Political Quotes

“I would like to thank Chairman Miller and Ranking Member Michaud for their leadership on the committee. Their efforts to advance this important bill will help veterans who are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan find jobs. As a member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs and as a Marine Corps combat veteran myself, it is important to me and to our country that we take care of those who have served this Nation after they come home from war. Our veterans have great skills when it comes to working as a member of a team and getting the job done; but, unfortunately, in many instances, their technical skills aren't readily transferable to civilian occupations. The Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that the unemployment rate for Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans between the ages of 20 and 24 was 19 percent in April. This is why I am happy to have my legislation, H.R. 1412, the Improving Job Opportunities for Veterans Act of 2013, on the floor today for a vote. This legislation seeks to increase the availability of on-the-job training and apprenticeship programs to help veterans make the transition into the civilian workforce. This legislation will build on an existing, yet little known and underutilized, on-the-job training program that allows veterans to use their educational benefits they earned through their military service to learn a trade or skill by participating in an approved apprenticeship or on-the-job training program.…”