Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act of 2012

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 5 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, our military men and women are trained to perform at the highest levels in a host of jobs. The individuals who serve our Nation in uniform do so with distinction.

However, there is much more to be done to help our service men and women and their families when they return home to translate those skills and experiences into civilian service. That disconnect is what we are trying to address here today.

Our military men and women receive some of the best technical training in emergency medicine, and every day, on the battlefield, they prove their skills under the very toughest of conditions. However, when they return home, experienced military medics are often required to start over. They must begin at entry-level curricula to receive certification for civilian jobs.

Similarly, military medics with civilian credentials often must let their civilian certifications lapse while they're defending our country. Either way, this keeps our veterans out of the civilian workforce and withholds valuable medical personnel from our communities.

As a nurse, I know the importance of having qualified and capable first responders in each of our communities, and that is why we must do all we can to break down the artificial barriers that obstruct our military medics from civilian opportunities.

So I am pleased to have joined Congressman Kinzinger to introduce H.R. 4124, which is the Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act. This bill is a straightforward, bipartisan approach to help States streamline their certification processes to take military medic training into account for civilian licensure.

It's a small but very important step towards breaking down the barriers that our servicemembers face when transitioning home.

While the bill directs States to undertake these demonstration projects, I believe public and private organizations within the States, like area health education centers, or AHECs, will be important partners in the successful implementation of this initiative. This will help engage and leverage expertise already in our States and communities so that we can do our best by our veterans.

I also want to take a moment to thank the leadership of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Chairman Upton, Ranking Member Waxman, Chairman Pitts, and Ranking Member Pallone for their dedication to this bill and to the staff for working in a bipartisan manner to bring this to the floor.

Finally, I want to take a second to recognize a former congresswoman, Jane Harman, who spearheaded this issue in the last Congress.

I urge my colleagues' support for this legislation, and I look forward to swift consideration of it in the Senate.

At this point, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I also wish to thank my colleague, Mr. Kinzinger, for his leadership and his experience in the military, which led him to be very interested in this topic as well.

The Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act is a small but very important step toward helping our military medics transition to civilian EMT service, and it is a bipartisan measure. It fills a need both in the veterans' community and also in our health care communities.

I urge full support for this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4124) to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide grants to States to streamline State requirements and procedures for veterans with military emergency medical training to become civilian emergency medical technicians, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record on H.R. 4124.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening in support of H.R. 4124, the Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act of 2012. This act would take us forward

in two important ways: it would reduce the shortages of emergency medical technicians in the United States and at the same time help our veterans find employment.

Emergency response is a crucial component of our health care system and preparedness strategy. EMTs are often the first point of contact in a crisis situation, and their care can make the difference between life and death. Emergency response is even more crucial on the battlefield, where military medics respond to emergencies and provide care for the soldiers until a physician or other health professional can take over. These soldiers, trained as combat medics, become very experienced dealing with massive trauma injuries and other complex health problems.

It seems that utilizing those with military medic training in our EMT workforce here at home would be good for the returning soldiers, good for the health care system, and good for patients.

Areas throughout the United States are experiencing a shortage of EMTs, and military medics could potentially fill those workforce gaps. However, there are a number of issues keeping military medics from EMT employment. Most importantly are State licensing requirements, which can require duplicative training and education that is likely to be unnecessary for someone with significant experience.

It is our hope that this bill would allow States to study this issue and streamline their EMT requirements for those returning from the military that have the experience so desperately needed in many communities.

I would like to thank Mr. Kinzinger, a veteran who has served with many of these military medics, and Mrs. Capps for their work on this bill. I urge my colleagues to vote in support of this legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield at this time 5 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kinzinger).

Mr. Speaker, as a veteran I appreciate the efforts of Mr. Kinzinger and Mrs. Capps and others in this commonsense and very bipartisan bill to support our veterans and provide for this need in the emergency medical technician area.

I urge support for the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to first off thank the chairman for bringing this bill forward. I want to thank Chairman Upton, the ranking member of both the full and subcommittee, and I especially want to thank Congresswoman Capps for helping me on this. This is an outstanding bill, and I thank you for your leadership.

Unemployment rates continue to be far too high among our men and women who are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Returning veterans deserve a smooth transition from the military into the civilian workforce. As a Nation, we must recognize the experience and education that our military-trained EMTs receive. It's inefficient to force these well-trained veterans to start over with basic training in the civilian workforce after aiding wounded military men and women who are severely injured in combat.

We must recognize military-trained EMT skills and education and streamline the process so these honorable men and women can return quickly to work here at home.

We also need to recognize that training and education of these EMTs and the education that they receive in the military is important, and we must streamline the civilian certification process so these honorable men and women can return to work even faster.

I'm a pilot in the military, and I still continue as an Air National Guard pilot. One of the things that really stood out to me was how I went through training with the military and came out and very quickly was able to receive all of the civilian equivalent certifications from what I got in the military.

Now, that really stands out to me as how we, both in the Federal Government and in the State, ought to consider doing business and recognize the skill that these military folks are trained with.

This bill is a commonsense way to help our veterans as they transition back to civilian life. By supporting States to make the process more efficient, veterans with military EMT training will more quickly become certified civilian EMTs. In doing so, they will not have to start over at square one in their training, and they can be ready to go.

I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense bill.

Mr. Speaker, each of us is deeply indebted to the members of our military for their patriotism and for all they do to protect our country and its national interests.

We know that our returning vets have unique skills and experiences that make them highly-qualified for jobs in the health care and

other sectors. However, the unfortunate reality is that our veterans experience unemployment rates well above the national average.

Congresswoman Capps and Congressman Kinzinger have introduced common- sense legislation--H.R. 4124--to advance our shared goals of getting our veterans back to work and addressing areas of shortage in health professions. Congresswoman Capps has also authored legislation--H.R. 3884, the Emergency Medic Transition Act of 2012--that similarly seeks to help armed services personnel transition from military to civilian jobs in a timely fashion.

H.R. 4124 authorizes a demonstration grant program to states to support planning efforts to streamline their certification and licensure requirements for emergency medical technicians. As Congresswoman Capps has noted, I think there is a role for partnerships between public and private organizations within the States--such as area health education centers--in the implementation of this program.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4124, and I commend Congresswoman Capps and Congressman Kinzinger for their work on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4124, the Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act of 2012, provides two important benefits. It addresses the shortages of emergency medical technicians (EMT) and it helps get our veterans back to work.

Military medics receive some of the best medical and emergency training available while they serve our country.

Yet, not all military medical training satisfies civilian EMT licensing and certification requirements. As a result, our returning veterans are unnecessarily prevented from working as an EMT when they re-enter civilian life.

This bill will examine ways that states with a shortage of EMTs can streamline requirements so that military medics do not have to duplicate the education and training they received on the battlefield. Our vets will be put back to work, and critical workforce shortages in emergency care can be filled to meet public health needs.

I proudly support this bill and urge my colleagues to support it. I yield the balance of my time.