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RESOLUTION URGING CONGRESS TO PASS THE VETERANS JOB CORPS ACT OF 2012, S. 3457, OR SIMILAR LEGISLATION THAT WOULD PUT UNEMPLOYED VETERANS TO WORK IN CONSERVATION, RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION PROJECTS ON PUBLIC LANDS AND PROVIDE GRANTS TO HIRE VETERANS AS FIREFIGHTERS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS

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WHEREAS, ten years into the longest war in American history, members of the military and their families continue to serve the United States with honor and dignity in Afghanistan and around the world; and
WHEREAS, since September 11, 2001, almost 2.4 million Americans have served in Iraq and Afghanistan; and
WHEREAS, despite the sacrifices such service members have made, unemployment among veterans who have served on active duty since September 11, 2001 remains significantly higher than the national average; and
WHEREAS, as of August, 2012, �the United State Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, reported that there were more than 225,000 unemployed post-September 11, 2001 veterans; and
WHEREAS, as of August, 2012, the unemployment rate among post-September 11, 2001 veterans was 10.9 percent, more than two percentage points higher than the overall unemployment for August of 8.1 percent; and
WHEREAS, a number of bills have been filed in Congress that would increase job training and hiring opportunities for veterans, including:
* S. 3316 by Senators Pat Toomey (R � Pennsylvania and Richard Burr, (R � North Carolina), creating a pilot program to provide veterans with access at one-stop internet websites to facilitate online job searches;
* S. 1314 by Senator Jon Tester (D - Montana), establishing minimum funding levels for states for the support of disabled veterans' outreach program specialists and local veterans' employment representatives;
* S. 2246 by Senator John Boozman (R � Arkansas) and H.R. 4051 by Representative Marlin Stutzman (R - Indiana), providing the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) to veterans and their spouses at locations other than military installations in three to five states with the highest rates of unemployment among veterans;
* S. 3235 by Senator Mark Pryor (D � Arkansas) and H.R. 4115 by Representative Steve Stivers (R � Ohio), �requiring, as a condition of a grant or contract to a state for certain veterans' employment and training programs, that a state demonstrate the consideration of any military training received by a veteran when approving or denying a commercial driver's license or a certification to be a nursing assistant or certified nursing assistant, a registered nurse, or an emergency medical technician; and

WHEREAS, in addition to these bills, Senator Bill Nelson (D � Florida) has filed S. 3457, the Veterans Jobs Corps Act of 2012, which incorporates many of the provisions of the bills referenced above; and
WHEREAS, in addition, the Veterans Jobs Corps Act of 2012 includes provisions modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corp created during the Great Depression and directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a veteran jobs corps to employ veterans in conservation, resource management and historic preservation projects on public lands and maintenance and improvement projects for cemeteries under the jurisdiction of the National Cemetery Administration; and
WHEREAS, the Veterans Jobs Corps Act of 2012 also would provide grants to hire veterans as firefighters and law enforcement officers; and
WHEREAS, despite bipartisan consensus on the need to improve job opportunities for veterans, and in particular post-September 11, 2001 veterans, Congress has been unable to pass S. 3457 or similar legislation that would provide job opportunities, training or assistance geared toward unemployed veterans in 2012; and
WHEREAS, this Board recognizes the sacrifices veterans and their families have made for this country, and strongly urges Congress to pass legislation to assist unemployed veterans and reduce the unemployment rate among veterans, especially among those veterans who have served on active duty since September, 11, 2001,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board:
Section 1. Urges Congress to pass the Veterans Job Corps Act of 2012, S. 3457 or similar legislation that would put unemployed veterans to work in conservation, resource management and historic preservation projects on public lands and provide grants to hire veterans as firefighters and law enforcement officers.
Section 2. Directs the Clerk of the Board to transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the members of the Florida Congressional Delegation and the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Section 3. Directs the County�s federal and state lobbyists to advocate for the legislation set forth in Section 1 above and authorizes and directs the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to amend the 2012 federal legislative package to include this item and to include this item in the 2013 federal legislative package when it is presented to the Board.