[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 161 (Monday, November 2, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H12149-H12151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    VETERANS RETRAINING ACT OF 2009

  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 1168) to amend chapter 42 of title 38, United States Code, to 
provide certain veterans with employment training assistance, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1168

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans Retraining Act of 
     2009''.

     SEC. 2. EMPLOYMENT TRAINING ASSISTANCE.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 42 of title 38, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     section:

     ``Sec. 4216. Employment Training Assistance for Unemployed 
       Veterans.

       ``(a) Monthly Training Assistance Allowance.--Subject to 
     the availability of appropriations for such purpose, the 
     Secretary of Labor may pay to each covered veteran a monthly 
     training assistance allowance under this section for each 
     month that a covered veteran is enrolled in an employment and 
     training program that teaches a skill in demand, as 
     determined by the Secretary.
       ``(b) Amount.--The amount of the training assistance 
     allowance under this section is the amount equal to the 
     monthly amount of the basic allowance for housing payable 
     under section 403 of title 37 for a member of the Armed 
     Forces with dependents in pay grade E-5 residing in the 
     military housing area that encompasses all or the majority 
     portion of the ZIP code area in which the veteran resides.
       ``(c) Duration.--A covered veteran may receive training 
     assistance under this section for not more than six months 
     during each 10-year period beginning on the date in which the 
     covered veteran first receives training allowance under this 
     section.
       ``(d) Moving Stipend.--Subject to the availability of 
     appropriations for such purpose, in addition to the training 
     assistance allowance payable under subsection (a), the 
     Secretary may reimburse each covered veteran, in an amount 
     not to exceed $5,000, for moving expenses related to the 
     veteran's receipt of training for which an allowance is paid 
     under this section.
       ``(e) Covered Veteran Defined.--In this section, the term 
     `covered veteran' means a veteran who is--
       ``(1) unemployed for a period of not less than four 
     consecutive months at the time of applying for training 
     assistance under this section;
       ``(2) able to successfully complete the employment and 
     training program described in subsection (a), as determined 
     by the Secretary; and
       ``(3) except as provided under this section, ineligible for 
     education or training assistance under this title.
       ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $100,000,000 for 
     each fiscal year.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 42 of title 38, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``4216. Employment training assistance for unemployed veterans.''.
       (c) Effective Date.--Section 4216 of title 38, United 
     States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall apply with 
     respect to months beginning on or after the first day of 
     fiscal year 2011.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Minnesota (Mr. Walz) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Minnesota.
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Again, I thank my colleagues from Florida and Arkansas for 
introducing an incredibly important piece of legislation.
  H.R. 1168 is a much-needed piece of legislation to address the job 
retraining needs of America's veterans. Just this month, the Department 
of Labor reported that more than 30,000 recently

[[Page H12150]]

discharged veterans have filed for unemployment insurance benefits. 
Furthermore, as of September 2009, the Bureau of Labor Statistics 
indicated that 990,000 veterans were unemployed.
  Mr. Speaker, these numbers are significant, and they demonstrate an 
immediate need to help our veterans receive the essential training 
needed to get their skills so they can be employed in a meaningful 
manner. We know the employment training programs can be effective in 
providing job counseling and retraining, an important part of 
successful transition to a civilian career.
  H.R. 1168 goes one step further in support of veterans. The Veterans 
Retraining Act of 2009 would provide a stipend to veterans who are 
enrolled in employment and training programs to help cover living 
expenses and moving costs so veterans can move to an area where there 
is a demand for their newly acquired military skills.
  This bill is good for the veteran, good for the underserved skill 
sector, and it is good for the country. Our veterans have invested in 
our country, and this legislation invests in our veterans.
  H.R. 1168 is the result of continuously bipartisan work between the 
Economic Opportunity Subcommittee chairwoman, Stephanie Herseth 
Sandlin, and the ranking member, Mr. Boozman. I applaud both Mr. 
Boozman and Ms. Herseth Sandlin for their leadership on the issue, 
their dedication to our veterans, and the example they set in the 
Veterans' Affairs Committee of bipartisan work for our veterans.
  I urge all my colleagues to join me in support of this bill.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I also rise in support of this bill, H.R. 1168, as amended, the 
Veterans Retraining Act of 2009. It is unfortunate this wasn't part of 
the stimulus package, because I think this could have been handled 
appropriately there. We have got a CBO estimate, but it is an 
authorization bill, and it is not an appropriations bill. But I think 
this is the kind of thing that would have been very pertinent to the 
stimulus bill.
  This would amend chapter 42 of title 38, United States Code, to 
provide eligible veterans with employment training assistance.
  Mr. Speaker, helping our returning veterans get back into the 
workforce is of the utmost importance. I believe this legislation will 
further that cause when, because of the recession, the unemployment 
level, particularly among veterans, continues to reach unacceptable 
levels.
  I will be yielding shortly to the author of the bill, Mr. Boozman, 
for a fuller explanation, but I would like to thank him for offering 
this bill, and also, as Mr. Walz had mentioned, Ms. Herseth Sandlin and 
the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity for moving this bill through 
the legislative process, and also thank the chairman and the ranking 
member for their support.
  We must do more, obviously, to help our veterans today who have been 
hit especially hard by these tough economic times, particularly when 
they come back from Iraq or Afghanistan.
  So I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1168, as amended.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, it is a real pleasure at this time to yield 
such time as she may consume to the coauthor of this bill, a tireless 
and effective advocate for our veterans and my colleague from right 
next door in South Dakota, Ms. Herseth Sandlin.
  Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for 
yielding, for his service to our country, and for his tireless advocacy 
on behalf our Nation's veterans.
  I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1168, the Veterans Retraining 
Act of 2009, which the Veterans' Affairs Economic Opportunity 
Subcommittee passed on October 8 and the full committee approved last 
week. I would like to thank the ranking member of the Economic 
Opportunity Subcommittee, Mr. Boozman, for his outstanding leadership 
in introducing this important legislation, and full committee Chairman 
Filner and Ranking Member Buyer for their leadership as well and their 
support of this legislation.
  The bill offers important updates to the employment training 
assistance available to veterans. It directs the Secretary of Labor to 
provide a monthly assistance allowance to veterans who are enrolled in 
an employment and training program. It teaches a skill in demand.
  In addition, the veteran would be eligible to receive a monthly 
housing allowance, as well as a moving stipend of up to $5,000 for 
moving expenses directly related to the receipt of this training. In 
order to be eligible for this assistance, veterans must be unemployed 
for no less than four months and ineligible for other education and 
training assistance.
  Employment assistance is one of the essential benefits that our 
country gives its veterans. These benefits help our veterans adjust to 
life outside of the military and successfully transfer the skills and 
experience they acquired while serving in the Armed Forces to the 
civilian job force.
  Again, I want to thank Chairman Filner and particularly the hard work 
of Ranking Member Boozman for their support on this issue, and I urge 
all of my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
author of the bill, the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman).
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Filner, Chairwoman 
Herseth Sandlin and Ranking Member Buyer for bringing H.R. 1168, as 
amended, the Veterans Retraining Act of 2009, to the floor.
  I introduced this bill to encourage veterans to enroll in job 
training programs offered by the Department of Labor that train 
participants for jobs in the new economy.
  In 2002, Congress enacted the Jobs for Veterans Act which gave 
covered veterans priority access to job training programs sponsored by 
the Department of Labor. Unfortunately, just as in other sectors of the 
workforce, veterans too have been forced to join the lines of the 
unemployed.
  According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data for September 2009, 
990,000 veterans were out of work, for an unemployment rate of 8.3 
percent, the highest in decades. Of that number, nearly 600,000 were 
between the ages of 35 and 64, the years of prime earning power as well 
as peak financial obligations. These is also the group of veterans who 
no longer have access to any VA education or training programs. So 
while veterans may have priority access to training programs, the need 
to provide some income to the family while training is the prime goal 
of H.R. 1168, as amended,
  To meet that goal, H.R. 1168, as amended, authorizes $100 million per 
year to provide a living stipend and moving assistance to veterans who 
have been unemployed for at least 4 months, who are not eligible for 
training or education under title 38, and are enrolled in a U.S. 
Department of Labor retraining program. The amount of the living 
stipend would mirror that given to post-9/11 GI Bill participants.
  The moving assistance is intended to help a newly trained veteran who 
lives in an area of high unemployment to move to an area where there is 
a demand for the veteran's skills. It is my hope that H.R. 1168, as 
amended, will be a step towards providing veterans with new skill sets 
and the ability to locate where the jobs are plentiful.
  I want to especially thank Ms. Herseth Sandlin for her help and 
leadership on this bill and just in general her leadership on our 
subcommittee. I also appreciate Chairman Filner and Ranking Member 
Buyer for bringing this bill forward to the floor.
  As always, I want to thank the staff for your efforts. We don't do 
that enough. We really appreciate your efforts on behalf of our 
veterans and the tremendous job that you are doing.
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, so I yield back 
the balance of our time.
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, again, thank you to both our chairwoman and 
our ranking member for a wonderful and timely piece of legislation.


                             General Leave

  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 
5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on H.R. 1168, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Minnesota?

[[Page H12151]]

  There was no objection.
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to unanimously support 
H.R. 1168.
  I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of 
my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Walz) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 1168, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

                          ____________________