LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION urging the New York State Congressional deleg-
ation to pass S.951, the Hiring Heroes Act of 2011

WHEREAS, The Hiring Heroes Act of 2011, S.951 would help veterans tran-
sition successfully from military service to the working world, partic-
ularly those men and women who have served our country in Iraq and
Afghanistan; and
WHEREAS, S.951 will allow our men and women in uniform to capitalize
on their service while also ensuring the American people capitalize on
the investment we have made in them; for the first time, it would
require broad job skills training for every servicemember as they leave
the military as part of the Transition Assistance Program (TAP); and
WHEREAS, This legislation would also allow service members to begin
federal employment process prior to separation in order to facilitate a
duly seamless tradition from the military to jobs at the Department of
Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security or many of the other federal agen-
cies in need of veterans; and
WHEREAS, This measure also requires the Department of Labor, Depart-
ment of Education, and Department of Veterans Affairs to take a hard
look at what military skills and training should be translated into the
civilian sector, and will work to make it simpler to get the needed
licenses or certifications; and
WHEREAS, The bill would allow for innovative partnerships with organ-
izations that provide mentorship and training programs that are designed
to lead to job placements; and
WHEREAS, The measure would require the government to contact each
veteran within six months of his or her completion of the training
program and every three months thereafter for the first year after they
leave the service to check on their job status; and
WHEREAS, Hiring Heroes Act of 2011 is aimed at reducing an unemploy-
ment rate of twenty-seven percent for veterans returning home from Iraq
and Afghanistan; and
WHEREAS, As many as one-third of departing service members do not
participate in the TAP program; Commanders do not always set aside time
to allow demobilizing service members to take advantage of the training;
in other cases, service members are given little or no information about
the program, or do not want the training; and
WHEREAS, The unemployment rate for younger veterans, those who served
on active-duty since 2001, is 10.9 percent, with a large gap between men
and women; for women veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan era, the unem-
ployment rate is 6.9 percent for April 2011; for men of the same era,
the unemployment rate is 11.7 percent; and
WHEREAS, Hiring Heroes Act of 2011 is supported by the American
Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Military Officers Association of
America, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and the Veterans of
Foreign Wars; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the New York State Congressional delegation be and
hereby is respectfully memorialized by this Legislative Body to pass
S.951, the Hiring Heroes Act of 2011; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to each member of the Congressional delegation from the State of
New York.