[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 28 (Wednesday, February 27, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S924]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   CONGRESSIONAL VETERANS JOBS CAUCUS

  Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, just over a year ago my good friend, 
Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois, and I launched a new caucus in the 
Senate. Our purpose was to bring attention to the problem of 
unemployment among our military veterans. Mark and I looked at 
everything the Department of Veterans Affairs and other government 
agencies were doing to help veterans find jobs. We believed the private 
sector needed to be more involved, so we created the Senate Veterans 
Jobs Caucus.
  Today, the Senate Veterans Jobs Caucus is the Congressional Veterans 
Jobs Caucus. It is a bicameral, bipartisan group of 37 Senators and 46 
House Members brought together by a shared commitment to the newest 
generation of veterans.
  This week we are kicking off the caucus's activities for the 113th 
Congress with a ``Day on The Hill.'' It is an event highlighting our 
work on behalf of veterans, and particularly our showcase program, ``I 
Hire Veterans.''
  Not only will we be recruiting more Members of Congress to join our 
caucus, but we will also be enlisting more businesses to join the eight 
major corporate partners that have already joined our ranks. These 
corporations expect to hire about 200,000 veterans in the next 5 years.
  The members of the Congressional Veterans Jobs Caucus are leading by 
example. We are hiring veterans to work in our Senate and House 
offices. My colleagues will probably see the signs as they go by our 
offices that say ``I Hire Veterans.'' It is a logo displayed proudly in 
our offices--the same logo my colleagues will see in the businesses 
that share our commitment to veterans.
  Our I Hire Veterans Program is basically our new yellow ribbon, a 
special welcome home and a commitment to serve those who have served 
our country in the most difficult and dangerous circumstances.
  There is no sugarcoating the fact that the job market is tough, 
especially for our young veterans. Unemployment among these veterans 
has reached crisis proportions according to the latest data from the 
Bureau of Labor Statistics. Listen to these figures, if my colleagues 
will. They are astonishing. For veterans 18 to 24 years of age, their 
unemployment rate is 31.3 percent--31 percent. Even more staggering is 
the jobless rate for female veterans in that same age bracket of 18 to 
24, and that is over 55 percent unemployment. The employment situation 
isn't much better for the National Guard and Reserves because employers 
are reluctant to hire somebody who may be subject to being called to 
duty, and this generation of National Guardsmen and Reserves are coming 
home from a decade of repeated deployment that, in many cases, 
interrupted or delayed their careers or education. Many of them are 
just now realizing how difficult it can be to jumpstart school or a 
career.
  If we don't do something it is going to get worse. With more than 
100,000 service men and women expected to reenter civil life each year 
over the next 5 years, their challenge to find jobs is only going to 
intensify. Listen to the veterans, and we would be surprised when they 
tell us that sometimes the stress of finding a job in a tough economy 
can match the stress of combat in some of the most dangerous and 
distant places in the world.
  Imagine for a moment that you are 21 and just back from the rugged 
streets of Kandahar, reunited with your family, and you are going up 
and down the streets of your hometown looking for a job week after week 
with no luck at all. That is real stress. That is pressure, and that is 
what more than 3 out of 10 of our young veterans are experiencing right 
now as we speak.
  Like every generation of American warriors before them, today's 
veterans make great hires. They lead by example. They understand 
teamwork. They are flexible and open to change. They are tech savvy. 
And talk about performing under pressure--even in the most stressful 
situations, with limited resources, they get the job done.
  After World War II, with the millions of American GIs returning home, 
President Harry Truman appointed GEN Omar Bradley to run the Veterans' 
Administration. Bradley was a popular choice, and his steely approach 
to helping veterans was widely admired. Bradley's marching orders to 
the VA were simple: ``We are dealing with veterans, not procedures, 
with their problems, not ours.''
  You will find that same kind of commitment to today's generation of 
veterans in the Congressional Veterans Jobs Caucus.
  It is simply unacceptable that when the courageous Americans who 
fight our wars finally get to come home, they have to fight for jobs. 
The Congressional Veterans Jobs Caucus is committed to making sure that 
does not happen.
  America has said it is time to bring our troops home. After a decade 
of war and incredible sacrifice by our warriors, the homecomings are 
well underway. It is not always easy to come home from war. But the 
homecoming will be easier if we fulfill our obligations, and that 
includes making sure our fighting men and women come home to a job.
  After all, as General Bradley said: ``We are dealing with veterans, 
not procedures, with their problems, not ours.''
  I would ask all of my colleagues here--we have 37 of our Senators 
signed up to this Veterans Jobs Caucus--I would hope we would have 100, 
and we are going to be working hard for that. I want to thank my good 
friend Senator Mark Kirk from Illinois for helping launch this. We have 
worked together. We will continue to work with all of our Senators. We 
appreciate and thank you.
 Mr. KIRK. Mr. President, more than 2 million Americans have 
served our Nation in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other post-9/11 missions 
around the world. Now, as these men and women return home, they are 
confronting yet another challenge--finding a job.
  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment among 
younger veterans has reached staggering proportions. Nearly one-third 
of all veterans aged 18-24--and more than half of female veterans in 
that range--are unemployed.
  Roughly 800,000 veterans call Illinois home. And in 2010, Illinois' 
veteran unemployment rate was the fourth highest in the country.
  That is why I joined with my good friend and colleague, Senator Joe 
Manchin (D-WV), in forming the Congressional Veterans Jobs Caucus. And 
1 year later, 35 Senators and 46 Representatives from across the 
political spectrum have joined the effort.
  We are bringing together government and business leaders, veteran 
service organizations, and educational institutions to identify 
solutions to reduce vets' unemployment. And I am proud to report that 
several Illinois employers, such as State Farm and Caterpillar are 
stepping up to help.
  At a time when so many see a divided government, we owe it to our 
veterans to cast aside our differences and work across the aisle to 
help solve this problem.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.

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