Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank, first, my colleagues, Congresswoman Kirkpatrick and Congressmen Takano and Aguilar, for helping me with this amendment. We strongly believe that veterans who served our Nation in uniform deserve the chance to serve our Nation in the Federal Government.

Unfortunately, a provision slipped unseen into this 1,700-page document, the Senate defense authorization bill, severely undermines these policies that have been helping veterans get jobs with the Federal Government. Specifically, it will prevent veterans from benefiting from the preference system if they are already employed by the Federal Government.

Mr. Chairman, this misguided provision was never the subject of a public hearing, it was never the subject of a public debate, it was never the subject of a roll call vote, and it was never voted on in the committee or on the Senate floor. I am willing to bet the vast majority of my colleagues in the Senate do not know that this provision is in the National Defense Authorization Act.

America's veterans deserve better. We deserve the chance to proudly and publicly make our case for veterans preference, a system which has done so much to help courageous Americans returning from war to find good jobs so they can provide for their families. That is why I am offering this amendment. I want to give the Members of this body the chance to go on record in support of our Nation's veterans.

Mr. Chairman, this issue is deeply personal to me. After I got back from Iraq, I saw my friends and fellow veterans struggle to find employment and to get on with their lives. I personally witnessed the physical and emotional toll that joblessness can take on a veteran's life and on their families.

Simply put, the Senate language is a step in the wrong direction. After years of painful progress in combating economic distress and homelessness among our veterans, now is not the time to dilute a system that is working, that has been proven highly successful in promoting veteran employment.

The American people recognize that we owe an immense debt of gratitude to the brave men and women that have served our country. Many of them left civilian jobs, left their lives behind for months, or even years, to risk their lives to defend our Nation.

The veterans preference system helps create a fair playing field for veterans by compensating them for the time they spent fighting overseas instead of working in government or the private sector.

Instead of getting master's degrees, veterans were going door to door looking for insurgents. While other civilians were building their resume in civilian jobs, our men and women in uniform put in time away from their family, in dangerous situations, with little monetary compensation.

Veterans are not asking for a handout. We have earned this preference through the blood, sweat, and tears we have given this country.

Mr. Chairman, this provision sends the wrong message to our troops. It establishes the wrong policy for our government and for our country and sets the wrong precedent for our future.

On behalf of America's veterans, I urge every Member of this House to support this amendment.

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Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

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