Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015

Floor Speech

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Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. I appreciate the gentleman yielding.

First, let me commend and pile on to the commendations that are so deserving by our colleagues and my good friends, Chairman Culberson and Ranking Member Bishop, on crafting a strong and bipartisan bill. Congress really can work together when we put our heads and our hearts together.

Let me especially recognize their leadership in including language in the bill which will help many of our Nation's veterans transition into careers in civilian health care.

The United States military has the best-trained medics and corpsmen in the world. In fact, the data substantiates that Special Forces medics greatly increase the chances of survival for those who suffer injuries on the battlefield.

Despite this, former military medics have one of the highest unemployment rates among veterans because their extensive medical training in the military doesn't perfectly match qualifications in the civilian world.

For example, Army Specialist Nick Colgin, whom President Obama applauded as an American hero for saving the life of a French soldier shot in Afghanistan, was somehow considered unqualified to be an emergency medical technician in Wyoming.

This Military Construction-Veterans Affairs bill that we are considering can help fix this baffling disconnect. It includes language establishing a pilot program for veteran medics that will expand opportunities for physician assistant training at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. This program will leverage the expertise of military medics to strengthen the health care profession and reduce veteran unemployment.

A perfect example of the way veteran medics can, when given the chance, successfully enter into a civilian health care profession is the story of Staff Sergeant Victor Arvizu, who valiantly served for 20 years as a combat medic in the Middle East and South Pacific.

From taking blood samples to pulling out shards of glass from the chests of soldiers to suturing wounds and inserting chest tubes, Sergeant Arvizu developed a special skill set that translated into a successful career when he returned home.

Sergeant Arvizu was able to use this expertise to gain employment as a health tech at a Veterans Affairs clinic in my south Florida district. But there are too many veterans in my district and nationwide who are still struggling to translate their expertise and skills into employment in the civilian workforce.

We need initiatives that will create more stories like Sergeant Arvizu's.

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Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Thank you.

Our veterans make the ultimate sacrifice for our country, and now we need to do our part by providing them with opportunities to use their skill sets. I am proud that this bill includes language that will help to do just that.

I urge support of the bill.

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