From Washington, D.C.
October 6, 2009, Congressmen Steve Buyer and Mike Michaud joined in a bipartisan effort to improve career and entrepreneurial opportunities for veterans by introducing H.R. 3719, the Veterans’ Economic Opportunity Administration Act of 2009.
Buyer, the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and Michaud, the Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health, hope to create a new, separate administration within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to increase the focus on helping veterans acquire meaningful careers.
The bill would shift jurisdiction for veterans’ vocational rehabilitation and employment, GI Bill and dependents’ education, loan guaranty, homeless veterans’ services, small business, adapted housing, and Center for Veterans’ Entrepreneurship to the new Veterans’ Economic Opportunity Administration.
“Providing veterans with an array of career and entrepreneurial opportunities not only helps fulfill our nation’s covenant with them, it bolsters our entire economy,” said Buyer. “In addition to strategic measures to meet immediate demand, we must anticipate veterans’ long term needs and solutions. These priorities warrant a high-level of focus, and while VA has wonderful benefit programs for veterans and their families, these programs often find it difficult to compete for Department resources.”
“As veterans’ benefit programs have become more complex over the years, the ability of VA’s senior management to monitor the delivery of each program has decreased,” said Michaud. “Therefore, Ranking Member Buyer and I hope to increase the visibility and management of all benefit programs by creating a fourth administration within VA that is dedicated entirely to creating economic opportunities for veterans.”
“I am encouraged by the initial feedback I have received from veterans’ service organizations on this bill,” said Buyer. “I look forward to further dialogue with my colleagues, VA, and its stakeholders in the weeks ahead.”
For more news from House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Republicans, please go to:
http://www.republicans.veterans.house.gov/
http://www.youtube.com/user/VetAffairsRepublican
