Transcripts For CSPAN3 Hearing 20240704 : vimarsana.com

CSPAN3 Hearing July 4, 2024

Support for Military Spouses and families. Thousands of Companies Big and small have had Great Success at hiring veterans in the past decade. As most of you know before i came to congress i ran a familyowned trucking business and had the pleasure of knowing, we hired people from world war ii that worked hard most of their lives, korean war, vietnam war, and continued the tradition. When veterans applied for the positions, i always made sure to give them the opportunities to thrive, as did my grandfather and father. As a veteran myself, i knew that the service ingrained in the veterans does not just go away when they take off the uniform. They possess exceptional teambuilding skills and are highly trusted by colleagues in the workplace. We have seen this firsthand the way a veteran higher can benefit any business over 3 million americans are employed and together these companies contribute to the economy. An incredible investment over 74 of businesses are founded by a veteran rather than purchased or inherited. Making sure veterans can start a business and succeed as owners has long been a priority of our committee and is a personal priority of mine. Without veterans in the workforce, america would not be a world leader in innovation and economic growth. We are so grateful to have some of the corporations who hire veterans and personal veterans who owned Small Businesses here with us today, including one for my hometown. Thank you for your service and for serving your community and building the economy. I am eager to hear from our witnesses on the importance of hiring veterans and how we can increase opportunity for veterans as they transition to civilian line lives. Enacting progrowth policies that are often at odds with economic decisions made by the biden administration. I want to recognize the Ranking Member well, thank you, chairman bost and thank you for holding this hearing. On the impact of americas businesses on veteran employment and opportunity. Before we begin, its impossible to discuss employment without addressing recent news in the automotive industry. Id like to take a moment to congratulate the United Auto Workers on a truly groundbreaking agreement with ford stis and general motors. Thousands of veterans are members of the uaw and in the words of president biden, when he visited the picket line you deserve what youve earned and youve earned a hell of a lot more than youre getting now. Getting paid. Now, the agreement reached last week is a massive win for the uaw, american workers. Veterans and the entire United States unions are good for america and unions are good for veterans. Now to the topic at hand. The biden economy has pulled this country from what some believed was an inevitable recession, unemployment is down, wages are up, spending is up and inflation has cooled since the months immediately after the pandemic. Does that mean everything is perfect . Also, in the words of president biden, come on, man, no, more work is needed. We need to raise wages for veterans in the workplace to reflect the wage gains of the 1 and company executives. Strengthen employment protection so guard and reserve members dont have to worry if their jobs will exist when they return from serving their country. Ensure that opportunities for veterans of all backgrounds are fair. Simplify the process for veterans to translate their skills in the military into the marketplace, and make it easier for veterans to start their own businesses. Chairman bost, you and i have served together on this committee for more than eight years. Can you believe that . I want to thank you for introducing our resolution honoring this week as veteran employment week. And while we may have our differences from time to time and while there are certain issues on which we will never see eye to eye one thing i have , appreciated about working with you is that whenever possible, we have done our best to find common ground. And i think we can both agree that the goals ive outlined are worth pursuing in this committee. Today, we have the opportunity to talk about some of this countrys largest employers along with some veterans Small Business owners, some from your own district. Veterans on average earn more than their civilian counterparts. But i hope we can learn why veterans wages arent growing as fast as non veterans. I hope we can also learn what employers think of diversity initiatives. I believe we are at our best when we harness the power of our diversity to spur creativity and innovation. However, we know that some in congress have decried diversity goals and initiatives. So i look forward to hearing if employers feel the same way. I want to learn more about how employers treat guard and reserve members when their requirements to our Nations Defense conflict with their employee responsibilities. In preparing for this hearing, our staff attempted to find a Large Employer of veterans that doesnt use forest arbitration forest arbitration agreements. However, call after call yielded proof that forced arbitration agreements are rampant in the workplace, forcing Service Members to choose between employment and upholding their duty to our nation. Something i find truly shameful. In our subcomittee hearing earlier this year, it was asked how common are forced arbitration agreements for Service Members . It turns out extremely common. I hope our witnesses before us can explain how exactly their company uses forced arbitration and what that means for guard and reserve members. We have the chance to make real change in Employment Rights for Service Members. And i hope this serves as a wake up call. It is time to ban forced arbitration agreements for guard and reserve members and i look forward to engaging with our witnesses this afternoon. Thank you, chairman, i yield back. Thank you Ranking Member of chicano. Now i will introduce the first panel of witnesses. So first we have mr tommy jones, hes a senior director of military and Veterans Affairs at walmart. We also have eric eversull president of hiring our heroes, president of hiring our heroes, and mr Michael Mccall who leads veterans recruitment at verizon. And ms. Erin ising, senior director of workforce programs at home depot. And right now, i would like the witnesses if you would please stand and raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear that under penalty of perjury and the testimony you are about to provide is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth . Thank you. You may sit down. Let the record reflect that all witnesses have answered in the affirmative. Mr. Jones, you are now recognized for five minutes for your opening statement. Chairman boss, Ranking Member takano and esteemed members of the House Committee of Veterans Affairs. Im honored to join you today as an army veteran and the leader of walmarts military programs. I am grateful for your leadership and partnership in honoring our nations veterans and for the opportunity to share the work we are doing to support military families and create opportunities for veterans and Military Spouses at walmart. Supporting those who serve has been ingrained in our dna from since the very beginning, our founder, sam walton served in the United States army in World War Two and his values continue to define our company. We are immensely grateful for our nations veterans and the values they bring. Our goal is to support veterans and military families during and after their service. Over a decade ago, we announced our veterans welcome home commitment to hire 250,000 veterans by 2020. Since then, weve hired more than 533,000 veterans of Military Spouses and promoted nearly 64,000 to roles of greater responsibility and higher pay. Building on this success, we launched find a future in june of 2020. This tool guides military related prospects through an audit of their current skills experience and education. It helps them explore a wide range of future possibilities including employment, education, entrepreneurship and provides a road map to achieve their goals. After more than 3. 5 million engagements with members of the military community, find a future, we are expanding that platform to serve associates and and our own community. Our our Career Fellowship Program in partnership with the us chamber of commerce and hiring initiatives offers hiring summit and fellowship opportunities to veterans and their families support for our, our service Service Members comes in many forms. Our military Family Promise guarantees a job at a nearby Walmart Store or sams club for all military personnel and including Military Spouses employed by the company who must pcs due to military orders. Additionally, we provide free counseling, session, coaching and digital wellness tools to help our associates manage stress, build resilience and access to care they need. Walmart has established key relationships with organizations focused on supporting those who have served, including with merging vets and players, which provides veterans a new team to assist with transition, personal development and a sense of belonging. Another is sheepdog impact assistance which offers veterans opportunities for physical activities, peer to peer training, and volunteer opportunities for continued service. Once associates are hired at walmart, they have access to one of the Worlds Largest learning ecosystems including Walmart Academy and live better you. These programs have helped thousands of associates build their skills that they desire through training and educational offerings. As a Founding Member of the coalition of veteran owned businesses, wal mart supports veteran owned business across the u. S. Our annual open call event provides entrepreneurships the opportunity to meet wal mart and potentially get their products on our shelves or online. In fact, we spent 1. 2 billion with veteran owned suppliers in fy 23 fy 23. To strengthen our support of veterans in their community. Walmart and Walmart Foundation have invested 44 million since 2011 in job training, education and Community Based initiatives. Our aim is to build skill based talent marketplace that recognizes the skills that veterans bring, unlock opportunities and accelerate the economic mobility and civilian sector. To that end. We have supported organizations like hire heroes, usa and bmf at syracuse university, as well as a Manufacturing Institute. As we look, look to the future. We recognize the potential to address remaining barriers to successful transmit transition from military service to civilian life. Collaboration and a shared vision will be critical and crucial in achieving this. We remain dedicated to the work and look forward to evolving and growing our approach to best serve veterans and military families. Thank you for the opportunity to share how walmart is supporting military and veteran communities through employment, education, entrepreneurship, wellbeing programs and our philanthropic efforts. I extend my deepest respect and gratitude to my fellow veterans for their sacrifice and service. And im here to answer any questions that you may have. Thank you. Thank you, mr jones. And the written statement of mr jones will be entered into the hearing record. Mr eversull, you are now recognized for five minutes for your opening remarks. Good morning, chairman Ranking Member takano and , distinguished members of this committee my name is eric , eversull and im the president of hiring our heroes and a Vice President at the us chamber of commerce. Im also a retired navy captain. As many of you know, hiring heroes was created when there was a National Crisis in veteran unemployment. In 2011, we had hundreds of thousands of Service Members, many of them who were young, returning home from war zones and they were finding an awful job market working with the chambers vast network of state and local here and local chambers, hiring our heroes led a National Coalition of companies who were committed to making veteran hiring a priority. Im honored to be on the panel today with several of those companies and thanks to these companies and our collective efforts, much has changed over the last decade. Veteran unemployment is at a record low for vets in each category across the unemployment spectrum. The Unemployment Rates are lower than their civilian counterparts. Weve seen a shift, a paradigm shift in how Service Members transition from the military. Gone are the days where they simply were sent home to fend for themselves where many would spend months if not years trying to find meaningful careers. Our country has been investing in their futures by ensuring that they have the right tools and resources prior to their transition. And it is working events like our career summits which provide training and Networking Opportunities as well as connections to military ready employers are in are an important part of this pre transition work. Weve seen unprecedented success from our Fellows Program, the largest dod skill Bridge Program in the country which provides internships to transitioning Service Members with one of more than 700 Companies Across the country. That programs impact is clear and unequivocal. This year alone, we will host more than 2400 active duty fellows. 85 of those fellows will receive job offers within 90 days and the average starting salary is more than 110,000. Our data also shows our internal data shows that it will help recruit the next generation of all volunteers. And while some may question the need for these programs, given the labor market and the militarys current recruiting challenges, that would be a tremendous mistake. The best way to recruit the next generation of all volunteers is to ensure that the current generation not only survives but thrives in their civilian Career Opportunities. These programs accomplish that accomplish that. One last very important note, much like our country faced a National Crisis with veteran Employment Unemployment in 2011, we are facing a similar crisis with Military Spouses today. The inability of Military Spouses to find and maintain careers is forcing too many, many military families to rely upon a Single Source of income and is creating economic peril for those families, both in the near term and in the long term. It is causing Service Members to choose between serving their country and leaving. Much like we did in 2011, we must come together as a nation and make Military Spouse employment a top priority. We believe that the Military Spouse Career Accelerator Program which was recently enacted as part of last Years National Defense Authorization act is an important step in that direction. As some of you may know thats a Pilot Program that provides Military Spouses with a 12 week internship opportunities with host Companies Across the country and dod pays a stipend for those Military Spouses to participate in that program. And while the program has only been going on for 10 months now, weve hosted more than 400 Military Spouses in those internships and much like the Fellows Program in skill bridge, we are seeing an 80 plus percent offer rate and average salaries of approximately 70,000. So these programs work and theyre a step in the right direction and were certainly looking forward to continuing these efforts for Military Spouses. Once again, chairman boston, Ranking Member, takano, uh and the members of this committee, thank you for todays opportunity and i look forward to answering your questions. You are now recognized for five minutes. Thank you for the opportunity to testify on behalf of verizon and over 8200 veterans and more than 500 Military Spouses we are privileged to employ. Im honored to be here. My name is Michael Mccoy and im the head of military affairs of verizon. I am a proud Third Generation Service Member serving as

© 2025 Vimarsana