[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 191 (Thursday, December 13, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15463-S15464]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. Akaka, and Mr. Obama):
  S. 2471. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the 
enforcement of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment 
Rights Act of 1994, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, more 
than 1.5 million of our servicemen and women have been sent to Iraq, 
Afghanistan, and other nations. We have mobilized more than 630,000 
members of the National Guard and Reserves, including 92,000 who are on 
active duty right now.
  These service men and women have courageously defended our country 
overseas, but tens of thousands of them have come home to find that 
they have lost their employment benefits or even their jobs, and the 
Government has failed to defend their rights.
  Today, Senator Daniel Akaka and I are introducing legislation to 
guarantee that veterans won't have to wait years for the Government to 
act to restore their benefits or return to work.
  Thirteen years ago, Congress enacted the Uniformed Services 
Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, specifically to protect our 
servicemembers when they return home. We understood that, to maintain 
strong focus and a strong National Guard and Reserves, servicemembers 
needed confidence that they could return to their civilian jobs when 
they came home from their tours of duty. That legislation was a clear 
promise that the Federal Government would step in and defend 
servicemembers who were wrongly denied their jobs or benefits. We 
pledged that the Department of Labor would investigate violations of 
the act, and that if employers refused to follow the law, the Attorney 
General would take employers to court to protect our servicemembers' 
rights.
  Today, however, the administration has clearly broken that promise to 
enforce the law and get our veterans back to work.
  Last month, during a Senate Committee hearing, I released a 
Department of Defense survey showing that for tens of thousands of 
veterans, their service to our country has cost them the salary they 
deserve, their health care, their pensions, or even their jobs. Among 
members of the Reserves and National Guard, nearly 11,000 were denied 
prompt reemployment. More than 22,000 lost seniority and rightful pay. 
Nearly 20,000 had their pensions reduced. More than 15,000 did not 
receive the training they needed to resume their former jobs. Nearly 
11,000 did not get their health insurance back.
  The problem is that employers aren't following the law, and Federal 
agencies aren't effectively enforcing it. Mr. President, 38 percent of 
servicemembers who asked the Department of Labor to defend their rights 
did not receive a prompt response. Servicemembers are forced to wait 
months or years even to find out whether the Government will agree to 
represent them and defend their rights. One veteran waited 7 years 
before the Department of Labor told him whether it would take his case 
to court. No veteran can afford to wait seven months to return to work 
or have his health insurance reinstated, let alone wait 7 years.
  With these unbelievable delays, it is not surprising that 44 percent 
of servicemembers who asked the Department of Labor for help said that 
they were dissatisfied with the assistance they received. When 
servicemen and women hear about these delays, they ask themselves, 
``Why should I even bother to ask for help.''
  In fact, the Pentagon tells us that 77 percent of servicemembers 
whose rights are violated don't contact anyone to defend their rights. 
They simply give up. Nearly half of them say that they have no 
confidence that the Government will resolve their problems, or that it 
is just not worth the effort.
  Even worse, a quarter of them don't even know where they can go for 
help. It is beyond dispute that the administration has broken its 
promise to help them.
  Our veterans deserve better than this. They deserve to know that 
their Government is working as quickly as possible to get them back to 
work and restore their benefits.
  The current law needs reform as well. It makes no sense to have four 
different agencies tracking the problems of our servicemembers in four 
different ways. We also need to know whether disabled veterans are 
being properly assisted in making their own difficult transition back 
to work.
  It is time for the administration to keep its promise, and end the 
long delays for veterans who need help in defending their rights. The 
bill that Senator Akaka and I are introducing imposes timely and 
reasonable deadlines on Federal agencies to investigate complaints, to 
attempt to resolve them, and, if necessary, to refer them for 
litigation.
  The legislation also makes the Federal enforcement of the law more 
transparent and responsive to the needs of veterans. It assures 
veterans that they won't have to wait years for an answer about whether 
they will receive the help they deserve.
  By imposing timely deadlines on the Federal agencies, we are also 
stepping up the pressure on employers that violate the rights of our 
brave soldiers. With these new deadlines, employers won't be able to 
drag their heels as the Department of Labor spends months or years 
investigating violations. They will know that they have to settle each 
veteran's case quickly and fairly, or else face the U.S. Government in 
court.
  The legislation also implements a number of reforms recommended by 
the Government Accountability Office--reforms that have received 
bipartisan support in the House of Representatives. In particular, our 
bill requires agencies to gather and report information on these cases 
in a uniform manner, so that we can understand trends and better 
address the needs of each servicemember. Agencies will also be required 
to report on cases involving veterans with disabilities, so that we 
have accurate information on the reemployment problems of our wounded 
soldiers.
  Enacting this legislation alone obviously won't end the job 
discrimination that too many servicemembers face when they come home. 
But it will certainly improve the assistance they receive in obtaining 
the help they have earned and deserve.
  Our legislation has the support of the Nation's largest veterans' 
organization, the American Legion, which emphasizes that the 
``enforcement of veterans' employment and reemployment rights . . . can 
only be achieved through aggressive oversight and timely 
investigation.'' This legislation, the American Legion says, will 
``strengthen veterans' employment and reemployment rights'' by imposing 
``timely, realistic deadlines on Federal agencies to process'' their 
claims. We are proud to have the American Legion's support for this 
legislation.
  We know we can never truly repay our veterans for their immense 
sacrifices. They have fought hard for our country, and it is up to us 
to fight just as hard for them when they return home to the heroes' 
welcome they so justly deserve. An important part of that welcome is 
keeping the promise that we made to them to protect their employment 
rights when they return.

[[Page S15464]]

That is what this legislation seeks to do, and I urge my colleagues to 
enact it as soon as possible.
  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I am pleased to join with my good friend 
and distinguished colleague from Massachusetts, Senator Kennedy, in 
introducing S. 2471, the proposed USERRA Enforcement Improvement Act of 
2007. This measure is intended to make substantial improvements in the 
manner in which claims made under the Uniformed Services Employment and 
Reemployment Rights Act of 1994--USERRA--are processed and to help 
ensure that individuals' complaints are addressed in a prompt and 
efficient manner.
  Our troops are returning home from battle, and many of them seek to 
return to the jobs that they held prior to their military service, 
particularly those serving in Guard and Reserve units. USERRA, which is 
set forth in chapter 43 of title 38, U.S. Code, provides these 
servicemembers with certain protections. USERRA also sets out certain 
responsibilities for employers, including to reemploy returning 
veterans in their previous jobs.
  As Chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, I held two 
hearings earlier this year on issues relating to veterans' employment, 
including one focusing exclusively on the pilot project for processing 
USERRA claims in the Federal sector and the jurisdictional questions 
involving the Department of Labor and the Office of Special Counsel. I 
must admit to being particularly upset with the volume of USERRA claims 
related to Federal service. It is simply wrong that individuals who 
were sent to war by their Government should, upon their return, be put 
in the position of having to do battle with that same Government in 
order to regain their jobs and benefits.
  Out of those hearings, and an oversight hearing held by the Senate 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee, chaired by Senator 
Kennedy, we have learned a great deal about the manner in which USERRA 
claims are investigated, resolved, or referred to other appropriate 
entities for enforcement actions. By and large, the process is seamless 
and frequently involves employer education in terms of helping them 
understand their obligations under the law. Still too often, many 
claims are quite complicated and involve what are sometimes called 
``escalator claims,'' where an individual is seeking to be re-instated 
in a position with quite complicated benefits, seniority, health care 
and fiduciary issues. I believe that anytime an individual is denied 
their USERRA rights is one time too many. However, I understand that 
the confusion and misunderstanding that can exist for the employer--
particularly a small employer or one who may only have one employee who 
is a member of the Guard or reserve--can be frustrating.
  The legislation we are introducing today seeks to establish 
reasonable time frames for the USERRA process. When veterans turn to 
the government to protect their employment rights, they deserve 
solutions, not delays. It is my hope that this legislation will assist 
the federal government in protecting the employment rights of veterans.
  Our legislation would, in brief, require those filing complaints to 
be notified within 5 days of the establishment of a claim, require that 
complaints be investigated and a decision made with respect to the need 
for further referral within 90 days, and require prompt referral to 
other agencies. The Government Accountability Office would be required 
to submit quarterly reports on the processing of claims. Finally, data 
collected by the Employers' Support of the Guard and Reserve, a 
voluntary organization within the Department of Defense, would be 
required to be included in the Secretary of Labor's annual report on 
USERRA. With respect to this ESRG reporting requirement, it should be 
noted that this provision has already passed both bodies in the context 
of the pending conference agreement on the National Defense 
Authorization Act for fiscal year 2008, and it is included here in the 
event that legislation is not enacted.
  I stress that our goal is to improve the current process. We want in 
no way to place strictures on the program that might result in less 
than satisfactory consideration and pursuit of claims. I intend to 
pursue the concerns of all of those involved in these claims--the 
Departments of Labor, Defense, and Justice, the Office of Personnel 
Management and the Office of the Special Counsel--through the 
legislative process in the next session. Should the need for 
refinements in the measure as it is introduced today become apparent, 
they will be carefully considered. I know that the Senator from 
Massachusetts will join me in that endeavor.
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