Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colom along with Representative Connor Lamb (PA-17) introduced bipartisan legislation supporting the recognition of veterans’ education during emergencies or the SERVE Act.
This legislation will ensure that the medical knowledge and qualifications received by veterans during their military training are recognized and used by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and health facilities to combat the public health emergency due to of the COVID- 19. Both congressmen re-enacted this measure during this Congress for the purpose of advancing vaccination efforts.
“The race to vaccinate American citizens against VOCID-19 has served as a reminder of how ill-prepared we were for this pandemic. There is no better group than our veterans to help us win the battle.” said Lamb. “Veterans have received the best training possible and are excited to contribute when they return to daily life. This legislation removes barriers to helping veterans serve our communities more efficiently, especially as we increase our efforts nationwide. to beat the COVID-19 “.
“SERVE legislation seeks to capitalize on the skills and knowledge acquired by our veterans and use them to help our country in this time of national emergency. It has become clear that during this pandemic, every opportunity and resource available to combat must be maximized. this deadly virus.Like those I represent, I have hope for the future and for a return to normalcy.However, pandemics and other similar emergencies will always be an imminent threat and we must be prepared for everything I am confident that this legislation puts us in a better position to respond to more emergencies in the future.I am proud to be an original co-author, alongside my colleague Representative Connor Lamb, and I look forward to continuing to work in a bipartisan way to meet our goal, ”González Colom said.
SERVE legislation is supported by the Veterans of America in Iraq and Afghanistan (IAVA), the Council of the Union of Veterans (UVC) AFL-CIO and Team Rubicon. These veterans service organizations (VSOs) cite the willingness of veterans to serve their communities again and have called on Congress to provide improvements to the current accreditation system to better recognize the medical talents of veterans. To respond to this call, the legislation SERVE:
It directs VA to identify veterans with previous occupations and specialties in the area of military medicine and to provide medical training and experience documentation via an electronic portal, allowing veterans to provide their contact information on a voluntary basis.
It allows VA to share the information of these veterans and their medical experience with their respective state government, VSOs, and state-accredited organizations, to facilitate the statewide accreditation process for qualifying veterans.
He permanently authorizes the Intermediate Care Technicians (ICT) program, which he is designing to employ people previously in the armed forces for positions in veterans ’health centers; i
It requires a study on the possibility of replicating the ICT program for other military specialties in order to expand the routes by members of the armed forces in transition to the labor force.
“I applaud the bipartisan efforts of Representatives Lamb and González Colom in introducing this important legislation,” said Jeremy Butler, CEO, IAVA. “The introduction of the SERVE Act is a timely one given the need for health professionals during this pandemic. There are hundreds of thousands of veterans with critical medical knowledge and experience. They are an unused resource and should not be overlooked. band “.
“Health professionals have been at the forefront of this pandemic for more than 14 months now and need support. We have the opportunity to create a whole new workforce, which is very excited to serve. There are hundreds of thousands of military veterans with extensive training in emergency medicine who have no way to use their talents in a time of crisis, ”said Jake Wood, CEO, Team Rubicon.
“As veterans, we are trained to serve and always ready to give battle when our country needs it. This legislation not only helps us to provide expert personnel on the COVID-19 vaccination mission, but also to give it a sense of service and purpose to many of our national heroes, ”said Will Attig, Executive Director, Union Veterans Council, AFL-CIO.