90TH CONGRESS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session REPORT No. 1158 CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 14933 March 5, 1968.—Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed Mr. BOLLING, from the Committee on Rules, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. Res. 1085] The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration House Resolution 1085, report the same to the House with the recommendation that the resolution do pass. 90TH CONGRESS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session { REPORT No. 1160 EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR VIETNAM ERA VETERANS MARCH 6, 1968.-Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed Mr. DULSKI, from the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, submitted the following REPORT together with SUPPLEMENTAL, INDIVIDUAL, AND MINORITY VIEWS [To accompany H.J. Res. 1052] The Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, to whom was referred the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 1052), to assist veterans of the Armed Forces of the United States who have served in Vietnam or elsewhere in obtaining suitable employment, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the joint resolution as amended do pass. AMENDMENTS The amendments are as follows: (1) Page 2, lines 3 and 4, strike out "it is hereby declared to be the sense of the Congress that". (2) Page 2, line 17, insert "voluntarily" immediately following "secure". (3) Page 3, line 4, strike out "reemployment" and insert in lieu thereof "employment". PURPOSE OF AMENDMENTS The purpose of the first amendment is to stress the intention of the Congress, in enacting House Joint Resolution 1052, that Government departments and agencies shall make extraordinary efforts to place returning Vietnam era veterans in Federal positions, so far as this can be done in accordance with existing law, and to secure from Govern ment contractors voluntary agreement to extend employment priority to such veterans. The amendment was adopted by a majority of the committee after a concerted move by a minority of the committee to water down the joint resolution, by substitution of a weak concurrent resolution, had failed. The amendment was approved with full awareness of existing laws that provide for counseling service to aid all returning veterans. The majority of the committee agree with the recommendation of the President (and of the Veterans' Administration, which has basic responsibility for the counseling service under existing law) that more vigorous action than has been effected previously is necessary, in the public interest, to help Vietnam era veterans find prompt and suitable employment. Enactment of a joint resolution, having the force and effect of law, is more desirable and appropriate for this purpose than enactment of a concurrent resolution, in view of the fact that a joint resolution, proposed as a law of the land, provides a firmer basis for emphasizing the necessity of an extra effort to assist Vietnam era veterans than would a concurrent resolution merely to express the sense of the Congress that this assistance ought to be provided. It is to be observed that the force and effect of House Joint Resolution 1052, when signed into law, will be to exhort Government departments and agencies, with respect to Federal employment and their efforts to secure voluntary help from Government contractors and to urge others in private enterprise to cooperate in the endeavor. It will not require any action that is not now permitted by law. Nor will it prohibit any action now permitted by law. As indicated above it is a supplemental stimulus for everyone to cooperate in a "maximum effort" program to help returning Vietnam era veterans find prompt and suitable employment in civilian life. The purpose of the second amendment is to clarify the intention of the Congress that the joint resolution, and specifically paragraph (3) of the first section thereof, has no mandatory effect on Government contractors or bidders for Government contracts, or on any other person or firm outside the Government. With the committee amendment, therefore, such paragraph (3) more clearly states the intent of the Congress that Government departments and agencies shall seek voluntary agreement from Government contractors and bidders for Government contracts to give priority in employment to returning Vietnam era veterans. Administration witnesses testified that, in recommending enactment of the joint resolution, the administration did not intend that there be any compulsion on private firms or individuals. The third amendment, which is a technical correction of a typographical error, inserts the word "employment" in place of the word "reemployment." PURPOSE OF JOINT RESOLUTION The purpose of House Joint Resolution 1052 is to promote, in both the Federal Government and private enterprise, a positive program to provide opportunities for meaningful and rewarding employment for veterans who return from military service during the Vietnam era. Enactment of a joint resolution for this purpose was recom H.R. 1160 mended by the President in his special message on veterans' benefits, submitted to the Congress on January 30, 1968 (H. Doc. 245, 90th Cong.). STATEMENT This Nation deeply appreciates and gratefully acknowledges the sacrifices made by members of our Armed Forces in Vietnam and other duty posts encircling the world-sacrifices that give them a place of high honor in our history. Words of commendation, however, cannot replace prompt and tangible action when these men and women return to civilian life. They must find that we have kept our trust with them and that their homeland is still the land of opportunity. Enactment of House Joint Resolution 1052 will reaffirm the traditional policy of the Congress to recognize the debt of gratitude the Nation owes its veterans. The committee believes it also expresses the desire of all Americans that returning veterans be welcomed back with more than words alone. The joint resolution will provide a basis to facilitate the transition and readjustment of these veterans to private life. It contemplates the establishment of a vigorous program, coordinated by the Veterans' Administration, the U.S. Civil Service Commission, and the Department of Labor, to channel the returning veterans toward employers who will be most receptive and who can offer real employment opportunities. Implementation of this program, in both the Government and private enterprise, will materially aid the veterans in finding suitable employment. The Congress resolves, by the first section of House Joint Resolution 1052, that (1) all arms of the Government shall exert every effort to place returning veterans of the Vietnam era in Federal positions and give them preference for such positions in accordance with law, and (2) that private industries contracting with the Government shall be urged to voluntarily give priority to employment of these veterans as soon as possible following their reentry into the labor market. Section 2 of the joint resolution declares it to be the sense of the Congress, as well, that all employers in private enterprise should make every effort to help carry out the objects and purposes of the joint resolution, in cooperation with the Government. Section 3 makes the provisions of this joint resolution effective until such time as they are determined, by proclamation of the President or concurrent resolution by the Congress, to be no longer essential to the public interest. COST The objects and purposes of House Joint Resolution 1052 will be effected for the Government primarily through existing facilities of the Veterans' Administration, the U.S. Civil Service Commission, and the Department of Labor, so that the increased cost to the Government, if any, will not be material. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT The favorable report of the Veterans' Administration on House Joint Resolution 1052 follows: H.R. 1160 |