Policy Resolution MVA-18-37

WHEREAS, veterans account for 10 percent of the total adult population but account for 16 percent of the homeless adult population;

WHEREAS, Post-9/11 and peacetime veterans have higher poverty rates, and younger post-9/11 veterans have higher poverty rates;

WHEREAS, the Post-9/11 and pre-9/11 cohorts of veterans have the highest number of minorities;

WHEREAS, veterans ages 25-34 as well as ages 65 and over are a growing segment of the veteran unemployed population;

WHEREAS, veterans of color made up 22 percent of the total veteran population in 2014, with the two largest groups being Black at 11 percent and Hispanic at 7 percent;

WHEREAS, most minority veterans tend to have lower employed rates than non-veterans;

WHEREAS, returning veterans may find difficulty in utilizing transferable skills in their job searches; and

WHEREAS, employers can gain useful skills from veterans based on their service in the armed forces.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) supports policies that permit employers to provide preferential hiring, promoting, or retention of veterans in civilian employment;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL supports employment practices that prohibit discrimination on the basis of veterans’ status; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, and other federal and state government officials as appropriate.

• SPONSOR(s): Representative Sharon Beasley-Teague (GA), Representative Sandra Scott (GA), Representative Karen Camper (TN), and Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker (NJ)
• Committee of Jurisdiction: Military and Veterans’ Affairs Policy Committee
• Certified by Committee Chair(s): Representative Sharon Beasley-Teague (GA) and Representative Clem Smith (MO)
• Ratified in Plenary Session: Ratification Date is December 2, 2017
• Ratification is certified by: Representative Gregory W. Porter (IN), President