Josh Gottheimer: “I want to thank the chairman and ranking member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee and Representative Wenstrup for their…”

“I want to thank the chairman and ranking member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee and Representative Wenstrup for their work on this important bill. This legislation empowers the Secretary of Veterans Affairs with the authority to hire the best and brightest employees. We can all agree that you can't have a top-notch VA without employing young veterans who want to continue serving their country after they return from the front lines. Each and every day, our brave men and women in uniform put their lives on the line for us, and we owe it to them to ensure that, when they return home, they have the best care at the VA and that they also have the best career opportunities available to them. This legislation is about veterans serving veterans. Young veterans in the Fifth District of New Jersey, where I live, tell me that they face significant challenges when they return home, even though many of them have a desire to help serve other veterans. I was lucky enough to hire one such veteran on my team, Mike DeVilliers, who served in the U.S. Army. Mike is committed to helping other veterans and has, at a local community college, where he ran a program for student veterans. He now serves my constituents, including our veterans and across the four counties in the Fifth District. We should be encouraging talented and qualified young veterans like Mike to put their skills to use and give back to their fellow servicemen and -women.…”