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82–370 2013

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BUILDING JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR VETERANS 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE 

CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES 

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

JULY 10, 2013 

Printed for the use of the Joint Economic Committee 

( 
(II) 

JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE 

[Created pursuant to Sec. 5(a) of Public Law 304, 79th Congress] 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

KEVIN BRADY, Texas, Chairman 

JOHN CAMPBELL, California 

SEAN P. DUFFY, Wisconsin 

JUSTIN AMASH, Michigan 

ERIK PAULSEN, Minnesota 

RICHARD L. HANNA, New York 

CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York 

LORETTA SANCHEZ, California 

ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland 

JOHN DELANEY, Maryland 

SENATE 

AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota, Vice Chair 

ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania 

MARK R. WARNER, Virginia 

BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont 

CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut 

MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico 

DAN COATS, Indiana 

MIKE LEE, Utah 

ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi 

PAT TOOMEY, Pennsylvania 

ROBERT P. O’QUINN, Executive Director 

NILES GODES, Democratic Staff Director 
(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

OPENING STATEMENTS OF MEMBERS

Hon. Amy Klobuchar, Vice Chair, a U.S. Senator from Minnesota ..................... 1 

Hon. Erik Paulsen, a U.S. Representative from Minnesota ................................. 3 

WITNESSES

Mr. Ryan M. Gallucci, Deputy Director of National Legislative Service, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Washington, DC ............................................................ 5 

Mr. Kyle Mitchell, Deputy Executive Director, Texas Veterans Commission, 

Austin, TX ............................................................................................................. 7 

Mr. Shawn Deabay, Director of Veterans Employment Services, Texas Veterans Commission, Austin, TX ............................................................................ 9 

Mr. Benjamin G.S. Fowke III, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO, 

Xcel Energy, Minneapolis, MN ........................................................................... 11 

SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD

Prepared statement of Chairman Brady ............................................................... 26 

Prepared statement of Mr. Ryan M. Gallucci ........................................................ 26 

Prepared statement of Mr. Kyle Mitchell .............................................................. 29 

Prepared statement of Mr. Shawn Deabay ........................................................... 33 

Prepared statement of Mr. Mr. Benjamin G.S. Fowke III ................................... 37 

Question for the Record from Senator Pat Toomey to Mr. Deabay, Mr. Mitchell, and Mr. Gallucci ............................................................................................ 39 

Response to Question for the Record from Mr. Ryan Gallucci, Veterans of 

Foreign Wars ........................................................................................................ 39 

Response to Question for the Record from Texas Veterans Commission ............ 40 

Report titled ‘‘Building Job Opportunities for Returning Veterans’’ submitted 

by Vice Chair Klobuchar ..................................................................................... 42 

(1) 

BUILDING JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR 

VETERANS 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013 

CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE, Washington, DC. 

The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:02 a.m. in Room 216 

of the Hart Senate Office Building, the Honorable Amy Klobuchar, 

Vice Chair, presiding. 

Representatives present: Paulsen, Amash, Maloney, and 

Delaney. 

Senators present: Klobuchar, Murphy, and Wicker. 

Staff present: Doug Branch, Gail Cohen, Connie Foster, Colleen 

Healy, Patrick Miller, and Robert O’Quinn. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. AMY KLOBUCHAR, VICE 

CHAIR, A U.S. SENATOR FROM MINNESOTA 

Vice Chair Klobuchar. Okay, the hearing is called to order. I 

want to thank everyone for being here this morning for this important conversation on the employment situation for Veterans. 

We are going to be looking at the contributions that veterans 

make to the economy. We did a report on this with the Joint Economic Committee showing the challenges that recent veterans are 

facing when they come home. There is some good news. There have 

been some improvements, but as our witnesses know, there are 

still challenges and work that needs to be done. 

I would like to introduce today’s distinguished witnesses: 

Mr. Ryan Gallucci is the Deputy Director of the National Legislative Service for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. At the VFW his 

focus is on helping transitioning service members and veterans 

pursue higher education and viable career paths following their 

military service. He served eight years in the U.S. Army Reserve, 

and was awarded the Meritorious Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Action Badge for his actions while deployed in Iraq. 

Mr. Kyle Mitchell is the Deputy Executive Director for the Texas 

Veterans Commission, the state-appointed advocate of Texas veterans. He has held this position since 2010. Prior to that, he served 

as an advisor to Governor Rick Perry. 

Mr. Shawn Deabay is the Director of Veterans Employment Services at the Texas Veterans Commission. He has worked in the Veterans Employment Services Program for 13 years, and directed it 

since 2011. 

You may wonder why we have two Texans, with two Minnesotans chairing the hearing. 
2 

[Laughter.] 

It is just a coincidence, but actually Congressman Brady I know 

would love to be here but is chairing another hearing as Congressman Paulsen will explain. But we welcome you. 

And then finally, Mr. Benjamin Fowke is the Chairman of the 

Board, President, and CEO of Xcel Energy, a major electricity and 

natural gas company with operations in eight Western and Midwestern States. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Xcel has more than 

5 million electric and natural gas customers. He serves on the 

board of directors of several organizations, including the Minnesota 

Business Partnership. They have an excellent record with veterans 

that we will hear about today, and I think it is an example of the 

kind of work we are seeing from employers all across the country. 

As I mentioned, we did a report in preparation for today’s hearing. The encouraging news. First, the employment situation for veterans has improved, and the overall veterans’ unemployment rate 

of 7 percent was below the national rate of 8.1 percent in 2012. In 

my home state, the veterans’ unemployment rate is at 6.8 percent, 

just below the national average. 

In addition, the unemployment rate for veterans who served in 

the post-9/11 era declined by more than 2 percentage points, which 

is a major decline in 2012; but as we all know, it was way too high 

to begin with. So it went from 12.1 percent to 9.9 percent, a larger 

drop than for both the non-veteran and total veteran population. 

But there is still more work to be done. Post-9/11 veterans still 

face an unemployment rate that is nearly 3 percentage points higher than the total veteran population, and 2 percentage points higher than non-veterans. 

When we look at employment industry by industry, it is clear 

that the recession had a larger impact on many industries that employ a high share of veterans. And as we also know, a number of 

them were serving overseas when the downturn hit; their jobs disappeared, and it was much harder for them when they came back 

in terms of getting the job that was no longer there, or looking for 

a new one. 

Industries in which veterans often find work, such as manufacturing and construction, were among the hardest hit during the recession. At the same time, recent veterans are under-represented 

in the faster growing sectors of the economy, including leisure and 

hospitality, and education and health services. 

For these recent veterans, unemployment may be due to challenges in translating their military experience into civilian work, or 

not having the correct skills for the available civilian jobs. Or, as 

I mentioned, the fact that they were serving when we saw the 

downturn. 

Now what do we do? 

In response we have taken a number of steps to help improve 

employment prospects for returning veterans. The Post-9/11 GI Bill 

offers tuition benefits for veterans who served in the Post-9/11 era. 

Over 900,000 veterans and their family members have benefitted 

from this landmark legislation, and we hope that it had something 

to do with the fact that we are now seeing these improving numbers. We knew that that would take a few years to be able to show 

through. 
3 

In 2011, we passed the VOW to Hire Heroes Act, a bill that I cosponsored. That legislation amended the Work Opportunity Tax 

Credit and increased the tax credit for employers that hire unemployed veterans. Now employers can get up to a $9,600 tax credit 

for hiring veterans. It also expanded the Transition Assistance Program to help prepare service members to enter the civilian workforce. 

Many skills learned in the military are useful in meeting civilian 

job requirements, but oftentimes, as I’ve heard from employers, 

when veterans talk about their work they might use acronyms or 

letters or numbers and really are not able to explain the high level 

of responsibility and the work ethic that they actually brought with 

them from the military. And so I know that a lot of companies and 

groups in the veterans area have been working with our veterans 

on that issue. 

Another thing that we can do, that we continue to work on, is 

the skills that they get there. I use the example of paramedic skills 

where we have a shortage of paramedics in rural areas. Our veterans get those skills over there, but they come back and they have 

to start all over again in a program to learn to be a paramedic. 

Now they obviously need to get some kind of degree, if they don’t 

have it yet, but we would like to see them get more credit for the 

actual work that they did in the Service so that they are able to 

apply that to the education that they will need to get when they 

come back. That shortens the time period, and also shortens the 

time period that they may be away from their families. 

Manufacturing. Just to give a sense, in the State that Representative Paulsen and I represent, in 2010 40 percent of our manufacturers said they had job openings for which they couldn’t find 

skilled workers. Now in 2012, it was up to 60 percent. Clearly 

there are openings there. Oftentimes they may require a one- or 

two-year degree, or even more, given the complexity of some of our 

manufacturing now, but that is another area. 

I am so proud of our employers in Minnesota. They actually—we 

have a high percentage of Guard and Reserve members. Our employers got together and actually went to Kuwait when our troops 

were returning home from Iraq, and this group of Minnesotan National Guard were actually helping in that transition, and actually 

went and interviewed and worked with them when they were in 

Kuwait. Major companies went over there to work with our veterans. 

That is the kind of pitching in that we need to see as we transition out of these wars and we bring our troops home, and we see 

some cuts to the military budget. We know we’re going to have a 

number of former Service members that are home and need jobs. 

With that, I am happy to turn it over to my colleague from Minnesota, Representative Paulsen. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ERIK PAULSEN, A U.S. 

REPRESENTATIVE FROM MINNESOTA 

Representative Paulsen. Well I would like to thank Vice Chair 

Klobuchar for choosing the topic of today’s hearing, ‘‘Building Opportunities for Veterans.’’ 
4 

Chairman Brady is occupied with another subcommittee hearing 

over in the House on the Ways and Means Committee. 

Every single member of this Committee honors the men and 

women who have served in our Nation’s Armed Forces. Since the 

enactment of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, which 

was popularly known as the ‘‘GI Bill,’’ Congress has pledged to help 

veterans pursue their ideal of the American Dream. Congress remains committed to helping veterans make a successful transition 

to civilian life, caring for the wounded, and assisting the disabled 

and their families. 

Today’s hearing focuses on a key portion of that commitment: 

Helping veterans find jobs. There are numerous federal and state 

programs that are designed to help veterans secure a college education and training, take advantage of what skills they learned in 

the Armed Forces, and then find gainful employment in the private 

sector. 

Broadly speaking, employment trends among recent veterans follow employment trends among the entire working-age population. 

Indeed, the 12-month moving average for unemployment rate for 

all veterans of 6.7 percent is slightly lower than the overall unemployment rate of 7.6 percent in June. Therefore, the general condition of our economy affects the level of employment among veterans 

as much, if not more, than specific programs designed to help veterans find jobs. 

The Growth Gap—which is the difference between the economic 

performance in the current recovery and an average recovery since 

World War II—is hurting employment prospects of both veterans 

and non-veterans. 

This recovery, which is four years old this month, is the weakest in seven decades. Consequently, the United States has $1.2 trillion 

less today in real GDP and 3.9 million fewer private sector jobs 

than the United States would have had in an average post-war recovery. 

In terms of real disposable income per capita, this anemic recovery has generated about $2,800 less in income after inflation and 

taxes for every American than an average post-1960 recovery 

would have generated. 

And why are we suffering from a Growth Gap? Business investment in new buildings, and equipment, and software drives private-sector job creation. Compared with previous recoveries, real 

business investment has been weak. After five-and-one-quarter 

years, it still remains at 3.9 percent below its pre-recession peak. 

A lack of liquidity and high interest rates are not restraining 

business investment. Commercial banks have over $2 trillion in excess reserves sitting at the Fed that could be lent to America’s entrepreneurs. 

America’s non-financial corporations have another $1.5 trillion in 

cash sitting on the sidelines. And interest rates do remain at historic lows. The Federal Reserve has done all that it can through 

monetary policy to help this recovery—which we’ve had some discussion in this Committee about. 

Local businesses continue to tell us over and over again that 

Washington’s tax, and regulation, and deficit policies which the 

President continues to pursue have also generated uncertainty that 
5 

is deterring America’s entrepreneurs from making the investments 

that would create millions of good jobs for veterans and non-veterans alike. 

It was Nobel Laureate Albert Einstein who defined insanity as 

‘‘doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different 

results.’’ Four years after an anemic recovery has begun, it is clear 

that the current mix of economic policies is not working and we can 

do better. 

And what can be done to reduce and close the Growth Gap and 

ensure that the 21st Century is another American Century? The 

bottom line is you must get our act together in Congress 

bipartisanly in three major areas of economic policy: 

One, we need to reduce federal spending and federal debt as a 

percentage of our Gross Domestic Product. We need to continue to 

pursue growth, pro-growth tax and fiscal policies for a healthier 

economy to give businesses the incentive and confidence to invest 

in companies, equipment, and people. 

We need to overhaul the federal regulatory process to ensure necessary regulations are balanced and cost-effective. 

And then we need to return to a more predictable rules-based 

monetary policy that will maintain purchasing power of the United 

States dollar over time. 

Those basic changes will spur the U.S. economy and help our veterans find gainful employment. And to that end, earlier this year 

I partnered with the Army to host a job fair in Minnesota. And as 

Senator Klobuchar well knows, and mentioned, the Minnesota National Guard has been implementing new programs with a great 

rate of success, putting a focus on getting our veterans back to 

work. 

I am also proud of our Minnesota employers like Xcel, who is testifying here today. They do represent why Minnesota is a leader 

when it comes to taking care of our veterans, including hiring initiatives. 

I also want to thank all the witnesses for being here today, and 

I look forward to hearing your testimony. 

[The prepared statement of Representative Brady appears in the 

Submissions for the Record on page 26.] 

Vice Chair Klobuchar. Very good. Thank you, very much. 

Mr. Gallucci, why don’t you begin? 

STATEMENT OF MR. RYAN M. GALLUCCI, DEPUTY DIRECTOR 

OF NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE SERVICE, VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS, WASHINGTON, DC 

Mr. Gallucci. Thank you, Vice Chair Klobuchar. 

On behalf of the VFW, the Nation’s largest and oldest organization of combat veterans, I want to thank you for the opportunity 

to present our perspective on the current employment situation for 

veterans. 

As the current conflicts draw down and the military plans to 

shrink the Active Duty Force, the Department of Labor anticipates 

that more than 1 million veterans will enter the workforce in the 

next few years. 

The most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that veteran unemployment is trending downward, and that 
6 

total veteran unemployment remains lower than the national average. Unfortunately, this glimpse into the employment situation of 

veterans only tells part of the story. 

While the VFW applauds the last Congress for addressing persistent veterans’ unemployment through policies like the VOW to 

Hire Heroes Act, unemployment among young veterans and women 

veterans still far outpaces civilian unemployment. 

For the VFW’s full concerns and recommendations, I refer the 

Committee to my prepared remarks. For the balance of my time, 

I would like to focus on three specific issues: 

Military Transition Assistance; 

Professional Licensing and Credentialing; and 

Educational Opportunities. 

First with regard to military transition assistance, or TAP, the 

VFW has long held that TAP [Transition Assistance Program] is 

critical to ensuring service members have a quality baseline of information from which to make informed decisions about future career opportunities when leaving the service. 

For years the VFW called on VA, DoD, and Labor to revise the 

TAP curriculum, and we are proud to see that the recently mandated redesign is nearly complete. 

While testifying on this issue, we have acknowledged that the 

TAP redesign is a drastic improvement, but we believe that more 

can be done to ensure that service members are adequately prepared for the difficult transition into the civilian marketplace. 

The VFW is concerned that service members will not be required 

to participate in individualized TAP tracks, but rather satisfy career-readiness standards on their own time. The VFW believes that 

the track’s curricula were covered by the recent TAP participation 

mandate, and we encourage DoD to deliver this training appropriately. 

The VFW has long said that service members on Active Duty 

cannot reasonably anticipate all of the challenges that they may 

face once they’ve transitioned into civilian life, which is why we encourage each agency to make its curriculum readily available to 

veterans once they leave Active Duty. 

We also encourage community organizations to step up and help 

fill the gaps where necessary. For example, VFW Post 661 in 

Salem, Oregon, recently joined forces with Easter Seals to host 

Battle Buddy Luncheons where veterans in the community can 

come into the Post each week to learn about local resources. The 

brainchild of VFW member and Easter Seals employee Jarod Dyer, 

the program has already helped veterans get back on their feet and 

on the path to quality careers. 

Second, with regard to post-service licensure and credentialling, 

the VFW believes that when a service member leaves Active Duty 

he or she should be able to continue in a similar civilian career. 

Unfortunately, this is not usually possible because military training does not directly align with civilian licenses or credentials. 

The VFW applauds DoD’s effort in its current pilot program on 

civilian credentialling, and we encourage further expansion of this 

program beyond the current handful of covered military jobs. 

However, the military can only do so much to resolve this issue. 

It will also take a concerted effort from states that issue licenses 
7 

and private industry which must invest in the human capital our 

newest veterans offer. 

Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with one such private 

company, Sharp Decisions, which is dedicated to helping veterans 

receive quality IT credentials. Karen Ross, CEO of Sharp Decisions, 

recently commissioned a Vet’s Program which trains veterans in IT 

testing and data mining capabilities. 

The program is free to veterans who are on the Sharp payroll 

throughout their training. Once trained, Ross deploys her teams of 

credentialed IT professionals to clients. Ross said that the program 

was not simply born out of patriotism but out of the recognition 

that highly trained military professionals offer the traits she and 

her clients needed. It made business sense. 

Finally, with regard to educational opportunities, the VFW has 

worked diligently over the last few years to improve transparency 

in education access for veterans, but also to improve benefits available to unemployed veterans. 

In my prepared remarks I discuss the VRAP program, which has 

offered many unemployed older veterans significant opportunities 

to enhance their job skills. Unfortunately, statutory limitations on 

two-year schools and full-time enrollment make it difficult for 

many to participate. 

The VFW is also concerned that, despite improvements to information flow for college-bound veterans, we lack quality data on 

outcomes threatening the long-term viability of benefits like the 

Post-9/11 GI Bill. 

Through the help of Student Veterans of America and the National Student Clearinghouse, the VA will soon be able to better 

track education beneficiaries, but we must do more to demonstrate 

our return on investment. 

For veterans attending public schools, the current reimbursement model for the Post-9/11 GI Bill also creates unforeseen financial hurdles, since many veterans are disqualified from in-state tuition because of their military service. 

We encourage Congress to allow all Post-9/11 GI Bill eligible veterans to attend at the in-state rate, offering reasonable protections 

for those affected, much like the protections we already offer our 

troops on Active Duty. 

The employment outlook for our veterans has drastically improved since the recession hit in 2008. However, as we have outlined here today, we certainly can do more. 

Vice Chair Klobuchar and Members of the Committee, this concludes my testimony. I am happy to answer any questions you may 

have. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Ryan M. Gallucci appears in the 

Submissions for the Record on page 26.] 

Vice Chair Klobuchar. Thank you, very much. 

Mr. Mitchell. 

STATEMENT OF MR. KYLE MITCHELL, DEPUTY EXECUTIVE 

DIRECTOR, TEXAS VETERANS COMMISSION, AUSTIN, TX 

Mr. Mitchell. Madam Chair, Members, thank you very much for 

having me here. 
8 

Again, my name is Kyle Mitchell. I am the Deputy Executive Director of the Texas Veterans Commission. On behalf of our Executive Director Thomas Palladino, our Chairman Al Cantu, and our 

Commissioners, I appreciate you having us here to talk about what 

we are doing to help the 1.7 million veterans in Texas. 

We do that through our four program areas: 

Our Claims Representation and Counseling Program, which includes our state strikeforce teams which have helped over 19,000 

backlogged claims move through the system. 

We have our Veterans Employment Program which we will be 

talking about today. 

We have a Veterans Education Program, which as the Vice Chair 

noted plays a key role in helping veterans use their state and federal education benefits. 

And we also have a Fund for Veterans Assistance, which provides grants to local governments and nonprofit organizations that 

help veterans and their families. 

We are the advocacy agency for veterans in the State of Texas. 

And these four program areas are important because they are all 

centralized in one agency. Veterans come here and the structure is 

the key to our success. 

I would like to highlight two aspects of my submitted testimony 

which are hard to convey in writing. First is appreciation. 

The Texas Veterans Commission and the State of Texas appreciates the investment that Congress and the Federal Government 

have made in our veterans, not only during their Service but after 

their Service in helping them find employment, particularly 

through the Jobs for Veterans State Grant. 

Through the Jobs for Veterans State Grant the Federal Govern- ment provides over approximately $168 million to the states to support veterans’ employment; $168 million is not a lot of money in 

comparison to the overall federal budget, or even that of the Department of Labor, but it makes a huge impact in the State of 

Texas and across the Nation. 

In many cases, these were the only specific resources that are 

available to help veterans find employment. And that is why it is 

critical that these resource be used wisely, and that’s what we do 

in Texas. 

Last year the Texas Veterans Commission received $12.2 million 

through the Jobs for Veterans State Grant which allowed us to provide 170 veteran employment representatives throughout the State 

of Texas located in 92 workforce centers, working with our partner, 

the Texas Workforce Commission, and our local Workforce Boards. 

In the most recent reporting period, we were able to help over 

69,000 veterans, and many of those obtained employment. Approximately 221 veterans obtained employment for every one of our Veteran Employment Representatives. Although we only receive about 

7 percent of the Jobs for Veterans State Grant funding nationwide, 

we account for over 18 percent of the veterans entering employment after receiving services. 

And because we appreciate this funding, and because we are successful with it, this brings me to my second point: Opportunity, the 

opportunity to improve the Jobs for Veterans State Grant Program. 

And one way to do that is to emphasize performance. 
9 

One, we think that performance should be part of the funding 

formula that is included as part of the Jobs for Veterans State 

Grants. We also think that funding for—the funding that is provided right now for performance—should actually reward performance. Right now, part of the grant goes to—is required to be spent 

on performance regardless of how well a state is performing, and 

we think that that should change. 

Mr. Deabay, who is here with me today and, as the Vice Chair 

noted, has 13 years of experience with the Jobs for Veterans State 

Grant, will provide a little bit more detail on that and on the detail 

of other ways we think we can improve the Jobs for Veterans State 

Grant. 

I would like to spend the rest of my time talking a little bit about 

veteran entrepreneurship, which is a topic that we have been working on in Texas. 

Last year we identified the need to do that. We launched a pilot 

veteran entrepreneurial program in Texas. Our one staff member 

was able to assist over 1,000 veterans towards veteran entrepreneurship. We think that this is valuable work that we can do. 

Right now the Small Business Administration, who has been a 

very valuable partner in this effort, but they also serve a population of over 23 million veterans nationwide through a network of 

only 15 Veteran Business Outreach Centers, so we think that there 

is an opportunity to provide expanded resources there. 

We also think that, to the Chair’s point about the Post-9/11 GI 

Bill, the work that we do as the state approving agency for that. 

There have been some changes to the work that we do as the state 

approving agency. We think that there are some opportunities to 

improve that work there. And also to better utilize the on-the-job 

training program that is available through the Post-9/11 as a way 

to better integrate veterans with employers. 

In closing, I would like to thank the Committee again for having 

the Texas Veterans Commission here. Again, through our four program areas we are able to do great things for veterans. But part 

of the great work that we are able to do on behalf of employment 

is in no small part due to the support that we get from the Federal 

Government. And we also believe that there are opportunities to 

improve that work. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Kyle Mitchell appears in the 

Submissions for the Record on page 29.] 

Vice Chair Klobuchar. Very good. Thank you very much, Mr. 

Mitchell. 

Mr. Deabay. 

STATEMENT OF MR. SHAWN DEABAY, DIRECTOR OF VETERANS EMPLOYMENT SERVICES, TEXAS VETERANS COMMISSION, AUSTIN, TX 

Mr. Deabay. Good morning. As Mr. Mitchell says, I really appreciate this opportunity to share with you the reasons why in 

Texas we’ve been so successful. 

It starts with our Veteran Employment Representatives, the 

LVSs and DVOPs that Kyle had mentioned. I refer to them as job 

caches, because what they do is help veterans with, veterans of all 

wars, with every aspect of finding employment, whether they’re 
10 

under-employed, or unemployed. They help them with every aspect. 

That could be translating military skills. It could be resume writing. It could be overcoming barriers to employment. There’s lots of 

things that my job coaches do that are very, very important. 

What is key is that initial assessment. During the initial assessment, veterans will come in and we will try to see every veteran 

the very first time they enter the American Job Center. 

What we do is we do an assessment to determine what the next 

step is. Do they need an employment plan? Do they need resume 

help? Do they need a referral to the appropriate employer who is 

willing to hire veterans? 

That is very, very key and something we are very aggressive 

with. We don’t wait for veterans to come into the Job Center and 

then help them; we are very aggressive and try to get the word out 

that we are here to help every veteran if you’re under-employed. 

We also receive input. Before we make decisions at the state 

level, I receive input from all of my job coaches and take the pulse 

of veterans employment at the ground level. There’s lots of numbers, lots of great statistics, and the unemployment rate is declining, but if you ask a veteran who is currently looking for work, I 

don’t think they care if the numbers are declining or not. 

So we need to take the pulse of employment at the ground level, 

not just simply the numbers. And I rely on my job coaches who see 

veterans each and every day to help me make decisions at the state 

level. 

We do that through work groups. They give me innovative ideas. 

One of the ideas that we have done is we have developed veteran 

business representatives, and they are strictly to outreach employers and educate them. 

There are two parts to the employment equation. There are the 

employers, and then there’s the veterans. So we have dedicated 

personnel to help educate employers on a regional level—Texas is 

a very big state. So we have done four of them to help get that 

word out, as well as helping veterans on the ground. 

Our structure is another main reason for our success. When we 

make decisions at the state level, our job coaches in the field take 

minutes for them to be able to get that and be able to respond and 

have input. There’s not multi-level supervision that they need to go 

through. It is a very seamless communication style and structure 

that we have where I can direct my job coaches at any given time 

and they give me feedback in any given time. And that is also very 

important. 

Real quick about our challenge of getting the word out that we’re 

here. A lot of veterans still do not know that we have—in Texas 

we have, like Kyle said, 170 job coaches. And getting the word out 

that we are here is a definite challenge. We do our best in doing 

that, but we can always do a lot better. 

Also, communication within all of the stakeholders in veterans 

employment. That includes the Department of Labor VETS, the 

states, all the stakeholders. We need to do a better job of coming 

together and talking about the pulse of veterans employment, and 

share ideas—share ideas with large states, medium states, and 

small states. 
11 

There are some great things going on, as you mentioned in Minnesota. There are some great things going on in Texas in entrepreneur with our business representatives that make a real difference in veterans’ lives. And there are some great ideas. 

We need to come together and share those ideas. Get together 

with large, medium, and small states and have that forum to discuss, and maybe other states can implement what we are doing 

and what other states are doing. 

In closing, I would like to—just a quick story. I know it’s in my 

testimony, in my written testimony, but what we do really helps 

veterans’ lives on just a real basic level. I was doing this for over 

13 years. I started as a DVOP job coach in Texas. Very few resources were available. There was a homeless veteran who lived 

out of his car in the parking lot. 

I saw him every morning at seven o’clock. I got to know this veteran. I got to help this veteran get housing, helped him with food— 

and I didn’t do it by just a referral: here, see this website; here, 

go—it was a real personal one-on-one. I developed a relationship 

within the community, and that is what our job coaches do. 

Through the VWIP program, Veteran Workforce Investment Program, we were able to help him go and get a truck driving license. 

He became an over-the-road longhaul truck driver, and would come 

back on his way to Houston and just tell me what a great job, and 

thank me so much. And that is what it is really about. It’s not 

about the numbers. It’s really about helping the veteran, each and 

every one of them, and I am very proud. 

The last thing I would like to say is, the reason why we are successful is because I have an amazing staff: 170 job coaches that 

really care, and really make a difference in veterans’ lives. One-onone personal service is the key. 

So with that, I end. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Shawn Deabay appears in the 

Submissions for the Record on page 33.] 

Vice Chair Klobuchar. Thank you, very much. 

Mr. Fowke. 

STATEMENT OF BENJAMIN G.S. FOWKE III, CHAIRMAN OF THE 

BOARD, PRESIDENT AND CEO, XCEL ENERGY, MINNEAPOLIS, 

MN 

Mr. Fowke. Thank you, Vice Chair Klobuchar. It is a pleasure 

to be here this morning before this distinguished panel. Minneapolis is our company headquarters, and I am delighted, as always, to be here with you. Xcel Energy also operates in Texas, and 

we appreciate Chairman Brady’s activities on veteran issues as 

well. And we are pleased to see that Representative Paulsen is 

here, another Minnesotan with whom we work closely, who has 

also worked to ease the transition of veterans to civilian life. 

Roughly 12 percent of Xcel Energy’s 11,000 employees are vets, 

and veterans are even better represented on our management 

team. And while we are proud of that performance, we want to do 

more. 

For example, we know that our veteran employees generally are 

not Post-9/11 vets, so absent our intervention we could lose ground. 
12 

Our experience is similar to that noted in the Committee’s report 

on ‘‘Building Job Opportunities for Returning Vets’’—that is, veterans we hire tend to be in the older, mid-career cohort as opposed 

to the younger, fresh-out veterans. 

Yet over half of our hires each year are filled with people in the 

25 to 35 age group. So we have got a great opportunity to change 

that. 

I will briefly highlight what we are doing within our company 

and within our industry, and then offer some suggestions on how 

we can improve veteran hiring practices. 

Internally we have made veteran hiring a priority throughout the 

company, and have worked to address obstacles to doing so. One 

key gap has been the ability to translate military skills to civilian 

job requirements, with the veteran unable to articulate his or her 

experience and skills to fit our positions, and our hiring leaders unable to recognize the military experience that they have and how 

it is comparable to our work. 

To address this gap, we have developed a translator at our career 

website to help both applicants and and our hiring leaders better 

understand the types of military experiences and how they apply 

to our various job openings. 

We are focusing on line men and women, plant operation and 

maintenance workers and engineers, all jobs where we expect to 

see significant turnover in the coming years. We believe we should 

be able to find good matches with the skills of returning veterans, 

but we need to be sure we build a better understanding of military 

skills to take full advantage. 

Next we need to provide a supportive environment to retain that 

talent. Research shows that veterans stay in their first job after 

Service for 2 years, but then stay in their next position for over 10. 

That first shift from military to civilian life can be complicated 

for various reasons, and we want to make sure that we provide an 

environment that lengthens these tenures. We all need to have our 

employees engaged in making that happen. 

To that end, we have developed a series of orientation, training, 

and leadership development programs that use that transition. 

Working within our industry to greatly open channels to recruit 

qualified vets, we participate in partnerships such as Troop to Energy Jobs, a collaborative effort between the Edison Electric Institute and the Center for Energy Workforce Development to help us 

link to available talent. 

Other channels and partners such as military.com, Corporate 

Gray, and Hire A Veteran, also help us reach potential veterans. 

Finally, we hold ourselves accountable by creating a dashboard 

to measure our progress. We know that we focus on what we measure. So we need to keep our eye on the ball, monitor our performance statistics, and use those to further close the hiring gap. 

I am very pleased to report that our efforts are paying off. We 

have been honored to receive awards for our veteran hiring practices, including the 2013 Most Valuable Employer for the Military 

by CivilianJobs.com. 

GI Jobs also listed Xcel Energy as the top military—one of the 

top military-friendly employers in 2012 and 2013. And it is always 

nice to be recognized, but we know that there is more that we can 
13 

do and we must do. And to that end, just let me make a couple 

of suggestions. 

First, anything that can be done to better identify the linkage between a veteran’s military experience and civilian jobs would be 

helpful. 

Partnerships between civilian companies and veteran agencies 

can improve the vet’s ability to communicate with companies more 

effectively, and further support of these efforts would be welcome. 

Such efforts are similar to those efforts we have undertaken for 

college students. An example is with St. Cloud University in Minnesota where we help students relate their experience through our 

job openings. I believe these are models that we can also apply to 

veterans. 

Second, it would be helpful if military training could lead directly 

to civilian certificates. In our industry, valuable certificates include 

Certified Security Professionals, Plant Operator Licensing, Professional Engineers, Certified Information System Security Professional, CPAs, or Certified Internal Auditors. 

In many ways, such military and civilian jobs have similarities 

and providing avenues for veterans to achieve these kinds of certificates would greatly help the transition. 

Our industry employs a number of highly technical skilled positions that are extremely competitive right now. We have a retirement bubble. We’re going to have half of our workforce turn over 

in the next 10 years. So this is a real opportunity for us. 

So let me just conclude by saying we’re committed. I am committed. Our entire business is committed to this. We know how important it is, and we welcome your questions and, more importantly, your partnership going forward. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Benjamin G.S. Fowke III appears in the Submissions for the Record on page 37.] 

Vice Chair Klobuchar. Thank you very much. Thank you, to 

all of you. 

I was just listening to that ‘‘retirement bubble.’’ It sounds a little 

like the U.S. Senate. We had our own retirement bubble in the last 

few years with a lot of people retiring, and new Members coming 

in. And I think new energy is always good. 

When you think about these new veterans coming in, we know 

that their unemployment rate, having gone from 12.1 percent in 

2011 to 9.9 percent as we pointed out at the beginning, a bigger 

drop than with the civilian population, that’s great. But it is still 

higher than our national unemployment rate. It is certainly higher 

than our Minnesota unemployment rate of 5.3 percent. 

So could you talk about some of the greatest challenges facing 

these post-9/11 veterans in finding work? Do you see it as a skills 

gap? Lack of the right certification, something you just pointed out? 

Or that ability to translate their military skills into civilian jobs? 

Mr. Fowke. I would say it is all of the above, with the exceptions of the skills. I think that gets to the translation of the skills 

that they did attain through their military service. 

And what I would suggest, in addition to the translator type 

things and getting them the opportunity to get those certifications, 

we need to reach them sooner as they transition out of their mili-
14 

tary careers into civilian life. I would encourage us to work together to do basically some simple things like pre-qualifications. 

Our industry has a number of basically SAT-type tests for aptitude-type tests. And if we could have those vets tested earlier, I believe they would rise higher up in the queue when that hiring process starts. 

Vice Chair Klobuchar. What do you mean by ‘‘earlier’’? Take 

the test earlier? 

Mr. Fowke. Yes. I mean, typically they are taking that test after 

they leave the military. And if we could have them take that test 

prior to leaving the military, then they are pre-qualified and then 

we do not have any kind of lag in timing gap. And I think what 

typically happens is they get lost in the queue then and they have 

to re-emerge. 

I think that is the theme we have been talking about with, you 

know, getting the certifications and other things. Let’s make sure 

that they get credit for what they did. 

Vice Chair Klobuchar. Thank you. 

Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Deabay, do you want to talk a little bit about 

that certification issue, what you have seen with the people you 

work with? 

Mr. Deabay. I mean I couldn’t agree more. The more credit that 

a veteran can get while they serve—I mean, being in the military 

is a corporation, and there’s a lot of advanced technologies that 

people aren’t aware of that they have a lot of skills. They go 

through a lot of in-depth training, and to get credit for that is obviously very important. 

Also, another great point was the earlier the better. The earlier 

that you can get to an exiting service member, the better in the 

employment. Once they’re out, there is going to be a lag. If you can 

get to them as soon as possible and get them as job-ready as possible when they exit, I think that that is absolutely key. 

Vice Chair Klobuchar. Well I mean that is certainly what we 

have seen on this Committee with the long-term unemployment. 

Once they are out and don’t have a job for six months, a year, it 

gets harder and harder for them to get employment. 

So I think all of that is true across the populations, but certainly 

we have seen evidence of that. And it is even harder for them when 

they come back to suddenly get all these certifications. So a lot of 

this is getting them ready while they are serving, I would think. 

Mr. Deabay. Absolutely. 

Vice Chair Klobuchar. Did you want to add anything, Mr. 

Mitchell? 

Mr. Mitchell [Nodding in the negative]. 

Vice Chair Klobuchar. Mr. Gallucci, the Chamber of Commerce has created the Hiring our Heroes Program, and the goal of 

that is to get commitments from businesses to hire 500,000 veterans or military spouses by the end of next year. 

Have you noticed an increased effort because of this work? 

Mr. Gallucci. As a matter of fact, we think the Hire our Heroes 

campaign has been fairly successful to this point. They have put together some fairly innovative techniques to encourage companies to 

hire veterans. 
15 

One of the best examples that they have put together is the Heat 

Map on where companies are hiring veterans. If you go onto the 

U.S. Chamber’s website, a veteran who is looking for where they 

are hosting their career fairs can also see where there are jobs in 

in-demand industries. 

So we think it is a very helpful resource. And what the Chamber 

has also done is leveraged local resources. They have reached out 

into communities. My colleagues from the American Legion, and 

also our Posts within the VFW, have worked with the U.S. Chamber and local Chambers of Commerce to host hiring fairs around 

the country where employers will come in, employers who have 

made commitments to the U.S. Chamber’s Hire our Heroes Campaign, with jobs for veterans. So it is not your typical job fair where 

you go in, you gladhand a couple of HR representatives, and then 

you never hear from them again. 

These are veterans who are going in looking for jobs in companies who have jobs that they want to fill with qualified veterans. 

Vice Chair Klobuchar. The other thing that I think you are all 

aware of—and then I’ll turn it over to Representative Paulsen— 

here is just with the Guard and Reserve, sometimes they have different situations. They come back. They are not going to an Active 

Duty base for them to have that time where they start reintegrating and thinking about it. And they go to small towns all over 

the country. Many of them are from rural areas. 

And our state started something called the ‘‘Beyond the Yellow 

Ribbon Program’’ that has now gone national, where they have to 

check in every 30 days. Their commanders then see them every few 

months. And then every year. And the commanders see how they 

are doing. Are they using their benefits correctly? Are they getting 

a job? 

And part of this is also to get at mental illness issues. I assume 

you would think this is helpful, as well? 

Mr. Gallucci. Absolutely. One of the issues that I talked about 

in our written testimony was the dilemma with Guard and Reserve 

unemployment. And I draw on some experiences of the soldiers 

that I served with in the Army Reserve, where I have one soldier 

who is just leaving on his third deployment in five years. 

Technically he is still a college sophomore. So skills’ attainment 

is very difficult. With the number of semesters he has been able 

to attend while serving in the Army Reserve, it makes it difficult. 

Also, what you also touched on there has to do with the availability of these resources once you leave Active Duty. We are doing 

a much better job of transitioning Active Duty service members 

through the transition assistance program mandate, but when a 

service member goes back into the National Guard or Reserve they 

may not have access to the same kind of resources. So closing those 

through programs like the Army’s Yellow Ribbon Program are critical to making sure that they can get in and talk to potential employers, learn about what is available to them from federal and 

state agencies, and then hopefully find a job. 

Vice Chair Klobuchar. Thank you, very much. Representative 

Paulsen, we have a full plate of people here, so it’s great. 

Representative Paulsen. Thank you. Well you all have kind of 

touched on it, but one of the key areas in helping the service mem-
16 

bers not waiting for providing that assistance and guidance until 

after they come home is trying to get in front of the opportunity, 

knowing that they will be coming home. 

The Minnesota National Guard has been working with service 

members while they have actually been deployed. They launched a 

pilot program to work with about 2,700 members of the First Brigade Combat Team that was deployed in Kuwait. 

It was a unit that faced an estimated unemployment rate of 

about 20 percent upon their return. But by working ahead of time 

on resume, and interview skills, as well as how to translate that 

military experience into marketable civilian skills, they were actually able to get ahead of the curve and get those folks ready to 

work as soon as possible. So when they came back home, the First 

Brigade, actually their team unemployment rate dropped to below 

2 percent. 

And the Minnesota National Guard has also worked with employers designated as Yellow Ribbon companies, and those Minnesota employers are not only dedicated to hiring veterans, but 

they work together then to share best practices for more effective 

outcomes for others across the board. 

And Minnesota has got other role models, actually. U.S. Bank recently was given a prestigious award from the Secretary of Defense, Employer Support Freedom Award, from the employer in 

support of the Guard/Reserve Organization, which is outstanding. 

And companies like Xcel, of course, have a special place on their 

website to focus special attention on hiring veterans and know that 

they are an asset. 

Using those examples certainly provides lessons, giving a comprehensive approach which you all have kind of touched upon. And 

one of the things I know that I have supported in the House, and 

we’ve passed legislation as well along with the Senate, is making 

sure that veterans that do return with skills that our communities 

need those skills back home, we want to make sure we translate 

to allow that training and certification to directly do jobs back 

home. 

So, Mr. Fowke, you touched on it a little bit in terms of you’ve 

got translators where you’re getting ahead of the curve as a company, and looking at pre-qualifications, giving tests. What else can 

the military do, or what can we help assist the military to do directly to help prospective civilian employers identify those exact 

skills that are learned, and that are possessed by veterans, making 

sure that those skills are going to be translated into applicable use 

in the private sector? 

Mr. Fowke. I think we touched upon some of that in the various 

testimony. And it is translating those skills. That is the first thing. 

Getting credit for some of those skills. That’s the certification, prequalification program that we talked about. 

And I guess the third thing where I think we could work together on is getting access to those veterans earlier—ideally, prior 

to leaving the service, so we don’t have that issue where the Vice 

Chair said, that after six months it starts to get harder and harder. 

So we want to hit the ground running. And I think we can do 

that if we reach out to them sooner. That is similar to the experience I related to with the St. Cloud, that if we talk to students— 
17 

in this case it would be vets—sooner, help them understand what 

we are going to need and how to translate that, encourage them 

to take various industry-type standard tests, I think we could 

achieve amazing results. 

Representative Paulsen. Now, Mr. Deabay, you talked about 

coaches and that one-on-one relationship being so critical, and that 

relationship really being helpful to veterans in specific situations. 

Do you think that upon discharge the military could certify that 

a veteran possesses a certain skill set? Or what can we do to make 

sure the military is sort of having this coaching process earlier on 

in preparation? 

Mr. Deabay. Yes. The transition assistance program, to work 

with us on our job coaches, and have that communication that I 

talked about before. I think there needs to be better communication 

with that TAP program, and our job coaches, or LVRs and DVOPs, 

as they’re known nationally, to talk to them earlier. 

I mean, the sooner we can talk to them, the better, and identify. 

But getting those skills. They have the skills, and being able to 

translate them, getting certifications for all of the training that 

they have been through. Everything I really think, the sooner the 

better. But right now, that is part of our challenge, is we are not 

able to talk to them sooner than later. A lot of times when we get 

them, they mention us at the TAP program, and then they come 

see us maybe after, instead of before. That is key. 

Representative Paulsen. Mr. Mitchell or Mr. Gallucci. 

Mr. Mitchell. I think that the Transition Assistance Program, 

Congress has made a lot of changes to that program. They have 

made it mandatory. But I think as Mr. Gallucci spoke to, and can 

speak to a little more, that I think is one of the key areas where 

we can continue to—that at the point at which they are leaving the 

service, the military is providing those briefings to them, I think 

there is an opportunity to improve that process and to have it not 

just focused just on briefings but to focus on that licensure, the 

skills and how to do that. 

Mr. Gallucci. I just want to build on this by talking about a 

word that is thrown around in our community a lot, and that is 

‘‘seamless transition’’: So when you go from being a service member 

to a veteran and connecting you to the resources that are readily 

available to you. 

When I was leaving the military—or when I was actually still in 

the Reserve, it blew my mind when I learned that VA and Department of Defense never communicated with each other. They are 

completely siloed industries. 

Working in veterans advocacy, I have also learned that the Department of Labor, Veterans Employment and Training Service, is 

also siloed from Department of Defense. 

Now Veterans Employment Training Service is working to remedy this. They are in the process of negotiating an information 

sharing agreement to get access to the information about service 

members who will be transitioning off of Active Duty. 

What VETS wants to do is actually reach out to these 

transitioning service members at four specific points: When they 

make the decision to leave the military; when they are going 

through the Transition Assistance Program; at the capstone event 
18 

for the Transition Assistance Program; and then 75 days after they 

have separated from Active Duty. 

I believe my colleagues from the Texas Veterans Commission 

would agree that knowing when the veterans are going to be returning home is critical to connecting them with local resources. 

This is, from what we’ve heard from the Department of Labor, 

they are in negotiations with Department of Defense, but anything 

that Congress can do to put some pressure on them to codify this 

and finalize this agreement is critical to connecting veterans to 

those resources. 

Vice Chair Klobuchar. Okay. Very good idea. 

Representative Delaney. 

Representative Delaney. Thank you, Vice Chair Klobuchar, for 

organizing this important hearing. And I also want to add my 

thanks to all of our witnesses for joining us here today with their 

very interesting and insightful testimony. 

My first question is for Mr. Fowke. But before I do that, I want 

to also add my congratulations and appreciation for obviously a terrific job that Xcel has done in achieving, I think you said in your 

testimony, a 10 percent veterans employment rate, which is probably almost one-and-a-half times the average. And you’re a large 

company, so that is statistically significant. 

That didn’t happen by accident, so there is a lot to be learned 

from what you have done. And it brings to mind a larger question 

about thinking about a company like yours, and thinking about the 

skills that our veterans learn in the military. 

It seems to me they leave the military with above-average technical skills. They leave the military with above-average leadership 

skills. And they leave the military with experience working in a 

large organization and enterprise that is process-driven, and where 

structure is important. Not that creativity is not important, but 

structure and process is important. And that seems to line up quite 

well with your business. 

It’s large. It’s technical. And while creativity is obviously important, there are safety issues, et cetera. So you must have very good 

processes to be successful. 

And so do you think that, as we think about policy around improving employment for veterans, we should acknowledge more directly that certain industries align better with the skills that our 

veterans have? And perhaps disproportionately allocate resources 

around training and education, to developing bridges with those industries? 

Not that we want to discourage veterans from pursuing any career profession that they choose, but perhaps on the margin some 

of these resources would be better spent aligning with industries 

like energy services, and I’m sure there are others that match with 

these skills? And not, again, that entrepreneurship and things like 

that are not important and veterans should be able to do that, but 

it is not a skill that they gain through training while in the military. They probably either have that passion, or they don’t, inherently, so that is the nature of my question. 

Do you think there is any merit to going down this path, which 

is to align more with specific industries? 
19 

Mr. Fowke. Well I think that is a great question. I think if you 

look at what industries hire, it is almost to your point. And the energy, utility, the transport industries are big hirers of returning 

vets. And it is probably not a coincidence for some of the things you 

stated. 

And I will speak selfishly: We want the vets. 

Representative Delaney. Right. 

Mr. Fowke. And you touched on the points. Because they have 

the leadership skills. They know how to work in a team situation. 

And while our industry has made an incredible improvement in 

safety, you are working with electrical lines. You are working with 

gas lines. Safety and process come first. And you can’t be too creative when it comes to safety. 

So for all those reasons, we think it is an ideal situation for industries like ourselves, one. Two, as I mentioned, our industry is 

aging and we do need to replace our workforce. And we think that 

it is not only the skills, it is the values that the vets have. And I 

personally am committed to hiring on values just as much as skills. 

So it is a great mix, a great fit, and I would encourage that we— 

as a start in my industry, I think the prequalification testing would 

go a long way. 

Representative Delaney. And maybe Mr. Gallucci, do you 

think that the programs we have, educational et cetera, are linked 

along some of these industry verticals as deeply as they should be? 

Or do you think it is more broad-based? 

Mr. Gallucci. I think we can do better. And one of the points 

that I touched on in my testimony was the Department of Defense 

pilot program on Professional Licensure and Credentialing, where 

the Department of Defense is looking to expose military-trained 

professionals to civilian credentialing opportunities while they are 

still in uniform. 

Right now the pilot program is focused on transportation industries, health care; we’re hoping to expand it to IT and more technical fields where service members receive that training while they 

are on Active Duty, and where it would translate to a career for 

a company like Xcel Energy or somebody who—or an industry 

that’s in demand or hiring. 

Representative Delaney. Last question, very quickly. 

Do we look at data to say that we are more successful in some 

industries than others, and then realign resources around, the way 

Mr. Fowke would run his business, do you think? 

Mr. Gallucci. I believe we are looking at data, at least from the 

military perspective. We’re looking at those in-demand industries, 

and also where the skills overlap. So if you have a military occupational specialty where it easily aligns with a civilian career that’s 

in demand, then that’s where we’re looking to expand the pilot program. 

Representative Delaney. Great. Thank you. 

Vice Chair Klobuchar. Thank you, very much. Congresswoman—oh, she’s going to be coming back in a few minutes? Okay. 

I also wanted to acknowledge Congressman Amash and Senators 

Wicker and Murphy that joined us. And I will ask a few questions 

until Congresswoman Maloney returns. 

Mr. Gallucci—oh, here you are. Excellent. 
20 

Representative Maloney. I thought there were—— 

Vice Chair Klobuchar. Well, you know, I was going to ask a 

bunch of really hard questions of Mr. Gallucci. 

[Laughter.] 

I was going to really grill him, but here we go. Congresswoman 

Maloney. 

Representative Maloney. Thank you. First, Madam Vice 

Chair, I want to compliment you on a very excellent report and all 

the panelists for what you’ve done to help our veterans. 

I was really struck by your idea, which I think is a great one, 

Mr. Fowke, about translating the military training into certificates 

so that industry knows they are certified. And particularly in security professionals, there is such a need for that, and plant operator 

licensings that you mentioned. 

How would you do that? Now is there a licensing structure now 

for Certified Security Professionals? How could we make that idea 

of yours happen? 

Mr. Fowke. Well I mean those certificates exist in the civilian 

world. So I think the point is that a lot of those skills have been 

acquired in military service. And rather than, as the Vice Chair 

had stated, you know, starting from scratch, let’s get them credit 

for what they’ve done. And, ideally, help them get certified even 

while they are in the military. So then they’re going right to the 

top of the queue, and these are jobs that are in demand. 

These are jobs that are basically hard to fill. So I think we do 

have that opportunity. 

Representative Maloney. Well I think that is an absolutely 

great idea, and I would love to join the Chairlady in working on 

it. 

In your report today, you talked about nearly 20 percent of the 

post-9/11 vets were women. But female post-9/11 vets face a higher 

unemployment rate than their male peers: 12.5 percent in 2013 

versus 9.5 percent for men. 

Are there additional obstacles for women? Are there any programs that focus on women? Any ideas from anyone on why is 

there such a disparity between the employment of the women than 

the men? The women I have met in the military are just as dedicated and competent. Why is there such a huge gap? 

Any comments? Any insights? Anyone? 

Mr. Deabay. Well in Texas with the Veterans Commission, what 

we are doing is we are establishing a Women Veterans Employment Coordinator to tackle those issues you just mentioned. Actually, the job is going to be posted within the next couple of weeks. 

They do have unique skills. And I think in talking to employers 

and getting them to understand all of the things that they have 

gone through, they have gone through everything a man has gone 

through in the military. They have the same skills. They have got 

the same leadership, same soft skills, have to experience the same 

things, and I am not really sure employers understand that. 

There’s also obstacles women face in general with under-employment, not being paid the same as men. If they’re a single parent, 

there are child care issues. There’s a lot of issues just, or obstacles 

for them, just women in general. And then you add the women veteran issue on top of that. 
21 

So I know in the Veterans Commission we recognized that. The 

numbers do say that the unemployment rate is higher. So we are 

going to have somebody help us identify what we can do as an 

agency. What can we do as a state? And go ahead and move forward from there. 

Representative Maloney. I would like also a comment from 

any panelist about business engagement, which seems to me to be 

absolutely critical in helping our veterans find jobs. And coalitions 

like the 100,000 Jobs Mission, which is sponsored by a diverse 

group of companies to hire our vets are sharing best business practices in helping vets translate their military skills. 

Are there benefits from these sharing programs? Do big companies also work with smaller companies? Could you sort of comment 

and give some insight on this type of engagement to help our veterans? 

Mr. Fowke. I don’t know if I’m answering your question, so 

maybe the other panelists can help me out, but I can tell you that 

as I said in my testimony it really starts at the top. It starts with 

me. 

It starts with the commitment we have not only to hire vets, but 

also women in nontraditional roles. You really perform to what you 

measure on. So I would encourage businesses to have measures 

that they review with their senior leadership, and work it right 

down through the organization. It’s just like politics. Hiring is local 

in our organization. 

And it’s amazing how you move the needle just by that. And the 

other organizations we can work with, I guess I would defer to my 

colleagues. 

Mr. Mitchell. Well in terms of business engagement, I think 

that one of the things that we are doing that Mr. Deabay mentioned is our Veterans Business Representatives that are out there 

to engage those businesses. 

And as Mr. Gallucci mentioned, that when we bring veterans 

into events, and we recently participated in an event that CHEA 

sponsored, they really are hiring fairs. They are there to get jobs— 

they are there to hire veterans on the spot, and we prep them to 

do that. 

Representative Maloney. Very briefly, the tax incentive that 

we passed expires at the end of 2013. Has that tax credit that businesses get for hiring vets, what impact has it had? Is it worth 

fighting to extend it? Comments from the panelists? 

Mr. Gallucci. I would say that it’s worth fighting to expand. But 

what the VFW is—we do have a concern that it is under-utilized 

by businesses because of the difficulty to access the benefit. 

One of the problems—the persistent problems that we see is, not 

only the paperwork hurdle, but then whether or not a business 

would actually be able to take advantage of the tax credit because 

they would not have the requisite taxable income. 

What we would prefer to see is not only an extension of the tax 

credit, but then to make the tax credit a payroll tax credit that the 

employer can take right away. 

And clearing up the paperwork issue would be almost a self-certification where a veteran would have to provide a certain type— 

a DD214 would be a great example—to demonstrate that they are 
22 

an eligible veteran. And then it would be audited on the back end 

similar to the way your taxes are audited. 

Representative Maloney. Okay. And how much of a tax credit 

is it? Is it meaningful? How much is it? I just know there’s a tax 

credit. How deep is the tax credit? 

Mr. Gallucci. For small businesses, it would be very meaningful, depending—it varies based on what level of eligibility you are. 

So if you’re a recently discharged disabled veteran, that would be 

the maximum benefit. And it’s less as you go through the different—— 

Representative Maloney. What is the maximum benefit? 

Mr. Gallucci. I believe—and correct me if I’m wrong—I believe it’s $9,600, $9,600. So for small business owners, it would be a significant benefit. 

Representative Maloney. My time has expired. Thank you. 

Vice Chair Klobuchar. Mr. Deabay, did you want to say something else? 

Mr. Deabay. I also wanted to say that all of my job coaches 

issue conditional certifications for the work opportunity tax credit. 

And then my business reps also contact employers about utilizing 

that, and helping them through the paperwork, which may not be 

as cumbersome as people may think, but the perception on the employer’s side is that it is cumbersome. 

But we do issue that conditional certification, and it is way 

under-utilized. 

Vice Chair Klobuchar. Okay. Very good. 

Representative Maloney. Why do you think it is so way underutilized when businesses could use it? Why is it under-utilized? 

Vice Chair Klobuchar. Mr. Fowke. 

Mr. Fowke. I can just speak for Xcel Energy, and we might be 

a bit of an anomaly, although perhaps we are not based upon the 

other comments, and we do not really have the tax appetite. We 

will have one in the future, but for a number of reasons we don’t 

have it today. 

In my opinion, specific to my company, I would much rather see 

the pre-qualification and the work put in the certifications. Because 

if they’re qualified, we’re going to hire them. 

Vice Chair Klobuchar. Okay. Very good. 

Representative Paulsen, you had some additional questions? 

Representative Paulsen. Yes, I just have an additional question. 

Mr. Deabay, in your testimony you kind of highlighted the potential problem almost of success in your job. I think you mentioned— 

essentially it’s this: If you do your job well, and veterans find employment, agencies like yours are likely to receive less funding. 

And some of this is natural, right, because fewer unemployed veterans should require fewer services. Yet, this is a good outcome 

that would seem to result in punishment through less funding potentially. 

So have you given a little bit of thought to how you would balance that type of difficulty? And are there reward structures that 

should be put in place, for instance, that might be worth considering as resources are scaled back? Maybe you’d want to touch on 

that, or Mr. Mitchell, or Mr. Deabay? 
23 

Mr. Deabay. Yeah, I mean you are exactly right. The way the 

funding formula works—I mean, it is a long, complicated, drawnout paragraph that basically if you succeed and you help a lot of 

veterans, exactly like you said, find employment, the funding is 

based on those veterans looking for work that are compared to 

other states. So, yes, the better you do the less funding potentially 

you could receive, and the worse you do potentially you could receive more funding. 

There is also one percent of our grant that is geared towards performance. And regardless of if a state is successful or not, they receive that one percent. So I just think discussions need to be talked 

about to how do we leverage that one percent? How do we do this 

funding formula where it also has the performance element? The 

fact that you’re doing a good job should mean that you should not 

be penalized by receiving less funding. 

But I think it can get very long and can get very complicated. 

But I think discussions need to be made on that formula and what 

should it look like. 

Representative Paulsen. Good. Thank you. 

Vice Chair Klobuchar. Very good. I want to thank everyone so 

much. This was helpful. For our report, I want to thank our staff 

for the work that they did on the report and putting together this 

hearing. And also all of you for being willing to come out. 

I think that there has been progress. A lot of it is because of the 

good work of the people before us that realized we were seeing an 

inordinately high unemployment rate with our vets. 

I think we know, as Congressman Paulsen has pointed out, some 

of this is tied obviously to the overall economy, and the solutions 

are tied to that in terms of getting a focus on, from my perspective, 

more exports, more job training, bringing down our debt in a longterm way to encourage investment and review of our rules and regulations. 

I think we agree on a lot of those things. But beyond that, while 

we have this immediate problem of our vets unemployment, we 

have seen that progress, that great dramatic drop from 12.1 to 9.9 

percent, but 9.9 percent is still too high for our post-9/11 vet. 

We appreciate the work of Mr. Fowke and other companies, and 

the Chamber in making a huge effort in putting the word out there 

that they want to hire vets. And I think we also know the other 

piece of this are some things that are doable: Getting credentialed 

for work that has been done in the military; getting those job skills’ 

training going on not when they land and they are suddenly in 

Thief River Falls, Minnesota, but while they are still in the Guard, 

or Reserve, or in Active Duty. 

And then finally, in making sure that we embrace our vets not 

just while they are serving overseas, but we put our arms around 

them when they return. 

So I want to thank you for everything you have done, and we are 

looking forward to refining the programs that we have and building 

on the success we have seen, knowing that there is still a lot of 

work to do. 

I wanted to just put one last word in to thank Mr. Fowke and 

Xcel. As Representative Paulsen knows, we had a series of sort of 

Armageddon storms in Minnesota with one rainstorm after an-
24 

other, with the biggest outages we had seen. And usually that is 

not something to be positive about, but in fact Xcel came to the 

plate and brought people in from all over the country. And while 

some people were still out of service for a number of days, for some 

reason Minnesotans decided to be patient and we were able to get 

through it better than other areas have had, including the one 

we’re in, when we have seen similar storms. 

So I want to thank you for that. 

Mr. Fowke. Thanks for that acknowledgement. I appreciate it. 

Vice Chair Klobuchar. All right. Thank you. 

Thank you, everyone. The record will remain open for two weeks, 

and the hearing is adjourned. Thank you. 

(Whereupon, at 11:06 a.m., Wednesday, July 10, 2013, the hearing was adjourned.) 
(25) 

SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD 
26 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. KEVIN BRADY, CHAIRMAN, JOINT ECONOMIC

COMMITTEE

I would like to thank Vice Chair Klobuchar for choosing the topic of today’s hearing, ‘‘Building Job Opportunities for Veterans.’’ 

Every Member of this Committee honors the men and women who have served 

in our nation’s armed forces. Since the enactment of the Servicemen’s Readjustment 

Act of 1944, popularly known as the ‘‘G.I. Bill,’’ Congress has pledged to help veterans pursue their ideal of the American dream. Congress remains committed to 

helping veterans make a successful transition to civilian life, caring for the wounded, and assisting the disabled and their families. 

Today’s hearing focuses on a key portion of that commitment—helping veterans 

find jobs. There are numerous federal and state programs designed to help veterans 

secure a college education and training; take advantage of what skills they learned 

in the armed forces and find gainful employment in the private sector. 

Broadly speaking, employment trends among recent veterans follow employment 

trends among the entire working-age population. Indeed, the twelve-month moving 

average unemployment rate for all veterans of 6.7 percent is slightly lower than the 

overall unemployment rate of 7.6 percent in June. Therefore, the general condition 

of our economy affects the level of employment among veterans as much if not more 

than specific programs designed to help veterans find jobs. 

The Growth Gap—which is the difference between economic performance in the 

current recovery and an average recovery since World War II—hurts the employment prospects of both veterans and non-veterans. This recovery, which is four 

years old this month, is the weakest in seven decades. Consequently, the United 

States has $1.2 trillion less in real GDP and 3.9 million fewer private sector jobs 

than the U.S. would have had in an average post-war recovery. In terms of real disposable income per capita, this anemic recovery has generated about $2,800 less in 

income after inflation and taxes for every American than an average post-1960 recovery would have generated. 

Why are we suffering from a Growth Gap? Business investment in new buildings, 

equipment, and software drives private sector job creation. Compared with previous 

recoveries, real business investment has been weak—after five and one-quarter 

years, it still remains 3.9 percent below its pre-recession peak. 

A lack of liquidity and high interest rates are not restraining business invest- ment. Commercial banks have over $2 trillion in excess reserves sitting at the Fed 

that could be lent to America’s entrepreneurs. America’s non-financial corporations 

have another $1.5 trillion in cash sitting on the sidelines. And interest rates remain 

at near historic lows. The Federal Reserve has done all that it can through monetary policy to help this recovery. 

Local businesses tell us—over and over again—that Washington’s tax, regulation 

and deficit policies which President Obama continues to pursue are generating uncertainty that is deterring America’s entrepreneurs from making the investments 

that would create millions of good jobs for veterans and non-veterans alike. 

Nobel laureate Albert Einstein defined insanity as ‘‘doing the same thing over and 

over again and expecting different results.’’ Four years after this feeble recovery 

began, it is clear that the current mix of economic policies is not working. 

What must be done to close the Growth Gap and ensure that the 21st century 

is another American Century? The bottom line is that we must get our act together 

in three major areas of economic policy: 

• We must reduce federal spending and federal debt as a percent of GDP, and 

we must pursue pro-growth tax and fiscal policies that give businesses the incentive and confidence to invest in buildings, equipment and people. • We must overhaul the federal regulatory process to ensure necessary regulations are balanced and cost-effective. • We need to return to a predictable, rules-based monetary policy that maintains 

the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar over time. 

Those basic changes will spur the U.S. economy and help our veterans find gainful employment which, for all the sacrifice they’ve made for our country, they deserve. With that, I look forward to hearing the testimony of the witnesses. 

STATEMENT OF RYAN M. GALLUCCI, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE

SERVICE, VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES

Madame Vice Chair and Members of the Committee: 

On behalf of the men and women of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United 

States (VFW) and our Auxiliaries, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to 
27 

offer the VFW’s perspective on the current employment climate and potential solutions for today’s veterans. 

As the current conflicts draw down and the military plans to shrink the active 

duty force, Department of Labor Veterans Employment and Training Service 

(VETS) anticipates that more than one million veterans will enter the workforce in 

the next few years. The VFW applauds the work of the 112th Congress in addressing persistent veterans’ employment issue by implementing policies like the VOW 

to Hire Heroes Act. However, unemployment among young veterans remains unacceptably high. As the Joint Economic Committee deliberates on ways to improve the 

employment situation for America’s veterans, the VFW looks forward to contributing 

to this important discussion. 

The most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that veteran unemployment is trending downward, mirroring unemployment among civilians. Also, total veteran unemployment remains lower that the national average. 

Unfortunately, this glimpse into the employment situation of veterans only tells 

part of the story, since unemployment among young veterans still far outpaces unemployment among their civilian counterparts. 

The VFW believes this indicates a larger dilemma among the veterans’ population. Over the last few years Congress, the Obama Administration and private industry leaders have spearheaded dozens of initiatives designed to help veterans find 

meaningful employment after military service. Many of these new initiatives appear 

to be yielding significant results for veterans with no further military obligations. 

Unfortunately, this means one group is left behind—Members of the Reserve Component with further service obligations to either the National Guard or Reserve. 

According to the veteran-hiring website VetJobs, unemployment among the National Guard, specifically, is around 25 percent. When VetJobs controls veteran unemployment statistics for those with further Guard and Reserve obligations, veteran 

unemployment is only at about 5 percent—nearly two full percentage points lower 

than the civilian unemployment rate. To the VFW, this indicates persistent gaps for 

members of the Guard and Reserve in military skill transferability and civilian skill 

attainment. 

While the VOW to Hire Heroes Act significantly improved the economic landscape 

for veterans, certain programs remain underutilized—specifically the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP) and the veteran hiring tax credits. The VFW 

believes that VRAP is a tremendous benefit that offers older veterans an opportunity to attain critical marketable skills when they are no longer eligible for other 

VA education benefit programs. VRAP offers 12 months of Montgomery GI Bill-style 

benefits to veterans ages 35–60 to attend education programs at two-year and technical institutions with a focus on high demand industries as outlined by VETS. 

The VOW to Hire Heroes Act offered 99,000 veterans the opportunity to take advantage of this program. While the VFW has heard from many veterans who have 

tapped into the program, we remain concerned about woefully low usage rates. As 

of Monday, June 3, 121,000 veterans have applied for the program and VA has approved the applications of more than 104,000 veterans, but only 50,000 veterans are 

enrolled in training. Benefits expire in March 2014, which means many veterans 

who are eligible for the program, but have yet to enroll, will not be able to use all 

of their entitlement. 

The VFW recently testified before the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee about 

the issues facing VRAP, and called for a responsible extension of eligibility for those 

yet to enroll and for a report to Congress on usage, course completion and employment for VRAP participants. The VFW believes this is a solid program, but that several unforeseen bureaucratic problems have contributed to low enrollment. First, the 

restriction on two-year institutions means that veterans cannot enroll in certificate 

or Associate’s Degree programs offered by four-year schools. For example, the Penn 

State Erie campus in Erie, Pa., serves as a de facto community college, offering twoyear and certificate programs for the northwest region of Pennsylvania. An eligible 

veteran cannot find a community college nearby because they do not exist. This 

means VRAP-eligible veterans have very limited options for enrollment. 

Next, VRAP only pays students enrolled full time. This becomes a problem for veterans who require significant remediation to complete VRAP-eligible programs. At 

schools like the Community College of Rhode Island, remedial courses do not directly coincide with the academic calendar for other VRAP-eligible programs, meaning veterans cannot work them into their schedule without risking part-time enrollment, at which time VRAP benefits are suspended. The VFW believes that VA must 

make it easier for VRAP-eligible veterans to complete remediation by allowing for 

part-time enrollment in approved programs. 

The VFW also is concerned that the veteran-hiring tax credits are too difficult for 

businesses to use, which is why the program has also been underutilized. The VFW 
28 

believes that Congress should streamline the paperwork required of a business to 

take advantage of the credit, allowing veterans to self-certify by providing certain 

paperwork. Businesses should also be able to apply the tax credit as a payroll tax 

credit, since some businesses who could use the benefit will not have the requisite 

taxable income to make the credit worthwhile. 

On a positive note, the VFW believes that private industry has taken significant 

steps in the last few years to recognize the value of employing veterans. Thanks to 

efforts from First Lady Michelle Obama’s Joining Forces initiative and the U.S. 

Chamber of Commerce Hire Our Heroes initiative, businesses have actively come 

forward pledging to hire veterans into meaningful career paths. The VFW is particularly happy to see how the U.S. Chamber has leveraged resources from coast to 

coast, including American Legion and VFW posts, to host hiring fairs that result in 

jobs. 

Joining Forces has also contributed to this dialogue by fostering public-private 

partnerships, like the recently announced initiative to help 81,000 receive information technology professional certifications. In April, the VFW was honored to take 

part in the Joining Forces roundtables to address professional credentialing for veterans in transportation careers and the transferability of academic credit for military training and experience. Though gaps persist in both of these areas, the VFW 

has seen significant progress in the last few years thanks in large part to the Department of Defense pilot program on military credentialing for certain military occupational specialties. 

The VFW believes that when a service member leaves active duty, they should 

be able to continue in similar civilian careers. Unfortunately, this is not usually possible because military training does not directly align with either civilian professional licenses issued by states or civilian professional credentials designed by trade 

associations. The DoD pilot seeks to address both of these issues to ensure that 

service members can receive relevant credentials while on active duty, or at least 

easily sit for a professional license once they separate from the military. The VFW 

is proud to see the work that DoD has done on this pilot in concert with veterans’ 

advocates from groups like our partners at the American Legion, ensuring certain 

professionals in careers related to transportation and health care can leave active 

duty with many civilian credentialing gaps filled in. 

Another critical component in preparing our veterans for civilian careers is the 

military’s transition assistance program (TAP). For years the VFW called on the 

military to overhaul its out-of-date curriculum. Thanks to a recent Presidential Executive Order and the TAP mandate included in the VOW to Hire Heroes Act, the 

VFW is proud to report that the initial overhaul of TAP is nearly complete. 

While the VFW has acknowledged in testimony that redesigned TAP is far from 

perfect, we acknowledge that the latest iteration of TAP is a vast improvement that 

stands to offer veterans a quality baseline of information with which they can easily 

transition from military to civilian life. In particular, the VFW is happy to see TAP 

allow service members to select curricula relevant to their individual goals of higher 

education, small business ownership or vocational/technical careers. The VFW is in 

the process of evaluating each of these curriculum tracks, and we believe they will 

each offer veterans significantly improved resources to make sound transitional 

choices. 

We continue to work closely with each agency of jurisdiction for TAP, including 

VA, VETS, DoD, and the Small Business Administration (SBA) to ensure that curriculum for each track will be readily available to transitioning service members. 

We have concerns that the tracked curricula are not mandatory, but rather service 

members must satisfy career readiness standards on their own time. DoD officials 

have said that the TAP mandate included in the VOW to Hire Heroes Act only specified service-specific training, the VA benefits briefing and the VETS employment 

workshop. The VFW disagrees, since the TAP mandate covered ‘‘assistance in identifying employment and training opportunities, help in obtaining such employment 

and training . . . ’’ in accordance with title 10, U.S.C., § 1144 (a). To the VFW, this 

means higher education and any other training track that a veteran may choose. 

The VFW has also long said that transitioning service members have no way to 

reasonably anticipate all of the issues they will face after military service, which 

is why we will continue to push DoD to ensure that TAP resources are readily available to veterans after they leave the military. A critical component to the successful 

transition of a military professional into the civilian job market is information-sharing among relevant federal, state and non-government organizations. Today, the 

chief complaint from VA, VETS, state departments of veterans’ affairs and state 

workforce development agencies is the lack of information available from DoD when 

a service member leaves the military. 
29 

The VFW believes that many quality programs are in place that could offer veterans remarkable employment resources, such as VETS’ Disabled Veterans Outreach Program Specialists (DVOPS) and Local Veterans Employment Representatives (LVERs). Unfortunately, VETS has no way to reliably determine where veterans go once they leave the military or if they need help finding work. VETS is 

in the process of codifying an information-sharing agreement with DoD that will 

allow VETS access to contact information for transitioning service members. The 

VFW encourages DoD to finalize this agreement as soon as possible to ensure that 

VETS can reach out directly to recently separated veterans and offer any needed 

employment resources. 

Finally, the VFW has worked diligently over the last few years to ensure veterans 

have the tools necessary to choose a program of education that will help achieve 

their career goals. Two years ago, reports started to surface in Congress that some 

schools failed to deliver the kind of education they promised in an effort to collect 

lucrative GI Bill payments. The VFW decided that instead of seeking to gut and 

overhaul higher education, we would focus on creating informed consumers. 

Through our advocacy efforts, we secured a Presidential Executive Order and the 

Improving Transparency of Education Opportunities for Veterans Act, both of which 

seek to improve consumer resources for potential student-veterans and create methods through which veterans can take action against a school should they become victims of fraud, waste or abuse. 

The VFW believes that the Post-9/11 GI Bill will prove to be a transformative benefit, allowing our newest generation of veterans to acquire the skills necessary to 

compete in a 21st century workforce. However, the benefit is not perfect. Today veterans attending public schools are often precluded from attending as in-state students as a result of their military service. This forces veterans to drop out, find full 

time employment, or take on exorbitant student loan debt just to make it through 

college. To the VFW, extending in-state tuition to veterans is a simple extension of 

protections already afforded to active duty service members. Unfortunately, once the 

uniform comes off, the protection goes away and schools know it. According to Student Veterans of America, four out of every five student-veterans enrolled in a public school must attend as out-of-state students because of circumstances beyond 

their control. The VFW will continue to work diligently to change this flawed policy. 

Finally, despite these policy changes and improved consumer resources, some critics still point to flawed data as indicators that student-veterans are not succeeding 

in college. The VFW strongly refutes this allegation. Unfortunately, the truth remains that we do not know enough about our student-veterans. The VFW supports 

initiatives to better track student-veteran outcomes in higher education in order to 

demonstrate student-veteran success. VA and its partners with Student Veterans of 

America and the National Student Clearinghouse have already started work compiling this kind of valuable information, which the VFW is confident will show exactly how well prepared our newest veterans will be to lead our nation moving forward. 

The employment outlook for our nation’s newest generation of heroes has drastically improved since the recession hit in 2008. However, as the VFW outlined in 

our testimony, we believe that we can certainly do more. Vice Chair Klobuchar and 

distinguished members of the committee, this concludes my statement and I am 

happy to answer any questions you may have. 

STATEMENT OF KYLE MITCHELL, DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TEXAS VETERANS

COMMISSION

GREETING

Good Morning, Chair Brady, Vice Chair Klobuchar, and Members of the Committee. For the record, my name is Kyle Mitchell, Deputy Executive of the Texas 

Veterans Commission. On behalf of our Executive Director, Thomas Palladino, our 

Chairman, Eliseo ‘‘Al’’ Cantu, and the Commissioners of the Texas Veterans Commission, I would like to thank the Committee for this opportunity to testify before 

you today and for your interest in the efforts the state of Texas has undertaken in 

order to serve the 1.7 million Veterans in our state. 

I am accompanied today by Mr. Shawn Deabay, Director of the Texas Veterans 

Commission’s Veterans Employment Services (VES) program. Mr. Deabay has 

worked in the VES program for nearly 13 years, working his way up from entrylevel field staff as a Disabled Veterans Outreach Program (DVOP) Specialist and 

then as a Local Veterans Employment Representative (LVER). In 2007, he was 

named the Texas LVER of the year by the Texas Department of the American Le-
30 

gion and recognized as the National LVER of the Year by the Disabled American 

Veterans (DAV). After being promoted to Regional Manager for the East Texas Region, his region won the Veteran of Foreign Wars (VFW) Employment Distinguished 

Services Award. He went on to become the program’s Operations Director, and in 

2011, was named Program Director. As a result, he can speak to specifics of this 

program from a perspective few possess. 

My testimony will provide: (1) an overview of our agency programs, (2) background on the Veteran employment trends that make Veteran employment programs critical, (3) information on our Veteran Employment Services program with 

recommendations for improving the federal funding that supports that program, and 

(4) two successes of the Texas Model that impact Veterans employment: Veteran Entrepreneurship and Veteran Education. 

Mr. Deabay’s testimony will provide you with recommendations for improving the 

federal investment in Veterans employment as well as the ‘‘secrets’’ to Texas’ successful implementation of its Veterans Employment Services program. 

TEXAS VETERANS COMMISSION

The Texas Veterans Commission is the advocacy agency for Veterans in the State 

of Texas. Our mission is to advocate for and provide superior service to Veterans 

in the areas of claims assistance, employment services, education, and grant funding 

that will significantly improve the quality of life for all Texas Veterans, their families and survivors. The Texas Veterans Commission provides these services through 

four program areas: Claims Representation and Counseling, Veterans Employment 

Services, Veterans Education Program, and the Fund for Veterans’ Assistance. 

No other state has centralized all of these program areas within their state’s Veterans agency. This consolidation is a key to our success, allowing us to concentrate 

all of our efforts and resources on Veterans with a focus not possible when these 

programs exist as components of larger agencies. 

Texas is becoming recognized for aggressively leading on Veteran issues. National 

leaders have referred to the ‘‘Texas-model’’ when advocating for the integration of 

Veterans services. 

VETERAN EMPLOYMENT TRENDS

Veteran employment trends underscore the reason that Veteran employment programs are so important. 

In Texas, businesses understand that Veterans make great employees. The military has already made a significant investment in individual job training and Veterans have demonstrated the ability to learn new skills. Veterans have also demonstrated proficiency in these skills in stressful and rigorous conditions (i.e. combat, 

remote locations). 

Despite this reality, as you know, Veterans tend to face significant challenges to 

employment when transitioning from the military to the civilian workforce. The end 

of combat operations in Iraq, a decreased military presence in Afghanistan, and 

force shaping measures announced by the Department of Defense in January 2012 

have swollen demand for Veteran employment services. We have seen this narrative 

played out on the ground in Texas. As recently as June 25th, the Department of 

the Army announced plans to reduce the number of active-component Brigade Combat Teams from 45 to 33 by 2017, a reduction of 80,000 soldiers. Approximately 17% 

of this total reduction impacts Texas directly, with reduction of a Brigade Combat 

Team each from Fort Hood in Killeen and Fort Bliss in El Paso. 

Gulf War II Era Veterans, especially, those recently separated veterans from the 

Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, are facing challenges to employment at a greater 

rate than the general Veteran population. While at 7.2% for the month of June 

(2013), the national unemployment rate for Gulf War II Era Veterans has remained 

at or above 10% for 26 of the past 36 months, peaking at 15.2% in January 2011. 

Female Veterans are another segment of the Veteran population that has experienced recent employment challenges. While we have seen some gains among male 

Gulf War-era II Veterans, their unemployment rate fell by 2.5 percentage points to 

9.5 percent from 2011 to 2012, the rate for female veterans, at 12.5 percent in 2012, 

was little different from the prior year. Some contributing factors to this trend 

among female Veterans may include that employers have an outdated understanding of women’s role in the military, women Veterans may not be aware of and 

obtaining the services and benefits that are available to them, and women Veteran’s 

status as a care giver for children can conflict with employer needs. 
31 

VETERAN EMPLOYMENT SERVICES

These Veteran employment trends demonstrate the importance of the active and 

critical role that Congress has taken in providing employment resources for Veterans to the states through multiple workforce programs including the Jobs for Veterans State Grant (JVSG) through the Department of Labor, Veterans’ Employment 

and Training Service (DOL–VETS). Through the JVSG, the federal government provides approximately $168 million to the states to support Veterans employment. 

The Texas Veterans Commission’s Veterans Employment Services Program executes the JVSG, for the State of Texas. This program assists Veterans with obtaining long-term meaningful employment. 

Last year, the Texas Veterans Commission received $12.2 million from DOL– 

VETS through the JVSG which funded 170 Veteran Employment Representatives 

located in 92 workforce centers throughout Texas. 

In the most recent reporting period, the program assisted 69,080 Veterans with 

38,714 of those Veterans obtaining employment. As a result of these efforts, 221 

Veterans obtained employment for every one Veteran Employment Representative. 

While Texas receives 7% of JVSG total funding nationwide, the state accounts for 

18% of the nation’s Veterans receiving services entering into employment. 

Based on our success with the JVSG, Mr. Deabay and I will be sharing four recommendations for improving the JVSG: 

1. Improve communications 

2. Seek input from successful states 

3. Reward performance through funding formula adjustments 

4. Promote innovative programs 

Let me focus on the issue of funding as there are two issues that would ensure 

that the $168 million investment that Congress makes in our Veterans is best utilized: 

1. Include Performance in the Funding Formula 

Currently, the funding formula utilized by DOL–VETS for the JVSG program allocates funding through a ratio, comparing the total number of Veterans residing in 

the state that are seeking employment to the total number of Veterans seeking employment in all states. A state’s performance is not taken into account at any point 

in the funding formula. Thus, states are essentially penalized for high performance. 

When a state performs well by assisting a high number of Veterans locate and retain employment, the number of unemployed Veterans in that state falls, lowering 

the ratio by which that state is funded, equating to less funding. When a state performs poorly with fewer Veterans entering into employment, the number of unemployed Veterans rises or continues to be high, thus increasing the ratio and equating 

to additional funding. Performance should be taken into consideration when allocating funds to incentivize states to elevate their performance. Ignoring states’ performance overlooks an opportunity for DOL–VETS to reward success and fuel innovation in states whose programs are producing effective employment outcomes for 

Veterans. 

2. Funding for Performance Should Reward Performance 

In addition, one percent of the current funding must be used for performance. 

Some states provide boards with the money received for performance while others 

provide that money to JVSG-funded staff or partners doing great things for Veterans employment. All states receive this one percent regardless of the state’s performance. If a state is performing well below the national average or well below 

their negotiated goals, the state will continue to receive one percent as outlined by 

the attachment. States not performing at a high level should not receive performance funding. This money should be given to states performing well to encourage 

innovation and enhance their ability to provide long-term meaningful employment 

to Veterans. 

As Mr. Deabay will speak to the other issues to improve the JVSG, I would like 

to address two additional areas of the Texas Model that impact Veterans employment: Veteran Entrepreneurship and Veteran Education. 

TVC VETERAN ENTREPRENEUR PROGRAM

There is another innovative component to meeting the Veteran employment need 

in Texas. In April 2012, the Texas Veterans Commission launched a pilot Veteran 

Entrepreneurship program which has hosted a series of seven seminars throughout 

the state and assisted over 1,000 Veterans towards entrepreneurship. 

Based on the success of this pilot program, and because of the overwhelming interest from Veterans in starting and expanding their own businesses, the Texas 

Legislature recently passed legislation to permanently establish and fund the Vet-
32 

eran Entrepreneur Program at the Texas Veterans Commission to foster and promote Veteran entrepreneurship and business ownership. 

The U.S. Small Business Administration has been a valuable partner in this effort, but serves a population of over 23 million Veterans nationwide through a network of only fifteen (15) Veteran Business Outreach Centers. Again, when Veteran 

services are just components of larger efforts, those programs are normally not 

given the focus and priority needed to be as effective as possible. Considering the 

amount of effort required to identify, locate and communicate to Veterans, it is understandable that Veterans would fall through the federal ‘‘entrepreneurial cracks.’’ 

Leveraging the ‘‘Texas Model,’’ the Texas Veterans Commission’s Veteran Entrepreneur Program is able to engage Veterans at the ‘‘point of contact’’ as Veterans 

use our employment and VA claims services. This approach has led to the significant, rapid success of our entrepreneur program and will serve to expand the number of Veteran-Owned Businesses in the state. 

VETERANS EDUCATION IMPACT ON EMPLOYMENT

Veterans education benefits directly impact the Veteran employment picture as 

well. Veterans separating from the military often choose to utilize educational benefits afforded them as the result of their service in order to acquire new skills or enhance and formalize skills they already possess, thus making them more competitive 

in the employment market. 

The Texas Veterans Commission is the State Approving Agency (SAA) for federal 

education benefits in Texas. Because of the historic state role in the education of 

its citizens, State Approving Agencies were the primary source for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in assuring accountability for institutions of higher education while maintaining the state’s authority to approve, disapprove, and monitor 

education and training programs for Veterans. Public Law 111–377, enacted in January 2011, shifted authority for approval of programs for which eligible Veterans 

and their families could use the GI Bill educational benefits from the states to the 

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. As a result, states are more limited in their 

ability to ensure the quality of these programs, which may ultimately impact the 

employability of the Veterans. 

Another valuable federal educational benefit is On-the-Job Training (OJT) Program, which is an alternative way for Veterans or eligible family members to use 

VA (GI Bill) education benefits. OJT is training which Veterans receive while actually performing a job and earning wages. If the program is approved by the Texas 

Veterans Commission, Veterans may utilize their GI Bill education benefits while 

in training. TVC currently has 276 employers with approved OJT programs including the Texas Department of Public Safety/Texas Highway Patrol, U.S. Customs & 

Border Patrol, Austin Police Department, Dallas Fire Rescue, Schlumberger Technology Corporation, and Southwest Airlines. 

In Texas, eligible Veterans and family members receive an exemption from the 

cost of tuition and fees for up to 150 credit hours at a state institution of higher 

education through the Hazlewood Exemption. Moreover, the Texas Legislature has 

allowed the unused portion of this benefit to be transferred to an eligible dependent 

and just designated funding in order to make this benefit to Texas Veterans and 

their families sustainable for years to come. Congress should consider similar 

changes to the transferability of Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits as a tool to assist in the 

employment of the family members of Veterans, which is intricately related to the 

issue we are discussing today. 

CLOSING

The state of Texas is leading on Veteran issues. The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and the Texas Legislature demonstrated their commitment to the Veterans 

of Texas this past legislative session by passing a number of key legislative initiatives for Veterans and by obligating significant funding for programs to assist Veterans in our state. State leaders deserve recognition for taking bold actions to serve 

the Veterans of our state. 

Veterans in Texas are also served by an active Congressional delegation that continually seeks to improve the services and benefits provided to them. 

Our goal at the Texas Veterans Commission is to assist as many Veterans as we 

can while continuing to provide high-quality services. There will be thousands of 

military service men and women coming home over the next few years, which will 

increase the need for our services. We owe it to our nation’s heroes to assist them 

with their employment needs when they come home. Employment stabilizes Veterans and their family’s lives allowing them to make the difficult transition from 

military to civilian life. 
33 

Recently, some have voiced concerns regarding the effectiveness of the JVSG concept, leading some in the Veterans community to advocate for the consolidation of 

multiple workforce programs. 

The Texas Veterans Commission has demonstrated the capability to have a positive impact on Veterans employment issues. With the support of this Committee, 

we believe that the JVSG program and the VES program in Texas can continue to 

develop innovative and effective ways to improve the employment services provided 

to Veterans in our state. 

Again, I want to thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. Thank 

you for the work you are doing, and will do, on behalf of Texas Veterans, and all 

Veterans, of this nation’s Armed Forces. 

STATEMENT OF SHAWN DEABAY, DIRECTOR, VETERANS EMPLOYMENT SERVICES, TEXAS

VETERANS COMMISSION

INTRODUCTION

Good Morning, Chair Brady, Vice Chair Klobuchar and Members of the Committee. My name is Shawn Deabay and I have the privilege of serving as the Director of Veterans Employment Services at the Texas Veterans Commission. As such, 

I am responsible for the management and execution of the Jobs for Veterans State 

Grant (JVSG) from the U.S. Department of Labor Veteran Employment and Training Services (DOL–VETS) for the state of Texas. This is an equivalent position to 

a Veterans State Coordinator in other states. 

Some have become disillusioned with the JVSG concept, contemplating a complete 

overhaul of the program or its consolidation with other employment initiatives. I 

voice caution with this view, primarily because, over my 13 years with the program, 

I have seen the program in Texas evolve from just another marginally performing 

state to, since 2006, successfully implementing the JVSG programs with unparalleled performance outcomes. As the result of my experiences at every level within 

the organization, I believe the JVSG concept is sound, and, properly implemented, 

can yield highly successful results. However, there are things that both DOL–VETS 

and other states can do to drastically improve the JVSG program. 

My testimony provides some recommendations for improving JVSG, which include: 

1. Improve communications 

2. Seek input from successful states 

3. Reward performance through funding formula adjustments 

4. Promote innovative programs 

My testimony also provides some factors to Texas’ successful implementation of 

the JVSG program, including: 

1. Supportive structure 

2. No competing priorities 

3. Veterans serving Veterans 

4. Focused outreach to employers 

5. Building strong partnerships 

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING THE JOBS FOR VETERANS STATE GRANT (JVSG)

1. Improve Communications 

There needs to be healthier communication between the leadership at DOL–VETS 

and the appropriate state agency that administers JVSG for the state. Currently, 

the communication does not flow with either efficiency or consistency. The main way 

in which DOL–VETS communicates with states is through rules in the form of Veteran Policy Letters (VPLs) to the states. The focus of these policy letters have included roles and responsibilities of the Local Veteran Employment Representatives 

and the Disabled Veterans Outreach Program specialists, state plan modifications, 

negotiated performance goals, and others. 

There has not been a single Veteran Policy Letter distributed to states since June 

of 2012. July 1st was the start of the JVSG’s second program year with no negotiated performance goals for any state. In August 2012, DOL–VETS announced an 

imminent Veteran Policy Letter completely overhauling the roles and responsibilities of the Local Veteran Employment Representatives and the Disabled Veterans 

Outreach Program specialists. Despite advising states to alter their state plans 

based on the contents, no further written guidance has been provided this year. 

An example of this communication: REALiflines was an initiative funded by DOL– 

VETS to assist severely injured soldiers. The Texas Veterans Commission had three 

staff dedicated to this cause. Our REALiflines coordinator for El Paso, Texas, was 
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e-mailed directly by leadership within DOL–VETS at the beginning of December 

2012 that the program would be discontinued. Two weeks passed before DOL–VETS 

officially notified the Texas Veterans Commission of their decision to end the program on December 31, 2012, leaving three Disabled Veteran Outreach Program specialists without employment following the Christmas holidays. Fortunately they 

were able to continue employment with the Texas Veterans Commission as the result of other vacancies. Otherwise, we would have had to let them go. 

2. Seek Input From Successful States 

States consistently performing at a high level should be called upon to provide 

input to DOL–VETS. Best practices should be shared and discussions held to continue to explore innovative ways to improve employment services to veterans. There 

are states with incredible processes to ensure veterans have every resource available 

to locate and retain long-term employment. 

A formalized group of successful small, medium, and large states should gather 

to provide DOL–VETS with input about what is working well, what is not working 

well, and what the future of the program should look like. Gathering information 

from successful states, those actually implementing the programs, can only improve 

how veterans are being served across the nation. 

3. Reward Performance Through Funding Formula Adjustments 

DOL–VETS provides funding to each state based on the number of unemployed 

veterans as compared to the number of unemployed veterans in other states. Attached you will find the latest funding estimates for fiscal year 2013. Essentially, 

one could argue that states are penalized for high performance. When a state performs well by assisting a high number of veterans to locate and retain employment, 

the number of unemployed veterans in that state falls, lowering the ratio by which 

that state is funded, equating to less funding. When a state performs poorly with 

fewer veterans entering into employment, the number of unemployed veterans rises 

or continues to be high, thus increasing the ratio and equating to additional funding. Performance should be taken into consideration when allocating funds to 

incentivize states to elevate their performance. 

Furthermore, one percent of the current funding must be used for performance. 

Some states provide boards with the money received for performance while others 

provide that money to JVSG-funded staff or partners doing great things for veterans 

employment. All states receive this one percent regardless of the state’s performance. If a state is performing well below the national average or well below their 

negotiated goals, the state will continue to receive one percent as outlined by the 

attachment. States not performing at a high level should not receive performance 

funding. This money should be given to states performing well to encourage innovation and enhance their ability to provide long-term meaningful employment to veterans. 

4. Promote Innovative Programs 

DOL–VETS seems to be on the verge of many new helpful initiatives for veterans. 

One example is recent efforts to help female veterans with their unique employment 

struggles. Labor Department officials have launched a new website devoted to issues 

and challenges affecting women veterans. Since announcing this as a priority a new 

website was launched that addresses potential barriers to employment that can prevent women veterans from reaching their full economic potential. The site also contains links with information on employment opportunities, education and health 

care options and data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and other government 

agencies. Also, the Department of Labor announced a position created solely to focus 

on female Veteran employment issues. Since the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2012 

Annual Report on the employment situation of veterans noted that women veteran 

unemployment rate continues to be higher than both their female non-veteran counterparts and male veteran counterparts this increased focus by Department of Labor 

FACTORS TO TEXAS’ SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF JVSG

1. Supportive Structure 

Within the Texas Veterans Commission, the Veterans Employment Services program has a clear and efficient organizational structure. There is a direct reporting 

structure that gives the Texas Veterans Commission the ability to be very responsive to either concerns or policy changes. Changes or implementation of policies and 

procedures are addressed in a timely and effective manner. There are not multiple 

levels of supervision hindering the decision making process. Within the program, 

the entire supervising structure is comprised of veterans, basically veterans supervising veterans, which has proven to be extremely effective. Many states have too 
35 

many levels of supervision to be able to be proactive or respond in enough time to 

make a difference. Many other states also have non-veterans supervising veterans, 

which we believe to be not as effective. 

Such a supervising structure also allows for training to be implemented in a timely manner. Our training is organized state-wide ensuring identical training is provided to all Veterans Employment Representatives regardless of their location. 

Training is one of the most important aspects of performing at a high level. Consistent and unified training objectives are communicated with optimal results due 

to our supervising and reporting structure. 

Response time is also improved with a streamlined supervisory structure. When 

Veterans Employment Representatives have questions/concerns or best practices, 

they can communicate to me as the Director of Veterans Employment Services within moments. Quickly responding to staff is extremely important and should not be 

understated. Staff wants to be heard and wants to make a difference in the lives 

of Veterans and their families. 

Another item which falls into our structure is the ability to assign challenging, 

but attainable performance standards to all Veterans Employment Representatives. 

The current Veterans Employment Staff performance standards were actually designed by a working group comprised of Veteran Employment Representatives working to translate DOL–VETS performance measures into individual standards. Employment staff input is a vital part of any decision making process. Veterans Employment Representatives have a clear understanding as to their role within the 

Texas Veterans Commission and America’s Job Centers. This ensures that what is 

best for the veteran always stays at the forefront of any decision. 

2. No Competing Priorities 

My singular purpose is ensuring veterans in Texas receive the employment services they have earned by defending our country. There is no more deserving of a 

group than veterans to receive our very best services. Many Veteran State Coordinators oversee multiple programs dividing the attention to Veterans Employment 

Services. Veteran employment should be the complete focus of the Veterans State 

Coordinator. Dividing focus with other programs is not providing veterans with the 

attention and commitment they have earned and deserve. The majority of the State 

Coordinators I have met and worked with are extremely passionate about veterans 

employment issues. However, many are not allowed to commit 100% of their time 

to this effort. 

The majority of the states have America’s Job Center Managers in control over 

Veterans Employment Representatives staff. While some of these managers do a 

good job, many do not. This may not be the fault of the center manager, but due 

to competing priorities. Veterans are a small share of the population needing employment services. There are a number of programs within America’s Job Center 

which require much attention. This takes away from 100% commitment and dedication to Veterans Employment Services. The structure and mission of the Texas Veterans Commission allows veterans needs to be the most important. 

3. Veterans Serving Veterans 

Assessing veteran’s needs is an important first step in a Veterans Employment 

Representative’s job duties. This extremely important function includes a one-onone, in-depth evaluation to identify significant barriers to employment. Veterans 

Employment Services staff is specifically trained to identify these barriers and a 

plan to address the needs. In Texas, all Veteran Employment Services staff members are veterans themselves and there is immense value in veterans being served 

and assisted by fellow Veterans. This makes every Veterans Employment Representative a walking success story! 

Veterans have proved by their very service their willingness to work hard. In an 

economy with stiff competition for every job opening, and reluctance on the part of 

many employers to even consider the unemployed, the challenge is getting informed 

guidance from an honest broker about how to get a foot in the door of an employer 

at a time when the rules of looking for a job have changed dramatically. 

Due to shrinking resources the trend in employment services is to discontinue 

one-on-one job coaching in favor of group workshops and internet tools. Sites like 

My Next Move (www.mynextmove.org) and the Veterans Job Bank (www.nrd.gov) 

encourage Veterans to research occupations, required skills, and open jobs using the 

Internet. However, many Veterans are at a disadvantage relying solely on these 

tools. Veterans find it difficult to have their valuable military experience recognized 

in the private sector. Also, frequent moves often leave Veterans without a network 

of professional contacts in the areas they locate to separating from the military. 

Simple guidance about how to get a foot in the door of an employer is usually what 
36 

most veterans need to get employed. Veterans have earned the right for one-on-one 

job coaching and simply referring a veteran to internet sites is not enough. 

4. Focused Outreach to Employers 

Not only is one-on-one service with veterans important, but one-on-one service 

with employers can be just as important. Employer outreach is another vital part 

of the Texas employment equation. Employers want to know how to locate and find 

qualified veterans to fill job vacancies. Many employers do not know each state has 

a Veterans Employment Services program. More needs to be done to market our 

services to the public with an emphasis on employers. Each state receives funding 

from DOL–VETS to operate the JVSG program, but monies cannot be used for marketing purposes. This leaves states to create other methods of getting the word to 

veterans and business hiring managers. Bottom line is that more employers and veterans need to know who we are and what we do. According to a study performed 

by the Society for Human Resource Management, 68% of Human Resource Professionals polled were not at all familiar with Veterans Employment Services. Only 4% 

were very familiar and utilize Veterans Employment Services. 

The Texas Veterans Commission enhanced the role of four Veteran Employment 

Representatives designating them as Veterans Business Representatives. The Veterans Business Representatives are strategically located in Houston, Dallas/Fort 

Worth, San Antonio and Austin and are vested in building relationships with large 

companies and influential Texas employers in an effort to promote the hiring of 

highly qualified Veterans. This initiative’s strategic approach has three phases. The 

first phase was to make initial contacts with Texas Workforce Commission business 

service units, and managers. Outreach to employers and employer organizations 

such as Society for Human Resource Management and local Chambers of Commerce 

was essential in marketing Texas Veterans Commission employment services. 

Through media coverage and active marketing, the Texas Veterans Commission has 

been inundated with employer phone calls and email correspondence from across 

Texas and the nation, eager to hire skilled Veterans. 

It is impossible to underestimate the value to a business of efficiently finding the 

right fit for job vacancies, therefore phase two includes increasing the hiring rate 

for Veteran job referrals. Helping employers fill job vacancies provides the greatest 

potential to positively affect employer relations and improve the well-being of all 

Veterans. In coordination with the Texas Workforce Commission, our staff will work 

to increase fill rates for Individualized Job Developments and WorkInTexas.com job 

postings. From start to placement, staff communicates that our goal is obtaining 

meaningful employment for our Veterans. The message to Veterans, qualified 

spouses, community and partners is ‘‘we are here to help you find, get, and keep 

a job.’’ Two tools used to meet this objective are improved applicant tracking and 

increased employer follow up. 

A critical component of the placement process is increasing rapport and confidence 

between the Veteran Employment Representative and the employer. In order to be 

successful, employers must understand that the Veteran Employment Representative is invested in successful placements—placements where both the employer and 

Veteran employee are satisfied. Providing quality hires is key to developing that 

confidence with employers or potential employers throughout the state. 

5. Building Strong Partnerships 

The Texas Veterans Commission does not accomplish such high success alone. 

Working relationships with DOL–VETS and the Texas Workforce Commission are 

an essential part of Texas’ achievements. Partnership and collaboration are two of 

the most valuable tools any employment service organization has. The non-Veteran 

Employment Services workforce staff of our partners at the Texas Workforce Commission faces budget challenges of their own. Each year funding is stagnant, while 

costs to deliver services continue to rise. Each year boards must reduce the number 

of staff to keep up with costs. Maintaining a positive working relationship with 

Local Workforce Boards and working as an integral partner in the Workforce Centers is crucial to overcoming this challenge. 

We also challenge our Veterans Employment Representatives to know all of the 

resources available for Veterans within their local community, including but not 

limited to the Veteran Service Organizations. Some cities have many services available for Veterans to help them overcome barriers to employment, while others do 

not. Our staff is responsible for not only knowing the resources available, but to 

have a point of contact. We do not simply refer a veteran to a partner. Instead, we 

may make that connection for the veteran to ensure they are taken care of properly. 
37 

CHALLENGES

There has been national concern with federal employment programs, including 

the Veterans Employment Services program. These concerns have led some in the 

Veterans community to support legislation which would consolidate multiple job 

training programs into one, essentially deemphasizing the Veteran Employment program and not giving Veterans Employment the attention it deserves and needs to 

succeed. Veterans services will always fall behind in a priority list towards providing basic services to the general population. The successes the Texas Veterans 

Commission has achieved in veterans locating and retaining employment through 

our decision making process and guiding principles should be considered as changes 

to veterans employment programs and considered by other states Congress. 

CLOSING

We have been tremendously successful placing well over 38,000 Veterans into employment as reported by Department of Labor, Veterans Employment & Training. 

However, the real success is the impact the Jobs for Veterans State Grant has on 

Veterans and their families. I have a quick story I would like to share with you regarding a personal experience of mine when I was a Disabled Veterans Outreach 

Program Specialist in an America’s Job Center. 

There was a homeless Veteran living in his car in the parking lot of the center 

I was working at. I learned of this gentleman when I got to work one day and he 

was looking for assistance. I learned of his barriers to employment, which included 

homelessness, lack of food, no place to clean-up, and a perceived lack of skills. We 

decided to work on an employment plan together with strategies to overcome these 

barriers. The key to this is that we worked on this plan together, a partnership between the two of us. 

• We addressed housing by getting him a room at a faith-based organization. This 

was a challenge as he didn’t like some of the restrictions that were in place by 

that organization. 

• We were able to get him some food. 

• Then we started an analysis of his skills and interests. After much deliberation, 

truck driving came to the forefront. 

• We worked through available truck driving schools and training facilities. 

• He was not used to being on a plan or having set goals to achieve, but I believe 

made obtaining employment realistic. 

At the end of the process, this Veteran was employed at an over-the-road truck 

driving company and was able to live in his truck, which seemed to be his biggest 

joy of the job. He would send me e-mails from his truck whenever he was passing 

through East Texas thanking me and how happy he was. This is what it’s all about 

and makes me appreciate my job even more. One-on-one service to Veterans . . . they 

have earned this right! 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF BEN FOWKE

Thank you, Vice Chair Klobuchar. It is a pleasure to be here this morning before 

this distinguished panel. I am especially delighted to be with you and Chairman 

Brady, given our operations in both Minnesota and Texas. 

My name is Ben Fowke, and I am chairman, president and chief executive officer 

of Xcel Energy, a public utility holding company headquartered in Minneapolis, 

Minnesota. We serve 3.4 million electricity customers and 1.9 million natural gas 

customers through in eight Western and Midwestern states. 

I appreciate this opportunity to talk about Xcel Energy’s commitment to hiring 

our nation’s veterans. This is an important and timely conversation for us to have, 

and I appreciate the Committee’s focus on this issue. 

Roughly 12% of Xcel Energy’s 11,000 employees are vets and veterans are even 

better represented on our management team. While we are proud of that performance, we want to do better. For example, we know that our veteran employees generally are not post-9/11 vets, so absent our intervention, we could lose ground. Our 

experience is similar to that noted in this Committee’s report on ‘‘Building Job Opportunities for Returning Veterans’’—that is, the veterans we hire tend to be in the 

older, mid-career cohort, as opposed to the younger, fresh-out veterans. Yet over half 

of our hires each year are filled with people in the 25–35 age group, so there is great 

opportunity to change that result. 
38 

I am committed to driving that change and will be working within our company, 

within our industry, and with policymakers like you so that we become a model of 

a veteran-friendly company. 

I will share with you my thoughts on those points, but let me start with why we 

set that goal for ourselves: Simply put, hiring vets makes good business sense. 

Veterans have skills and leadership qualities that help us succeed in our mission 

of delivering safe, reliable, and clean energy at an affordable price. Our industry 

faces significant need for new, qualified employees, as over half of our workforce is 

eligible to retire over the next 10 years. We offer challenging, rewarding jobs at 

competitive pay, and enhancing our ability to tap a pool of qualified, skilled candidates will better position us when filling those positions. It only makes sense that 

we find the best ways to identify, attract, hire, and retain the talent that vets offer. 

I will briefly highlight what we are doing both within our company and within 

our industry, and then offer suggestions for how we can improve veteran hiring 

practices. 

Internally, we have made veteran hiring a priority throughout the company and 

have worked to address various obstacles for doing so. One key gap has been the 

ability to translate military skills to job requirements, with the veteran unable to 

articulate his or her experience and skills that fit our positions and the hiring leader unable to recognize the military experience that is comparable to the work we 

do. 

To address this gap, we have developed a ‘‘translator’’ on our career website to 

help both applicants and our hiring leaders better understand the types of military 

experience and how they apply to our various job openings. We are focusing on 

linesmen, plant operation and maintenance workers, and engineers—all jobs where 

we expect to see significant turnover in the coming years. We believe we should be 

able to find good matches with the skills of returning veterans—but we need to be 

sure we build a better understanding of military skill sets to take full advantage. 

Next, we need to provide a supportive environment to retain that talent. Research 

shows that veterans stay in their first job after service for two years, but they stay 

at their next position for over 10 years. That first shift from military to civilian life 

can be complicated, as expectations regarding civilian work can be somewhat unrealistic, as it is less focused on rank and title than the military. We want to provide 

an environment that lengthens these tenures, and we need all of our employees engaged in making that happen. To that end, we have developed a series of orientation, training, and leadership development programs to ease the transition. 

Within our industry, we have worked to greatly open channels to identify and recruit qualified veterans. We participate in partnerships such as Troops to Energy 

Jobs, a collaborative effort between the Edison Electric Institute and the Center for 

Energy Workforce Development, to help us link to available talent. We have also 

found that using our own veteran employees to recruit at career fairs has proven 

very helpful in attracting candidates. Other channels and partners, such as Military.com, Corporate Gray, and Hire Veteran, also help us reach potential candidates 

to fill our available positions. 

Finally, we are holding ourselves accountable by creating a dashboard to measure 

our progress. We know that we focus on what we measure, so we need to keep our 

eye on our ball and use our performance statistics to identify other actions we can 

take to further close the gap. 

I am very pleased to report that our efforts are paying off. We have been honored 

to receive awards for our veterans hiring practices, including the 2013 ‘‘Most Valuable Employer for Military’’ by CivilianJobs.com. G.I. Jobs listed Xcel Energy as a 

‘‘Top Military Friendly Employer’’ in 2012 and 2013. It is always nice to be recognized, but we also know that there is much more that we can and must do. 

To that end, let me offer two suggestions for how we can better work with you— 

the policymakers—to further strengthen the partnerships to be even more successful. 

First, anything that can be done to better identify the linkage between a veteran’s 

military experience and civilian jobs would be helpful. Partnerships between civilian 

companies and veteran agencies such as the Military Transition Assistance Program 

can improve the vet’s ability to communicate with companies more effectively, and 

further support of those efforts would be welcome. Such efforts are similar to those 

we have undertaken for college students in collaboration with St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, helping the students relate their experience to our job openings. I believe there are models available for helping bridge the communication gap, 

and we should work to put them in place. 

Second, it would be helpful if military training could lead directly to civilian certifications. In our industry, valuable certifications include Certified Security Professionals, Plant Operator Licensing, Professional Engineers, Certified Information 
39 

Systems Security Professional, CPAs or Certified Internal Auditors. In many ways, 

such military and civilian jobs have similarities, and providing avenues for veterans 

to achieve these kinds of certifications would greatly help the transition. Our industry employs a number of highly technical, skilled positions that are extremely competitive right now. Having a larger pool of qualified applicants would be very helpful, particularly as we address the retirement bubble we face. 

Let me conclude by making clear that we are committed to this issue at all levels 

of the business. I believe we have a tremendous opportunity to have veterans continue their honorable service by helping us keep the lights on every day, bringing 

their leadership and technical skills to add value for our customers and shareholders. We want to work with you and others to make this happen. 

Thank you, and I’d be happy to take your questions. 

QUESTION FOR THE RECORD FROM SENATOR PAT TOOMEY TO MR. DEABAY, MR. 

MITCHELL, AND MR. GALLUCCI

• I offered a bill in the last Congress that would require the Department of Labor 

(DOL) to provide enhanced online resources to veterans searching for jobs. In 

your opinion, what enhancements, if any, could we make to websites available 

to veterans at DOL’s One-Stop Career Centers to aid their job searches? 

RESPONSE TO SENATOR PAT TOOMEY’S QUESTION FROM MR. RYAN GALLUCCI, 

VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS

• I offered a bill in the last Congress that would require the Department of Labor 

(DOL) to provide enhanced online resources to veterans searching for jobs. In 

your opinion, what enhancements, if any, could we make to websites available 

to veterans at DOL’s One-Stop Career Centers to aid their job searches? 

Over the last two years, the VFW believes that the online resources DOL Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS) makes available to veterans have 

significantly improved. DOL recently revamped its American Jobs Centers websites, 

making them more easily navigable for both potential employees and employers. 

Plus, veteran-specific resources like the Veterans Jobs Bank through the National 

Resource Directory (www.nrd.gov) and My Next Move for Veterans 

(www.mynextmove.org/vets) have improved significantly, allowing a veteran to find 

career opportunities, but also explore the job climate, potential salaries and career 

outlooks. 

However, the VFW agrees that VETS’ online resources still have room for improvement. One critical gap is the availability of military Transition Assistance Program (TAP) resources for separated service members. As we outlined in our prepared remarks, service members who are still on active duty cannot reasonably anticipate all of the challenges they may face once the uniform comes off. This means 

that even if TAP offers all of the information a service member may need to succeed 

after service, some of it will be ignored until a veteran encounters a specific challenge after service. 

The Department of Defense (DoD) has acknowledged this shortcoming and is looking to make TAP resources available via its Joint Knowledge Online (JKO) portal, 

allowing service members to access them on their own time, should further questions arise. Unfortunately, JKO is not available to veterans since JKO accounts are 

shut down at the end of time in service. The VFW recommends housing TAP curriculum modules either on the publicly facing VETS and VA websites, where anyone 

could access them, or on VA’s password-protected eBenefits portal, where only enrolled veterans could access them. 

The VFW has monitored the DoD/VA/VETS overhaul of TAP and we are generally 

satisfied with curriculum improvements and plans to periodically update it. However, the VFW also believes that veterans who struggle to find career opportunities 

must have access to these resources through either VA or VETS channels after service. 
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