[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 156 (Tuesday, October 18, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1893-E1894]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                VETERANS OPPORTUNITY TO WORK ACT OF 2011

                                 ______
                                 

                               SPEECH OF

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 11, 2011

  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of 
H.R. 2433, ``the Veterans Opportunity to Work Act 2011.'' This 
legislation would provide honorably discharged, unemployed veterans who 
are between the ages of 35 to 60 with who are currently not eligible 
for certain veterans benefits

[[Page E1894]]

will be provided with retraining assistance for a limited period of 
time.
  The Veterans Opportunity to Work Act provides services for the 
courageous men and women who served in the Armed Forces. It is in a 
spirit of deep gratitude and appreciation that I fight to provide for 
our veterans with the tools they need to find employment after serving 
our country. It is the responsibility of all Members of Congress and 
the Administration to fulfill our moral obligation to those who have 
fought to protect our freedom and democracy.
  In the State of Texas, we have nearly 1.7 million veterans, and 18th 
District is home to 32,000 of them. Of the 200,000 veterans of military 
service who live and work in Houston; more than 13,000 are veterans 
from Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and Operation Iraqi 
Freedom. Additionally, there are almost 34,000 soldiers from Texas 
currently deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. I am supporting this 
legislation to ensure that our men and women in uniform are taken care 
of when they return from combat.
  According to the Department of Labor as of June 2011 there are over 1 
million unemployed veterans; over 632,000 are between the ages of 35 
and 54. As Iraq and Afghanistan veterans come home, and as Vietnam, 
Cold War, and Persian Gulf War veterans can't find or lost their jobs, 
this results in a real loss of talented leaders and workers. Currently, 
there are 236,000 Vietnam Era veterans; 258,000 Cold War Era veterans; 
182,000 Persian Gulf War veterans, and 192,000 Iraq and Afghanistan Era 
Veterans who are unemployed. These men and women have faced the enemy 
and lived to tell the tale, the least we can do is give them an 
opportunity to retain and enhance their skills in order to attain 
civilian employment.
  This legislation addresses a need to find ways to provide training 
and employment assistance for the men and women who have fought for our 
country. Post 9/11 veterans who are now leaving the military may go to 
school on the 9/11 GI Bill; however veterans of previous conflicts are 
not afforded the same opportunity. To address the needs of these 
veterans this bill will provide for a limited time an educational 
benefit to unemployed veterans between the ages of 35 to 60 at 
community colleges and technical training schools.
  After dedicating their lives to serving our country it is important 
to assist veterans at all stages of their transition back to civilian 
life. A major part of transiting into civilian life is to ensure that 
skills that were attained while in service are translatable to civilian 
employment. Veterans face a variety of obstacles to employment namely 
the language used to describe particular skill sets in the military 
does not correspond with the terminology used by civilian employers. 
This disconnect has created problems for veterans who are seeking 
certain types of employment and or licenses. The veterans are not able 
to translate their skills into terms that would demonstrate to civilian 
employers that they already posses the certain key skills.
  In order to address this obstacle to employment, The Veterans 
Opportunity to Work Act (VOW) makes the Transition Assistance Program 
mandatory. The Department of Labor must thereby create a system by 
which licensure and certifications are translatable to those available 
at the state level. This is done in an effort to address the barriers 
between the skills and training received in the military and 
requirements for civilian licenses and other credentials'.
  In addition, under H.R. 2433 the Department of Labor must work with 
states to implement new performance measures to evaluate the priority 
of services provided to eligible veterans and mandates that Disabled 
Veterans Outreach Program Specialists and Local Veterans Employment 
Representatives sole duty will be to assist eligible veterans in 
finding suitable employment.
  Throughout my tenure in Congress, I have remained committed to 
meeting both the needs of veterans of previous wars, and to those who 
are now serving. Veterans have kept their promise to serve our nation; 
they have willingly risked their lives to protect the country we all 
love. We must now ensure that we keep our promises to our veterans.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 2433, the Veterans 
Opportunity to Work Act.

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