[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 8139-8140]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      VETERANS SKILLS TO JOBS ACT

  (Mr. DENHAM asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DENHAM. Members, the recent Memorial Day weekend and now the 
ever-escalating high unemployment numbers remind us of how many 
veterans are out of work and of how many who will be returning home to 
no jobs.
  For the last year, I've worked on the Veterans Skills to Jobs Act. 
When I left the active duty military, I realized that it would take me 
several years to get the credentialing on the civilian side that I 
already had on the military side.
  We have the best, most sophisticated, trained workforce in the 
military. As they return home, we need to make sure that not only do 
they have jobs

[[Page 8140]]

but that they have high-paying skilled jobs. By credentialing them 
through the Department of Defense before they get discharged, we give 
them the opportunity to capture those jobs immediately.
  When I introduced this bill, several weeks later, the Senate 
introduced a companion bill, and now, today, the President has declared 
his support for the bill. It is time to show leadership in both Houses, 
to show leadership in the Presidency, and to pass this bill.
  Our brave men and women who have served so bravely and sacrificed so 
much deserve jobs when they get home, high-paying jobs that will allow 
them to get back into our society.

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