[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 82 (Tuesday, May 24, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E775]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         NATONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017

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                               speech of

                          HON. SCOTT H. PETERS

                             of california

                    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:

  Mr. PETERS. Mr. Chair, today I rise to support a simple, but 
important effort that everyone in this chamber can agree on.
   My amendment adds to this bill a Sense of Congress that when 
practical and cost-effective, the DoD should seek ways to maximize the 
number of veterans employed to build military construction projects.
   Many members of this chamber, on both sides of the aisle, have stood 
on this floor and championed the cause of hiring veterans.
   It's a policy that we've incentivized private corporations to do, 
and criticized employers for not doing it, or doing improperly.
   It makes sense that if we are going to be good stewards of tax 
dollars, that we should encourage that money is used to hire veterans.
   We're talking about good jobs here--jobs that take valuable skills, 
determined initiative, and produce pride in a job well done.
   This is not intended to add any burden to the DoD or their military 
construction projects, but it's a reminder that oftentimes, we have 
skilled veteran laborers that live near these projects and are ideal 
candidates for the job.
   If Congress is going to continue its efforts to support our veterans 
as they transition out of the military and back into the civilian 
world, then voting in favor of this amendment is a no brainer.
   Support this amendment and join me in showing that our military 
readiness can often best be built by those who know how important that 
readiness is when fighting for our freedom.

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