Madame Chairwoman, Ranking Member and distinguished members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to submit the views of The American Legion regarding the “Status of Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Programs.”

Since the 1940s, VA has provided vocational rehabilitation assistance to veterans with disabilities incurred during military service.  The Veterans Rehabilitation and Education Amendments of 1980, Public Law (PL) 96-466, changed the emphasis of services from training, aimed at improving the employability of disabled veterans, to helping veterans obtain and maintain suitable employment and achieve maximum independence in daily living.  Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) program employment goals are accomplished through training and rehabilitation programs authorized under Chapter 31 of title 38, U.S. Code.  Title 38 provides a 12-year period of eligibility after the veteran is discharged or first notified of a service-connected disability rating.  To be entitled to VR&E services, veterans must have at least a 20 percent service connected disability rating and an employment handicap or less than a 20 percent disability and a serious employment handicap.

The VR&E program’s mission is to help qualified, service-disabled veterans achieve independence in daily living and, to the maximum extent feasible, obtain and maintain suitable employment — goals which The American Legion fully supports.  As a nation at war, there continues to be an increasing need for VR&E services to assist Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom veterans in reintegrating into independent living, achieving the highest possible quality of life, and securing meaningful employment.

The success of the rehabilitation of our disabled veterans is determined by the coordinated efforts of every federal agency (Department of Defense, VA, Department of Labor, Office of Personnel Management, Department of Housing and Urban Development, etc.) involved in the seamless transition from the battlefield to the civilian workplace.  Timely access to quality health care services, favorable physical rehabilitation, vocational training, and job placement play a critical role in the “seamless transition” of each veteran, as well as his or her family.

Administration of VR&E and its programs is a responsibility of the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA).  Providing effective employment programs through VR&E must become a priority.  Until recently, VR&E’s primary focus has been providing veterans with skills training, rather than providing assistance in obtaining meaningful employment.  Clearly, any employability plan that doesn’t achieve the ultimate objective — a job where the veteran succeeds despite his or her disabilities—is falling short of actually helping those veterans seeking assistance in transitioning into the civilian workforce and of VR&E’s mission.  Eligible veterans who are enrolled into the education and training programs receive a monthly allowance to offset living costs associated with attending training while not working.  Yet, those veterans enrolled in VR&E for direct employment assistance do not receive a monthly living stipend.  However, they attend workshops to learn how to write resumes, work on interview skills and attend job fairs, all of which take time – 372 days on average, according to VA data; 54 days to enroll, 118 days to develop a rehabilitation plan and 200 days to find a job after the plan has been executed.  Anyone who has started a new career knows looking for a job can be a full-time job in itself.  Not providing a living stipend for veterans seeking direct employment services through VR&E could lead those veterans to a different track and they may miss out on meaningful employment.  The American Legion strongly urges Congress and VA leadership to approve a living stipend to all who are enrolled in VR&E regardless of whether their rehabilitation plan calls for training or direct employment.

Another problem hindering the effectiveness of the VR&E program, as cited in reports by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), is exceptionally high workloads for the limited number of staff.  This hinders the staff’s ability to effectively assist individual veterans with identifying employment opportunities.  A recent GAO report noted that 54 percent of all 57 regional offices stated they have fewer counselors than they need and 40 percent said they have fewer employment coordinators than they need.  As in the past, achieving ample staffing in VR&E is a major concern, especially with recent numbers stating that each VA counselor maintains a case load of 145 veterans.  With 145 cases to manage, counselors simply do not have the time it takes to teach veterans how to apply to Federal jobs or to build the community connections to help veterans find jobs.

The jobless rate for OIF/OEF veterans between the ages of 18 to 24 was 21.1 percent in 2009.  Furthermore, the Department of Labor reports one in three veterans under 24 is presently unemployed—and the unemployment rate for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans has jumped to 14.7 percent, half again as high as the national unemployment rate of 9.7 percent.  Without sufficient staffing, the success of VR&E programs becomes extremely challenging, particularly due to the returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan and their more complex cases.  Hiring more staff to meet the demands of these veterans is simply a must.  The American Legion completely supports fully staffing VR&E with more vocational rehabilitation counselors and employment coordinators to lower case loads so these counselors/coordinators can provide more individualized attention to veterans throughout training and assist them in finding suitable employment.  

Vocational counseling also plays a vital role in identifying barriers to employment and matching veterans’ transferable job skills with those career opportunities available for fully qualified candidates.  Becoming fully qualified becomes the next logical objective toward successful transition.  Veterans’ preference should play a large role in vocational counseling as well.  The Federal government has scores of employment opportunities that educated, well-trained, and motivated veterans can fill, given a fair and equitable chance to compete.  Working together, all Federal agencies should identify those vocational fields, especially those with high turnover rates, suitable for VR&E applicants.  Career fields like information technology, claims adjudications, and debt collection offer employment opportunities for career-oriented applicants that also create career opportunities outside the Federal government.

CONCLUSION

No VA mission is more important at this time in our history—given the nation’s involvement in two wars and the uncertain economic situation—than enabling America’s veterans to have a seamless transition from military service to the civilian workforce.

The success of the VR&E program will significantly be measured by these veterans’ ability to obtain gainful employment and achieve a high quality of life.  To meet America’s obligation to these service-connected veterans, VA leadership must continue to focus on marked improvements in case management, vocational counseling, and most importantly, job placement.

VR&E’s services are more critical than ever based upon more than 33,000 service members being injured in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001.  The American Legion strongly supports VR&E programs and is committed to working with VA and other Federal agencies to ensure America’s wounded veterans are provided with the highest level of service and employment assistance. 

Again, thank you for the opportunity to submit the opinion of The American Legion on this issue.