,,ii #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #afcg ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,october #ca1 #bjac ,mr4 ,manchin 7for himself and ,mr4 ,kirk7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to better connect current and former members of the ,armed ,forces with employment opportunities by consolidating duplicative ,federal ,government ,internet websites into a single portal1 to conserve resources by merging redundant and competing programs1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,united ,we ,stand to ,hire ,veterans ,act4 #b4 ,consolidated and coordinated ,federal ,government ,internet portal to connect current and former members of the ,armed ,forces with employers seeking employees with skills and experience developed through military service 7a7 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,although significant progress has been made1 unemployment among veterans remains stubbornly high4 7#b7 ,the unemployment rate among younger veterans1 ages #ah to #bd1 remains well above the national average4 7#c7 ,this problem impacts the ,department of ,defense budget4 ,over the past #aj years1 the ,federal ,government has expended more than #i1fjj1jjj1jjj on unemployment compensation benefits for former members of the ,armed ,forces4 7#d7 ,the ,department makes significant investments in members of the ,armed ,forces including specialized technical training in skills that are easily transferrable to civilian career fields4 7#e7 ,beyond specific technical training1 veterans gain unique leadership1 organizational1 and other skills that make them valued employees in the private sector4 7#f7 ,government agencies1 private sector entities1 and nonprofit organizations are responding to the issue of unemployment among veterans4 7#g7 ,there are now so many programs to assist veterans in finding employment1 many within the ,government1 that veterans may not know where to turn to find assistance in finding employment4 ,while these programs are well intentioned1 many are duplicative in nature1 and compete for scarce resources4 7#h7 ,the ,department of ,labor1 the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs1 the ,department of ,defense1 and the ,office of ,personnel ,management are currently working to consolidate the veterans' employment initiatives of the ,government into a single1 consolidated ,internet portal with the goal of connecting veterans who are seeking employment with employers who want to employ them4 7#i7 ,the consolidated portal would prevent ,federal ,government agencies from competing with each other to accomplish the same goal1 and will save the ,federal ,government money while providing a comprehensive1 coordinated tool for employers and veterans seeking employment4 7#aj7 ,the ,federal ,government can accomplish this by leveraging the best practices of current programs4 7#aa7 ,while progress has been made1 there is no statutory requirement to streamline these ,government programs and coordinate the resources that are all intended to achieve the same goal4 7b7 ,consolidated ,internet portal required ,commencing not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,labor shall1 in conjunction with the ,secretary of ,defense and the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs1 consolidate ,internet portals of the ,federal ,government on employment for current and former members of the ,armed ,forces into a comprehensive consolidated ,internet portal for the purposes of connecting current and former members of the ,armed ,forces who are seeking employment with employers who want to employ them4 7c7 ,elements 7#a7 ,in general ,the consolidated ,internet portal under subsection 7b7 should include the following3 7,a7 ,a means through which current and former members of the ,armed ,forces may connect for employment purposes with employers seeking the experience and skills developed during service in the ,armed ,forces1 including a means of presenting a profile of each member or former member to employers that includes1 at a minimum-- 7i7 the skills obtained by such member or former member during service in the ,armed ,forces and additional skills such member or former member is interested in pursuing2 and 7ii7 the current or intended residence of such member or former member 7including an option for members or former members who are willing to reside in various locations74 7,b7 ,a means of permitting qualified prospective employers to post employment openings and seek contact with members or former members based on their profile for the purposes of requesting the initiation of arrangements or negotiations concerning potential employment4 7,c7 ,a means of presenting other employment resources1 including resume preparation1 to members or former members seeking employment4 7#b7 ,matters considered ,in developing the consolidated ,internet portal1 the ,secretaries referred to in subsection 7b7 should consider1 at a minimum1 the following3 7,a7 ,public and private sector resources on matters relating to the portal4 7,b7 ,opportunities to incorporate local employment networks into the portal4 7,c7 ,methodologies to determine the most effective employment resources and programs to be incorporated into the portal4 7,d7 ,means for streamlining processes through the portal for employers to find and employ former members of the ,armed ,forces4 7d7 ,member participation ,participation by a member or former member of the ,armed ,force in the consolidated ,internet portal under subsection 7b7 shall be voluntary4 ,a member or former member participating in the portal may cease participation in the portal at any time4 7e7 ,pilot project authority 7#a7 ,in general ,in order to expedite implementation of the consolidated ,internet portal under subsection 7b71 the ,secretaries may carry out one or more pilot projects to evaluate the feasibility and advisability of various options for the portal4 ,any such pilot project may only be a continuation or modification of an existing program4 7#b7 ,sunset ,the authority to carry out pilot projects under this subsection shall expire on the date that is five years after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 7f7 ,reports 7#a7 ,preliminary report ,not later than six months after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretaries shall submit to the appropriate committees of ,congress a report on the consolidated ,internet portal under subsection 7b74 ,the report shall include the following3 7,a7 ,a list of the ,internet portals of the ,federal ,government that are redundant to1 or duplicative of1 the consolidated ,internet portal4 7,b7 ,an estimate of the cost savings to be achieved by the ,federal ,government through the consolidated ,internet portal1 including through the elimination or consolidation into the consolidated ,internet portal of the ,internet portals listed under subparagraph 7,a74 7#b7 ,report following implementation of portal ,not later than one year after the date of the implementation of the portal under subsection 7b71 the ,secretaries shall submit to the appropriate committees of ,congress a report on the portal4 7#c7 ,elements ,each report under this subsection shall include a description of the portal and such other information on the portal as the ,secretaries consider appropriate4 7#d7 ,appropriate committees of ,congress defined ,in this subsection1 the term appropriate committees of ,congress means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,armed ,services1 the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions1 the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs1 and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,senate2 and 7,b7 the ,committee on ,armed ,services1 the ,committee on ,education and the ,workforce1 the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs1 and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,house of ,representatives4