Dr. Susan S. Kelly
STATEMENT
OF
DR. SUSAN S. KELLY
DIRECTOR
TRANSITION TO VETERANS PROGRAM OFFICE
OFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR PERSONNEL AND READINESS
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
BEFORE THE
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
SUBCOMMITTEE
ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
HEARING
ON
PROPOSED LEGISLATION
JUNE 2, 2015
Chairman Wenstrup, Ranking Member Takano, and Members of the Subcommittee, I am pleased to appear before you today to discuss and share the Department of Defense’s views relating to several pieces of proposed legislation. I will focus my comments only on those proposals that will affect the Department of Defense (DoD). I will generally defer to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide responses on those proposals that we perceive do not have significant DoD impacts. My testimony will address H.R. 2133, Section 4 of H.R. 2275, and the draft bill, “Modification and Improvement of Transfer of Unused Education Benefits to Family Members Under Department of Veterans Affairs Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Program.”
H.R. 2133, “Servicemembers’ Choice in Transition Act”
This proposed bill would permit members of the Armed Forces eligible for assistance under section 1144 of title 10, United States Code (employment assistance, job training assistance and other transitional services), who elect to receive additional training in preparation for higher education or training, preparation for career or technical training, preparation for entrepreneurship, or any other training options determined by the Secretary of Defense, to receive the additional training in subjects available.
While the Department appreciates the intent of this bill, we do not believe it is necessary. The current Transition GPS (Goals, Plans, Success) curriculum offers three separate tracks in addition to our Transition GPS Core curriculum. The tracks consist of the “Accessing Higher Education” Track, the “Career Technical Training” Track, and the “Entrepreneurship” Track, all designed to assist Servicemembers to meet Career Readiness Standards (CRS). These additional tracks are offered at 206 military sites worldwide; further legislation to permit Servicemembers to receive this training would be duplicative.
H.R. 2275, “Jobs for Veterans Act of 2015”
H.R. 2275, “Jobs for Veterans Act of 2015” section 4, “Transfer of Department of Labor Veterans Programs to Department of Veterans Affairs." This section would transfer key veteran employment-related functions, currently residing in the Department of Labor (DOL), to VA.
Veterans strengthen our nation's workforce. They enter the job market with essential skills learned and honed in the military; they help American businesses stay competitive in the global marketplace, and they even create their own small businesses to compete in this marketplace.
Since 1981, the responsibility of providing our veterans, Servicemembers, and their spouses with employment resources and expertise, employment rights protection, and employment opportunities to help them strengthen our nation's workforce has rested with the Department of Labor's Veterans Employment and Training Service (DOL VETS). Although the DoD has always worked closely with DOL VETS, since the passage of the VOW To Hire Heroes Act of 2011 and the redesign of the Transition Assistance Program, the Department has gained an even greater appreciation for the value that the DOL provides our Servicemembers.
In this digital age, there are ever-changing mechanics involved in exploring career interests, searching the labor market, building resumes, preparing for interviews, and ultimately securing a job offer. DOL’s familiarity with the modern labor market and its connection to state labor offices, make it the single best organization in our federal government to provide labor-related services, not only to our Servicemembers, but to all American citizens.
The success of the Transition Assistance Program's DOL Employment Workshop (DOLEW) further proves its value. The latest feedback data shows that, on average, 91 percent of transitioning Servicemembers who participate in the Employment workshop said the training enhanced their confidence in transition planning, 93 percent said they will use what they learned, and 96 percent said the facilitators were knowledgeable about the material.
Embedded in the DOLEW and throughout the Transition GPS curriculum, are direct connections to DOL’s American Job Centers (AJCs). This deliberate bridging between DoD and DOL facilitates early access for our Transitioning Servicemembers and their spouses to the entire swath of employment and training services provided at AJCs, not only those targeted for Veterans but for all services available to every citizen. Employment is core to a successful transition and segregating Veteran services from the employment services provided to the rest of the nation is inefficient and puts Veteran reintegration into civilian life at risk.
Since the revised workshop began in 2012, the outlook for Servicemembers transitioning to the civilian workforce has brightened every year. This is good news, but we must look to the future. DoD and DOL have joined hands to build a renewed focus on apprenticeships for the talent pipeline flowing through the Armed Forces. Congress provided DoD with the Skillbridge authority and we are working hand-in-glove with DOL to enable installation commanders to capitalize on growing opportunities for training and apprenticeships. We are encouraging communities to shape new grants available from DOL to re-tool their state workforces and tap into the talent pool of transitioning Servicemembers at local installations as a highly trainable asset. We would hope that our close work with DOL can continue without diversion as it harbors tremendous potential. To best ensure continued progress in this vein, as well as discover innovative ways to build what Secretary Ashton Carter has called the Force of the Future, DoD strongly believes that the mission and functions of job counseling, training and placement services, as well as the administration of employment and employment rights of our Veterans, should remain with the DOL. It is the best way to ensure that those who served continue to strengthen our nation's workforce.
Draft bill entitled, “To amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain modifications and improvements in the transfer of unused educational assistance benefits under the Post 9/11 Educational Assistance Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes."
The Department of Defense (DoD) appreciates the opportunity to discuss potential modifications and improvements to the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Program of VA, as proposed in this draft legislation. This draft bill appears to mirror several of the education proposals from the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission Final Report (January 29, 2015). In response to that Report, DoD deferred comment until we have more data on the impacts of transferability of educational benefits on retention. Similarly, as the Department stated May 13, 2015, in testimony to the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, without data enabling the Department to understand the potential effects on retention, the Department--and the Joint Chiefs are particularly concerned on this point--cannot support a bill that changes the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill housing stipend for dependents, or the proposed language to increase the eligibility requirements for transferring Post-9/11 G.I. Bill benefits.
To this end, the Department has sponsored a study with RAND National Defense Research Institute to review education benefits for Servicemembers, including the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill and its impacts on retention (with a focus on impacts of transferability). We anticipate the study to be completed in the summer of 2016, allowing the Department to evaluate the potential effects of altering eligibility requirements for, or the transfer of, G.I. Bill benefits, as well as the reduction of the housing stipend for dependents.
Because the impacts of proposed reductions to benefits on retention are still unknown, and a study is still in progress, we would like to defer comment until the study is complete.
Further, regardless of the outcomes of the study, the Department strongly believes that those Servicemembers who have already committed to additional service obligations should be “grandfathered” and that their dependents should not be subject to any reduction in transferability that may be imposed by future legislation.
The Department defers to VA regarding any costs of this bill.
Mr. Chairman this concludes my statement. I thank you and the members of this Subcommittee for your outstanding and continuing support for the men and women who proudly wear the uniform in defense of our great Nation. They are most deserving of our best efforts to make them career-ready and to enable them to achieve their aspirations. The Department and I look forward to working closely with you to strengthen the All-Volunteer force through a balanced program of recruiting, retention, and transition, and to recognize the service of our veterans.