BRAVE Act

Mr. Speaker, I stand in strong support of H.R. 974, the Boosting Rates of American Veteran Employment (BRAVE) Act.

There is no question that post-9/11 veterans face a harsher economic reality than other Americans. Although in recent years the unemployment rate of post-9/11 veterans decreased since the double digit highs of 2011, the veteran unemployment rate among veterans remains higher than the national average. Those who have sacrificed most for our nation are often left behind or forgotten by businesses and employers when they return home. The transition from military to civilian life is a challenging one for many veterans, and we must address the harsh realities our veterans face when they attempt to reintegrate into the economy.

As we consider the best ways to boost veteran employment in the 115th Congress, we must concentrate our efforts on what many major veterans organizations are urging us to do. The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and Veterans of Foreign Wars have all argued that the Department of Veterans Affairs, when granting contracts, should give preference to businesses that employ a high concentration of veterans on a full-time basis. This is a common-sense proposal.

Each year the Department of Veterans Affairs contracts tens of billions of taxpayer dollars on various goods and services. H.R. 974 would ensure that when awarding a contract for goods or services, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs give preference to businesses that employ full-time a high percentage of veterans. H.R. 974 would also grant the Secretary of Veterans Affairs the power to debar for five years from contracting with the Department those offerors who willfully mispresent the veteran status of their employees. This discourages potential businesses from over-reporting the percentage of veterans that make up their workforce.

I believe that H.R. 974 would also have a ripple effect across other agencies in the government and ultimately help a countless number of veterans attain full-time employment. Today, there are an estimated 24,000 businesses that work on federal contracts and employ about 28 million workers in the process. In FY 2015, in my home state of Georgia, an estimated 50,000 workers were employed by Department of Defense contracts alone. In my opinion, H.R. 974 would spark other federal agencies to adopt similar provisions that would give preference to businesses that employ large concentrations of veterans on a full- time basis.

I ask that my colleagues support this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I, too, rise in support of H.R. 947, the Boosting Rates of American Veteran Employment Act, or BRAVE Act.

I thank the vice chairman for his kind words on this bill, and I especially would like to thank the gentlewoman from New York (Miss Rice), an unwavering advocate of our veterans and author of this smart piece of legislation.

Both parties agree it is unacceptable that men and women returning home from our most recent conflicts don't have good, reliable jobs waiting for them. We can start right here in the Federal Government. The VA establishes long-term contracts with private companies for medical equipment, construction, supplies, services, and more.

Currently, the VA gives preferences to veteran-owned small businesses. That is great. What this piece of legislation does is expand this contracting preference to allow the VA Secretary to give a preference to companies that actively search out and employ veterans, a policy that would incentivize companies to even hire more veterans. This is already a smart approach for those companies because veterans bring to a job the skills they have learned over the years and make the company even stronger.

This bipartisan piece of legislation adds no cost to the taxpayers. It allows for debarment of any company that knowingly misrepresents its portion of veteran employees in order to receive the contracting preference.

The BRAVE Act represents a win-win for the private sector, the Federal Government, and, most importantly, for our veterans.

Again, I would like to thank the gentlewoman from New York (Miss Rice), who will tell us a little more about this in a few moments, and Chairman Roe of Tennessee and Vice Chairman Bilirakis for continuing to bring good pieces of veterans legislation to the floor. We are grateful for that.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Miss Rice), the author, the lead sponsor of this piece of legislation, a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee since coming to Congress, and a fierce advocate for those warriors.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers on my side.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 974.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 974) to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in awarding a contract for the procurement of goods or services, to give a preference to offerors that employ veterans.

I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

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

Mr. Speaker, to improve employment opportunities for veterans and business opportunities for the companies that employ them, H.R. 974 would authorize the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs to consider how many veterans an offeror employs during a

decision to award a contract. Under this bill, the Secretary may give a preference to such employers based on the percentage of the workforce made up of veterans. It makes sense.

The bill would also allow the Secretary to debar any offeror who willfully and intentionally misrepresents the number of veterans they employ. I am glad that provision is in there.

Mr. Speaker, the unemployment rate among certain age groups of veterans still exceeds their nonveteran peers, and this legislation is one commonsense step to incentivize employers to bring veterans into their workforce and increase job opportunities for veterans of all ages.

I firmly believe that we should do all we can to encourage both small and large businesses to provide job opportunities for veterans as well as provide the Secretary the authority to consider such hires when making contracting decisions. This will further incentivize government contractors to make a positive investment in their companies by making investments in our Nation's veterans.

I thank Miss Rice for her hard work on this bill, and it has my full support.

I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 974.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, once again, I encourage all Members to support this legislation. I commend Representative Rice for her good work.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 974, the Boosting Rates of American Veteran Employment Act, which I introduced along with Congressman and Colonel Paul Cook of California.

The BRAVE Act is commonsense, bipartisan legislation that will authorize the VA Secretary, when awarding Federal contracts, to give preference to contractors with high concentrations of full-time veteran employees. This bill will cost taxpayers absolutely nothing.

It will, first, reward companies that actively hire and invest in our veterans, companies that seek out veterans and give them opportunities to bring their unique skills, training, and experience to the civilian workforce.

Second, it will create an incentive for other companies to do the same and bring more veterans into their workforce.

Most importantly, as more and more companies hire more and more veterans, they will ultimately see that investing in veterans is good for business. That is the real incentive here. It is not just an advantage in securing Federal contracts; it is getting the benefit of employees who have worn the uniform, who have been trained by the greatest military in the world, and who have learned to get the job done, no matter what that job is.

We need more businesses in the private sector to recognize the value of investing in the men and women who have served our country. It is not an act of charity. Veterans are not looking for a handout; they just need an opportunity. The BRAVE Act will help ensure that more veterans have those opportunities.

I want to thank Chairman Roe of Tennessee, Vice Chairman Bilirakis, and Ranking Member Walz for supporting this bill and for helping to bring it to the floor today.

This legislation passed unanimously in the last Congress, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to, once again, give it the bipartisan support it deserves.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 974, ``Boosting Rates of American Veteran Employment Act.'' ``BRAVE Act'' authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to give preference to companies with high concentrations of veteran employees when awarding VA contracts.

I support this bipartisan bill because it provides an incentive to companies to actively hire veterans.

H.R. 974 will spur the hiring of veterans into coveted positions within large government contractors.

The BRAVE Act also gives the VA authority to debar contracting for at least five years of any company determined to have willfully and intentionally misrepresented the veteran status of its employees.

One of the biggest problems facing our veterans right now is finding good jobs in civilian life, especially those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Our veterans have received the best training in the world.

They have unique skills and experience that cannot be acquired anywhere but in the United States military.

They have what it takes to excel in the civilian workforce; they do not need charity, just opportunity.

With this bill, we urge private companies to hire highly-trained, highly-skilled veterans who know how to get the job done, whatever job it may be.

I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 974.