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S. HRG. 111–474 

EASING THE BURDENS THROUGH EMPLOYMENT 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

NOVEMBER 18, 2009 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

( 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/senate 

(II) 

COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS 

DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii, Chairman 

JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West Virginia 

PATTY MURRAY, Washington 

BERNARD SANDERS, (I) Vermont 

SHERROD BROWN, Ohio 

JIM WEBB, Virginia 

JON TESTER, Montana 

MARK BEGICH, Alaska 

ROLAND W. BURRIS, Illinois 

ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania 

RICHARD BURR, North Carolina, Ranking 

Member 

LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina 

JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia 

ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi 

MIKE JOHANNS, Nebraska 

WILLIAM E. BREW, Staff Director 

LUPE WISSEL, Republican Staff Director 

(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

NOVEMBER 18, 2009 

SENATORS 

Page 

Akaka, Hon. Daniel K., Chairman, U.S. Senator from Hawaii ........................... 1 

Murray, Hon. Patty, U.S. Senator from Washington ........................................... 2 

Brown, Hon. Sherrod, U.S. Senator from Ohio ..................................................... 4 

Tester, Hon. Jon, U.S. Senator from Montana ...................................................... 5 

Begich, Hon. Mark, U.S. Senator from Alaska ..................................................... 17 

WITNESSES 

Jefferson, Raymond, Assistant Secretary for Veterans’ Employment and 

Training, U.S. Department of Labor .................................................................. 6 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 9 

Response to post-hearing questions submitted by: 

Hon. Daniel K. Akaka .................................................................................. 13 

Hon. Patty Murphy ....................................................................................... 16 

Ziob, Lutz, General Manager, Microsoft Learning Microsoft, Inc. ...................... 29 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 32 

Wikul, Peter ‘‘Bull Frog,’’ Captain USN (Ret.), Director America Works of 

New York, Inc. ...................................................................................................... 38 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 41 

Response to post-hearing questions submitted by Hon. Daniel K. Akaka ... 43 

Lawton-Belous, Joshua, Iraq Veteran and Business Analyst, Oracle Corporation ........................................................................................................................ 44

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 46 

Daniel, Dexter, Vietnam Veteran ........................................................................... 47 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 48 

Tymes, Helen, Career Specialist, National Organization on Disability (NOD) .. 49 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 51 

Attachments ............................................................................................... 58 

APPENDIX 

Burris, Hon. Roland W., U.S. Senator from Illinois; prepared statement .......... 71 

(1) 

EASING THE BURDENS THROUGH 

EMPLOYMENT 

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2009 

U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS, Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:36 a.m., in room 

SR–418, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Daniel K. Akaka, 

Chairman of the Committee, presiding. 

Present: Senators Akaka, Murray, Brown, Tester and Begich. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. DANIEL K. AKAKA, CHAIRMAN, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM HAWAII 

Chairman AKAKA. The hearing of this U.S. Senate Committee on 

Veterans’ Affairs will come to order. Aloha, good morning, and welcome to this hearing on veterans’ employment. 

These are difficult times for many Americans with an unemployment rate higher than it has been in more than 20 years. When 

the number of those who have given up looking for work because 

they believe none is available, and it is combined with those who 

are only able to find part-time employment, the extent of our challenge is staggering. 

For our Nation’s veterans, especially for those who have recently 

separated from active duty, the search for a job can be particularly 

difficult. Skills honed on the battlefield are not easily translated to 

a resume for the civilian job market. Add to that the need for a period of readjustment to civilian life, and the problem is compounded. 

Veterans who have been injured while on active duty, and especially those who are suffering the invisible wounds of war, face an 

even more daunting task when seeking to find a career. For those 

thousands of veterans who are homeless, who may be bearing the 

burdens of drug or alcohol abuse or struggling with mental issues, 

finding work seems impossible. Older veterans and those from 

other conflicts may lack the skills necessary to compete in an increasingly high-tech type of job market. Jobs that once were plentiful may simply no longer exist. 

Today we will be focusing on the employment needs of veterans, 

especially those who have recently separated from active duty and 

those who face substantial or unique obstacles in the civilian workforce. The goal this morning is to gain input in ways to improve 

current programs. We also need ideas for new initiatives for transitional programs that emphasize easing burdens through employment and reducing homelessness among other things. 

2 

Veterans make good employees. They have learned discipline, 

commitment, and the value of hard work. Many employers are 

eager to hire these brave men and women. The challenge is matching the right former servicemember with the right career and addressing any obstacles that may stand in the way of successful employment. 

On November 5th, I was privileged to attend the Department of 

Labor’s annual Salute to Veterans. It was an impressive event led 

by our lead witness today, the Honorable Ray Jefferson, Assistant 

Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training. 

I was especially moved by the remarks made by two young veterans, Ms. Dawn Halfaker and Command Sergeant Major Michele 

Jones. These remarkable individuals spoke from their hearts about 

what it means to be a veteran and the challenges that they face. 

They touched many hearts with their words that day, and we have 

reason to be proud of them and the hundreds of thousands of others who have honorably served our country in time of need. 

Our agenda is an ambitious one this morning, and I know that 

there is much ground to cover. I look forward to the testimony and 

working with all Committee Members and advocates to find ways 

to address the employment needs of veterans. 

Now I would like to call on Senator Murray from the State of 

Washington for her opening statement. 

STATEMENT OF HON. PATTY MURRAY, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM WASHINGTON 

Senator MURRAY. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for holding this really important hearing on some of the burdens that our 

veterans are seeing as they try to come home and get civilian employment. I want to thank all of the witnesses who are going to be 

appearing before us. I look forward to your comments today. 

But before I begin, I do want to welcome one of our witnesses 

today. He is a Washingtonian and a Microsoft employee, Lutz Ziob. 

He is in the audience here today. He is going to be testifying. He 

is here, Mr. Chairman, to talk about the barriers and opportunities 

for veterans in the information technology realm. I know that in today’s high-tech military, we need to be working to find ways to 

translate our servicemembers’ technology skills into the civilian 

world. So, I am really looking forward to his thoughts today. 

Mr. Chairman, our Nation’s veterans have all the character and 

skills they need to succeed in the working world. They are disciplined team players who have proven that they can perform 

under pressure. Now we have got to make sure that the VA and 

the Department of Defense and the Department of Labor are given 

the tools they need to give those soldiers the support they need. 

In the coming months, I had planned to introduce a veterans’ 

employment assistance bill that I hope will add to the toolbox. It 

is a bill that is designed to expand employment and training and 

placement service for our veterans. It will help our veterans who 

are looking to create small businesses by establishing a veterans’ 

business center program. It will help unemployed veterans get the 

job training they need. We are going to set up a demonstration program to examine how transitioning servicemembers can build on 

their military IT skills to enter the civilian IT workforce. 

3 

In addition to that bill, last week Senators Klobuchar, Johanns 

and I introduced the Post-9/11 Veterans’ Job Training Act. Our bill 

takes a very critical step forward for veterans by expanding benefits available under the Post-9/11 GI Bill to include job training 

and apprenticeships because in these tough economic times, we 

have got to expand the opportunities opened under the Post-9/11 

GI Bill to include workforce training. So, I hope my colleagues take 

a look at this legislation to help our veterans obtain access to employment through better training. 

Mr. Chairman, our men and women who are fighting overseas 

face incredibly dangerous and stressful situations on the battlefield, so it is critical that we not add to that stress by burdening 

them with worries about keeping or finding jobs for themselves and 

their families. 

In my home State, the citizen soldiers of the 81st Brigade Combat Team of the Washington Army National Guard just returned 

this summer after serving their country honorably in Iraq. We had 

about 2,300 members of that brigade return. About half of them 

tried to get direct job placement or job training, and of those were 

trying to get job placement, only 20 percent have been able to get 

a job so far. 

So, we know that these men and women are struggling when 

they come home. In Washington we also have thousands of soldiers 

from Fort Lewis who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan 

who are seeking employment resources. 

I do want to say I am very really encouraged by some of the 

grassroots efforts that are occurring in my State. I want to actually 

take this opportunity to acknowledge the important work that is 

being done by Hire America’s Heroes. That is a Washington statebased organization that focuses on improving access to corporate 

jobs for transitioning military servicemembers, veterans, and their 

family members. By bringing together major employers in my 

State—Comcast, Boeing, Weyerhaeuser, Starbucks—with our area 

veterans, Hire America’s Heroes has been able to sidestep many of 

the barriers that often prevent veterans from having their unique 

skill sets recognized. 

I especially want to mention, Mr. Chairman, the great work 

being done by Marjorie James, the president of Hire America’s Heroes, and General James Collins. He will be in the audience here 

shortly. General Collins is actually a two-star general. He has been 

one of the main forces behind Hire America’s Heroes. He has 

served our Nation honorably both in and out of uniform, and as a 

retired officer and a former Weyerhaeuser employee, General Collins brings a very valuable perspective on veterans’ employment 

issues to the table. And I really want to take this opportunity to 

publicly thank him for his work. 

So, as I have said many, many times here and around the country, I believe how we treat our veterans when they come home is 

an indication of the character of this Nation, and we have to do all 

we can to transition them from servicemember to citizen, and making sure they have the skills and the jobs when they come home 

is a critical part of that. So, this hearing is extremely important, 

and I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding it. 

Chairman AKAKA. Thank you very much, Senator Murray. 

4 

Now I will ask Senator Brown for his opening statement. 

STATEMENT OF HON. SHERROD BROWN, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM OHIO 

Senator BROWN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this important hearing and aloha. 

Chairman AKAKA. Aloha. 

Senator BROWN. Aloha, Secretary Jefferson. Thank you for joining us on Hawaii Day here, I guess. Thank you very much for being 

part of this. 

I can only stay a few minutes because I have a HELP markup 

at 10, but I look forward to learning from Assistant Secretary Jefferson about the Veterans Employment Council. 

As I travel my State—and I have had numerous roundtables 

with veterans and with health care workers and educators and 

families of servicemembers where I hear over and over about the 

health and education needs of servicemembers. This hearing could 

not have come at a more important time as our country works to 

recover from last year’s economic meltdown. 

My State does not have the highest employment rate. It is one 

of the highest, over 10 percent, as much of the country is afflicted 

with, but it also has been in recession longer than almost any other 

State, I believe, with the exception of Michigan. 

We know from the U.S. Department of Labor that returning vets 

are more likely to be unemployed than their civilian counterparts. 

There are structural reasons for this that are pretty obvious. Vets 

have been away from the workforce serving our Nation. Oftentimes, they are beginning a second career after retirement. There 

are economic reasons for job disparity as well since many companies are not hiring obviously during this downturn. As the economy 

begins to recover, many people are not likely at least soon to 

change jobs. But that does not make it acceptable. What it does, 

however, is tells us where we must provide assistance and where 

we can seize opportunities to expand employment opportunities for 

our veterans. 

Late last month, I went to Youngstown State University in 

northeast Ohio for the naming of Air Force Boulevard on its campus. YSU has been a leader in reaching out to veterans and military students because, as Senator Murray pointed out, it knows the 

values of a military career. From the newly-created office of Veterans Affairs to being designated as a military-friendly campus by 

GI Jobs magazine, YSU is demonstrating its commitment to a 

cause greater than itself. 

The city of Youngstown has been hit especially hard by economic 

times, but that is changing, too, in large part because YSU is playing a key role in bringing talented men and women from our military with their skills, their talents, their experiences, and their life 

experiences, especially, to the city of Youngstown to be part of the 

rebirth in Mahoning Valley. 

Employing veterans and tapping their skills are an important 

part of the city’s business model for revival. It is not just happening in Youngstown. There are active programs at Cuyahoga 

Community College, Cleveland State University, and other colleges 

5 

around Ohio are contemplating establishing their own similar programs. 

Helping vets get into the civilian workforce or moving up the 

company ladder is not only about rewarding them for service to our 

Nation, but because veterans have skills and experiences and expertise that are so needed in the private sector and in government. 

When FDR signed into law the original GI Bill six and one-half 

decades ago, he not only provided servicemembers with an education that strengthened our Nation, colleges and universities were 

created to serve the growing student population. Businesses expanded with a highly-educated workforce. Middle-class communities thrive with renewed economic prosperity in large part because of these highly-skilled, increasingly highly-skilled returning 

vets. 

We must encourage and promote the value of hiring vets within 

the private sector and by the government. This hearing, Mr. Chairman, is an important step in doing that. Thank you. 

Chairman AKAKA. Thank you very much, Senator Brown. 

Now I will call on Senator Tester for his opening statement. 

STATEMENT OF HON. JON TESTER, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM MONTANA 

Senator TESTER. I, too, want to thank you, Chairman Akaka, for 

holding this hearing, and I want to welcome the witnesses on both 

panels. A special welcome to Secretary Jefferson. It is good to see 

you again, and I look forward to your testimony and your energy, 

as always. 

Like the rest of the country, Montana continues to get through 

a significant economic downturn. Unemployment rates in some 

parts of our State are over 11 percent, and most of those counties 

are very, very rural. 

A tough economy, coupled with physical disability, a mental condition, or routine job loss, can leave a veteran particularly vulnerable. I look forward to hearing today about how the Department of 

Labor’s programs are working, particularly in rural and frontier 

areas where it is often harder to find work. 

In addition, I am deeply concerned about the Guard and Reserve 

members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who are transitioning back to civilian life and civilian jobs. Last week, I had a chance 

to sit down with Montana’s Adjutant General. He has over 1,200 

Guardsmen that are scheduled to deploy next year. That is nearly 

one-third of the Montana Guard. Those folks will have all the employment needs when they come home, but sometimes the job they 

left no longer exists. And in other cases, their military skill set 

does not translate into the civilian job market, thus increasing the 

difficulty of finding a job or employment opportunity in their hometown. 

With all of these challenges and changes, I think we have to 

critically review the focus and value of these programs. We have 

to ensure their efficiency, applicability and responsiveness. The relationship between the Veterans Administration and the Department of Labor is absolutely critical. We need extra attention on 

veterans in rural and frontier areas and on Indian country. At the 

6 

end of the day, we have to make sure we have done everything possible to help our veterans find jobs. 

So, Mr. Jefferson, I know you have got a lot of ideas and absolutely a lot of energy, and I want to make sure that you are getting 

the support that you need from Secretary Solis and Secretary 

Shinseki. We are here to support you and ensure that you have the 

resources necessary to advance these very important programs. 

In closing, I just want to ask that if we have a veteran in a situation where they are deployed, they come back, they are returning 

to a frontier area of the State where there are less than 350 veterans, and they have got some issues in a job loss area, how do 

your programs apply to those folks? 

I know you cannot be everything to everybody, but we certainly 

can try to be everything to everybody. So, that is really my concern 

as I go around the State of Montana every weekend into areas 

where there are big land masses but few people. And a lot of veterans, a lot of people in those areas, serve in our military because 

they feel a calling to service. Those folks return to those communities and they need support, and we need to make sure that support is there. 

Again, I want to thank everybody in both panels for participating, and I want to once again thank the Chairman for calling 

this hearing. Thank you. 

Chairman AKAKA. Thank you very much, Senator Tester. 

I want to welcome our first panel this morning. Our first witness 

is the Honorable Raymond Jefferson, Assistant Secretary of Labor 

for Veterans’ Employment and Training. This is Secretary Jefferson’s first appearance before this Committee since his confirmation 

in June, and I want to extend a very warm aloha to him this morning, and especially to note that this is the anniversary of his hundredth day on the job. I wish you well. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Thank you, sir. 

Chairman AKAKA. I know that his enthusiasm and energy and 

commitment is contagious and that he is determined to get the job 

done. I thank you for being here this morning, Mr. Secretary. Your 

full testimony will, of course, be printed in the record. Thank you 

very much, Secretary. Please begin with your statement. 

STATEMENT OF HON. RAYMOND JEFFERSON, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR VETERANS’ EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING, U.S. 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Right. Well, Chairman Akaka, aloha. Senator Murray, Senator Brown, Senator Tester, thank you for your 

service to our Nation, to the veterans’ community, and for the opportunity to be here before you today. It is my hundredth day. I 

remain thrilled and honored to have this opportunity to serve our 

Nation’s veterans. 

We are working diligently every day. Secretary Solis had made 

vets and veterans one of her top priorities. We are working very 

hard to achieve her vision of good jobs for everyone. I want to acknowledge that we have unprecedented support and relationship at 

VA with Secretary Shinseki and Deputy Secretary Gould. 

Since being confirmed, I have been meeting with stakeholders to 

get their feedback on the issues, challenges, and opportunities facVerDate Nov 24 2008 15:21 Jul 26, 2010 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 H:\111TH HEARINGS\54281.TXT SVETS PsN: PAULIN
7 

ing our Nation’s veterans and transitioning servicemembers. From 

that and my observations, I have formed five aspirations that we 

are committed to achieve as outcome goals. 

Let me share these with you. First, to serve as a national focal 

point for veterans’ training and employment, and this will involve 

several actions. Second, increasing our engagement and outreach to 

employers, particularly the private sector. Third, providing seamless transition for transitioning servicemembers with a particular 

emphasis on emerging industries and green jobs. Fourth is boosting 

the impact of USERRA by increasing awareness of it and also commitment to it. And finally, developing our team members’ potential 

so they have meaningful careers and provide the best possible service and programs. 

Let me first talk about improvements in current programs. During the confirmation hearing with regards to TAP, I promised to do 

an external review of the TAP employment workshop. Thus far, we 

are presently reviewing TAP’s performance and impact. We are 

also working to modernize the workshop to increase its effectiveness and improve the participants’ employment outcomes. A key 

component of that is going to be bringing new content into the 

workshop, content that is more economically relevant, immediately 

useful and also engaging for the participants. We are working 

closely with DOD, VA and DHS as we accomplish this. 

USERRA. During the hearing I promised to do an external review of the USERRA program and determine ways to improve it. 

We have recently completed a Lean-Six-Sigma quality enhancement and process efficiency assessment. What will be the impact 

of this? It is going to help us to streamline the process, to provide 

consistent high-quality investigations, to increase our responsiveness to our veterans, our clients and, also, it will help us determine 

other ways that we can improve the program and its outcomes. 

We are also identifying an electronic case management system to 

remove and address the paper-centric component of the USERRA 

process as it presently stands today. 

With regards to veterans’ homelessness, we are fully committed 

to the shared vision between Labor, VA, HUD and other stakeholders of ending veterans’ homelessness in 5 years. We have 

131,000 veterans at least on any given day who are homeless. 

What will be the Department of Labor’s contribution to this? We 

have requested a 34 percent increase in our budget, $9 million. Of 

that, $4 million will go toward funding the Incarcerated Veterans’ 

Transition Program, which should help approximately 1,500 veterans through 12 sites. 

We also plan to take up to $5 million of that and to do focused 

work to better serve homeless women veterans and veterans with 

families. We want to identify the best practices for serving this 

population and to disseminate that more broadly to service providers. 

With regards to the Jobs for Veterans State Grants, two things 

I would like to emphasize. One, increased employer outreach, and 

I will talk more about that later. But we are developing a new 

model to more effectively engage with employers in the private sector to increase veterans’ hiring. 

8 

We have also partnered with ETA to ensure priority of service 

at all ETA one-stops in Department of Labor training and employment programs. And for the first time, Assistant Secretary Jane 

Oates and I—Jane Oates of ETA—we have issued joint guidance 

for how this would be implemented. And during my time in the 

field, I am ensuring that this is cascading down. 

We also have new initiatives. One which I am very excited about 

and spoke about during the hearing is increased engagement with 

employers in the public and private sectors. In the public sector, 

President Obama recently signed the new veterans’ hiring initiative for the Federal Government. This will mobilize the entire Federal Government to do more recruiting and training of veterans to 

ensure that those veterans who are recently hired successfully 

make the transition to a new work environment. There will be hiring managers in all the large departments. This is a huge step to 

bring the veterans who are transitioning and veterans who are unemployed into the Federal Government. 

We are also developing relationships with the private sector. We 

recently took a major first step and gave an address at the U.S. 

Chamber of Commerce’s Business Steps Up: Hiring Our Heroes 

last week. We will be having a follow-on meeting with employers 

that the Chamber has graciously agreed to bring together to look 

at how do we develop hiring partnerships and hiring relationships, 

which will be very effective to get more veterans into these private 

sector jobs. 

Additionally, we are developing relationships with thought-leading business associations. We will be reaching out to business executives in national security. We have had some initial relationships there—Young Presidents Organization and World Presidents 

Organization. In my travels, I am bringing a new model together 

to connect us with economic development boards, high-tech associations, et cetera. 

In terms of pilot programs, we are also doing accelerated hiring 

initiatives, one with Job Corps and one with OFCCP right now, the 

Office of Federal Contract and Compliance Programs. I would like 

to use these as a model to validate the proof of concept that we can 

then bring to hiring partnerships with larger companies. 

Targeted populations. There are several populations which are 

underserved. I spoke about this during the confirmation hearing. 

Native American veterans, many, Senator Tester, who are in rural 

areas, just completed participating in a summit led by Secretary 

Solis with Native American tribal leaders to identify some of their 

issues and the ways that we can better serve them. 

Two, we have a study going, which I have requested to go further 

to become deeper and more comprehensive, that will help us identify the recommended best practices and solutions for better serving Native American veterans, especially those on tribal lands. 

Also, in 2010, we will be engaging and participating in the major 

Native American conferences and summits to make the tribal leaders aware of the programs and resources available to them. And I 

am mobilizing my regional administrators to support this outreach 

effort. 

Veterans who have been wounded or injured. We have the 

REALifelines program that provides one-on-one life planning and 

9 

seamless transition to veterans who have been wounded or injured. 

We are very excited about that, and we have also formed liaisons 

at the Department of the Army and Department of the Navy this 

year. 

Furthermore, we have the America’s Heroes at Work program, 

which is an education program for transitioning servicemembers 

with PTSD, that teaches employers the accommodations which are 

required to provide these wounded warriors with meaningful roles. 

Finally, the Veterans Green Jobs initiative. We have awarded 17 grants totaling $7.5 million to provide training in occupations relating to emerging industries and green jobs. 

In conclusion, Chairman Akaka and Distinguished Members of 

the Committee, I really appreciate and the team really appreciates 

the unwavering support and commitment that we have received 

from this Committee. We are excited. We are working tirelessly 

and innovatively to make sure our veterans and transitioning 

servicemembers create meaningful lives, develop rewarding careers, and become productive citizens and leaders in their communities. There is further detail in my written testimony. 

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I 

stand ready to answer your questions. 

[The prepared statement of Secretary Jefferson follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. RAYMOND JEFFERSON, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, 

VETERANS’ EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Chairman Akaka, Ranking Member Burr, and Distinguished Members of the 

Committee on Veterans Affairs: Thank you for your service to the Nation, for your 

service to the Veterans community, and for the opportunity to testify before you 

today about the actions we’re taking at the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) to meet our Veterans’ and transitioning 

Service Members’ employment needs. 

Today marks my 100th day of serving as your Assistant Secretary of Labor for 

Veterans’ Employment and Training. The past few months have been busy ones 

spent learning about the agency, determining how to improve our current programs, 

creating necessary new initiatives and developing partnerships with our stakeholders. 

I remain deeply humbled, honored and energized by having the privilege to serve 

our Nation as President Obama’s appointee for this role. Secretary Solis has been 

an incredible source of guidance, wisdom and support, and has made Veterans and 

VETS one of her top priorities. 

During the past 100 days, you and your professional staff have been a tremendous 

source of ideas, wisdom and insights. Thank you. 

As we’re all aware, since the onset of military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, 

over 1 million members of the active duty military have served in these two theaters. Additionally, since September 11, 2001, the Department of Defense (DOD) reports that over 700,000 National Guard and Reserve mobilizations have occurred— 

the largest deployment of the National Guard in the past half century. 

Every day, we are reminded of the tremendous sacrifices made by our servicemen 

and women, and by their families. Our Veterans should be remembered, honored 

and appreciated not just on Veterans’ Day, but every day. One way that we do that 

is by providing them with the best possible services and programs our Nation has 

to offer. Accomplishing this will require seamless collaboration, enhanced communication, and sustained, purposeful action. It’s going to take all of us working together, sharing best-practices and developing innovative solutions to challenging 

problems while constrained by limited resources. 

I am honored to be here today to provide an update on improvements to current 

programs and new initiatives, and to answer your questions. 

BACKGROUND ON VETS

The mission of VETS is to provide Veterans and transitioning Service Members 

with the resources and services to succeed in the workforce by maximizing their emVerDate Nov 24 2008 15:21 Jul 26, 2010 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 H:\111TH HEARINGS\54281.TXT SVETS PsN: PAULIN
10 

ployment opportunities, protecting their employment rights, and meeting labor market demands with qualified Veterans. 

We accomplish our mission through three distinct functions: (1) conducting employment and training programs; (2) enforcing relevant Federal laws and regulations; and (3) providing transition assistance services. 

VETS administers two employment and training programs through formula 

grants to States that directly meet the goals of its mission: (1) the Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program (DVOP) and (2) the Local Veterans’ Employment Representatives (LVER) program. DVOP specialists provide outreach services and intensive employment assistance to meet the employment needs of eligible Veterans. 

LVER staff conduct outreach to employers and engage in advocacy efforts with 

hiring executives to increase employment opportunities for Veterans, encourage the 

hiring of disabled Veterans, and generally assist Veterans to gain and retain 

employment. 

VETS also administers two competitive grant programs. To meet the needs of 

homeless Veterans and help reintegrate them into the workforce, VETS administers 

the Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP). Veterans with significant 

barriers to employment or service-connected disabilities are also served through the 

Veterans Workforce Investment Program (VWIP), which offers innovative training 

and placement services. The program was recently refocused to emphasize training 

and placement in green industries. 

Our enforcement programs investigate complaints filed by Veterans and other 

protected individuals under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), assess complaints alleging violation of statutes requiring Veterans’ Preference in Federal hiring, and implement and collect information 

regarding Veteran employment by Federal contractors. 

VETS’ transition assistance services are offered through the Transition Assistance 

Program (TAP), which provides employment workshops and direct services for separating Service Members, including those who are seriously wounded and injured. 

ASPIRATIONS

Since being confirmed, I have met with Service Members and Veterans, leaders 

in the Federal and private sector, Veterans’ Service Organizations and providers of 

employment and training services to solicit their views on the issues and challenges 

regarding Veterans’ employment. I have incorporated the combination of feedback 

and observations from these discussions into five aspirations that VETS will pursue 

during my tenure as Assistant Secretary in order to achieve our desired outcomes: 

1. Providing Veterans and transitioning Service Members a voice in the workplace 

through serving as the National focal point for Veterans’ employment and training. 

This will involve the following actions: 

a. Increasing awareness, access and participation in VETS programs, and employment outcomes for those participants. 

b. Communicating, convening and collaborating with partners and stakeholders. 

c. Ensuring we effectively serve populations with unique needs, especially 

Veterans and transitioning Service Members who are women, homeless, live in 

rural areas, or are wounded, ill or injured. 

2. Creating a path to good jobs for Veterans through increased engagement with 

employers, with a particular emphasis on the private sector. 

3. Helping Service Members transition seamlessly into meaningful employment 

and careers while emphasizing success in emerging industries such as green jobs. 

4. Facilitating a return to work for Veterans and protecting vulnerable populations through boosting USERRA’s impact by increasing awareness of and commitment to it. 

5. Investing in VETS’ team members and emphasizing continuous improvement 

to further develop their potential and better serve our clients. 

IMPROVEMENTS IN CURRENT PROGRAMS

TAP 

During the confirmation hearing, I promised to do an external review of the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) employment workshop and determine ways to improve it. In addition to presently reviewing TAP’s performance and impact, we are 

also working to identify and incorporate world class content to modernize the workshop, increase its effectiveness and improve participants’ employment outcomes. 

Specifically, we want the content to be more economically relevant, immediately applicable, and engaging for participants. Thus far, we’ve solicited input from external, 

world-class content experts and service providers to help us determine what would 

11 

be a best-practice employment transition program. We are working in close cooperation with our partners at DOD, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the 

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in this endeavor. 

Earlier this month, our three agencies engaged in a weeklong working group to 

develop a joint, multi-year, strategic plan for TAP. We’re all committed to ensuring 

the plan is action-oriented and will have a direct, positive impact on our 

transitioning Service Members. The plan will involve an increased emphasis on the 

employment needs of the Reserve components and Service Members who have been 

wounded, ill or injured. 

USERRA 

VETS recently completed a Lean-Six-Sigma quality enhancement and process efficiency assessment of USERRA, with a view toward streamlining, quality improvement and increasing responsiveness to our Veteran clients. The goals of the assessment were to 1) identify ways of ensuring a consistent, high standard of investigations; and 2) determine other steps to improve the program and its outcomes. We 

have begun work on identifying an electronic case management system to eliminate 

the paper-centric aspect of investigations and improve efficiency. Access to this system will be shared with our Federal enforcement partners. 

We are also working closely with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to 

ensure that the Federal Government serves as a role model for honoring USERRA. 

The Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program and Veterans’ Homelessness 

Secretaries Solis, Shinseki and Donovan share the vision of eliminating homelessness among Veterans within five years. We have strengthened our interagency collaboration at all levels to mobilize for this important and necessary goal. VETS’ contribution to this effort will include the following: 

• Continue reaching out to homeless Veterans and assisting them in becoming reintegrated into the workforce through the Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP). VETS requested a total of $35,330,000 for the HVRP for FY 2010, 

an increase of $9,000,000 (34%) above the FY 2009 funding level. VETS expects to 

serve 21,000 participants in FY 2010. • Through the Incarcerated Veterans Transition Program (IVTP), VETS will continue its efforts to help incarcerated veterans and will coordinate these efforts with 

the Department of Veterans Affairs. Of the $35 million requested for HVRP in FY 

2010, VETS plans to use $4 million for IVTP, which will serve approximately 1,500 

Veterans through 12 grants. • Of the $9 million increase requested for the HVRP in FY 2010, we would use up to $5 million for a major new undertaking—to provide customized employment 

services for homeless women Veterans and homeless Veterans with families. • VETS is collaborating with DOL’s Women’s Bureau, which has already conducted over 60 listening sessions nationwide with homeless women Veterans to 

identify the causes and the solutions for homelessness among women Veterans. 

Their findings will be made available before the end of this year. • We recently conducted a national listening session with service providers, VA, 

the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and other government 

agencies to begin identifying the best practices for serving homeless women Veterans and homeless Veterans with families. We will continue to identify the best 

practices for serving this population, and disseminate them to service providers 

throughout the Nation. 

Jobs for Veterans State Grants 

The FY 2010 request for State Grants is $172,394,000. This level of funding is 

expected to support 2,036 DVOP and LVER positions. We anticipate that this program will serve nearly 653,000 participants. We are also partnering with DOL’s Employment and Training Administration to ensure Priority of Service for Veterans in 

all DOL-funded employment and training programs. Furthermore, VETS is collaborating with VA’s Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) service to provide enhanced services to VR&E participants by out-stationing DVOPs at all 57 

VR&E Regional Offices. 

NEW INITIATIVES

Increased Engagement with Employers in the Public and Private Sector. 

There is tremendous potential and opportunity for increasing engagement with 

employers to increase the hiring of Veterans and Transitioning Service Members. 

This will involve communicating the value proposition for hiring Veterans more effectively; making the hiring process more convenient and efficient; and developing 

hiring partnerships. 

12 

Tremendous strides have been made in the Federal sector. For example: 

1. The Executive Order (EO) titled Employment of Veterans in the Federal Government was issued by President Barack Obama on November 9. It established the 

Veterans Employment Initiative for the executive branch to emphasize the importance of recruiting and training Veterans, increasing the employment of Veterans 

within the executive branch, and helping recently hired Veterans adjust to service 

in a civilian capacity. The EO also established the Veterans’ Employment Council, 

which is chaired by Secretaries Solis and Shinseki, and Vice-Chaired by OPM Director Berry. 

2. VETS is also convening a roundtable with senior representatives from the Departments of Commerce, Veterans Affairs, Small Business Administration and the 

Minority Business Development Agency to streamline agency services; improve communications between the agencies on key Veteran hiring issues; better promote the 

hiring of Veterans, and overall get aligned on the issue of Veterans’ employment 

and determine how we can work together more synergistically and strategically. 

VETS is also developing new relationships with major private sector organizations 

to enlist their advice and support to increase Veterans hiring. 

1. On November 12, Secretary Solis and VETS participated in a major outreach 

initiative to promote Veterans hiring sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce 

Foundation. In addition to serving as a keynote with Secretary Shinseki, this event 

was a major first step in developing a partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in this important area of shared interest. 

2. VETS is also in the process of developing relationships with other important 

business associations, such as the Executive Leadership Council, Young Presidents’ 

Organization-World Presidents’ Organization, Business Executives for National Security (BENS), business roundtables, economic development boards and high-tech 

associations. 

Pilot Programs 

Within the Department of Labor, we are identifying opportunities to collaborate 

with other DOL agencies to pilot new approaches to accelerate transitioning Service 

Members into employment and training. For example, we’re developing accelerated 

hiring initiatives with two of our sister agencies—the Office of Federal Contract 

Compliance Programs and Job Corps—to meet their human talent needs with 

transitioning Service Members and Veterans. Such pilot programs will allow us to 

refine and validate an operational model and identify best practices that can then 

be applied more broadly to other Veteran hiring initiatives. 

Targeted Populations 

There are several populations of Veterans who have been under-served and require special outreach and services. 

1. Native American Veterans, especially those on tribal lands, are one such population. Secretary Solis hosted a Summit of Tribal Leaders at the Department of 

Labor earlier this month that VETS participated in. We discussed the challenges 

facing Native American Veterans and potential solutions. This event began the process of better serving this community. VETS will also be participating in a number 

of major Native American outreach events in 2010. Furthermore, we are conducting 

a study on the employment needs of Native American Veterans living on tribal 

lands to identify best practices for serving this population. 

2. Veterans who have been wounded, ill or injured are another one of our targeted 

populations. In response to the employment needs of these brave heroes, VETS has 

two special initiatives. 

a. Recovery and Employment Assistance Lifelines (REALifelines) provides 

one-on-one services to our wounded warriors to ease their transition into civilian employment. We have special REALifelines coordinators stationed at seven 

military treatment facilities on a full-time basis who provide employment services on those bases and at other nearby facilities. We also have a VETS liaison 

working full-time at Marine Headquarters in Quantico. This year, we established a liaison at both the Department of the Army’s and the Department of 

the Navy’s wounded warrior headquarters. These liaisons will enable seamless 

transition and serve as a gateway to all DOL employment and training services 

available to these wounded warriors. 

b. America’s Heroes at Work (AHAW) is a joint initiative with DOL’s Office 

of Disability Employment Policy. AHAW is an outreach and anti-stigma campaign that educates America’s employers about the simple on-the-job accommodations and steps they can take to help Veterans with post-traumatic stress 

and/or Traumatic Brain Injury to excel in their careers. This program is a 

13 

strong collaboration with DOD, VA and other Federal agencies and stakeholders. AHAW has developed a series of timely educational materials to help 

dispel the myths associated with these conditions and highlight the value these 

wounded warriors still bring to civilian workplaces. The program receives outstanding feedback from both employers and participants. 

Veterans’ Green Energy Jobs Initiative 

In July 2009, VETS awarded 17 competitive grants totaling $7.5 million to provide training and employment services in green energy occupations to approximately 

3,000 Veterans. These grants awards were made under the recently refocused VWIP 

program, with the goal of providing Veterans with training and other services that 

lead to green energy jobs. Fields of employment include energy efficiency, renewable 

energy, modern electric-power development and clean vehicles. This program will 

help Veterans overcome employment barriers and ease their transition into this 

growing industry. 

CONCLUSION

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Burr, and Distinguished Members of the Committee on Veterans Affairs, I reaffirm my commitment to work closely with you, the 

outstanding team at VETS, and our partners and stakeholders to provide Veterans 

and transitioning Service Members the best possible services and programs. Our 

success will be measured by the impact our programs have on helping our Veterans 

find and keep good jobs in today’s modern economy. 

We will continue to work tirelessly and innovatively to help our Veterans and 

transitioning Service Members create meaningful lives, develop rewarding careers 

and become productive citizens and leaders in their communities. 

Thank you again for your unwavering commitment to Veterans and for the support that you’ve been providing to us. 

I appreciate the opportunity to testify before you today and look forward to answering your questions. 

RESPONSE TO POST-HEARING QUESTIONS SUBMITTED BY HON. DANIEL K. AKAKA TO

RAYMOND JEFFERSON, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, VETERANS’ EMPLOYMENT AND TRAIN- ING SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Question 1. Do you believe the availability of 26 weeks of unemployment compensation for separating members of the military contributes to a high rate of unemployment for those who have recently separated from active duty? 

Response. In today’s economy, unemployment compensation is serving a particularly important role in providing a safety net for individuals who are having difficulty finding employment. 

One of the reasons that Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Service Members 

(UCX) is available to individuals who voluntarily leave military service is because 

there is often very little time or opportunity to find a civilian job while performing 

military service. In addition, UCX provides some protection against underemployment by alleviating some of the time pressure related to obtaining employment. This 

helps prevent talented individuals who have been serving their country from having 

to take the first job they can find and instead have time to search for a truly meaningful career. 

Question 2. The Transition Assistance Program, referred to as TAP, was established to meet the needs of separating servicemembers during their transition into 

civilian life by offering job-search assistance and related services. 

Secretary Jefferson, how effective do you believe TAP is in preparing servicemembers for careers in their civilian lives and in what ways, if any, do you intend 

to improve this program to meet its intent? 

Response. Anecdotally, we receive much positive feedback from TAP participants. 

However, there is room for improvement. For example, there is no baseline for 

TAP’s effectiveness. Establishing such a baseline is a priority. We are encouraging 

spouses of separating Service Members to attend TAP employment workshops. Additionally, we will be transforming the content and service delivery, to ensure that the 

program is immediately useful, economically relevant, and engaging to participants. 

We will also assess whether we should increase the timeframe during which Service 

Members and Veterans can access the TAP employment workshop. Also, as stated 

in my testimony, we are working in close cooperation with our partners at the Departments of Defense (DOD), Veterans Affairs (VA), and Homeland Security (DHS) 

(for the U.S. Coast Guard) in improving TAP. Earlier this month, our three agencies 

engaged in a weeklong working group to develop a joint, multi-year, strategic plan 

14 

for TAP. We’re all committed to ensuring the plan is action-oriented and will have 

a direct, positive impact on our transitioning Service Members. The plan will involve 

an increased emphasis on the employment needs of the Reserve components and 

Service Members who have been wounded, ill, or injured. 

Question 3. Secretary Jefferson, one of our witnesses suggested that TAP workshops could be improved by focusing much more attention on the development of 

resumes that better reflect accomplishments and the skills learned while on active 

duty. Since a good resume is the first step in the job search process, what do you 

believe could be done to improve this aspect of the workshops? 

Response. Resume writing is an important part of the job search process, and 

needs to be complemented by increasing skills in interviewing and network development. We will incorporate into TAP the best models for resume writing in the private and public sectors and provide participants with preparation so participants 

can develop concise, compelling resumes that make a positive first impression and 

lead to interviews. 

Question 4. Secretary Jefferson, in your testimony you discuss DOL’s efforts to engage employers and promote the value of hiring Veterans. Does DOL have or plan 

to have any efforts to coordinate with non-government agencies that provide employment services such as some of the groups on our second panel? 

Response. Absolutely. One of our ongoing activities is to engage with and learn 

from public, private and non-profit organizations to identify best practices related 

to transition and Veterans’ employment. One manner in which we will achieve this 

objective is by developing a new and effective model for engaging with employers, 

especially in the private sector. This model will involve reinvigorating the roles and 

responsibilities of our Local Veterans’ Employment Representatives (LVERs), and 

providing them with a new outreach approach. For example, we are creating a paradigm for engaging the private sector through interaction with organizations such as 

local Chambers of Commerce, economic development boards, business roundtables 

and high-tech associations. 

Question 5. It seems to me that we need to be focusing on helping Veterans find 

meaningful and productive careers. What will you do to prioritize this need? 

Response. The need for helping Veterans find meaningful and productive careers 

is one that we keep foremost in our minds on a daily basis. As noted above, one 

manner in which we will achieve this objective is by a new and more effective model 

for engaging with employers, especially the private sector. This model will involve 

reinvigorating the roles and responsibilities of our LVERs, and providing them with 

a new outreach approach. For example, we are creating a paradigm for engaging 

the private sector through regular interaction through organizations such as the 

local Chambers of Commerce, economic development boards, business roundtables 

and high-tech associations. DOL also partners with VA’s Vocational Rehabilitation 

and Employment service and Education service, both of which are established to 

equip Veterans with the education and training necessary to match their skills with 

careers in the private economy. DOL has refocused the Veterans’ Workforce Investment Program into a Green Vets program that emphasizes preparing for and placement into Green Energy Jobs. Additionally, we will continually review our programs 

to determine how they can be enhanced and work to develop more innovative and 

effective approaches. 

Question 6. Secretary Jefferson, it has been said that some of our Nation’s Veterans lack adequate training or education to compete effectively in today’s high tech 

marketplace. Are you exploring ways Veterans can upgrade their skills such as increased training and education? 

Response. Ensuring that Veterans can upgrade their skills through increased 

training and education is of high importance to DOL and VETS. Eligible Veterans 

are entitled to priority service in all DOL funded employment and training programs offered through the DOL/State partnership. Another way that we can facilitate this is by raising awareness of the new GI Bill and the benefits that it offers. 

Other resources include Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment (VR&E) services 

that may be provided by VA to disabled Veterans needing training and/or assistive 

technology to compete in the marketplace. Additionally, we will be working to determine the best way to achieve and highlight accelerated credentialing and certification for Veterans. High-tech skills are particularly important and are often an integral part of green economy jobs. Therefore, we have refocused our $7.5 million 

Veterans Workforce Investment Program, via 17 grants, to train and certify Veterans for green energy sector jobs. 

Question 7. Secretary Jefferson, can you elaborate on how DOL works with service 

providers to ensure that homeless Veterans have the resources to find and maintain 

gainful employment? 

15 

Response. DOL funds over 100 Homeless Veteran Reintegration Program (HVRP) 

service providers and, through these programs, we provide employment training 

workshops. In Program Year (PY) 2010, we expect to provide training and employment services to over 21,000 homeless Veterans. This includes a program focus on 

incarcerated Veterans and homeless women Veterans. We also ensure that our Disabled Veterans Outreach Program specialists (DVOPs) are linked to and support our 

HVRP grantees. VETS also meets regularly with the Veterans Service Organizations (VSO) to discuss a variety of issues to include homelessness, and we work 

closely with VA and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. We also 

support VA Secretary Shinseki’s goal of ending homelessness among Veterans in 

five years. 

Question 8. You testified that one of your office’s new initiatives will focus on 

partnering with the private sector. How do you plan on incentivizing those employers in the private sector to hire Veterans over their civilian counterparts? In other 

words, how would you ensure that recently separated servicemembers can compete 

on equal footing with civilians who, in some case, may have far more training and 

job experience? 

Response. We believe that when employers are aware of the training, experience, 

attributes, and distinctiveness that Veterans and transitioning Service Members 

possess, they will be willing to hire them. Therefore, one of our priorities is to properly articulate and communicate a new, more compelling value proposition. 

Additionally, we are in the process of developing a new model for employer outreach and engagement that places a particular emphasis on the private sector. A 

key element of this model involves having our state directors, DVOPs and LVERs 

engage regularly with leadership from their local Chambers of Commerce, economic 

development boards, business roundtables and high-tech associations. The purpose 

is to increase awareness and access to opportunities for Veterans and to facilitate 

connectivity between Veterans and these employers. 

VETS is also committed to raising awareness of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit 

(WOTC) incentive for hiring unemployed Veterans. The expanded WOTC incentive 

for hiring an unemployed veteran can be as much as $2,400 to $4,800 for the first 

year of employment depending on the category of the target group. We will be raising awareness of this program through our VETS team members nationwide, 

DVOPs and LVERs. 

Further, VETS will also be convening a roundtable with senior representatives 

from the Departments Commerce and Veterans Affairs, Small Business Administration, and the Minority Business Development Agency to get aligned on the issue of 

Veterans’ employment and determine how we can work together more synergistically and strategically. 

Question 9. You mentioned that a major emphasis for your office will be identifying resources that exist in the private and public sectors and, in essence, ‘‘connecting the dots’’ to ensure that Veterans receive the employment assistance and 

services that they need. Do you have a strategy for doing this? 

Response. VETS believes it is important to create a model for Veterans employment that connects supply (Veterans and transitioning Service Members) with demand (employers) and incorporates the following components: TAP transformation, 

marketing a new value proposition for Veteran hiring, licensing and certification, 

skill assessment and translation, and creating a new paradigm for employer outreach and engagement. Creating such a model will involve working in partnership 

with a broad array of stakeholders—especially the private sector—identifying best 

practices and bringing these together in a cohesive, synergistic manner. At this 

point in time, we are developing relationships and are in discussions with relevant 

stakeholders about what the construction of such a model should be. The construction is in its initial phase and we will be pleased to keep you informed as it progresses. 

Question 10. At the August 25, 2009, hearing held in Oahu on returning Guard 

members, you suggested that VA increase its engagement with the private sector 

to help decrease Veteran unemployment. I would like to know what measures have 

been taken toward this goal thus far, and what type of progress has been seen. 

Response. DOL/VETS has been working diligently to improve engagement with 

the private sector as detailed in the response to questions 8 and 9. For example, 

in Hawaii, we have connected our state team, DVOPs and LVERs, with the President of the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce, President of the Better Business Bureau, 

the Executive Director of the Hawaii Science and Technology Council, and other 

leaders in the area of employment. 

Question 11. At that same August hearing you mentioned that VA should consider 

finding a means to provide coverage for Veterans across the Asia-Pacific region, as 

16 

there are no VA staff in more remote locations like Guam, Tinian, and Saipan. What 

measures are you taking to help Veterans in these and other remote areas find employment? 

Response. One of our priorities is ensuring that Veterans in remote location such 

as Guam, Tinian, and Saipan, and in rural locations across America, receive the 

best possible programs and services. We are currently reviewing the issue of resource allocation within this Asia-Pacific region. Additionally, one of the ways we 

ensure these Veterans have the best possible service is by providing them priority 

of service within the DOL One-Stop Career Centers. I have signed a joint policy directive with the Assistant Secretary of the Employment and Training Administration that specifies how priority of service will be implemented. I will be checking 

on its implementation through field visits and site inspections as well as through 

reports from other VETS leaders. This will ensure that Veterans are served first 

and receive priority for training funds. 

Question 12. One of our witnesses this morning from America Works, Inc. operates a pay-for-performance model of employment assistance. Are you familiar with 

this type of model and do you think any lessons learned from this type of program 

might be of value to the State-grant program of D-VOPS and L-VERS? 

Response. We were present to hear firsthand about the operating model of America Works, Inc. One of our on-going activities is to be aware of, and learn from, different models of service delivery. We incorporate these lessons learned in discussions about assessing the merits, impact, and opportunities inherent in different delivery systems. 

Question 13. The National Organization on Disability is conducting a pilot program in conjunction with the Department of the Army to provide assistance to soldiers who are seriously disabled while on active duty. It seems to me that much 

of what they are learning may be of value to your Real Lifeline initiative. What lessons do you think you could learn from this pilot? 

Response. VETS is always looking for ideas and ways to improve the effectiveness, 

efficiency and long term impact of its programs. The NOD model substantiates our 

belief that effective transition assistance to seriously disabled Veterans requires a 

holistic, multi-service model. The role of VETS’ REALifelines program in this model 

is to provide the life and career planning component. Nevertheless, there are other 

necessary components, such as transportation needs, child care, and payment of incidental expenses (e.g. utility bills). REALifelines plays a critical role in the recovery 

and reintegration of severely disabled Veterans. In addition, through a joint initiative between VETS and DOL’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, entitled 

‘‘America’s Heroes at Work’’ (which specifically targets returning Service Members 

with PTSD/TBI injuries, VETS staff have twice met with NOD project staff to discuss areas of collaboration. 

Question 14. What type of ‘‘assessment’’ do DVOPs and L-V ERs carry out to determine whether a Veteran or servicemember is emotionally or mentally ready to 

pursue employment opportunities? 

Response. Our DVOPs and LVERs do not provide professional or formal assessments of a Veteran or Service Member’s emotional or mental suitability for employment. Assessments of this type require a great deal of training and experience and 

are best restricted to licensed practitioners. Our DVOP and LVER staff is trained 

to recognize some of the traits and signs of PTSD and refer individuals having them 

to appropriate professional service providers. Of note, DOL’s relationship with VA 

permits referral of Veterans to VA’s VR&E program for specialized assessments and 

tailored rehabilitation services that will assist them with job readiness training 

leading to successful employment. 

Question 15. How many Veterans were served by the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Programs in FY 2009? 

Response. The program operates on the basis of a program year (July 1-June 30) 

and not a fiscal year (October 1–September 30). During Program Year 2008, which 

began July 1, 2008, and ended on June 30, 2009, HVRP served 13,735 homeless Veterans and placed 7,265 of them into employment. 

RESPONSE TO POST-HEARING QUESTION SUBMITTED BY HON. PATTY MURRAY TO RAYMOND JEFFERSON, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, VETERANS’ EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING

SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Question 1. The recent case of Kirkendall v. Department of the Army, which concerned Veteran’s preferences in Federal employment, highlighted the challenge of 

making sure Veterans’ preferences in Federal employment are uniformly applied. As 

17 

I understand the case, a U.S. Court of Appeals court held that the Army had violated Kirkendall’s right to have his Veteran’s preference considered, after years of 

pressing for his Veteran’s preference status to be applied in a hiring evaluation. 

Do you think the Federal Government or the Department of Labor has a role in 

making it easier for a Veteran to include his Veteran status in the Federal job application process? Does it make sense to explore an automated job application process? 

Does it make sense to explore an automated job application system that includes 

Veterans status? I understand, for instance, that an automated system is already 

configured and tested for DOD and endorsed by the American Legion—is the Department of Labor or other Federal agencies considering the implementation of such 

a system? 

Response. The Federal Government already has access to an automated job applications process. The Department of Labor, as with many other Federal agencies, 

currently has user-friendly processes and procedures in place that make it easier 

for Veterans to apply for Federal positions. The automated job application system 

permits the Veteran to provide specific information about military service and Veterans preference acquired from that honorable service. However, improvements can 

be made. John Berry, Director of the Office of Personnel Management has committed to making improvements to this process and is utilizing his Chief Human 

Capital Officer’s Council to aid in this pursuit. We do not have any information on 

the DOD system referenced in your question, but we will follow up with DOD to 

learn more. 

Chairman AKAKA. Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary. 

Let me ask Senator Begich for any opening remarks that he may 

have. 

STATEMENT OF HON. MARK BEGICH, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM ALASKA 

Senator BEGICH. Mr. Chairman, not at this time. I will just get 

into questions. That is fine. 

Chairman AKAKA. Thank you very much, Senator Begich. 

Secretary Jefferson, you have many resources and tools available 

to you, including all the assets of the Labor Department. And, of 

course, the question is, what else do you need? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes. 

Chairman AKAKA. So my question to you is what one tool do you 

think you are missing that would help you most? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. That is a great question, Senator. Truthfully, it is one that I have reflected on. I would say not a tool that 

I am missing but a tool which I continue to look forward to, which 

is learning what other service providers in the community are 

doing to serve veterans. We are aware of the programs and services 

that we have. We are developing relationships with other service 

providers in government and the private sector and in the non-profit arena. 

But one of the things which is very helpful to me and my team 

and this Committee has been very supportive of that and provided 

tremendous assistance is making us aware of other programs. I 

have recently become aware of Hire America’s Heroes, which Senator Murray recently spoke about. When I look at models like that, 

it gives us ideas on how we can better improve our programs and 

share best practices. 

Chairman AKAKA. President Obama recently signed an executive 

order to establish a Council on Veterans’ Employment. Secretary of 

Labor Hilda Solis has been named co-chair of the new council. 

What will your role and that of Veterans’ Employment and 

Training Services be? 

18 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Well, Senator, this is something that we 

are very excited about—essentially mobilizing the entire Federal 

Government. We will be doing several things. One, we have access 

to the supply, roughly 150,000 transitioning servicemembers every 

year who come through the Transition Assistance Program and our 

2,000 employment representatives and DVOPs and LVERs. So, we 

will be mobilizing them to make the unemployed veterans and the 

transitioning servicemembers aware of this new opportunity. 

We are also going to be working very closely with the other departments to see which are the best practices that are emerging. 

We know that the Department of Homeland Security recently came 

up with a very good Web site that they are using; looking at all 

the different steps that each department is taking to make progress 

on and get the most impact out of this initiative and communicating those throughout the Federal Government, but also really 

emphasizing to make sure that the veterans and servicemembers 

through our staff and the staff we work with are aware of these 

programs and encouraging them to take advantage of this significant opportunity. 

Chairman AKAKA. Over the years, Secretary, Congress has made 

many attempts to reinforce veterans preference laws and to provide 

many veteran hiring authorities to make certain that individuals 

who have served their country have opportunities to continue their 

service in a civilian capacity. However, there are those who would 

suggest that veterans’ preference is not properly honored. 

How will this new council make sure that veterans do receive the 

hiring preferences they have earned? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes. Well, Senator, veterans’ preference— 

we will be emphasizing that as a very important complement to the 

veterans’ hiring initiative. The veterans’ preference is an important 

step that takes place, of course, when the veterans apply for these 

positions, and this council will be emphasizing veterans’ preference 

and the application of that and ensure that it is integrated into all 

of the applications of veterans who are applying for these new 

roles. So, we will be emphasizing its importance throughout the 

Department and ensuring that the potential that it has to help veterans in their employment is fully realized. 

Chairman AKAKA. According to OPM’s latest report, DOL has 

more than 15,000 employees but less than 1,600—that is about 17 

percent—are veterans. What plans do you have to increase those 

numbers? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. A lot. And I just want to reiterate, Senator, that this is a top priority of Secretary Solis. We will be looking at all aspects of the hiring process to make sure that they are 

veteran-friendly, to make sure we will be doing more outreach into 

new communities, and also ensuring that we mobilize all of our top 

facilitators and team members throughout the Nation and also our 

employment representatives to make sure that they are aware of 

all the opportunities in all Federal agencies. 

Specifically, at Labor, we will be looking and working very closely with our H.R. team to develop—through Web sites, through our 

outreach programs—more targeted efforts and messages that speak 

directly to veterans and transitioning servicemembers. This is a 

huge opportunity for us, and it is one we are very excited about. 

19 

Chairman AKAKA. Thank you for your responses. 

Senator Tester? 

Senator TESTER. Thank you, Chairman Akaka. 

Once again, welcome, Assistant Secretary Jefferson. 

Let me touch on a couple things, the incarcerated veterans program that you spoke of, that is in your purview, correct? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes, sir. 

Senator TESTER. We just had a hearing last week in a different 

committee, about 130,000 homeless vets and about 40,000 veterans 

that have come out of incarceration every year. I do not know if 

that figure is absolutely correct. You can probably correct me if I 

am wrong, but there is quite a few. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes, sir. 

Senator TESTER. Could you explain to me what you are able to 

do with that program? Are you able to catch them while they are 

still being incarcerated or is it a program that works with the vets 

only after they get out? Just give me a real brief rundown on what 

it does and how effective it is. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes, sir. This is a program which used to 

be in existence, was not, and we are bringing it back. We are doing 

this in cooperation with the Department of Veterans Affairs. We 

think that there is a holistic approach that needs to be taken that 

involves the employment pieces that I will talk about but also veterans courts, which is something that the VA is making progress 

on. 

Specifically, sir, the model essentially is going into the prisons 

and facilities, providing employment training there. It is not like 

the Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program sites where incarcerated veterans transitioning would come and would live there 

full-time. But we would be going in to provide them employment 

training provide them access to jobs, and take in some of the TAPtype training, which we have, and providing those to the incarcerated veterans so that they can make a seamless transition. 

Senator TESTER. OK. And how long—the program was reestablished when? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. We are in the process right now, sir, of reestablishing that. We are going to have 12 sites and, roughly, we 

have funding to serve about 1,500 incarcerated veterans through 

those 12 sites. 

Senator TESTER. I got you. OK. 

Well, at some point, could you give me a rundown on where those 

sites are? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes, sir. 

Senator TESTER. You do not have to do now, just give it to us 

for the record. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes, sir. 

Senator TESTER. I appreciate that. 

You talked about new content in the workshop for review. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes, sir. 

Senator TESTER. Could you give me an example of what kind of 

new content you have? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Sir, right now, there is a tremendous emphasis on building the resume. What we have been doing over the 

100 days is talking to different experts in the field of transition, in 

20 

areas relating to human development, to look at what can be 

brought in differently; so, more experiential training, training on 

how to develop one’s network, training on what they call how to articulate your value proposition and, also, to have better approaches 

to those topics than the ones we currently have. 

Senator TESTER. OK. Currently, with the Local Veterans’ Employment reps, it is a half-time person for every 350 vets in the region. I think that is correct. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Well, sir, we have our LVERs and DVOPs 

who are serving full-time. 

Senator TESTER. Yes, OK. But you have to have—the information 

I have got is if you have 350 vets—— 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes, sir. 

Senator TESTER [continuing]. That is where you start with a halftime position. If you have more than that, I assume it goes up. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes, sir. 

Senator TESTER. You had talked about—and we can talk about 

outside Indian country in a minute. But you said inside Indian 

country there was a tribal leader summit. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes, sir. 

Senator TESTER. They came forth, hopefully offered you some creative ideas on how you can help them because there are some big 

issues out there. 

I guess the question I have is how do you serve Indian country 

right now, Native American reservations right now? And are those 

leaders part of the equation? And, if so, how is that working? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes. 

Senator TESTER. Are you bringing people from the outside in or 

are you hiring people from the inside? How is that working? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Sir, first let me say that we need to do a 

much better job with this, very candidly, and it is a huge opportunity. We have a study right now, which is talking to a lot of the 

tribal leaders and representatives from different Native American 

groups to give us an accurate present-time assessment of what we 

should be doing. 

But right now, we are providing service through our DVOPs, 

through our LVERs, through our State directors and teams. I have 

asked my regional administrators to spend more time on the tribal 

lands, and we will be working with and connecting with the tribal 

nation leaders to develop new and more effective ways to provide 

that service. 

Senator TESTER. OK. I think, you said it best in your very first 

words when you said, we have got a problem, but there is tremendous opportunity in the solution to that problem. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes, sir. 

Senator TESTER. And I wish you the best. Anything I can help 

you with on with that, I would be more than happy to put you at 

least in contact with folks. 

The Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program, from your perspective, 100 days on the job, how is it working in rural and frontier 

America? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes. Two thoughts, sir. First, we need to 

do a much more effective job with our outreach to employers. And 

that is a new model that I am developing where our DVOPs and 

21 

LVERs are connecting with the Chambers of Commerce in the local 

areas, the high-tech associations, and the economic develop boards 

in bringing them together with the veterans and transitioning 

servicemembers. 

In terms of rural America, sir, I have some thoughts. One is 

partnerships. We need to broaden our capacity, and I have called 

a meeting together with the Corporation for National Service for 

the first 2 weeks of December, which now has a veterans volunteer 

initiative as well as Service Nation, which also have a veterans volunteer initiative. Both of these are—the first is a government agency; the second is supported by the White House—we want to talk 

with them about how we can leverage volunteers to assist us with 

greater outreach to the rural communities. 

Senator TESTER. OK. I am hoping we are having a second round, 

and we will follow up with some more questions. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Thank you, sir. 

Senator TESTER. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. 

Chairman AKAKA. Thank you very much, Senator Tester. 

Senator Begich? 

Senator BEGICH. Thank you very much. 

Secretary, thank you for your work in regards to veterans and 

employment. If I can expand a little bit on Senator Tester’s commentary, being from Alaska, we also have a very strong rural component of our State but also of Indian country. 

I was listening carefully to what you were describing to Senator 

Tester. What it sounds like—and I do not want to put words in 

your mouth and I want this viewed as positive—that there has 

been not an aggressive approach to reaching out to rural communities, especially American Indian country. 

Is that a fair statement? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Senator, when I took office 100 years 

ago—— 

Senator BEGICH. A 100 days ago. [Laughter.] 

I like the way he looks for 100 years. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. It has been a lot of midnights. 

Senator BEGICH. It feels like 100 years, I know. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. But, Senator, I am just not satisfied. 

Senator BEGICH. OK. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. I realize that with the resources we have, 

we have to work—working harder is not going to get it. We have 

to work more innovatively. And I think there are just two key components. The first is the dialog we are having with the Native 

American veterans and tribal leaders; and also, as Senator Tester 

earlier alluded to, broadening that to the representatives of the 

rural community to find out from them what will best serve them. 

Then what I am looking at is partnerships—partnerships with 

other government agencies and, specifically, non-profits. I think 

some of these new veteran volunteer initiatives can be helpful 

there. 

Senator BEGICH. Because this is another issue I am dealing with 

and I know others who have Indian country are dealing it; are you 

familiar with the 8(a) programs? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes, sir. 

22 

Senator BEGICH. Do you see an opportunity that 8(a) programs 

could—in Alaska it is very unique because all our native village 

corporations and corporations have some component of 8(a)s and 

are in the efforts of hiring thousands of people throughout the 

world, literally. 

Do you see that as an opening of opportunity to work with the 

8(a) corporations to look at veteran hires among Indian country 

veterans? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes, sir. One of the things that we are 

doing right now is bringing together the Department of Commerce, 

Small Business Administration, VA’s employment representatives, 

Minority Business Development Agency, and other government 

agencies who work in the area of commerce and also entrepreneurship, to look at how together we can work more synergistically to 

promote more veterans’ employment but also veterans’ entrepreneurship. Programs such as 8(a) can be a very valuable tool to increased hiring not just of Native American veterans but other veterans who are underrepresented in the workplace. 

Senator BEGICH. Very good. One, this is more of a footnote, and 

we will be happy to follow this up with you. You know we have 

DVOPs and LVERs—a pretty good staff—within Alaska, but one of 

the areas that we have a gap is the Regional Technical Assistance 

Center. And that is, we do not have one. Our closest one is in 

Washington State. 

I love my Senator Murray, but we would love also to be considered because of our vastness. As I describe to people, you go from 

Kodiak, AK, kind of in the low-mid interior area, down deeper up 

to the North Slope. That is like going from New York to Louisiana. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes. 

Senator BEGICH. So, is it something if we—I am going to write 

you a note on this. I would like you to kind of give us some feedback. We think the Regional Technical Assistance Center is critical 

for how vast our State is, and we have more and more veterans living in rural Alaska and growing very rapidly. 

So, is that something that you would at least consider looking at 

to see how that fits in? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Sir, we would love to. I welcome that suggestion and any others ideas that you have. 

Senator BEGICH. Great. The other is—and I do not know if this 

falls in your area, but as you do employment and training, what 

do you do in the area—and if you do not, who does—in the area 

of the self-employed? I know a lot of veterans create their own 

business opportunities, and it is a very exciting opportunity, and in 

a lot of ways they are very successful. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes. 

Senator BEGICH. There have been great success stories by selfemployed veterans. What role do you play and what role do you 

think you could play additionally? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Well, the reason I am smiling is this is 

something that I am very excited about. We are working to connect 

Commerce Department, Small Business Administration, and Minority Business Development Administration. One of the things we 

are focusing on is entrepreneurship, promoting veterans’ entrepreneurship. We have broadened our stakeholder outreach for the vetVerDate Nov 24 2008 15:21 Jul 26, 2010 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 H:\111TH HEARINGS\54281.TXT SVETS PsN: PAULIN
23 

erans service organizations. We have broadened the V.O.B.A. that 

serves as the voice of veterans entrepreneurs. 

So, this is a huge opportunity. Helping veterans and 

transitioning servicemembers obtain meaningful careers with large 

or small companies is fantastic. Equally important is emphasizing 

their potential and supporting them to become entrepreneurs in 

their own right. And as the Senator saw from retired Captain 

Dawn Halfaker, many of these veteran CEOs hire extraordinary 

numbers of veterans. In her company, around 200 to 300 employees, 85 percent, are veterans. So, we are going to be really pushing 

and championing veteran entrepreneurship. 

Senator BEGICH. As you progress on that, I would be very interested in that as you have these joint meetings. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes, sir. 

Senator BEGICH. Just because I think there is a lot of opportunity—— 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Significant. 

Senator BEGICH [continuing]. In the role here in the Veterans 

Committee, but I also sit on the Commerce Committee. So, I would 

be very interested in what your thoughts are, and those initiatives. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes. 

Senator BEGICH. Again, in Alaska, 52 percent of our employment 

is driven by small business, self-employed. So I would be very interested in this area. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. I am just pleased to share that the Deputy 

Secretary of Commerce, Dennis Hightower, also a Vietnam veteran, 

is a partner with us in this. We have already been working together seamlessly, and we are also connecting with the Innovation 

and Entrepreneurship Council at the Commerce Department on 

this. 

Senator BEGICH. Very good. Thank you very much. I will see you 

in your next hundred years. 

[Laughter.] 

Secretary JEFFERSON. All right. Hopefully, I will be just as energetic. All right, sir. 

Chairman AKAKA. Thank you, Senator Begich. 

And now we will have questions from Senator Murray. 

Senator MURRAY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Secretary Jefferson, I have held a lot of roundtables around my 

State talking to both veterans and employers about this issue of 

jobs and creating jobs and the obstacles that they face. One of them 

that I hear constantly is how do we match a veteran’s skills and 

their experience with the needs of potential employers. 

I know that as our veterans move through their military careers, 

they gain a lot of really important skills, especially for a lot of 

these mid-level jobs that are available that the employers are interested in. But when a veteran tries to present their skills on a piece 

of paper, on a resume, the transferability of those skills is often 

lost in translation by the time the resume sits in a stack with a 

whole lot of others in front of an employer. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes. 

Senator MURRAY. And I wanted to ask you how you were working with our veterans to help them better translate the skills and 

24 

experience they have into something that they can put on a resume. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes, Senator, what you shared is one of 

the potentially greatest opportunities before us. We are going to be 

doing two demonstration projects with the Employment Training 

Administration to look at how we can do accelerated credentialing 

and certifications, and a component of that will be the translation. 

Truthfully, what I realize is between the supply—the unemployed veterans and transitioning servicemembers—and the demand—the companies, government, non-profit, public sector that 

want veterans—there are a lot of programs and Web sites out there 

that deal with translation, but it is almost confusing. I have gotten 

this feedback from veterans service organizations and from the veterans themselves. 

The huge opportunity is for us to develop a way to bring order 

and some organization to the many efforts to do military skills 

translation into the civilian job needs. So, we are working on that. 

I do not have the answer, but I know that is one of the top questions and a significant opportunity. 

Senator MURRAY. OK. It is not in just how the veterans put it 

on the paper. It is how an employer reads that resume. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes. 

Senator MURRAY. Are we working with employers on that? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Senator, we want to connect with the Society for Human Resource Management to work with the human resource departments, and we will be talking about this in our meeting with the Chamber of Commerce in early 2010 because you are 

exactly right. 

There is an educational element in the human resource departments for them to be able to interpret, translate, match, and allocate the human talent of the veterans. But we also want to start 

on the front end to make sure that veterans make it easy for the 

private sector employers and other employers to know how to best 

leverage their military skills and training. 

Senator MURRAY. OK. Do you have any recommendations how we 

can improve TAP to help our servicemembers? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Significantly. First of all, the content is a 

huge thing. TAP really has not been transformed or really improved since 1992, so we have a program which is roughly 17 years 

old. One of the things is to look at the different topics: how do you 

articulate your value proposition; how do you develop a customer 

service mindset; what are the nuances of succeeding in a civilian 

environment versus a military; and then bringing in the latest best 

practices and thinking. We are talking to different leaders in the 

areas to find out what is the latest thinking, and then presenting 

it in a way in which is engaging so veterans not only learn and find 

immediately applicable content, but they enjoy the experience and 

they become a champion and a spokesman to encourage other veterans. 

So, we are working on that very hard, and I expect that we will 

have information that we can share in early 2010. 

Senator MURRAY. OK. Great. I look forward to that. 

The other part of the equation is our educational institutions. We 

have a program in my home State—the University of Washington 

25 

runs a physician assistant training program. It is called MEDEX. 

It is focused on training people with prior health experience who 

want to get into a new profession in health as a physician assistant. And as part of the program application, veterans with military 

medical training and experience get basic credit toward that PA 

training. 

It is having great results for the students, the veterans, the university, as well as all those communities that those trained people 

then go into, especially in our rural areas. And I think it is a great 

example of how we can match a veteran’s experience with one of 

the real growing needs for our country. 

So I wanted to ask you, first of all, if you are aware of the program, but second, what we are doing with educational institutions 

to accept those kinds of—— 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Right. I was not aware of that program, 

but my special assistant in the back is taking copious notes and we 

will be looking into it after this. 

Senator MURRAY. OK. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. But two things, Senator. The first is working very closely with VA, raising awareness of the new GI Bill as 

we work with our folks in TAP and also unemployed veterans, for 

those who would qualify, making sure they are aware of it. 

But the other part is this, learning from those folks who have the 

need. We have broadened our veterans service organization outreach. We have developed a relationship with the Student Veterans 

of America. This is probably at this point one of the premier, if not 

the premier, veterans service organizations serving the transitioning servicemembers who are on the campuses. We are working very 

closely with them. We have had several meetings to find out how 

we mobilize our resources to support exactly what you are talking 

about, the veterans who are coming back and who are on the campuses right now. 

Senator MURRAY. Because one of the things I hear from veterans 

a lot is they do not get credit at educational institutions for a lot 

of the work and experience they have. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes. 

Senator MURRAY. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. I appreciate the opportunity. 

Chairman AKAKA. Thank you very much, Senator Murray. 

We will do a second round of questions here. 

Secretary Jefferson, I know that the Department submitted comments in writing on S. 1607—— 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes. 

Chairman AKAKA [continuing]. The proposed Wounded Veterans 

Job Security Act of 2009. 

For the benefit of those who may not have had the opportunity 

to review those comments, could you briefly summarize the Department’s view on that measure? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes, Senator. Senator, we want to make 

sure that the overall purpose of the bill, which is ensuring that 

servicemembers who are now working as employees, who have a 

service-connected disability, do not need to choose between work 

and risking losing their jobs by taking time off from work. We want 

to ensure that they are not in that situation. 

26 

At the same time, we feel that the current state of the legislation 

could have a chilling effect, that it could reduce employer’s likelihood of hiring veterans and maybe choose a non-veteran so they do 

not have to worry about losing that person for a portion of time. 

Both of these, ensuring that employers do not have reduced veterans hiring and also protecting our veterans and ensuring that 

they can get the medical attention they need while they are working, are very important priorities. What we would like to do is to 

work with the bill’s sponsors on crafting the legislation so that both 

of these important goals can be accomplished. 

Chairman AKAKA. Secretary Jefferson, do you see any merit in 

making TAP participation mandatory across the service branches? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes. Well, Senator, I know that is a question that we have discussed in the past. I do need to say that we 

honor and respect the Department of Defense’s role in that decision 

to determine if it is mandatory or not. And the area that we want 

to focus on is improving the employment outcomes for those participants but also making it a more engaging program. 

One of the ways—when you have a program which is voluntary 

for all the services besides the Marine Corps, to increase participation is when the word in the servicemember community is that this 

is an outstanding program. 

Chairman AKAKA. Secretary Jefferson, in your testimony, you 

discussed DOL’s efforts to engage employers and promote the value 

of hiring veterans. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes. 

Chairman AKAKA. Does DOL have or plan to have any efforts to 

coordinate with non-government agencies that provide employment 

services such as some of the groups on our second panel? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes. Senator, we are always interested to 

meet service providers, especially in the area of employment, to 

look at ways that we can partner to increase capacity, provide 

stronger outreach, or to share ideas which can result in more best 

practices. 

Chairman AKAKA. It seems that we need to be focusing on helping veterans find meaningful and productive careers. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes. 

Chairman AKAKA. What will you do to prioritize this need? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Sure. Well, Senator, several things. One is 

the outreach that we are doing with employers. So, with the private sector outreach, working with the business associations, making sure that they are aware of the value proposition of hiring veterans and looking to develop targeted partnerships so we can have 

accelerated hiring of veterans. Second, also raising awareness of 

and emphasizing the Federal Government’s hiring initiative. Third, 

there is the work opportunity tax credit, also known as WOTC, 

which provides tax incentives for hiring veterans. We want to work 

with our stakeholders to raise awareness of this among employers. 

Then, the fourth is making sure that there are no veterans lost. 

We have the America’s Heroes at Work program for the returning 

warriors who have PTSD/TBI. We also have the REALifelines for 

those who have had severe injuries. So, we are making sure that 

we capture and serve all and really emphasize the outreach compoVerDate Nov 24 2008 15:21 Jul 26, 2010 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 H:\111TH HEARINGS\54281.TXT SVETS PsN: PAULIN
27 

nent. The employers have the jobs; we want to connect them with 

the veterans and servicemembers. 

Chairman AKAKA. Thank you very much. 

Senator Murray, do you have—— 

Senator MURRAY. I will pass on the second round. 

Chairman AKAKA. Senator Tester? 

Senator TESTER. Thank you, Chairman Akaka. 

Just very quickly, as you could tell by my first round of questions, I have got concerns about rural and frontier areas where veterans live—— 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes, sir. 

Senator TESTER [continuing]. Whether it is with the Homeless 

Veterans’ Reintegration Program, whether it is with the Disabled 

Veterans’ Outreach Program, LVERs and others. 

I mean, 100 days is not very long, a little over 3 months. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes, sir. 

Senator TESTER. Have you really had a chance to sit down and 

evaluate how these programs are working in rural/frontier America? All of Montana is rural. We have got towns of 100,000 that I 

think is a big city, from my perspective. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes. 

Senator TESTER. We have got towns, a lot of towns, of 700, 300, 

150 and so on. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes. 

Senator TESTER. Have you had a chance to take a look and see 

how these programs are working in those areas? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Sir, yes—— 

Senator TESTER. Because 100 days ain’t a lot. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Sir, I have asked for several things. First, 

shortly after being confirmed, I directed my staff to connect with 

VA to see what they are doing, how can we partner, what best 

practices they have. They have a rural initiative, I understand. We 

have learned that it focuses on health, but we are working to see 

what can we do to either share resources, to increase our outreach, 

to bring more employment; is there any way that we can partner 

there. So, recognizing that Veterans Affairs has tremendous resources, that is one. 

Second, through my regional administrators, I have gotten feedback from them and ideas on how we can better serve the rural 

communities. And then third, specifically, going deep with the Native American veterans and the tribal leaders on that. 

The area that I think—the potential here is through partnerships. The question I have asked myself is how do we serve veterans who are geographically disbursed over broad areas, and I 

think two things. One is this new idea I wanted to explore, which 

is working with Service Nation and the Corporation for National 

Service through their veterans initiative to see if we can get some 

real capacity and assistance there. I think that could really be an 

opportunity. 

The second, sir, is leveraging technology. For those who have 

Internet access, looking at how we can do more with technology. 

Very candidly, I am not satisfied yet. This is a priority, and I recognize that we need to come up with more innovative ways and also 

leverage partnerships. 

28 

Senator TESTER. I am not going to put you on the spot on the 

example that I had in my opening, at the very end of it, about the 

veteran that comes back. I think that situation is real, and I think 

it happens a lot. But the whole line of question indicates—it really 

does indicate to me that I really need to get you to places like Montana, Alaska, Eastern Washington, wherever—— 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes. 

Senator TESTER [continuing]. So we can see if that infrastructure 

that you are talking about is even there to be able to partner with. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes. 

Senator TESTER. And then if it is not there, what do we do. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Sir, if your schedule will allow it, I would 

be honored to come after having these meetings at the end of this 

year, to explore these possible partnerships, maybe to connect with 

you and some of the other Senators to talk about ways that we 

can—and obtain insights from yourselves and your staff, show you 

what we have been developing and really develop something which 

will work or at least some pilot programs. 

Senator TESTER. I appreciate that. I appreciate your service very 

much. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. All right, sir. Thank you, sir. 

Chairman AKAKA. Thank you. 

Senator BEGICH. Mr. Chairman, just a quick additional question. 

And thank you, Secretary, for that offer. I think all of us, at least 

this table, would probably take up that offer. I think that is a great 

offer, an opportunity for us to really hone in on what we can do 

in rural and frontier America, and make sure we have the programs that are meeting the needs of our veterans, but especially 

veterans living on Indian country. So, thank you for that willingness. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes, sir. 

Senator BEGICH. This is more of a question, and I do not know 

if there is a real solid answer that you can give at this point. But 

as I was looking at some of the data points, the one that stuck out 

to me was veterans’ unemployment rate. When you look at October 

1980 compared to October 1990, you go from about 4.9 to 11.9. The 

rate just skyrockets. 

Can you give me some commentary on why you think that occurred in that one specific group in a pretty significant way? 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Well, I think there are four reasons why 

we have the high veterans’ unemployment rate, especially for the 

veterans ages 20 to 24. 

Senator BEGICH. And especially in the women category. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes, sir. So actually, with regards to the 

women, I would like to provide more details for the record, if I 

could. 

Senator BEGICH. Sure. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. But some general reasons why we see this 

spike. One is with the increased service overseas, many veterans 

when they come back, they have been in a very stressful situation, 

so they are just taking some time off to transition. They have access to unemployment insurance, so they are using that unemployment insurance to live off of. Some of them have decided to go for 

the new GI Bill, so they are not working and they are waiting to 

29 

enter school. So, those are three of the sources from our feedback 

and assessments as to why we are seeing that rate. 

Senator BEGICH. Very good. And if you could then, for the record, 

I appreciate that, with regards to the women and the change, that 

would be great. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Yes, sir. 

Senator BEGICH. Thank you very much. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman AKAKA. Thank you very much, Senator Begich. 

I want to thank the first panelist and witness, Mr. Secretary, for 

your responses. It will be helpful. We want to continue to work 

closely with you and really move the employment for our veterans 

throughout the country. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Well, Senator, if I can just say in closing, 

we take this very seriously. And there are some things that we are 

making progress on and we feel good about that, but there are 

some other opportunities. We are only going to address these challenges in partnership with your support and with your insights. 

And I just want to acknowledge many members of my team who 

are here today, many members of the veterans service organizations who are an invaluable source of insight, and the other stakeholders. So thank you so much, and we will look forward to the 

next opportunity to brief you. 

Chairman AKAKA. Thank you for your closing statement, and I 

wish you well. 

Secretary JEFFERSON. Thank you, sir. Aloha. 

Chairman AKAKA. Aloha. 

Now, I want to welcome our second panel to the desk. 

Our first witness is Lutz Ziob, general manager for Microsoft. 

The next witness on the panel is Captain Peter ‘‘Bull Frog’’ Wikul, 

USN retired, America Works of New York, Incorporated. Next we 

have Joshua Lawton-Belous, an OIF veteran and business analyst 

at Oracle Corporation. We also have Dexter Daniel, a Vietnam veteran and now a senior event coordinator for Marriott. Our final 

witness on the second panel is Helen Tymes, a career specialist at 

the National Organization on Disability. 

I thank you all for being here this morning. Your full testimony 

will, of course, appear in the record. 

Mr. Ziob, will you please present your testimony first? 

STATEMENT OF LUTZ ZIOB, GENERAL MANAGER, 

MICROSOFT LEARNING, MICROSOFT, INC. 

Mr. ZIOB. Thank you. Good morning, Chairman Akaka, Senator 

Murray, Senators. I really appreciate the opportunity to appear 

here today and discuss matters related to the employment and 

training issues barriers facing our returning veteran servicemembers. 

My testimony today will address from an industry perspective 

the challenges faced, current actions, and opportunities for collaboration. Additionally, I will highlight the importance of what we call 

a tripartite approach: involving government, education, and industry to help ensure that our veterans and their families receive access to the training and education resources they need to transition 

30 

smoothly and successfully into sustainable, family wage civilian 

work. 

In the 21st century, occupations are evolving faster than ever before, largely driven by the rapid pace of technology innovation. Information technology has become so pervasive in the working world 

that almost every job requires some level of IT skills. This transformation gives birth to totally new job categories like a cyber forensic specialist. But it also affects traditional non-IT-related jobs, 

for example, in manufacturing, construction, hospitality, or even 

health care. 

Veterans returning to civilian employment will encounter a new 

world of work whether they find ways into IT jobs or not. They will 

be expected to communicate via e-mail and instant messaging; participate and run virtual meetings; collaborate on projects with team 

members who rarely meet face-to-face, if at all; find and analyze 

data online and demonstrate an aptitude for adapting constantly to 

changing circumstances. 

How we prepare citizens for jobs is rapidly evolving as well. Education itself has changed and veterans will have to become 21st 

century learners. The new world of learning mirrors the new world 

of working. Both worlds heavily rely on the use of information technology. Information technology has consequently grown to be the 

fourth foundational knowledge domain joining our traditional three 

Rs of education. 

Industry and defense have enjoyed a longstanding history of 

sharing talent. Investment in training and education have created 

a few bridges for soldiers to move successfully from civilian to 

Armed Services responsibilities and vice versa. However, evolving 

job responsibilities and requirements and changing hiring expectations make more formalized approaches to creating these bridges 

necessary. 

We need bridges that support accountability and measurability 

in addition to establishing standards of excellence in training and 

development. Amongst U.S. businesses, the most widely accepted 

proof of employee’s technical skills are industry certifications, especially for job seekers without the relevant work experience. Military organizations have also learned to recognize the value of certifications for their workforce needs in addition to formal degrees 

or proven work experience. For example, Directive 8570 from the 

U.S. Department of Defense itself provides for specific job roles, 

funding for industry credentials that meet quality standards under 

the ANSI 17024 accreditation. 

Members of the Armed Forces are taught early in their training 

to rely on experience and mentorship of those cohorts to achieve 

professional excellence. We at Microsoft have witnessed the powerful impact of mentoring veterans first-hand through a joint project 

with veterans at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. 

Working with soldiers on medical hold recovering from injuries, 

volunteers from our Microsoft Certified Trainer community mentored soldiers as they studied for their Microsoft certification examinations. Soldiers were matched with experienced trainers 

whose areas of expertise matched the veterans’ areas of study, thus 

helping the learner soldier to benefit from the mentor’s real-world 

experience and professional background. 

31 

Motivated by the community support, the majority of veterans 

went to tackle the exams successfully. Mentoring and coaching, 

hence, are proven ways for established IT workers to give back to 

the local communities and service communities. I call it a form of 

professional citizenship. Creating mentoring relationships and internships are critically important, especially for younger veterans 

who lack the hands-on experience. 

Another important consideration for current returning veterans 

is the economic stability of their families. Service-disabled veterans 

face the challenge of coping with their injuries in addition to the 

challenge of changing employment. The recent reports of veterans’ 

families receiving food stamps while they are on deployment illustrate the economic challenges of spousal unemployment. We must 

provide immediate career retraining assistance to injured veterans 

early and as part of their convalescence. Rather than waiting for 

months for extended veterans benefits, retraining benefits should 

be accessible to servicemembers before they exit military hospital 

facilities. 

The recent economic events have strained the capacity of career 

education programs at community and technical colleges at a time 

when student demand is, in fact, rising. Meanwhile, unused teaching capacity exists among high-quality private education providers 

faced with reduced demand from their existing commercial customer base. These training institutions have certified trainers, 

well-equipped classrooms and access to state-of-the-art information 

technology. Providing veterans training and certification benefits 

through these private training organizations in partnership with 

other workforce readiness stakeholders is worthy of serious consideration by policymakers. 

Affordable access to modern information technology for teaching 

and learning purpose is of the utmost importance. Programs like 

the Microsoft IT Academy or Cisco Networking Academy program 

ensure that community colleges, technical colleges, and other 

schools have access to the latest technology and curriculum. Additionally, we can quickly expand the capacity for teaching and learning by tapping into the rich system of online courses, virtual classrooms, and online hands on apps. 

In conclusion, there is clear evidence that all jobs that veterans 

are likely to return to in the U.S. market will increasingly be technology rich. Whether these new jobs are in clean or green industries, health care or manufacturing, hospitality or financial services, they all require a certain level of information technology and 

productivity skills if workers are to compete successfully. 

Job-seeking veterans also need improved access to the most current technology instruction combined with hands-on exposure to 

this technology plus real-world experience, for example, in the form 

of mentoring, industry internships and career guidance. To effectively reach a larger group of returning veterans, we clearly have 

to make better use of modern technology. 

We strongly advocate a truly cooperative tripartite approach, especially in times of economic crisis. Public and private sectors need 

to work hand-in-hand with all branches of our Armed Services to 

provide real-world training and highly valued credentials that will 

lead to promising and well-paying careers. We applaud the new GI 

32 

Bill which recognizes the role of private training providers and expanding the availability of industry-supported instructions and certifications. 

We look forward to working with this Committee, other Members 

of Congress, veterans service organizations, and key Federal Government departments to provide our returning servicemembers the 

skills and qualifications that will help them to secure family wage 

jobs of the future. 

This concludes my statement, and I am looking forward to answering questions later on. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Ziob follows:] 

WRITTEN TESTIMONY OF LUTZ ZIOB, GENERAL MANAGER, MICROSOFT LEARNING, MICROSOFT CORPORATION

Chairman Akaka, Ranking Member Burr, and distinguished Members of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to appear before 

you today to discuss matters related to the employment and training issues and barriers facing our returning veteran servicemembers. My testimony today will address, 

from an industry perspective, the challenges faced, current actions, and opportunities for collaboration. Additionally, I will highlight the importance of a tripartite approach involving government, education, and industry to help ensure that our veterans and their families receive access to the training and education resources they 

need to transition smoothly and successfully into sustainable, family wage civilian 

work. 

CURRENT CHALLENGES

In the 21st century, occupations and employment are evolving faster than ever 

before, largely driven by the rapid pace of technology innovation and change. Information technology has become so pervasive in the working world that almost every 

job requires some level of IT understanding and skills. This occupation revolution 

affects non-IT related jobs, like manufacturing, construction, or even nursing, and 

gives birth to new job categories, such as Cyber Forensic Specialist or Enterprise 

Network Architect. 

How we prepare citizens for jobs is quickly evolving as well. Learning itself has 

changed and veterans will have to learn to study and prepare efficiently in the 21st 

century. The new world of learning mirrors the new world of working that EVERY 

veteran returning to civilian employment will encounter, whether they find their 

way into IT jobs or not! They will be expected to communicate via email and instant 

messaging, participate in virtual meetings, find and evaluate data online, present 

their analysis on knowledge-sharing portals, collaborate on projects with team members that rarely meet face-to-face. And hiring managers today are recruiting employees who have project management skills, demonstrate agility, and have an aptitude 

for adapting to new circumstances and challenges. In the new ‘‘flat world’, we are 

constantly developing new skills, using them, and refining them repeatedly. Veterans transitioning into civilian and government jobs face employment challenges 

that require skills and experience in modern information technology. IT has consequently been added as the 4th knowledge pillar side-by-side to the traditional 3 

R’s of basic education. 

LEVERAGING THE SKILLS LINK BETWEEN DEFENSE, EDUCATION AND INDUSTRY

Industry and defense enjoy a long standing history of sharing talent. Investments 

in training and education have created some bridges for soldiers to move successfully from civilian to armed services responsibilities and vice versa. However, evolving job requirements and changing hiring expectations, now make a more formalized 

approach to creating these bridges necessary. We require a bridge building approach 

that adopts accountability and measurement as primary tenets in addition to establishing standards of excellence in training and development. Among U.S. businesses, 

the most widely accepted proof for demonstrating the quality of employees’ technology skills are industry certifications, especially for job candidates without relevant working experience. Military organizations also have learned to recognize the 

value of certifications for their workforce needs. The U.S. Department of Defense 

provides funding for certain job roles in (DOD) Directive 8570 for industry credentials which meet the quality standards of the ANSI 17024 accreditation. We are witnessing a growing trend by DOD and other government agencies to accept industry 

33 

credentials for validating professional skills and capabilities in addition to formal 

degree, and proven work experience. 

VETERANS’ FAMILIES

Another important consideration for current and returning veterans is the economic stability of their families. Service-disabled veterans face the challenge of coping with their injuries in addition to the challenges of changing employment. The 

recent reports of veterans’ families receiving food stamps while they are on deployment starkly illustrate the economic challenges of spousal unemployment. We must 

provide immediate career retraining assistance to injured veterans early and as part 

of their convalescence. Rather than waiting months for extended veterans’ benefits, 

retraining benefits should be accessible to servicemembers before their exit from 

military hospital facilities. We must also extend these career training benefits to 

spouses of military veterans in order to maximize their chances for employment in 

family wage jobs while their veteran spouse adjusts to re-entering the workforce. 

COACHING, COMMUNITY AND INTERNSHIPS

Members of the Armed Forces are taught early in their training to rely on the 

experience and mentorship of their cohorts to achieve professional excellence. 

Microsoft’s experience working with veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 

allowed us to witness firsthand the powerful impact of mentoring veterans. Working 

with soldiers on Medical Hold recovering from a variety of injuries, volunteers from 

the Microsoft Certified Trainer community mentored soldiers as they studied for 

their Microsoft Certification examinations. Soldiers were matched with a trainers 

whose areas of expertise matched the veteran’s areas of interest, thus helping the 

learning soldier to more deeply connect with the mentor while benefiting from the 

mentors’ real-world experience and professional capabilities. Motivated by this community support, the majority of the veterans went on to take their first exam successfully in December 2008. 

Mentoring and coaching are effective forms of professional citizenship and a proven way for established IT workers to give back to their local and Services’ communities. Support for programs that encourage coaching and foster community support 

for veterans should be supported by government initiatives and contributions. A system for the creation of mentoring relationships and internships to develop handson experience is critically important especially for younger veterans. As evidence 

from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows, inexperienced veterans in the age 

range of 18–24 years are particularly vulnerable to long term unemployment. 

EXPANDING CAPACITY

Recent economic events have further strained the capacity of career education 

programs at community and technical colleges and universities at a time when student demand is rising across the country. Meanwhile, unused teaching capacity exists among high-quality private education providers faced with reduced demand 

from their existing commercial customer base. Leading technology companies, including Microsoft and its network of thousands of partners in the U.S., rely on the 

established network of over 350 private education providers to train and certify 

150,000 to 200,000 technology professionals in the U.S. annually. These training institutions have fully qualified, certified trainers, well-furnished and equipped classrooms and access to state-of-the art information technology products. Providing veterans training and certification benefits through these private training organizations, in partnership with other workforce stakeholders, is worthy of serious consideration by policymakers. The expanded tuition benefits included in the New GI Bill 

are a big step in the right direction of providing access to more training options for 

returning servicemembers. I applaud the pioneering work of the Members of this 

Committee in creating these new opportunities. 

ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY

Access to state-of-the art information technology for teaching and learning purposes is of utmost importance, but it needs to be provided in an easily accessible, 

cost efficient way. Programs like Microsoft IT Academy and Cisco Networking Academy Program ensure that community colleges, technical colleges and other schools 

have access to the latest technology, software, curriculum and industry certification 

exams. 

We can expand our capacity for teaching and learning by tapping into the rich 

system of online learning courses, virtual classrooms and online hands-on-labs. 

Technology learning and workforce development training are already provided as ofVerDate Nov 24 2008 15:21 Jul 26, 2010 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 H:\111TH HEARINGS\54281.TXT SVETS PsN: PAULIN
34 

ferings ‘‘in the cloud’’—or in plain English: students and teachers can access curriculum, data storage, hardware and software as a hosted service online. 

We know from our experience that veterans are also interested in setting up their 

own businesses. As new entrepreneurs, they need help and support. In addition to 

understanding how to use information technology effectively, they also need convenient, affordable access to the latest technologies that will help them to start their 

own business and keep it growing. Understanding the needs of new entrepreneurs, 

Microsoft has launched BizSpark, a program that provides full access to the latest 

Microsoft technology for startups free of charge while they are striving to reach profitability. BizSpark eliminates the need for cash investments in information systems 

early in the startup phase of their business, allowing funds from programs such as 

Small Business Administration to be used for other critical business related investments. 

CONTINUING THE MOMENTUM

Moving forward, Microsoft endorses the recommendations made earlier by the National Center for Women & Information Technology, and offers additional ideas for 

intervention. In their ‘‘Elements of a Military Pathways Program’’ proposal, NCWIT 

makes recommendations for an education program that employs the skills of returning members of the military who have already received non-traditional IT education 

as a part of military service: 

• The requirement that each member of the military have his/her Lifetime Education Plan to better provide them with the required education to assist transition 

into the civilian population. 

• The requirement that all advisors at National Veterans Training Institutes be 

certified in providing information on higher education in IT. 

• Remote learning opportunities for active duty members of the military in which 

credit earned could be applied to the completion of a four year or higher education 

degree in IT. 

• The substitution of on-the-job training for the coursework requirement in preparation for IT licensing exams. 

• Financial incentives for colleges, universities, and authorized organizations to 

institute this program and provide on-campus IT-tailored mentoring. 

While we have made some progress in these areas since this proposal was first 

presented, more can be done to address the immediate needs of veterans, including: 

• Promoting learning plans that link military occupation specialties for job roles 

to civilian job roles. 

• Awareness campaigns for military personnel and employers around the skills 

bridges being built between military and civilian jobs. 

• Early access to separation training benefits to reduce the number of veterans 

dependent on Unemployment Compensation for Ex-servicemembers (UCX) 

• Assuring access to industry certification programs will not only secure the 

prompt restoration to duty following uniformed service as required by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, but will also keep 

those who serve at the top of their careers after prolonged deployments. 

MICROSOFT ENGAGEMENTS FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Microsoft invests in skills programs for workforce development in three primary 

areas: programs for underserved communities, programs among and for educational 

institutions and programs for jobs creation through entrepreneurship. 

Programs for Underserved Communities 

Microsoft Unlimited Potential 

By working with partners to create relevant training opportunities and innovative 

tools for people who are underserved by technology, we believe we can help foster 

social and economic opportunities that change people’s lives and transform communities. As part of the Microsoft Unlimited Potential commitment, our employability 

and workforce development programs support organizations that work to ensure 

that individuals have the IT skills they need to succeed in the 21st-century workplace. 

For nearly a decade, Microsoft has been working with nonprofit organizations 

around the world to support technology skills training programs in local communities. Our corporate donations of cash, software and free training curriculum have 

helped ensure that millions of individuals have access to the training and education 

resources they need to begin developing the technology skills that employers seek 

in our 21st-century workplace. 

35 

Examples include: 

Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County; Seattle, WA: The Workforce Development Council (WDC) projects connect businesses and job seekers by 

providing the necessary resources and tools for successful employment, lifelong 

learning, and business development. Microsoft Unlimited Potential funding supports 

WDC technology implementation and training efforts across the state to ensure a 

strong and vital economy. 

Iredell Statesville Community Enrichment Corporation; Statesville, NC: A Microsoft Unlimited Potential grant enabled the Iredell Community Technology Institute’s 

CTLC to open lab number 4, run in partnership with the Boys & Girls Club of Piedmont. Low-income and underserved communities are benefiting from the training 

designed to prepare students to meet future the job market demands with a special 

emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, coupled by robust tools 

that include the Unlimited Potential curriculum and basic computer skills. 

Mission West Virginia; Hurricane, WV: The Build It, Keep It, Share It Program 

(BIKISI) received a multi-year Microsoft Unlimited Potential grant to support education in underserved and unemployed local communities. Without Microsoft support, Mission West Virginia would not be able to fund training in Digital Literacy. 

With more than 1,500 people having received their Digital Literacy certificates in 

the last year alone, this program provides a beneficial training opportunity for local 

residents. 

Microsoft Elevate America 

As a continuation of our commitment to helping individuals develop the skills 

they need for success in the workplace, we launched Microsoft Elevate America in 

February 2009. 

Elevate America is an initiative designed to provide one million Microsoft ELearning courses and select Microsoft Certification exams at no cost to recipients. 

Microsoft works with a designated agency in each state to implement Elevate America and ensure that the training benefits are delivered effectively and efficiently. 

Elevate America will be implemented in cooperation with states across the country 

as part of our overall effort to help train 2 million people over the next three years. 

Through Elevate America, individuals receive ‘‘vouchers’’ that are redeemable, at 

no cost, for Microsoft online learning courses and industry recognized certification 

exams. The learning offered through Elevate America is available at beginning, intermediate and advanced levels so individuals can select the trainings most appropriate for their needs. Microsoft certification exams are offered in Microsoft Windows and Office, the programs that are in most demand from employers across industries and across sectors. 

Completing these training programs and achieving a Microsoft certification, together with other training and support helps make an individual more employable 

and more prepared to meet the demands and needs of the 21st-century workplace. 

To date, Elevate America has been implemented in: Washington, Virginia, Illinois, 

Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi and Missouri. We are in discussions with a number of 

states and expect additional launches in the coming months. 

Programs Among and for Educational Institutions 

Microsoft partners with education communities around the world to deliver a relevant and effective scalable set of technologies, services and programs that focus on 

building digital literacy for all individuals. Microsoft’s Community Technology Skills 

Program has reached over 160 million people around the world since 2003, while 

the Partners in Learning effort has reached 135 million people in the same time period. Together, these two programs alone have reached more than a quarter of a 

billion people in less than a decade. 

In addition to the reach and scale that these numbers imply, when people are 

trained on internationally recognized standards and certifications, cross-country 

skills matches are possible, a critical component of economies wishing to develop 

knowledge workers who will be competitive in the global marketplace. 

Along with Microsoft training and certification, the consistency of the platform 

and its resources give policymakers, learners and educators peace of mind that their 

investments in training and education are secure and will keep pace with technology as it develops. 

Microsoft is passionate about facilitating the success of each educator and learner 

and expanding the power of education for all through personalized learning. The following programs are excellent starting points for discussions on how partnering 

with Microsoft can drive universal digital enablement in cost-effective ways in the 

21st century. 

36 

Microsoft Partnerships for Technology Access (PTA) 

Microsoft Partnerships for Technology Access (PTA) helps governments achieve 

policy objectives through public-private partnerships (PPPs) that deliver technology 

solutions to underserved communities and students. PTA’s guiding principle is that 

technology can be a powerful enabler of development goals when driven by country 

stakeholders, embedded in public services and delivered through a network that 

leverages the strengths of the public and private sectors. In education, Microsoft 

PTA programs look to provide educators and learners with access to training and 

technologies to facilitate learning, increase digital teaching skills, and prepare for 

the future. 

The mission of Microsoft PTA is to make PCs relevant and affordable to citizens 

everywhere through public-private partnerships (PPPs). 

Microsoft Community Technology Skills Program 

The Microsoft Community Technology Skills Program works with partners to create training opportunities for people underserved by technology: 

• Cash grants, software and specialized curricula for non-profit community technology centers. 

• A framework for institutions to deliver IT skills to communities that previously 

would not have had access to these skills. 

• Students in these communities the opportunities to gain essential computer 

skills that will equip them to compete more effectively in the job market. 

• Support for stronger community based organizations providing IT skills for lifelong learning. 

Microsoft Digital Literacy Curriculum 

Microsoft has two key initiatives which address lifelong learning and skills development: Partners in Learning (PiL), and Unlimited Potential (UP). These are complemented by the Microsoft Digital Literacy curriculum, which builds on the existing 

two initiatives. 

Microsoft Digital Literacy focuses on teaching and assessing basic computer concepts and skills so that people can use computer technology in everyday life to develop new social and economic opportunities for themselves, their families, and their 

communities. The program offers: 

• A curriculum of 5 e-learning courses, 5 online assessments and a certificate test, 

totaling 30 hours of learning to equip students, faculty and staff across all disciplines with a standard, internationally recognized level of computer skills. 

• Accessible, easy to use, self paced introduction to the basics of computing. 

• Learners develop the essential skills needed to use computers with confidence 

whether at work or for personal use. 

Microsoft IT Academy 

The Microsoft IT Academy program enables academic learning institutions to connect the world of education to the world of work by enabling faculty and students 

to acquire new technology skills in an academic setting. Microsoft IT Academies 

benefit from world-class Microsoft curriculum and cutting-edge software tools to experience real-world challenges in the classroom environment. Microsoft IT Academy 

can help to create a future-ready, IT literate workforce to meet the demands of a 

job market that is now global and more competitive than ever. The program offers: 

• Access to Microsoft software and resources with academic pricing for Microsoft 

certification exams. 

• Online curricula for academic institutions to provide work related IT skills. 

• Students the opportunity to develop the relevant IT skills to progress and develop in the work place. 

• Internationally recognized qualifications. 

• A platform for future personal development. 

Microsoft Students to Business 

The Students to Business (S2B) program is a Microsoft Community Initiative designed to connect Microsoft partners and customers with qualified students for 

entry-level and internship positions. 

The objective of the S2B program is to inspire local businesses to communicate 

the competency requirements for new talent, to evaluate the skills of students ready 

for an entry-level job or internship and collaborate with Microsoft and local education institutions to provide the curriculum and training needed to ensure students 

are prepared to meet the innovation needs of company’s around the globe. 

37 

Students engaged in S2B benefit from unique mentoring, training and certification opportunities. Various offerings are available to students at each stage of 

S2B—when profiling, in application and after their job connection. 

Programs for Entrepreneurs 

BizSpark 

BizSpark is an innovative global program designed to unite startups and resources to support them into a single community. BizSpark is uniquely designed to 

help startups engaged in software development, by offering Software, Support and 

Visibility: 

• Software: BizSpark provides fast and easy access to Microsoft tools and technologies, for their immediate use in design, development, testing, demonstration, 

and hosted application production and deployment; • Support: Professional Technical Support from Microsoft, including, for entrepreneurs working with early adopter technologies: access to unlimited email support, online training and invitations to local technical events. Examples of early 

adopter technologies: Windows® 7, Microsoft® Silverlight, Windows® Azure and 

Microsoft® SQL Server 2008 as well as a connection to Network Partners, organizations that provide programs, mentoring and other resources to Startups; • Visibility: The opportunity for global visibility on the MicrosoftStartupZone Web 

site via the BizSparkDB, an online Startup directory, hosted on http:// 

www.microsoftstartupzone.com/bizspark. 

CONCLUSION

There is clear evidence that all jobs that veterans are likely to return in the U.S. 

labor market will increasingly be technology rich. Whether these new jobs are in 

clean or green industries, health care, hospitality or financial services, they will all 

require a certain level of information technology and productivity skills if workers 

are to compete successfully for these family wage jobs. Making broader use of portable, industry-led certifications and credentials is critically important to ensuring 

up-to-date skills, business relevance and employability. 

Given the fast pace of technology innovation and the ever changing requirements 

of our modern workplace, we have to make better use of modern technology to scale 

workforce readiness and instruction to a larger group of veteran job seekers. Much 

of this learning and instruction will be facilitated by information technology, with 

online and distance learning offerings likely to become the prevalent form of skills 

acquisition. 

To be successful, especially in times of economic crisis, we need a truly cooperative, tripartite approach where the public and private sectors work hand-in-hand 

with all branches of our Armed Services to provide the kind of efficient, real-world 

training and credential solutions that will lead to attractive, well-paying careers. 

For the new skills and workforce readiness paradigm to be successful, veterans 

need better access to the most current technology instruction, combined with handson experience of the technology, plus real-world advice, for example in form of mentoring, internship and career guidance provided by private teaching organizations. 

We applaud the new GI Bill as a huge step in the right direction. It provides 

funding for private training providers and recognizes their role in expanding the 

availability of up-to-date, industry supported skills instruction and certifications. 

The nimbleness of their course offerings, their qualified trainer availability, and 

their existing classroom and assessment capacity, enhance workforce readiness provisions across the country while at the same time maximizing scarce public resources. At Microsoft, we believe that building effective bridges for our returning servicemembers into civilian employment is morally the right thing to do for our veterans—but it also is a vital business imperative and in fact, increasingly a matter 

of national security for our country. 

We look forward to working with this Committee, other Members of Congress, veteran’s services organizations, and key Federal Government departments to rethink 

how, why and where we provide for the re-skilling of our returning servicemembers 

to better enable them to secure family wage jobs of the future. I know all of us in 

this room are committed to working in partnership to realize this laudable and critically important goal. 

This concludes my statement. I would be pleased to answer any questions the 

Members of the Committee may have. 

Chairman AKAKA. Thank you very much, Mr. Ziob. 

And now we have the statement and testimony of Captain Wikul. 

38 

STATEMENT OF CAPTAIN PETER ‘‘BULL FROG’’ WIKUL, U.S. 

NAVY (RET.), DIRECTOR, AMERICA WORKS OF NEW YORK, INC. 

Captain WIKUL. Chairman Akaka, Aloha. Ranking Member Burr, 

distinguished members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ 

Affairs, Good morning. 

Chairman AKAKA. Good morning. 

Captain WIKUL. On behalf of America Works of New York, Inc., 

Chief Executive Officer Dr. Lee Bowes and, founder, Mr. Peter 

Cove, I would like to express our gratitude for the opportunity to 

be here today to address the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ 

Affairs about our veterans’ employment programs. 

My name is Captain Pete Wikul. I served 39 years and 4 months 

in the U.S. Navy, 38 years as a Navy SEAL. I was known as the 

Bull Frog, which is a title used to refer to the longest serving U.S. 

Navy SEAL on active duty. I recently retired on October 1. In 1988, 

I was honored to share the Nobel Peace Prize as one of the few 

U.S. Naval officers assigned to the United Nations military observer group in Lebanon. I am here today as Director for America 

Works veterans programs. 

America Works is a private, for-profit, performance-based workforce development firm that has placed hard-to-serve populations in 

employment since 1984. We get people jobs. We are right down in 

the trenches. We have helped low-income individuals and public assistance recipients across a broad demographic spectrum become 

self-sufficient by obtaining and retaining jobs—not just getting 

them but keeping them—or improving on their career positions. We 

work with Americans who are on public assistance, receiving food 

stamps, the formerly incarcerated, youths aging out of foster care, 

the homeless and sheltered, non-custodial parents, people living 

with HIV/AIDS and veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. 

America Works was the pioneer company whose work led to the 

1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation 

Act, moving national welfare programs from subsistence to back-towork programs. To date, America Works has placed over 175,000 

hard-to-serve individuals into jobs in cities across the United 

States. That is 175,000 jobs in 25 years. That is a very good metric. 

We currently have offices throughout New York State, New Jersey, Maryland, and California, and soon in North Carolina and 

Pennsylvania, and now I am an office of one in Washington, D.C. 

Why veterans? Over the last few years, America Works has seen 

a growing number of veterans coming into our offices seeking employment. These veterans come to us through our homeless programs, food stamp programs, welfare programs and frequently 

through our ex-offender programs. 

Concerned about our country’s heroes rapidly sinking into the 

depths of poverty, we began researching what services were available for veterans. We found that while the Department of Veterans 

Affairs states that nearly 200,000 servicemembers separate from 

the military each year, and right now another 200,000 veterans are 

incarcerated, there are few to no direct employment service provided to veterans by either the Department of Veteran Affairs or 

by the Department of Defense. 

At a time when our national unemployment rate tops 10.2 percent and the national poverty rate grows every day, we need to proVerDate Nov 24 2008 15:21 Jul 26, 2010 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 H:\111TH HEARINGS\54281.TXT SVETS PsN: PAULIN
39 

vide better enhanced services to the men and women who risk their 

lives for our country. In order to do this, America Works has begun 

leveraging funds from other national-scale programs to provide 

services to some of the veterans in most need, but still significantly 

more needs to be done. 

The types of veterans we serve. Currently, we serve veterans 

through several different programs. We actively serve veterans receiving public assistance, food stamps, veterans who have HIV/ 

AIDS, veterans receiving SSI and SSDI benefits, formerly incarcerated veterans, veterans who are non-custodial parents, and homeless and sheltered veterans who participate in our Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program, the HRVP. 

While it seems we are serving many veterans through our numerous programs, we lack the funding to provide preventative direct employment services so that veterans do not have to become 

homeless or receive welfare or steal for their food to be in our programs. It is too much of a tragedy to allow these veterans to languish on poverty after they have given everything they could for 

our country to not provide them better services. 

Our model. So what is the answer? How do we provide appropriate, effective and timely services for veterans from transition onwards? The answer is work-first programs that provide direct, 

rapid attachment to the workforce. These are not programs that 

provide training for a job that does not exist, and these are not programs that refer veterans to Web sites where they can virtually 

apply to jobs for which they will not receive a call back. These are 

programs that directly link the veteran—the man or woman, who 

has served and protected us—to a real, live job that exists in the 

job market right now. We get them interviews so they can get on 

the job immediately. 

To ensure performance, the government only pays these programs after the veteran is actively working on the job. There is no 

room for error in this model because if you cannot get people jobs, 

you simply lose the program. These programs do not make money 

until the veteran, him or herself, is making money. These concepts 

have been the bedrock upon which America Works has been built. 

This bedrock has led to over 175,000 individuals obtaining and retaining employment across the United States. 

What we have learned. Through our work with these amazing 

servicemen and women, we have learned many lessons that should 

be taken to heart. First, our Nation’s veterans want to work. Our 

veterans will certainly experience difficulties and hardships, but 

they want to work and continue to be the breadwinner for themselves and their families. 

In the first 9 months of 2009, we have placed over 180 veterans 

in employment in New York City with an average hourly salary of 

approximately $10. That is above the minimum wage, so that is 

good. And we did the majority of this without even having a direct 

veteran funded program. 

Second, there is an exigent need for direct employment services 

for veterans. While veterans are motivated, many cannot find employers and they will struggle with barriers that will prevent them 

from successfully obtaining and retaining employment on their 

own. 

40 

Performance-based contracted services are needed to effectively 

provide job placement service to veterans today. Our veterans are 

fighting with over 20 million other unemployed Americans for a 

limited amount of jobs, and they deserve a leg up in the competition. 

Third, companies are not only willing to hire veterans but actively seek out veterans to employ. The problem is one of time and 

resources. Companies need to fill positions quickly, and they do no 

have the resources to advertise at length for veteran-only employment opportunities. Through a service like ours, companies can call 

us up and ask us to fill jobs with veterans that same day, and that 

is how we get them interviews. 

Finally, the VA alone should not be the only champion in this 

fight to implement employment programs of the breadth and scale 

necessary for today’s veteran population. We believe that through 

strategic partnerships, the Department of Defense, the Department 

of Veteran Affairs, and private contractors can provide performance-based transition programs and assist in programs to current 

veterans nationwide. 

Our recommendations. We have four, and I will finish this up 

quickly. We recommend the following steps to be taken immediately to help our veterans from today onwards. 

One, we need to design and provide specific direct-service employment programs to aid in transitioning today’s military into successfully employing veterans. This service should be offered from 

transition onwards and would work in collaboration with current 

services, including the Transition Assistance Program and vocational rehabilitation. These programs will be pay-for-performance 

to ensure that our servicemen and women obtain and retain civilian employment. 

Two, in light of the number of wounded warriors returning from 

our 21st century conflicts, we need to provide these direct employment services to spouses and dependents of veterans. A wounded 

warrior needs his family to heal, but he or she also needs income 

to provide stability. We propose to offer these employment programs for the spouses and dependents of wounded warriors nationwide. This can begin by working with families who are staying at 

Fisher Houses as well as wounded warriors beginning the healing 

process. Jobs will be found to accommodate caring for the wounded 

warrior while also providing economic stability. 

Three, the U.S. Department of Labor has designed specialized 

employment programs for veterans, and these need to be expanded. 

In particular, the Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program has 

provided much needed help to homeless veterans nationwide. This 

program should be expanded to help thousands of other homeless 

veterans. Programs for incarcerated veterans should also be provided nationwide to address the particular needs of incarcerated 

veterans. 

Finally, let us show you an America Works veterans’ employment 

program. In D.C. today, there are over 30,000 veterans and an unemployment rate of 11.4 percent. Allow America Works to provide 

a direct employment program here in Washington, DC, to some of 

the unemployed veterans and show you that our model works. With 

$1 million in funding, we can place and retain at least 200 veterans 

41 

in permanent employment. We could bring you 200 success stories 

on this day next year, and I will have it done before then. 

As a veteran and brother in arms with the men and women I 

have met in America Works programs, I ask you today to make a 

real change for veterans and their families nationwide. Our servicemen and servicewomen have served us, and it is now our responsibility to serve them. 

One final thing. On the way over here to testify, I was walking 

across from Union Station, and I saw the homeless sleeping out on 

the benches. And I stopped to one of them, and he was a wearing 

a fatigue jacket with 101st Airborne symbol. So I asked him. I said, 

‘‘Are you a veteran?’’ And he looked at me, and he said, ‘‘Yes, sir.’’ 

And so I stopped to talk to him, and I said, ‘‘Are you homeless?’’ 

He said, ‘‘Yes, sir.’’ ‘‘Do you have a job?’’ ‘‘No, sir.’’ 

So we chatted a little bit, and I took out my wallet and I gave 

him a 20-dollar-bill. And I said, ‘‘I would like you to have a nice 

lunch, God bless you,’’ and I walked away. 

This needs to be fixed, and I aim to help fix it. 

Chairman Akaka, Ranking Member Burr, and Distinguished 

Members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, thank 

you very much for your time. 

[The prepared statement of Captain Wikul follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF RETIRED CAPTAIN PETER ‘‘BULL FROG’’ WIKUL, DIRECTOR, AMERICA WORKS OF NEW YORK, INC. 

Chairman Akaka, Ranking Member Burr, and Distinguished Members of the U.S. 

Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, good morning. 

On behalf of America Works of New York, Inc. Chief Executive Officer Dr. Lee 

Bowes and Founder Mr. Peter Cove, I would like to express our gratitude for the 

opportunity to be here today to address the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs about our Veterans Employment Programs. 

My name is Captain Pete Wikul. I served thirty nine years in the United States 

Navy. I was known as the ‘‘Bullfrog’’ which is a title used to refer to the longest 

serving US Navy SEAL on active duty. I recently retired on October 1st. In 1988 

I was honored to share the Nobel Peace Prize as one of the few US Naval Officers 

assigned as a United Nations Military Observer in Lebanon. I am here today as Director for America Works Veterans’ Programs. 

WHO WE ARE

America Works is a private, for-profit performance-based workforce development 

firm that has places hard-to-serve populations in employment since 1984. We have 

helped low-income individuals and public assistance recipients across a broad demographic spectrum become self-sufficient by obtaining and retaining jobs, or improving their career positions. We work with Americans who are on public assistance, 

receiving food stamps, the formerly incarcerated, youths aging out of foster care, the 

homeless and sheltered, non-custodial parents, people living with HIV/AIDS and 

Veterans of the United States Armed Forces. 

America Works was the pioneer company whose work led to the 1996 Personal 

Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, moving national welfare 

programs from subsistence to back-to-work programs. 

To date, America Works has placed over 175,000 hard-to-serve individuals into 

jobs in cities across the United States. We currently have offices throughout New 

York State, New Jersey, Maryland, and California, and soon in North Carolina and 

Pennsylvania. 

WHY VETERANS

Over the last few years America Works has seen a growing number of Veterans 

coming into our offices seeking employment. These Veterans came to us through our 

homeless programs, food stamps programs, welfare programs, and frequently 

through our ex-offender programs. Concerned about our country’s heroes rapidly 

sinking into the depths of poverty, we began researching what services were availVerDate Nov 24 2008 15:21 Jul 26, 2010 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 H:\111TH HEARINGS\54281.TXT SVETS PsN: PAULIN
42 

able for Veterans. We found that while the Department of Veterans Affairs states 

that ‘‘nearly 200,000 servicemembers separate from the military each year’’ and that 

right now another 200,000 Veterans are incarcerated, there are few to no direct employment services provided to Veterans by either the Department of Veteran Affairs 

or by the Department of Defense. In a time when our national unemployment rate 

tops 10.2% and the national poverty rate grows every day, we need to provide better, enhanced services to the men and women who risk their lives for our country. 

In order to do this, America Works has begun leveraging funds from other national 

scale programs to provide services to some of the Veterans in most need, but still, 

significantly more needs to be done. 

TYPES OF VETERANS WE SERVE

Currently, we serve Veterans through several different programs. We actively 

serve Veterans receiving: 

1. Public Assistance 

2. Food Stamps 

3. Veterans who have HIV / AIDS 

4. Veterans receiving SSI and SSDI Benefits 

5. Formerly Incarcerated Veterans 

6. Veterans who are Non-custodial parents 

7. Homeless and Sheltered Veterans who participate in our Homeless Veterans’ 

Reintegration Program (HVRP) 

While it seems we are serving many Veterans through our numerous programs, 

we lack the funding to provide preventive, direct employment services so that Veterans do not have to become homeless or receive welfare or steal for their food to 

be in our programs. It is too much of a tragedy to allow these Veterans to languish 

in poverty after they have given everything they could for their country to not provide them better services. 

OUR MODEL

So what is the answer? How do we provide appropriate, effective, and timely services for Veterans from transition onwards? The answer is work-first programming; 

programs that provide direct, rapid attachment to the workforce. These are not programs that provide training for a job that doesn’t exist and, these are not programs 

that refer Veterans to Web sites where they can virtually apply to jobs for which 

they will not receive a call back. These are programs that directly link the Veteran, 

the man or woman who served and protected us, to a real live job that exists in 

the job market right now. To ensure performance, the government only pays these 

programs after the Veteran is actively working on the job. There is no room for error 

in this model because if you can’t get people jobs, you simply lose the program. 

These programs don’t make money until the Veteran, him or herself, is making 

money. These concepts have been the bedrock upon which America Works has been 

built. This bedrock has led to over 175,000 individuals obtaining and retaining employment across the United States. 

WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED

Through our work with these amazing servicemen and women, we have learned 

many lessons that should be taken to heart. First, our Nation’s Veterans want to 

work. Our Veterans will certainly experience difficulties and hardships, but they 

want to work and continue to be the breadwinner for themselves and their families. 

In the first nine months of 2009, we have placed over 180 Veterans in employment 

in New York City with an average hourly salary of approximately $10.00. And we 

did the majority of this without even having a direct Veteran funded program. 

Second, there is an exigent need for direct employment services for Veterans. 

While Veterans are motivated, many cannot find employers and they will struggle 

with barriers that will prevent them from successfully obtaining and retaining employment on their own. Performance-based contracted services are needed to effectively provide job placement services to Veterans today. Our Veterans are fighting 

with over 20 million other unemployed Americans for a limited amount of jobs and 

they deserve a leg up in the competition. 

Third, companies are not only willing to hire Veterans but actively seek out Veterans to employ. The problem is one of time and resources. Companies need to fill 

positions quickly and they don’t have the resources to advertise at length for Veteran-only employment opportunities. Through a service like ours, companies can call 

us up and ask us to fill jobs with Veterans that same day. 

43 

Finally, the VA alone should not be the only champion in this fight to implement 

employment programs of the breadth and scale necessary for today’s Veteran population. We believe that through strategic partnerships, the Department of Defense, 

the Department of Veteran Affairs and private contractors can provide performancebased transition programs and assistance programs to current Veterans nationwide. 

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS

We recommend the following steps be taken immediately to help our Veterans 

from today onwards: 

1. We need to design and provide specific, direct service employment programs to 

aide in transitioning today’s military into successfully employed Veterans. This service should be offered from transition onwards, and would work in collaboration with 

current services, including the Transition Assistance Program and Vocational Rehabilitation. These programs will be pay-for-performance to ensure that our service 

men and women obtain and retain civilian employment. 

2. In light of the number of wounded warriors returning from our 21st century 

conflicts, we also need to provide these direct employment services to spouses and 

dependents of Veterans. A wounded warrior needs his family to heal, but he or she 

also needs income to provide stability. We propose to offer these employment programs for the spouses and dependents of wounded warriors nationwide. This can 

begin by working with families who are staying at Fisher Houses as their wounded 

warriors begin the healing process. Jobs will be found to accommodate caring for 

the wounded warrior while also providing economic stability. 

3. The United State Department of Labor has designed specialized employment 

programs for Veterans, and these need to be expanded. In particular, the Homeless 

Veterans’ Reintegration Program has provided much needed help to homeless Veterans nationwide. This program should be expanded to help thousands of other 

homeless Veterans. Programs for incarcerated Veterans should also be provided nationwide to address the particular needs of incarcerated Veterans. 

4. Finally, let us show you an America Works Veterans Employment Program. In 

DC today, there are over 30,000 Veterans, and an unemployment rate of 11.4%. 

Allow America Works to provide a direct employment program here in DC to some 

of the unemployed Veterans to show you that our model works. With $1 million in 

funding, we can place and retain at least 200 Veterans in permanent employment. 

We can then bring you 200 success stories on this day next year. 

As a Veteran and brother in arms with the men and women I’ve met at the America Works programs, I ask you today to make a real change for Veterans and their 

families nationwide. Our servicemen and women have served us; it is now our responsibility to serve them. 

Chairman Akaka, Ranking Member Burr, and distinguished members of the U.S. 

Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, thank you for your time. 

RESPONSE TO POST-HEARING QUESTION SUBMITTED BY HON. DANIEL K. AKAKA TO

RETIRED CAPTAIN PETER ‘‘BULL FROG’’ WIKUL, DIRECTOR, AMERICA WORKS OF

NEW YORK, INC. 

Question. In your testimony you stated that, to provide appropriate, effective, and 

timely services for Veterans from transition onwards, programs must provide direct, 

rapid attachment to the workforce. You also stated that programs that refer Veterans to Web sites where they can virtually apply to jobs for which they will not 

receive a call back are not adequate programs. With limited resources to provide 

personal services to all servicemembers and veterans in need and the increased use 

of the internet, can you suggest ways to improve on Web sites that offer employment assistance to make them more appropriate, effective, and timely? 

Response. While the internet has received increased usage and tremendous improvements over the past two decades, the internet is not a substitute for human 

services. The internet can match resumes to employers, but much more goes into 

the hiring process than just a resume. For instance, if an employer is seeking a 

young, energetic individual to help grow his/her business, the personality of potential employees may receive more attention than the skills and work experience on 

the resume itself. The key to finding long term, stable employment with true career 

ladders for an individual goes well beyond the work history documented on a resume. 

Moreover, dependence on an internet based job search is extremely limiting, and 

is an isolating experience. A benefit of the world of work is its role in our socialization, helping employees learn and improve their own work, as well as team based 

44 

goal setting and achievement. Reliance on a wholly internet based employment program leaves the Veteran, who was used to doing everything in a team setting, to 

sit alone and go through the difficulties of job search in isolation. This leads to increased severity of PTSD and Depression, and provides greater barriers to employment in the long term. 

Additionally, employers struggle with internet based ‘‘job matching’’ systems, receiving hundreds, if not thousands, of resumes for a few open positions. Since they 

do not have time to review all the resumes, they are left with networking to find 

an employee, or choosing from a brief sampling of all the resumes. This process does 

not give a Veteran the ‘‘leg up’’ in the competition he/she deserves, and does not 

provide the best service possible to the employer. 

Instead of pouring all too limited funding into internet based programming, America Works provides ‘‘performance based’’ programs, which provide immediate assistant to both Veterans and employers, bringing the human element back to human 

services. Since its programs are performance based, funds are not wasted because 

America Works is not paid until a Veteran is employed and retained in the job for 

a given time. This programming is fast-paced, and proves to save thousands of dollars in funding due to the rapid attachment to work, leading to rapid reduction in 

the assistance needs of Veterans. 

For instance, for a Veteran to receive a partial disability payment is $4,200 every 

6 months, his/her family to receive Food Stamps to supplement the lack of income 

is another $1,362 every 6 months, and for the Veteran to receive PTSD/Depression 

treatments for 6 months the cost is, on average, $4,221, for a total of $9,783. Additionally, if the Veteran seeks out Vocational Rehabilitation services from the VA, 

the cost for 6 months is another $7,774.76, and a Section 8 Voucher for 6 months 

is valued at $25,559.14 in NYC. This is a total of $43,116.90, and the Veteran still 

does not have a job. On the other hand, America Works’ programs cost between 

$5,000 and $7,500 per person depending on job retention and earnings levels, for 

a total cost to the government of $4,315 (subtracting taxes from taxable wages 

equaling $3,185 for 6 months of $10/hr at 35 hours per week). This provides a cost 

savings of $38,801.90 per Veteran, and does not disrupt the current DVOP/LVER 

funding (which provides for an average per DVOP/LVER cost of $85,655.22). 

Needless to say, for a program that is of no risk to the government because payments are not given unless the work has already been done, it seems economically 

sensible especially considering the limited resources available, to rely on sensitive, 

effective, in-person based programming which saves funding both in the short and 

long term. Web sites can be improved to provide support to programs and employers, but they cannot replace the human services element of recruiting and hiring. 

Chairman AKAKA. Thank you, Captain Wikul. 

Mr. Lawton-Belous, your testimony, please. 

STATEMENT OF JOSHUA LAWTON-BELOUS, IRAQ VETERAN 

AND BUSINESS ANALYST, ORACLE CORPORATION 

Mr. LAWTON-BELOUS. Chairman Akaka, Honorable Members of 

this Committee, I appreciate being here before you to testify about 

transition services that are provided to America’s men and women 

serving in uniform. 

These services are oftentimes overlooked when considering how 

to make a servicemember’s transition from the military to civilian 

life successful, yet the services provided by programs like the Army 

Career Alumni Program, commonly referred to as ACAP, and Transition Assistance Program, commonly referred to as TAPs, are in 

some respects the most crucial elements to a servicemember’s successful transition. 

As a former soldier who used programs like ACAP extensively 

during my recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and as 

an interviewer for Oracle Corporation’s Wounded Warrior program, 

I have had the unique experience to both understand the process 

of transitioning as servicemember and the important end result, 

the resume. 

45 

While the Army Career Alumni Program at Walter Reed Army 

Medical Center and throughout the rest of the Army should be the 

first stop for all soldiers transitioning out of the Army, the ACAP 

office is all too often relegated to a check-the-box function because 

of command decisions which often inhibit or prohibit the ability of 

a soldier to obtain career separation counseling in a timely manner. 

This inability to obtain timely career separation counseling has a 

detrimental ripple effect. Due to the inability of soldiers to discuss 

their transitioning and career prospects with transition services, 

many soldiers are provided with limited career counseling and 

therefore assemble generic resumes. These generic resumes are 

competitive with neither those resumes that are assembled within 

the industry or by those at colleges and universities. 

Since these resumes are not competitive, soldiers do not obtain 

jobs that they believe themselves qualified for. This inability to obtain qualified employment reinforces a belief by those soldiers who 

remain in the military that transition services add no value to 

their transition and therefore are not worth fighting with their 

command to obtain. 

Due to the average age of those enlisting in the military, few of 

them understand the opportunities and culture of the civilian 

workforce. While these servicemembers have often earned roles and 

responsibilities that few of their civilian counterparts have obtained, many veterans do not realize, until they have obtained 

their first civilian job, the value of their experiences during their 

military careers. 

To these veterans, it was normal for a 21-year-old sergeant to 

counsel, supervise and establish goals for a team of five other soldiers. Without understanding the unique nature of their military 

careers, veterans do not translate the important aspects of their 

military careers into civilian language because they have not yet 

grasped what skills, characteristics, experiences, et cetera, that employers are looking for. 

Yet even if ACAP and TAPs were given the highest priority for 

servicemembers who are separating from the military and those 

separating servicemembers were able to translate their military experience into civilian language, many veterans would still be missing a crucial aspect of every resume, education. 

America’s current labor market requires those seeking employment to have either a degree or industry-standard certifications, if 

not both. The reality for many enlisted members of the Armed 

Forces, specifically Marines and soldiers, is that upon leaving the 

military, they lack both the degree and industry-standard certifications. While veterans are rightly given preference in certain career fields, the lack of formal education often prevents them from 

obtaining employment even in the Federal Government. 

If we as a country are serious about wanting to decrease the unemployment situation among veterans, our government must take 

the following steps: One, fix the Post-9/11 GI Bill payment debacle. 

Two, strengthen the importance of formal education while still in 

the military. Three, enforce a military command structure that 

supports those servicemembers transitioning out of the military. 

Chairman Akaka, Honorable Members of this Committee, I am 

humbled by being here before you to testify about transition servVerDate Nov 24 2008 15:21 Jul 26, 2010 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 H:\111TH HEARINGS\54281.TXT SVETS PsN: PAULIN
46 

ices that are provided to America’s men and women serving in uniform. I thank you for listening, but more importantly, I thank you 

for your continual support of veterans and those still wearing the 

uniform of our country. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Lawton-Belous follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF JOSHUA LAWTON-BELOUS, IRAQ VETERAN AND BUSINESS

ANALYST, ORACLE CORPORATION

Chairman Akaka, Ranking Member Burr, Honorable Members of the Committee, 

I appreciate being here before you to today testify about transition services that are 

provided to America’s men and women serving in uniform. My name is Joshua 

Lawton-Belous and I am a recently medically discharged veteran who served two 

tours in Iraq. Currently, I am a business analyst at Oracle Corporation. I believe 

that the transition services that I am here to speak about today are often times 

overlooked when considering how to make a servicemember’s transition from the 

military to civilian life successful. Yet the services provided by programs like the 

Army Career Alumni Program referred to commonly as ACAP and Transition Assistance Program commonly referred to as TAPs are in some respects the most crucial elements to a servicemember’s successful transition. As a former soldier who 

used programs like ACAP extensively during my recovery at Walter Reed Army 

Medical Center, and as an interviewer for Oracle Corporation’s Wounded Warrior 

Program, I have had the unique experience to both understand the process of 

transitioning a servicemember and the important end result—the resume. 

While the Army Career Alumni Program at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 

and throughout the rest of the Army, should be the first stop for all soldiers 

transitioning out of the Army, the ACAP office is all too often relegated to a ‘‘check 

the box’’ function because of command decisions made at different levels, which inhibit or prohibit, the ability of a soldier to obtain career separation counseling in 

a timely manner. This inability to obtain timely career separation counseling has 

a detrimental ripple effect. Due to the inability of soldiers to discuss their transitioning and career prospects with transition services many soldiers are provided 

with limited career counseling and therefore assemble generic resumes. These generic resumes are competitive with neither those resumes that are assembled by 

those within the industry or by those at colleges and universities. Since these resumes are not competitive soldiers do not obtain jobs that they believe themselves 

qualified for. This inability to obtain qualified employment reinforces the belief by 

those soldiers who remain in the military, that transition services add no value to 

their transition and therefore are not worth fighting with their command to obtain. 

Due to the average age of those enlisting in the military, few of them understand 

the opportunities and culture of the civilian workforce. While these servicemembers 

have often earned roles and responsibilities that few of their civilian counterparts 

have obtained, many veterans do not realize until they have obtained their first civilian job, the value of their experiences during their military careers. To these veterans it was normal for a 21-year-old Sergeant to counsel, supervise, and establish 

goals for a team of 5 other soldiers. Without understanding the unique nature of 

their military careers, veterans do not translate the important aspects of their military careers into civilian language, because they have not yet grasped what skills, 

characteristics, experiences, etc. that employers are looking for. 

Yet even if ACAP and TAPs were given the highest priority for servicemembers 

who are separating from the military, and those separating servicemembers were 

able to translate their military experiences into civilian language, many veterans 

would still be missing a crucial aspect of every resume-Education. America’s current 

labor market requires those seeking employment to have either a degree or industry 

standard certifications, if not both. The reality for many enlisted members of the 

Armed Forces, specifically Marines and Soldiers, is that upon leaving the military 

they lack both a degree and industry standard certifications. While veterans are 

rightly given preference in certain career fields, their lack of formal education often 

prevents them from obtaining employment even in the Federal Government. 

If we as a country are serious about wanting to decrease the unemployment situation among veterans, our government must take the following steps: (1) Fix the 

Post-9/11 GI Bill payment debacle; (2) Strengthen the importance of formal education while still in the military; and (3) Enforce a military command structure that 

supports those servicemembers transitioning out of the military. 

Chairman Akaka, Ranking Member Burr, Honorable Members of the Committee, 

I am humbled by being here before you to testify about transition services that are 

provided to America’s men and women serving in uniform. I thank you for listening, 

47 

but more importantly I thank you for your continual support of veterans and those 

still wearing the uniform of our country. I look forward to answering any questions 

you may have. 

Chairman AKAKA. Thank you very much, Mr. Lawton-Belous. 

And now we will have the testimony of Dexter Daniel. 

STATEMENT OF DEXTER DANIEL, 

U.S. ARMY VIETNAM VETERAN 

Mr. DANIEL. Mr. Chairman, very good morning, Senate Committee Members, I thank you very much for allowing me to share 

my testimony with you this morning. 

My name is Dexter Daniel, and I am a U.S. Army veteran. I was 

honorably discharged in October 1976 after a 5-year tour in Germany. My primary MOS was 73C20, finance payroll specialist. And 

upon my release, I looked forward to returning home even though 

I knew in my heart I had multiple apprehensions. On the outer appearance, I looked great to immediate family members who hadn’t 

seen me for quite some time. But even though I knew that my family members would be glad to see me, there was a war raging inside of me. 

Throughout my entire tenured time in Germany, I actively became involved with alcohol and drugs during social times. Initially, 

I never addressed—I want to reemphasize, I never addressed any 

of my addiction to drugs or my behavioral problems that I was 

experiencing. 

When I did return home, because of lack of knowledge of addictive behavior, I really began getting into a lot of difficult-type situations. I really had no problem gaining employment, and I had no 

real difficulty in the aspect of convincing people that I would probably be the most qualified person to work for them. However, keeping a job and being responsible became my real problems, and 

eventually, it ended up being my demise. 

As my addiction progressed, my self-esteem and self-worth plummeted, and I eventually became alienated, homeless, and destitute. 

Throughout these times, suicidal thoughts visited me far too often, 

and I was engulfed to the core of my being in anger, resentment, 

and fear. I had a culmination of 31 years active addiction, 26 years 

of incarceration, 17 years of homelessness, 18 years of being unemployed along with family alienation and society withdrawal. Those 

were the consequences of my choices, my ignorance, and my 

rebellion. 

In 1999 while facing multiple drug-related criminal charges, I 

completely surrendered to the reality of my condition and my circumstances. I needed help, and I appealed to the circuit court judge 

that would preside over my case. If I was convicted—and I absolutely knew in my heart that I was guilty of all charges—my sentence would be 120 years, which would be life. 

By the divine grace and mercy of God, through fervent prayer, 

and the intervention of drug court in the State of Maryland and inclusion and acceptance into the Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training center, I was given an alternative to prison 

and renewed opportunity for a restored life. 

Regeneration into society would take time, so I became fully engaged in the structure of the program, which included the folVerDate Nov 24 2008 15:21 Jul 26, 2010 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 H:\111TH HEARINGS\54281.TXT SVETS PsN: PAULIN
48 

lowing: foundational concepts, spiritual steps, 12-step program, and 

applications of recovery. Mental and physical stabilization was 

available with a reconnection with the VA. 

Job readiness, training, and placement assistance also became 

available as I began to transition on. Financial management, I felt 

that that was extremely important because as a financial payroll 

specialist, I really never had a problem getting money. The problem 

was managing it and knowing exactly what to do. 

Housing referral assistance also became available. Family reconciliation, which is something that is very, very important to me 

because I alienated my family for so long, which I had a daughter 

and she never really knew her dad. And finally, aftercare—primary 

and general aftercare—is available to me even up to this day. 

So, today I humbly and I honestly confess that my heart is filled 

with hope, my life is filled with love, and my soul has a focus and 

renewed strength. I have remained drug free and incarceration free 

since 1999. I have completed all the requirements stipulated by the 

circuit courts of Maryland, and I remain an alumnus of the Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training center. 

In addition, I am also so blessed—and I mean that sincerely— 

very, very blessed to be employed as a senior event service supervisor within the hospitality industry as was aforementioned, the 

Marriott. They gave me a tremendous opportunity. They knew of 

my background, and when I applied with them, I primarily wanted 

them to see and understand that the person that was before them 

today was not the person that I used to be. And I wanted a full 

consideration of who I am today with the hope of who I would like 

to become tomorrow if they gave me an opportunity. 

Again, through prayer, that opportunity came my way, and I continue to give back in several areas. I am allowed to be able to correspond with others that are still in various programs as well as 

the Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training to give 

them opportunities as well; to show them that it is possible for a 

veteran to be able to heal. And I have been able to—or been empowered to accomplish many numerous personal, professional, and 

social goals. 

Finally, it is my hope that current and future veterans seize 

their opportunity to integrate into society as acceptable, responsible, and productive citizens. I am eternally grateful to God for 

touching the hearts of those who were and still are willing to support veterans with compassion, constructive dialog, and goodwill. I 

also believe that the economy and the integrity of the United 

States of America can and will recover through dedication, teamwork, and personalized effort. Thank you, and God bless you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Daniel follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF DEXTER H. DANIEL, U.S. ARMY VIETNAM VETERAN

My name is Dexter Daniel and I am a U.S. Army veteran. I was honorably discharged in October 1976 after a 5 year tour of duty in West Germany. My primary 

MOS was 73C20, finance payroll specialist. Upon my release, I looked forward to 

returning home even though I knew in my heart I had multiple apprehensions. On 

the outer appearance, I looked great to immediate family members who had not 

seen me for some time and even though I had left the military, a ‘‘war’’ was still 

raging inside of me. Throughout my tenure in Germany, I actively became involved 

with alcohol and drugs during social times. Initially, I never addressed my addiction 

when I returned home due to a lack of knowledge regarding addictive behavior. 

49 

When applying for employment, I had no real difficulty getting a job; however, keeping a job and being responsible eventually lead to my demise. As my addiction progressed, my self esteem and sense of worth plummeted and I eventually became 

alienated, homeless and destitute. Throughout these times, suicidal thoughts visited 

me far too often and I was engulfed at the core of my being with anger, resentment 

and fear. A culmination of 26 years of incarceration, 17 years of homelessness and 

18 years being unemployed along with family alienation and society withdrawal 

were the consequences of my choices, ignorance and rebellion. 

In 1999, while facing multiple drug related criminal charges, I completely surrendered to the reality of my condition and circumstances. I needed help and appealed 

to the Circuit Court Judge that would preside over my case. If convicted, my sentence would be 120 yrs. Life! 

By the divine grace and mercy of God and through fervent prayer and the intervention of Drug Court and inclusion of acceptance into the Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training Center, I was given an alternative to prison and a 

renewed opportunity to restore my life. Reintegration into society would take time 

so I became fully engaged in the Structure of the program which included the 

following: 

1. Foundational concepts, steps and applications of Recovery 

2. Mental and Physical stabilization 

3. Educational Assistance 

4. Job readiness, training and placement assistance 

5. Financial Management 

6. Housing referral Assistance 

7. Family Reconciliation Assistance 

8. Primary and General Aftercare 

Today, I humbly and honestly confess that my heart is filled with hope, my life 

is filled with love and my soul has a focused renewed strength. I have remained 

‘‘drug free’’ since 1999, completed all requirements stipulated by the Circuit Courts 

and remain an Alumnus of the Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training Center. In addition, I’m so blessed to be employed as a Sr. Event Services Supervisor within the Hospitality Industry since March 2001 with a Fortune 500 global 

Hotel Corporation. I have been empowered and have accomplished numerous renewed personal, professional and social goals. 

Finally, it is my sincere hope that current and future Veterans seize their opportunity to integrate into society as acceptable, responsible and productive citizens. I 

am eternally grateful to God for touching the hearts of those who were and still are 

willing to support Veterans with compassion, constructive dialog and goodwill. I also 

believe that the economy and integrity of the United States of America can and will 

‘‘recover’’ through Dedication, Teamwork and Personalized effort. 

Chairman AKAKA. Thank you very much, Mr. Daniel. 

Now we will hear from Ms. Tymes. 

STATEMENT OF HELEN TYMES, CAREER SPECIALIST, 

NATIONAL ORGANIZATION ON DISABILITY (NOD) 

Ms. TYMES. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee. 

My name is Helen Tymes, and I am a career specialist with the 

National Organization on Disabilities in Fayetteville, NC. My partner Dwayne D. Beason, Sr. and I staff the North Carolina office of 

the NOD Army Wounded Warrior Career Demonstration Program. 

The two of us are both veterans. Mr. Beason served 30 years in the 

U.S. Army, and I served 21. I was pleased to accept this invitation 

today to testify. 

NOD is a 28-year-old non-profit organization that has long 

worked to improve the quality-of-life with disabilities by advocating 

their fullest inclusions in all aspects of life. The NOD board, led by 

the former Secretary of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge, decided 

that for the next 5 years, NOD will devote the bulk of our resources 

to promoting economic self-sufficiency among America’s 33 million 

working-age people with disabilities. 

50 

Within this focus, we are helping the most severely injured veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan to become productive contributing members of society. We are doing this by helping them enter or resume a career and/or education upon their return home. NOD is proud to assist by providing proactive, hightouch services individualized to one-quarter of the AW2 veteran 

population in North Carolina, and at this time, it is at 270. 

Our AW2 careers demonstration is an entirely privately-funded 

initiative conducted by NOD under a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Army and its Army Wounded Warrior program, also known as AW2. Today, NOD career specialists ensure 

that career services and other assistance is provided to over 180 

soldiers, veterans, and their families in the Dallas Metroplex, and 

the States of Colorado and North Carolina. We link soldiers, veterans and family members to existing services in various agencies 

within the community. 

Many observers still expect veterans to live out their lives independently. However, we at AW2 and at NOD strongly believe that 

most of these young men and women can become independent contributing members of society. This is the Army’s admirable vision 

for its AW2 soldiers and veterans. Our mission is to help veterans 

return to school and to some form of work. 

The Nation placed these young men and women in harm’s way, 

and now we have an obligation to support their successful transition into the community and to learn via this program what works 

in the transition process from the military to the civilian sector. 

I would like to give just one small example of some of the situations that we are serving as far as our veterans today that have 

served in the global war on terror. 

With our assistance, we are serving a veteran right now who has 

been given a 70 percent disability by the Army and 100 percent 

disability with the VA. During the initial interview that we do, we 

were able to discover that the veteran was not being paid his full 

retirement benefits and immediately we had to go to his advocate 

to let them know. 

It became apparent during this visit that the veteran was suffering from some degree of PTSD—which he was diagnosed with 

PTSD and TBI—in which the veteran could not remember some of 

the basic things about himself. He had lost his DD–2 form, his retired military identification form, and he could not recall his Army 

Knowledge Online password, which he needed that to access his 

MyPay account. The veteran was also unable to access other services that were available to him. 

As career specialists, we were able to individually take this veteran to the places that he needed to go. We escorted him to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base to get his DD–2 form and his retired 

military ID. The career specialist also assisted the veteran with obtaining a new password for his MyPay and assisted with getting 

his pay straightened out. 

The NOD career specialists program provides immediate realtime assistance and problem resolution for veterans and their family members. We get the name of the veteran and family referred 

to us from the AW2 advocate—which North Carolina is staffed with 

eight—and the career specialist. We make the initial contact. 

51 

We work closely with the veterans. We perform an assessment 

of the veteran’s needs and help develop education and training 

goals associated with a specific career plan. We are mobile, often 

visiting the veteran at his home and traveling to various local, 

State and Federal agencies to make face-to-face contact instead of 

merely waiting for agencies to return phone calls. 

As you may know, certain veterans’ conditions such as PTSD 

and/or TBI can cause severe stress, frustration, and anger. As the 

career specialist, we often relieve such anxiety by accompanying 

the veteran to various appointments and helping that veteran get 

the information that they need from the specific agency. 

This personalized approach and commitment typifies the nature 

of the NOD model. To date, approximately one-half of the cases 

managed by the NOD career specialists have been placed in education, training, or employment. NOD career specialists are privately funded by organizations such as the Kessler Foundation and 

the Cumberland Community Foundation. This funding also allows 

us to provide immediate financial assistance to veterans for textbooks, educational supplies, utilities, moving expenditures and 

even transportation needs. We also collect data on our activities 

and the progress of the 180 veterans that we serve. We are also 

assembling lessons learned and best practices associated with our 

model. 

The model for the NOD AW2 careers program is a proactive approach. We provide continuous and prolonged support to the veterans that we do assist. We develop an individualized career plan 

and administer interest inventories. We assist veterans with making realistic career choices and goals. We assist veterans to help 

them stay on track with goals, and we continually follow up and 

reassess. Our proactive and prolonged relationship allows us to 

gain the trust of our veterans, and we believe it accounts for the 

high positive results that we have had thus far. 

In closing I would like to state that we strongly believe in our 

proactive and prolonged approach to serve our veterans. Our model 

ensures that we provide high-touch, individualized, personalized 

services to our veterans. This allows and helps with successful outcomes. 

NOD asks that the Committee support funding for the expansion 

of our collaborative program. We would like to see our collaboration 

effort with the Army expanded to many more locations and to also 

serve other military services. NOD hopes to continue to collaborate 

with the Veterans’ Affairs Committee regarding program results 

and broader application of the model’s best practices. 

I thank you for this opportunity today. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Tymes follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HELEN TYMES, CAREER SPECIALIST, NATIONAL

ORGANIZATION ON DISABILITY (NOD) 

Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee: I am Helen Tymes, Career Specialist 

with the National Organization on Disability. My partner, Dwayne Beason, and I 

staff the North Carolina office of the NOD’s Army Wounded Warrior Career Demonstration Program, or AW2 Careers. I was pleased to accept your invitation to testify before your hearing on ‘‘Easing the Burdens Through Employment’’ in relation 

to severely wounded veterans returning to civilian life from the wars in Iraq and 

Afghanistan. 

52 

1 NOD’s AW2 Careers Demonstration is funded by 17 private foundations and two corporate 

donors. It is a 4.5-year, $4.8 million project. 2We will henceforth mainly use ‘‘veterans’’ to represent all of those served by AW2 and AW2 

Careers—Regular Army, Reserve, or National Guard soldiers who mainly veterans separated 

from active duty, though in some cases still on active duty or still in the Reserves or National 

Guard—and their family members. 

As one who is laboring ‘‘on the ground’’ to help veterans and their families to adjust effectively to their often very difficult circumstances, I am very heartened that 

this Committee is devoting time and energy to examining what we and others are 

doing to make good things happen on these fronts. 

ABOUT NOD

NOD is a 28-year old national nonprofit organization that has long worked to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities by advocating their fullest inclusion in all aspects of life. We are one of only three so-called ‘‘cross-disability’’ organizations working to improve the quality of life for all of America’s 54 million people 

with disabilities. 

Over our nearly 20-year history, we’ve worked with scores of communities across 

the country to help them improve the quality of life for their citizens with disabilities and honor those that do it well. Our World Committee on Disabilities honors 

countries that do the same with an award presented by the Secretary General of 

the United Nations. 

We’re perhaps best known for our Harris polls, which have tracked various quality of life indicators through statistically valid sampling of 1,000 people with disabilities. For more than 20 years, the Harris Interactive firm’s researchers have tracked 

everything from access to health care, to transportation, degree of optimism about 

the future, social interactions with friends and community, religious participation, 

and even voting. 

Needless to say, the gaps in these quality of life indicators between people with 

and without disabilities remain very wide, notwithstanding gains we’ve made 

through the ADA and other policy reforms in the last ten to twenty years. Among 

these indicators, it should be no surprise that economic self-sufficiency displays the 

greatest gap. People with disabilities suffer a poverty rate that is three times the 

national average and our Harris polls have reported a 67% rate of unemployment, 

a number that’s remained virtually unchanged since the end of WW II. 

For this reason, the NOD board, led by our chairman, former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, has decided that for the next five years NOD will devote 

the bulk of our resources to promoting economic self sufficiency among America’s 

33 million working-age people with disabilities. Within this focus, we are working 

on helping the most severely injured veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan 

become productive, contributing members of their communities by entering or resuming careers upon their transition home. 

THE NOD AW2 CAREERS DEMONSTRATION

Today, I want mainly to share with you what we are learning from the early 

phases of AW2 Careers. While this demonstration is focusing on helping the most 

severely injured soldiers in the Army’s AW2 Program access careers upon 

transitioning home, the model we are piloting has applicability to a broad range of 

services beyond those devoted to increasing economic self sufficiency. It is a model 

that deals not only with veterans but also with their families. We strongly believe 

that the population of severely injured servicemembers, like the rest of the country’s 

people with disabilities, faces a very complex recovery process that affects a family 

over a prolonged period and requires an array of services and supports for it to gain 

a semblance of a good quality of life. 

Our AW2 Careers Demonstration is an entirely privately funded1 initiative conducted by NOD under a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Army and 

its Army Wounded Warrior Program (AW2). Today, NOD Career Specialists ensure 

that career services and other assistance are provided to 188 soldiers, veterans, and 

their families2 (soon to top 200) in the Dallas Metroplex and the states of Colorado 

and North Carolina. We link soldiers/veterans and family members to existing career services in the community—or provide them directly ourselves where such services are inadequate. 

I want to proceed directly to address the Subcommittee’s interest in our on-theground work with returning veterans and their families. But: 

• First, let me stress that to understand fully what I will present it is important 

to know something about the nature of both the Army’s Wounded Warrior Program 

53 

and of the NOD AW2 Careers Demonstration. Brief descriptions of both (and of 

NOD) are in Attachment 1 and I urge those not familiar with these programs to 

read Attachment I before proceeding here. • Second, Attachment 2 is a one-page summary of AW2 Careers outcomes and 

progress to date, drawn from our most recent evaluation records. • Finally, Attachment 3 is perhaps the most important document we would like 

to present. It describes how the service model of AW2—the Army’s own program— 

and of AW2 Careers differs in essential ways from the service models of others trying to serve the most severely wounded soldiers, veterans, and their families. We 

are convinced that it is this pro-active, ‘‘high touch’’ service model that makes the 

difference in progress for these severely wounded populations—and that the comprehensive independent evaluation we have funded will confirm that. 

Here, let us stress that most veterans separated from active duty for medical reasons are given travel to their homes and disappear from the DOD radar screen. 

They are left to find their own ways to the VA, the Labor Department, and the other 

Federal, state, and local government and nonprofit agencies with benefits and services to which they are entitled or they need. It is different for severely injured veterans eligible for AW2. They too are separated and given travel to ‘‘home.’’ But also, 

AW2 puts their name and contact information on the caseloads of one of AW2’s 150 

Advocates who covers that veteran’s hometown. That Advocate is charged with 

reaching out pro-actively to find and engage that veteran and his/her family and 

sticking with him/her to ensure that s/he gets the benefits/services to which s/he is 

entitled or needs. When that veteran is ready for career activity, the Advocate 

passes the veteran’s name to the NOD Career Specialist for that area, who similarly 

pro-actively reaches out to the veteran and establishes the same kind of supportive 

relationship ‘‘for as long as it takes.’’ Neither AW2 Advocates nor NOD Career Specialists wait for a knock on the door or a phone call or an email from a veteran 

in need. We find and engage them. 

Now, let me begin by noting that many of the most severely injured OIF/OEF veterans would have died in previous wars. Battlefield medicine, however, has advanced to the point that their lives endure but are frequently deeply impaired in 

both the physical and mental realms. Many observers still expect many of these veterans to live out lives in dependency, but we at AW2 and NOD strongly believe that 

most of these young men and women can become ‘‘self-sufficient, contributing members of their communities’’ (the Army’s admirable vision for its AW2 soldiers/veterans) by returning to school and some form of work. We, the Nation that placed 

these young men and women in harm’s way, need to see this situation as an opportunity to learn ‘‘what works’’ to do that. 

This, indeed, is the purpose animating AW2 and NOD’s AW2 Careers. It is important to note, however, that many of the challenges facing these veterans will not 

be surmounted quickly or easily. The effort must be long term in nature. 

Let me begin with a summary of our statistics. We are only 11 months old, having 

opened our shop in late December 2008. We now have a caseload of 67 soldiers/veterans (mainly veterans) and are heading toward 100 in a few weeks. Of this 67, we 

have helped 28 to move into education, training, or work of some kind in less than 

a year. That number will, of course, increase as we move into our second and third 

years. 

HERE ARE TWO STORIES ABOUT VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES. 

• Veteran 1: The veteran called me to state he received a letter from the VA’s Vocational Rehabilitation folks stating he was denied benefits of VR & E. I asked the 

veteran if the letter stated ‘why’ and he replied no. The veteran was immediately 

informed by me that I would follow-up on the situation and get back to him within 

24–48 hrs. I contacted the VA/Winston-Salem to find out how it is that a Wounded 

Warrior with Severe PTSD and a 70% VA rated disability could be denied Vocational Rehabilitation. The VA representative stated, ‘‘That should have never happened. Unfortunately, we do have Case Managers that are handling a multitude of 

cases which cause many veterans to either be denied services or completely fall 

through the cracks.’’ I gave the contact the veteran’s information, and she researched the case to find out if the decision of ‘no’ was incorrect. The VA contact 

gave me the new VA Case Manager’s name with a consent form to allow me to discuss the veteran’s case. I arranged a teleconference with the veteran and his case 

manager, and an initial face-to-face appointment was then scheduled. I transported 

the veteran to Winston-Salem and attended his initial appointment with him. The 

Case Manager approved him to receive an Extended Evaluation and Plan, education 

funding and a voice recorder to record the Instructor’s session and help the veteran 

recall what was said and took place in the classroom. Veteran will take a placement 

54 

3The Army Career and Alumni Program (ACAP) briefing syllabi for soldiers departing active 

duty are comprehensive and thorough, but many veterans report that they didn’t get these briefings or understand them or remember them. Some may have been diverted by their injuries— 

or simply young enough to not pay attention to seemingly remote matters until they become 

very proximate, back home. 

test at Fayetteville Technical Community College and enter the Computer Programming Curriculum in January 2010. • Veteran 2: A veteran received a disability rating by the Army of 70% with other 

physical injuries sustained in the Global War on Terrorism. The veteran received 

a 100% disability rating from the VA. During the initial interview with the veteran, 

the CS discovered that the veteran was not being paid his full retirement benefits 

and immediately informed the Army’s Advocate. It became apparent during the visit 

that the veteran was suffering from some degree of PTSD. He could not remember 

some basic things about himself and was unable to recall where his military documents were located. The veteran lost his DD Form 2, Retired Military Identification 

card, and could not account for his Army Knowledge On-line password to access his 

e-mail account. Also, the veteran was unable to access his military MyPay account. 

During the intake, the CS discovered that he was pending several charges of violating laws and had to attend court. CS transported the veteran to Seymour Johnson AFB in Goldsboro to obtain a new DD Form 2, Retired Military ID. CS also assisted veteran with obtaining a new ID and Password to access his MyPay account 

to submit the process and verification for a pay correction. We continue to work with 

him. 

In these cases you can see the role we play in action. Let me highlight some of 

the things we do as in these cases. 

• NOD’s AW2 Careers program provides immediate, real time, pro-active assistance and problem resolution for veterans and their family members. We do not sit 

behind a desk and wait for other agencies to assist. We are mobile and have the 

latitude to go to agencies and make face-to-face contact versus waiting for an agency 

to hopefully return a phone call. We assist the veteran with what needs to be asked 

or ask the hard questions ourselves. • Due to the nature of our private funding, we have the ability to make immediate financial assistance for tuition, textbooks, educational supplies and needs, utilities, moving expenditures and transportation needs. • NOD’s AW2 Careers develops an Individualized Career Plan, administers Interest Inventories and assists veterans with making realistic career choices and goals. 

We assist veterans with staying on track with goals and continually follow—up and 

re-assess. We are able to obtain and maintain trust from the veterans we serve by 

establishing an initial, trustworthy relationship and by showing that we have genuine concern for their needs and goals. 

When I talk with my colleagues at our other sites in Colorado and Texas and with 

our leaders in the New York headquarters of NOD, we can step back and stress 

some early lessons emerging from our work to date. 

1. A Fundamental Mismatch: Seriously Injured Veterans and Reactive Agencies: 

Sometimes by design and more often from funding limitations, many of the government, and, indeed, private programs in place to help veterans returning from Iraq 

and Afghanistan are constrained to a reactive service model, only responding when 

a veteran seeks services and thus placing the burden on veterans to find and approach the agencies. But we find that the most seriously injured veterans with 

whom we work are not really able to effectively access services from reactive agencies. 

Many veterans, especially the most severely injured who often also suffer from 

cognitive disabilities, do not know the benefits to which they are entitled, which 

agencies offer them, and how to approach them.3 Further, many are isolated, geographically, socially, and/or psychologically. Their needs call for an entirely different 

service model—in our view along the lines of what we are testing in AW2 Careers. 

That model is to actively reach out to the veterans and ensure their needs are being 

met. The terms NOD uses to describe our service model are ‘‘pro-active, intensive, 

and prolonged, high touch case management relationships’’ with the veterans being 

served. It is important to note that few, if any, other government agencies and or 

private veterans’ service organizations can employ the service model adopted by 

AW2 and AW2 Careers. 

When a soldier is going through the Army Board process leading to medical discharge—or shortly thereafter—that soldier, if s/he meets AW2 admission criteria regarding severity of injury, is, in effect, automatically enrolled as a ‘‘member’’ of 

AW2. When the new veteran is medically separated and heads for home, his/her 

55 

name is added to a caseload list of an Army Advocate (and later, where applicable, 

an NOD Career Specialist) serving the geographical region that soldier calls home. 

That Advocate and Career Specialist are charged with reaching out and finding that 

soldier/veteran; establishing a close, supportive relationship; and ensuring s/he gets 

the benefits and services due her/him. 

In NOD’s case, we require Career Specialists to contact ‘‘their’’ veterans at least 

once a month, usually electronically (but including face-to-face meetings early on 

and, later, once every six months, often by getting in their cars and going to see 

the veteran at home, where we get a much fuller picture of his/her situation). We 

do not sit in our offices and wait for a veteran to knock on our door. 

Further, we have early indicators and even some evidence that this service model 

is much better received by the veterans. Anecdotally, it is clear that the close NOD 

Career Specialist outreach relationships have lifted some veterans out of their isolation and immobility and started them re-engaging in both their lives and careers. 

These relationships have also resulted in spouses and children moving forward on 

career paths. This is reflected in early survey results, including the below veterans’ 

ratings of satisfaction with ‘‘how helpful’’ the services to date of various agencies 

have been: 

A Lot Some A Little Not at All 

NOD Career Specialist ........................................................................... 61% 30% 7% 2% 

AW2 Advocate ........................................................................................ 56% 29% 14% 2% 

One Stop Center .................................................................................... 29% 29% 29% 14% 

Voc Rehab & Empt ................................................................................ 28% 48% 20% 4% 

ACAP ...................................................................................................... 16% 43% 39% 11% 

Other Agencies ....................................................................................... 0% 67% 33% 0% 

Finally, we acknowledge that the AW2/AW2 Careers service model is more expensive than office-based, reactive models. To this we respond that our final evaluation 

is likely to confirm our early operating judgment that this model works more effectively, certainly for this population of most severely wounded veterans. Moreover, 

a broadly based cost-benefit analysis should weigh direct program costs against the 

benefits of reduced dependency costs, increased tax revenues from veterans’ earnings, reduced costs for shelters and imprisonment, more successful marriages and 

parenting, and the restoration of self-confidence from a veteran’s again being an 

‘‘self sufficient, contributing member of his/her community,’’ which is the Army’s admirable vision for this population. 

2. The Need to Deal with both the Veteran and the Family: The process of recovering from injury and coming to terms with disability is a complex process that is 

all consuming not only for the veteran but the entire family. Retired parents may 

have to become caregivers to a veteran. Spouses whose job it was to take care of 

the children and household find them-selves suddenly in the role of caregivers to 

the veteran and/or even family breadwinners. Children may have to come to grips 

with a parent they no longer recognize. Investing in support for spouses, parents 

of veterans, and veterans’ children who are drawn into this process is, in our view, 

a necessary and cost effective investment that the VA must consider as it administers ancillary benefits. And these benefits must be as flexible as are many of the 

benefits available through VR and E. 

3. Unaddressed Mental Health Needs: More than half the AW2 population, including those in AW2 Careers, suffers from primary diagnoses of PTSD/TBI, with many 

having both, often also with physical injuries. But the behavioral/mental health concerns do not stop there. Many veterans suffer depression or other mental health 

issues (including violent or suicidal ideations) that require appropriate mental 

health services (especially including marital/family counseling). But, we find that 

these needs are largely unaddressed and can impede career progress by contributing 

to veterans’ dropping out of education or training or losing a job. It is not a criticism 

of the VA to say that despite its efforts to expand such services, it simply isn’t able 

to adequately service these needs. Sometimes the veteran denies these needs; or 

finds the local VA has no or limited mental health services or they are not close 

enough; or does not like what they perceive as the VA’s reliance on problematic 

medications (not uncommon in other populations using psychotropic medications), 

with only limited therapy. We feel that the VA should supplement its direct mental 

health services by mobilizing and applying mental health services from other local 

agencies that are anxious to be helpful to veterans but need to be recruited, supported, and trained to do so. 

4. Criminal Charges: We have encountered several situations where some behaviors associated with PTSD/TBI have resulted in veterans facing criminal charges 

56 

(e.g., erratic driving, substance abuse, violence, including family abuse, etc.). It is 

hard to help a veteran stay on a career path when s/he is in court or jail. We have 

examples of our Career Specialists intervening with police, prosecutors, or the 

courts to request that notice be taken of the soldier/veteran’s disability and considered as a mitigating factor in charges or sentence. This has sometimes resulted in 

remanding the soldier/veteran to treatment rather than incarceration. There is need 

for all agencies serving this population to intervene in such circumstances, bringing 

these factors to the consideration of such local authorities. (Indeed, one of our Career Specialists has led the effort in his part of his state to create a ‘‘Veterans 

Court’’ to which criminal charges against soldiers or veterans are referred for disposition taking such factors into account.) 

5. Personal/Family Financial Management: Young veterans often have little or no 

experience or knowledge of properly managing family finances, despite ACAP and 

other Army training thereon. Our Career Specialists frequently find veterans in dire 

financial straits requiring emergency advice, training, and assistance. There is 

clearly a need for continuing personal/family financial management training and 

guidance. 

6. Peer Support Mechanisms: The fact that so many of our veterans/families are 

isolated geographically, socially, and psychologically has led our Career Specialists 

to try various peer meetings and other peer supports, often with heartening results. 

Our sense is that this needs broader application. 

7. Inadequate Education and Job Skills: We have not been surprised to find that 

many of our veterans lack the education credentials and job skills needed to succeed 

in the labor markets of today and the foreseeable future. Our response is to urge 

veterans to use the education and training benefits available to them to upgrade 

their credentials on either or both fronts. Many have responded positively. But others working with these veterans need to adopt the same emphasis. 

8. The Need for Flexible Work Support Funds: The soldiers, veterans, and family 

members we serve frequently have very limited incomes. In addition, they face the 

need to spend modest amounts of money on things that can advance their career 

prospects—or impede them if such expenditures are not possible. These needs include things like tuition payments where Federal educational benefits are delayed 

and the veteran cannot afford payments up front. Or, books, work clothes, computer 

repairs or software, travel expenses for a job fair or interview, license or other work 

related fees, and more. To meet such needs, we provide small grants from our work 

support funds that can facilitate career progress. 

NEXT STEPS

As indicated above, our sense is that our model of services is highly promising 

and that its early indicators confirm this. But, we think we should take this developmental and testing phase further to generate firmer results, outcomes, and lessons. 

Our present set-up of three sites over three operating years was devised three or 

so years ago, early in the then understandably chaotic period of our Nation becoming aware of the challenge and opportunity of responding to these severely wounded 

returning veterans—and of the initially chaotic and understaffed period of establishing the AW2 program. The private sector then stepped forward, with an impressive, welcome, but still limited support of our demonstration program. 

Our sense, as experienced operators of demonstration projects, is that the present 

pilot project, while important as a source of early lessons, is still nonetheless too 

limited. Three sites are too few; three years are too few. Far better in terms of both 

serving more people but more important in generating more reliable data to support 

lessons learned, would be more sites for more time with more staff. We feel that 

expanding our present three sites to twelve and to five years instead of three and 

to two Career Specialists in all of the sites would yield important dividends in lessons learned and confirmed. Moreover, expanding the number of sites would yield 

similar dividends. Hence, we argue for up to nine additional sites, or a dozen in all. 

Moreover, additional sites would allow clusters of sites to focus on potentially important themes. For instance, we would envision a cluster including concentrated 

mental health services; another including concerted advice to employers on both 

ways to accommodate the needs of disabled veterans in order to be productive and 

ways to ‘‘sculpt’’ or structure job requirements to the same end; yet others emphasize peer group supports. Then, too, some or all of the additional sites should provide career services to the severely disabled veterans from all DOD uniformed services. To these ends, we seek Congressional and agency support as well as the continuation of private funding. 

On broader fronts, we would urge that the Committee support: 

57 

• Expansion of the AW2 program and the inclusion by it of severely wounded veterans of the other DOD uniformed services. This model of service is not only applicable to ‘‘Army Green’’ but also to similarly injured Marines, Sailors, and Air Force 

people; and these services should ‘‘try out’’ this approach by partaking of our demonstration project. 

• That the VA consider a demonstration project along the lines of AW2 Careers. 

This would mean that the VA would establish a two-tiered structure, at least for 

exploratory, demonstration project purposes, with a ‘‘high touch’’ pro-active program 

like AW2 Careers for those so eligible, with revamped ‘‘regular’’ services for those 

not so severely disabled. 

Thank you for your invitation and attention. 

58 

ATTACHMENTS


1118TYM1.eps
59 


1118TYM2.eps
60 


1118TYM3.eps
61 


1118TYM4.eps
62 


1118TYM5.eps
63 

Chairman AKAKA. Thank you very much, Ms. Tymes. 

It seems that one of the themes running throughout all of your 

testimony this morning is mentoring, coaching and hands-on approach to providing assistance. Let me ask each of you to rate this 

aspect of any program that might be developed in terms of its 

value and as a factor for success. 

Ms. TYMES. I will make a statement on that. 

Chairman AKAKA. Ms. Tymes? 

Ms. TYMES. Yes. Sir, as far as the effectiveness of our program, 

it is right now 90 percent. As far as the veterans that we serve and 

the opportunities that we have assisted the veterans to get, we give 

individualized services to veterans. As far as the transition from 

being in the military, as has been stated earlier, into the civilian 

sector, many of those skill sets, the individual, the veteran, is not 

aware of what they are. 

Because of our education and history and knowledge of the military, we are able to get those skill sets out and come up with resumes that are working resumes, not just a show resume, but 

something that actually has substance to make that veteran competitive for employment and to also help with any other type of application process, even for education. 

Our veterans today are facing a lot of mental problems: PTSD, 

TBI, or the combination of both. It makes the veterans upset. They 

get angry. They have a very low temper tolerance, and because of 

our services, because of our personalized services, we are able to 

assist the veteran with what needs to get accomplished. 

Mr. DANIEL. I concur with—— 

Chairman AKAKA. Mr. Daniel? 

Mr. DANIEL [continuing]. Ms. Helen. 

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

What I personally experienced was that I was so ashamed when 

I came home, I just could not really face the reality of wanting to 

talk to people about my problems. I just did not reach out. And the 

shame that I felt caused me to react in a lot of ways that I did. 

Again, I always thank God for MCVETs because they reached 

out in a way that no one else ever had. I was literally in prison, 


1118TYM6.eps
64 

and they had a representative come around. I was in the cell and 

at that time I knew was facing a whole lot. And that individual 

came around, and I found out first and foremost, he was a veteran. 

Number 2, it was long-term—2-year availability to be able to do it. 

That, to me, is personalized. And once I got there, the counselors 

welcomed me with open arms. 

I still had a lot on my plate at that time. I still had obligations 

and commitments to the Division of Parole and Probation who allowed me to come out. They went the extra mile to even talk my 

probation agent and the judge to solidify this one final—and that 

was how I felt—one final opportunity that I would have in this life 

to do good. And they gave me my shot. We just have had a wonderful partnership ever since then. That is the effect that it has had 

on me. 

Chairman AKAKA. Mr. Lawton-Belous? 

Mr. LAWTON-BELOUS. Mr. Chairman, as a representative of Oracle Corporation, we have found that there are many reasons why 

we actually do not need to ask for money from the Federal Government to run our Wounded Warrior program—mainly because each 

wounded warrior we take in is a value-added proposition for Oracle 

Corporation. They add something to it. 

It is a dual mentorship. It is a two-way street on the mentorship 

role. One is that those who are in the industry need to mentor 

wounded warriors, soldiers, Marines, veterans coming out of the 

military to explain to them the career paths. It is a completely different world when you get into the civilian side and understanding 

it will take some time. There is always that uptick no matter what 

job you go to where there is a learning curve. 

But second, it behooves veterans to mentor those who are mentoring them to show them that this is actually what I learned in 

the military. This is what I am capable of doing. What we find now 

is only one-half of 1 percent of the population is actually serving 

in the wars that we are fighting today, which means that over 

time—it has already occurred where those who are hiring do not 

necessarily understand the value-added proposition that servicemembers can bring to an organization. 

That, I believe is the greatest effect of a mentorship program. 

That way, programs that we have today to help veterans transition 

out of the military will be more successful when the vast majority 

of senior to executive level managers are no longer military veterans. 

Chairman AKAKA. Captain? 

Captain WIKUL. Chairman Akaka, when America Works is 

racked and stacked against other companies that do similar-type 

work in the New York area, we consistently rank number 1 in getting people jobs. People come in the door. We give them mentoring. 

We give them mentoring. We give them interview skills so that we 

get them an interview, they give the right answers to the right 

questions so they can get the jobs. 

We do not get them the jobs. We get them the interview. They 

have to get the job, and we coach them in that process. If you are 

a veteran and you need a suit, we get you a suit. There is a program to get him in a suit. 

65 

I have to tell you, just recently within the last 2 weeks, I went 

to two homeless veteran shelters in New York City to give a motivational speech. Some of these guys are really whipped down and 

they are broken. And I start talking to them and I try to motivate 

them. I tell them, ‘‘Look, when we are able to help you get a job, 

you will get back your self respect and dignity. And it will put you 

on the road to getting an even better job.’’ 

So, we go right into the shelters. We talk to them. We give them 

a speech. And around town, we have a card that says, ‘‘Do you need 

a job? America Works, if you are a New York City resident having 

difficulty finding employment, call this number and go here. No 

fee.’’ 

We are right in the trenches. We get these people. We bring 

them in the door. When I first hooked up with this company, what 

I really found amazing is, you walk in the door at the beginning 

of the day and it is loaded with people. You have to fight your way 

in to get to the offices. We went on some sales calls, and I came 

back about 5 hours later and I said, ‘‘Where are all the people?’’ 

And they said out on interviews getting jobs. 

So, this is what this company does. Against similar companies, 

we are ranked number 1. We get people jobs. We are right on the 

streets. We are in the trenches. We go to the homeless veterans 

shelters. We talk to the people. We mentor them. We bring them 

out of their shell. We give them the interview skills and a suit necessary to interview, and we push them out there and we help them 

restore their dignity and self respect so they can become whole people and good American citizens. 

Chairman AKAKA. Mr. Ziob? 

Mr. ZIOB. In respect to your question, Chairman Akaka, I believe 

mentorship and internships are very important. Occupational success is typically the combination of your subject matter expertise. 

You have to be a good nurse, system administrator, electrician, but 

also know how to navigate the world of work, the changing world 

of work. It is your aptitude. It is what you know about your job. 

The mentorship and the people that are in the trenches can provide that guidance. The difficulty there is they have a day job as 

well. So we need to free up their time and find the opportunity to 

connect them, mentor and mentee, in an effective way. 

Chairman AKAKA. Thank you. 

Senator Murray. 

Senator MURRAY. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

Thank you to all of our witnesses for your excellent testimony 

and all the work you are doing out in the real world to help put 

our veterans to work and bring back the respect and dignity as you 

have all described. 

Mr. Ziob, I am interested in getting your thoughts on a new program that I am working on that would address some of the challenges that you mentioned in your written testimony about veterans as they face transition into civilian employment. I am working on a proposal for a demonstration project between the Departments of Labor, Defense and Veterans Affairs called the Military 

Pathways Demonstration Program that will really test projects 

that look at the feasibility of methods to assist veterans with military IT skills while they are entering the civilian IT workforce, beVerDate Nov 24 2008 15:21 Jul 26, 2010 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00069 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 H:\111TH HEARINGS\54281.TXT SVETS PsN: PAULIN
66 

cause what we have found is our military are highly IT oriented. 

There are a lot of technical that they do in the field, but coming 

home, transitioning that into skills that they can use in the civilian 

workforce is extremely challenging. 

I wanted to ask you, in your experience as an IT employment 

specialist, can you expand on some of the challenges that you see 

servicemembers facing as they transition with these IT skills? 

Mr. ZIOB. I think the opportunities are indeed plentiful. I mentioned briefly, but I would like to amplify it again. When you think 

about the role of IT in today’s employment, many of us jump immediately to the typical IT job, a database administrator, system administrator, or other typical IT jobs. And I will come back to them 

in a second. 

It is equally important to understand, and, Senator Murray, you 

alluded to this, literally all jobs as we know them today and definitely tomorrow will have some element of IT technology and skills 

as well. So, we are talking about two opportunities: one to bring 

people into quickly growing IT jobs; but also to make sure that the 

jobs that they are getting are matching the skill set which today 

will embrace IT technology as well. 

Further to your question is the opportunity that arises if they already come with an aptitude or first iteration of understanding of 

what technology does to make their military job successful, we already made a big step forward. We do not have to teach them that 

anymore. 

Senator MURRAY. Right. 

Mr. ZIOB. We typically have to bring them up to speed on how 

technology moved forward or they might have a more narrow usage 

of what they do. And that is today relatively easy to be done. We 

have a vast opportunity of online and instructor training. We typically have the curricula. We have plentiful credentials out there 

that can be industry-specific like Oracle or Microsoft. They can be 

vendor independent like from an association like Com Tier. So, the 

tools that we want and need are probably already at our disposal. 

Coming then, all the way back, to what is the last step that is 

needed? We actually come back again to understand what success, 

even in an IT-rich job, means, and that has to do with aptitudes 

and the way you approach your job. If we can combine those two 

things, I believe we can indeed build very, very effective pathways. 

Senator MURRAY. Well, thank you very much. 

Mr. Chairman, I do have several other questions. I have to get 

to another meeting. I will submit them for the record. And, again, 

I want to thank everybody and, Mr. Chairman, especially you for 

doing this hearing on a very, very important topic. Thank you. 

Chairman AKAKA. Thank you. 

Senator Begich? 

Senator BEGICH. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

Again, I want to echo the comments from the other Members, 

that we appreciate you all being here and thank you for your testimony; and thank you for showing or describing some of the projects 

that are working out there and some of the work you all are doing. 

So, thank you for that. 

67 

I want to, if I can, just ask some specific questions to a couple 

of individuals. One, I want to follow up on America Works just so 

I understand it. 

Is it only in New York at this point? 

Captain WIKUL. Oh, no, sir. As I mentioned, it is in other States. 

We are in North Carolina. We are in New Jersey. We have got offices throughout New York, and they are going to grow to some 

other areas. 

Senator BEGICH. And America Works, on the veterans side of it, 

where do you see—and you made a great argument, put a million 

on the table and I can put 200 to work, which I think is great. 

Can you tell me what are the biggest challenges you have in expanding the program? 

Captain WIKUL. Well, the biggest challenge is actually funding 

because you need funding to go to a State or a city to actually build 

a program there to open up an office. So, it is resources. 

Senator BEGICH. OK. And when you say that you are performance-based, which I think is very intriguing, when you place them 

into a position in a job, what is your follow-up, or what do you do 

after the fact? What is the next stage after they are placed? 

Captain WIKUL. What happens is we do not get paid until they 

are in their job for 3 months, at least 3 months. So, the counselor 

or the salesperson has to constantly interact with that person in 

that 3-month period. Then there is some follow-on programs, too. 

They can come back in. What is really gratifying is to see people— 

when I was there last week, people coming back in that maybe we 

have gotten them a job and then they have moved on to another 

job by themselves. And they come back in after a year and say 

thank you for getting me back to work. 

What happens is—let me give you a quick case in point. I was 

at one homeless veterans shelter where there was a young man. He 

served 5 or 6 years in the military, and he was an enlisted man. 

He became an officer. He got wounded in Iraq, and he had gotten 

out of the military. He had a high clearance. He was working in 

the State Department on a contract. He lost his contract, so he 

thought he would go to New York and check out the opportunities 

up there. 

Well, he could not find a job, and he had IT skills. He had combat skills. He was articulate. He could write well. I mean, he is 

anybody’s dream for employment, and he just could not find a job. 

He was kind of immobilized and ground down, and here he was in 

a homeless shelter. 

So, after I gave my motivational speech, this guy stuck out like 

a sore thumb. I said, ‘‘Tell me your story.’’ And he told me, ‘‘I got 

an SCI clearance’’ and all this stuff. So I say, ‘‘We are going to get 

you a job. Here is our card. You come on in the office. We will get 

you an interview on a job, and once you are working again, you will 

see other opportunities.’’ And so there is follow-on in the company. 

Senator BEGICH. And in that 3-month period, so if they have difficulty on the job, you have some opportunity to keep them kind 

of focused, and if there are situations that occur in that first 3 

months, especially, to ensure that they are reintegrating back into 

the workforce? 

68 

Captain WIKUL. Absolutely. And that is all part of it because the 

beauty of that performance-based system, if they do not stay for 3 

months, nobody gets paid. 

Senator BEGICH. Right. 

Captain WIKUL.So there is an incentive to make sure that our 

people stay employed. But beyond that, when you walk into the 

place, what really amazed me—and the reason—I could have done 

any job that I wanted to do with my skill set, and I chose them 

not only because they were performance-based—and they have the 

metrics because 175,000, for the size of their staff, 175,000 jobs in 

25 years is a lot. 

But they are a loving company. You walk in the place, and they 

really exude love. They exude caring. People come in, and the beauty of it is, we assess your potential. We assess all the skills you 

have, and then the salesperson knows where all the jobs are. So 

what they do is they take the skills you already possess, match 

them with an employer who needs those skills, and gets them to 

work. And that is why we say it is work first. And you can do 

training and everything later on. Get them into work so they can 

start getting their dignity and their self-respect back. And when 

they get that, they are on the road to being whole again. 

Senator BEGICH. Very good. 

Captain WIKUL. And I think that model works very well, sir. 

Senator BEGICH. Very good. 

One quick question. Ms. Tymes, if I could ask you, you had mentioned you have about a 90 percent—I do not know if you used the 

word ‘‘satisfaction rate’’ or ‘‘effective rate’’ I think was the—— 

Ms. TYMES. That is correct. 

Senator BEGICH. How do you measure that effective rate? Is that 

customer repeat or what is the—— 

Ms. TYMES. We actually have a research team that evaluates our 

cases. We have a database which is called Client Track, and all of 

the information that we get during an intake, during complete follow-up, and during reassessment, we enter in there. Our research 

team actually keeps that data, and we do a data dump monthly, 

which goes to all of our funders and to everyone in the AW2 headquarters so that they can see that we are making progress. 

Senator BEGICH. Thank you. Thank you very much. 

Mr. Chairman, just a quick comment. 

Dexter, thank you for your story. You were very good in listing 

out all the components that made a difference in the sense of your 

success. So, I just want to thank you personally and also thank you 

for those very specific points that you made. I appreciate that. 

Mr. DANIEL. Thank you. 

Senator BEGICH. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. I have no 

other questions, but I think this is a very timely hearing as we are 

moving forward in regards to dealing with the employment, the increasing unemployment of veterans. It is a higher percentage than 

the national average. So, I want to thank you for holding this hearing and bringing attention to the need of veterans. Thank you. 

Chairman AKAKA. Thank you, Senator Begich. 

Mr. Daniel, I want to thank you very much for sharing your 

story with us. 

69 

Can you recall what type of employment assistance you received, 

if any, when you were separating from the service? 

Mr. DANIEL. Mr. Chairman, when I did separate immediately, 

the only avenue that really was open to me at that time that I 

knew of was to go to the unemployment building. I connected with 

them right away. I did not connect with a VA counselor at that 

time. And based on the skill set that I had, that particular counselor thought that I would be best suited perhaps in the financial 

field since that is what I was trained for. And so I did. I applied, 

and the assistance that they gave me landed me the first job that 

I got when I came out of the military. 

But, again, my problem, primarily, I could get a job, but I had 

some underlying issues that I just did not address. Eventually, the 

focus of being able, as we call it in recovery, to be a functional addict was not good enough. And I was not able to give a hundred 

percent. 

Chairman AKAKA. Yes. I am looking at a point of time just prior 

to discharge as to how you prepared to move into civilian life and 

what happens after that discharge. It was mentioned also that 

there is a compensation that veterans receive, and many of them 

take it up and as a result, they delay looking for a job. So, these 

need to be considered as we try to devise methods of getting veterans to work as soon as they are out of service. 

Mr. DANIEL. Yes, sir. 

Chairman AKAKA. And there is a period in there that we need 

to look at as to what happens to veterans. 

Mr. DANIEL. Exactly. 

Chairman AKAKA. And there is a period when they are roaming, 

let’s say, trying to find something, whatever it is they are looking 

for. This is a focus that we need to look at. 

I want to thank all of you for your responses and, of course, your 

testimony, which will be helpful to u. We need to work together in 

continuing to find the best ways and methods of trying to help our 

veterans as soon as they are discharged. 

We are certainly grateful to the Secretary for his efforts and for 

his team as well and for many of the organizations that some of 

you belong to now, who are on our second panel, who are working 

successfully in this area. We would like to see what we can do to 

even expand that to help the veterans. 

So, today’s hearing excites me as to what we can begin to look 

at and do to help our veterans. And, of course, on our side, we are 

looking at this legislatively as to what we can do legislatively to 

help you with whatever your programs are and also the Department of Labor and their programs. 

So, in closing, I, again, thank all of our witnesses for appearing 

today. We know that there is much to be done in this area. And 

all of our Nation’s veterans who have served honorably deserve to 

have adequate and accessible resources available to assist them. I 

am pleased to hear that the President as well as a number of important executive branch agencies and their leadership, some of 

which Secretary Jefferson mentioned in his testimony, are as committed as I am to ensuring that this is the standard from here on. 

I appreciate hearing the personal stories of our veterans, and I 

thank you all for your suggestions on improvements for the future. 

70 

As Chairman, I will also continue to hold the Department of 

Labor and VA, as well as other agencies, accountable for achieving 

the results and goals they have set forth. 

Again, thank you very much for being here today and for helping 

us in this respect. This hearing is now adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 11:41 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.] 

(71) 

A P P E N D I X 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. ROLAND W. BURRIS, U.S. SENATOR FROM ILLINOIS

Thank you Mr. Chairman, I would like to begin by extending a ‘‘Warm Welcome’’ 

to our distinguished guests, as well as fellow colleagues from the Committee. Moreover, I would like to say that it is especially nice too see Secretary Jefferson again. 

Mr. Chairman, not withstanding Veterans medical care, one of my most important 

priorities is Veterans employment as well as the subsequent transitional programs 

which help to mitigate their burdens and reduce homelessness within this community of our Nation’s hero’s. 

With this in mind, I would like to share a few appalling facts with the Committee. 

Currently in Chicago, approximately 1000 Veterans are homeless on any given 

night. Moreover, it is estimated that more than 131,000 Veterans are homeless on 

every night in the U.S. and nearly twice as many experience homelessness at some 

point during the year. This is of course directly linked to the employment challenges 

that many Veterans’ face and I find this Simply Unacceptable! 

A 2005 VA report found about 20,000 permanent housing beds and 10,000 transitional beds are needed to help homeless veterans. Recommendations endorsed by 

the Chicago and national homeless coalitions include funding 20,000 Section 8 

vouchers for the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supported Housing Program. 

Among programs that work to serve an estimated 18,000 Chicago-land veterans 

is St. Leo’s Residence for Veterans. It opened its doors in 2007, and is now home 

to 141 residents who have access to the adjacent health and employment center. 

St. Leo Transitional program is a proven concept model that helps reestablish 

Veterans back into society by providing them the tools they need to become an active and productive member of the work force and local community. 

This past November 3rd, Secretary Shinseki unveiled a plan to end veterans’ 

homelessness in five years, saying that ‘‘the VA will spend $3.2 billion next year 

to reduce homelessness among veterans’’. 

I agree with Secretary Shinseki’s initiative and applaud his efforts to focus the 

VA’s efforts on getting homeless veterans off the streets; however I want to prevent 

them from ever becoming homeless in the first place through employment initiative 

programs as well as transitional assistance programs, such as the example shown 

at St. Leo’s. 

Æ