Above: Gottheimer speaking on the House Floor to urge Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to support this critical provision in support of our nation’s veterans.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a provision authored by U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer to ensure that veterans in North Jersey and nationwide are prioritized to receive access to high-quality job training, workforce development, and career services. These skills will help our veterans transition back into civilian life, reach their career goals, and support themselves and their families. Gottheimer’s provision was included in the bipartisan Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2022, which passed the House this week.

Earlier this week, Gottheimer spoke on the House Floor to urge Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to support this critical provision in support of our nation’s veterans. Watch Gottheimer’s remarks on the House Floor here.

“After serving our country and putting their lives on the line to defend our freedom and our democracy, our nation’s veterans should ever have to struggle to get the care, employment opportunities, and resources they’ve earned. We should always have their backs,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “But far too often, our veterans face issues finding employment. Data shows that unemployment rates are higher for veterans than nonveterans. My provision that just passed the House will ensure veterans are prioritized to receive federal career resources, to help them transition back into civilian life, reach their career goals, and care for their families.”

Data shows that the unemployment rate of veterans ages 18 to 65 is higher than the unemployment rate of nonveterans.

Gottheimer’s provision adds our nation’s brave veterans to the group of Americans that must receive at least 75% of investment allocated to local areas for career, training, or supportive services, as required by the bipartisan legislation. 

Gottheimer’s work to support service members, veterans, and veteran families includes:

• Gottheimer’s first piece of legislation passed in Congress was to expand hiring of post-9/11 veterans.

• Last week, the House just unanimously passed Gottheimer’s overwhelmingly bipartisan amendment to the bipartisan Community Services Block Grant Modernization Act. Gottheimer’s amendment helps states, including New Jersey, more fully support homeless veterans by deploying federal Community Services Block Grant Program investment to support our brave veterans, particularly homeless veterans. 

• A few weeks ago, Gottheimer joined his colleagues in passing a 2.7% pay raise for members of the military to ensure we’re getting the back of those who bravely have ours.

• Late last year, Gottheimer helped pass in the House the bipartisan Student Veterans Counseling Centers Eligibility Act, which will expand access to mental health services for veterans utilizing their GI Benefits at colleges and universities through established Vet Centers. 

• In March, Gottheimer helped pass the bipartisan Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act to help expand access to G.I. benefits for members of our military who serve in the National Guard and Reserves, as they do not receive the same access to vital G.I. Bill benefits.

• Also in March, working with members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, Gottheimer helped pass in the House the Honoring our PACT Act to help veterans exposed to burn pits — covering veterans dating back to 1991 and Operation Desert Storm, and through our more recent post-9/11 conflicts. This included Gottheimer’s key provisions to address the mental health impacts of toxic exposure for veterans and to ensure VA information on toxic exposure illnesses is published in multiple languages, like Korean and Spanish, to help even more of our veterans.

• In North Jersey, Gottheimer has been fighting for expanded access to health care services, and helped establish the mental health care services at the VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) in Newton in Sussex County. He has also been working to cut through red tape with the VA Community Care Network to ensure eligible North Jersey veterans are able to receive referrals for community care at ImageCare Centers across the Fifth District. He has made critical progress on that front, and, now, more veterans in his district have greater access to health care.

###