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DEMOCRATIC PRESS
RELEASE
March 9, 2009
-------------------------
Economic Opportunity
Subcommittee Reviews Legislation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
On Wednesday, March 4, 2009, the House Veterans’ Affairs Economic
Opportunity Subcommittee, led by Chairwoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin
(D-SD), held a hearing to review ten bills to improve services and
benefits for veterans provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
“Today’s legislative hearing is the first opportunity in the 111th
Congress for Members of Congress, veterans, the VA and other interested
parties to provide their views on and discuss recently-introduced
legislation within the Subcommittee’s jurisdiction,” said Chairwoman
Herseth Sandlin. “The legislation before the Subcommittee today covers a
wide range of important issues affecting our nation’s service members and
veterans.”
The Economic Opportunity Subcommittee hearing reviewed the following ten
bills:
H.R. 147, To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow taxpayers to
designate a portion of their income tax payment to provide assistance to
homeless veterans, and for other purposes; (Israel D-NY). This bill
creates a section on the annual tax return form that would allow taxpayers
to designate $3 of their income tax liability to programs that assist
homeless veterans without increasing the taxpayers’ tax liability. H.R.
147 creates a Homeless Veterans Assistance Fund within the Treasury where
the contributed money would automatically be deposited and funds could
only be used to provide assistance to homeless veterans.
Congressman Israel testified, “Serving persons faced with homelessness is
a constant challenge due to the myriad of needs they may have, in addition
to losing their home. Veterans add additional dimensions to this challenge
as many are faced with substance abuse, mental health difficulties and
other disabling disabilities, as well as the stigma of being homeless. The
U.S. has faced so many challenges throughout its history, but no matter
how grave and great each threat has been our armed forces, our service men
and women, and our veterans have been there to see us through. All because
they have sacrificed so much time and energy to fight for and defend our
country they should be taken care of by their country when they return.”
H.R. 228, To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a
scholarship program for students seeking a degree or certificate in the
areas of visual impairment and orientation and mobility; (Jackson-Lee
D-TX). This bill would establish a scholarship program of financial
assistance for individuals who are accepted for, or currently enrolled in,
a program of study leading to a degree or certificate in visual impairment
or orientation and mobility, or both; and agree to serve, after program
completion, as a full-time VA employee for three years within the first
six years after program completion.
H.R. 297, Veteran Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Subsistence
Allowance Improvement Act of 2009; (Buyer R-IN). This bill would provide
for an increase in the amount of subsistence allowance payable by the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to veterans with service-connected
disabilities participating in vocational rehabilitation programs.
Congressman Steve Buyer, Ranking Member of the House Committee on
Veterans’ Affairs, offered the following statement in support of H.R. 297:
“During fiscal year 2008, 14,408 veterans dropped out of or temporarily
interrupted the VR&E [Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment] program. A
major reason that disabled veterans either decline to enter or drop out or
interrupt before completing their VR&E program is their need to work to
support their families. My bill would increase the basic rate from the
current $541 per month to $1,200.”
H.R. 466, Wounded Veteran Job Security Act; (Doggett D-TX). This bill
would prohibit discrimination and acts of reprisal against persons who
receive treatment for illnesses, injuries, and disabilities incurred in or
aggravated by service in the uniformed services.
Congressman Doggett provided the following testimony: “Often, the amount
of time required for the treatment of a veteran’s service connected
disability exceeds the amount of vacation and sick leave allotted to the
veteran. Some employers have viewed this as grounds to terminate veterans,
leaving them faced with an impossible choice – whether to continue
receiving the treatment that they need or to keep the job that supports
them. The possibility that a wounded veteran may have to choose between
his life and his livelihood constitutes a significant disadvantage that
veterans were never meant to face. By according veterans the full
protection under USERRA [Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment
Rights Act of 1994] that they were meant to have, this legislation ensures
that no veteran must confront such a choice again.”
H.R. 929, To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a
program of training to provide eligible veterans with skills relevant to
the job market, and for other purposes; (Welch D-VT). This bill would
authorize the Military Occupational Specialty Transition (MOST) program, a
program designed to help veterans find work and train for good-paying
jobs.
“It is critical that, after leaving the military, veterans can find steady
employment; those who have given and risked so much deserve our support,”
said Congressman Welch. “The MOST program acknowledges and seeks to
address two important facts: too many veterans are unemployed or can’t
find good jobs, and many veterans leave the military without acquiring
advanced skills that are applicable to the civilian workforce. MOST would
address this problem by partnering veterans with employers willing to
provide training, and sharing the cost of training programs that will give
veterans concrete skills to help them compete in an increasingly
competitive global marketplace.”
H.R. 942, Veterans Self-Employment Act of 2009; (Alexander R-LA). This
bill would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a pilot
project on the use of educational assistance under programs of the
Department of Veterans Affairs to defray training costs associated with
the purchase of certain franchise enterprises.
Congressman Alexander provided the following statement in support of H.R.
942: “It is important that we provide our veterans all the assistance that
we can reasonably give them. They have done so much in forming and
preserving the way of life that we cherish so much, and it is
irresponsible and disrespectful to not reward these actions and show our
appreciation. This bill will serve not only as a token of our appreciation
to our veterans by training them to work for themselves, but also as a
valiant tool to help provide real stimulation to our economy.”
H.R. 950, To increase educational assistance for certain veterans pursuing
a program of education offered through distance learning; (Filner D-CA).
H.R. 950 would allow veterans taking distance learning courses to receive
a housing stipend, under the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill.
Chairman Filner commented: “It doesn’t make sense to penalize the hard
working students who are taking classes just because the courses they are
taking are administered on-line. These veterans fought for our country,
came back home, enrolled in school, and are working to get a college
degree. There should not be a distinction between those who attend a brick
and mortar classroom versus those who study at home and take their tests
on a computer. Supporters of this bill are standing up for disabled
veterans, veteran families, rural veterans, and single-parent households
who are getting an education and working to better their life.”
H.R. 1088, Mandatory Veteran Specialist Training Act of 2009; (Herseth
Sandlin D-SD). This bill would provide for a one-year period for the
training of new disabled veterans' outreach program specialists and local
veterans' employment representatives by National Veterans' Employment and
Training Services Institute.
Chairwoman Herseth Sandlin provided the following statement: “Last
Congress, this Subcommittee held hearings highlighting the
responsibilities of Veteran Outreach Program Specialists and Local
Veterans Employment Representatives. I introduced H.R. 1088 to address
concerns that were raised regarding training requirements. This bill would
require these staff members to be trained for their position within one
year from the date of employment and is the result of recommendations from
veterans and veterans service organizations to improve this necessary and
valuable program.”
H.R. 1089, Veterans Employment Rights Realignment Act of 2009; (Herseth
Sandlin - SD). This bill would provide for the enforcement through the
Office of Special Counsel (OSC) of the employment and unemployment rights
of veterans and members of the Armed Forces employed by Federal executive
agencies.
“H.R. 1089 would allow an individual to file a USERRA complaint with the
Office of Special Counsel,” explained Chairwoman Herseth Sandlin.
“Currently, service members and veterans are limited to only filing
complaints with the Secretary of the VA. Last Congress, we learned that
giving OSC authority to investigate federal sector USERRA claims was
effective and this bill will offer protections to our nation’s service
members and veterans from potential workforce discrimination.”
H.R. 1171, Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program Reauthorization Act of
2009; (Boozman - AR-3). This bill would reauthorize the Homeless Veterans
Reintegration Program for fiscal years 2010 through 2014.
Congressman Boozman, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Economic
Opportunity, offered the following statement in support of H.R. 1171: “As
you know, the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP) has been
cited by GAO [Government Accountability Office] as an example of a
successful program designed to put homeless veterans back to work. It is a
relatively inexpensive program funded last year at about $26 million that
provides grants to community-based providers serving the homeless veteran
population. VA now estimates that 154,000 veterans are homeless – a level
down well from over 200,000 just a few years ago. I believe that HVRP has
played an important role in reducing the homeless veteran population by
putting them back to work and I congratulate the Veterans Employment and
Training Service and all their grantees for that success.”
The bills must be approved by the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee and
the Full House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs before being considered by
the House of Representatives.
Witness List:
Panel 1
* The Honorable Steve Israel, New York, U.S. House of Representatives
* The Honorable Peter Welch, Vermont, U.S. House of Representatives
* The Honorable Lloyd Doggett, Texas, U.S. House of Representatives
Panel 2
* Justin Brown, Legislative Associate, National Legislative Service,
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States
* Cheryl Beversdorf, President and CEO, National Coalition for Homeless
Veterans
* John L. Wilson, Associate National Legislative Director, Disabled
American Veterans
* Mark Walker, Assistant Director, Economic Commission, The American
Legion
* Thomas Zampieri, Ph.D., Director of Government Relations, Blinded
Veterans of Association
Panel 3
* Patrick H. Boulay, Chief, USERRA Unit, U.S. Office of Special Counsel
* Keith M. Wilson, Director, Office of Education Service, Veterans
Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Prepared testimony and a link to the webcast is available on the internet
at this link:
http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/hearing.aspx?newsid=348.
-------------------------
posted by Larry
Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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