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Frederico Juarbe Jr.
Association of State Directors of Veterans
Affairs
March 3, 2002
Good morning. I am pleased to come before you to talk about how
this administration intends to provide better employment and training services
for veterans than they ever received before.
This is a subject that is especially close to me. I served as
national service director for the Veterans of Foreign Wars for 23 years and
have diligently worked for veterans programs for most of my adult life.
Like you, I believe with all my heart that the men and women who have
worn the uniform of America’s armed forces deserve the best programs and
services that this nation can provide.
Like you, President Bush, Secretaries Chao and Principi, and I, will
settle for nothing less.
We confront a world profoundly changed by events of September 11.
Americans are looking at the men and women of our Armed Forces with a
renewed sense of respect and pride.
Someday, many of these men and women will exchange their uniforms for
civilian attire. Many of them will be looking to the government for
training, job search and placement assistance to help them successfully
transition into the civilian economy.
At the Department of Labor, veterans are among our most important
constituencies.
Our nation's veterans deserve nothing less than access to quality
services in both employment and training opportunities.
This Administration understands and deeply appreciates their patriotism,
their dedication, and the skills and experiences they bring to the civilian
labor force.
That's why Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi and I are
joining President Bush to take a fresh look at all government programs which
affect veterans.
One of the ways we are looking to improve the quality and delivery of
employment and training programs is proposed in the President's fiscal year
2003 budget.
It would transfer funding for the Disabled Veterans Outreach Program,
the Local Veterans Employment Representatives, and the Homeless Veterans
Reintegration Project grants from the Department of Labor to the Department of
Veterans Affairs.
This transfer as part of the President's overall strategy to better
serve citizens by increasing the effectiveness and accountability of all
government programs. It will reduce duplication of effort and strengthen
these services to veterans by putting them all under the roof of an agency
devoted to addressing the needs of veterans.
And not only veterans will be better served. Employers will also
know where to find veterans to fill good, career building jobs, which veterans
are uniquely qualified to fill.
I intend for veterans employment and training programs to be demand
driven; programs that recognize and meet the needs of the employer
community.
That means reaching out to the employers; talking to them in their own
language; providing them with qualified veterans who can begin adding value to
an organization right away.
And when additional training is needed to make them job ready, we stand
ready to work closely with the VA’s Vocational, Rehabilitation, and
Education programs so that their transition to the world of work will be as
seamless as we can make it.
We intend that the time it takes to transition these programs between
agencies to be a seamless one, too. No veterans will encounter a gap or a
reduction in service while these changes take place.
The two agencies have been in continuous coordination on this initiative
since last December with assistance from the Office of Management and Budget.
OMB, VETS, and VA have working groups focusing on various administrative,
financial, and legislative implications of the proposed transfer.
The transfer also includes shifting 199 VETS staff to the VA.
51 of VETS staff will remain at the Labor Department to carry out the
employment and reemployment responsibilities required under USERRA, conduct
veterans’ preference investigations, and monitor Federal contractor
filings and job postings.
But no matter how this legislative proposal plays out in the coming
months, VETS has an important mission to carry out this year, right now, for
every veteran seeking employment and training services.
And we need to work with you to make sure that our efforts are
successful.
It is my intention that every member of VETS refocus on our critical
missions and redouble our efforts to serve America’s veterans. It is
also my intention that we go forward, this year, with the full range of our
programs and services.
Let me share with you my priorities for 2002, priorities that I have
shared with every member of VETS staff.
VETS will become a better partner with the states by focusing on
outreach and technical assistance.
In short, I intend to take the “coach approach.”
That means concentrating our efforts to make our partners better
performers, not concentrating on finding fault and dictating arbitrary
compliance.
At the top of my “10 most wanted list” is developing and
fostering a climate of trust and confidence between states and VETS field
staff, particularly in terms of transparency, meaningful partnering, and prompt
action in response to state concerns.
I intend that VETS extend its full cooperation with our state partners
to resolve reporting issues and in implementing new state performance
measures.
In particular, I desire to see a focused effort to negotiate more
accurate and reasonable standards that take into account the new states’
reporting systems and environmental conditions.
In no way do I believe that one standard or measure or way of doing
business fits the realities of every state.
We must become more sensitive to the particular needs of each state and
the citizens it serves and work with you to ensure that our programs best meet
the needs of your veterans.
I cannot emphasize to you too strongly that I firmly believe that the
quality of the VETS/state relationship bears directly on the quality of
programs and services that we can provide to our nation’s veterans.
These are approaches I have used throughout my professional life.
I truly believe it is a better way to work.
I also believe that the longer I stay in this job, the more I will
understand how much I don’t know.
That’s where you come in.
I need to hear from you on all issues of mutual concern.
It is through clear, candid, and continuous dialogue that we will
improve our working relationships, develop better programs and services, and
thereby better serve all America’s veterans.
It is a major challenge but one from which we must not retreat.
With your prayers and your active involvement, I know we will
succeed.
Thank you. God bless you all and God bless America.
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