Delaware County Times
While surrounded by local residents and officials Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., discussed legislation that would help veterans find jobs based on their military experience.
“One area where there is no reason for any gridlock and no reason for any partisanship is … how we treat the men and women who have given so much to this nation — risking everything, in many cases sacrificing so much,” said Toomey during a news conference at the Media Veterans Memorial.
“And then when they come home, I think whether you are a Republican, Democrat or Independent, we ought to be able to agree that we ought to be doing everything we can to make sure that our veterans returning to this country have every opportunity they could possibly have and are treated as well as they could possibly be treated and that’s a very important priority for me.”
Toomey discussed legislation that would set up a one-year pilot program through the U.S. Department of Labor that would streamline how veterans search online for job opportunities. He said the online program would allow veterans to search for jobs based on their military skills and also allow employers to post information about vacancies. Toomey introduced Senate Bill 3316 earlier this summer.
Toomey also discussed another piece of legislation aimed toward helping veterans. Toomey said he introduced Senate Bill 1689, the Veterans Sexual Assault Prevention Act, to protect VA facility patients from sexual assault.
Toomey said this legislation was signed into law as part of a package of veterans’ health care and housing measures this summer. He said a June 2011 Government Accountability Office report prompted him to introduce that bill.
Local veterans joined Toomey during the news conference at the Media Veterans Memorial, including borough Mayor Bob McMahon, a Democrat, and state Rep. Nick Miccarelli, R-162, of Ridley Park.
“In combat, our troops are not Democrats or Republicans … and when they come home, they need bipartisan support,” said McMahon, a Vietnam War veteran.
Miccarelli, a U.S. Army veteran, also lauded Toomey’s efforts.
“I know that Sen. Toomey has been working on a bipartisan basis to get vets back to work in a difficult economy, to cut the red tape in Washington — ensuring that government agencies are best suited to assist our returning veterans — and to ensure that the medical facilities treating our veterans are secure,” Miccarelli said.
Read more: http://delcotimes.com/articles/2012/08/22/news/doc5035a5de96421897946154.txt