By Abhinav Parameshwar, Contributing Writer
Three members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation spent late May and early June working to ensure that the federal government continues to expand the services it provides to the returning service members seeking to transition back to civilian life.
The Hiring Heroes Act of 2011
Last week, Congressman Mark Critz (PA-12) signed on as a co-sponsor of the Hiring Heroes Act of 2011, which was introduced by Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Georgia) in May.
Intended to ease veterans’ transition from the warzone to the workforce, the legislation would make it easier for veterans to begin the hiring process before they’re fully separated from service and would simplify their efforts to convert military occupational specialty skills (MOS) into civilian licenses or credentials. It would also expand already functioning transition assistance and vocational rehabilitation programs.
The U.S. Labor Department has calculated that the unemployment rate for returning veterans ages 20 to 24 is 27 percent.
“Too many of our troops returning home from war are finding it difficult to translate skills learned during service to potential civilian employers, making it harder for them to secure a job,” Critz said in a statement. “That’s why it’s important to strengthen much-needed training programs, and to encourage businesses to hire service members who have developed valuable skills and professionalism while serving our nation in uniform.”
Amendment to Improve Access to Quality Prosthetics
Meanwhile, in the Keystone State’s fourth congressional district, Congressman Jason Altmire labored to restore steep funding cuts to the Veterans Affairs Department’s prosthetics research budget. He announced last week that he had successfully inserted an amendment doing just that – at no new cost to taxpayers – into the 2012 edition of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill.
“What amount of money could replace an arm or a leg lost in the line of duty?” Rep. Altmire said. “The least that we can do is ensure that the VA has the resources it needs to conduct medical research and provide veterans with the highest quality prosthetics after they leave the service.”
The bill is expected to pass later this month.
Servicemembers’ Telemedicine & E-Health Portability (STEP) Act
Congressman Glenn Thompson (PA-5) proposed the Servicemember’s Telemedicine and E-Health Portability (STEP) Act earlier this year – and it passed late last month in the form of an amendment to the Defense Department reauthorization bill.
Rep. Thompson’s proposal will alleviate Department of Defense-imposed limitations that prevent doctors and specialists from treating service members from different states, which often forced veterans to travel long distances to receive treatment. “This legislation removes out-dated requirements under current law so that geographic location is no longer an obstacle to the delivery of care for our Servicemembers,” Rep. Thompson said last month.
In addition to expanding the geographic patient base of these DOD-recognized health care providers, STEP will also grow the pool of professionals eligible to provide such care.
Thompson’s initiative to support veterans was further reinforced with a “Veteran’s Outreach Week” he hosted at the end of May. The week was marked with a series of events to offer local veterans the chance to contact federal agencies directly through a chain of informational seminars.