innovative employment-related programs that are purpose-built 
to address the unique needs of women veterans, whether at the 
point of transition or as the need arises post-service; and we 
must work together to identify means and methods to support 
care coordination and social service navigation within and 
across communities our women veterans call home.
    On behalf of the veterans and military-connected families 
the IVMF serves in partnership with this committee, thank you 
very much for the opportunity to provide testimony today and I 
look forward to answering your questions.

    [The Prepared Statement of Maureen Casey Appears in the 
Appendix]

    Mr. Levin. Thank you, Ms. Casey, and thank you for all the 
good work you are doing at Syracuse.
    I would now like to recognize Ms. Boothe for 5 minutes.

                    STATEMENT OF JAS BOOTHE

    Ms. Boothe. Thank you, Chairman Levin, Ranking Member 
Bilirakis, and the rest of the committee members for this 
opportunity to speak to you today.
    Historically, women veterans and their children who 
experience unstable housing or homelessness have faced 
difficulty being acknowledged and recognized by the findings of 
the research conducted by various governmental organizations in 
the United States, thus limiting their access to the support 
and resources they desperately need. This vulnerable population 
is further marginalized by the underestimation in the research 
of how many homeless women veterans there are overall, and 
various definitions of homelessness that fail to capture women 
veterans who are precariously housed.
    Currently, the Federal definition of homelessness does not 
take into account women veterans who couch-surf. That is 
primarily how women veterans keep them and their children 
together. Currently, the point-in-time count, which takes into 
account HUD's definition and the VA's definition of who is 
homeless, does not take in women veterans who couch-surf. And 
this count is conducted in January, on one of the arguably 
coldest nights of the year. You are not going to find women 
veterans and their children on the streets on a cold night in 
January, and possibly any other night or day, any other day of 
the year, because if you see a woman and her children out on 
the streets, they are probably going to lose them.
    When I was diagnosed with cancer in 2005 on my way to Iraq, 
I had also lost everything to Hurricane Katrina. So it left me 
unable to deploy and it left me unstable housing. And, luckily, 
my aunt had a couch for me and my son to sleep on, because I 
myself was turned away from the VA as a single mother. More 
than 70 percent of the women that kind to Final Salute for 
supportive services are single mothers.
    Overall, the two biggest glaring issues, adding to 
insufficient count and reporting of the point-in-time count, an 
overlook causality, specifically in veteran unemployment and 
how it relates to homelessness. So I was very excited that you 
guys were putting them in the same group, because they are in 
fact related.
    When I first started looking at causality in 2015, I 
noticed that the Bureau of Labor Statistics had reported that 
there were 455,000 veterans that were unemployed; of that 
number, 23,000 were women. In the same year, HUD reported that 
there were 4300 women veterans who were homeless. So, from that 
number, that leaves 18,600 women that are unemployed, but are 
presumed to be not homeless and able to take care of themselves 
and their children without any income.
    We have to look at how the numbers relate to each other. 
Overall, if we have 400-and-something-thousand veterans and 
only 40 that are reported being homeless on the street, that is 
problematic in itself again relating to causality.
    Women veterans who are doubling up due to low income, 
unemployment, or other cause are likely to be functionally 
homeless. I find that word, ``functionally homeless,'' to be 
problematic in itself, because there is no function in being 
homeless, and no one who has served their country should ever 
have to be precariously housed, doubled up, or even living on 
the street.
    Gender difference in accommodations among homeless women 
are among their more important findings. A report I read in 
Metro that stated males were the minority of individuals, 62 
percent housed in shelters, and women, single mothers with 
children, were the majority. 93 percent of those who were 
homeless as far as families, but only 38 percent were able to 
be housed. That leaves 50 percent of women and children not 
able to be housed.
    I am an Army veteran, my husband is a Marine combat 
veteran, and my oldest son just recently returned to 
Afghanistan, and I would think that these women would agree 
that, while we are here representing women veterans, we are not 
against our brothers. We are here just to be treated and 
supported equally in resources and also in recognition.
    I last want to show you two pictures of women, because I 
often get questioned about, you know, what women are just now 
serving in combat are not really serving in combat positions, 
and so why are they just as deserving as male veterans? This is 
a good friend of mine named Marissa Strock. She is from New 
York and she was 21 years old when she was deployed to 
Afghanistan in 2005. She was serving as an MP and lost both of 
her legs to an IED attack. Again, this woman was 21 years old. 
And although she wasn't infantry, Special Forces, she was right 
there in the danger with her brothers, and when she comes back 
to her country she should be treated as equally.
    The last picture is of Master Sergeant Tara Jacobs Brown. 
There is a street named after Tara in Daytona, Florida. In 
April 2011, she was deployed with seven of her brothers and was 
killed by a green-on-green attack by an Afghan pilot. Tara was 
not excused from the room or from the attack because she was a 
woman. She was 33 years old at the time. I wanted to point out 
specifically Tara in 2011, because the Government 
Accountability Report of 2011 pointed out that neither the HUD 
or VA uniquely tracked women veterans as a population until 
2011.
    Thank you.

    [The Prepared Statement of Jas Boothe Appears in the 
Appendix]

    Mr. Levin. Thank you, Ms. Boothe, for your story, for your 
courage, for your service. We greatly appreciate your testimony 
and we will be following up with questions.
    I would now like to recognize Ms. Schwartz for 5 minutes.

                STATEMENT OF CHRISTINE SCHWARTZ

    Ms. Schwartz. Good morning. First, thank you, Chairman 
Levin and Ranking Member Bilirakis, for the invitation to be 
here and testify before you today.
    I am Christine Schwartz and I am the CEO (Chief Executive 
Officer) of Service to School, a veterans service organization 
that works with transitioning servicemembers and veterans to 
ensure they have the access and ability to attend our country's 
best colleges and grad schools.
    My connection to the military runs deep. As a fifth 
generation Army Officer, I served 5 years on active duty and an 
additional 2 in the Army Reserves; I am the spouse of an active 
duty Green Beret; and I believe in service to our Nation, as 
well as supporting the servicemembers and veterans that 
willingly choose to do so.
    In pursuit of that support, I have the privilege of running 
an organization that ensures our country's veterans have the 
opportunity to attend colleges that place them on a pathway for 
continued success. Through our work, the veterans we work with 
go on to enroll at colleges with high graduation rates, great 
career services, and alumni networks that will support them 
throughout their lives. These are colleges like Yale, Stanford, 
Amherst, UC Berkeley, UT Austin, Virginia Tech, University of 
San Diego, Princeton, and the list goes on. This is great news 
for veterans who are often taken advantage of by for-profit 
universities or less-than-reputable colleges, and we at Service 
to School have worked hard to create success for veterans in 
higher ed. However, I would be wrong if I led you to believe 
that we serve male and female servicemembers at equal rates.
    In fact, last year, only 14 percent of the veterans we 
assisted were women. This statistic does not align with the 
national average that 26 percent of student veterans are women. 
So, if a quarter of the users of GI Bill are women, then why 
aren't they signing up with Service to School, whose reputation 
is to get you into the best college possible and, ideally, your 
dream school? If you are using the GI Bill, wouldn't you want 
to use it at your dream school? Why are 86 percent of the 
veterans that we help apply and then enroll at, quote-end 
quote, ``elite colleges'' male?
    I can't provide all the answers, but I will offer a glimpse 
into why women veterans are struggling to enroll at similar 
colleges and grad programs as their male counterparts.
    Ashley is an Army Captain who served in the Special 
Operations community and was denied admittance to almost all of 
the MBA (Master of Business Administration) programs she 
applied to. When Ashley asked the admissions committees' 
feedback on why she wasn't offered admission, they cited her 
GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) score, which was 
reasonably in range with the other military members who applied 
to similar programs. In talking with Ashley, she felt that her 
applications were viewed differently than her male 
counterparts, and there was a disbelief that her work in the 
Special Operations community was comparable to her male peers 
and, therefore, her service was not as prestigious as theirs 
and could not be valued as highly.
     While Ashley held the same rank, position, and went 
through the same training as her male peers, her service was 
undervalued because admissions committees could not understand 
it in the same context as a male.
    This story aligns with research from the Servicewomen's 
Action Network that found the majority of active duty and 
veteran women face respect issues and a lack of recognition of 
their service from the public.
    Then there is Janine, an Air Force NCO who received her 
Bachelor's degree from UMUC (University of Maryland, University 
College) while on active duty. Janine dreamed of going back to 
grad school and specifically researched and networked with MBA 
programs, where she was met with the disappointing news that, 
since she had received her undergrad degree online, it was 
highly unlikely she would be accepted to one of her top-choice 
MBA programs. Janine is a single mom balancing two young 
children and a job, and, when I first met her, she was working 
numerous jobs to make ends meet. I can guarantee you, if anyone 
could succeed at an MBA program, it would be Janine.
    Interestingly enough, I met an Air Force NCO last year. He 
too received his Bachelor's degree online while on active duty 
in the Air Force. Assumption would say that he, like Janine, 
wouldn't be able to get into a top MBA program seeing as his 
degree was also online. This is the interesting part: he got 
into and is now attending the University of Chicago's Booth 
School of Business, undoubtedly one of the best business 
schools in the world.
    Janine has yet to go back to grad school.
    Universities, just like many systems, are creating barriers 
for these female veterans by failing to understand, appreciate, 
and accommodate for female military service, and have continued 
to perpetuate our invisible service.
    Thank you to the chairman, ranking member, and the 
subcommittee members for your time and commitment to veterans, 
and specifically outcome for women veterans. I look forward to 
continuing to work with this committee and answering your 
questions.

    [The Prepared Statement of Christine Schwartz Appears in 
the Appendix]

    Mr. Levin. Thank you, Ms. Schwartz. We appreciate your 
testimony.
    I would now like to recognize Ms. Grenier for 5 minutes.

                   STATEMENT OF JODIE GRENIER

    Ms. Grenier. Chairman Levin, Ranking Member Bilirakis, 
distinguished members of the subcommittee, I would like to 
thank the subcommittee for your commitment to ensuring veterans 
receive the resources they so deserve, and for inviting 
Foundation for Women Warriors to testify today.
    My name is Jodie Grenier; I am a Marine Corps veteran. I 
served from 2000 to 2005 as an Intelligence Analyst and I 
deployed twice to Iraq. I hold a Bachelor's in psychology and a 
Masters in nonprofit leadership and management from the 
University of San Diego.
    Since 2016, I have served as the Chief Executive Officer of 
Foundation for Women Warriors, a nonprofit organization solely 
dedicated to honoring and empowering women veterans through 
transition services.
    Our organization was originally founded in 1920 to provide 
housing to widows under the name California Soldiers' Widows 
Housing Association. Our organization is a testament to women's 
history. It demonstrates the financial inequity experienced by 
women, the inaccurate historical categorization of women 
veterans and spouses, and the constant fight to be heard by the 
very country and institutions in which women have honorably 
served to protect. Though I am grateful to have your audience 
today, I must say, it is long overdue.
    At Foundation for Women Warriors, we characterize economic 
well-being as having control over one's finances while being 
able to consistently meet basic needs such as food, housing, 
utilities, and childcare. We aim for women veterans to feel 
secure, prepared to make economic choices, able to absorb 
unexpected financial shock, and plan for their future. From our 
position, the economic well-being of women veterans is at risk.
    Women are the fastest-growing segment of homeless veterans. 
In California, 60 percent of the state's women veterans 
reported experiencing some form of housing instability. Women 
veterans are reported as having a higher unemployment rate, 
lower median income, and more likely to live below the poverty 
threshold when compared to their male counterparts.
    Additionally, women veterans are more likely to be single 
parents, they are less likely to have the same support networks 
as their male counterparts, and of course they experience 
additional barriers to receiving the standard veteran benefits.
    There are many issues that impact all veterans' economic 
well-being, such as limited financial knowledge, barriers in 
accessing benefits, education level at transition, 
unemployment, the loss of a support network, as well as the 
various emotional challenges associated with reintegrating into 
civilian society.
    The reality is, these issues, compounded with the unique 
transition experience of women, cultural stereotypes, higher 
rate of single parenting, and the gender pay gap result in 
greater economic risk for women.
    Our programs directly address these concerns by providing 
financial stipends for basic needs and childcare, as well as 
professional development. These stipends help women maintain 
safe and affordable housing, and it allows them to attain or 
maintain employment, pursue their degrees, and provides 
stability for their children; in essence, the American dream.
    Historically, hitting rock bottom has been the standard for 
receiving assistance. While it is imperative to assist our most 
vulnerable communities, it is just as important to invest in 
the prevention of becoming the most vulnerable.
    Our organization redefines ``at risk'' as unable to meet 
financial obligations. We re-frame assistance as a hand up, and 
we invest in the critical areas to empower independence and 
goal attainability among women veterans.
    Our programs have shown great success; however, our 
capacity is limited by our funding and our visibility is often 
overshadowed by organizations that cater to the male 
experience. While services for women veterans have shown 
improvement, they are not currently on track to keep pace with 
the need. That is why today our organization is asking your 
subcommittee to consider the following five recommendations: 
fund research on reintegration; increase funding for women 
veteran-specific preventative services; expand strategic 
collaboration between the Department of Labor; and eliminate 
financial vulnerabilities by increasing funding for, and access 
to, effective financial literacy. Also, research the childcare 
needs of students veterans and determine the feasibility of a 
childcare stipend.
    Thank you.

    [The Prepared Statement of Jodie Grenier Appears in the 
Appendix]

    Mr. Levin. Thank you, Ms. Grenier.
    With that, I recognize myself for 5 minutes to begin the 
question portion of the hearing.
    Thank you, all of you, for very powerful and compelling 
testimony. Veteran homelessness is very prevalent, many of you 
spoke about it, it is prevalent in my district and throughout 
the greater San Diego area. I have all of North County, San 
Diego. There are about 1300 homeless veterans throughout the 
county, an alarming number of them are women veterans, and I 
want to do all I can as a Member of Congress to try to address 
it.
    I introduced the Housing For Women Veterans Act, it is one 
of the bipartisan measures that we have introduced in the 
Veterans' Affairs Committee, and I wanted to ask some questions 
related to that.
    One of you mentioned the point-in-time count and, in 2018, 
approximately 8.5 percent of homeless veterans across the 
country were women. As has been said, some researchers believe 
that is a low estimate, things like couch-surfing not included.
    Ms. Boothe and Ms. Grenier, what are the typical reasons 
why women do not self-report if they are homeless or at risk of 
becoming homeless, and how can we address them?
    Ms. Boothe. Thank you for the question, Chairman. Well, for 
me personally, when I went and I told them, yes, I am homeless, 
I need a place to stay and I have a kid, the first thing they 
said was, ``Are you on the street? If so, we need to report you 
to Child Protective Services.''If that is--if that is the first 
question that comes to you, you are going to think that I can't 
tell them that I am homeless, because I am going to lose my 
child.
    That is a bigger--one of the biggest barriers is, you know, 
being afraid to come forward and self-identify, because you 
don't know, you know, what is going to happen in the next few 
minutes. It also has happened to women who have come to us who 
have said they had went and reported they were homeless, and 
have had their children stripped from their arms, stripped from 
their arms right in a welfare office.
    So we have to create an environment where they don't fear 
that they are going to have their children ripped away from 
them or they are going to be treated like a bad mother because 
of the circumstances of it could be their--it could be trauma, 
it could be PTSD, it could be domestic violence, it could be 
employment, it could run a gamut. We need to create safe spaces 
and, not only safe spaces, but ample resources, and so they 
don't have the fear of reporting because I am not going to 
perpetually stay in a transitory place.
    Mr. Levin. Same question, Ms. Grenier, if you have anything 
to add.
    Ms. Grenier. I echo that sentiment. Women veterans do not 
want to lose their children, they want to provide for their 
children, and so having a risk of having their children taken 
away from them would only just further their situation.
    Mr. Levin. Thank you.
    I wanted to ask about the risk factors as well that lead to 
homelessness. There hasn't been enough research into this. From 
your experiences, what are the top factors that lead to 
homelessness for women veterans and how do we prevent those 
factors from resulting in homelessness?
    Ms. Boothe. Well, I always say that people say, well, what 
is the root, what is the key to ending homelessness, is it more 
homes? And I said, no, it is less homeless veterans. And so 
you--again, you have to look at causality from most top-five 
reasons being unemployment, lack of VA benefits, less than--I 
mean, I'm sorry, 88 percent of women veterans who do not go to 
the VA for health care. Also, some are not aware that they have 
a veteran status because they didn't deploy and have the--are 
eligible for VA benefits. Domestic violence is a huge 
prevalence in the women veteran community, as well as being a 
single mom.
    When I looked at the 2011 GAO report that was done, it was 
found that a lot of the government-funded programs, over 60 
percent, did not take in women; those that did take in women, 
didn't take in children or they had restrictions on the number 
of children you could be bring to the shelter, or restrictions 
on the ages and gender of the children. So children in the 
family dynamic seem to compound the homeless dynamic for women 
veterans and other veterans, I would assume, that have 
families.
    Mr. Levin. Anyone else have any additional comments on 
that?
    Ms. Grenier. I think financial insecurity starts on active 
duty or beforehand, or at least the financial literacy lack 
thereof. You have 60 percent of junior enlisted within the 
military today are recognized as being low income by HUD 
standards. There is also a severe issue with food instability. 
These issues, while not tackled during service, continue to 
perpetuate after service. Then you have childcare costs that go 
from being subsidized while you are on active duty. A Corporal 
or an E4 would pay $60 a week as a single mother, when she gets 
out of service that jumps to $211 a week. So, if she is 
unemployed or in school, she is not making enough money to 
provide for her child.
    Mr. Levin. Well, I am out of time, but I hope that one or 
more of my colleagues asks how the VA can do a better job of 
addressing women veterans, particularly with that 80 percent 
number that you just gave, that is truly stunning. And I thank 
you all again for your leadership and the work that you are all 
doing, and for being with us today. And I hope it is the 
beginning of a dialog with this subcommittee, with the 
individual members, so that we can get to work on addressing 
some of these issues.
    With that, I would like to recognize the ranking member for 
5 minutes for questions.
    Mr. Bilirakis. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate it. 
And, again, I want to thank you for holding this very important 
hearing and focusing on women veterans, it is certainly needed.
    In any case, I do want to ask one quick question before I 
get into the prepared questions. With regard to women's 
facilities in VA Centers and outpatient clinics, CBOCs, what 
have you, are we doing a better job accommodating women?
    So who would like to address that question? How much work 
do we have to be done--that has to be done?
    Ms. Boothe. Sir, I would say that it is a yes-and-no 
response. Yes, some VAs are doing better, but VAs across the 
country do not have the same standards of care; you can't get a 
mammogram in every VA, you can't get other reproductive 
services in every VA across the country. Until that is uniform, 
we still have a long way to go. If she is in California and I 
am in a Virginia or DC VA medical facility, we should have the 
same standards of care, but we don't. So that in itself is a 
problem. It should be uniform, just like the medical care we 
got across the board when we were in the military.
    Mr. Bilirakis. Yes, I am also concerned about the privacy 
issue as well. Has that been addressed satisfactorily?
    Ms. Boothe. Again, yes and no. Some centers are doing a 
better job and so, you know, I never want to say, well, I go to 
the--my VA is doing great, you know, and her VA isn't doing 
great. There are some VAs that do have private interests, but I 
have noticed, I go into the DC VA Medical Center there is one 
interest and there we have a high prevalence of male veterans 
that are catcalling to women veterans as they go in there to 
get treated. Some of them just turn around and leave back out, 
because you shouldn't have to go through a gauntlet of un-
professionalism while you are trying to get medical treatment, 
and I would assume that that is probably harder for women who 
have experienced military sexual trauma.
    Mr. Bilirakis. Well, thank you very much for that question 
and we will follow up. We have got to get this right for women 
veterans.
    My staff has recently been briefed--and this is for the 
entire panel--my staff has recently been briefed on the success 
of the Veterans Affairs Air Force Women's Health Transition 
Training Pilot program run jointly by DOD and VA. This program 
is designed to provide information to participants about health 
care and services that are available to eligible women, our 
veterans, through the Veterans Health Administration.
    Apart from expansion, what changes or suggestions do you 
have in making this program more successful? I understand it 
has been successful and we can use it as a model. But what 
suggestions do you have? Let's start from over here, if that's 
OK.
    Ms. Augustine. Yes, sir, absolutely. So one of the things, 
that particular program is health care-focused, which is 
generally a bit outside the lane of SVA. However, one of the 
things that we have talked about relevant to TAP in general is 
that it should be viewed more as an orientation. It is a 1-week 
program that is quite intensive on the amount of information 
that is given and what is thrown at you in terms of the breadth 
and depth of benefits available. What that Air Force program 
does is allow for a much more localized and intensive 
understanding of specific benefits that we think could be 
successful when applied to other types of things; for example, 
the GI Bill. If you are taken to a college campus and shown 
around, or given some sort of in-depth, individualized 
counseling on how to access college, not just the GI Bill 
benefits, but how to choose a college, what is a quality 
college, what is the total cost of college, we think we could 
see similar success across the board.
    Mr. Bilirakis. Thank you.
    Yes, please.
    Ms. Casey. Thank you. I think that for us, while I am less 
familiar with the Air Force specific program, I think what we 
have found generally is that the primary goal for our 
Transition Assistance Program across all of the service 
branches is to make every transitioning servicemember an 
informed consumer. So----
    Mr. Levin. Ms. Casey, would you mind turning on your 
microphone?
    Ms. Casey. Oh, I'm sorry.
    Mr. Levin. Just so that we get you on the record. I can 
hear you, though.
    Ms. Casey. My apologies.
    Mr. Levin. Thank you. I do it too.
    Ms. Casey. What I was going to say is, while I am less 
familiar with the Air Force-specific program, I think what our 
research and our experience has taught us is that the goal of 
the transition program across all of the service branches 
should be to make every transitioning servicemember an informed 
consumer about all of the benefits and services that are 
available to them.
    For example, the most recent change that is about to come 
into play with regard to making the what is now voluntary or 
optional, the follow-on programs that are part of the 
Transition Assistance Program around entrepreneurship training, 
education, and employment, making those mandatory is a great 
first step, so that we can ensure that they are informed 
consumers across all of their options.
    Mr. Bilirakis. Thank you very much. In the interest of 
time, Mr. Chairman, I am going to yield back and I will submit 
the rest of the questions for the record. Thank you.
    Mr. Levin. Thank you, Mr. Ranking Member.
    I would now like to recognize someone who is a true leader 
in this area, the chairwoman of the Women Veterans Task Force, 
also the chair of the Health Subcommittee of the Veterans' 
Affairs Committee, Chairwoman Julia Brownley.
    Thank you for all your good work, and I would like to 
recognize you for 5 minutes for questions.
    Ms. Brownley. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I actually 
have another meeting to return to, so I am not going to ask a 
question, but I really wanted to be here to hear each and every 
one of you and hear your testimony.
    Mr. Chairman, thank you, and Ranking Member Bilirakis, too, 
for having this very important hearing in collaboration with 
Womens Veterans Task Force.
    I have often said that when women serve in the military, 
they are a visible minority, and when they leave, women 
veterans often become invisible. The Womens Veterans Task Force 
is working very, very hard to change that, and the task force 
really aims to promote inclusivity and equitable access to 
resources, benefits, and healthcare for women veterans.
    It is very encouraging that each subcommittee of the VA 
committee is having a hearing on issues that impact women 
veterans. The Womens Veterans Task Force is--we now have 72 
members and we are growing each and every day and we are really 
committed to addressing the unique issues and challenges that 
women veterans face. So, together, we are working to achieve 
equity for the two million women who answer the call to serve 
in the United States military.
    It is already very, very clear from this morning's 
testimony, that there are numerous opportunities to support our 
Nation's warriors--our nation's women warriors to it thrive 
economically. I just want to say to the women veterans who have 
testified here today, you have all made yourself very visible, 
and we thank you for your service and we thank you for your 
continued service, as civilians, in terms of what you are 
doing, and we are all motivated, extremely motivated, to really 
achieve the equity of access that we are all striving for.
    I hope that I can meet with each of you individually and 
really look forward to working with you and thank you, again, 
for all you are doing to lift up our brave women who serve our 
country. Thank you very much.
    Thank you, again, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity.
    Mr. Levin. Thank you, Chair Brownley. And just a fantastic 
job, getting 72 of our colleagues on the task force. We needs 
the other 350. So, if there are people here who are not on the 
Womens Veterans Task Force, I hope they sign up. Thank you for 
your leadership.
    With that, I would like to recognize Mr. Bergman for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. Bergman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thanks to all of 
you on the panel for being here today, and also thanks to 
Representative Brownley for leading the task force. I am a 
proud member of that task force and I echo the chairman's 
comments about getting more of our colleagues involved.
    A couple of questions, not specifically directed to any one 
of you as individuals, so whoever wants to answer--great. If 
nobody wants to answer--OK. I understand.
    When we talk about women veterans, any distinctions, 
differences, data points among women veterans who are active 
component, Reserve, our National Guard? The reason I ask the 
question is that in the Guard and reserve, one of the factors 
leading to, whether it be tough times, homelessness, whatever 
it happens to be--the isolation that sometimes members of the 
reserve and National Guard go back to after deployment.
    Would anybody like to make any comments, in your data, with 
regards to the active Reserve and Guard.
    Ms. Boothe. Yes, sir. We have, Final Salute has housed 
women veterans who are continuing in the active Guard and the 
Reserve, and they have deployed from our homeless facility into 
combat zones, and have come back from combat zones and come 
into our homeless facility.
    The reason being is a lot of the military relief programs 
do not support Guard and Reserve. They don't even qualify for 
them because they do not have active service. They basically 
have to come and get in the same lines that veterans do, but 
these are uniformed servicemembers. So, I think that is the 
biggest thing that we have seen.
    Even you saw with our Coast Guardians that fell into the 
government shutdown, a lot of their relief programs were not 
available to them during the shutdown. They were not able to 
get paid. That is the biggest thing that I have seen, is that 
the relief associates do not support Guardsmen and Reservists.
    Mr. Bergman. Said in a different way--and I am not trying 
to lead you down the road or anything--but we have too many 
silos to service that potentially--not on purpose--but 
accidentally keep women veterans from getting support and 
getting services that they legitimately rate. In fact, that 
very gray area within the Reserve component where a young man 
or woman leaves there in 4 years of honorable active service, 
and then they have 4 years of IRR. They are out there. They are 
obligated, but sometimes they are not oh there is not much 
outreach made to them, and they could--they are basically the 
population that you are talking about who got right off of 
active-duty, but they are still under that 8-year contract.
    Ms. Casey, you referenced, basically, care in the 
community, I believe in your comments. We just rolled out--the 
VA just rolled out the MISSION Act that we passed a year ago, 
you know, Mission 2.0 or whatever you want to call it, but is 
there a plan from Syracuse's standpoint to evaluate the new 
program and how that care in the community is going to improve 
based upon the fact that--I mean, do you guys have any data 
points that you are going to look to, to stay close to.
    Ms. Casey. Thank you very much. While we don't have a plan 
specifically to look at the MISSION Act, but certainly could 
down the road, what we have been focused on right now is our 
work with the AmericaServes program and other community-based 
efforts.
    We know that the solution for coordinated care in our 
communities, lies in the services that are there. The challenge 
is access and navigation. What we have been focused on is 
looking at how we do that outreach in the communities where we 
currently are in 16 across the country, and then networking 
with existing service providers, and then also following up on 
what kind of services are being provided, how they are being 
provided and what that positive resolution rate.
    I think another----
    Mr. Bergman. I hate to cut you off. You are an attorney, 
right?
    Ms. Casey. Yes, I am.
    Mr. Bergman. Now, that is a good thing, because you bring 
perspective here that some of us who have not gone to law 
school, so the point is, I have to ask my questions quickly.
    Ms. Casey. Sure.
    Mr. Bergman. We need to make sure that the MISSION Act is 
successful and the input of all of you as the VA moves forward 
with these new changes, because we have oversight here. We are 
trying to do the right thing through the VA. We are going to 
need your help as partners.
    And I would suggest to you that we have opportunity with--
in my case, Iron Mountain VA Hospital--small hospital, not full 
service--but they have a County hospital down the road, for us 
to be able to combine women services that may not be offered at 
that VA hospital, but that are combined literally right down 
the road, we are looking at MOUs (Memorandum of Understanding) 
that what can be possible, and we need your input.
    With that, Mr. Chairman, I see my time is over and I yield 
back.
    Mr. Levin. Thank you, Mr. Bergman. I appreciate your 
questions.
    Now, I would like to recognize Ms. Rice for 5 minutes.
    Ms. Rice. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    I would like to start with Ms. Grenier. You made a comment 
about how the instability that leads to either homelessness or 
lack of employment opportunities begins when women are still in 
active-duty. Can you just talk about that a little bit more, 
because it seems to me that there is a window of time that we 
need to be better at preparing people for their separation from 
active-duty, whether it is male or female, but for these 
purposes, if you could just speak to the womens issues that you 
mentioned, that you are seeing signs of this while they are 
still in active-duty.
    Ms. Grenier. I want to be clear that it is not gender 
specific. This instability within active-duty is, you know, 
both men and women; however, when women exit the service, most 
of them are--you have a majority that fall into single 
parenthood, then they fall into a wage gap that is not seen 
while you are in the military.
    I think that there is definitely some room in the military 
from point of entry for financial education to milestones--when 
you either get married, have a child, or attain a certain 
rank--that there should be some comprehensive and effective 
financial literacy to ensure that this is--this affects our 
combat effectiveness as a Nation.
    Without our troops, active-duty, having financial literacy, 
it puts them at further risk. Then all the gender-specific 
issues, for women, only compound their vulnerability once they 
exit the service.
    Ms. Rice. During a recent roundtable event that was hosted 
by the Womens Veterans Task Force, an issue was raised about 
women veterans being more likely to enter a civilian career 
that is different from their military occupational specialty. 
Why do you think that is the case and how do misperceptions 
about women's roles in the military impact their educational 
and employment opportunities?
    Ms. Grenier. From my experience--and I don't have data to 
speculate--but I think from my experience, when you choose a 
job at 18 years old, that is something that is, you know, 
fleeting, you know, in terms of your trajectory. It might be 
something that you like while you serve in the military and 
then when you get out, you say, You know what? I did logistics. 
I no longer want to do that any more. I want to look somewhere 
else. Or maybe it was taxing on the person's ability to have a 
family or their time. I think that is something that is not 
necessarily gender-specific; I think it is militarywide.
    But I would say women are trying to have families and 
trying to live a civilian life that maybe at 18 years old, they 
really didn't necessarily plan for.
    Ms. Rice. Ms. Boothe, can I ask you to address that issue, 
and also, you mentioned military sexual trauma. How much of 
that women--maybe not coming forward or feeling comfortable 
talking about that, is a barrier to their economic opportunity?
    Ms. Boothe. Yes, well, I am--Ms. Rice, I am not an expert 
on military sexual trauma. I just noticed from the intake of 
the women that we take into our transitional housing facility, 
and also women who apply for other services that we offer, do 
list a high rate of military sexual trauma as adding to their 
inability to not only gain employment, but also have long-term 
employment because of the inability to get timely and gender-
specific care at VA or other medical centers. So it creates a 
barrier.
    I know we put a lot of emphasis on employment, but if you 
are not mentally and physically and emotionally right, you 
know, nobody is going to care how many deployments you had or 
how many, you know, racks you have. If you aren't able to 
perform for the organization, nobody is going to care whether 
you are a veteran or not.
    We have to work from the inside out and focus on the root 
causes and the unique needs as opposed to just give this person 
a job and they will be OK, because that is not the answer, but 
I do feel like we are putting the cart before the horse in that 
situation.
    Just to piggyback on what Ms. Grenier mentioned earlier, a 
lot of us, as women, also were not given those opportunities 
while we were in service to switch jobs or to have leadership 
or management positions or do that thing that we wanted to do, 
and we come to find ourselves able to do that once we 
transition out of civilian life.
    Some of it is opportunities and some of it is just needing 
a change and there is also a family dynamic put into that.
    Ms. Rice. Well, I think at the heart of this is that women 
need to be seen on an equal level as men. And when you have a 
motto that only talks about to care for him, who shall have 
borne the battle and for his widow and for his orphan, I mean 
right there, women are starting at a disadvantage. I just 
wanted to throw that in there.
    Thank you all very much.
    I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Levin. Thank you, Ms. Rice.
    I would now like to recognize Ms. Radewagen for 5 minutes.
    Ms. Radewagen. Thank you, Chairman, and Ranking Member for 
holding this very important meeting.
    My question is for the whole panel. In what ways do you 
believe that we can encourage educational institutions to view 
women veterans the same way as male veterans, when looking at 
program admissions?
    Mr. Grenier, do you want to start?
    Ms. Grenier. To clarify your question was, how can we 
encourage----
    Ms. Radewagen. Encourage educational institutions to look 
at women veterans the same way they look at men veterans when 
it comes to program admissions.
    Ms. Grenier. Well, I mean there is a myriad of ways to make 
an organization look at women. One is diversity and inclusion 
initiatives among schools. Maybe if we had reintegration 
studies and research on the asset women veterans would be to 
their recruiting campaigns.
    I am not going to pretend that I am an expert to answer how 
they can market. I think it is also providing education to 
schools on cultural sensitivity, on how to accurately honor the 
service of women. I mean every school in the U.S. should be at 
the tip of the spear, in terms of inclusivity and diversity.
    Ms. Radewagen. Thank you.
    Ms. Schwartz.
    Ms. Schwartz. Thank you. I think there is a couple of ways. 
One is going to look at universities' transfer policies, as 
most veterans in the undergrad community, end up being transfer 
students. They, perhaps, went to a community college and are 
now transfing to a 4-year school; they took online classes 
while they were in the military, so forth and so on, and many 
top-Tier, or just better universities have very stringent 
policies that place veterans in a position where they aren't 
even able to apply. That isn't gender-specific, but that is an 
issue.
    As far as women go, you know, I think everybody touched on 
it. Childcare is an issue. Being a single Mother is an issue. 
Being a military spouse is an issue.
    I am a military spouse. I haven't been able to finish my 
grad degree because we moved three times in 3 years. If I 
wanted to go to the local school and get it any grad degree, 
sure, I could do that, but that is not what I want to do with 
my G.I. Bill.
    Women and female veterans are always just kind of at 
every--I feel like at every turn we hit a barrier. Apply to 
Duke. Oh, wait, you don't live in North Carolina. What are you 
going do, move your kids there without your husband and he 
might be deployed?
     There are a lot of complications and I think Lauren would 
have some insight, as well.
    Ms. Radewagen. Ms. Boothe?
    Ms. Boothe. I think the biggest thing is just to make--
ensure women veterans feel welcome. Ensure women veterans, you 
know, feel valued.
    You and we often look at, you know, when you even look at a 
lot of the media, they talk about, you know, the men out there 
fighting and, you know, those types of things, and we have 
plenty of women who are, you know, on the frontline.
    You know, although some of our job-specific, you know, 
infantry training might be different, we all go to the same 
leadership schools, academies and, you know, that soldier and 
other, you know, branch-type training.
    I am 41 years old. I just had my first two knee 
replacements. I have had spinal fusion surgery already. So, I 
ran and jumped just like the men do, but we are not looked at 
in the same capacity.
    So, I would say, you know, treat every DD214 the same that 
comes across your desk--their admissions platform.
    Ms. Radewagen. Thank you. We are running short on time.
    Ms. Casey.
    Ms. Casey. Yes, ma'am. I would echo what is been said 
already, but I would also suggest that we hold university 
leadership accountable. You know, I think admissions policies 
start at the top in terms of what is important and what 
chancellors and presidents find important is interesting how it 
is reflected in the diversity and inclusion in both, reciting 
and admissions policies.
    And so, I think there is an opportunity for us here to hold 
university leadership accountable.
    Ms. Radewagen. Thank you.
    Ms. Augustine.
    Ms. Augustine. Yes, I will try to be quick. From my point 
of view, there are three things that I think we can be doing 
better across higher education to encourage more admissions of 
veterans.
    The first is to recognize that this is a larger issue than 
just a women's issue. We have a need to have a business case 
for veterans across the top 150 U.S. news and world report 
schools in general. Veterans are undepresented there, and when 
we make the business case showing that they bring in about $12 
billion to higher education each year, similar to what exchange 
students bring into the higher-education space, universities 
are quick to want to have a larger conversation.
    I also think that that applies to the non-traditional 
student conversation; again, not just specific to women 
veterans, but how can universities better recruit and retain 
non-traditional students, which are becoming the majority of 
students.
    Second, this is a very large conversation, but, in general, 
we have a civilian military divide conversation that needs to 
happen, not just on campuses, but certainly on campuses, as 
well. Specific to campuses, we would encourage university 
leadership to work with their student veteran chapters or their 
student veteran affiliation chapters, to better understand 
their needs and their experience, and that is true for men and 
women.
    We also encourage them to view veterans as part of the 
inclusivity conversation. As soon as we talk about that and 
making sure that their campus is better inclusive, university 
presidents and provosts sort of get it. That is a term that 
they are used to and that they are comfortable with. And so, I 
would encourage us all to encourage schools to be veteran-
inclusive.
    And last, the thing that we can do is support peer-support 
networks on campus. We know that students succeed when they are 
around people that are like them. So, if we encourage women 
veterans to connect with their local student veteran chapter, 
they will more likely be more likely to succeed and feel 
welcomed and inclusive on campus.
    Ms. Radewagen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Levin. Thank you.
    And I now would like to recognized Mr. Brindisi for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. Brindisi. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and welcome to all 
of our witnesses who are here today, especially Ms. Casey, who 
is from my neck of the Woods in UpState New York--thank you for 
being here.
    I do want to ask you, Ms. Casey, about Syracuse's Institute 
for veterans and military families. I understand it is a 
wonderful program and you are doing incredible work, really, to 
help transition individuals from military service to civilian 
life. I wanted to talk a little bit about a couple of the 
programs that you offer, like Onward to Opportunity and the 
Veterans Career Transition Program.
    Can you speak to the interconnectedness of these programs 
and what the data is showing regarding these programs' 
effectiveness, specifically for women veterans.
    Ms. Casey. Yes, sir. Thank you very much for that question.
    Our onwards to opportunity program is the only one of its 
kind that is being offered. It is offered both, on installation 
and online. It is the only end-to-end kind of transition 
employment training program where we are offering industry-
recognized training and credentialing exams and then, 
ultimately connecting those participants to a network of more 
than 1,000 employers.
    We are seeing higher than average completion rates. We are 
seeing very successful employment-connection rates. And more 
significantly for employers, we are seeing higher than average 
retention rates at the 6 month and 1 year points, post 
employment.
    Specifically, with respect to women veterans, we are seeing 
that women veterans that complete these programs are earning 
more money than their non-veteran counterparts. We are seeing 
more women veterans entering STEM. We are seeing that there is 
more positive outcomes for those women, but we certainly have 
more work to be done in the research in that regard.
    Mr. Brindisi. Can you tell me, what role, if any, do these 
programs have with the VA? Does VA collaborate with you at all?
    Ms. Casey. Well, the VA isn't necessarily collaborating 
with us in Onward to Opportunity, but they certainly have been 
working with us in our AmericaServes work in communities across 
the country.
    We have an MOU with the VA that allows local VA facilities 
to participate in our service networks, but I would also say 
that we are working with the DoD and the branches of military 
service, with regard to Onward to Opportunity. We are also 
working with the Department of Labor on many of our research 
initiatives, so--and with the SBA on our entrepreneurship 
training programs.
    We are deeply engaged with the Federal Government. I think 
there is opportunity for, certainly, more of that, but we are 
trying to create those touchpoints across all of our portfolio 
programs.
    Mr. Brindisi. OK. And I want to ask--so, I represent a very 
large, rural district in UpState New York--and this question is 
really for any of the witnesses--because I know access to 
primary care is very challenging in rural areas and access to 
care for women veterans in rural areas is also very 
challenging.
     What is the VA doing--how is the VA doing, trying to get 
care into rural areas, and, specifically, when it comes to 
women veterans?
    Ms. Augustine. I am happy to start with that. So, I know 
that there has been a considerable effort by the VA to use 
things like telemedicine to reach rural areas, and that is 
something that we think could also be utilized to reach rural 
campuses and to better integrity recently transitioned veterans 
who are using their G.I. Bill right after service to help them 
be familiar with VA care, to access VA care where they are in a 
rural setting and an easy-to-use setting.
     They seem to be doing well and we are here to work with 
them to make sure that they can continue to do better with that 
and to allow them to better integrate with those that are 
recently transitioned on campus.
    Mr. Brindisi. Any other witnesses?
    Ms. Boothe. Yes, sir. I would definitely say that the use 
of a Choice Program has definitely worked great for me, 
personally, you know, being able to--and it is not just, you 
know, I know there is a lot of influence on veterans in rural 
areas, because they can't get to it, but there are also 
veterans who have disabilities that are not able to travel 
great distances. You know, it could be, I live in Haymarket, 
Virginia, so I'm going to the D.C. VA Medical Center, and 
traffic is a great distance for me.
    And so, I just think that--I know that they are on the 
right track with, you know, more use of the Choice Program and 
granting that permission to go use, you know, doctors that you 
pick and you are comfortable with, is a definitely great avenue 
of approach and it should be continued to be supported.
    Mr. Brindisi. And just a quick question on higher 
education. Perhaps, Ms. Schwartz can answer the question.
    On average, women veterans typically utilize their VA 
educational benefits early in their career and before men. What 
are the reasons for this trend?
    Ms. Schwartz. I am not an expert in this statistics area. 
Lauren might be better equipped to answer that.
    Mr. Brindisi. Go ahead.
    Ms. Augustine. Sure. I think in you look at some of the 
research that has come out from IVMF that has shown that some 
of the stressors that women veterans face at higher rates than 
men, things like financial stability and wanting to provide for 
their families. Education is a natural choice we are you are 
looking at long-term life earnings and wanting to make sure 
that you can provide for yourself or over a lifetime.
    Mr. Brindisi. OK. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back my 
time.
    Mr. Levin. Thank you, Mr. Brindisi.
    I would like to now recognize Mr. Meuser for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Meuser. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to this 
committee, and thank you to all of you very, very much. We 
appreciate you being here and thank you for your service and 
your family service while you were serving you our Nation and 
then the work that you are doing now.
    We in Congress, and particularly part of this committee, 
also feel that we are part of serving veterans. So, we are very 
much on the same team and I appreciate very much this hearing.
    Women veterans, by definition, are exceptional, right? I 
mean, they had the courage to join. They are patriots. They are 
selfless. They made it through boot camp. They were serving for 
years, away from their families and often in combat, overcoming 
fear and danger for the greater good, for all of us.
    These are great Americans that we are talking about, and so 
I certainly feel giving the right, fair opportunities, we--they 
will do terrific. So, this is what we need to work on.
    In addition, they face the same issues that many veterans 
sadly face--PTSD and other inflictions from being in combat--
so, there are some very important issues here, such as--and I 
did put them in somewhat order, and this may not be the right 
order, but women veterans homelessness, food, availability, 
childcare, employment, and education opportunities.
    Just to start with women veterans homelessness, which is a 
tragedy, Ms. Boothe, you had some interesting comments there. 
Can you elaborate a further on some ideas for solutions?
    Ms. Boothe. Well, sir, I think the biggest hurdle is that 
the Federal definition of homelessness needs to be changed, 
because it is exclusionary to women veterans and those with 
families, by design. Again, you aren't going to find women 
veterans and their children out on the street in the coldest 
night of January when the government counts them that year, 
because that number becomes the gospel, and people look at that 
number is, Oh, there is only 3,000; it is not the bigger 
problem. So they don't put a lot of funding, a lot of resources 
and effort into women veterans homelessness, because, again, 
3,000 is a very small number. It doesn't look like a big deal. 
I think that is the first hurdle that we have to get over, 
because at the end, it is exclusionary, and it also makes this 
very small population even more invisible by one definition 
that is used to allocate much-needed resources across the 
spectrum for veteran opportunities and resources.
    Mr. Meuser. OK. Do your local VAs provide any advocacy for 
those that are homeless, do you find?
    Ms. Boothe. They do provide advocacy, but I would say, 
although we are not funded by the VA, over 80 percent of our 
referrals come from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
    Mr. Meuser. OK. Great.
    Related to food, there is an organization in my district 
known as the Keystone Military Families. A woman by the name of 
Kyle Lord founded it and is the director of it today. It is 
right outside of Hamburg and Shoemakersville, Pennsylvania. 
They do incredible work. I have been in there a few times 
watching families come in--women--men and women--parents.
    Do your areas, do you find that you have such outlets and 
organizations that are helpful, I will ask you, Ms. Casey?
    Ms. Casey. Yes, thank you. We do have a number of 
organizations locally, in and around the Greater Syracuse area 
that create environments very similar to what you described. 
One, in particular, is called Clear Path for Veterans. It does 
create a holistic environment, offers training programs, 
locations where families can come, training referrals for 
resources.
    I think the goal, though, should be to ensure that all 
kinds of service providers are culturally competent to deal 
with veterans and their families as they come in for different 
kinds of services.
    While we are very fortunate to have a veteran-specific 
veteran servicing organization in our area, there are many 
areas that don't necessarily have that range of services, and 
that is why we found for example, that our Serves networks and 
communities are very good. There are many organizations that 
are good at dealing with homelessness that aren't necessarily 
veteran-specific.
     We need to ensure that they are culturally competent in 
terms of the work and the services they offer.
    Mr. Meuser. All right. We, thank you.
    I really have a few more questions I would like to ask. 
Maybe we can do that later.
    Mr. Chairman, I yield back my time.
    Mr. Levin. Thank you, Mr. Meuser.
    I would like to now recognize Ms. Lee for 5 minutes.
    Ms. Lee. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, to having this important 
hearing and continuing to shed light on women veterans issues 
and thank you, all the panelists for being here.
    Ms. Schwartz, I would like to chat with you a little bit 
about service to school, and, you know, we have talked about 
childcare as a barrier to veterans seeking care at the VA and 
also some of them foregoing mental health treatment or other 
physical therapy because they can't afford childcare.
    I wanted to ask you--and if there is other panelists that 
want to chime in, I would welcome that, as well--but what are 
the barriers that exist for single-women veterans with children 
at the educational setting and what can the VA do to better 
provide for these veteran mothers?
    Ms. Schwartz. Sure. I going to provide anecdotal 
information. Childcare is absolutely and issue for, I think any 
woman, female veteran, aside, if you are a working woman or you 
are in school, it is an issue.
    But you think through a veteran and, specifically, an 
enlisted veteran who has gotten out and is maybe working part-
time, not making a ton of money and she wants go back to 
school, how can she pay for all of her bills, classes, and 
childcare, and successfully be able to attend all of those 
different things, graduate, and go on to get a job. I mean, it 
is just--let's lean in and do it all--I mean we can't.
    If there were better services--and this goes for 
everything, not just education--while you were seeking 
employment, and then as you begin your first job, helping you 
transition to a place where you are at a point where you make 
enough money to pay for decent childcare for your children, 
providing things like that. Providing childcare while you go to 
VA appointments. All of that is very necessary. So, yes, 
definitely and issue, and then I forget your second point.
    Ms. Lee. Just what we can do better--the VA could do 
better, and if anyone else wants to--Ms. Casey, if you wanted 
to chime in----
    Ms. Schwartz. Thank you. Yes, I think the other point I 
would offer with regard to higher education is offering the 
flexibility in terms of the programs that are offered to the 
non-traditional students. So, for example, we, at Syracuse 
University have made a dedicated effort to opening up many of 
our programs online, offering stackable credentials, those 
kinds of things, so that we can create the flexibility and 
those learning opportunities for not just women veterans, but 
also the non-traditional student, I had spoken to earlier.
    Ms. Lee. Great. Thank you.
    Ms. Augustine, is there anything you see colleges doing to 
assist with childcare needs of women veterans on campuses?
    Ms. Augustine. Sure. And much to the point that is been 
made, this is an issue that goes beyond the confines of the 
veterans status or even in the womens' status. It is a national 
conversation that better having, even outside the confines of 
campuses, much like the conversations around provider shortage 
for healthcare out of VA specific, there is a childcare 
conversation that is happening around America. It is 
particularly around affordable and equitable access to 
childcare that is a larger conversation.
    We have some universities who have opened up their 
subsidized childcare centers to veterans and to students who 
needs access to that. That is a welcomed conversation. We hope 
to see other universities consider that.
    We have also seen some increased funding from the Federal 
level for some other childcare programs, and we have called 
both in, in our policy priority testimony back in March, and 
then, again, in this testimony, for consideration of a pilot 
program, similar to what was done for VA healthcare 
appointments at the university level, to examine ways we can 
help women veterans and, really, all student veterans have more 
access to childcare options.
    Ms. Lee. Great. Thank you.
    Thank you, all. I am actually beginning a veterans 
education caucus and, obviously, making sure that we are doing 
as much as we possibly can, not just for women veterans, but 
for all veterans. So, hopefully, we can continue to have that 
conversation.
    I yield back the remainder of my time. Thank you.
    Mr. Levin. Thank you, Ms. Lee, and thank you for your 
leadership on that veterans education caucus, I look forward to 
working with you on that, as well.
    And I would like to now recognize Mr. Barr for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Barr. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thanks to all of our 
witnesses for your advocacy on behalf of our veterans, and in 
particular, our women veterans.
    You know, in this country right now, there is actually a 
labor-supply shortage. There is a real crisis in our economy, 
with respect to inadequate labor supply. You know, I think the 
statistic now is 1.5 million job openings, more than unemployed 
Americans right now.
    When you look at the veterans population, and in 
particular, women veterans, it is a tremendous opportunity 
both, for women veterans to achieve their potential in the 
labor market, but it is also a huge potential advantage for the 
employer community in this country to take advantage of the 
tremendous talents and skills and background and commitment, 
the ethic of putting a cause greater than oneself that women 
veterans bring to the labor market.
    I just came from a financial services committee hearing 
with the chairman of the Federal Reserve. And if there is one 
thing that is holding our economy back, it is the lack of 
skilled talent.
    Well, women veterans come into the labor market or come out 
of the military, go to school, and then come out of that 
experience with tremendous contribution capabilities. So my 
question to any of you is, is it your experience in advocating 
for women veterans that there is more challenges that women 
veterans have than the overall veterans community, in terms of 
communicating the opportunities for employers to tap into this 
great potential labor force?
    Ms. Casey. If I may, sir, that is a great question and a 
great observation.
    What we have seen is an issue for both, men and women 
coming out of the military to adequately describe their skills 
and talents. I think one of the things that we have seen 
through our Onward to Opportunity program, though, is that 
while they have this great experience, they need to have a 
particular training or credential in order to qualify for that 
civilian-sector job.
    As you point out, given the labor market conditions, what 
we are trying to do is introduce different training and 
credentialing programs to give them that certification and, 
more significantly, to directly connect them to employer to a 
network of more than 1,000 employers to create that 
opportunity. I think that is really been one of the other 
challenges is making that meaningful connection as you 
transition out, to a meaningful employment opportunity, long-
term.
    While there is a challenge for women veterans, it is a 
challenge across the veteran community.
    Mr. Barr. Well, thanks for your great work on that.
    As a followup question, again to anyone, does the employer 
community or maybe the chambers of commerce around the country, 
do we need to do a better job educating those--that community 
about the women veteran community as a potential source of 
applicants?
    Ms. Casey. If I might, sir, before joining the IVMF, I 
worked for JP Morgan Chase that started the Veterans Job 
Mission, which is now a coalition of more than 250 employers 
focused solely on hiring veterans and military spouses. I think 
there has been a great deal of progress made to educate 
employers on the value of hiring veteran talent and what it 
brings to the workforce. I think it is a constant educational 
process.
    I think that we get lulled into a sense of complacency when 
we look at the unemployment rates for our veterans and I think 
we can't let that happen. We have to stay focused on this as an 
ongoing effort.
    Mr. Barr. Does anyone else want to comment on those topics?
    Ms. Boothe. Yes, sir. I also think that--again, there are 
lots of initiatives, and I see all types of job fairs that say, 
Hey, veterans, come to job fairs--but I do know that I don't 
see a lot of statistics that come back on those job fairs 
referencing who was actually hired, but with the demographics 
that were hired. And I also know that mostly male veterans are 
targeted during those types of job fairs.
    So, although the need may be there and the students may be 
there, they are not specifically, from my experience, targeting 
women veterans for those positions.
    Mr. Barr. Well, we need to get the word out, because boy oh 
boy, what a tremendous opportunity for everyone involved.
    Final question, and it has to do with women veterans 
homelessness. Since 2010, veteran homelessness has gone down 49 
percent, but women veterans homelessness has actually 
increased, sadly, by 7 percent.
    My hometown of Lexington, Kentucky, has been confirmed by 
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness and HUD and 
the VA, as a community, that it had effectively ended veteran 
Homelessness.
    My question is, why has veteran homelessness increased 
nationwide and what can we do to address that particular issue?
    Ms. Boothe. You mentioned a statistic that was given out in 
2010 and why it increased. The Government Accountability Office 
report in 2011 showed that VA didn't track women veterans until 
2011. So, I suspect that they were out there and just not 
tracked.
    I think they are making strides toward tracking them, but 
the methods being used, again, are kind of faulted by that 
Federal definition. Our organization, who has a transitional 
housing facility, the only one in the D.C. Metro area for women 
veterans and their children, we were told that they do not 
count the women veterans in our transitional housing as 
homeless, because they did not come out of a shelter or off the 
streets.
    Mr. Barr. Thank you. My time has expired.
    Mr. Levin. Thank you, Mr. Barr.
    I appreciate all the questions from my colleagues, and, 
again, I want to thank each of you for your testimony. We are 
just bare little scratching the surface here today and we will 
be following up. I know one area where I was particularly 
struck was by your testimony, Ms. Boothe, with regard to why 
mothers are afraid to self-report in the issue with Child 
Protective Services.
    I was actually speaking to our counsel during the 
questioning and commit to you that we are going to followup and 
understand the dynamics there and see what we can do to address 
that, whether it is legislatively or otherwise, because that 
is, obviously, a very difficult situation.
    I want to thank the ranking member for his remarks and his 
leadership. Ms. Brownley, who was here earlier, and her 
leadership on the Womens Veterans Task Force and on the health 
subcommittee.
    We are going to continue to discuss this issue and the 
greater issues that face our women veterans. I know I will, 
representing an area with a ton of veterans in North San Diego 
County, South Orange County, we just have a town hall over the 
break with about 150 veterans, about 20 of whom were women 
veterans with powerful and compelling stories.
    I am truly grateful, again, to each of you.
    I will remind my colleagues that all members have 5 
legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
additional materials.
    Without objection, the subcommittee stands adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 11:34 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]

      
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                         A  P  P  E  N  D  I  X

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                    Prepared Statements of Witnesses

                              ----------                              

                 prepared statement of lauren augustine

[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
                                 ______
                                 
                 prepared statement of maureen e. casey
    Chairman Levin, Ranking Member Bilirakis and Members of the 
Committee, thank you for your work on behalf of America's veterans and 
their families, and for the opportunity to address you today.
    Women are the fastest growing segment of the veteran population. 
More than 370,000 women serve on active duty or in the National Guard 
and Reserves, and over 2 million make up 17 percent of the post 9/
11(September 11, 2001) veteran population. Given this growth, it is 
increasingly important we pay close attention to the specific 
experiences and needs of our women veterans.
    Today, I represent Syracuse University's Institute for Veterans and 
Military Families, the only academic institute of its kind in the 
Nation focused exclusively on enhancing the post-service lives of our 
veterans and military-connected families. More than 120,000 service 
members and veterans have participated in the IVMF's programs to date, 
and an ever-increasing number of those we serve are women.
    While, as a community, we have made significant progress to better 
understand and address the needs of women veterans, more remains to be 
done. I say this because one of the most consistent findings stemming 
from our work and scholarship is the powerful and enduring link between 
the lived experience of transition from military service, and the 
financial health and overall well-being of our veterans.
    `Getting their transition right' is core to ensuring long-term 
employability and financial independence. Alternatively, a negative 
transition experience is likely to position a woman veteran--and by 
extension, her family--on a trajectory of compromised financial 
stability, from which our experience suggests, it is often exceedingly 
difficult to recover.
    We know from our work and research that the point of transition 
from the military to civilian life is a challenge. The number one 
reason women leave the military is significantly different from men; 41 
percent of women transition out due to family reasons. Additionally, 
women on average leave the military sooner, also likely for the same 
reason given that women are more likely to be both service member and 
spouse; and, therefore, potentially shouldering added family and work 
responsibilities.
    The challenges women veterans often face as they transition to 
civilian life have the potential to impact their financial stability 
for months and years after taking off the uniform. Two-thirds of women 
veterans find their financial transition from the military difficult, 
compared to 47 percent of men. Similarly, more than one-third of women 
veterans cite ``loss of income'' as a key transition challenge, 
compared to a rate that is lower for men. In addition, women veterans 
take three months longer, on average, to find civilian employment 
compared to male veterans. Finally, consistent with the general 
population, women veterans earn less than male veterans despite having 
the same skills enhanced by their military service.
    At the IVMF, we have seen the impact that an employment program 
tailored specifically for women veterans can have on the financial 
well-being of their post service lives. Our V-WISE program--Women 
Veteran Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship--provides small 
business training specifically to women veterans. The success of the 
program speaks for itself. Of the more than 3000 graduates, over 65 
percent of these women have started their own business and of those, 
more than 90 percent are still in operation today.
    The words of a recent program participant convey in ways data 
cannot, the power of such a tailored program. After serving 12 years in 
the U.S. Army, Glennett started two small businesses in Atlanta helping 
homeless veterans. She participated in our most recent VWISE training 
and said, ``The spirit of entrepreneurship has been ignited and the 
fire will not go out; we are leaning in for each other! I'm forever 
grateful to VWISE, its mission, and vision to empower women 
veterans...We have not been forgotten!''
    Tailored employment programs for women veterans alone are not 
sufficient to tackle their economic well-being. Access and navigation 
of community based care, services and resources is the most commonly 
cited challenge associated with military transition. In addition, the 
IVMF recently published a journal article reviewing over 60 needs 
assessments in communities across the country; unfortunately, it found 
that many localities are not sufficiently aware of the many specific 
needs women veterans face.
    To address this, the IVMF launched AmericaServes--an innovative 
community care coordination program now operating in 16 U.S. 
communities. Its premise is a simple one--getting the veteran and their 
family to the right services and care in the least amount of time. 
Leveraging a unique technology platform and a person-centered, local 
coordination center, Serves networks have addressed more than 50,000 
unique service requests from more than 25,000 individuals. Of note, 
women veterans are seeking assistance from our Serves networks at rates 
higher than their representation in the veteran population. Our data 
also tells us that employment support is the second most commonly 
requested service, only behind housing.
    Therefore, based both on our practical experience and academic 
research, it is clear that if we are going to have meaningful impact on 
the economic well-being of our women veterans, the public and private 
sectors must collaborate in two key areas:

        1. We must design and deliver new and innovative employment 
        related programs that are purpose-built to address the unique 
        needs of women veterans--whether at the point of transition or 
        as the need arises post-service; and

        2. We must work together to identify means and methods to 
        support care coordination and social service navigation within 
        and across the communities our women veterans call home.

    On behalf of the veterans and military-connected families the IVMF 
serves in partnership with this Committee, thank you for the 
opportunity to provide testimony today.

[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                                 ______
                                 
                    prepared statement of jas boothe

[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                                 ______
                                 
                prepared statement of christine schwartz
    Good morning, I am Christine Schwartz and I am the CEO (Chief 
Executive Officer) of Service to School a veteran service organization 
that works with transitioning servicemembers and veterans to ensure 
they have the access and ability to attend our country's best colleges 
and grad schools. My connection to the military runs deep. As a fifth 
generation Army Officer, I served five years on active duty and an 
additional two in the Army Reserves, I am the spouse of an Active Duty 
green beret, and I believe in service to our Nation as well as 
supporting the servicemembers and veterans that willingly choose to do 
so.
    In pursuit of that support I have the privilege of running an 
organization that ensures our country's veterans have the opportunity 
to attend colleges that place them on a pathway for continued success. 
Through our work the veterans we work with go on to enroll at colleges 
with high graduation rates, great career services, and alumni networks 
that will support them throughout their life. These are colleges like 
Yale, Stanford, Amherst, UC-Berkley, UT-Austin, Virginia Tech, 
University of Michigan, Princeton and the list goes on. This is great 
news for veterans who are often taken advantage of by for-profit 
universities or less than reputable colleges and we at Service to 
School have worked hard to create success for veterans in higher-ed.
    However, I would be wrong if I led you to believe that we serve 
male and female servicemembers at equal rates. In fact last year, only 
14 percent of the veterans we assisted were women. This statistic does 
not align with the national average that 24 percent of student veterans 
are women. So if a quarter of users of the GI Bill are women, then why 
aren't they signing up with Service to School whose reputation is to 
get you into the best college possible and ideally your dream school. 
If you are using the GI bill wouldn't you want to use it at your dream 
school? Why are 86 percent of the veterans that apply and then enroll 
at quote unquote elite colleges male?
    I cannot provide all the answers but I will offer a glimpse into 
why women veterans are struggling to enroll at similar colleges and 
grad programs as their male counterparts.
    Ashley is an Army Captain who served in the Special Operations 
community and was denied admittance to almost all of the MBA (Master of 
Business Administration) programs she applied to. When Ashley asked the 
admissions committee's feedback on why she wasn't offered admission 
they cited her GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) score which 
was reasonably in range with the other military members who applied to 
similar programs. In talking with Ashley, she felt that her 
applications were viewed differently than her male counterparts and 
there was a disbelief that her work in the special operations community 
was comparable to her male peers, and therefore her service was not as 
prestigious as theirs and could not be valued as highly. So while 
Ashley held the same rank, position, and went through the same training 
as her male peers, her service was undervalued because admissions 
committees could not understand it in the same context as a male.
    This story aligns with research from the Service Women's Action 
Group that found the majority of active duty and veteran women face 
respect issues and a lack of recognition of their service from the 
public.
    Then there's Janine, an Air Force NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer who 
received her bachelors degree from UMUC (University of Maryland 
University College) while on Active Duty. Janine dreamed of going back 
to grad school and specifically researched and networked with MBA 
programs where she was met with the disappointing news that since she 
had received her undergrad degree online, it was highly unlikely she 
would be accepted to one of her choice MBA programs. Janine is a single 
mom balancing two young children and a job and when I first met her she 
was working numerous jobs to make ends meet. I can guarantee you, if 
anyone could handle the workload of an MBA program, it would be her. 
Interestingly enough, I met a male Air Force NCO this past winter. He 
too received his bachelors degree online while in the Air Force; 
assumption would say that he like Janine wouldn't be able to get into a 
top MBA program, seeing as his degree was online. But here is the 
interesting part, Caleb got into and is now attending the University of 
Chicago's Booth School of Business. Undoubtedly, one of the best 
Business schools in the world and Janine has yet to go back to grad 
school.
    University's just like many systems are creating barriers for these 
female veterans by failing to understand, appreciate, and accommodate 
for female military service and have continued to perpetuate our 
``invisible service''.
    Thank you.
                                 ______
                                 
                 prepared statement of jodie m. grenier
    Chairman Levin, Ranking Member Bilirakis and Members of the 
Subcommittee:
    Thank you for inviting Foundation for Women Warriors to testify 
today at this oversight hearing on The Economic Well-Being of Women 
Veterans. Foundation for Women Warriors is a non-profit organization 
solely dedicated to serving women veterans. Our mission is to ensure 
that women's next mission is clear and continues to impact the world. 
Our priority is honoring the service of women veterans by strengthening 
their future through programs that provide fiscal and personal 
empowerment.
    I would like to thank the Subcommittee for your commitment to 
supporting policies that ensure veterans receive the resources they so 
deserve.
    First, understanding that the male veteran experience has been 
prioritized over women throughout history is key. The same is true 
regarding the transition experiences of women as seen in the 
undepresentation of women veterans in reintegration studies. Women are 
serving in the military in record numbers and represent 10 percent of 
the veteran population. There are more than two million women veterans 
in the U.S. today and according to VA (Veterans Administration) it 
expects women will make up 18 percent of the veteran population by 
2040.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Department of Veterans Affairs. Women Veterans' Health Care. 
Women Veterans Today
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    My story is illustrative both for the challenges I did and did not 
face as a transitioning woman service member.
    I served in the Marine Corps as an Intelligence Analyst from 2000-
2005 and completed two deployments to Iraq, first during the initial 
invasion and then a deployment to Ramadi, Fallujah, and throughout the 
West Al Anbar Province. My decision to join the military was an easy 
one. As a child of a single parent, I lacked the resources to attend 
college. My transition out of the service was wrought with frustration, 
anger, and feeling generally misunderstood.
    You see, I went from briefing unit commanders on potential courses 
of action to mitigate imminent threats to our troops to waiting tables.
    My transition support consisted of a lack luster transition class. 
I navigated college, employment, and undiagnosed PTS alone. I enrolled 
full time in a community college under the Montgomery GI bill, balanced 
two jobs as a waitress and bartender, and lived with my mother because 
I couldn't afford rent.
    Later, I left college for a government job at the Space and Naval 
Warfare Center. The difference between me and the women our 
organization serves, is that I had two major advantages:

        1. A marketable top-secret security clearance;

        2. I did not have children. This is not the case for 69 percent 
        of the women veterans who seek help from our organization. 
        Today, I have a bachelor's in psychology and a masters in 
        nonprofit leadership and management. In my role as CEO for 
        Foundation for Women Warriors, I lead our mission to honor and 
        empower women veterans through transition services.

    Our organization's story is truly a testament of women's history in 
the US military and mirrors the shifting perspective by which our 
Nation has cared for and served this population. Originally founded as 
the California Soldier's Widows Housing Association in 1920, our 
organization discovered that women veterans faced housing and financial 
instability. In 2006, we began delivering short-term, high-impact, 
stipends to Iraq and Afghanistan women veterans.
    Recognizing the increasing needs of post 9/11 (September 11, 2001) 
women veterans, we shifted and now our programs solely serve women and 
their children.
    Our organization is a living timeline that demonstrates the 
financial inequity experienced by women and the constant fight to be 
heard by the very country and institutions which women have honorably 
served to protect.
    Though I am grateful to have your audience today, it is long 
overdue.
                    overview of economic well-being
    Foundation for Women Warriors characterizes economic well-being as 
having control over one's finances while consistently meeting basic 
needs, including food, clothing, housing, utilities, health care, 
transportation, education, and childcare. We aim for our clients to 
feel secure and prepared to make economic choices for personal 
fulfillment. This empowers women to absorb unexpected financial costs 
and plan for their future and their children's.
    The economic well-being of women veterans is at risk.

      Women veterans are the fastest growing segment of 
veterans yet are also the fastest growing segment of homeless veterans. 
\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ 2017 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, the U.S. 
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

      In California, 60 percent of the state's women veterans 
reported experiencing some form of housing instability.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ Housing Instability and Homelessness 2013 California Women 
Veteran Survey. California Research Bureau, California

      Women veterans have a higher unemployment rate, lower 
median income, and are more likely to live below the poverty threshold 
compared to their male counterparts.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\ Profile of Veterans: 2015 Data from the American Community 
Survey. Prepared by the National Center for Veterans Analysis and 
Statistics, Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC

      Women veterans are more likely to be single parents yet 
are less likely to have the same support network as their male 
counterparts while experiencing additional barriers to receiving and 
utilizing standard veteran benefits.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\ 49. MacDermid-Wadsworth, S. (2014). Women in Combat. Presented 
at Psychological & Social Aspects of Health & Wellbeing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
       issues impacting the economic well-being of women veterans
    Many issues can impact the economic well-being of women veterans, 
and these, among other gender-specific factors, also put women veterans 
at significant risk for homelessness. Key issues impact all veterans' 
economic well-being such as, limitedfinancial knowledge, barriers in 
accessing benefits, education level at transition, unemployment, loss 
of support network, and increasing housing cost as well as the various 
emotional challenges associated with reintegrating into civilian 
society. The reality is, these issues, compounded with the unique 
transition experience of women veterans, cultural stereotypes, higher 
rate of single parenting, and the gender pay gap, result in greater 
economic risk for women.
    During active duty, financial inexperience of youth, low wages, 
family obligations, lack of financial education coupled with predatory 
lending targeting junior enlisted military contributes to financial 
vulnerability among veterans. Sadly, women have even less financial 
education than their male peers. The mounting debt and lack of basic 
financial skills while in service puts transitioning service members at 
greater financial risk. Due to the higher rate of single parenting, 
women become more vulnerable.
    Transitioning veterans are eligible for various benefits, however 
women face increased barriers. Many women who have pursued veterans' 
benefits experienced bias, misogyny, and denied claims. Therefore, 
women often elect to simply not seek VA benefits. Waiting periods 
particularly impact single mothers: the average waiting period for VA 
benefits is 123 days.\6\ GI Bill benefits take upwards of 2-3 months. 
Additionally, the GI Bill Housing stipend is prorated based on the 
number of school days each month.\7\ Housing stipend amounts decrease 
during winter and summer breaks, further causing financial instability 
for single mothers. In 2018, The VA System upgrade caused a backlog of 
GI Bill payments and created a panic among student veterans.\8\ Our 
survey found this payment delay caused significant financial stress 
among the veterans we serve, especially single mothers.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\ Disability Advisor.com Waiting for Veteran Disability Benefits 
Lisa Nuss
    \7\ UTSA.edu Post 9/11 GI Bill Housing Allowances
    \8\ https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/news.asp
    \9\ FFWW 2018 GI Bill Backlog Impact Survey
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Reintegration for women carries stereotypes that men do not 
experience. Because women serve with so few women, they lack a natural 
peer network that can lead to feeling isolated during transition.\10\ 
Civilians often fail to recognize women as veterans, leading to 
mistrust between women veterans and civilian counterparts. Lack of 
social support is linked to depression and shown to increase the risk 
of suicide, alcohol use, and various health conditions, hindering 
securing employment.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \10\ https://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2017-
demographics-report.pdf
    \11\ Mushtaq, R., et. al, (2014). Relationship between loneliness, 
psychiatric disorders and physical health. A review on the 
psychological aspects of loneliness. Journal of clinical and diagnostic 
research: JCDR, 8(9), WE01-WE4. doi:10.7860/JCDR/2014/10077.4828
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Women veterans in all age cohorts earn significantly less than male 
veterans, a gap that generally increases with age.\12\ Women veterans 
suffer from higher unemployment rates than their male counterparts, 
especially post 9/11 women.\13\ We must acknowledge that programs 
assisting veterans with civilian employment target men and are less 
effective for women.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \12\ Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center for Veterans 
Analysis and Statistics (2016). Profile of Women Veterans: 2014[https:/
/www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/SpecialReports/Women--Veterans--2016.pdf] 
Washington, DC.
    \13\ Data of female veterans used from Zoli, C., Maury, R., & Fay, 
D. (2015, November). Missing perspectives: Servicemembers' transition 
from service to civilian life-data-driven research to enact the promise 
of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Syracuse, NY: Institute for Veterans and 
Military Families, Syracuse University
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                               solutions
    During my tenure, FFWW has created programs to help women veterans 
remain in/obtain safe and affordable housing. This allows them to 
attain or maintain employment, pursue a degree, and provide stability 
for their children. It costs $406-$5,038 each month to support a 
homeless person.\14\ FFWW housing subsidies save the community $4,722 
to $58,000 annually per person served. Our Childcare Assistance, 
Warrior Connect, and Connect with Community programs further support 
women as they pursue their degree or dream career.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \14\ Economic Roundtable Study (2009) Where We Sleep. https://
economicrt.org/publication/where-we-sleep/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The VA and DOD recently partnered to introduce a day of women-
specific training in the Transition Assistance Program. The pilot only 
covers VA Healthcare and benefits and lacks a holistic approach to 
transition.\15\ This effort must be expanded.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \15\ https://connectingvets.radio.com/articles/va-partners-army-
navy-marine-corps-military-women-transition-program
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Foundation for Women Warriors established a professional 
development workshop to fill this market failure. We host daylong 
women-focused workshops on reputable college campuses to introduce 
women veterans and transitioning women service members to local 
community members, build veteran and civilian support networks, provide 
onsite career mentoring, anddeliver interactive learning. Attendees 
choose our topics via surveys. Thus far we have provided 262 women 
veterans and transitioning active duty members sessions on self-
leadership, career navigation, community resources, personal finance, 
and networking. We also provide onsite childcare, removing a frequent 
barrier to professional development for single mothers.
    According to the National Coalition of Homelessness and California 
Department of Veteran Affairs, the top 4 concerns of women veterans are 
housing, employment, education, and childcare.\16\ Childcare costs are 
a major obstacle for women veterans. Eleven percent of women service 
members are single parents compared with 4 percent of men.\17\ After 
surveying our clients and finding childcare is a top concern, we 
launched our Childcare Assistance program, the only one we've found to 
specifically offer working and student veteran mothers childcare 
stipends to ensure family stability. Approximately 60 percent of the 
women we serve are single parents, and 68.9 percent of them have minor 
children living at home.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \16\ http://www.nchv.org/images/uploads/HFV%20paper.pdf
    \17\ U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014). 
Employment Characteristics of Families Summary. Economic News Release, 
Washington, DC. Accessed 14-08-22. http://www.bls.gov/news.release/
famee.nr0.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    While there are programs to subsidize childcare, often working 
veteran moms do not qualify. The average weekly cost for an infant 
child is $211 for a day-care center and $195 for a family care 
center.\18\ In California, single moms spend 60 percent of their income 
to care for their kids while working and attending college. The 
disparity between subsidized in service and civilian childcare costs is 
a major obstacle for veterans.\19\ Affordable, safe, and flexible 
childcare is a major barrier in maintaining employment, career 
advancement, and pursuing educational goals for 69 percent of the women 
we serve.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \18\ Cost of Care Survey (2018) www.care.com
    \19\ https://info.childcareaware.org/hubfs/
appendices%2010.19.18.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Historically, hitting rock bottom--unemployed, homeless, with 
substance abuse issues--has been the standard for receiving assistance. 
While it is imperative to assist our most vulnerable communities, it is 
just as important to invest in the prevention of becoming the most 
vulnerable.
    Foundation for Women Warriors redefines ``at risk'' as those who 
are unable to their meet financial obligations, reframes assistance as 
a hand up, and invests in the critical areas to empowering independence 
and goal attainability. While services for women veterans have shown 
improvement, they are not currently on track to keep pace with the 
need. Our programs have shown great success in keeping women housed, 
employed and on the path to completing their degrees, however our 
capacity is limited by funding and our visibility is overshadowed by 
organizations catering to the male experience.
    That is why, today, FFWW is asking your subcommittee to fund 
research into women's experiences with reintegration that expands 
beyond women veterans utilizing the VA, consider expanding VA's 
existing grant programs that serve homeless and at-risk veterans to 
address priorities held by women veterans, and Congress should seek to 
establish accessible and effective financial literacy within active 
duty military.
    To resolve the issues impacting women veterans' economic well-
being, Foundation for Women Warriors presents the following 
recommendations for consideration:

        1. Fund research on the reintegration experiences of women 
        veterans to better understand barriers to employment, wage gap, 
        and identify key shortfalls in transition assistance.

        2. Increase funding for women veteran specific preventative 
        services through current VA grant programs to address women's 
        priorities such as childcare. This will enable expanded support 
        to include stipends for childcare to remove short-term 
        obstacles to long-term employment and housing stability.

        3. Expand Strategic Collaboration between Department of Labor 
        and women's veteran organizations to understand and remove the 
        barriers to employment for women veterans.

        4. Eliminate financial vulnerabilities by increase funding for, 
        and access to, effective financial literacy within active duty 
        military. Engage a non-DOD entity with the requisite expertise.

        5. Research the childcare needs of student veterans (by race 
        and gender) and determine the feasibility of GI bill childcare 
        stipend to provide affordable and quality childcare.

    In closing, I want to thank the Subcommittee for your interest in 
improving economic well-being of our Nation's women veterans. If we are 
to continue to move the needle forward with women's equity in this 
country, we must first solve the issues impacting the women who so 
valiantly volunteered to serve the same country that has historically 
treated them as less than. Foundation for Women Warriors is eager to 
assist you in your efforts any way we can. This completes my statement. 
I am available to respond to any questions you may have.
   
=======================================================================


                 Additional Submissions for the Record

=======================================================================


                       Submission for the Record

                              ----------                              

                   prepeared statement of joy j. ilem
    Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
    Thank you for holding this important oversight hearing on the 
economic well-being of women veterans. As you know, DAV (Disabled 
American Veterans) is a non-profit veterans service organization 
comprised of more than one million wartime service-disabled veterans 
that is dedicated to a single purpose: empowering veterans to lead 
high-quality lives with respect and dignity. Given the continued 
support for improving services for women veterans, we appreciate the 
opportunity to provide comments on this issue.
    DAV has published two comprehensive reports about women veterans. 
Our first report, published in 2014, Women Veterans: The Long Journey 
Home, concentrated on specific issues women veterans face as they 
transition from service members to veterans. Briefly, it found that 
women veterans have unique challenges to overcome as they reconnect 
with their families and communities after deployment and resume their 
roles as spouses, mothers and caregivers. It found that women veterans 
often do not identify as veterans, may not be aware of the many Federal 
programs available to serve them and may not understand their 
eligibility for them. It also found that the cultures of both the 
military and veterans' communities do not always embrace women veterans 
or celebrate service women's military service and accomplishments.
    Our second report, published in September 2018, Women Veterans: The 
Journey Ahead, looked more generally at the effectiveness of Federal 
programs and services for women veterans. It found that the Department 
of Veterans Affairs (VA), while making progress, is still struggling to 
adapt its staffing needs, infrastructure and programs as well as 
increased resources to meet the increasing numbers of women veterans 
seeking care at VA.
    Thankfully, significant efforts of VA's research community 
interested in women veterans' health have established internal networks 
to identify the unique needs of women veterans to change the culture 
and effectiveness of VA's care and specialized services for women 
veterans. Congress has supported this effort by conducting oversight 
that keeps the spotlight on women veterans--who still represent a 
small, but rapidly growing population within the military and veterans' 
communities. Despite these efforts and the attention to the issue, we 
have just begun to understand the challenges women veterans face in the 
employment arena as well as the gender differences in treatment, 
effectiveness and gender preferences.
                 employment and educational attainment
    We know that women veterans generally fare the same or better than 
civilian women in terms of being employed full time and having higher 
median income. Women veterans are more likely to have higher 
educational attainment (35.9 percent of the working aged veteran 
population compared to 30.5 percent of non-veteran women) and less 
likely to live in poverty (5.1 percent compared to 8.6 percent).\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ US Department of Commerce. Economic and Statistics 
Administration. US Census Bureau. Characteristics of Female Veterans--
An Analytic View Across Age Cohorts: 2015. August 2017.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    However, a recent report from the Department of Labor shows 
troublesome trends among women veterans in the workforce. According to 
a July 5 news release, women veterans' unemployment rates have more 
than doubled over the past year from two to 4.6 percent while male 
veterans' unemployment has dropped from 3.5 to 3 percent between June 
2018 and June 2019. The decrease in rates for men is found across 
service eras while the uptick for women's unemployment also holds 
across service eras. It is unclear what is causing this trend.
    Two important factors distinguish women veterans from their non-
veteran peers--specifically, women veterans are far more likely to 
marry (45.1 percent v. 29.6 percent) and have children (49.1 percent v. 
33.4 percent) within the early career cohort compared to civilian women 
who by mid and late career, are less likely to be married, but are 
about equally likely to have children in the household.
    A 2013 report found women veterans are ``ovepresented'' in Federal 
employment (24 percent) in relation to their proportion of the 
veterans' population (about six to 8 percent at the time of the 
report). Compared to male veterans, women have higher educational 
attainment, but lower median income. It is important to understand 
which factors most significantly contribute to this difference and 
address them.
                              homelessness
    Women are also overrepresented in the homeless veterans' population 
in comparison to their representation in the overall veterans' 
community. They are two times as likely to be homeless as civilian 
women and women veterans living in poverty are three times as likely to 
lose housing.\2\ With higher educational attainment and median income 
than civilian women, it is surprising that homelessness is a more 
significant issue for women veterans.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ VA National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans (2016). Women 
Veterans and Homelessness
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Family structure--the tendency for women veterans to marry and have 
children early and dissolve marriages by the time they enter middle and 
late career cohorts--may partially account for some of this tendency. 
Women veterans likely are, or become, the single parents of dependent 
children within the first decade post-deployment. Women may have 
especially challenging paths reintegrating as parents and spouses after 
deployment, especially if they were exposed to combat or other 
traumatic events including sexual trauma. Rates of military sexual 
trauma and harassment are extremely high: in 2018, 6 percent of female 
service members reported assault and 24 percent reported harassment 
within the past 12 months. About 12 percent of these women reported 
exposure to both.\3\ About 25 percent of women using VA health care 
report they had been exposed to sexual trauma in the military. 
Additionally, a recent report found that one in four women reported 
harassment from male veterans while seeking care at a VA facility. 
Women veterans are also more likely than peers to be exposed to 
intimate partner violence before or after deployment. Exposure to 
sexual trauma may cause or exacerbate post-traumatic stress disorder, 
depression or anxiety. There is also research suggesting intimate 
partner violence leads to higher prevalence of traumatic brain injuries 
in women veterans than non-veteran women.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ DOD SAPRO Report 2018.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Women veterans' utilization of VA mental health and substance use 
disorder services (about 40 percent used some service in Fiscal Year 
2015 compared to 25 percent of men) is high compared to male peers.\4\ 
Women in the youngest age cohort make the most use (45 percent) of 
these services. Additionally, women veterans use these services more 
intensively than their male peers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\ Department of Veterans Affairs. Sourcebook: Vol. 4. P. 64.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Finally, women who use VHA are also more likely to have service-
connected disabilities. In 2015, 63 percent of all women using VHA had 
service-connected disabilities and women in the youngest cohort (18-44 
years old) were most likely to have service-connected disabilities (73 
percent).\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\ Ibid, p. 35
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           financial literacy
    The 2018 CHALENG (Community Homeless Assessment, Local Education 
and Networking Groups) report identifies credit problems among the 
greatest needs for homeless male and female veterans. Veterans of both 
sexes reported financial guardianship and credit counseling as two of 
their greatest unmet needs. DAV is also aware that some veterans' 
retreats offer a financial literature component, which may be an 
important factor in the success of their readjustment. We have strongly 
supported gender-exclusive retreats for recently separated veterans.
    In conclusion, while there are some bright spots that show women 
veterans are favorably positioned in terms of financial security 
compared to non-veteran women there are a number of factors related to 
military service that can act as a barrier for women veterans gaining 
meaningful employment particularly for women veterans with disabilities 
(service or nonservice connected). One study highligted that women 
veterans reporting a disability are more likely to be unemployed than 
non-veterans and had greater odds of being out of the labor force.\6\ 
These findings indicate that disability status needs to be considered 
when discussing employment and earning possibilities for women 
veterans.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\ Prokos, A., Cabage, L.N. (2017). Women military veterans, 
disability and employment. Armed Forces and Society 43(2): 346-7.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Likewise, more research into the gender differences and factors 
affecting a successful transition from military to veteran status for 
women, such as increasing or higher rates of homelessness, suicide, 
substance-use disorders, sexual trauma and harassment among this 
subpopulation are warranted. Programs and services for women veterans 
should be reviewed and adjusted to reflect the impact of military 
service and their unique transition needs as well as tracking outcomes 
in gainful employment.
    Thank you for holding this important hearing today to examine the 
financial well-being of women veterans and for inviting DAV to submit 
testimony for the record. I will be happy to respond to any questions 
you may have.

                                 [all]