[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 82 (Tuesday, May 24, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E773-E774]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. BARBARA COMSTOCK

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 18, 2016

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4909) to 
     authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2017 for military 
     activities of the Department of Defense and for military 
     construction, to prescribe military personnel strengths for 
     such fiscal year, and for other purposes:

  Mrs. COMSTOCK. Mr. Chair, I rise today to offer a bipartisan 
amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
2017. I am proud to have my colleagues, Representatives Sam Johnson of 
Texas and Dan Lipinski of Illinois, supporting this amendment. Our 
amendment seeks to expand access to on-the-job training programs for 
service members transitioning out of the military. Specifically, the 
amendment directs the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and 
Readiness to study the success of the relatively new Department of 
Defense (DOD) program known as Job Training, Employment Skills 
Training, Apprenticeships, and Internships, or JTEST-AI, which is an 
initiative pursuant to DOD Instruction No. 1322.29. The amendment also 
requires the Undersecretary to issue guidance to unit commanders 
encouraging them to allow more service members separating from the 
armed forces to participate in a JTEST-AI initiative--provided, of 
course, that unit readiness is not impaired.
  One particular initiative formed pursuant to JTEST-AI is the 
SkillBridge Initiative. Although SkillBridge and all other JTEST-AI 
initiatives are still nascent, they are already showing promising 
results. According to preliminary DOD statistics, more than 4,500 
service members have successfully participated in SkillBridge training; 
there are approximately 40 programs currently in operation; and almost 
all graduates have received jobs as a result of participation in these 
initiatives. In fact, 18 SkillBridge training programs have a hiring 
rate of 100 percent of graduates, and another 8 programs have a hiring 
rate of more than 85 percent.
  Organizations participating in these programs span every sector of 
the workforce. Sponsoring entities include private companies, labor 
unions, and even government agencies. These programs are popular with 
transitioning service members, and currently there are more 
applications from service members than can be accommodated. Our 
amendment simply seeks to have DOD conduct a comprehensive study so 
that the initiatives may be improved and access may be expanded, as 
appropriate.
  Our outgoing service members have skill sets that are unique but that 
can easily be honed and adapted to a certain field or application if 
given access to on-the-job training. Given the sacrifices our women and 
men in uniform have made for us all, we should strive to make their 
transition to civilian life as smooth and successful as possible.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan amendment designed to 
help our transitioning service members gain meaningful employment.

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