13 small ideas that can equal big job creation

All this “I Love The Military More” talk doesn’t have to be empty. Next month, Obama is rolling out his big jobs initiative. If he wants to put some muscle behind his words, there are some surprisingly simple things he can do. Some are even free and most don’t require Congress at all. Although, Congress is always welcome to show more love to our troops. Be forewarned, some of these are going to upset the big donors, however, if you’re really interested in curbing the extra ordinarily high unemployment of our military dependents and our veterans, consider:

1)    Establish a system of national certification or at least national reciprocity for careers that are commonly held by military spouse (e.g. education, medicine, banking, real estate, health and beauty). Why? Because local employer’s pigeon hole military dependents as job hoppers and they won’t invest in them knowing they will be gone in a couple of years. And because state-by-state recertification wastes significant time and money before a dependent can even start looking for employment. How? Tell the DoD and the DOL to make it happen and tell states with military bases to comply or risk losing their base to a state that will.

2)    Require federal agencies to adhere to (and states using federal dollars) the Buy America and Buy American Acts. Why? Taxpayers want to invest in other taxpayers and because if we don’t believe in the superiority of the American worker and their products, no one else will either. How? The laws are already in place; simply enforce them before a government contract is awarded.

3)    Require federal agencies (and states using federal dollars) to adhere to local preference, minority owned business preference and veteran preference. Why? Small businesses, minorities and veterans have been hardest hit by this economy and research shows investing in those three areas offers the most significant return on investment. How? Again these laws are on the books, enforcing them is just a matter of priorities.

4)    Require all states to offer unemployment to relocating military spouses. Currently twenty nine states categorize military spouses as not eligible because they quit their job voluntarily when their Sailor, Soldier, Airman, Marine or Coastie was permanently stationed elsewhere. Why? Because this is a significant loophole in the system that forces our bravest families to suffer or apply for other, more expensive government assistance. How? Tell Governors that they have to choose between the additional burden on their system and the benefits of having a base in their state.

5)    Require the DoD , the DOL and the DOE to finally create a nationally recognized certification for military training. Currently, a Sailor can spend twenty years as a shipboard firefighter and, upon retirement, have to apply to be accepted into the Firefighting Academy in his hometown. Why? Because that is a ridiculous brain and experience drain.  How? The President can make this happen by Executive Order. States that refuse to comply can risk losing their military bases and unions that protest should be reminded of the economic benefit government contracting on those bases brings to their members.

6)    Require the DoD, the DOL, the DOE and the VA to create a nationally recognized certification for veterans. Every veteran has a DD 214 that details their training and experience much like a college transcript. Why? Even if the certification is tiered (older skills are credited accordingly), every veteran deserves to be recognized for their military achievements in the classroom and on the field. Maybe even more valuable, this also gives civilian employers something they understand are accustom to seeing from civilian applicants who came through the vocational training and/or union process. How? Again, the President can make this happen by Executive Order. States that refuse to comply can risk losing their VA presence and unions that protest should be reminded of the economic benefit government contracting brings to their members.

7)    It is currently very difficult to join the military. That is not only bad for thousands of men and women who aspire to serve, it is bad for our economy and for our troops who are being deployed beyond all reasonableness. It is time to open the flood gates to military service. Why? First and foremost, our current troop levels are too low to adequately protect our borders. We have Guardsmen and Reservists filling the gaps left behind by not enough active duty troops, which only leaves our local communities at risk. If the President rights this imbalance, Joplin, Birmingham and New Orleans can get the rebuilding and clean up help they deserve. How? The President should ask Congress to pass a five-year ‘natural disaster and reduction in deployment frequency’ appropriation to allow for more to serve their communities, bring Guardsmen and Reservists home and deploy them to assist in rebuilding America and to correct the unacceptably high deployment rate of for all troops.

8)    It is time to enforce the laws that protect the employment and credit of Guardsmen and Reservists. Why? Because gauging our troops during a time of war is morally reprehensible and companies that knowingly do it should pay a high cost for that practice. How? Yet again, these laws already exist but compliance with them is encouraged when it needs to be enforced. Yes, it will cost money to establish an enforcement system but, as fate would have it, there are bunch of highly skilled veterans who would probably like to take this on and the feds could use the hefty fines they levy on the guilty to pay for it all.

9)    Mount an aggressive education campaign targeted at employers. Why? Small and medium size businesses disproportionately feel the impact of employing part time troops, they need to better understand how the benefits outweigh the risks. Large companies build cumbersome human resource processes that all too frequently uses language that impedes veterans from applying (e.g. “four year degree required” without “or equivalent experience”)

10)    Banks, especially those who accept TARP funds, should be required to refinance VA backed home loans. Why? Because taxpayers invest in the homeownership of our service members not in the bottom line of mortgage companies. Too many of our service members can’t avail themselves of lower interest rates because they are underwater and far too many can’t sell their house when they are moved from one duty station to another. Refinancing puts disposable income in pocket of our military and veteran families that they can use to get off government assistance, ride out the unemployment storm, save or spend. Just as importantly, it will reduce the amount the taxpayers are on the hook for when a VA backed loan goes into default and even the likelihood of default to begin with. How? The President should make this a condition of doing business with any federally backed loan. My guess is a quick internal calculation will show that no mortgage company could survive without VA, HUD, and FHA backed loans.

11)    Reauthorize GI Bill for unemployed who didn’t use their benefits upon discharge. Why? Too many of our troops got out when the economy was good. They were able to move right into work and raising families. Now they find themselves unemployed with an expired GI Bill that they never got around to using. For example, in 1990 the GI Bill cost military members $1200 and earned them $10,000 in education support. If a member got out after one tour, those benefits expired in 2004. Simply extending them to 2014 goes a long way to helping veterans get the degree or certification that civilian employers demand today. How? President should ask Congress to appropriate for this or simply do it by executive order and squeeze the money out of other DoD or VA line items. 

12)    Encourage banks to get money flowing to the SBA Patriot Loan program. Why? There are 26 million veterans, Guardsmen and Reservists in America and in 2007, President Bush signed a law authorizing $1 billion in government backed small business loans for them. As of the latest numbers, 6,000 loans (totally about $500 million) have been made.  How? The President should let banks know that if they want to keep doing business with government back small business loans, they will move this up on their priority list.

13)    In 2000, Congress was scheduled to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act, which includes the Veterans Employment and Training Services.  Why? The $3.6 billion dollar Act governs our entire unemployment system including those One-Stops the President spoke about, welfare to work, school to work and foreign labor visa’s yet Congress hasn’t found it important enough to review since 1995 when the unemployment was 5.6%.  How? The President should work with Governors (who have almost exclusive say about how their share of the $3.6 billion is spent) to pressure the Congress to start this conversation immediately.

You don’t have to be a veteran to be the Commander-in-Chief or to serve in Congress. However, if you aren’t, it helps if you don’t pretend to understand the culture and really seek to understand the culture. Veterans, Reservists, Guardsmen, Sailors, Soldiers, Marines, Airmen and Coasties stand ready to serve our Country but we don’t hand medals to people who don’t deserve them. In 2012, if a candidate wants to be awarded the “I Love The Military More” badge of honor, he or she will have to earn it on the battlefield.

Heather Beaven is the CEO of The Florida Endowment Foundation for Florida’s Graduates, a non-profit serving middle and high school students. She was the Democratic nominee in 2010 in Florida’s 7th Congressional District.