Apr112013
Hearing Transcript on Licensure and Certification.
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LICENSURE AND CERTIFICATION
HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY OF THE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JULY 29, 2010 SERIAL No. 111-96 Printed for the use of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
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CORRINE BROWN, Florida |
STEVE BUYER, Indiana, Ranking |
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Malcom A. Shorter, Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
Pursuant to clause 2(e)(4) of Rule XI of the Rules of the House, public hearing records of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs are also published in electronic form. The printed hearing record remains the official version. Because electronic submissions are used to prepare both printed and electronic versions of the hearing record, the process of converting between various electronic formats may introduce unintentional errors or omissions. Such occurrences are inherent in the current publication process and should diminish as the process is further refined. |
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C O N T E N T S
July 29, 2010
Licensure and Certification
OPENING STATEMENTS
Chairwoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin
Prepared statement of Chairwoman Herseth Sandlin
Hon. Gus M. Bilirakis
WITNESSES
U.S. Department of Labor, Hon. Raymond M. Jefferson, Assistant Secretary, Veterans' Employment and Training Service
Prepared statement of Mr. Jefferson
U.S. Department of Defense, John R. Campbell, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Wounded Warrior Care and Transition Policy)
Prepared statement of Mr. Campbell
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Margarita Cocker, Deputy Director, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service, Veterans Benefits Administration
Prepared statement of Ms. Cocker
American Legion, Joseph C. Sharpe, Jr., Director, National Economic Commission
Prepared statement of Mr. Sharpe
Blinded Veterans Association, Thomas Zampieri, Ph.D., Director of Government Relations
Prepared statement of Dr. Zampieri
Military.com/Monster Worldwide, Master Chief Petty Officer Vince Patton, III, USCG (Ret.), Ed.D., Director, Community Outreach
Prepared statement of Dr. Patton
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, Eric A. Hilleman, Director, National Legislative Service
Prepared statement of Mr. Hilleman
SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD
Boozman, Hon. John, Ranking Republican Member, Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, and a Representative in Congress from the State of Arkansas, statement
Disabled American Veterans, John L. Wilson, Assistant National Legislative Director, statement
Paralyzed Veterans of America, statement
MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD
Post-Hearing Questions and Responses for the Record:
LICENSURE AND CERTIFICATION
Thursday, July 29, 2010
U. S. House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity,
Committee on Veterans' Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 1:00 p.m., in Room 334, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin [Chairwoman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Herseth Sandlin, Adler, and Bilirakis.
OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRWOMAN HERSETH SANDLIN
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. The Veterans' Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee hearing on Licensure and Certification will come to order.
There is a pending vote and not much time left. So we are going to make our opening statements, and then we will have to take a break. We want to get through as much as we can, because of some time concerns with other votes this afternoon.
Before I begin my opening statement, I would like to say that the Disabled American Veterans had asked to submit a written statement for the hearing record. I ask for unanimous consent that the statement be entered for the record. Hearing no objection, so entered.
On March 12, 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published its finding on the status of unemployed military veterans. The report highlights that veterans between the ages 18 to 24 had an unemployment rate of 21.6 percent in 2009. While these numbers are troubling, today we have the opportunity to build upon the progress we have made on the areas of education and employment that seek to address the high unemployment rates among veterans.
This hearing seeks to build upon the feedback we received in previous hearings on licensure, certification and employment matters. During these hearings, we received testimony on the barriers encountered by veterans. Barriers such as: non-transferable Military Occupation Skills (MOS) to the civilian sector; required supplemental training even though one's military career may have surpassed the requirement in some States; inadequate education benefits under title 38; and the need to augment the Transition Assistance Program (TAP).
I am glad to see we are joined by representatives from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), which is responsible for training our men and women in uniform to meet the demands of their respective military careers. I am also glad to see the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) who both oversee these unique benefits and programs that may help our Nation's veterans gain meaningful employment after their military service.
While servicemembers and veterans all have unique career goals, it is vitally important that all Federal agencies continue to work hand-in-hand to provide the best licensing and certification assistance available to our men and women who have answered out Nation's call to duty.
I look forward to hearing from all of our panelists today so that we may continue to help our servicemembers and veterans.
I now recognize our distinguished Ranking Member Mr. Bilirakis for his opening remarks.
[The prepared statement of Chairwoman Herseth Sandlin appears in the Appendix.]
OPENING STATEMENT OF GUS M. BILIRAKIS
Mr. BILIRAKIS. Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate it very much. In reading today's testimony, I saw lots of discussion about the Transition Assistance Program and lots off Web sites that translate military skills and occupations into civilian equivalents.
But I saw very little about how we go about getting education and training institutions to adjust their curricula to account for military training and education.
Secretary Jefferson, I congratulate you for directly identifying the core of the issue as the role of State and local governments, and licensing, and certification. Too often our men and women are needlessly required to repeat education or training already gained in military service.
To me that means that States need to be more flexible in recognizing military training and skills. I am disappointed the National Governors' Association declined once again to join us here today. To me the States hold the key to solving this dilemma.
We cannot afford the current economically inefficient system that ignores the millions of dollars spent on top-quality military education and training.
Madam Chair, we need to provide veterans with the best education and training benefits and work with the education and certifying industries to increase the credit given for training as a way to speed licensing and certification. I yield back. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. Thank you, Mr. Bilirakis. We will now take a brief recess. And then when we return, we will welcome our panelists testifying before the Subcommittee today.
[Recess.]
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. We thank everyone for their patience during that last series of votes. Again, we will welcome our panelists testifying on the first panel today. Joining us is Mr. Eric Hilleman, Director of National Legislative Service for the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW); Mr. Joseph Sharpe, Jr., Director of the National Economic Commission for the American Legion; Dr. Thomas Zampieri, Director of Government Relations for the Blinded Veterans Association (BVA); and Dr. Vincent Patton, Retired Master Chief Petty Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard, Director of Community Outreach for Military.com/Monster Worldwide.
I would like to remind our panelists that your complete written statements have been made part of the hearing record. Please limit your remarks to the 5 minutes so that we can have sufficient time for follow-up questions once everyone has had an opportunity to testify.
Mr. Hilleman, we will begin with you. You are recognized for 5 minutes.
STATEMENTS OF ERIC A. HILLEMAN, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE SERVICE, VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES; JOSEPH C. SHARPE, JR., DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COMMISSION, AMERICAN LEGION; THOMAS ZAMPIERI, PH.D., DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, BLINDED VETERANS ASSOCIATION; AND MASTER CHIEF PETTY OFFICER VINCE PATTON, III, USCG (RET.), ED.D., DIRECTOR, COMMUNITY OUTREACH, MILITARY.COM/MONSTER WORLDWIDE
Mr. HILLEMAN. Thank you Madam Chairwoman, Members of this Subcommittee. We appreciate the opportunity to testify at today's hearing on licensure and credentialing. On behalf of the 2.1 million men and women of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, we thank you for a voice at this important hearing.
Upon leaving the military, servicemembers typically follow two tracts: an education tract or an employment tract. A transition process that is helpful and friendly is central to having a successful transition from active duty to civilian life. Securing licensure, credentials or education credit in the areas comparable to their military expertise is central to that transition. The VFW has found that previous military training and experience, whether in a technical field or on the battlefield, is not widely recognized by the private sector.
In the area of education credit, the American Council on Education (ACE) seems to be the primary link between the military and the private sector. The Department of Defense contracts with ACE to review military courses of study, MOS's, for transferable credit into institutions of higher learning. ACE examines specific MOS schools for education credit and recommends credits to be placed on transcripts of servicemembers. These recommended educational equivalents are then accepted by individual schools, depending on the school, the nature of the credit, and the veteran's course of study.
Further, ACE produces a guide entitled, "A Transfer Guide; Understanding Your Military Transcript and ACE Credit Recommendations," which aids veterans and their institutions in better understanding how and what translates into college credit.
The number of schools accepting ACE credit varies State by State. In South Dakota, for example, 4 universities accept full ACE recommendations, Arkansas has 11, Nebraska has 24, and Oklahoma has 36 universities. While ACE's recommendations help veterans who would be at a serious disadvantage when applying for enrollment without ACE, many schools do not recognize military credit.
Employment credit, finding viable employment remains one of the largest challenges facing veterans today. Many servicemembers seek civilian licensure for their experiences, often requiring training or varying levels of experience. Success in securing licensure or certification in all fields varies by geographic location and prerequisite experience, MOS, and the industry in which they are applying.
For example, within the nursing profession, South Dakota and North Carolina, the States only accept Army Licensed Practical Nurse Program (MOS 68WM6) for veterans to qualify to sit for the practical nurse program as a prerequisite to the test. Because nursing requirements are set by State regulation, different States, as well as different schools within those States, determine any credit, if any, for prior service.
Each industry and State determines prerequisite experience and licensure for certification. With such a high degree of variance, veterans could benefit greatly from a more centralized information resource. Ideally, industries and associations would invest in and promote translating specific MOSs into accreditation.
VFW recommends two broad scope studies; one on education credits and one on industry accreditation examining how and what the military experience translates into in the private sector.
When each study determines what is currently taking place across all branches of services and all MOSs, then recommendations can be made to expand successful programs. These programs can be incorporated into the National Resource Directory available through the TAP program.
To examine and expand current cooperation between DoD and the American Council on Education, we would recommend Congress fund a complete study of all MOSs across all branches of service. While not every MOS will have a clear transferable credit, schools and veterans alike will benefit from comprehensive process resulting in clearly defined military-educational equivalencies.
The VFW also recommends licensure and credentialing study to identify MOSs and their applicable civilian employment career counterparts. By examining direct skills and how they can be applied via State-by-State regulations, we could begin to see some of the standardization within industries.
Through this study we would like to see the high variance of accepted military skills evolve into a widely-accepted accreditation specific to each MOS and those that apply towards credit in that industry.
Madam Chairwoman, we appreciate the opportunity to testify today. And we look forward to answering any of your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Hilleman appears in the Appendix.]
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. Thank you, Mr. Hilleman. We appreciate your testimony and recommendations.
Mr. Sharpe, you are now recognized.
STATEMENT OF JOSEPH C. SHARPE, JR.
Mr. SHARPE. Madam Chair, Members of the Subcommittee, I appreciate this opportunity to share the views of the American Legion on licensure and accreditation of transitioning veterans.
The Department of Defense provides some of the best vocational training in the Nation for its military personnel and establishes measures and evaluates performance standards for every occupation with the armed forces.
There are many occupational career fields in the armed forces that can easily translate to a civilian counterpart. Additionally, there are many occupations in the civilian workforce that require a license or a certification.
Upon separation, however, many servicemembers certified as proficient in their military occupational career are not licensed or certified to perform the comparable job in the civilian workforce, thus hindering chances for immediate civilian employment and delaying a career advancement.
This situation creates an artificial barrier to employment upon separation from military service. Military Occupational Specialties or ratings such as motor transport, corpsman or medic, need to undergo additional training once out of the service to work in their career path. This process slows down the veteran in obtaining gainful employment.
These servicemembers have enormous talents, skills, and attributes that they have used while in theater. However, because the tasks they performed are so unique and difficult to succinctly describe, they are left with a resume left wanting.
With over two million servicemembers having served in Iraq or Afghanistan, TAP and other transition programs need to be modernized to give relevant guidance and training to all transitioning servicemembers and their families.
The American Legion supports efforts to eliminate employment barriers that impede the transfer of military job skills to the civilian labor market. We also support efforts that require DoD to take appropriate steps to ensure that servicemembers be trained, tested, evaluated, and issued any license or accreditations that may be required in the civilian workforce prior to separation. The American Legion supports efforts to increase civilian labor market acceptance of the occupational training provided by the military.
Madam Chair, this concludes my statement. We appreciate the opportunity to present the view of American Legion.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Sharpe appears in the Appendix.]
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. Thank you, Mr. Sharpe. We appreciate those views.
Now, Dr. Zampieri, you are recognized.
STATEMENT OF THOMAS ZAMPIERI, PH.D.
Dr. ZAMPIERI. Madam Chair and Members of the Subcommittee, on behalf of Blinded Veterans Association, I appreciate the opportunity to testify here today on this issue.
A lot of my testimony has data and statistics on the problems that the returning servicemembers have in transitioning into the world of academics. One of the things that the testimony states is the problems specifically with medics and corpsmen that have been mentioned by the other veteran service organizations (VSOs).
Yesterday, I found out that the actual number of individual medics that have been awarded the Combat Medical Badge for service in Iraq was 12,342 and 2,732 Army medics that have served in Afghanistan.
This is a large talent of highly skilled and educated individuals with medical experience. They come home to find out that their education in the military doesn't translate well into trying to get into physician assistant programs or into a lot of private or university programs. The average training that they have is just for the basic courses over 704 hours. And if you are a Special Forces medical skills medic, it is over 48 weeks of training.
It is interesting. There was a study that was done and published about a year ago, "From Soldier to Student, Bridging the Gaps of Transition." And when they surveyed the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, servicemembers, and the American Council on Education, they found that only 48 percent actually offered any kinds of academic advising or counseling. And most universities, even fewer, offered any special programs for those who have any kind of physical disabilities.
One of the big things is that the universities today I think do not want to sit and go through the transcripts that a veteran walks in the door with. And it was interesting. One of the things that came out of a statement from the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Offices, along with the Council For Higher Education, in regards to transfer and award of academic credits. It is important because it highlights that in the world of changing academic environment, the problems that the veterans face. In regards to this statement, they said that it is up to each individual academic institution to consider inter-institutional transfer of credits involving these considerations: the educational quality of the learning; the comparability of the nature, content, and level of the learning experience to that experience—that the program offers by the receiving institution.
Basically what happens is most of the university program directors that I talk to said that there are just large volumes of individuals applying. And it is much easier for someone in an admissions office to look at the standard transcript that a transferring student from another university walks in the door with than to spend the time, and manpower, and expense of sitting down and counseling a veteran who walks in with a variety of different types of military occupational training and skills. And that is sort of where the unfairness comes in in the system.
Today's medics and corpsmen are some of the most highly skilled in history. And it is a shame that they are not able to transfer those credit easily into the current environment in the universities. We also want to mention that we would recommend that the vocational rehabilitation benefits for assistance for housing allowance be increased, which would be helpful for those individuals entering into the vocational rehabilitation program, because currently the new GI Bill benefits are actually better for veterans.
And we would recommend some sort of a pilot military pathway demonstration program, a 5-year program for medics and corpsmen, that would provide grants to programs to actually help them in getting the credit hours that they need.
I thank you again for the opportunity to testify. And I am happy to answer any of your questions.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Zampieri appears in the Appendix.]
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. Thank you very much, Dr. Zampieri, for your insights and particular attention to the medics and the corpsmen and what we might be might be able to do. Dr. Patton, we will now recognize you as the final witness in this panel.
STATEMENT OF MASTER CHIEF PETTY OFFICER VINCE PATTON, III, USCG (RET.), ED.D.
Dr. PATTON. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman and thank you Members of the Subcommittee for inviting us here today to discuss important issues associated with veteran employment. Today I will discuss what Military.com is doing to assist servicemembers in transferring their military training and experience to the civilian sector as they seek employment opportunities.
Military.com was founded in 1999 by a young Navy reservist to revolutionize the way our 30 million Americans with military affinity stay connected and informed. Today, Military.com is the largest military and veteran membership organization with more than 10 million members. And we are the ninth largest news destination site on the Internet.
In 2004, Military.com joined forces with Monster Worldwide to accelerate our growth and change the playing field for career and educational opportunities for active-duty personnel, as well as Guard and Reservists, veterans and military spouses. Monster's vision is bringing people together to advance their lives. And this partnership reinforces Military.com's members first ethos and mission.
Recognizing this, Military.com created a veteran career center using technology to successfully deliver a personalized experience with a variety of interactive tools and resources. We offer the largest veteran job board in the world featuring military-friendly employers as well as hundreds of thousands of job postings available through our Monster.com database.
We also offer personalized email alerts for new postings that match a veteran's resume and job interests, as well as resume writing tools, education and training information, mentoring through our Veteran Career Network, and electronic newsletters with news and employer information.
To help veterans begin their new career search, we developed our Military Skills Translator. We use the Department of Labor's online resource known as "O-Net," or Occupational Data Network as a baseline to translate current and older military occupational specialty codes into civilian occupations
Then Military.com is taking it one step further. We present the veteran with equivalent jobs currently posted on the Monster job board, including those posted by thousands of military employers specifically looking for veterans. The veteran can immediately apply to one of these jobs from our site or review the job postings and learn what specific experiences, skills, education, and training employers are seeking for this type of position. This information can help the job seeker better "civilianize" their military experience on their resume and best communicate the skill, knowledge, and abilities they acquired while in service.
Through the Military Skills Translator, not only are veterans empowered to apply to currently available jobs, they can also see members of our Military.com's Veteran Career Network who have indicated they held that same Military Occupational Specialty.
One of our fastest growing services that is still in beta form is a mentor network that connects veterans seeking new careers with employed veterans as well as military supporters. Military.com members who volunteer for this feature create a profile containing details about their military experience, professional interests, and their current job position and employer.
Veterans using this feature can find a career network mentor by company, government agency, career field, industry or geographic location. Once the veteran job seeker has identified someone with whom they would like to network, he or she can contact a mentor directly through our secure Military.com email tool.
Since the implementation of our Veteran Career Network in 2007, over one million Military.com members have signed on to network with other veterans and help transitioning servicemembers jumpstart their civilian careers.
Military.com's success over the past 10 years is also attributable to the strength of our partnerships with the private and public sectors, both online and offline. For example, we partner with the Noncommissioned Officers Association to host more than 30 veteran career fairs annually on or near military installations around the country. We have tremendous participation from military-friendly employers who come ready to hire veterans for their skills and working with organizations such as Helmets to Hardhats, which focuses on building and construction trade occupations, Troops to Teachers, which helps them go into the teaching profession.
The American Legion also attends our career fairs to assist veteran job seekers with important details about their benefits. And State veteran service offices frequently attend our events as well.
I would like to thank the Subcommittee for this opportunity to present this testimony and share what Military.com is doing in making a positive impact on veteran employment.
Madam Chairwoman and Members of this Subcommittee, this concludes my statement. I would be pleased to answer any questions that you may have. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Patton appears in the Appendix.]
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. Thank you, Dr. Patton.
I will start with a couple of questions for you. From all the Military.com's transition career tools, which ones have been in the greatest demand by servicemembers and veterans? Is it the Mentor Network?
Dr. PATTON. Yes, ma'am. The Mentor Network definitely is one of the best in demand, because what we have found is by not just having the technology itself. But our veterans would like to have somebody to connect with one another. And this is probably one of the successes of the Internet as a whole that people are connecting together with one another.
By using our Veteran Career Network where the veterans are connecting and talking to each other, helping them with writing resumes, that has been very, very helpful.
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. For Mr. Hilleman and Mr. Sharpe, you had both stated in your testimony one of the recommendations, Mr. Hilleman, was to fund a study of all MOSs.
Mr. Sharpe, you had stated that it would be helpful to have a system that could be devised to translate the full nature of a servicemember's skills and abilities. Do you think that having a study that would look at all MOSs and having a system designed in that way would provide something that Military.com either currently isn't providing or is not capable of providing at this point?
Mr. HILLEMAN. Madam Chairwoman, currently ACE does study specific schoolhouses and specific MOSs, with the exception of the Air Force, because the Air Force has their own junior college or community college that gives transferrable credit for education.
But the contract between DoD and ACE is at the request of DoD. So it does not study every single MOS or every single course. It is just what DoD has contracted with ACE to study. That and ACE currently only has—partners with our credit reciprocity or credit acceptance at 2,300 universities nationwide. But the list is not fully encompassing. We would like to see if we could improve the number of universities that accept military credits.
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. Yes. So you are focused on the study, so that it would look at the transfer of credits into colleges and universities versus the career transition into direct employment.
Mr. HILLEMAN. I think that there needs to be a wall between two studies to focus on what is going on with ACE and currently with DoD. And then take a look at also on an industry-to-industry basis and State by State. The Army Nursing Program that we mentioned in our testimony, nowhere on the site does it say that Air Force, Navy, or Coast Guard nurses are accepted to sit for the same test that the Army nurses are accepted to sit for.
So there are high degrees of variance from State to State. And I think that is the largest challenge to developing some agreement where credits transfer directly from the military into the private sector.
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. Mr. Sharpe?
Mr. SHARPE. I agree with everything that Mr. Hilleman has stated. But also the other thing we are really focusing on is we would like to see a lot of this done prior to the person transitions out of the military.
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. Right.
Mr. SHARPE. They should know exactly what their MOS training will allow them to do once they leave.
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. Well, that raises another very important question on TAP. I know Secretary Jefferson is committed to reforming TAP.
But I think, Dr. Patton, you had some testimony as it relates to your perspective on how TAP perhaps doesn't always provide servicemembers what they need. I have had a mixed bag of responses from my constituents recently. Two different 20-year-plus members of different branches of the Armed Forces who separated from service. One thought TAP was fabulous, and the other one thought it was completely useless. They didn't take the program in the same place. Otherwise, I think we would have had more consistent response to the program.
What are your thoughts as it relates to TAP or how do we restructure this, if necessary?
Dr. PATTON. Madam Chairwoman, as I was going through my TAP class, my needs were a little bit different than some of the other people that were sitting in that TAP class. Sitting next to me was a young man with 3 years in the Coast Guard at Grade E-4. He has got a total different focus on what is going to happen at the end of his time as compared to mine.
I am getting a retirement. My resume is a little bit more padded than his is. He is focused on trying to get into using education. So what happens in the TAP class is that I have no problem with the content. And I don't think anyone does. The problem is is that it is not a one size fit all.
But the system has kind of set that to be by virtue of getting everybody with different military walks of life into one setting and trying to come up with something of a commonality.
What probably needs to happen, in my opinion, is more of looking at how we can reinforce that information before TAP, during TAP, as well as after TAP. So the whole TAP process is something that is evolving that should continue on well past the individual leaving the service.
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. Any other comments on TAP? I am over time. But I want to recognize the Ranking Member and come back for another round.
Mr. SHARPE. Well we know that Department of Labor is in the midst of redoing their entire TAP program. They are modernizing the program, something that we strongly agree with.
A lot of the recommendations that are going into this new program are coming from many of the businesses that sit on their Veterans Advisory Board.
A couple of years ago we all went to a number of TAP programs across the country and looked to see how it could be improved. And a lot of the recommendations that came from various business owners we just thought it was a great idea. So we do think they are on the right road.
We are still concerned with the fact that many servicemembers are still not getting access to the TAP program.
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. I would also like to explore with you this issue of the challenge of State by State and the licensure and certification. But I will do so after recognizing the Ranking Member for his questions. Mr. Bilirakis.
Mr. BILIRAKIS. Thank you so much. And most of the material you covered, Madam Chair, so good job.
I do have a question for Mr. Sharpe. Should the counsel for licensure enforcement be a member of the Veterans' Advisory Committee on Education?
Mr. SHARPE. I believe so.
Mr. BILIRAKIS. Again, that is another big issue where an individual leaves the military with a certain amount of training. And depending on the State that individual resides in, their credentials are accepted or not.
We do believe there should be one national standard for a lot of the military skills that folks are leaving as they leave. And I think it would be great if an individual like that was to sit on one of the councils.
I thank you, Madam Chair. I yield back.
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. Thank you, Mr. Bilirakis.
The Ranking Member had mentioned in his opening statement the issue of the fact that the National Governors' Association wasn't able to help us out today.
I am wondering if any of your organizations have reached out to the National Governors' Association and what kind of response you have received on the issue of licensure and certification and credentialing.
No. Well let me raise just something to consider. You know, right now we are having a rigorous debate. Although in some instances not a healthy discussion but a rigorous debate about the role of the Federal Government. There is a serious challenge when you are dealing with 50 different State sets of standards.
This is why some in the industry want us to pass a renewable electricity standard, because one State has no mandate, one State has 10 percent, one State has 20 percent. You have folks that are businesses that are operating across States, and they would like some certainty. They would like essentially for the Federal Government to come in and preempt State laws and at least set a minimum.
My question for each of you is, should there be a discussion recognizing the challenges with 50 different State standards. We have also dealt with this issue in this Congress and in past Congresses about State law governing child custody disputes when we are dealing with a national military and whether or not we leave their legal rights, whether for child custody or employment, up to the States or whether we have national standards.
Should there be a discussion about national certification, or the transfer of military skills so that we can provide some certainty and assist our military men and women who are separating from service to transition more effectively into the workforce, especially in high employment growth sectors of the economy?
Mr. SHARPE. There should be a national standard. Not only that, but we have advocated for the federalization of the Disabled Veterans Outreach Program specialists (DVOPs) and Local Veterans Employment Representatives (LVERs) for the Department of Labor, because right now you have 50 different programs. And a veteran shouldn't have to go from one State to another to try and get certain basic services.
Right now a lot of this depends on how the State wants to allocate money that comes from the Federal Government. And we feel like the Federal Government should be in charge of it.
Since the veteran is—you know, he has deployed by the national government. So as he transitions out, that responsibility should rely on the Federal Government and not the State.
Mr. HILLEMAN. Madam Chairwoman, you have unearthed probably one of the longest standing debates in our democracy, in our Federal system, States' rights versus Federal. Without weighing —
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. I don't know that I have unearthed it. I think it has been on 24/7 cable is that debate. But anyway I appreciate that.
Mr. HILLEMAN. Yes, ma'am.
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. Maybe in this instance, we are giving it something that is an important and healthy discussion we could on what we do to best serve a veteran.
Mr. HILLEMAN. Yes, ma'am. Without weighing in on the philosophical issue, the practical issue is that each industry has specific standards that are recognized State by State.
I think of my fiancée as an example. She is a social worker. And she is licensed in Virginia. She is a licensed clinical social worker. But in order for her to practice exclusively in the District of Columbia, she must transfer her license, which is a cost to her.
When you start talking about military occupational specialties, some of the licensing is important at the State level and some of it is not, information technology (IT) for example. If you have a Red Hat security certification, your employer, whether it is small, local company or a national, huge or international company, recognizes the certification, not the State. And it doesn't require State certification.
However, as Mr. Zampieri points out, the medical industry is strictly governed by States. And I think we need to dig down and figure out what States are giving licensing and certification or allowing individuals at least to sit for those tests and why. We need to understand practically what makes the Army program better than the Navy's nursing program. And is that reasonable?
And I don't think that any one of us would have the depth of insight in there to answer those questions. That is why we are calling for a study to drill down into those specific industries.
Dr. ZAMPIERI. I would echo that. I think one of the big problems having been around the world for a little while in the world of medicine and coming out of the service in 1975, I was one of those licensed practical nurses (LPNs) that was allowed to take my boards back then.
So in the State of Georgia and when I moved to New Jersey, when the military transferred me to New Jersey, New Jersey told me they wouldn't accept my boards, even though I still had the same rank as a sergeant in the Army.
It was just an example that, you know, we fast forward to the future. And here we are today in the world of Internet and everything else. And we are in the same dilemma.
I think there are two things. One is if, you know, you thought health care was a problem. And the debate there if you enter into the world of certification, licensure, and universities, I wish anybody luck, because it is a dangerous animal and especially in the world of medical colleges and universities and stuff.
I think the carrot should be that universities should—who accept Federal money, that will get them, because they all do, should be, you know, encouraged to take the time to look at the individual servicemembers record of education, you know, for whatever ways that you do that. And then, you know, I think that it is interesting.
The military has worked to try to—like for example medics and corpsmen. All of the training now is done at one location at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, at Brooke Army Medical Center at the Uniformed Services Health Sciences Academy.
So what has happened is the good news is I think the services are working towards the University Services Health Sciences Academy where they could also help with this by giving college credits for the courses that the individuals complete, which makes the transferring of that easier. When a person comes off active duty and they are a veteran, they apply.
And then this third part of this is the universities have all admitted in this survey, just in 2008, that very few of them do any kind of academic counseling for veterans. And there are some interesting pilot things that are going on at the universities.
The University of Arizona started a vets clinic, meaning not a medical clinic but a vets education counseling center. And they staffed it with Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) volunteers originally. And then they actually found that there was so much interest on the campus that they actually began to pay interns to work in that office.
And they did the full range of, you know, whether it was a problem with financial aid, or whether it was a problem with again academic credits for their courses and their training, whether it was just a place where veterans could go to talk to other veterans when, you know, things build up. It was interesting. And then there are some successes out there like that.
But I can tell you, I have been licensed in six different States as a physician assistant. Wow. Yeah, I mean, you run into the whole host of problems with State licensing medical boards. I mean, everybody is going to jump into this fray.
And I guess my recommendations are just that, you know, maybe if there is some ways of incentives for the universities to try to work with veterans, it may be a little easier until whatever financial ways or whatever.
And then, you know, work with the Department of Defense on trying to encourage them to—like he mentioned the Air Force already gives college credits for a lot of the different training that they have despite the—
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. I appreciate your thoughts and your recommendations. I think both on side of the incentives to gear more services at the university level towards student veterans to work through some of these unique issues.
But I think also, Mr. Sharpe you had mentioned in your testimony encouraging the DoD to do more on the front end before separation of service, either in coordination/collaboration with governors, State certification boards. Let us just start with some identifiable areas where there is high need on high-growth areas, as well as with the university community.
Mr. Bilirakis, anything final for this panel?
Mr. BILIRAKIS. I think we are okay here.
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. Okay. Thank you all. We appreciate your testimony, your insights and recommendations, and your continued service to our Nation's veterans.
I would now like to invite the second panel to the witness table. Joining us today on the second panel of witnesses is the Honorable Raymond Jefferson, Assistant Secretary for Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS), U.S. Department of Labor; Mr. John Campbell, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, Wounded Warrior Care and Transition Policy, U.S. Department of Defense, who is accompanied by Mr. Ron Horne, Deputy Director of Transition Assistance Program, Wounded Warrior Care, Transition Policy, the United States Department of Defense. We also are joined by Ms. Margarita Cocker, Deputy Director, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) Service, Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Thank you all for your written testimony, which has been made part of the hearing record. We appreciate welcoming you to this Subcommittee.
Assistant Secretary Jefferson, we are going to begin with you. You are now recognized for 5 minutes.
STATEMENTS OF HON. RAYMOND M. JEFFERSON, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, VETERANS' EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR; JOHN R. CAMPBELL, DEPUTY UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (WOUNDED WARRIOR CARE AND TRANSITION POLICY), U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE; ACCOMPANIED BY RON HORNE, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, WOUNDED WARRIOR CARE, TRANSITION POLICY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE; AND MARGARITA COCKER, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION AND EMPLOYMENT SERVICE, VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
STATEMENT OF HON. RAYMOND M. JEFFERSON
Mr. JEFFERSON. Chairman Herseth Sandlin, Ranking Member Bilirakis, Members of the Committee, we are thrilled to be here. Thank you for the opportunity to be here as a witness.
Secretary Solis and I remain passionately committed to helping veterans and transitioning servicemembers translate their military education experience into meaningful careers and opportunities.
We are doing this in very close cooperation with Congress and many of our partners who are here today, the Department of Defense, VA, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Homeland Security, the veteran service organizations, State workforce agencies, other government entities, non-profits, and the private sector.
So what are we doing? We have three broad categories of activities. I will call them prepare, provide and protect. We are preparing transitioning servicemembers and veterans for meaningful careers. We are providing them with access to opportunities and careers. And we are protecting their employment rights.
And for all of that, we are doing it with transformation, innovation and excellence. We are transforming our current programs. We are innovating and launching new initiatives. And we are benchmarking everything we do to best practices to ensure that we are striving and achieving excellence.
Let me break down some of these for us today. Preparation, the Transition Assistance Program has been spoken about a great deal. For the past 17 years, TAP has not been fully modernized. Right now, today, it is 180 PowerPoint slides given over 2 and 1/2 days. For the first time in 17 years, we are transforming and modernizing this program as we speak.
There are going to be six components to the new TAP. The first is pre-work, predictive assessments to determine a servicemember's employability readiness. This is going to allow us to segment, which gets to component number two, three different types of TAP, one for servicemembers who are highly ready, one for moderately ready, and one for what I will call entry level of readiness.
We are also going to bring in best practice content, mental training, life and career planning, stress reduction techniques, storytelling, how to communicate your value proposition, networking, and how you transition from a military context to a civilian context.
The third component is experiential facilitation, learning by doing, getting away from the PowerPoint slides.
Fourth component, after TAP support. After you finish TAP, you have been drinking through a fire hose for 2 and 1/2 days. You can go online and make a phone call to get customized application of what you learned for your personal situation.
Fifth component, a best practice virtual resource with classes, and videos. So you can go back and retrain on things you want to refresh.
And sixth component, performance metrics. One point seven million people have gone through TAP. We have no idea what their feedback is, so three moments of truth. How do you feel about the program when you finished it, how valuable was it when you were actually going through your job search, and how helpful was it to help you transition? We are doing the Bidder's Conference on August 11th. And we are going into contract in September.
Number two, preparation and also providing access to career opportunities. Last time I was here I mentioned that we are going to be launching a pilot program with Job Corps. We launched it 2 weeks ago. And I am pleased to say 300 veterans are going to be in this pilot. The three sites are in Kentucky, Indiana, and Missouri.
This is going to be an all-expense paid, all transportation provided, housing provided, 6- to 8-month customized, accelerated training program leading to a credential or certificate, leading to a job and 21 months of post-employment support. They will get training in a broad array of skills and trades such as green jobs, health care, IT, and construction.
I want to thank the stakeholders in this room for helping us get the word out. Madam Chairwoman, we would be very grateful for your assistance, and Representative Bilirakis yours as well, to help us get the news of this important initiative out to other Members of Congress.
The third thing I would like to talk about is in the area of providing access, increasing engagement with employers. We are doing a pilot program with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. We are going to launch that on Labor Day in ten States. What this is going to do is for the first time instead of our State directors talking to one employer or chief executive officer (CEO) at a time, they are going to talk to 100, 150 CEOs at a time to communicate the value of hiring a veteran and how you hire a veteran in your State or your city.
We are also training our State directors in customer service, and networking, and public speaking and presentation.
Finally, the Federal Hiring Initiative. We are working with the Department of Veterans Affairs as a co-chair with OPM and all of the Federal Government agencies to increase the hiring of veterans.
We are doing a boot camp today, yesterday, and tomorrow to train all the hiring managers and the veterans employment program managers on best practices for hiring veterans, where to find them, how to translate their resumes, how to treat them properly so they become long-term members of the organization.
I spoke to Director Barry this morning. And I am pleased to say that for the past 5 months, the number of veteran hirings in the Federal Government is up.
I will just say that next month is my 1-year anniversary serving as your Assistant Secretary. I hope you see that our agency is fulfilling our promises and our commitments. We are passionate about what we do. We look forward to your questions. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Jefferson appears in the Appendix.]
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. Thank you for your testimony and your commitment. Assistant Secretary Jefferson, we have a number of questions both as it relates to your work on TAP and some issues that came up in a previous hearing 3 years ago.
Mr. JEFFERSON. Okay.
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. So I don't necessarily expect that you will be—but they are questions we want to pose, important followup of commitments that were made by some of your predecessors in the agency.
Mr. JEFFERSON. We are ready to go.
Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. I look forward to visiting with you about that.
Mr. Campbell, you are now recognized. Thank you for being with us today.
Mr. CAMPBELL. Thank you. Good afternoon, Madam Chairwoman, Ranking Member Bilirakis. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the Department of Defense's role in assisting transitioning servicemembers obtain licenses and certifications while in the service as they transition to civilian life.
Education and training are imperative to the meaningful employment and quality of life for our separating servicemembers. Servicemembers are encouraged to take full advantage of their educational opportunities and training programs afforded while they are on active duty. Some of these programs include tuition assistance, United States Military Apprenticeship Program, Army and Navy COOL, and the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
DoD also provides separating servicemembers with useful information and assistance in all aspects of the transition process. This includes preparation for post-military employment as they re-enter civilian life. Attaining a civilian credential promotes professional growth and communicates to employers the transferability of military training and occupational experience. It is crucial to the transition process that servicemembers are able to take full advantage of their military experience in order to reach their full employment potential after they leave the military.
The Transition Assistance Program, known as TAP, remains the primary platform used by DoD, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
TAP informs, educates, and provides one-on-one coaching to transitioning servicemembers. When accomplished, this enables servicemembers to be strong competitors for career opportunities in the civilian workforce.
The current program has been in place for nearly two decades without major enhancements. And the original design was not intended for today's demand. To strengthen TAP and reinforce its value to servicemembers and their families, we will be putting initiatives in place to move TAP from a traditional event-driven approach at the end of service to a modern, innovative life cycle approach, which will begin at the start of service.
DoD is working to implement this strategic plan with specific focus on information technology, strategic mes
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