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This will make it easier to make sure all members participating will have the opportunity to recognize. Does any member have a question about the conduct of this hearing . Right, i will now recognize myself for an opening statement. I want to thank all of you for joining us virtually today as we continue our work on the House Veterans AffairsEconomic Opportunity subcommittee. Covid19 might be changing the way we operate, but it will not stop the work of this committee. The purpose of todays hearing is to improve the transition process for Service Members by identifying gaps in coordination and opportunities for synergy, and the plethora of Resources Available to veterans and governmental and nongovernmental entities. The transition process can seem like a tidal wave of information crashing onto our Service Members as they prepare for service let civilian life. It can be difficult to navigate, illustrating the need for a centralized hub and a no wrong door approach. , along why i introduced with other colleagues, navy seal chief petty officer improvement , thisown as hr 2326 legislation which passed the house over one year ago would establish a Grant Program for organizations to provide multiple transition o assistance services, including Job Recruitment training, from a central source. It would create transition sides to bring in more outside resources and make the process more accessible for veterans who have already transition out of the military. Trend data to the department of labor so they can make their resources more responsive to veterans employment needs. , wouldtion hr 5516 authorize federal funding for county Veterans Service officers, that help veterans understand and access a variety of resources at their disposal. With coronavirus making the transition process harder for our veterans and the economic downturn threatening their livelihoods, our work is more important now than ever before. The fact it has shifted to an entire online format further complicates things as it impacts the quality of learning in a program that many argue was already too low. Let us be clear, one way or another, we will be supporting our veteran community. It is my goal support will focus on proactively providing veterans with Economic Opportunities rather than reacting after they reach crisis. Testimony from our witnesses will determine how we can do so in a collaborative manner. With that, i recognize my friend, for five minutes, for his opening statement. Thank you. I appreciate it so much. I thank you for holding this discussion to focus on transition resources, Service Members and veterans. We are talking about the topic at our lastsaid virtual event, this is my substitution for the bipartisan oversight that in person hearings provide. I look forward to working with you to safely return to that best practice moving forward so that the witnesses can be part of the discussions. I believe that improving the transition process is one of the best ways to set Service Members up for longterm success and i know you agree with that. You working with me on all of this. As the old saying goes, one ounce, an ounce of prevention is worth one pound of a cure. So true. If we can get the transition process right, we can help mitigate any of the other issues that some veterans face later in life. I have been working on one of our presenters today. We have been working on this and other issues. While we are in the midst of one of the longest transformations of the federal governments Transition Assistance Program in recent memory, thanks to the work done by the subcommittee we know therman, an Government Programs are not a silver bullet. We know that transitioning the Service Members and veterans can benefit from innovative sector programs at the Community Levels. I am glad that representatives from these types of Community Programs are with us today so that we can learn from their experiences and help coordinate their efforts. Mr. Chairman, i thank you for inviting my friend and fellow floridian brian anderson, who is a hero in his own right, to testify today. Mr. Anderson is a tireless advocate for veterans and his organization, the veterans alternative, i am familiar with, provides evidencebased treatments and therapies to veterans in need. I am excited he is here with us today to share his experience and recommendation. Ould be remiss veterans11, the recovery act of 2020 which contains the chairmans bill and my bill to help provide Additional Resources for organizations like the ones joining us here today. It is really part of the solution. Inant to thank the chairman sending a letter to the house leadership. When those talks resume and i understand that they have resume , hopefully our efforts are successful. One of the most important byproducts of a coordinated Successful Transition is a reduced risk of suicide. 20 Service Members and veterans die by suicide each and every , probably more than that. The Senate Unanimously passed the bill as amended, commander care the Veterans Health improvement act of 2019. This is a multifaceted legislation designed to help be a community provider. Like the one specifying again before us today, a better support of veterans at risk of suicide. The San Diego Veterans Coalition joined 30 other veteran Community Organizations from across the country and signed a letter encouraging the chairman to work with house leadership to pass this bipartisan bill and send it to President Trumps desk without delay. Mr. Wilson, who represents the San Diego Veterans Coalition is here today and i look forward to hearing more from him about this letter of support and why we must act now on senate bill 785. That letter of support followed one from four of the oldest and largest veterans organizations. The disabled American Veterans practice, the paralyzed veterans of america, the American Legion and the vfws. One was sent by one of the newest organizations as well. Asking for similar action. Ask we submito percent at letters 785. Withk forward to working my friend and Ranking Member on veteransing issue of health. I thank them for sharing the letters and look forward to continue to working together continuing to Work Together in the spirit of collaboration. I share your hope that we will be able to get over the finish line. I know we are working on it. I am so encouraged by the recent successes we have had. I am sorry we are not altogether. Areink you are thank you think you are with us, joining us from florida. There are two witnesses from the san diego area. That brings us to our witnesses. Theydisappointed that declined to participate in todays hearing. We have a great group of Witnesses Today as i mentioned, including our communities in florida and california. Joining us on the panel, we have mr. Marise wilson, Vice President of the San Diego Veterans Coalition. Great to see you, mr. Wilson. Romero, thedaniel senior director. Thank you so much. We have my good friend and , general,t, paul thank you for joining us fo and for all you do. And we have mr. Brian anderson. Are all goingou to have five minutes for your oral statements today. Your full written statement will be added to the record. With that, i now like to hat, i now like to recognize mr. Wilson for five minutes. Good afternoon, mr. Chairman. The san diego ,usiness Cord Coalition veterans and spouses, i am pleased to testify at this hearing concerning coordinating transition. Ine were founded 2009 and incorporated in 2012 as a premier convene her of san diego county. We bring together over 150 unique organizations, businesses and agencies. We support them in their activities as well as in a field what we call action groups in areas such as physical and emotional health, veterans empowered successful and thriving as well as our education appointment and entrepreneur action group. With the intent to improve collaboration and coordination among Community Services in all sectors and Nonprofit Community state federal, formal councils. The heart and soul of it. Every year, two hundred 50,000 military Service Members embarq on the transition of active duty to civilian life. For many, this is a difficult process. It is not just a vocational change but it is a multifaceted, monumental life change. While it is critically important to provide guidance to our Service Members, it is equally, perhaps even more important that they also receive support to transition their identity from requiredlife through psychological and cognitive support. We are not looking to supplant we are looking to complement what goes on with cap. Tap. It is what we call the transition integration process or tip. It is an industry driven initiative. Focusing on key integration issues and the challenges, tip will help close the gaps of veterans by orchestrating a pipeline from military service to priority sectors throughout the region. Leverage local resources across florida key transition domains. Engagement, transition, workplace and community integration. Tracking is managed through a cloudbased Community Information that monitors and tracks hearts as they move from one service invited to another. More recently, several workforce studies have revealed that veterans paralyzed as we pull paramountvid19 as we pull out of the covid19. Congress must support the rapid implementation of House Resolution 2320 six, introduced 2326,evin introduced by mike levin. Will orchestrate resources, coordinate training with local institutions, engage employers and build a viable, local economy. It will help veterans and their families successfully reintegrate into a new life, choosing of their own choosing. I leave you with this quote from the offers of the chairman of the joint chiefs staff of reintegration in september of 2015. As a nation, we cannot meet our full potential of reintegrating veterans and their families unless the military, government, servicet and veterans organizations collaborate around a neutral agenda and partner to address the challenges facing veterans as they move into civilian life. Thank you, mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to share our viewpoint on transition. Thank you mr. Wilson and thank you for your great work. Before we go further, i was informed that the Ranking Member with his opening remarks was here with his opening remarks. I am sorry, gus. I want to go back to you so you can finish your opening remark. I will be brief. I appreciate it. Dont worry about it. Of what i wanted to say. When you have Bernie Sanders and ted cruz agreeing on something, that means it is a good bill. Know they are working on a bill over here. Time is of the essence. We have to get this done. We dont want to have to start all over again session. Lives are at stake. Heroes. E our get them as much help as soon as possible. With that, i will be yield back. Thank you. I appreciate it. With that, i want to recognize mr. Romero for five minutes. Thank you for joining us. You are on mute. Unmute yourself. There you go. Much,nk you very chairman. And thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is daniel romero. I work for san diego in a variety of contexts. It is a civilian based nonprofit helping to support families. One of the commodities they support is the military veteran community. Mr. Wilson indicated, san diego is a special place where collaboration is a part of history and making sure no one is left out of the conversation. Through our work, we have been able to convene with the san diego military collaborative. Hey have 10 years of history along with 10 years of service in the community, we have had the opportunity of reaching out relations but also bringing in nonprofits and more. Definitely a Community Collaborative that allows opportunities for members to be recognized. To not only inform the community but engage with different providers sharing their expertise. 2014, g said, in particular, this particular project allows transition to be focused on in terms of what was happening versus whats happening in the committee. We have learned that not only Service Members felt the crunch of time to successfully navigate the transitional practices but to the south, the military partner was not always involved in that process in knowing what was available to them. They started bringing in local communities to create a workshop. Course wasthat the times s that often interjecting on what the career path may look like when they retire or separate. Workbook was created of resources and a oneday briefing was provided. This was more so to be a precursor to be an extreme course so that when a servicemember enters, they are wellinformed of the different parts of transition. I bring that to your attention today to let you know that there have been opportunities to connect. We have partnerships that have been established through. We have brought in the military blunt force. We have had people come in and better informed so that as we discussed a little bit earlier today, the amount of prevention can be dealt as they make the transition into the veteran space is so imperative. That being said, these workshops are definitely something that we want. We have had representatives come in and are wellinformed, creating warm handoffs as we want to make sure that that exchange with these workshops are intended to have a followup process, for not only the servicemember but the family can receive the information. Often times, Service Members are dealing with their own transition, working to prepare the person who will take their job and perhaps are not able to dedicate the amount of time to think about things like education, employment and their own wellbeing. It was an opportunity for us to showcase that partnerships are needed to thrive when it comes to transition. Suchhat shared visibility as being a part of the committee and engaging in Community Events does matter so that we can create more connection. More importantly, we want to make sure that Service Members are wellinformed. Hat often is the premise we want to share that there are more aspects including employments that need to be considered. Often times, that loss of identity fractures your connection into the veteran state. With that being said, i would like to thank you all for the opportunity and remind you that put forthossible, additional support. Thank you. I appreciate that very much. I now would like to recognize my friend. I would like to thank him for his three decades of service and his continued leadership and for joining us here at this hearing today. General, you are now recognized. Good morning and thank you for the invitation to testify today. My service include seven combat tours. I am not part of a Government Entity and my testimony is based on my experiences during my service and now in retirement. Fromnk the impetus came the veteran Suicide Awareness summit that was hosted by congressman levin that included many that included many of the local stakeholders in the san diego region. I was asked to present some of the best practices from my active duty experiences in preventing suicide to be introduced in the local veteran community. What i believe because the most interest was my comment on what i considered to be one of the biggest issues concerning prevention of veteran suicide and i did this from drawing on my two years serving in afghanistan where the United States and nato did not meet the timeline they anticipated. I used a 2009 powerpoint slide to illustrate my main points. The livesng on draw on the practices similar to afghanistan with v. A. Ds to veteran suicide, has a 10 Year National strategy. Conducts highlevel conferences. There are numerous ongoing new programs through the v. A. And your legislated initiative to refine congressional hearings last year. Roadmap that was recently released. Similar to afghanistan, it is certainly not a resource issue based on the last decade of increased congressional funding to prevent suicide. Not a se