[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 19 (Friday, February 3, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E140]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         INTRODUCTION OF PUTTING OUR VETERANS BACK TO WORK ACT

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                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, February 3, 2017

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Putting Our Veterans 
Back to Work Act, a bill I introduced earlier today to help veterans 
gain skills for good paying jobs by reauthorizing the Veterans 
Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP). The VRAP program, signed into law 
in 2011 and expired in March 2014, provided training for education that 
led to high demand occupations, including management, business and 
financial operations, protective service, construction and 
transportation among other careers. In the two years of the 
implementation of VRAP, the Department of Veterans Affairs approved 
over 126,000 applications, of which, 76,000 veterans enrolled in a 
training program.
  The Putting Our Veterans Back to Work Act extends the authority of 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide rehabilitation and 
vocational benefits to members of the Armed Services with severe 
injuries or illnesses, extends rehabilitation programs for persons who 
have exhausted their rights to unemployment benefits under state law 
and reauthorizes collaborative veterans' training, mentoring and 
placement programs.
  This legislation builds on our vow to hire our nation's heroes by 
directing the Secretary of the VA to establish a Federal web-based 
employment portal containing information on Federal programs and 
activities concerning employment, unemployment and training programs 
that are geared towards veterans. This legislation also directs the 
Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General to award grants 
to hire veterans as firefighters and law enforcement officers. Finally, 
the Putting Our Veterans Back to Work Act directs the heads of 
executive agencies to consider favorably as an evaluation factor for 
civilian and defense contracts at or above $25 million, a prospective 
contractor with a workforce of at least 5 percent veterans.
  The men and women who signed up to defend America and our values, 
whether they served during Vietnam or more recently in Iraq or 
Afghanistan, are owed our gratitude and our promise to support them as 
they transition to civilian life. I urge my colleagues to pass the 
Putting Our Veterans Back to Work Act to ensure that our heroes are 
afforded meaningful employment opportunities. This is a promise that we 
must keep.

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