Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo today issued the following statement regarding a joint program between the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to allow unemployed veterans between the ages of 35 and 60 to apply for new benefits to cover education costs for up to one year. The program will focus on retraining 99,000 veterans with the skills needed to compete for various civilian jobs.

As part of a provision of the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) to Hire Heroes Act of 2011, the Veteran Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP) allows qualifying veterans to receive up to one year of assistance equal to the full-time Montgomery G.I. Bill pay-out. The DOL will contact them within 30 days of their course completion date to assist them in finding quality jobs that will utilize their newly acquired skill set.

Open applications began on May 15, 2012 for programs that begin on or after July 1, 2012; assistance will run through March 31, 2014. To participate in the program, veterans must be unemployed the day of application and not dishonorably discharged. Veterans receiving VA compensation at the 100-percent rate for individual unemployment, veterans entitled to other forms of VA educational benefits (e.g., Post 9/11 G.I. Bill, Montgomery G.I. Bill, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment), and veterans that have been enrolled in a federal or state training program within 180 days of filing the application are not qualified. All training programs must be approved by the VA.

“I commend the Obama Administration for creating a program to provide our veterans with the opportunity to learn new skills and transition back into our civilian workforce,” said Congresswoman Bordallo. “Our veterans have sacrificed so much in defense of our freedom, and we should continue to support them now that they are home. This program will enable them to begin a new chapter in their lives with more education and practical job skills to make them more competitive in a very austere job market. I thank Secretary Hilda Solis and Secretary Eric Shinseki for working to assist our unemployed veterans with this new initiative.”