President’s Jobs Plan has several benefits for veterans

WASHINGTON — President Biden said he believes that as Americans, all have a sacred obligation to care for our nations’ veterans and their families – both while they are deployed and after they return home. Biden said in a news release his American Jobs Plan will help meet this obligation by creating millions of good jobs for veterans and their spouses, growing opportunities for small veteran-owned businesses, and helping ensure the delivery of world-class, state-of-the-art health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The American Jobs Plan addresses the consequences of disinvestment in American infrastructure, while also addressing long-standing racial injustice and confronting the climate crisis and the ambitions of an autocratic China. Like all Americans, veterans and their families will benefit from the historic investments in our transportation infrastructure, electric grid, drinking water systems, broadband access, and our care economy. The plan will make our cities and towns stronger, but also target investments in rural communities where roughly one-quarter of our nation’s veterans and their families live.

The plan is expected to modernize Veterans Affairs facilities to deliver 21st century care.

More than 9 million veterans are enrolled in VA’s health care system, and as a result of their military service, many face significant health care needs. To meet these needs, VA operates the largest integrated health care system in the nation, with more than 1,700 hospitals, clinics and other health care facilities. The median age of U.S. private sector hospitals is 11 years; however, the median age of VA’s portfolio is 58 years, with 69% of VA hospitals over the age of 50.

The age and condition of VA facilities demand that we do better by our nation’s veterans. That is why the American Jobs Plan includes $18 billion to modernize VA health care facilities. These investments will pay long-term dividends by offsetting growing costs of older facilities while meeting the health care needs of the veterans of yesterday’s wars, the veterans of today’s wars, and the veterans of the future. Specifically, the jobs plan will:

♦ Address immediate needs at VA health care facilities with $3 billion to address immediate infrastructure needs within VA health care facilities, such as upgrades to support the growing number of women veterans, improvements to utility and building systems for more energy efficient operations, and enhancements to facility access to accommodate aging veterans. This funding also will accelerate ongoing major construction projects to provide access to high quality health care more quickly.

♦ Build state-of-the art health care facilities with $15 billion earmarked to replace outdated medical centers with state-of-the-art facilities to provide veterans the care they deserve. These funds will help replace aging facilities, incorporate a person-centered approach, and adopt best practices from across the U.S. health care system. This funding will support replacement of approximately 10-15 of the highest priority facilities.

The plan will also create quality jobs for veterans and their spouses.

Roughly 200,000 service members transition from military service each year, the majority of whom will enter the civilian labor force. Many veterans have experienced unemployment and other economic challenges due to the pandemic. As the veteran population grows increasingly diverse to include more women and veterans of color, addressing systemic racism and gender inequality will be particularly important.

To that end, the jobs plan will:

♦ Protect the health, safety, and rights of workers by providing the federal government with the tools it needs to ensure employers are providing workers with good jobs – including jobs with fair and equal pay, safe and healthy work places, and work places free from racial, gender, and other forms of discrimination and harassment. In addition to a $10 billion investment in enforcement as part of the plan’s work force proposals, the president is calling for increased penalties when employers violate workplace safety and health rules.

Target work force development opportunities in underserved communities. All of the investments in work force training in the plan will prioritize underserved communities and communities that have struggled in a transforming economy. Specifically, the American Jobs Plan will ensure that new jobs created in clean energy, manufacturing and infrastructure are readily accessible to women and people of color.

The plan will also expand opportunities for small veteran-owned businesses.

Veterans are 45% more likely to be self-employed than non-veterans. The American Jobs Plan includes historic investments to empower all small businesses, including the more than 2.5 million veteran-owned small businesses. The plan will:

♦ Expand small businesses in underserved communities. The American Jobs Plan will create a national network of federally-funded small business incubators and innovation hubs to ensure that all Americans, regardless of race or wealth, have a fair shot at starting and growing their own business.

♦ Increase engagement in the innovation economy. An investment of $5 billion in federal programs would help empower small firms to participate in federal research and research and development that has the potential for commercialization.

♦ Create a new financing facility for small manufacturers with a new financing program to co-invest with private capital in the industrial sector.