LEGISLATION WOULD PROVIDE VETERANS MORE INFORMATION TO IMPROVE JOB TRAINING

Washington, Nov 20, 2007 - "I am honored that the American Legion and Florida's Veterans of Foreign Wars both support H.R. 3646, the VETS Job Act of 2007," said Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Ocala). Stearns introduced H.R. 3646, which would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of Labor to conduct a joint study on the greatest employment needs in various job markets around the country and post the results on the VA website.

"Many times, veterans enter job training in a field with little opportunities in their area," explained Stearns. "Under this bill, veterans could plug in their zip code and see a list of the jobs that are most in demand, and use their federal job training most effectively. The Department of Labor already has the infrastructure in place for this kind of research, so this is a practical, low cost solution."

James Koutz of the American legion wrote, "On behalf of the 2.7 million members of The American Legion, I am writing in support of H.R. 3646, the VETS JOB Act of 2007... As the dynamics of the labor market and skill sets change in the 21st Century, there must always be employment opportunities for veterans regardless of when and where they served." On behalf of Florida's Veterans of Foreign Wars, Jack McDermott wrote, "We view this bill as a great first start to reintegrating this generation of warriors into the workforce. The Veterans of Foreign Wars truly appreciates your long standing work on behalf of your fellow veterans and we look forward to working with to improve the quality of life of those who gave selflessly in the cause of freedom."