<DOC>
[109 Senate Hearings]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access]
[DOCID: f:24579.wais]
S. Hrg. 109-303
NOMINATION OF JAMES P. TERRY, TO BE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF VETERANS
APPEALS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, AND CHARLES S.
CICCOLELLA, TO BE ASSISTANT
SECRETARY FOR THE VETERANS EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
LABOR
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
JULY 14, 2005
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
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COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS
.........................................................
Larry E. Craig, Idaho, Chairman
Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Daniel K. Akaka, Hawaii, Ranking
Kay Bailey Hutchison, Texas Member
Lindsey O. Graham, South Carolina John D. Rockefeller IV, West
Richard Burr, North Carolina Virginia
John Ensign, Nevada James M. Jeffords, (I), Vermont
John Thune, South Dakota Patty Murray, Washington
Johnny Isakson, Georgia Barack Obama, Illinois
Ken Salazar, Colorado
Lupe Wissel, Majority Staff Director
D. Noelani Kalipi, Minority Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
----------
July 14, 2005
SENATORS
Page
Craig, Hon. Larry E., U.S. Senator from Idaho.................... 1
Prepared statement........................................... 2
Allen, Hon. George, U.S. Senator from Virginia................... 3
Salazar, Hon. Ken, U.S. Senator from Colorado.................... 26
Warner, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from Virginia.................... 28
Prepared statement........................................... 29
Thune, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from South Dakota................. 35
WITNESSES
Terry, James P., nominated to be Chairman of the Board of
Veterans Appeals, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.......... 5
Prepared statement........................................... 6
Response to written questions submitted by:
Hon. Larry E. Craig...................................... 7
Hon. Daniel Akaka........................................ 9
Hon. Patty Murray........................................ 11
Hon. Ken Salazar......................................... 14
Ciccolella, Charles S., nominated to be Assistant Secretary for
Veterans Employment and Training, U.S. Department of Labor..... 16
Prepared statement........................................... 18
Response to written questions submitted by Hon. Larry E.
Craig...................................................... 20
APPENDIX
Akaka, Hon. Daniel, U.S. Senator from Hawaii, prepared statement. 37
Letter from Richard C. Schneider, Executive Director for
Government Affairs, NonCommissioned Officers Association of the
United States of America supporting the nomination of Charles
Ciccolella to be Assistant Secretary for the Veterans
Employment and Training, U.S. Department of Labor.............. 38
NOMINATION OF JAMES P. TERRY, TO BE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF VETERANS
APPEALS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, AND CHARLES S.
CICCOLELLA, TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR THE VETERANS EMPLOYMENT AND
TRAINING, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
----------
THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2005
U.S. Senate,
Committee of Veterans' Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:43 a.m., in
room SR-412, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Larry Craig,
(Chairman of the Committee) presiding.
Present: Senators Craig, Allen, Warner, Salazar, and Thune.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. LARRY E. CRAIG,
U.S. SENATOR FROM IDAHO
Chairman Craig. The Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
will be in order.
I apologize to all of you, but then I didn't set the vote
schedule on the floor, and we are in a series of five votes,
but I thought it important with all assembled that we move as
expeditiously as possible through this hearing, this
confirmation hearing, so that the these two gentlemen can begin
their work on behalf of the America's veterans.
Before we proceed, I would ask both of you to rise and to
extend your right hand.
[Witnesses sworn.]
Chairman Craig. Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the
testimony you are about to give the Committee at this hearing
shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth
so help you God?
Mr. Terry. I do.
Mr. Ciccolella. I do.
Chairman Craig. Thank you, gentlemen. Please be seated.
It is my understanding that Senator Warner and Senator
Allen are en route for introductions, and we hope that holds. I
am going to put my opening statement in the record and will not
give a full statement for the sake of time this morning, but I
would like to introduce to the Committee Mr. Jim Phillip Terry,
nominated to be Chairman of the Board of Veterans Appeals, U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs, and Charles S. Ciccolella.
Close?
Mr. Ciccolella. Yes, sir. That is correct.
Chairman Craig. All right. Nominated to be Assistant
Secretary of Labor for Veterans Employment and Training.
[The prepared statement of Senator Craig follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Larry E. Craig, U.S. Senator from Idaho
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. The Committee on Veterans,
Affairs will now come to order.
This morning we will receive testimony from two very distinguished
public servants: Mr. James P. Terry, who has been nominated by the
President to serve as Chairman of the Board of Veterans' Appeals, U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs, and Mr. Charles Ciccolella, who has
been nominated by the President to serve as the Assistant Secretary for
Veterans' Employment and Training, U.S. Department of Labor.
The Chairman of the Board of Veterans' Appeals serves as the head
of the appellate body that renders final decisions within VA on appeals
involving veterans' benefits. The Chairman oversees more than 50
Veterans Law Judges and almost 400 attorneys and support staff. As we
discussed last month at a hearing before this Committee, it is
essential that VA's claims adjudication and appeal system provides
timely and accurate decisions to our Nation's veterans. The Board plays
an important role in that system, rendering decisions on 30 to 40
thousand appeals each year.
It would appear to me that Mr. Terry--a former Marine officer who
served in combat in Vietnam and is a Purple Heart recipient--would
bring to the Board a wealth of experience and education. He has
undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Virginia, a
law degree from Mercer University, and advanced law degrees from George
Washington University. After he completed his combat service in
Vietnam, he had a distinguished legal career in the Marine Corps--a
legal career which culminated with his service as legal counsel to the
then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Colin Powell. After
his retirement from the Corps with the rank of Colonel, he served in
the Department of the Interior as Deputy Director of the Office of
Hearings and Appeals and, later, as an Administrative Judge at the
Interior Department's Board of Land Appeals. Subsequently, he was
reunited with General Powell at the State Department where he served as
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs.
Welcome to you, Mr. Terry.
Turning now to Mr. Ciccolella--he has been nominated to serve as
the head the Labor Department's Veterans' Employment and Training
Service (``VETS''), an office which administers national programs to
help veterans find jobs and also to protect the re-employment rights of
veterans who have returned from service. Currently, 200,000 service
members are leaving active duty each year and, for many, obtaining a
job will be a critical step in successfully making the transition back
to civilian life. Unfortunately, young veterans--many of them recently
separated--experience higher unemployment rates than non-veterans. And,
in total, nearly 700,000 veterans of all ages are unemployed in any
particular month. Obviously, there is important work to be done to help
our young veterans--and all unemployed veterans--find suitable
employment.
Mr. Ciccolella is undoubtedly very familiar with the employment
issues facing veterans today since he is currently the Deputy Assistant
Secretary for the Veterans' Employment and Training Service. Prior to
coming to ``VETS'', he served as a Senate staffer--first as Chief of
Operations for the Senate Sergeant At Arms and, later, as the Director
of Information Technology Policy for the Senate Rules Committee.
More significantly, perhaps, Mr. Ciccolella served with distinction
in the U.S. Army for 28 years prior to taking on these important
civilian jobs. Most notably, he served as an Infantry Officer with the
101st Airborne Division in Vietnam, and during his Vietnam service, he
received, among other decorations, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star for
valor. Later he served in various command and staff positions in the
U.S., Germany, Panama, culminating in a posting as Senior Military
Advisor to the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. He retired as a
Colonel in 1996 after 28 years of service. Mr. Ciccolella is a graduate
of the National War College and has an undergraduate degree from Auburn
University and a graduate degree from Central Michigan University.
Welcome to you, Mr. Ciccolella.
Chairman Craig. Senator Allen has just arrived. I have put
my statement in the record, Senator Allen. You are here. We are
pleased you are here. We will allow you the introduction you
have come to make.
STATEMENT OF HON. GEORGE ALLEN, U.S. SENATOR
FROM VIRGINIA
Senator Allen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and it is my
pleasure, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, to
recommend to you Mr. James P. Terry, otherwise known as Jim
Terry, to this commission, in fact, as chairmanship of the
Board of Veterans Appeals. Mr. Terry has an extensive legal
background, as well as service to our country in the armed
services. I also would say I am introducing him on behalf of my
colleague, Senator John Warner, who is also on his way here.
President Bush, Mr. Chairman, has nominated Mr. Terry for
this position, and he does have outstanding qualifications. I
would also note, Mr. Chairman, that you have been just a
tremendous leader in trying to address the needs of veterans,
and all of us salute you and your leadership and understand how
many veterans are in need of services. Part of those services
obviously are adjudication determinations of eligibility and
claims, and there are just hundreds and hundreds of thousands
of these claims, and Mr. Terry wants the same sort of
treatment, fair treatment, prompt treatment of these claims and
consideration for men and women who serve in our armed forces.
He is a Virginian, lives in Virginia, graduated from the
University of Virginia in 1968 in geochemistry and then
followed a family heritage and joined the military, as has his
brothers, his parents, his father I should say, and his sister.
He was in the Marines. He had a distinguished record in the
Marine Corps for 27 years. He served in Vietnam as a combat
infantry officer where he received many distinguished honors,
including the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. He later graduated
from law school at Mercer University, served in the Marine
Corps also as a judge advocate until his retirement as colonel
in 1995.
During his final 4 years in the Corps, Jim had the distinct
honor to serve as legal counsel to the then Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin Powell. He retired from the Marine
Corps, but his service to our Nation did not stop. He
subsequently served in the Department of Interior as Deputy
Director of the Office of Hearings and Appeals and later as
administrative judge at the Interior Department's Board of Land
Appeals.
In 2001, Jim left the Interior Department for his current
position as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for regional,
global, and functional affairs within the Bureau of Legislative
Affairs.
I had the pleasure of talking with Jim before this, and
what I liked was not just his record of caring about those who
served in the military and his legal background, which is
exceptional, it is that he said he wanted to get people moving.
This Court of Appeals, so to speak, this Board of Appeals, is a
major, major law firm and they have a tremendous volume of
cases on their docket, and he said he wanted to get people
moving and he wants to get the veterans appeals getting proper
prompt action from that Board of Appeals. That is the right
attitude with the right background.
I believe some of Jim's family members are here, as well as
friends from the Department of Interior. I believe his wife
Michelle--is Michelle here? There you are far over there. Good
to see you Michelle. His daughter, Kristen, is here and also
Ambassador Niemczyk and his wife Peg are here. They don't let
all the folks sit together, but at any rate, he has a lot of
other friends from the Department of Interior and the
Department of State who have come to support Jim.
I thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your courtesy, your
leadership, and I think that you will find that Mr. Terry is an
outstanding, well-qualified nominee who you will want to, as
usual, have swift action on this Committee and on the floor to
get him on the job on this very important chairmanship on this
Board of Appeals.
I thank you again.
Chairman Craig. Senator, thank you very much for taking
time out of your schedule to come to introduce Jim Terry.
Senator Allen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Craig. Before we proceed with both of these
nominees, I will turn to Mr. Ciccolella who has been nominated
to serve as head of the Labor Department's Veterans Employees
and Training Services, an office which administers national
programs to help veterans find jobs and also to protect the re-
employment rights of veterans who have returned from service.
Currently, 200,000 servicemembers are leaving active duty each
year, and for many, obtaining a job will be a critical step in
successfully making the transition back into civilian life.
Unfortunately, young veterans, many of them recently
separated, experienced higher unemployment rates than non-
veterans, and in total, nearly 700,000 veterans of all ages are
unemployed at any particular month. Obviously, there is
important work to be done here, and I wanted the Committee to
have the background of this important task.
So as I turn to both of you for your opening statements,
Mr. Terry, Mr. Ciccolella, do you have--we know that Mr. Terry
has family with them, but we would give you the privilege at
this time to introduce your family to the Committee.
Mr. Terry.
Mr. Terry. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I am
delighted to be able to introduce my wife of 35 years, the
better part of me, Michelle, and my daughter Kristin, my
youngest daughter who is a practicing attorney and a member of
the Choate, Stuart, Hall law firm in Boston.
Chairman Craig. Thank you.
Mr. Ciccolella.
Mr. Ciccolella. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to
introduce my wife, Donna, of 33 years and also my extended
family at work who are seated right here with the Veterans
Employment Training Service. Thank you.
Chairman Craig. Thank you very much.
Mr. Terry, we are going to try to get at least one
statement in before the next vote and maybe both of you, and
then I am going to allow the Committee to stay open for any
Members who wish to come and make comments and/or ask
questions. We won't hold you terribly long, but we do want the
Committee to have that opportunity. So, Mr. Terry, if you would
start with your opening statement, please.
STATEMENT OF JAMES P. TERRY, NOMINATED TO BE CHAIRMAN OF THE
BOARD OF VETERANS APPEALS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Mr. Terry. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and I would
like to acknowledge my appreciation for Senator Allen's very,
very kind introduction.
As I mentioned, I am here today with my bride of 35 years
and my daughter, but I am also blessed to have our dear
friends, Ambassador Jay Niemczyk and his wife Peg, and
colleagues from my service with the Defense, Interior, and
State Departments as well as my present colleagues from the
Department of Veterans Affairs. I have some wonderful
colleagues and friends here and I would like to acknowledge
their presence.
Sir, I am deeply honored to appear before you and as
President Bush's nominee for the Chairman of the Board of
Veterans Appeals, and I can assure you that if confirmed, I
will work tirelessly to ensure that the board provides for fair
and timely adjudication of appeals that our Nation's veterans
and their families deserve. As a veteran of 27 years of active
service myself, I consider my military experience to be the
defining period of my life. It was in the military that I
recognized, sir, the tremendous sacrifice made by the superb
men and women who have committed themselves to the defense of
this Nation.
My commitment to those who serve this country is both deep
and personal. My father was a Navy pilot during World War II,
and my father-in-law, likewise, served with distinction in the
Navy and was in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. I had three
brothers and a sister who were in uniform, as I was, during the
Vietnam conflict.
I have always viewed service to this Nation in whatever
forum as an obligation and honor to be shared by all Americans.
It is with this background that I totally commit to you that I
will work tirelessly to ensure that the veterans law judges,
the 56 veterans law judges, the 228 staff counsel, and the many
administrative support personnel at Board of Veterans Appeals
accomplish our mission to provide high quality, fair, and
timely decisions in all matters before the board in as
efficient and productive manner as possible.
Mr. Chairman, as a final arbiter on behalf of the Secretary
of all appeals and claims of veterans' benefits, the board has
a very special responsibility to guarantee that the department
has provided each appellant with a full, fair, and impartial
review of their case. They must ensure that all due process and
full consideration of the law has been provided, including the
present decisions of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
and other Federal Courts. If confirmed, sir, I can assure you
that I will work assiduously to see that the board meets that
responsibility and we achieve total transparency in the way
appeals are processed within the department. I will work
cooperatively with those involved in the adjudication process,
that is the Veterans Benefits Administration, the Veterans
Health Administration, the Office of General Counsel, and
especially the veterans service organizations, this Committee,
and Members of Congress so that we can deliver the best and
most timely service to America's veterans.
This is indeed a momentous responsibility, Mr. Chairman,
but I can assure that you that, if confirmed, I will uphold
this trust on behalf of all our men and women in uniform and on
behalf of all those who have served.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would be delighted to respond to
any questions you might have.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Terry follows:]
Prepared Statement of James P. Terry, Nominated To Be Chairman of the
Board of Veterans Appeals, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Senator Akaka, and Members of the
Committee--and thank you Senator Allen for those kind words of
introduction.
I am joined here today by my wife of more than 35 years, Michelle.
She has been at my side for nearly all of my 37 years of Government
service. I'm deeply grateful for her support, and she is my life. Also
with us today is our youngest daughter Kristin, an attorney with
Choate, Stewart, Hall in Boston. I am also honored to be joined today
by our dear friends Ambassador Jay Niemczyk and his wife Peg, and
colleagues from my service with the Defense, Interior and State
Departments.
I am deeply honored to appear before you as President Bush's
nominee for Chairman of the Board of Veterans' Appeals. I can assure
you, that if confirmed, I will work tirelessly to ensure that the Board
provides the fair and timely adjudication of appeals that our Nation's
veterans and their families deserve.
As a veteran of 27 years of active service in the Marine Corps as
an infantry officer and then as a judge advocate, my military
experience represents the defining period of my life. It was while in
the Marine Corps that I recognized the tremendous sacrifice made by the
superb men and women who have committed themselves to the defense of
this Nation.
My commitment to those who served this country is both deep and
personal. My father was a Navy pilot during World War II and my father-
in-law likewise served with distinction in the Navy and was at Pearl
Harbor on December 7, 1941. My mother served as a designated Coast
Watcher for the then-Department of War during the Second World War.
During the Vietnam conflict, while I served as a Platoon Commander with
the 1st Battalion, Third Marine Regiment in Vietnam, three of my
brothers--Joel, Roy and Thomas--were also serving in uniform, as was my
sister Jean.
I have always viewed service to this Nation, in whatever form, as
an obligation and honor to be shared by all Americans. Following my
retirement from the Marine Corps, I served 6 years in the Senior
Executive Service with the Department of Interior, and then rejoined
General Powell for 4 years at the Department of State, having served
earlier as his Legal Counsel while he was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff. Each assignment was challenging and rewarding. Now I look
forward to this opportunity to continue to serve my country and
particularly to serve veterans--those to whom we as a Nation owe such a
great debt.
It is with this background that I totally commit to you that I will
work tirelessly to ensure the Veterans Law Judges, staff counsel, and
administrative support personnel at the Board of Veterans' Appeals
accomplish our mission to provide high quality, fair and timely
decisions in all matters before the Board in as efficient and
productive a manner as possible.
As the final arbiter on behalf of the Secretary of all appeals in
claims for veterans' benefits, the Board has a special responsibility
to guarantee that the Department has provided each appellant with full,
fair and impartial review of their case. It must ensure that all due
process and full consideration of the law has been provided, including
the precedent decisions of the United States Court of Appeals for
Veterans Claims and other Federal courts.
If confirmed, I will work assiduously to see that the Board meets
that responsibility and that we achieve total transparency in the way
appeals are processed within the Department. I will work cooperatively
with all those involved in the adjudication process--the Veterans
Benefits Administration, the Veterans Health Administration, the Office
of General Counsel, the veterans service organizations, the Committee
and Members of Congress--so that we deliver the best and most timely
service to America's veterans.
This is indeed a momentous responsibility. But I can assure you,
Mr. Chairman, that if confirmed, I will uphold this trust on behalf of
all our men and women in uniform and on behalf of all those who have
served.
Thank you Mr. Chairman, Senator Akaka, and Members of the
Committee. May I respond to your questions.
______
Responses to Written Questions for James P. Terry, Nominated To Be
Chairman of the Board of Veterans Appeals, U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs from Senator Larry Craig
Question 1. Have you had an opportunity to assess the tenure of the
Honorable E. Dane Clark as Chairman of the Board? Do you see how your
tenure would differ from his? Do you have a sense of what your
priorities will be if you are confirmed?
Answer. I had the pleasure of knowing Dane Clark as a Marine
officer and serving with him in that capacity. Our total commitment to
veterans is the same. My style of management, however, is a much more
hands-on approach and I will be deeply involved in the day to day
operations and decisionmaking of the Board. I am blessed with a superb
Vice Chairman, Mr. Ron Garvin, and we will work well together in
continuing to shape a cohesive and efficient organization that, I
assure you, will be both productive and effective.
I can say without qualification that what I have observed is that
the Board is an organization composed of hard-working, dedicated
employees who fully understand that their role is to serve America's
veterans. We have a body of excellent attorneys and judges who
represent the single greatest concentration of expertise in the field
of veterans law. As Chairman, I will do all in my power to ensure that
we get even better.
Once confirmed, I will immediately do a bottom up review of the
Board and its operations, see where improvements can be made, and work
tirelessly to see that they are made.
I have observed that many improvements to the Board's functioning
have already been instituted, and these will be continued and enhanced.
These include an effective in-house training program, the establishment
of a permanent Director of Training position, and establishment of a
highly effective Quality Review Office to constantly review the
decisions of the Board.
I will also work extremely closely with the heads of the Veterans
Benefits Administration, the Office of General Counsel and the Veterans
Health Administration to ensure the Department's message and service to
all our veterans is cohesive and transparent. One of the ways we will
do this is through our participation in TRIAD, a monthly meeting of top
officials from the OGC, VBA, VHA and the Board that attempts to
identify and resolve issues of mutual concern to each of our offices.
Question 2. In reaching decisions on disability claims, the Board
is required to provide the benefit-of-the-doubt to the veteran and to
conduct proceedings in a non-adversarial manner. If you are confirmed,
do you have a sense of what measures you would take to ensure that the
culture at the Board fosters those pro-veteran policies?
Answer. If confirmed, I will remain totally committed to the pro-
veterans policies that I have already seen very evident on the Board.
The mindset of the attorneys and Veterans Law Judges I have spoken to
(and I have spoken to most) indicates to me that their greatest
priority is ensuring that veterans are well served and that their cases
are fairly adjudicated, with a commitment to applying the ``benefit of
the doubt'' rule on their behalf. I have had the opportunity over the
past few weeks to read hundreds of Board decisions to familiarize
myself with each of the issues that can arise before the Board. In each
of these decisions, I have seen an attempt to rule in favor of the
veteran where that is legally possible. Our Quality Review Unit is
instrumental in ensuring this emphasis is maintained and I will work
tirelessly to ensure the law is being applied fairly and
compassionately.
To maintain this positive mindset and prevent complacency requires
constant training. An improved culture requires constant, intimate
involvement by an organization's senior leadership. I assure you that
this will occur.
Question 3. In testimony recently provided by VA before this
Committee, it was noted that BVA is attempting to reduce the number of
``avoidable remands'' by working with the Veterans Benefits
Administration and the Veterans Health Administration to identify the
root causes of remands and to provide appropriate training. If you are
confirmed, would you take steps to ensure that there is continued and
improved cooperation between BVA, VBA, and VHA? How have your
experiences provided you with the skills necessary to develop and
sustain those types of collaborative relationships?
Answer. Improved cooperation with these organizations will be among
my highest priorities. In fact, we are involved now in continued
cooperation through joint training efforts and this will be expanded.
We will continue to maintain contact at the highest levels to ensure
the mission needs of the Board and other VA organizations are being
accomplished.
With respect to remands, each time a case file must be returned by
the Board to the Regional Office because it is not sufficiently
complete to allow the Board to render a decision fair to the veteran,
significant additional time is required both by the Board and the
Regional Office. Effective training is critical here and we are
participating with the VBA and the staff of the General Counsel to
address key issues with Regional Office staff to ensure, to the extent
possible, files are complete when they reach the Board.
But this is not a one way street. Our Board must focus more
diligently on searching each file for that evidence which will allow a
decision to be rendered. If a decision can be properly issued with
available evidence, we must do so, and do so promptly. Each case we can
properly decide rather than remand to our Regional Offices is a service
to our deserving veterans.
I believe my leadership style and my experience provide the
qualities needed to succeed in working with others--internally and
externally. I am confident that I will have excellent and productive
relations with both Admiral Cooper, the head of the VBA and Dr. Perlin,
the head of the VHA, and the other senior leaders within the
Department. My reputation both at DoD, Interior and at State was that
of a positive leader committed to the mission with low ego needs and a
lack of concern for who gets the credit. I intend to bring that
successful approach to the Board of Veterans Appeals.
Question 4. Under current law, attorneys are not permitted to
receive compensation for representing claimants at the initial stages
of the VA claims adjudication process. Do you have a sense of whether
allowing attorneys into the process earlier would have an impact--
either positive or negative--on proceedings conducted before the Board?
Answer. The Board process by law is a non-adversarial one, and the
task of the Board is to ensure that all evidence within the file is
fully and fairly considered and reviewed, with the benefit of the doubt
given to the veteran in each instance. I worry that injecting an
adversarial element in the VA claims adjudication process could result
in challenges to meaningful evidence and objections to certain evidence
that could be vital to a fair and reasoned determination. The
introduction of counsel might also result in the requirement that rules
of evidence and procedure be developed that could further delay the
process. This could be significant in a process (to include RO
adjudications and BVA appeals) that will consider approximately 800,000
cases this year in the entire system.
Having said that, I really need some time on the job to make a
meaningful assessment. I do know that the veterans service
organizations (VSOs) are doing what I view as a superb job of
representation for any applicant seeking assistance at this time.
Question 5. In a May 2005 report, the VA Inspector General found
that the compensation paid for 100 percent PTSD ratings and for 100
percent ratings based on individual unemployability is a primary factor
in State-by-State variances in average compensation payments.
It is my understanding that, in view of the IG report, VA Regional
Offices across the country have been taking measures to improve
consistency, especially for highly subjective ratings like those for
PTSD and IU. If you are confirmed, do you envision the BVA implementing
any particular measures in view of that IG report?
Answer. I agree that variances in awards in PTSD and IU cases have
significantly skewed the results of average compensation payments by
State, especially PTSD. The demographics of the veterans in those
States have also had an effect. By that, I mean that an older
population of veterans, such as in Illinois and Indiana, who had
service in WW II and Korea, have been less likely to file PTSD claims
(although called shell-shock during those periods). That may be due to
the stigma attached to such claims at the time or to the pride of these
older veterans in simply getting on with their lives when they
returned.
Whatever the reason, everyone in the Department is extremely
concerned that there is an apparent disparity in benefits with regard
to certain States: e.g., Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. We are
increasing assets, increasing training at the ROs, and ensuring
increased attention is paid to each of the ROs in these States and
others like Colorado where the benefit rates are lower. One effort
designed to assist in eliminating disparities is the development of
specific standards for medical examinations to ensure each PTSD patient
is reviewed in the same way (Compensation and Pension Examination
Project).
That is, by requiring examining physicians to review and examine
patients using the same protocol, we hope to bring consistency to our
rating process and eliminate disparities. As a result of the IG Report,
during my stewardship we will give heightened attention to the appeals
related to PTSD and IU concerns and ensure, to the greatest extent
possible, we have consistent application of our regulations regarding
their consideration for disability determinations. In that regard, we
can best ensure consistency at BVA by training, quality assurance
efforts, and consultation and cooperation with our partners in the
adjudication process, VBA, OGC, VHA and the VSO's.
Question 6. Do you have any conflicts of interest which you have
not fully disclosed to the Committee? Do you know of any other matter
which, if known to the Committee, might affect the Committee's
recommendation to the Senate with respect to your nomination?
Answer. No.
Question 7. Have you fully and accurately provided financial and
other information requested by the Committee, and do you now affirm
that the information provided is complete, accurate, and provided in a
form designed not to evade or deceive?
Answer. Yes.
Question 8. Do you agree to supply the Committee such non-
privileged information, materials, and documents as may be requested by
the Committee in its oversight and legislative capacities for so long
as you may serve in the position for which you now seek confirmation?
Answer. Yes.
Question 9. Do you agree to appear before the Committee at such
times and concerning such matters as the Committee might request for so
long as you serve in the position for which you now seek confirmation?
Answer. Yes.
______
Responses to Written Questions for James P. Terry, Nominated To Be
Chairman of the Board of Veterans Appeals, U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs from Hon. Senator Daniel Akaka
Question 1. I am concerned that the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA)
does not have enough employees to process appeals timely and
accurately. Can additional hiring be anticipated this year? Will this
be reflected in the President's Budget? If not, where will the funding
for these employees come from?
Answer. Although the Board does not anticipate hiring additional
personnel during fiscal year 2006, the Board does have sufficient
personnel to enable it to process appeals in a timely and accurate
manner. Through the use of incentives and sound management, the Board
has demonstrated in the past that that it can improve its performance,
and the Board will continue to do so during the upcoming year.
The Administration's fiscal year 2006 budget submission does not
significantly increase the Board's budget allocation, which will remain
at approximately $50 million. The personnel profile for the Board for
fiscal year 2006 calls for 434 personnel. The currently authorized end-
strength for fiscal year 2005 for Board personnel is 440. Despite this
reduction, we believe the Board's performance, as reflected by the
VACOLS (Veterans Appeals Control and Locator System) data, will
continue to improve in the same way it has done over the years. For
example, in Fiscal Year 1994, the Board issued about 22,000 decisions.
The Board's pending caseload stood at 47,000, and the measure of
timeliness then used--average response time--was 781 days. By Fiscal
Year 1998, the Board's timeliness markedly improved and the pending
caseload was down to less than 30,000 cases. The Board issued 38,886
decisions, and held 4,875 hearings. Appeals resolution time was 687
days.
In contrast, the Board issued 38,371 decisions in fiscal year 2004.
The Board also conducted 7,259 hearings--a substantial increase from
1998. Appeals resolution time decreased to 529 days. Cycle time (the
time the appeal is at the Board) was reduced to 98 days. Cases pending
at the end of fiscal year 2004 stood at 21,430. And the Board did this
with 43 fewer FTEs than in 1998. The fiscal year 2005 performance, when
finally closed out on September 30, 2005, will be similar.
The Board made these improvements despite several significant
challenges, including the impact of the Veterans Claims Assistance Act
of 2000, and the initiation and termination of evidence development at
the Board due to the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit in Disabled American Veterans v. Principi. There are
several reasons for the significant increase in productivity over this
period of time, including changes in procedures to increase efficiency,
training, incentives, and sound management. As a result of these
changes, the Board's Veterans Law Judges and counsel staff were able to
increase productivity over historical levels by 20 percent for staff
counsel, and 25 percent for the VLJs, while at the same time not
sacrificing quality. The average number of decisions per employee
increased from 49.9 in fiscal year 1994 and 80.5 in fiscal year 1998,
to 87.8 in fiscal year 2004. The number of hearings held also
increased, with video-conference hearings nearly doubling since 1998.
Through incentives and sound management, the Board will continue to
improve over past performance. It will do so by eliminating avoidable
remands, strengthening infra-agency partnerships, writing shorter and
more concise decisions, utilizing employee incentive mentoring and
training programs, making judicious use of overtime, and by increasing
the use of paralegals.
The Board believes these measures will work to reduce the backlog
and shorten the time it takes for a veteran to receive a well-reasoned
and final Board decision. The Board also will continue working to
develop new and creative solutions to the challenges faced in order to
fulfill its statutory mission to hold hearings and provide timely, high
quality decisions to the Nation's veterans and their families.
Question 2. Can you explain BVA and its system for docketing cases?
I understand that BVA generally decides appeals in the order in which
they are received from VA regional offices (ROs). When a case is
received from a regional office it is given a docket number. If that
case is later appealed to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and
remanded back to BVA, it appears that BVA issues a new docket number.
If that case is later appealed to the Court of Appeals for Veterans
Claims and remanded back to the BVA, it appears that BVA issues a new
docket number and that veteran goes to the back of the line at BVA
rather than retaining his earlier docket number and receiving near
immediate review. This can add as much as 3 to 5 years to the veteran's
claim being resolved. Do you support remanded cases retaining their
initial docket numbers in order to reduce lengthy waits for final
decisions?
Answer. When a decision of the Board is appealed to the Court, and
then remanded to the Board, on remand the case is assigned the same
docket number that it had when the case was previously considered by
the Board. Similarly, if the Court remands a case to the Board and if
the Board then remands that case to the originating agency on a
specific issue and the same issue is ultimately returned to the Board,
the original docket number is retained. The same is true where the
Board, on its own, remands the case on a specific issue to the
originating agency.
However, by case law, where a case was originally remanded, for
example, on the issue of service connection and is subsequently
returned to the Board on a ``downstream issue''--i.e., one that had not
been considered by the Board or Court in their decision--such as the
disability rating or effective date assigned following an award of
service connection, a new docket number is assigned by the Regional
Office. A new docket number is assigned because the appeal is being
made with respect to a completely different issue than that originally
filed with the Board, and is initiated by the filing of a new Notice of
Disagreement (NOD). The service connection claim is closed out on the
Board's computerized tracking system as a grant of benefits and the new
issue or issues are then separately identified with a new docket
number. The docket number is automatically assigned by the computerized
tracking system in accordance with the date that a substantive appeal
has been received. The tracking system is unable to distinguish between
new issues and so-called ``downstream issues.''
VA has not been able to devise a technical tracking system to
address this problem. VA also does not have the resources to manually
screen all appeals to determine whether a case is being returned on a
downstream issue, as we process nearly 40,000 appeals each year.
However, when we are advised by the appellant or his or her
representative that the returned case involves a ``downstream issue,''
the Board takes prompt action to manually change the docket number to
that of the original appeal.
Question 3. The claims process can be very lengthy and burdensome
both for veterans and those processing claims. Do you have any
suggestions for Congress to improve this process so the Board can
adjudicate claims more efficiently and effectively?
Answer. Unfortunately, until I am confirmed and have the
opportunity to more carefully study the Board's operations and address
its overall current and future needs with the Department and Board
leadership, as well as any current legislative limitations on the
effective operation of the Board of Veteran's Appeal, it is premature
for me to comment on the specific legislative requirements to make the
Board more effective and responsive to the needs of our veterans. I do
promise, though, Senator Akaka, once confirmed and as soon as I have
had the opportunity to carefully examine the legislative needs of the
Board, I will arrange to meet with you and your staff to address those
needs and provide whatever insights I have gained and any legislative
suggestions I may have.
______
Responses to Written Questions for James P. Terry, Nominated To Be
Chairman of the Board of Veterans Appeals, U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs from Senator Patty Murray
Question 1. Mr. Terry, I want to first thank you and your family
for your service to this country. I am worried about our current
veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan not having access to the disability
compensation they deserve. What steps do you think the Department of
Defense, the VA and others need to make to ensure that those veterans
get the compensation they deserve? Do you have concerns that veterans
are getting compensation they do not deserve and are not entitled to?
Answer. Thank you Senator Murray for your kind words. I believe
that the Department of Defense and VA share a deep concern that those
veterans returning from our current battlefronts, as well as all those
who served our country in uniform, receive all the benefits to which
they are entitled. A number of programs are in place to assist those
transitioning from active service to veteran status to receive the
benefits to which they are entitled. These include the Transition
Assistance Program (TAP) and Disabled Transition Assistance Program
(DTAP), which are administered by the Veterans Benefits Administration
in conjunction with the Department of Defense.
I believe the function of the VA's adjudication system is to ensure
that all appellants receive the benefits to which they are entitled. As
you know, no system is perfect. Sometimes, veterans do not get the
benefits to which they are entitled and, at times, a few get benefits
to which they are not entitled. The appeals process exists to see that
a disinterested tribunal takes another look at the case in which a
benefit was denied and that any error is corrected. The issue of an
erroneous grant of benefits generally is not seen during appellate
review unless those benefits are severed. Hence, to directly answer
your question, given the frailty of human nature, some veterans may be
receiving benefits to which they are not entitled.
That said, the Department is working hard to prevent erroneous
payments by identifying systemic problems and by training adjudicators
to avoid repeat errors.
Question 2. Mr. Terry, 2 months ago in my office we were discussing
the effects of PTSD on veterans. We were talking about the mental
health disability claims being made and you said that your father went
off to war and came back home to work on your farm. And then stated you
went off to war and came back. And then you said that your father was
fine when he came back and you were fine when you came back. Can you
clarify what you meant by that comment?
Answer. I stated that it appears from the May 19, 2005 IG Report
that the World War II generation of which my father was a part did not
file nearly the number or percentage of PTSD claims (shell-shock at
that time) as subsequent generations have, although the stress of war
was equally applicable to those brave Americans. Part of the rationale
for the smaller number of such claims for these older veterans may have
been the stigma attached to mental afflictions at that time. Those
States with a higher percentage of PTSD claimants tend to have a much
higher per capita benefit payment rate than those with few PTSD
claimants. This may explain why the States with the high demographics
of World War II and Korean War veterans, like Illinois, Indiana,
Michigan and Ohio, for example, do not have as high a benefit payment
rate as some other states. If confirmed, I will ensure that the Board's
Veterans' Law Judges fairly adjudicate all PTSD claims. Those veterans
who have PTSD as a result of an in-service stressor are entitled to
receive compensation from VA and I will strive to ensure they do.
I mentioned to you that I had been severely wounded in Vietnam but
that I had received excellent care and that I was fine.
Question 3. I asked you to explain what you meant during that
conversation in May and you stated that in the latest VA Inspector
General's Report--the May 19, 2005 VA Inspector General's Review of
State Variances in VA Disability Compensation Payments--the Inspector
General's Office stated that there was a trend toward veterans with 100
percent PTSD to stop seeking VA Medical Care for their ailments once
they received 100 percent disability compensation. Can you clarify for
this Committee what you meant by that statement?
Answer. One of the concerns that senior leaders in the Department
have for all claimants seeking medical benefits is the desire to ensure
that they are successfully treated for their disabilities and that
where possible, these veterans can return to productive healthy lives.
One concern noted in the May 19 IG report was the finding that a large
percentage of veterans, having been determined to be 100 percent
disabled as a result of PTSD, cease taking advantage of the treatment
and continuing VA medical care that is available to them. This is a
major concern if we are truly concerned about our continuing obligation
to provide effective care to our disabled veterans.
Question 4. Mr. Terry, after our discussion, I was left with the
impression that perhaps you did not consider PTSD to be as pressing a
healthcare need as our veterans' physical injuries. I'd like to hear
you clarify for everyone here your views on PTSD. Do you believe that
veterans who suffer from PTSD deserve disability compensation equal to
compensation for physical injuries?
Answer. Senator Murray, I am truly sorry if I left you with that
impression as it was certainly not my intent. I believe that all
disabilities incurred in or as a result of military service are of
equal concern and all must be fully and appropriately compensated. I
believe that PTSD is one of the most important of our health care
concerns, and one only has to look at the number of claimants and the
severity of their disabilities to reach this conclusion. All
disabilities, whether mental or physical, are compensated based on
their severity and how they affect a veteran's ability to earn a
living. Generally, this is determined by comparing the manifestations
of the disability with the criteria in the applicable regulations, also
known as the Schedule for Rating Disabilities. Where the disabling
effects of a disability or disabilities are not adequately compensated
under the Schedule for Rating Disabilities, an additional or extra-
scheduler rating may be assigned. As I'm sure you are aware, the rating
criteria provide for a maximum evaluation of 100 percent for
psychiatric disorders, which is greater than the scheduler rating for
many physical disorders, including, for example, disabilities such as
the loss of a leg. I believe that this reflects the fact that a
physical disability is often easier to overcome than a psychic trauma,
which may affect every aspect of a person's life and severely limit
their employability.
Question 5. Mr. Terry, what lessons do you think we can learn from
our current appeals process that may help prevent our current soldiers,
sailors, airman and marines from having to go through the same grueling
appeals process 20, 30, or 40 years from now?
Answer. We all agree that the appeals process takes too long. We
need to identify where the delays are, what is causing them and what
remedial steps are needed to improve the process while still
safeguarding veterans' rights. We must ensure that our adjudication
personnel are thoroughly trained and have the resources to do their
jobs. It is also important to have our veterans thoroughly examined at
the time of discharge to assist them with their application for service
connected disability benefits. I know VBA, VHA, and the Board are
working on examination protocols to ensure consistency and accuracy
with physical exams. I will look closely at that program to see if
additional improvements can be implemented. I am similarly aware that
BVA and VBA have been developing corrective training programs that are
being aggressively delivered. I intend to build on that tradition. At
this point, however, until I am confirmed and have the opportunity to
more carefully study the entire VA adjudication process, including the
Board's operations and current and future needs, it is premature for me
to comment on the specific elements of these initiatives to reform the
adjudication process to make it more effective and responsive to the
needs of our veterans. Senator Murray, once I have been confirmed and
as soon as I have had the opportunity to carefully examine the
adjudication process, I will be happy to meet with you or your staff to
discuss whatever insights I have gained regarding possible reforms for
its improvement.
Question 6. What steps will you take to reduce the current backlog
of appeals, currently at 24,846 cases, that are pending at the BVA
while maintaining and or improving the quality of BVA decisions?
Answer. Although I have had only a short time to directly acquaint
myself with the Board, I am very impressed with the dedication,
professionalism and commitment to our Nation's veterans that typify the
Board's employees. I can assure you, when confirmed, the Board will
continue working to develop new and creative solutions to the
challenges faced in order to fulfill its statutory mission to hold
hearings and provide timely, high quality decisions to the Nation's
veterans and their families.
The Board has come a long way. In Fiscal Year 1998, the Board's
pending caseload stood at 30,000 cases. That year, the Board issued
38,886 decisions, and held 4,875 hearings. Appeals resolution time was
687 days. In fiscal year 2004, the Board issued 38,371 decisions,
conducted 7,259 hearings--a substantial increase from 1998--and appeals
resolution time decreased to 529 days. Cycle time (the time the appeal
is at the Board and not being reviewed by the veteran's representative)
was reduced to 98 days. Cases pending at the end of fiscal year 2004
stood at 21,430. The Board did this with 43 fewer FTEs than in 1998.
The fiscal year 2005 performance, when finally closed out on September
30, 2005, will be similar.
The Board made these improvements despite several significant
challenges, including the impact of the Veterans Claims Assistance Act
of 2000, and the initiation and termination of evidence development at
the Board due to the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit in Disabled American Veterans v. Principi.
The Board did not do this alone, but had much help from (1) the
Congress, providing unqualified support for veterans and their
families, (2) veterans service organizations (VSO's), which represent
about 85 percent of all appellants before the Board, (3) the VA
leadership, that supports improvements in the appeals process to ensure
that veterans receive timely and quality decisions, and (4) the staff
at the Board, including the 56 Veterans Law Judges, 228 counsel, and
154 administrative support staff. Through their efforts, productivity
increased, over historic levels, by 20 percent for staff counsel, and
by 25 percent for the VLJs. The number of hearings held has also
increased, with videoconference hearings nearly doubling since 1998.
The average number of decisions per employee increased from 80.5 in
fiscal year 1998, to 87.3 in fiscal year 2004. Decision quality at the
Board has improved from an 88 percent error free rate in 1998 to a 90
percent rate in 2005, and, as noted above, the Board's cycle time is a
little over 3 months.
If confirmed, I will ensure that the Board continues to improve
over past performance. We will do so through the use of appropriate
incentives and sound management. We will do so by eliminating avoidable
remands, strengthening infra-agency partnerships, writing shorter and
more concise decisions, utilizing employee incentives, mentoring and
training programs, making judicious use of overtime, and by increasing
the use of paralegals.
I believe that these measures will be successful in reducing the
backlog and shortening the time it takes for a veteran to receive a
well-reasoned and final Board decision.
Question 7. Mr. Terry, Veteran Service Organization (VSO's)
represent a large number of BVA appellants. What is your experience
with the VSO community and what steps will you take to foster/maintain
a professional working relationship between BVA staff and the VSO
representatives?
Answer. The Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) are the voices of
America's veterans. They provide free, high quality representation to
about 85 percent of appellants before the Board. Although they are not
lawyers, they are experts in veterans law and their success rate
reflects this--in fact, it meets or exceeds that of private attorneys.
The Board enjoys an excellent working relationship with the VSOs,
both in the field and with those that have appeals units that are co-
located at the Board's offices in Washington. Board personnel interact
with VSO representatives on a daily basis. We have quarterly meetings
with the VSO representatives, as well as members of the private bar
that wish to attend, to discuss issues of VSO concern, answer questions
and advise them of developments in BVA procedures and policies.
I can assure you, Senator Murray, that if confirmed, I will ensure
that this relationship will continue. Again, if confirmed, I will meet
with the leaders of the major VSO's to discuss how we can work together
to see that we will continue to work together for the benefit of the
veterans we both serve.
Question 8. Mr. Terry, what steps will you take to reduce the
number of BVA decisions that are remanded by the Court of Appeals for
Veterans Claims (CAVC) due to BVA deficiencies?
Answer. Senator Murray, if confirmed, I will do all in power to
reduce avoidable remands, both those from the Court of Appeals for
Veterans Claims (CAVC) to the Board and those from the Board to the VA
Regional Offices. I believe that the best approach to ensure that we
get it right the first time is through training. The Board has a very
robust training program in place. It involves mentoring and developing
new counsel and judges, periodic training for all professional staff on
new and challenging areas of veterans law, and substantive training in
both veterans law and legal writing. We have cooperative training
endeavors with the Office of General Counsel, the Veterans Benefits
Administration, and the Veterans Health Administration to improve the
competence of adjudicators throughout the VA system. As Chairman, I
would continue and expand our efforts in this critical area.
One cautionary note--while some CAVC remands are the result of
Board error, many are not. Frequently, court remands are based on
changes in the law from that which was in effect when the BVA decision
was rendered. An example is the Holliday decision, which created an
avalanche of Court remands directing VA to comply with the Veterans
Claims Assistance Act (VCAA), which was not in existence at the time
the BVA decision was made. Others are based on a difference in judgment
between the reviewing judge at the CAVC and the deciding VLJ at the
Board as to the interpretation of the law, whether the reasons or bases
for the Board decision were adequately explained or whether all due
process was accorded. About 60 percent of remands are never seen by a
CAVC judge, but represent actions by the attorneys involved in the case
to dispose of the appeal. Finally, given the delays in the system, the
CAVC is reviewing BVA decisions that may have been issued years ago.
The Board does track the reasons for each Court remand. While we
have much to learn from remands, we need a more immediate source of
feedback to improve our quality. The Board is working cooperatively
with VA's Office of General Counsel, particularly Professional Staff
Group VII, which represents the Secretary before the Court,
Professional Staff Group II, which handles Compensation and Pension
issues, and VBA to see what we can do to avoid remands whenever
possible from the CAVC. This is an extension of the avoidable remand
project that is ongoing with the Veterans Benefits Administration.
______
Responses to Written Questions for James P. Terry, Nominated To Be
Chairman of the Board of Veterans Appeals, U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs from Senator Ken Salazar
Question 1. Colorado Average Benefit. A recent VA Inspector General
report found significant differences in compensation payments across
the States. Colorado is one of those that falls below the national
average. Veterans in Colorado get an average of $4000 less than
veterans in New Mexico do. Why. What steps do you propose in response
to the report and specifically, what can the VA do to improve the
situation in Colorado?
Answer. The compensation determinations which were the subject of
the IG comparison are made at our Regional Offices (ROs) of the
Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) in each of our States and in
certain of our territories (e.g., Guam and Puerto Rico), which are
under the authority of the Under Secretary for Benefits. The Board of
Veterans' Appeals can only influence these determinations if they are
appealed to the Board and the Board overturns the RO determination and
grants the benefits sought.
The statistics referred to place Colorado at 34 of 50 States for
fiscal year 2004 with an average payout of just under $8000 ($7,944)
per veteran in fiscal year 2004. The national average was $8,378. New
Mexico ranked first at $12,004. The May 2005 IG Report found that a
number of demographic and benefit rating factors help explain the
variances in State average annual disability compensation payments. One
of the most significant,--the age of a veteran receiving benefits--is a
variable that the VA has virtually no control over. Statistics do show,
however, that States with a larger percentage of older veterans who
served in the Second World War and the Korean Conflict tend to receive
less in benefits because they tend not to request benefits related to
psychiatric trauma. For whatever reason, veterans from these conflicts
tended to return to their homes and resume their lives without
consideration of post-traumatic stress claims (called shell-shock
during those conflicts). PTSD claims make up a significant percentage
of claims from recent era veterans, to include Vietnam and the first
Gulf War. In fact, data indicates that Vietnam veterans receive, on
average, $2328 more in annual compensation payments than veterans in
the next highest period of service. New Mexico has 41 percent of its
veterans receiving benefits from the Vietnam period, while Colorado has
32.5 percent. Moreover, New Mexico has 18.2 percent of its total
compensation recipients in receipt of compensation for PTSD, while
Colorado has only 6.7 percent.
Other factors identified by the IG Report included the rate at
which veterans receiving disability submitted new disability claims
(those States where veterans receiving benefits submitted additional
claims received greater compensation), the period of service (Vietnam
``VETS'' tend on average to receive greater benefits because of
extensive PTSD awards), whether the disability claimants had dependents
(those with dependents received more), and whether the recipient had a
number of service connected disabilities, vice a single claimed
disability (the more disabilities, the higher the average disability
payment). In each of these areas, New Mexico ranked near the top and
Colorado in the middle.
The key to ensuring all Colorado citizens are treated fairly is to
ensure that every RO in each State is providing the same message to
every veteran and providing the same standard when assessing their
claim. The VBA is constantly providing training to its ROs across the
country to ensure that the same rating factors, the same application of
the factors to disabilities reviewed, and the same assessment
techniques are used consistently in each RO.
The Board of Veterans Appeals is a participant with VBA in this
process as we have consistently utilized attorneys and Veterans Law
Judges, when they visit the various ROs to conduct Travel Board
hearings, to spend a portion of their time sharing information with
staff personnel at the ROs and providing any desired training that
could prove helpful to their adjudication process. We are also
participating with VBA and the Office of General Counsel to provide
broadcast training to all the ROs. We are participating in a joint
effort with VBA and the Veterans Health Administration to develop a
comprehensive protocol for examinations for PTSD and other psychiatric
disorders to ensure the same standards are applied in each such
examination. We are committed to ensuring, to the extent possible, the
claims adjudication process is totally transparent and consistent
across State lines.
Question 2. Mental Health Variance. One of the key factors
identified in the O.I.G. report was the fundamental subjectivity of
claims decisions in certain areas, such as mental health and Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder. What steps do you propose to improve
training and communication across the system to reduce this variability
and improve consistency?
Unlike certain physical disorders that may have clear-cut
manifestations, the evaluation of psychiatric disorders often involves
a significant element of judgment. While attempts have been made to add
a greater degree of objectivity into the evaluation process, such as,
for example, by the 1996 revisions of VA regulations for the evaluation
of psychiatric disorders, a subjective element still remains.
I agree that communication and training are the best approach to
ensuring consistency throughout the adjudication process. We need to
focus on these issues as part of our continuing monthly ``Triad''
meetings with the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), the Office of
the General Counsel (OGC), and the Veterans Health Administration
(VHA). In this way, we may design appropriate vehicles for training for
all those involved in the adjudication system. These efforts would
continue our ongoing joint satellite broadcasts to BVA and VBA, as well
as the ongoing CPEP (Compensation and Pension Examination Project),
which is a joint effort to train the medical professionals involved in
the compensation examination process. The Board would continue its
training of VBA and VHA personnel during trips to the Regional Offices
to conduct Travel Board hearings, as well as our comprehensive program
of in-house training for our judges and staff counsel.
Question 3. Incentives for Performance. This Committee has heard a
number of suggestions for reform of the adjudication process. One of
those is setting time limits for each stage of the adjudication and
appeals process. What is your reaction to that suggestion? What are
other suggestions do you have for moving the administrative process
forward and creating incentives for high performance?
The Board has in place a robust program for providing incentives
for high performance. These include participation in a variety of VA,
OPM and other training programs, financial incentives, and public
recognition for a job well done. We believe that such incentives
contributed to the Board's success in increasing productivity over
historic levels by about 25 percent for our Veterans Law Judges and 20
percent for our staff counsel. If confirmed as Chairman, I certainly
will continue and improve on this highly successful program.
Unfortunately, until I am confirmed and have the opportunity to
more carefully study the entire VA adjudication process, including the
Board's operations and current and future needs, it is premature for me
to comment on the specific initiatives to reform the adjudication
process to make it more effective and responsive to the needs of our
veterans. At present, the Board's cycle time--the time it takes the
Board to issue a decision from its receipt of the file (excluding the
time taken for review by the appellant's representative)--is about 100
days. The setting of a time limit for this stage of the process would
appear to be unnecessary. Furthermore, I am at a loss to speculate as
to the remedy for a failure to meet time limits. Certainly, neither the
Board nor the VBA would be permitted to grant benefits if the evidence
of record does not support such action. This is an issue I must
consider if confirmed. I do promise, though, Senator Salazar, once
confirmed and as soon as I have had the opportunity to carefully
examine the adjudication process, I will be happy to meet with you or
your staff to discuss whatever insights I have gained regarding
possible reforms for its improvement.
Question 4. Simplifying the Appeals Process. There have been a
number of suggestions for simplifying the remanding process and
streamlining the appeals process. What is your response to proposals to
place Administrative Law Judges in Regional Offices to decentralize the
Board's decisionmaking authority? In a perfect world, what would you
recommend?
Answer. I do not see the merit in the proposal to place BVA's
Veterans Law Judges in VA Regional Offices (ROs). In fact, I think it
is a bad idea.
The existing appeals process, with layers of review, was
established, in part, to promote claimant confidence in the decisions
reached on claims by ensuring fairness and integrity. Decentralization
or regionalization of the Board by placing VLJs at the ROs could affect
the appearance of Board independence by creating a perception in the
minds of appellants and their representatives that the Board is an
extension of the RO and not a separate and independent body that exists
to fairly and impartially consider their appeals.
Decentralization or regionalization would also pose substantial
challenges to BVA in maintaining the efficiency of its operations.
Given the rapid changes in veterans law and the complexity of the VA
disability system, it is advantageous for VLJs to be able to function
in a collegial environment where they have the opportunity for a quick
and free exchange of ideas and information. The ability of VLJs and
counsel to instantly communicate and exchange views enables the Board
to quickly adapt to changes in the law. This kind of environment
fosters consistency in understanding and application of the law.
Regionalization of the Board will also create a host of logistical
problems that do not exist in a centralized environment.
Regionalization could cause a need for additional expenditures to
provide necessary support services and legal research resources at
multiple locations. We would also predict difficulties managing the
case flow to and from VLJs and difficulties in conducting quality
reviews.
It is hard to understand exactly what improvements would result
from basing VLJs at Regional Offices. VBA Decision Review Officers and
Rating Specialists are sufficiently qualified to determine whether
necessary development has taken place or whether legal requirements
have been met, and improvements in the quality of RO claims
adjudication can be achieved by training and quality review. In fact,
VBA and BVA have recently developed a plan to reduce avoidable remands.
This plan includes training, better documentation of certain
determinations in the claims folder, better attention to certification
of appeals by VBA Regional Office appeals staff, and some changes in
guidance.
At this point, as I noted in my response to the previous question,
until I am confirmed and have the opportunity to more carefully study
the entire VA adjudication process, it is premature for me to suggest
specific initiatives to streamline the system. I can assure you that VA
will carefully consider all available options for improvement in order
to provide the best possible service to and ensure the rights of our
Nation's veterans and their families. Again, Senator Salazar, once
confirmed and as soon as I have had the opportunity to carefully
examine the adjudication process, I will be happy to meet with you or
your staff to discuss whatever insights I have gained regarding
possible approaches to streamlining the appeals process.
Chairman Craig. Mr. Terry, thank you very much.
Now we turn to you, Mr. Ciccolella, nominated to be the
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans Employment and
Training. Please proceed.
STATEMENT OF CHARLES S. CICCOLELLA, NOMINATED TO BE ASSISTANT
SECRETARY FOR VETERANS EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING, U.S. DEPARTMENT
OF LABOR
Mr. Ciccolella. Thank you, Senator Craig. Thank you and the
Committee for considering my nomination. I want to thank all
the Members of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee because
you always have been very responsive to our budget requests and
any other issues that have come up where we have needed
assistance from the Congress, both on the House side and the
Senate side.
As you know, sir, I am joined by my wife Donna of 33 years.
I am also joined by a number of the professional staff at the
Veterans Employment Training Service at the Department of
Labor. These are dedicated veterans themselves. We work pretty
tirelessly to make sure that veterans receive priority service
in the labor exchange.
I am very honored to be nominated for this position. Like
Jim, my family has a long tradition of military service. My dad
was a Major General in the Army and fought in World War II,
actually captured General Von Rundstedt at the end of the war.
My father-in-law and my brother-in-law both served in the Navy,
my dad and my father-in-law in World War II and Korea and my
brother-in-law saw action in Vietnam, as I did, and as my two
brothers also did in Vietnam. We were all commissioned as
infantry officers.
So the values of the military have really defined our
lives, and that is why it is an honor for me to be nominated to
be the Assistant Secretary for Veterans Employment and
Training. If the Senate confirms my nomination, it will be my
privilege to lead this organization.
I have been very fortunate to have been the Deputy
Assistant Secretary of ``VETS,'' or the Veterans Employment
Training Service, for the past 4 years. In that time, I think
we have made some very good progress. We still have a long way
to go. In order to improve our entered employments and our
retention rates, we simply must better integrate the services
of the veteran employment representatives that are hired by the
States within the Workforce Investment System.
The Workforce Investment System is a $15 billion investment
every year. There are 19 Federal programs involved in that and
veterans receive priority of service in each of those programs,
but it is a big matter of making certain that our veteran
employment representatives understand that and also that those
in the workforce system understand that. Secretary Chao and the
President, the Veterans Employment Training Service, and all of
the partners in the one-stop career centers are working very
hard to make this a very integrated service.
Also, I think it is very important, and you mentioned the
group of young veterans who are recently separated,
particularly that age cohort of 20 to 24, we need to focus on
them because they do have a higher rate of unemployment. We
have looked very carefully at the reasons for that, and there
are some reasons for it, but we have got to address that
problem and we need to address it in the transition programs.
We also need to look at a change in the way business has been
done with the reserve component units, and I know you have the
116th Brigade in Idaho and other Senators have a number of
units in the Guard and the Reserve in their states who have
deployed to Iraq. These individuals have deployed for 6 months
or a year or more, and when they come back, they are assured
and the law provides for their jobs back, not only their jobs,
but the jobs that they would have had but for the military
service.
We have done a very good job in getting the word out about
the Uniform Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act,
servicemembers' rights and the obligations of the employers,
but we need to do a better job and we need to look at the
requirements for the Guard and Reserve with regard to their
transition, because many of them come back and they have got
higher levels of skills. They have a tremendous amount of
management experience. In many cases, they have great
leadership skills now, and so they want to change jobs, but in
a sense, they may be first-time or second-time entrants into
the workforce and need a little bit of help with their
networking skills and their resume writing.
So we are responding now to the State Adjutant Generals on
an as-needed basis and we are working with the Defense
Department to make sure that we come up with a program that
addresses their needs.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, we need to focus our most intensive
efforts on those who are seriously injured. We have 13,000
servicemembers from the Iraqi conflict who are injured.
Eighteen hundred or more are seriously injured. We have 482
amputees. I know that the Senators and yourself have been out
to Walter Reed and you have seen these young folks. They don't
see themselves as being disabled. We need to make sure that
there is a path and a life for them and that they have
meaningful jobs and meaningful careers.
In my lifetime, I have never seen soldiers and veterans
held in higher esteem. I think we have a tremendous opportunity
today to ensure that the level of service that is provided to
veterans with regard to employment can be raised to a much
higher bar. We have the commitment of the Secretary of Labor,
and the entire Labor Department. I know we also have the
commitment of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the
Department of Defense, and the Department of Homeland Security
to make that happen.
I would just conclude by telling you, Mr. Chairman, I am
very honored to have been nominated by President Bush for this
position, and if confirmed by the Senate, I pledge my full
cooperation with the Senate, my responsiveness to both the
Senate and the House, Veterans Committee and my full dedication
to this job.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Ciccolella follows:]
Prepared Statement of Charles S. Ciccolella, Nominated To Be Assistant
Secretary for Veterans Employment and Training, U.S. Department of
Labor
Good morning Chairman Craig, Ranking Member Akaka, and Members of
the Committee:
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before the Committee today.
I thank the Committee for considering my nomination and for the
courtesies that have been extended to me.
I also thank all members of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee
for their effective oversight of the Veterans' Employment and Training
Service. This Committee and the Congress have always supported our
budget requests and you have acted on important legislation that has
benefited veterans and transitioning military members.
I am joined today by my wife Donna. I am very fortunate and deeply
grateful for her wisdom and her support for the past 33 years of our
marriage, and she is my closest adviser.
Donna and our daughter Connie always allowed and helped me pursue
my passion for serving my fellow soldiers when I was in the military.
Today, both Donna and Connie have their own careers in government
service, but they support me in the same way in my efforts to serve our
nation's veterans and transitioning service members, many of whom have
not been as fortunate as I.
I'm speaking especially about those who come back from the military
with serious injuries and disabilities. I'm speaking about our veterans
who have barriers to employment, including those who have become
homeless.
I AM HONORED TO BE NOMINATED
My family has a long a tradition of military service to our
country. My father was an Infantry officer who fought in North Africa
and Germany in World War II, and later rose to the rank of Major
General. My father in law served in the Navy and saw action in both
World War II and Korea. My brother in law served in the U.S. Navy and
saw action in Vietnam. My two brothers and I each were commissioned in
the Infantry through Army ROTC. Each of us is a combat veteran of
Vietnam and each rose to the rank of Colonel.
The values of the military have defined our lives. We know
firsthand the unwavering commitment, professionalism and honor with
which American soldiers serve. We are a family with well over 100 years
of military service. We understand the blessings of freedom and the
sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform. We know and love our
fellow soldiers and veterans. They are the best of America.
That is why it is such an honor for me to be nominated by President
Bush to be Assistant Secretary of Veterans' Employment and Training, so
I may continue to build on the success of this Administration in
providing the highest quality of employment services to our Nation's
veterans.
If the Senate confirms my nomination, it will be my privilege to
lead the Veterans' Employment and Training Service. I pledge my full
commitment to helping transitioning military members and veterans find
better jobs and the training needed for those jobs.
That is, after all, what the Department of Labor's Veterans'
Employment and Training Service (``VETS'') is charged with doing--
helping veterans and transitioning servicemembers with the resources
and services they need to succeed in the 21st century workforce.
``VETS'' is a small agency, with a very big job.
GOALS FOR THE VETERANS' EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING SERVICE
I have been fortunate to have served as the Deputy Assistant
Secretary of ``VETS'' for the past 4 years. We have made much progress
in those 4 years, but challenges remain. With the help of the ``VETS'
'' professional staff, and the collaboration of the Departments of
Veterans Affairs, Defense, and Homeland Security, we will meet those
challenges.
If confirmed by the Senate, I will strive to achieve three primary
goals:
<bullet> To better integrate the services of the Disabled Veterans
Outreach Program (DVOP) specialists and Local Veterans Employment
Representatives (LVER) in the One Stop Career Centers. This will
require better training for our DVOPs and LVERs and it will result in a
higher quality of employment services to veterans by the entire Career
One Stop System.
<bullet> To improve transition assistance services for Active Duty,
Reserve and National Guard members who are moving from the military to
civilian life. We also must continue to ensure all servicemembers and
veterans understand their employment and reemployment rights.
<bullet> To focus our intensive employment services and personal,
face to face assistance for those service members who are recently
separated from the military--and for those veterans who need our help
the most--those who have been seriously wounded or injured and those
with significant barriers to employment, including homeless veterans.
In working to achieve each of these goals, we must focus on how
better to reach employers so they are actively involved in making the
veteran employment connection.
VISION FOR ``VETS''
These are my goals and they are actually continuing goals for me. I
understand the enormous responsibility of making sure we achieve these
goals and get this right. My vision for the Veterans' Employment and
Training Service is, and has been, to change the manner in which
employment and training services are delivered to veterans. We want to
improve upon the traditional idea of service delivery by embracing a
21st century model that is focused on equipping veterans with the
resources they will actually need to be successful in their chosen
career field.
This vision is widely shared in the Department of Labor. Secretary
Chao and the Labor Department are working hard to advance and support
the public workforce system's provision of priority of service to
veterans through education, outreach and better services. We are
working hard with the State Workforce Agencies to expand the number of
veterans who use these services, and to ensure they have access to the
full array of resources.
WE ARE MAKING PROGRESS, BUT CHALLENGES REMAIN
Four years ago, approximately 3 in 10 veterans using the workforce
system were being placed into jobs. Today, nearly 6 in 10 are entering
employment. We have extended the highly successful Transition
Assistance Program (TAP) employment workshop to serve servicemembers
separating overseas. We are also beginning to provide those services to
returning guard and reserve members where and when requested.
Over the past 4 years, we have vastly improved military members'
and veterans' knowledge of their employment and reemployment rights. We
will soon publish, for the first time ever, regulations implementing
the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).
While we have made significant progress, we must continue to set
higher standards for performance outcomes in job placements and job
retention, and we must always stress better performance and
accountability on the part of those who directly serve veterans.
We have a tremendous opportunity today to move to a higher level in
helping servicemembers and veterans obtain better training for better
jobs. Our economy is strong, our country needs workers, veterans are
outstanding employees, and there are many new career opportunities,
especially in high growth, high demand industries.
In my lifetime, I have never seen soldiers and veterans held in
higher esteem than they are today. They have earned that. They deserve
our best efforts to help them.
We have the support, commitment and collaboration of the entire
Department of Labor, as well as the Departments of Veterans Affairs,
Defense and Homeland Security, to improve employment opportunities for
veterans. We will continue to set the bar very high so they receive the
dignity, respect and services they have earned.
Mr. Chairman, I am honored and humbled by President Bush's and
Secretary Chao's confidence in me for this nomination. I look forward
to this honor and to the challenge, if the Senate so entrusts me, of
becoming the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans' Employment and
Training.
I pledge to work with this Committee and the Congress, to keep you
informed, and to be responsive to your oversight responsibilities.
Thank you for allowing me to appear before this Committee today. I
thank the Chairman, the Ranking Member and all Committee Members for
considering my nomination.
______
Responses to Written Questions for Charles S. Ciccolella, Nominated To
Be Assistant Secretary for Veterans Employment and Training, U.S.
Department of LAbor from Senator Larry Craig
Question 1. The GAO has stressed that, because of ongoing concerns
about data reliability, it is difficult to assess how well the DVOP and
LVER programs are serving our Nation's veterans. What measures would
you implement to ensure that ``VETS'' has the data necessary to conduct
a meaningful assessment of the services provided to veterans by DVOP
specialists and LVERs?
The Jobs for Veterans Act (JVA) required a full review of
employment reforms by GAO, which includes an assessment of the Disabled
Veteran Outreach Program specialist (DVOP) and Local Veteran Employment
Representative (LVER) programs. We have worked very closely with the
GAO on this review. The GAO's preliminary report cited the data
reliability concerns, which were initially raised by our staff here at
the Veterans Employment and Training Service (``VETS'').
The Department of Labor has been working to improve data
reliability and reporting in State reporting systems for many years.
Most recently, the Employment and Training Administration implemented
significant improvements in reporting by moving to the wage record
validation of entered employments. Additionally, over 40 States are
using the Wage Record Information System (WRIS) which captures wage
records from all participating States, allowing a State to capture
entered employment data on registrations in one State obtain employment
in another State. Having employers report on their new hires and on all
individuals who earn wages, instead of calling employers and validating
employment information, has been a major move forward and has greatly
helped to ensure that most of the data we're getting is meaningful and
accurate. If I am confirmed, I will work with ETA to encourage State
implementation of this system as soon as possible. We can do this by
providing technical assistance and training to those States that have
not completed their adoption of the system.
Additionally, ``VETS'' requires each State to submit quarterly
financial and performance reports, and each One-Stop Career Center to
submit a quarterly Manger's Report. Our field staff also conducts
annual assessments of the Jobs for Veterans Act (JVA) State Grants
Program in the One Stop Career Centers. We do a lot of analysis and
monitoring of the services provided and outcomes reported by the DVOPs
and LVERs. We thoroughly review the required quarterly State financial
and performance reports at the State, Regional and National levels to
ensure that we are getting the most reliable JVA data. Where errors are
identified, we provide technical assistance to ensure that the problem
is resolved. If confirmed, I would also stress the need for State
Workforce Administration officials to review how data is collected and
reported with the DVOPs and LVERs. Finally, we need to refine the
``VETS' '' self-assessment tool that we use to ensure that all veteran
employment services provided at the service delivery point are in
compliance with the requirements of the JVA. I believe the actions that
have been taken since the implementation of the JVA, along with the
actions I plan to take if confirmed, will provide ``VETS'' a means of
assessing the services provided by the DVOPs and LVERs.
Question 2. It is my understanding that programs such as the
Transition Assistance Program (TAP) are intended to facilitate the
transition of active duty troops out of service and into civilian
life--and not necessarily to facilitate the movement of Reserve and
Guard personnel into and out of active duty. In light of increasing
movement by Reserve and Guard personnel into and out of active duty
roles, do you think program changes are needed to account for the
unique needs of Reserve and Guard personnel?
Answer. We must address the increasing movement by Reserve and
Guard personnel into and out of active duty roles. While the Department
of Labor has provided employment workshops as part of the active duty
TAP, there is now an increased need to provide these workshops to the
reserve components as our worldwide military commitments have
necessitated a mobilization of National Guard and Reserve members that
is unprecedented in modern times. The result is a need to provide these
workshops to members of the Guard and Reserve, and we are working with
the National Guard and Reserve on providing TAP services to these
returning servicemembers in many States on an informal and as needed
basis. Recently we launched Reserve Component TAP demonstration
programs, in which we work with returning units and provide a flexible
format that allows for a tailored transition assistance package that
meets local needs. The approach in each location is unique. Once we
evaluate the success of these programs and review any feedback from
participants, we will work with the Department of Defense--led
Demobilization Working Group (including the National Guard Bureau and
Office of the Chief of Army Reserve) to create flexible models that can
be adapted to fit any situation.
Question 3. ``VETS'' has reported that in program year 2003 it had
an ``entered employment'' rate of 58 percent for veterans. Does
``VETS'' track the annual wages earned by those veterans that have
entered employment? If so, what is the average wage? Does ``VETS''
track how long those veterans remain in their jobs? If not, should it?
Are there measures you would like to see implemented to track the
quality and success of employment secured by veterans?
Answer. ``VETS'' does not currently track the average wage earned.
However, under the new common performance measures, we will have access
to a new performance measure that tracks the 6-month earnings increase.
We do track employment retention at the 6-month point. The wage records
provide both employment and retention rates and are, I believe, very
significant performance measures that allow us to better monitor the
quality and success of employment by veterans.
Question 4. VA's Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment program
provides vocational rehabilitation services to disabled veterans. How
does ``VETS'' integrate its services with those provided by VA to
assist disabled veterans in obtaining employment? What additional
measures should be taken to integrate the services provided by ``VETS''
with the services provided by VA?
Answer. ``VETS'' has a strong working relationship with the VA's
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service (VR&E). We continue to
work with VR&E staff at the national and local level to improve
services to disabled veterans receiving VR&E services. We have
approximately 55 veterans employment representatives outstationed at
VR&E sites and 90 located at other VA facilities, including VA medical
centers. We provide itinerant coverage in other locations and work
through a coordinated referral system. Additionally, we will be soon
implementing a new Memorandum of Understanding between ``VETS'' and
VR&E that among other things will establish three work groups: (1)
Performance Measures for Assessment of Partnership Program Results; (2)
National Veterans Training Institute (NVTI) Curriculum Design; and (3)
Joint Data Collection, Analysis, and Reports.
``VETS'' has also initiated a study to evaluate how well the VR&E
referral process is working. This study will provide a clear assessment
of the employment and retention rates of disabled veterans who are
referred by VR&E to the DVOP specialists and registered with the Public
Labor Exchange. The study will help in determining future service
delivery strategies for this targeted population.
Question 5. ``VETS''' stated mission ``is to provide Veterans with
the resources and services to succeed in the 21st century work force by
maximizing their employment opportunities, protecting their employment
rights and meeting labor-market demands with qualified Veterans.'' How
does ``VETS'' measure its success in accomplishing that mission?
Answer. ``VETS'' measures success through a series of performance
measures including entered employment, entered employment after
receiving staff assisted services, and employment retention, measured
for all veterans and also separately for disabled veterans. We have
also instituted the grant level measures I referred to in response to
Question 1, which measure the performance at the DVOP/LVER level.
Through these and other performance measures, we have seen improved
performance outcomes in recent years. Four years ago, approximately 3
in 10 veterans using the workforce system were being placed into jobs.
Today, nearly 6 in 10 are entering employment.
Question 6. Under the Jobs for Veterans Act, veterans are entitled
to priority of service for all employment services funded by the
Department of Labor. Would you please explain what measures the ``One-
Stop job centers'' generally have instituted to provide priority of
service to veterans? Do you believe that more needs to be done to
ensure that veterans are receiving priority of service?
Answer. The cornerstone of the workforce investment system is the
network of One-Stop Career Centers, including more than 3,500 centers
and affiliate sites. One-Stop Career Centers provide a wide range of
employment and training related services that help employers find the
skilled labor they seek and help ensure that job seekers find good jobs
with good pay and career pathways in high-growth industries. In Program
Year 2003 alone, we connected over 1.4 million veterans (200,000 of
them disabled) to the workforce investment system.
In Program Year 2003, the first year under the jobs for Veterans
Act requirement for priority of service, the Department established a
plan for how best to implement priority of service. On September 16,
2003, the Department's Employment and Training Administration issued a
guidance letter that instructs the workforce investment system on the
provisions in the jobs for Veterans Act to ensure Priority of Services
for veterans and eligible military spouses. The Department also
developed web resources on each specific program area for use by the
One-Stops and others on how the program is impacted by the jobs for
Veterans Act. This focuses on how best to implement the priority. These
web sources also provide an opportunity for One-Stop staff to submit
additional questions. The Department also used PY 2003 to collect data
on the participation of veterans in various programs covered by
priority of service. This data shows that veterans are essentially
represented in proportion to their incidence of representation within
the workforce for the major adult programs. In those programs where you
would expect veteran participation, they are well represented on a
parity basis with the overall veteran participation rate in the labor
force.
States recently completed a 2-year strategic plan for their
workforce1 investment system under the Workforce Investment Act, and
States were required to report their strategies for implementation of
priority of service to veterans. States are doing many things to ensure
veterans are receiving priority of service. These actions include
improved procedural strategies on how veterans are served, such as
outreach activities, improved intake and registration, better client
flow procedures and clarification of the DVOP and LVER roles. Many
States also have improved integration of DVOP/LVER services by cross
training their staff. Many States have been working hard to improve
their informational strategies by creating veteran specific
legislative, entitlement and contact information well above and beyond
the information provided to other clients. Some States have implemented
job matching strategies through their electronic websites.
If I am confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Veterans Employment
and Training, it would be my responsibility to work closely with the
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training to ensure that all
State Workforce Agencies and each One Stop Career Center understands
what veterans priority of service means and to develop communication
and technical assistance strategies implementation of priority of
service.
``VETS'' is already working on the implementation of an outreach
and communication plan on services for veterans under a Memorandum of
Understanding between the Department of Labor and the Department of
Defense that will include new methods for promoting priority of
service. In addition, we are developing new methods for linking One
Stop Career Centers to the Transition Centers on the military
installations. This helps veterans, especially those in the category of
young and recently separated, make the connection to the One Stops to
ensure that they have all the tools they need to enter the workforce.
Question 7. What performance measures do you think the Senate
Veterans' Affairs Committee should use to assess the performance of
``VETS'', particularly with regard to its employment services? What
would be your assessment of ``VETS' '' performance under those
measures?
Answer. Obviously, the best measure for assessing the performance
of ``VETS'' is that veterans are receiving the training and employment
service they need and are finding good jobs. That is the bottom line.
But I believe the Committee should assess ``VETS''' performance by
whether we achieve our stated performance goals, especially with regard
to veterans entering employment and retaining employment. And, as the
new common measures are implemented this year, I think the Committee
can look also at the ``earnings'' measure to gauge ``VETS'''
performance. ``VETS'' should assess and report on those particular
measures each year, and continually negotiate with each State,
consistent with their specific labor market situation, to improve on
the kinds of jobs veterans are getting. For example, if we capture the
information on earnings, and compare that to a State's labor market
conditions, we ought to be able to determine if the workforce system is
truly more demand driven, if veterans are receiving training in the
right skills and are moving into the high demand, high growth
industries where there are good career paths.
Therefore, I think if we look at employment retention rates and
they are going up, and we look at earnings, and they are going up,
those things will be indicators of how ``VETS'' is performing and
whether we are on the right track.
Question 8. It is my understanding that, under a pilot program
launched in February 2005, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is
handling certain claims under the Uniformed Services Employment and
Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) involving Federal-sector employers,
including all Federal-sector USERRA claims that also involve
allegations of a prohibited personnel practice (``mixed'' cases). It is
also my understanding that OSC personnel have expertise in identifying
mixed cases; that ``VETS'' personnel do not have that expertise; and
that ``VETS'' has declined OSC's request that it be permitted to
initially screen all Federal-sector USERRA claims in order to identify
those claims that should be handled by OSC. It has been suggested that
having ``VETS'' personnel, rather than OSC personnel, screen these
claims is not the most efficient and appropriate method for discerning
which entity will handle each claim. What is your assessment of the
current practice? Can you explain why OSC's request has been denied?
Answer. The Department takes its responsibilities under the
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) very
seriously. America's service men and women deserve no less than our
total commitment. Under USERRA, the Secretary of Labor is charged with
primary responsibility for enforcing the reemployment and other rights
of service members and veterans. USERRA directs the Secretary to
undertake a multitude of tasks, including providing assistance
concerning statutory rights, receiving complaints, conducting
investigations, resolving disputes, forwarding certain claims to other
Federal agencies for enforcements, issuing regulations, submitting
reports to Congress, and conducting various outreach activities.
To that end, we have worked very hard to ensure that we respond
quickly to requests for assistance or complaints received from our
constituent service members. The data we have compiled for fiscal year
2004 shows that 84 percent of the 1,440 USERRA cases we received that
year were closed within 90 days, and 92 percent of those cases were
closed within 120 days or less. We believe we have a strong record of
success in resolving our USERRA cases in a fair and timely fashion.
The 3-year pilot project involving the Department of Labor and the
Office of Special Counsel (OSC), established pursuant to the Veterans
Benefits Improvement Act of 2004 (VBIA), Pub. L. 108-454, is currently
underway. Under the terms of the 3-year demonstration project, the
Department of Labor will transfer odd-numbered USERRA cases to OSC for
review, investigation, and possible enforcement. Working with OSC, we
have developed a procedure for referring USERRA cases that will ensure
that our claimants' cases are processed as quickly and efficiently as
possible. In that regard, our investigative staff has been instructed
to forward any USERRA cases with any likely or potential prohibited
personnel practices (PPPs) to our national office for review before
forwarding to OSC. ``VETS'' is following the processes we have
established with OSC, and to date, 48 cases have been transferred under
the pilot project.
I recognize the importance of handling the claims of Federal Sector
employees promptly. I do agree that OSC investigators have expertise in
identifying possible prohibited personnel practices in USERRA claims.
However, I also believe having OSC review in the first instance of all
Federal-sector USERRA cases will result in unnecessary delay,
duplication of effort, and claims bouncing back and forth between our
two agencies.
I favor an approach that has been proposed by the Special Counsel
himself and is under discussion between our two agencies. Under OSC's
most recent proposal, DOL investigators would receive training in
prohibited personnel practices, or ``PPPs,'' by working along side OSC
personnel for a specific period of time. Once trained, they would
return to DOL where they, in turn, would train other ``VETS''
investigators on how better to recognize PPP issues. I think the
Special Counsel's proposal makes sense. It provides a useful framework
for resolving this issue and ensuring that ``mixed cases'' will be
handled efficiently.
If confirmed by the Senate, I intend to work cooperatively and
collaboratively with the Office of Special Counsel, ESGR and the
Department of Justice to resolve all other issues regarding how best to
handle USERRA claims.
In addition, we have developed a number of tools, including an
electronic online complaint form, the ``VETS'' e1010, which will allow
for an even more efficient transfer of USERRA cases from ``VETS'' to
OSC. The e1010 can be completed in a very short time, and contains
features that automatically allow for the immediate transfer of
appropriate odd-numbered USERRA cases to OSC while providing the
claimant notice that his or her claim has been transferred. If
confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Veterans' Employment and Training,
I fully intend to continue to work in cooperation with OSC under the
terms set forth under the VBIA.
Question 9. Do you have any conflicts of interest which you have
not fully disclosed to the Committee? Do you know of any other matter
which, if known to the Committee, might affect the Committee's
recommendation to the Senate with respect to your nomination?
Answer. I have no conflicts of interest that I have not fully
disclosed to the Committee, nor do I know of any other matter that, if
known to the Committee, might affect the Committee's recommendation to
the Senate with respect to my nomination.
Question 10. Have you fully and accurately provided financial and
other information requested by the Committee, and do you now affirm
that the information provided is complete, accurate, and provided in a
form not designed to evade or deceive?
Answer. I have fully and accurately provided all information
requested by the Committee, and 1 affirm that the information provided
is complete, accurate, and provided in a form not designed to evade or
deceive.
Question 11. If you are confirmed, can this Committee count on you
to appear personally at Committee hearings when asked? Will you ensure
that this--Committee is provided with timely responses to requests for
non-privileged information, materials, and documents that may be
requested by the Committee in its oversight and legislative capacities?
In that regard, can you tell me whether there are any outstanding
requests for information, including post-hearing questions, pending
before ``VETS'' and when this Committee should expect to receive
responses to any outstanding requests?
Answer. If confirmed, I will endeavor to honor requests to appear
before the Committee and provide timely responses to all requests by
the Committee.
I am aware that there are still outstanding written responses to
questions posed by the Committee following the oversight hearing on
``VETS'' held on April 19, 2005. These responses are still awaiting
final clearance from the Office of Management and Budget.
Chairman Craig. Thank you very much. Thank both of you
very much for those very valuable and well-placed statements.
Mr. Terry, the mission of the Board of Veterans Appeals is
to conduct hearings and dispose of appeals in a timely manner.
What do you see as the Chairman's role with regard to that
mission, and how have your professional experiences prepared
you to lead the board toward accomplishing that mission?
Mr. Terry. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. As you know,
the statute provides that the board is under the administrative
control and supervision of its chairman, and certainly as
chairman, if confirmed, I will report directly to the Secretary
and ensure that the board does everything it possibly can to
accomplish the mission to serve our Nation's veterans and their
families. Sir, it requires leadership, the ability to work
cooperatively with others, and the ability to envision and
effectuate constructive change, and I assure you, sir, that
this is precisely what I will do and what I will further as
chairman of the board. Thank you, sir.
Chairman Craig. Earlier this year, Secretary Nicholson
testified before this Committee that as a Presidential
initiative, improving the timeliness and the accuracy of claims
processing remains VA's top priority for VA's benefits
programs. Do you yet have a sense of what measures you would
implement at the board to help VA accomplish the goal of
improving the timeliness and the accuracy?
Mr. Terry. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I agree, accurate and
timely claims processing must be the principal focus of our
board, and it will remain that, but we are just part of the
equation, sir. The Veterans Benefits Administration led by
Admiral Cooper has cognizance over all the 57 regional VA
regional offices whose decisions may be appealed to our board,
and together we are working hard to reduce the time required to
process these claims, that is the claims from the date of
filing of the Notice of Disagreement with the regional office's
determination to the resolution of an appeal before the board.
We are likewise working to do a number of other things,
sir, to increase the timeliness. We are working to increase the
efficiencies through effective in-house training, use of
technology where appropriate, Mr. Chairman, and improvement of
our current error-free decision rate, which currently stands at
90 percent. We are also providing training to our attorneys and
veterans law judges, sir, to write more concise and organized
decisions that can be issued in a more timely way.
Organizationally, we are trying to conduct more of our
hearings by video conference rather than by travel boards. Sir,
we do more than 8,000 hearings per year. Video conferences
would save on judges and counsels' time spent away from writing
decisions. If confirmed, sir, I will also try to improve our
internal processes, and by that I mean we need to look at our
docketing system, our intake process, and certainly we need to
develop meaningful goals for the productivity of our staff to
measure their performance in a meaningful way, and we are
working on that very hard at this time.
Now, we have also developed realistic goals for our
veterans law judges and our attorneys through a fair-share
system that we have developed to better manage our caseload.
Senator, when a system processes approximately 40,000 cases a
year, as we do, we must take advantage of each of these
measures to ensure that all of our professionals are as
productive as possible. I assure you that I am totally
committed to these principles.
Chairman Craig. In Fiscal Year 2004, the U.S. Court of
Appeals for Veterans Claims remanded over 1100 cases to the
board. Approximately 80 percent of the cases, it decided on the
merits. Do you know if the board tracks the reason for each
court remand and whether they are based on error by the board,
and do you believe measures can be taken to reduce the rate of
court remands?
Mr. Terry. Thank you, Senator. Sir, the board has currently
established a quality review unit which reviews every remand
from the court and conducts a trend analysis of all issues
remanded. It is important to note that most cases appealed to
the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims involve several
issues, and when the court resolves all but one of these
issues, for example, and sends that issue back to the board for
further adjudication, the case is listed as a remand, not as an
adjudicated case, not as a decided case.
It is also important to understand that many of the remands
are based on changes in the law from that which controlled when
the BVA decision was made. Others are based on an honest
difference in judgment between the reviewing judge at the Court
of Appeals for Veterans Claims and the deciding veterans law
judge at the board. About 60 percent, sir, of these cases, of
these remands, are never seen by a Court of Appeals for Veteran
Claims judge, but represent actions by the court staff and
attorneys who are involved in the case to dispose of the
appeal.
We all have much work to do to limit the number of remands
and to better serve our veterans. I assure you, Mr. Chairman,
that I will work very hard to ensure that that occurs.
Chairman Craig. Well, Mr. Terry, thank you very much. I
have other questions, and we will submit them to you in writing
for the response. Because of the time constraints we are under
this morning, I will not ask them here before the Committee.
Mr. Ciccolella, I am going to run to the floor and vote.
That is a fast walk, and then I will be back.
Mr. Ciccolella. We will certainly wait for you, Senator.
Chairman Craig. So I trust you all will chill out for just
a few moments. I am going to leave the Committee un-recessed in
case other Members come prior to my returning, and I will ask
the staff to allow them to ask questions of you and to preside
as if the Committee were in session, as it will be, without a
Chairman.
STATEMENT OF HON. KEN SALAZAR, U.S. SENATOR
FROM COLORADO
Thank you very much. I will step out and get a couple of
votes made, and I will be right back. Thank you and I
appreciate your patience.
[Pause.]
Senator Salazar. Thank you. Senator Craig just met me in
the hallway, and he said I could come in and take over as
temporary Chair. So I know we are continuing to hold this
hearing of two very important nominations and continuing to try
to get through a series of votes on the floor this morning. So
I just appreciate your patience as you watch us work in doing
the Nation's business on the Senate floor.
Today, the nominations of both of you are an important
consideration for all of us, and I am proud to say that both of
you come with the kinds of qualifications and distinctive
records that I expect that you will receive my support and
receive the support of many Members of the U.S. Senate. Both of
you have served our country honorably in Vietnam, and for your
service, we very much appreciate your sacrifice for our
country. You also have spent most of your lives working on
behalf of the public, a noble calling, and I appreciate your
willingness to continue to do that on behalf of our Nation's
veterans, especially because we must make sure that we honor
our Nation's commitment to the veterans of our country.
Over the last few weeks, this Committee has had some
difficult times. We have tried to address the budget crisis
that we find our veterans health care in today. The
announcement that VHA was short some $1 billion for this fiscal
year has caused significant concern and lots of discussion here
in this Committee as well as with the Veterans Administration
and with Secretary Nicholson. From my point of view, the work
that we need to do in that arena is just beginning. We can fix
a short-term problem for this year with a fiscal addition of
money into veterans health care, but longer term, it is going
to be very important for all of us to make sure that we are
addressing that issue so that we don't have the same problem in
the years ahead.
I am sure most Americans probably have never heard of the
two positions that you have been nominated for by our
President, the Board of Veterans Appeals and the Office of
Veterans Employment and Training Service, but I will tell you
that the veterans community and the veterans service
organizations that work with veterans all the time know of the
critical importance of both of your roles.
Chick, I know you came to see me in my office and we talked
a lot about employment opportunities for veterans and ideas
that you might have with respect to how we can provide
additional employment opportunities for veterans. So my first
question is going to be to you. I have spent time in my State
in Colorado Springs where we have over a hundred thousand
veterans that live within that community, and Fort Carson is a
place where we have deployed many of our soldiers to Iraqi and
Afghanistan. One of the things that we are preparing for in
Fort Carson today is the expansion of our troop presence there
at Fort Carson, but as part of that conversation, one of the
things that I asked the business community who was present
there that day was whether or not there were additional things
that we could be doing in our State of Colorado as citizens to
try to help the transition of our soldiers from active status
over to veteran status and try to help them find employment
opportunities. I would like you to comment on that, if you
would.
Mr. Ciccolella. Thank you, Senator Salazar. You represent a
great State in Colorado. We have a good State director out
there, and we have a very good program for both the active duty
and the Reserve component units that are mobilizing and then
demobilizing. We run a lot of the transition assistance
programs, as you know, from Fort Carson, and we also are
working with the State Adjutant General, as you and I discussed
earlier, to look at what the requirements are for the Reserve
component units and Guard units as they come back, and things
are changing today. Their requirements are changing. These
organizations, units, have gone to their deployments, whether
they are in Bosnia, Herzegovina, Iraq, Afghanistan or whether
they are deployed in other areas in the War on Terror.
When they come back, they, we find frequently, are coming
back to the same jobs or they may have problems with
reinstatement, but in any case, they may be looking for another
job, and for that reason, we believe we can be available for
them and are being available to help with transition assistance
when they demobilize. We run a lot of transition assistance
employment workshops, or the modified version of the existing
transition workshop that we provide to active duty
servicemembers for these Guard and Reserve servicemembers.
Now, you mentioned the employer community. One of the
things that Secretary Chao and our employment training
administration, myself, and my predecessor Fred Juarbe have
tried to do is to make the workforce system as much a demand-
driven, business-driven system as we can. We need to get the
employers and the one-stop career centers hooked up so the
employers provide the job requirements, and then our veteran
employment representatives can profile the requirements of the
veterans and make that match, and I think that, as you
mentioned, you reached out to the employer community, those 20
leading employers in Colorado. I think it will be very
interesting to talk with them and to see if we can really make
the connection between the employer and the veteran through
that one-stop career center, because if we can do that, it is
going to be a great model for the rest of the country.
Senator Salazar. I will ask you, Chick, to help us get that
done in Colorado in a way that works for all of us.
We have been joined by Senator John Warner, who is a
distinguished Chairman of Armed Services and perhaps one of the
most distinguished Senators in the last 50 years here in this
body. I had the honor of having a wonderful meeting with him
this morning, and he personifies what is it is to be a
statesman in America, and he is here to speak on your behalf.
So I will turn it over to Senator Warner.
STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN WARNER, U.S. SENATOR
FROM VIRGINIA
Senator Warner. I thank the distinguished Chairman and
Members of the Committee. I find it a privilege to come over to
say a few words from the heart about Colonel Chick and his
family who are with him here. I was privileged to have him work
with me when I was Chairman of the Rules Committee, which was a
very long time ago, together with another wonderful Army man,
one of Chick's best friends, Grayson Wunderling, and in
preparation for these remarks--and I will ask to put my
extended statement into the record given that I must return for
the vote--Grayson Wunderling filled me on some facts which I
think are very pertinent. I am certain that the Members of the
Committee and others are familiar with his distinguished career
and, indeed, that of his wife who is likewise a public servant.
So I want to focus on that part of his career which I think
enables him to identify with the veterans all across America.
I, myself, am proud to have a very modest career in the
military, having served in World War II, one of the five
remaining Members of the Senate. Inconspicuous as it was, as a
17-year-old sailor, I didn't accomplish much before the elders
concluded that war. I want to talk about one of those elders,
your father, who came up through the ranks and fought all
through the battles of World War II and was recognized for his
courage and bravery by receiving three silver stars. Likewise,
Colonel Chick followed in his father's footsteps during
Vietnam. At that point in history, I was either Under Secretary
or Secretary of the Navy, I guess, during the last 5 years that
I served in the Pentagon, and you and your fellow compatriots,
among them Grayson Wunderling and others that I have known
through the years, performed brilliantly in that stressful and
difficult conflict, and there you are no stranger to the
battlefield, much like your distinguished father, and you too
won a silver star. That will enable you to, more than I think
anything else, gain the confidence and trust of the people with
whom you will serve in the Department of Veterans Affairs and,
most importantly, all across the land the veterans who will
look to you for fairness and for leadership and for recognition
that all veterans so richly deserve for their service to
country.
We are in this room, Mr. Chairman, enjoying the most
important and precious thing we have, freedom of speech,
freedom of assembly because of the generations of men and women
who have gone across this land and left our shores to protect
those freedoms, and today this Nation is gripped in difficult
conflict, perhaps the most challenging in the history of
mankind, that is non-state sponsored conflict. We are engaged
in a hearing in my Committee this morning on trying to
determine what is Congress' role in establishing a clear
definition of how we deal with detainees and others who we must
take into our custody to gain intelligence which is vital to
the men and women of the armed forces and, indeed, others here
at home to protect ourselves.
I had a chance to visit with our distinguished Chairman
Craig, and as long as I have been around, I didn't realize that
the Department of Veterans Affairs, next to the Pentagon, has
the largest number of civilian employees. So you have an
awesome task, but you sure come with the credentials to do it.
So I will put this in the record, and I thank the
distinguished Chair, and wish you well. As I told you
throughout the time I have known you, you are on your own now.
Good luck.
[The prepared statement of Senator Warner follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. John Warner, U.S. Senator from Virginia
Chairman Craig, Senator Akaka, and my other distinguished
colleagues on the Senate's Veterans' Affairs Committee, I thank you for
holding this confirmation hearing for Charles Ciccolella, or--Chick--as
I have come to affectionately know him.
Today, I am proud to present Col. Chick, a fellow Virginian, to the
Committee as the President's nominee to be Assistant Secretary of Labor
for Veterans' Employment and Training.
Chick is supported here today by his wife Donna, a fellow civil
servant with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Their daughter
Connie, also a civil servant with the General Services Administration,
was not able to make it today. But, you can see the dedication to civil
service throughout his family, and I thank them for that.
The position of Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans'
Employment and Training is a very important one for our veterans and
transitioning servicemembers, and it is a position which Chick is
familiar with as he currently serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary
of Labor for Veterans' Employment and Training.
As Assistant Secretary, he would be responsible for ensuring that
the Veterans' Employment and Training Service (``VETS'') provided the
resources and support necessary to help veterans succeed in today's
workforce.
How fortunate we are that someone as eminently qualified as Chick
is willing to serve in this critical position.
Chick graduated from Auburn University and later earned a Master's
Degree from Central Michigan University. Just as important as his
formal education is for this position, Chick also had a distinguished
28 year career in the United States Army, serving with the 101st
Airborne during Vietnam and later in several other troop command and
staff positions.
After the army, he began his public service with the State
Department and then with the U.S. Senate for the Rules Committee and
the Senate Sergeant at Arms. In 2001, Chick began his career with the
Department of Labor, where he has served with distinction.
On a more personal note, I must point out that I have seen first-
hand the dedication and care that he applies to his work. When I was a
Member of the Rules and Administration Committee, Chick served
admirably as the Director of Information Technology Policy for the
Committee.
Mr. Chairman, I am certain that Chick will continue to be a strong
asset for the Department of Labor as Assistant Secretary of Labor for
Veterans' Employment and Training. For these reasons and more, I offer
my highest recommendation in regard to this nominee, and urge my
colleagues to support his nomination.
Mr. Ciccolella. Thank you, Senator Warner.
Senator Salazar. Thank you very much, Senator Warner.
I have about a minute and a half or 2, so I am going to
have to leave as well, but let me ask a question of you, Mr.
Terry, concerning the Board of Veterans Appeals, the thousands
upon thousands of veterans that have to go through that
appellate process. As Senators, we all represent veterans in
our State, and we sometimes get concerns about the delay that
they encounter in going through the Board of Veterans Appeals
process. I was wondering whether you could share with the
Committee your ideas on how you we might be able to improve
that process and avoid the kinds of delays that we are
encountering now.
Mr. Terry. Thank you very much, Senator Salazar. We are
embarking on a process that includes a number of measures that
hopefully will help us both reduce the backlog of pending
appeals and also speed the process of resolution of the cases
before us. We are certainly looking at improved efficiencies.
We are trying to work very hard on ensuring that we have a
quicker intake process, that we improve our docketing system,
that we write shorter, more concise decisions with the existing
full-time employees we have.
We also are doing a great deal in training, sir. We are
trying very hard to ensure that we are looking at all economies
that are available to us in terms of the manner in which we
focus on the real issues of the case and shorten decisions so
that we can move more of them through the system.
Sir, we are turning out--last year, we turned out 38,000
decisions. That is with 56 judges and 228 lawyers. That means
that each of our lawyers is writing a 15 to 25-page decision
nearly every day, close typed. That is a lot of work. We have
to find better ways to get it done. We are. We are looking at
economies of scale, and we are finding ways that we can make
our people more proficient. They are a wonderful group of
attorneys, Senator. They truly are. They are truly
professional, and they are doing yeoman work for this country,
and I need you to know that, sir.
Senator Salazar. Thank you, Mr. Terry. There has been some
suggestion that the administrative law judges be decentralized
out across the country, and I am wondering what your thoughts
are on that potential decentralization.
Mr. Terry. Sir, we do not think that is a positive
approach, and let me tell you why. The way we are structured
within the department today, attorneys are able to maintain a
consistency of decisionwriting by ensuring that the decisions
are available quickly to each of the attorneys and each of the
judges as they come out in the central office. We also are able
to take advantage of the experience of certain judges who have
tremendous expertise in each of several areas, and having them
available as resources for our other judges who may not have
that expertise in that particular area is worth its weight in
gold, and with the numbers, sir, of decisions that we are
writing each year, it is critically important that we have both
the consistency and the availability of readily available
assets, the ability to have attorneys move from one case to
another very quickly and assist one another, and having them in
a centralized location allows us to do that.
In terms of economies of scale, sir, I believe we can be
far more efficient the way we are currently structured. That
doesn't mean, sir, that we are not working very, very hard with
the regional offices. You need to know that our travel teams
that go out to each of the regional offices to hold hearings,
and of course each person who appeals a decision of the
regional office staff has the right to have a hearing on
appeal, our staff----
Senator Salazar. I appreciate that, Mr. Terry. Where I
would like to go with this is there are issues out there with
how we can streamline the process and how we can make it
better, and I look forward to working you and I am sure Members
of this Committee do as well. I have, I am told, 1 minute to
get to the vote. So I see that our distinguished Chairman of
this Committee has returned, and there is no question that he
has the best interests of veterans in his heart and in his
mind.
So I look forward to working with both of you, and
congratulations on your careers.
Mr. Ciccolella. Thank you, Senator.
Mr. Terry. Thank you, Senator.
Chairman Craig. Senator, thank you. I appreciate it.
Let me conclude our questioning with you, Mr. Ciccolella.
In Fiscal Year 2006, the Veterans Employment and Training
Services plans to dispense $162 million in grants to States to
fund the Disabled Veterans Outreach Program, DVOP I believe we
call it, and the Local Veterans Employment Representative
program, and let us see, we call that LVER.
Mr. Ciccolella. Yes, sir.
Chairman Craig. See, I am new to this. So I am really
working on all these.
If you are confirmed, what measures would you take to
ensure that the money is well spent, and are there measurable
performance outcome standards in place for that purpose?
Mr. Ciccolella. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, what we do before we send out the money to
the States is we require the State to come to us with their
plan for how they intend to provide priority service to
veterans in all of the 19 Department of Labor-funded job
training or job placement programs. We also require them to
tell us how those DVOPs and LVERs, those veteran employment
representatives, are going to be integrated in the one-stop
career centers. You have 24 of those LVERs and DVOPs, for
example, in Idaho. It is important that they be integrated
because if the DVOP and the LVER are well integrated, that
means they know the other programs, and when veterans come into
that one-stop, they are able to direct the veteran after making
the assessment, and if they need training, great, then they can
get the training. If they need placement, then they can get the
placement.
We require the States to report to us on six measures. We
require them to report on veterans and disabled veterans. We
require them to report on how many veterans are employed, what
the retention rates are after 6 months, and we require them to
report on the employments after veterans have received
counseling or job referral, more intensive services. Now, we
also require the States to report separately on 17 performance
measures, and those measures are geared to the individual
veteran employment representative. What we also require is that
those additional 17 measures be the basis for the position
descriptions and the evaluations, the performance management
plans, of those veteran employment representatives. So the DVOP
or the LVER knows what the performance standards are.
We have pretty good success with that. Obviously, it varies
State to State and obviously it varies one-stop center to one-
stop center. Now, what we need to further improve, that is, to
improve the relationships with our Federal State Directors and
the State workforce agencies, and we need to provide more
information and assistance to the State workforce agencies so
they understand title 38, the requirements, the priority of
service, because in many cases, things are not being done
because people don't understand the law.
Chairman Craig. Thank you. In a 1999 transition commission
report, it was noted that male veterans age 20 to 24 have
higher unemployment rates than non-veterans of the same age.
More recently, during the first quarter of 2005, one of five
male veterans age 20 to 24 was unemployed. That is almost
double the unemployment rate for non-veterans of the same age
group. If you are confirmed, what measure will you take to
address what appears to be a long-standing and troubling
pattern of unemployment among those young veterans groups?
Mr. Ciccolella. Mr. Chairman, you are exactly right. This
is a long-standing issue. It has been this way for about 25 to
30 years. When the Bureau of Labor Statistics takes this
measurement through their household survey of the age group 20
to 24, those rates vary. In January, the rate was 20 percent
employment; in April, at 7 percent; and May comes out to about
11 percent. We are dealing with a small cohort of people. So
the statistics will vary.
Now, when you look at the age group 20 to 24, these
veterans, they are recently separated. They are coming out of
the service. So we know that this is a turbulent period of time
for them. What I am trying to do is tell you why the issue
occurs, because I think that is what you have to know. You have
to try to understand the issue first. It is a turbulent period.
So it is just like the 18- and 19-year-olds when they come into
the workforce for the first time. Their unemployment rates are
high because they are first-time entrants into the workforce.
The other thing is that servicemembers--and I was talking
to Dr. Chu about this over at Defense the other day, and they,
incidentally, are very aware of the issue and work with us very
closely. The Defense Department funds, obviously, the
unemployment insurance for veterans when they first come out of
service if they are not employed. So what we find anecdotally
is that some young veterans will resist taking the first job
that is available and may be more selective because they have
the advantage of the unemployment insurance. Now, that helps us
understand what the problem is, but that doesn't help us
address it.
What we need to do to address it, I believe, is to beef up
our Transition Assistance Program and orient it more toward
these recently separated veterans. In that regard, we are
working very closely with the Defense Department because we are
only getting about 60 percent of the transitioning veterans
through the TAP workshop, or Transition Assistance Program
employment worksop, and it would be nice to get a 100 percent
of them. So the Defense Department now is working with us to
try to make this Transition Assistance Program employment
workshop more of a mandatory event for separating service
members. I think we can knock some of these numbers down when
we do that, because servicemembers who go to that transition
assistance employment workshop, we get really good reviews on
that, and servicemembers need that transition assistance and
they need to understand about resumes and skills and their
networking abilities and those sort of things. So I think we
can knock it down that way.
Chairman Craig. You use the figure 60 percent attend these
training sessions. It is voluntary at the moment?
Mr. Ciccolella. Well, yes. It is interesting how it works.
When you separate from service, you get a pre-separation
counseling sheet, and you can indicate on there if you want
transition assistance services. Sometimes a servicemember, like
maybe a senior servicemember, already has a job. So he or she
may not opt to go through the transition assistance employment
workshop. But there are other cases where, because of
operational needs, a commander might not be able to release the
servicemember for that, and I think the Defense Department and
the Labor Department and the Department of Veterans of Affairs,
because they have the disabled TAP program, we are working
together to try to make and encourage more servicemembers to
enroll in that workshop.
Chairman Craig. We will ask you to come back a year from
now and report on that to see if we can't improve that a great
deal. It sounds like we are missing the obvious, because
apparently the track record coming out of that training session
works.
Mr. Ciccolella. It does work.
Chairman Craig. Let me ask one last question, and you
approached it in your opening statement, and then I will turn
to my colleague, Senator Thune, before we close this hearing
out.
You mentioned the 116th National Guard Brigade team that is
based in Boise, but in Iraq at the moment. I had the
opportunity to visit with them. I took the Secretary with me as
we went there, and they are one now of thousands of Guards and
Reserve units across this Nation that are in Iraq, and we are
using our Guard and Reserve very, very heavily at this moment.
I am committed to helping ensure that when they return, they
will have a seamless transition back into civilian life, and of
course that is going to be awfully important for all of them.
If you are confirmed, what measures will you take to make
certain that the re-employment rights of Guard and Reserve
personnel are protected, and what measures will you take to
ensure that Guard and Reserve personnel will be provided with
timely and comprehensive information regarding DOL's employment
and training services?
Mr. Ciccolella. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The 116th is a
great unit, has done a great job in the OIF Iraqi Theater. They
will be returning and they will be returning in, I think, the
period of November through January, as I understand it. They
will come through Fort Lewis when they do that. That will be
their demobilization point, and that is the way it is with
Guard units. They come to a major military installation and get
their de-mobilization.
What we do before they leave is we make sure that either we
or the Defense Department's Committee on Employer Support for
the Guard and Reserve brief them on their employment and re-
employment rights, among other things, before they depart, and
that certainly happened with the 116th. You have got them
spread out all over Idaho, but I think they did those briefings
in about 25 different locations. Now, when they come back, our
standard practice is that our Federal State Director gives them
a 1-hour briefing on the USERRA, the Uniform Services
Employment Re-employment Rights Act, so they understand their
employment rights and their re-employment rights and
reinstatement rights. They understand what the obligations of
the employers are.
They also understand, more importantly, how to get help. In
other words, if they cannot get their reinstatement, or their
seniority benefits or their health benefits aren't reinstated,
then they will know how to contact either us or the Department
of Defense. The Guard units are very good. So they usually have
a point of contact that they could talk to there, as well. So
that is what we are doing in terms of their employment and re-
employment rights, and if necessary, we will open up a Federal
investigation, and we do those Federal investigations.
Now, on the point about servicemembers being over there for
a period of a year or so and come back, some of them were
unemployed before they left. Some are underemployed when they
come back. They have obviously done a lot of good things when
they have been in the military, especially in the combat zone.
They have learned a lot of management skills, a lot of skills,
period, and a lot of leadership. So we make available on an as-
needed basis--and I have had every one of our State directors
contact the State Adjutant General to make sure that we can
provide, a modified transition assistance employment workshop,
and that workshop will enable each of these servicemembers to
know how to get employment assistance and what programs are
available that are operated by the Department of Labor and the
other Federal agencies in the one-stop career centers. In other
words, they will know how to access that system, and the
individuals who do that workshop facilitation are the DVOPs and
the LVERs, those veteran employment representatives that you
mentioned.
Not every unit takes advantage of this program. We are
trying to figure out what is the best model for the program,
because when the Guard units come home, you know, they are on
Ft. Lewis for like about 3 days. Then they split, and the next
time they get together may be 90 days. At the 60-day mark or
30-day mark, an individual might need employment assistance. So
it is different for every one of the States, and if the Defense
Department now, based on the GAO's recommendation, is taking
the lead, we are going to work with them to try to figure out
how to break the code on what transition employment assistance
is needed and really do a better job of making sure that they
get that employment assistance.
Chairman Craig. Well, I thank you for that comment. This
Committee and I have expressed very real concern to the
Department of Defense and we recognize with veteran services
that these men and women are coming not back to a base and to a
unit that is family in itself where they obviously are
employed, because they are full-time career, but they are going
back into civilian life, and we know that there are going to be
some difficulties with them both physically and mentally. One
of the ways to ease them back in is to assure that they can get
back into that job they left, if they left a job. That is going
to be a tremendously valuable base to them as will be the home
and the family, and we have got unprecedented numbers at hand
now.
So I am pleased to see you are focused on that. We will
stay with you on that to watch it because the Committee and I
have expressed our concern.
Senator Thune, thank you for coming by. The balance of the
time is yours.
STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN THUNE, U.S. SENATOR FROM SOUTH DAKOTA
Senator Thune. Since you put it that way, thank you, Mr.
Chairman, and I want to thank our nominees for your tremendous
record of service to our country, both in the military and
subsequent to that. I can't say enough how appreciative we are
of that service.
Mr. Terry, I noted in your remarks, as well, that your
father was a Navy pilot, as was mine, and also that your
father-in-law was at Pearl Harbor. My Uncle Gibb was at Pearl
Harbor on December 7th of 1941. So there is a lot of Navy
history there, but you both have resumes that speak for
themselves about your commitment and dedication to this country
and to its principles and its freedom. So thank for that
service, and I look forward to working with both of you in your
new positions. Obviously, this is something of great importance
to our Nation, making sure that we are doing right by our
veterans and that the programs that are in place to assist them
are administered in a way that is actually beneficial and a
service to them.
I am sure these questions have already been asked, and I
probably won't belabor the point, Mr. Chairman, and get on with
business, but I am interested as we move forward, Mr. Terry, in
taking some steps that will streamline and lessen this
bureaucracy and these terrible delays that we deal with on
appeals for our veterans, and I have had conversations with
you. I know you are very committed to that purpose as well.
Mr.--is it Ciccolella?
Mr. Ciccolella. Ciccolella.
Senator Thune. I am sorry. I wasn't here when you were
introduced. So I didn't want to butcher your name.
Chairman Craig. You didn't do any better than I did. Now we
have got it down.
Mr. Ciccolella. Believe me, I learned to tie my shoes
first.
Senator Thune. It is very reassuring to know that I am
following the Chairman's example here.
But I also think it is important, and the Chairman
mentioned that we have an extraordinarily high number of people
in the Guard that have served, and as they return in these
employment issues, and also, of course, people in active duty
who are coming back from these different theaters, some of whom
are disabled, and making sure that they have the necessary
training to get back into the labor pool. That is an incredibly
important priority, and I hope that you will be very focused on
that.
If you feel the need to comment, feel free, but I don't
have a specific question. I think those questions have probably
been asked, but these are both issues and areas that are of
great importance to our veterans, and we want to do justice to
them. So thank you for your service and for your willingness to
stay involved in public service and the good work that you are
going to do on behalf of America's veterans. I would welcome,
and I am sure the Chairman would as well, suggestions that you
might have in terms of legislation that might help us better
accomplish those objectives, knowing full well that funding is
also a major issue in that process.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Craig. Senator, thank you very much.
Let me check with staff, but I believe Senator Murray is in
route. Is this correct?
Then we will keep the Committee open--I think the last vote
is about to start and proceed in that manner. So we will not
recess again, but stand down at least until Senator Murray
arrives thank you.
[Pause.]
[Whereupon, at 11:46 a.m., the Committee adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
----------
Prepared Statement of Hon. Daniel Akaka, U.S. Senator from Hawaii
Thank you, Chairman Craig, for holding this hearing. Today the
Committee will examine the nominations of two individuals for two very
important positions.
Mr. Charles S. Ciccolella is nominated to be Assistant Secretary of
Veterans' Employment and Training (``VETS'') for the Department of
Labor (DOL). Mr. James P. Terry is nominated to be the Chairman of the
Board of Veterans' Appeals.
Mr. Ciccolella, you have a long and distinguished career serving
this Nation and its veterans. During your tenure in the United States
Army you earned a Silver Star, the Defense Superior Service Medal, and
the Bronze Star for Valor. In your current position as Deputy Assistant
Secretary for ```VETS,'' you help veterans secure employment and
protect their rights and benefits through DOL programs. In your
interaction with the Committee, you have also been forthcoming about
the problems facing ``VETS.'' This cooperation between the
Administration and Congress makes this Committee's job much easier.
With that said, I am concerned that ``VETS'' is not always
available to provide Congress with the data that we require as an
oversight body. And with an increasing number of servicemembers
separating from military service, especially Guard and Reserves, I want
to ensure that ``VETS'' has the ability to absorb this group as they
transition from military to civilian life.
Mr. Ciccolella, this Nation is fortunate to have a person of your
character in public service. I congratulate you on your appointment and
look forward to working with you.
Mr. Terry, you also are a distinguished public servant. You are a
decorated Vietnam veteran and a former Marine JAG officer. You were
legal counsel to former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin
Powell, and worked in both the Department of Interior and the State
Department.
Mr. Terry, I need not impress on you the importance of the job
ahead of you. As Chairman of the Board of Veterans' Appeals, you would
be tasked with the responsibility for handling all claims appealed from
VA regional offices. We can expect the number of VA claims to increase
as returning soldiers from OEF/OIF become veterans. It is imperative
that you work closely with this Committee to ensure the Board has the
resources necessary to quickly adjudicate veterans claims.
Also, a recent VA inspector general's report highlighted, among
other things, that certain conditions, such as Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD), are difficult to define and be subjectively rated. I
would like to work with you to make certain that PTSD and other
disabilities that are difficult to define are adjudicated in a manner
fair to the veteran.
Lastly, I am concerned about the high remand rate of cases at the
Board. We need to work with you to fix the problems in the system that
may cause lengthy delays. Mr. Terry, thank you for accepting this
nomination. I look forward to working with you.
Mr. Chairman, thank you again for calling this hearing and thank
you to both witnesses for joining us today.
______
[Letter from Richard C. Schneider in support of the nomination of
Charles Ciccolella to be Assistant Secretary for the Veterans
Employment and Training.]
NonCommissioned Officers Association of the
United States of America,
Alexandria, Virginia 22313, July 12, 2005.
Hon. Larry E. Craig, Chairman,
Committee on Veterans' Affairs,
U.S. Senate,
SR-412, Russell Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The NonCommissioned Officers Association is
appreciative that the Committee has worked with deliberate purpose to
schedule the Confirmation Hearing for Charles S. ``Chick'' Ciccolella
to be Assistant Secretary, Veterans' Employment and Training Service at
the Department of Labor.
NCOA without any equivocation fully supports the nomination of Mr.
Ciccolella to this vital position that supports employment and training
of those separating from active duty, Guard, or Reserve forces,
veterans of military service and certain other eligible family members
of these groups. Staff members of this Association, including myself,
have been privileged to work with ``Chick'' on Appointed Advisory
Committees at the Department of Labor and the Department of Veterans
Affairs. He ably assisted those committees on recommendations involving
veterans entering the employment market from military service, homeless
veterans requiring special job preparation and training, and
preparation of specially designed transition programs for incarcerated
veterans upon release from confinement. He demonstrated over and over
again his commitment to the Department of Labor and was instrumental in
developing staff objectives and goals supporting the Assistant
Secretary/``VETS'' initiative to make ``VETS'' a 21st Century Veterans'
Employment and Training Service.
Mr. Ciccolella has the personal drive and determination coupled
with experience in and knowledge of the Department of Labor to be in
his own right a most capable and productive Assistant Secretary for
``VETS''. The Association believes it would be inexcusable for the
Committee on Veterans Affairs to not only recommend but to secure
immediate Senate Confirmation of Mr. Ciccolella as Assistant Secretary/
``VETS'' before the scheduled summer recess. America needs this
employment advocate appointed at the Department of Labor to support
military personnel returning from the Nation's War on Terrorism and to
ensure those employment policies legislated for all veterans.
Sincerely,
Richard C. Schneider,
Executive Director for Government Affairs.
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