[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 101 (Monday, July 9, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H4661-H4663]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       VETERAN SKILLS TO JOBS ACT

  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4155) to treat relevant military training as sufficient to 
satisfy training or certification requirements for Federal licenses, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4155

       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 ``Veteran Skills to Jobs 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. CONSIDERATION OF RELEVANT MILITARY TRAINING FOR 
                   ISSUANCE OF A FEDERAL LICENSE.

       (a) In General.--The head of each Federal licensing 
     authority shall consider and may accept, in the case of any 
     individual applying for a license, any relevant training 
     received by such individual while serving as a member of the 
     armed forces, for the purpose of satisfying the requirements 
     for such license.
       (b) Definitions.--For purposes of this Act--
       (1) the term ``license'' means a license, certification, or 
     other grant of permission to engage in a particular activity;
       (2) the term ``Federal licensing authority'' means a 
     department, agency, or other entity of the Government having 
     authority to issue a license;
       (3) the term ``armed forces'' has the meaning given such 
     term by section 2101(2) of title 5, United States Code; and
       (4) the term ``Government'' means the Government of the 
     United States.

     SEC. 3. REGULATIONS.

       The head of each Federal licensing authority shall--
       (1) with respect to any license a licensing authority 
     grants or is empowered to grant as of the date of enactment 
     of this Act, prescribe any regulations necessary to carry out 
     this Act not later than 180 days after such date; and
       (2) with respect to any license of a licensing authority 
     not constituted or not empowered to grant the license as of 
     the date of enactment of this Act, prescribe any regulations 
     necessary to carry out this Act not later than 180 days after 
     the date on which the agency is so constituted or empowered, 
     as the case may be.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah.


                             General Leave

  Mr. CHAFFETZ. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 
legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Utah?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  We are here today to discuss H.R. 4155, the Veteran Skills to Jobs 
Act, introduced by Mr. Denham of California. I really appreciate the 
approach that this is taking with jobs and the economic environment as 
such. This is a commonsense, good measure. I think it is widely 
supported on both sides of the aisle, and I would urge my colleagues to 
pass it.
  Essentially, H.R. 4155 ensures that applicants for Federal licenses 
receive credit for relevant training completed while serving as a 
member of the Armed Forces. While most licenses are issued by the 
States, the Federal Government does grant a number of licenses, most 
notably in the aerospace, communications, and maritime sectors.
  After 40 months with the unemployment rate above 8 percent, we must 
do more to help create jobs; and with the unemployment rate for post-9/
11 veterans at 12.7 percent, we must better support our veterans as 
they transition to the civilian workforce.
  In April, the Defense Business Board issued a report recommending 
Federal agencies review military training as a qualification for their 
respective program requirements. H.R. 4155 is in line with this 
recommendation.
  The bill provides some certainty to veterans during their transition 
from the military by ensuring their training is taken into account when 
applying for Federal licenses. The bill does not infringe on the 
jurisdiction of the licensing agency. Instead, it leaves the agency 
free to determine whether military training is sufficient to meet 
license requirements.
  H.R. 4155 will reduce the licensing burden for qualified veterans, 
enabling them to more quickly re-enter the workforce and ease their 
transition to civilian life.
  Again, I appreciate the work of Mr. Denham, Mr. Walz, and others in a 
bipartisan way to introduce this bill, and I would urge my colleagues 
to support it.
  With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of 
H.R. 4155 and yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I want to thank the sponsors of H.R. 4155, especially Mr. Denham and 
Mr. Walz, for their dedicated service to our Nation while in uniform 
and for their commitment to supporting our veterans here in Congress.
  I deeply value and appreciate the sacrifices made by the men and 
women in our Armed Forces, and I'm proud to represent thousands of them 
who reside in the 11th District of Virginia, a district that takes 
military service very seriously and holds it in high esteem.
  I believe that we here in Congress have a sacred duty, Mr. Speaker, 
to provide for their well-being. For that reason, I strongly support 
efforts to expedite the transition of our Nation's warriors to civilian 
life. We need to do all we can to help these dedicated veterans find 
gainful employment. It's a shameful fact that the men and women who 
volunteer to safeguard our country are having so much trouble finding 
steady, good-paying jobs. A double-digit unemployment rate for post-9/
11 veterans--almost double the national average--is simply 
unacceptable.
  Transitioning to civilian life is difficult under any circumstance; 
however, this hardship is compounded when veterans cannot easily 
translate their military skills into careers in the Federal or private 
sector workforce through no fault of their own.
  In addition, there's the task of educating employers to better 
understand that so much of military training is readily transferrable 
to civilian job requirements in the private sector.
  We need to do better for our veterans, and I believe H.R. 4155 is a 
strong step in that direction. It would require each agency with 
Federal licensing authority to treat relevant military training as 
sufficient to satisfy training or certification requirements for 
Federal licenses. This will help our returning servicemembers get 
credit for their military training towards a license which they can use 
to get Federal or private sector jobs and reintegrate into civilian 
life.
  The Federal Government, private sector employers, and our economy 
will benefit by being able to take full advantage of their talent, 
unique skills, and experience as veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, the Senate has already passed an identical version of 
this noncontroversial, but important, bill by unanimous consent. I urge 
all Members to support this bill that will enable our Nation's veterans 
to get back to work.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield as much time as he 
may consume to the distinguished gentleman from California, the sponsor 
of the bill, Mr. Denham.
  Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support legislation I 
authored, H.R. 4155, the Veteran Skills to Jobs Act.
  America is blessed with the strongest, most capable and professional 
military in the world. Unfortunately for many of our veterans, 
transitioning from service means a battle with joblessness. And as my 
friend from Utah explained, the unemployment rate is 12.7 percent; but 
for our young veterans, it's 29.1 percent for those that are under the 
age of 25.

[[Page H4662]]

  The Federal Government has invested in our servicemen with some of 
the most unique, expensive, and valued training in the world. These 
brave young men and women have put their lives on the line and deserve 
to be able to use this training when they come back home.
  With 200,000 servicemen and -women transitioning to the civilian 
workforce each year, we must ensure that they're able to find jobs when 
they come home. I have personally dealt with this issue when I left 
Active Duty as a crew chief. Though I had training on the most 
sophisticated aircraft in the world, to work on less-sophisticated 
aircraft on the civilian side it would have taken me 3 years of 
training after I left Active Duty.
  In my conversations with Mr. Walz from Minnesota, some of the 
challenges that his veterans have seen in Minnesota involve having to 
go through the same State licensing procedure.
  It's time to say enough is enough. If you've had the best training in 
the world, you ought to be able to get the best jobs in the world; and 
this body ought to make sure that certification, that licensure is a 
seamless process. If you leave Active Duty today, you ought to have 
work tomorrow in the private sector utilizing that very same training.
  This legislation not only mirrors similar efforts on the State level 
but follows the recommendation of the Defense Business Board and the 
Department of Defense that issued a report calling for exactly this 
same type of reform. The Veteran Skills to Jobs Act would help fix this 
problem, and I'm glad to see that both Chambers of Congress are working 
together in a bipartisan fashion to accomplish this very same goal.
  Helping our returning veterans find jobs is not the concern of one 
party or one body of Congress. The Senate adopted this matter 
unanimously last week before we left for break, and it's time that this 
body do the same.

                              {time}  1610

  Again, I want to thank Mr. Walz of Minnesota for his hard work on 
this effort, for the bipartisan effort. He and I have been in close 
communication this entire 112th Congress in making sure that this comes 
to reality, as well as Senator Nelson from Florida offering the 
companion bill in the Senate. It's time to make sure that we have a 
bipartisan and quick solution to this issue.
  I also want to thank the American Legion, of which I'm a member. They 
have worked tirelessly in both bodies, as well as from a grass-roots 
perspective across the Nation working with many other service 
organizations, to actually make this a reality. Now it's time that this 
body does its job and pass this important measure.
  Mr. CHAFFETZ. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my good 
friend and colleague from Minnesota (Mr. Walz), the cosponsor of this 
legislation.
  Mr. WALZ of Minnesota. I thank the gentleman from Virginia for his 
support of this bill and other veterans issues.
  First of all, I'd like to thank the gentleman from California. Mr. 
Denham's service in uniform to this Nation is to be commended, and his 
service to our veterans has been unwavering.
  He's right, we've worked on this a long time. I had the opportunity 
on numerous occasions to travel downrange to visit our veterans, the 
last one with my good friend from California (Mr. Denham), and the care 
and concern that he showed listening to his veterans of what they need, 
listening to them talk about this. One of the things on the minds of 
our veterans, as they're fighting downrange defending our freedoms and 
doing what's asked of them is how are they going to be able to take 
care of their family when their service obligation ends.
  So Mr. Denham came back, and working and reaching across the aisle, 
and working over in the Senate, crafted a piece of legislation that's 
not only morally the right thing to do, taking care of our veterans--
you hear a lot about the 99 percent and the 1 percent. There's truth in 
that: 99 percent of us enjoy the benefits of security and national 
defense while 1 percent provide it. So the moral obligation of 
providing this is pretty much unquestioned, but the thing that I think 
Mr. Denham looked into on this is making sure the economic impact was 
felt also.
  And on this, I think this is very important to keep in mind: We spend 
$140 billion a year training our military. That's an investment into 
those folks. When they finish their career, whether it be a stint of 4 
years or whether it's a 20- or 30-year career, they come out with 
incredible skill training, with incredible professionalism, and they 
are a very mature workforce. Why would we not want to get our best and 
brightest back working in the economy? These are entrepreneurs. These 
are the folks that can get things done. This piece of legislation was 
crafted in such a way to do exactly that.
  Implementation of concurrent credentialing has no undue burden on the 
military nor on its readiness. In fact, opportunities for credentialing 
will be a selling point for our military. You can come out and move 
directly into a job as an aviation mechanic or whatever it may be.
  I'd like to mention just quickly here, in my State of Minnesota, an 
average Active Duty servicemember with an aviation mechanic or avionics 
occupation will have attended over 18 months of training and had a 
minimum of 4 years of practical experience. A certified aviation 
maintenance technician school costs $20,000 a year. So we've invested. 
We have a trained mechanic, but we're going to have them come back, 
have them be unemployed, have them try and use their GI Bill--which is 
Federal dollars--to get the very same credentialing that they had when 
they left at a time when we need to put them into the job. So in 
Minnesota, Thief River Falls is the only place you can get this. We're 
asking folks to line up and get positions that they don't have enough 
spots for. It makes no sense.
  So I'd like to thank the gentleman for a commonsense piece of 
legislation, for a piece of legislation that addresses both our moral 
and economic need. And I'd also like to say, Mr. Speaker, as the 
Members in this House see, we can work together to solve problems. We 
can understand--and on this issue--the sacrifice that our 
servicemembers made so that we could have the honor and the privilege 
of self-government and stand here and debate the country's business. We 
owe it to them to conduct ourselves in a manner that's reflective of 
their sacrifice and service.
  And I would like to congratulate the gentleman from California for 
bringing that type of comradery, that type of can-do spirit, and that 
type of willingness to compromise to get things done for the good of 
the soldiers.
  With that, I urge my colleagues, support this legislation. Let's get 
it passed.
  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, with that, let me just urge my 
colleagues, in the spirit of bipartisanship, to come together and 
support our veterans and to make opportunity more available. It is, as 
I said, a sacred duty, it seems to me, that those men and women who are 
willing to put on that uniform and serve their country ought to be 
treated with respect and dignity and a job when they come home, and 
this bill will go a long way to doing that.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, this is a good, commonsense, bipartisan 
bill. I appreciate both these gentlemen who spoke here earlier for 
their work on this, Mr. Denham and Mr. Walz.
  The Veteran Skills to Jobs Act, H.R. 4155, it makes sense, it's good 
government, it's what our troops deserve; and I encourage all of my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this and send a strong 
message to the military and to the private sector to let them know that 
we support them, that the work they do, the skills that they learn are 
a value, and that they are needed within the workforce as a whole, and 
that the skills and the training they get--the best in the world--mean 
something. And we can bypass this licensing issue and get them back to 
work sooner rather than later.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Utah (Mr.

[[Page H4663]]

Chaffetz) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 
4155, 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. CHAFFETZ. 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, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.

                          ____________________