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“OUR BRAVE VETERANS NEED GOOD JOBS” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H1011-H1012 on Feb. 4, 2009.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
OUR BRAVE VETERANS NEED GOOD JOBS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, there are many reasons to support the President's economic recovery package. Today, I rise to talk about one especially good reason, a reason that will help our Nation's brave veterans to get good jobs.
As we know, President Obama has ordered his military commanders to draw up plans for the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq. Many of them will be returning to civilian life. Making the transition from battlefield to the civilian workforce is always challenging. But, in these hard times, it's going to be harder than ever.
Last March, the Veterans' Affairs Department reported that returning veterans were having a harder time finding work than their civilian counterparts, and were earning less. That, Mr. Speaker, was before the economic crisis hit with full force.
We got another look at the problem in November, when the recruitment Web site, Monster.com, surveyed veterans about their experiences in the job market. It found that 81 percent of veterans don't feel fully prepared to enter the workforce and, of that number, 76 percent said they were having trouble translating their military skills to the civilian world. In addition, hundreds of thousands of veterans are struggling with fiscal and mental problems, making it that much more difficult to get and to keep a job.
Mr. Speaker, veterans and their advocates have begun to report that some employers are ignoring the Federal law requiring them to give returning soldiers their jobs back--their jobs back, at the same pay. To make matters even worse, many military family members have taken time off from their own jobs or even left those jobs completely in order to take care of their injured loved ones.
I was proud to sponsor the bill in the last Congress that doubled the amount of time that a military family member could take off under the Family and Medical Leave Act. But it's still unpaid leave, Mr. Speaker, and few Americans can afford that, particularly now. That is why we need to revisit the law and to amend it to provide paid leave under FMLA.
Mr. Speaker, there are many other things that we must do to help our brave veterans. Our new Veterans' Affairs Secretary, former General Eric Shinseki, has promised to make employment to veterans a top priority. He also wants to fast-track implementation of the new GI Bill, which will help more veterans to get the education they will need to succeed in the workforce.
I also know that my good friend, Hilda Solis, will make veterans' employment a priority when she becomes our new Secretary of Labor. She has seen firsthand the challenges that the servicemen and women face when they try to get jobs. I know that she will work to expand the Department of Labor's programs and job training and job search assistance for veterans.
Most importantly, Congress must move with a sense of urgency to pass an effective and far-reaching economic recovery package. The President's proposal is a very good start, but it needs to do even more to create jobs for veterans, because veterans have a lot to offer employers. They are mature, they are skilled, hardworking, dedicated, respectful of authority, and they know how to be part of a team. And they have proven that they can do their job even under the toughest of circumstances.
All they need, Mr. Speaker, is a chance. They did their job in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now it's time for us to do our job and to send an economic recovery package to the President's desk that will give our veterans and their families the bright future that they deserve.
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