Speeches by Secretary Elaine L. Chao

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Remarks Prepared for Delivery by
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
The President’s National Hire Veterans Committee
Brotherhood of Carpenters Union Building
Washington, D.C.
Wednesday, February 25, 2004

Thank you, Fred [Fred Juarbe, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training].

Welcome, everyone. Thank you for being here today and for agreeing to serve on this very important committee to help our veterans.

I want to thank Terrance O’Mahoney, for chairing the National Hire Veterans Committee.

And I want to recognize three very special Americans who are with us today. They are Nick Bacon, representing military service organizations; Barney Barnum, representing the Department of Defense; and Jay Vargas, representing the Department of Veterans Affairs.

All three of these men received our country’s highest honor, the Congressional Medal of Honor, for their distinguished service in Vietnam. We are delighted that you have agreed to serve as members of this committee.Please join me in expressing our gratitude for their heroic service to our country.

As you know, President George W. Bush is deeply committed to ensuring that our veterans are welcomed back into mainstream America when they return from serving our country abroad. That’s why the President signed into law the Jobs for Veteran’s Act in 2002. That law directs the Secretary of Labor to establish this committee to help veterans access opportunities in the civilian workforce.

Our men and women in uniform who choose to serve our country are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to preserve our freedom. They are there for us. Now it’s our turn to be there for them.

For the sacrifices they make, for the dangers they face, for the balance they strike between warrior and peacemaker, they deserve our country’s highest thanks… and they deserve our best efforts on their behalf when they return.

Every year more than 200,000 military men and women leave the service to enter the civilian workforce. They bring with them the discipline, training and skills that are the foundation of excellence in almost every profession. It is our job at the Labor Department to help spread the world about this tremendous pool of talent.

The Department of Labor administers a number of programs to ensure that veterans make a smooth transition to the civilian workforce. Last year the Department’s nationwide network of 3,500 One-Stop Career Centers helped more than 1.4 million veterans find new jobs.

But we want to do more.

Through this committee we will:

• Raise awareness among employers about the high quality of the training and skills of our nation’s veterans;
• Demonstrate to employers the benefits of hiring veterans; and
• Help veterans explore opportunities with all sectors of our economy, including for-profit, non-profit and government employers.

So today, it is my privilege to welcome you to this committee and to charge you with these duties. Help us help veterans, who are the best our nation has to offer, so they can continue to build brighter futures for themselves, their families and our nation.

God bless you and God bless America.

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