Pete Aguilar: “I think we can all agree that our veterans deserve the very best we can offer when they return home. While we can never…”

“I think we can all agree that our veterans deserve the very best we can offer when they return home. While we can never repay them for their heroism and bravery, we can reaffirm our appreciation by doing everything in our power to help them transition back to civilian life. My amendment would help us do just that. This amendment requires the Department of Transportation and the Department of Defense to work together to help veterans transition into civilian jobs driving commercial trucks. It would help them obtain commercial driver's licenses, as outlined in a report commissioned by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 2 years ago. This report was done at the direction of the last surface transportation bill, MAP-21, and my amendment requires DOT and DOD to work together to implement the report's recommendations. Along with improving access to quality health care, one of the most important ways we need to help veterans is connecting them with job opportunities. Encouraging local businesses to hire more veterans is one step, but helping our veterans translate those skills they used in the military is a crucial part of putting our veterans back to work. Many veterans who drove specialized vehicles in the military struggle to put these skills to work when they return home because of unnecessary and burdensome regulations.…”