[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 117 (Friday, August 2, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1502]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             VETERANS EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES ACT OF 1996

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. CARDISS COLLINS

                              of illinios

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 30, 1996

  Mrs. COLLINS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that we can 
bring this veterans' preference bill to the floor today.
  I would like to congratulate Chairman John Mica and ranking Member 
Jim Moran of the Subcommittee on Civil Service on their work to craft 
this bill.
  During a hearing held by the subcommittee in April, representatives 
of the veterans service organizations articulated concerns that the 
inevitable work force reductions, agency restructurings, and 
experimentation with more flexible personnel rules have great potential 
to undermine veterans' preference. The provisions of H.R. 3586, which 
provide veterans increased protections during reductions-in-force, and 
which strengthen the administrative redress system should violations of 
veterans' preference occur, will ensure that those fears are not 
realized.
  Veterans' preference in Federal civil service is a priority which has 
deserved and received broad bipartisan support in Congress for more 
than 130 years.
  Since the Civil War, there have been statutory preferences in Federal 
civil service hiring for veterans of armed conflict, including special 
provisions for veterans disabled in combat and some eligible family 
members of disabled and deceased veterans.
  A number of developments are increasingly affecting the proportion of 
veterans in the Federal work force and in the private sector. Those who 
remain of the 15 million veterans of World War II are into or 
approaching retirement. The youngest Vietnam veterans are already into 
their 40's and midway thought their careers. Subsequent armed conflicts 
involving Americans in uniform have been limited in scope. It should be 
expected that the percentage of veterans in Federal employment will 
decrease as the percentage of veterans in the general work force 
decreases.
  I am heartened by the reports from the General Accounting Office, the 
Office of Personnel Management, and from the Merit Systems Protection 
Board that the percentage of veterans currently in Federal employment 
and being hired by Federal agencies is significantly higher than in the 
general work force.
  The existing preference rules for hiring and retention are generally 
working well. It is our hope that this legislation will guarantee that 
veterans' preference continues to be a central element of our civil 
service system.

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