Media Advisories

Today, Rep. Jeff Miller, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, issued the following statement on President Obama’s State of the Union Address:

“In November, President Obama signed the VOW to Hire Heroes Act, bipartisan legislation whose main objective is to put America’s veterans on the path to meaningful employment. This legislation offers expanded training for veterans for high-demand jobs and provides an avenue for servicemembers to seamlessly transition into the civilian workforce.

“This is the way our system of democracy was envisioned by the Founding Fathers—the branches of government working together based on the needs of the people. Congress writing legislation, the Executive Branch implementing the laws of the land. It is a system of checks and balances to ensure that no one branch of the government could overstep its Constitutional bounds.

“The VOW to Hire Heroes Act was a good first step, but in no way, should it be the last. Nor should we look for short term solutions to put our veterans back to work or to jobs that will end when government funding runs out. We owe these men and women careers that will last a lifetime. To do this, we need to look to the root of our economic woes—a host of failed stopgap proposals that have not moved our veterans out of the unemployment lines.

“As a surge of servicemembers come home, they return to record unemployment, an unstable economy, and fierce competition in the job market. We must fight to get our economy back on track, and fight just as hard as our veterans did in defending this nation. We can do this without expanding the scope of government and still honor our commitments. We must give America’s businesses the confidence to invest again and untie their hands from the oppressive tangle of federal regulation. We must empower America’s businesses to create the jobs our veterans so desperately need. There are such opportunities today, yet these opportunities are quickly disappearing because of the refusal to put good policy over bad politics.    

“Until we recognize that America’s economy can’t be fixed with a speech, we will continue to witness the effects of these failed policies. Veterans need jobs, not promises. Veterans need the lasting stability that comes with having a career. Having that ability to earn an income and provide for their families is the homecoming our veterans truly deserve.”