ICYMI: Rep. Mike Levin Leads Congressional Hearing, Roundtable Discussion with Local Veterans on Legislation and Programs to Support Veterans’ Economic Opportunity
San Juan Capistrano, CA – In case you missed it, U.S. Representative Mike Levin led a hearing of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity and hosted a roundtable discussion last week with local veterans focused on legislation and programs to support veterans’ economic success. The Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity hearing focused on the resources available to servicemembers transitioning to civilian life and included testimony from several local witnesses, including Maurice Wilson, Vice President of the San Diego Veterans Coalition, Daniel Romero, Senior Program Director of Social Advocates for Youth (SAY) San Diego, and Brigadier General Paul Lebidine, USMC (Ret.). Video of their testimony and the full hearing is available here.
Rep. Levin, Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX), and Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity Ranking Member Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) introduced the Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer William "Bill" Mulder (Ret.) Transition Improvement Act of 2019, a bipartisan bill to improve the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) for servicemembers returning to civilian life. The bipartisan bill would create a pilot program for off-base transition training to make the transition process easier for veterans and spouses by giving them more time to access resources and digest the information provided to them, all while living in their new community.
Also last week, Rep. Levin led a discussion with veterans who would benefit from his legislation to support veterans, including Army veteran Ryan Kules, Marine veteran Brian Tally, Air Force veteran and San Diego Workforce Partnership analyst Matt Roman, and Army veteran Jeffrey Jones. The President recently signed the Ryan Kules and Paul Benne Specially Adaptive Housing Improvement Act into law, and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs recently passed the Brian Tally VA Employment Transparency Act.
Rep. Levin also pushed for House passage of the Navy Seal Chief Petty Officer William 'Bill' Mulder (Ret.) Veterans Economic Recovery Act of 2020, which would create a rapid retraining program for unemployed veterans and reservists, and the Homeless Veteran Coronavirus Response Act, which would expand and strengthen Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) services for homeless veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Video of their discussion is available here.
Click here or see below for CBS coverage of the Economic Opportunity hearing:
WASHINGTON — Helping veterans transition to the civilian workforce is challenging enough. But it's even more complicated during a pandemic.
On Friday, lawmakers tried to do their part.
The House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity held a hearing. They discussed the resources available to veterans who are getting out and trying to find a job in the private sector.
The panel is working to identify opportunities and gaps in the resources from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Service Organizations, and other federal and non-governmental agencies.
"It's my goal that the support will focus more on proactively providing veterans with economic opportunities, rather than reacting after they reach the point of crisis," said the subcommittee's chairman, Rep. Mike Levin (D) California.
As of July, the veterans' unemployment rate stood at 7.9 percent.
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