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Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
The American
Legion
August 29, 2001
San Antonio, TX
Thank you for that introduction, Commander Smith. Congratulations on
another tremendous year of growth in the American Legion's membership.
It's a great pleasure to be with you today.
It's a great honor to follow our President as a speaker. Wasn't he
terrific?
Since President George W. Bush took office, a new spirit of patriotism
is returning to America.
Men and women are proud to wear the uniform again. And President Bush is
restoring the military through proper training, compensation, and materiel
support. America is once again the strong defender of peace and freedom at home
and abroad.
The Department of Defense is charged with overseeing the military. But
I'm proud to have a role also. It's the work of the Department of Labor to
support America's military personnel, their families, and their future.
As you know, the 21st century economy is changing faster than anyone
could have imagined. Workers must be prepared for change. They must have access
to opportunities to acquire new skills throughout their working careers.
America must modernize the military to keep our people free. In the same
way, America must also help modernize the workforce to keep our people
productive. And you can count on this Administration to help veterans succeed
in the 21st century economy.
I'm particularly pleased to have two friends of The American Legion
helping to lead the way at the Department of Labor. Fred Juarbe, once
confirmed, will be the Department's Assistant Secretary for Veterans Employment
and Training Service. And Chick Ciccolella is the Deputy Assistant Secretary.
The Veterans Employment and Training Service is my eyes and ears to 15
million working veterans.
With more than 60 years of experience in military and veterans'
advocacy, Fred and Chick will help veterans make the most of their military
training - as well as make sure veterans receive the retraining they may need
to get good, career building jobs in the civilian economy.
Please allow me to share a few of the initiatives we are working on.
First, the Department of Labor will put out the welcome mat for veterans
who are seeking a career in the federal workforce. At the Department, I am
making it a priority to hire these highly skilled, highly trained workers.
The United States military is the premier workforce training and
development organization in the world. And I want to make sure we take full
advantage of this.
As many of you know, veterans' preference has been downgraded for the
past eight years. I can assure you I am committed to reversing that trend.
Veterans' preference in federal employment must and will be maintained in this
Administration!
Second, the Department of Labor is aggressively cutting through the red
tape and making its services more veteran friendly.
Thanks to the groundbreaking work of The American Legion, employment
representatives and veterans now have a web site built by VETS. This gateway
helps service members' access civilian certification and licensing for skills
they acquired in the military.
But technology alone cannot do the job. We need dedicated people behind
the technology to work with veterans one-on-one.
Therefore our third initiative is to help states provide well-trained
and well-equipped veteran's employment specialists throughout the Department of
Labor's one-stop career job centers throughout the country.
Fourth, the Department of Labor is partnering with other Departments to
reach out and expand our services to military families.
I am pleased to announce that the Department of Defense and the
Department of Labor have launched two high-level working groups directly aimed
at assisting service members and their families.
One will target veteran's preference. The second is dedicated to helping
the spouses of active duty military personnel. We want to open up our training
programs and placement services to these worthy partners in our military
preparedness. Sometimes the availability of training and a good job for a
spouse is the difference between a service member staying or leaving the
military.
Finally, I am pleased to announce that I am reinstating the Advisory
Committee on Veterans Employment and Training. I will nominate new members and
call a meeting by the end year.
At this meeting, among other items, I want the committee to take a fresh
look at Title 38, the legislation that governs VETS and its activities.
Title 38 is due for a tune-up.
My Department is prepared to work with Congress, the states, the
American Legion and other veterans' service organizations to modernize this
program. We particularly want to reach out to disabled veterans and make sure
they share fully in the opportunities the 21st century workplace has to
offer.
This is part of the President's New Freedom Initiative - a plan to
welcome more Americans with disabilities into community life and the workplace.
The President is committed to finding new ways to go beyond what is mandated by
law, and do what is required by conscience.
VETS will help government human resource specialists learn about
disabled veterans' unique abilities and their strong work ethic. And most
important, the program will encourage these personnel specialists to cut
through bureaucracy and hire these skilled veterans.
The Department of Labor is committed to improving the lives of America's
veterans. And I want to thank all of you for your help in making this possible.
The American Legion is leaving a lasting imprint on our great nation.
Throughout American history, you have steadfastly defended the core values of
our nation - individual liberty, opportunity, and personal responsibility.
These values are not just slogans to me. As some of you know, I came to
this country when I was eight years old, not speaking a word of English.
My family, like so many others, was inspired by the great ideals of this
nation. We came in search of freedom, hope and opportunity, and found them in
abundance.
I am proud to be a partner with you in extending that hope and
opportunity to those who deserve it most - America's veterans. Thank you very
much. God bless you all. God bless America.
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