[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 4, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H1011-H1012]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   OUR BRAVE VETERANS NEED GOOD JOBS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, there are many reasons to support the 
President's economic recovery package. Today, I rise to talk about one 
especially good reason, a reason that will help our Nation's brave 
veterans to get good jobs.
  As we know, President Obama has ordered his military commanders to 
draw up plans for the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq. Many of them 
will be returning to civilian life. Making the transition from 
battlefield to the civilian workforce is always challenging. But, in 
these hard times, it's going to be harder than ever.
  Last March, the Veterans' Affairs Department reported that returning 
veterans were having a harder time finding work than their civilian 
counterparts, and were earning less. That, Mr. Speaker, was before the 
economic crisis hit with full force.
  We got another look at the problem in November, when the recruitment 
Web site, Monster.com, surveyed veterans about their experiences in the 
job market. It found that 81 percent of veterans don't feel fully 
prepared to enter the workforce and, of that number, 76 percent said 
they were having trouble translating their military skills to the 
civilian world. In addition, hundreds of thousands of veterans are 
struggling with fiscal and mental problems, making it that much more 
difficult to get and to keep a job.
  Mr. Speaker, veterans and their advocates have begun to report that 
some employers are ignoring the Federal law requiring them to give 
returning soldiers their jobs back--their jobs back, at the same pay. 
To make matters even worse, many military family members have taken 
time off from their own jobs or even left those jobs completely in 
order to take care of their injured loved ones.
  I was proud to sponsor the bill in the last Congress that doubled the 
amount of time that a military family member could take off under the 
Family and Medical Leave Act. But it's still unpaid leave, Mr. Speaker, 
and few Americans can afford that, particularly now. That is why we 
need to revisit the law and to amend it to provide paid leave under 
FMLA.

[[Page H1012]]

  Mr. Speaker, there are many other things that we must do to help our 
brave veterans. Our new Veterans' Affairs Secretary, former General 
Eric Shinseki, has promised to make employment to veterans a top 
priority. He also wants to fast-track implementation of the new GI 
Bill, which will help more veterans to get the education they will need 
to succeed in the workforce.
  I also know that my good friend, Hilda Solis, will make veterans' 
employment a priority when she becomes our new Secretary of Labor. She 
has seen firsthand the challenges that the servicemen and women face 
when they try to get jobs. I know that she will work to expand the 
Department of Labor's programs and job training and job search 
assistance for veterans.
  Most importantly, Congress must move with a sense of urgency to pass 
an effective and far-reaching economic recovery package. The 
President's proposal is a very good start, but it needs to do even more 
to create jobs for veterans, because veterans have a lot to offer 
employers. They are mature, they are skilled, hardworking, dedicated, 
respectful of authority, and they know how to be part of a team. And 
they have proven that they can do their job even under the toughest of 
circumstances.
  All they need, Mr. Speaker, is a chance. They did their job in Iraq 
and Afghanistan. Now it's time for us to do our job and to send an 
economic recovery package to the President's desk that will give our 
veterans and their families the bright future that they deserve.

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