HVAC EO Bill Hearing
June 21, 2012
STATEMENT OF
RYAN M. GALLUCCI,
DEPUTY DIRECTOR
NATIONAL
LEGISLATIVE SERVICE
VETERANS OF
FOREIGN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES
BEFORE THE
VETERANS’
AFFAIRS SUBCOMMITTEE
ON ECONOMIC
OPPORTUNITY
UNITED STATES HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES
WITH RESPECT TO
H.R.
3860, H.R. 4115, H.R. 4740 and H.R. 5747
WASHINGTON,
D.C. June 21,
2012
MR.
CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE:
On
behalf of the more than 2 million men and women of the Veterans of Foreign Wars
of the U.S. (VFW) and our Auxiliaries, I would like to thank you for the
opportunity to testify on today’s pending legislation. With the conflict in
Iraq drawing to a close, withdrawal from Afghanistan on the horizon, and proposals
to scale back our nation’s active duty military while continuing to lean on
National Guard and Reserve personnel for future routine missions, the VFW
believes discussing how to protect our service members and veterans within the
workforce and streamlining processes through which veterans can secure
meaningful employment must remain a national imperative. Despite continuing
efforts within the federal government and across private industry, recent unemployment
numbers for veterans of the current conflicts indicate that that we are not
solving the problem. The VFW is encouraged to see that this committee continues
to take this situation seriously, and we are honored to share our thoughts on
today’s bills in an effort to protect our nation’s heroes and offer them the
career opportunities for which their military training and experience logically
prepared them.
H.R. 3860, Help
Veterans Return to Work Act:
The
VFW understands that the goal of this legislation is to ensure that large
businesses can no longer claim “undue hardship” as a reason to shirk
reemployment obligations under the Uniformed Servicemembers Employment and
Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). However, the VFW must oppose this bill, which
we believe would make members of the National Guard and Reserve unattractive
employees to large companies. This issue is truly a double-edged sword. The VFW
wholly supports strong legal protections for members of the Guard and Reserve,
but we understand that the relationship between our Reserve Component and
civilian employers must be equitable for both parties. We feel the current
provisions through which large businesses can claim undue hardship offers both
the service member and the employer reasonable due process in resolving
reemployment disputes.
If
we put so many legal constrictions on hiring members of the Reserve Component,
our service members will be perceived as a legal liability to potential
employers, large and small. A recent report from the Center for a New American
Security (CNAS) outlined the business case for hiring service members and
veterans. In the report, CNAS also ranked employer concerns for hiring current
or former military personnel. One of the major concerns for employers included
potential deployments and USERRA compliance. To the VFW this implies that the
perception of USERRA among employers may actually prevent service members and
veterans from ever getting in the door.
In
light of this bill and other concerns over USERRA, we invite the subcommittee
to host a separate hearing or roundtable discussion on USERRA in the 21st
Century to better understand how this law should be implemented and how we can
best serve the interests of our Reserve Component service members and the
companies that employ them.
H.R. 4115, HIRE
at HOME Act:
The
VFW fully supports the HIRE at HOME Act. Over the last few years, we have heard
growing concerns that veterans who receive highly technical training in the
military and amass years of practical work experience cannot receive state
licenses and certifications without jumping through hoops when they return
home. The VFW understands that states have a legal right to license
professionals as they see fit within their borders. However, the VFW believes
that states must have the ability to evaluate the training and experience of a
veteran once they leave active duty. The HIRE at HOME Act will ensure that
states critically evaluate military training when considering veterans for
licensure in four key fields where we have seen high veteran unemployment:
Certified nursing assistant, registered nurse, emergency medical technician,
and truck driver.
The
VFW successfully pushed for a companion to the HIRE at HOME Act in the Senate,
with some minor changes, which we would like to see this subcommittee also
include in markup. The changes simply outlines how states should report the
ways in which they considered military training and experience toward state
licensing requirements. Specifically, states would report to the Department of
Labor at a minimum: The state standard for licensure in each field; the
specific military training components evaluated for licensure; and any gaps in
training that prohibit veterans from licensure. The Department of Labor would
then establish protocols to share this information with the Department of
Defense in an effort to close training gaps.
The
VFW believes this bill is a responsible first step in ensuring veterans can
transition seamlessly into careers that the military has diligently prepared
them for, while preserving each state’s right to license professionals who
choose to operate within their borders. Moving forward, this concept could
prove helpful in closing the credentialing and licensing gap for other critical
military occupational specialties (MOSs) without placing unnecessary burdens on
states. We encourage the subcommittee to move quickly on this critical bill,
passing a comprehensive piece of legislation that reflects the VFW’s
recommendations and helps to close the military credentialing gap.
H.R. 4740,
Fairness for Military Homeowners Act of 2012:
The
VFW supports this bill and we believe it is a responsible course of action
offering financial relief for military home owners who are forced to frequently
change duty stations. Unlike traditional home owners, military home owners must
regularly change duty stations. In the past, military home owners could easily
sell or rent their properties whenever they needed to move. This all changed
when the housing bubble burst in 2008. This bill would offer relief to military
families by allowing military home owners to refinance the mortgage on homes at
their old duty stations as if the home was still a primary residence. Home
owners who seek to refinance will encounter higher interest rates if they do
not actively live at the property. This bill would ensure that military home
owners can still lock in reasonable interest rates when they are forced to
leave a home at their old duty station. This is a common sense approach that
will offer reasonable relief to military home owners who must balance family
obligations with the rigors of military life.
H.R. 5747,
Military Family Home Protection Act:
The
VFW strongly supports this bill, which seeks to end predatory foreclosures on
military families whose loved ones are deployed, permanent and total disabled,
or who lost their lives in the line of duty. Over the last few years, we have
heard horror stories about companies foreclosing on military home owners while
service members are deployed overseas. This bill seeks to end this
unconscionable practice by affording specific protections for deployed service
members, disabled veterans, and surviving spouses. This bill even goes so far
as to establish criminal penalties for persons who knowingly violate these new
provisions under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, or SCRA. Never again
should a military family worry that the bank will seize their home while their
loved one is serving overseas or after their loved one has made the ultimate
sacrifice. Military home owners face unique circumstances, and deserve these
kinds of reasonable accommodations. We hope the committee will move quickly on
this bill.
Mr.
Chairman, this concludes my testimony and I would be happy to answer any
questions you may have.
Information
Required by Rule XI2(g)(4) of the House of Representatives
Pursuant
to Rule XI2(g)(4) of the House of Representatives, VFW has not received any
federal grants in Fiscal Year 2012, nor has it received any federal grants in
the two previous Fiscal Years.
BACK TO NEWS >