Senator Murray has fought to improve job training and employment assistance for veterans. She knows that veterans have the skills, determination, discipline and talent to succeed in the 21st century economy. Despite learning a wide range of technical and leadership skills during their time in the military, members of the Armed Forces often find it difficult to transfer these skills to civilian professions. And too often, veterans fall through the cracks of existing employment assistance programs or do not qualify for their services. Younger veterans in particular have been affected by the economic downturn, with more than twenty percent of veterans ages 18 to 24 who served in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom going without jobs after returning home.
Senator Murray has introduced bipartisan, landmark legislation to take a comprehensive approach to address veterans unemployment rates and to help veterans of all ages find good, family-wage jobs. The Veterans Employment Assistance Act of 2010, includes a series of proposals to improve training, skills transition, education, and small business assistance programs. In particular, it would formalize the Veteran Business Center Program within the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide entrepreneurial training and counseling to veterans. It would also expand the Post-9/11 GI Bill to allow returning veterans to use the benefit for apprenticeship and worker training programs, helping them acquire the skills they need to find stable, living-wage jobs in their communities.
To connect veterans with the green jobs market of the future, the Veterans Employment Act would also create Veterans Conservation Corps Grant Programs and a Veterans Energy/Green Jobs Grant Programs. Finally, the bill would establish pilot programs to test ways transitioning servicemembers can build on the technical skills learned in the military and better market those skills in the civilian workforce.