Hire More Heroes Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Ms. GABBARD. Madam Speaker, I am rising today in very strong support of this Hire More Heroes Act introduced by my friend, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis), someone whom I have been privileged to work with and am proud to cosponsor this legislation.

When he first came to me with this idea, it was a no-brainer that I would support it because of the key constituencies that this legislation serves: our veterans and our small businesses. In addition to that, I think, as we kick off this 114th Congress, it is a great message and exactly the right tone that we are focused on these two constituencies.

By exempting veterans who have health insurance through the VA or from the DOD from being counted toward that 50-employee limit under the Affordable Care Act, this legislation creates important incentives. It encourages small businesses to grow and expand their workforce, and it establishes an incentive to hire more veterans.

Madam Speaker, there are many people who already receive insurance because of their service to our country. I used to be one of them. I was covered under TRICARE for a long period of time after both of my deployments to the Middle East, and it just makes sense that these individuals who already have great medical coverage would not have to count towards the numbers of employees that would trigger the employer mandate under the Affordable Care Act.

Most importantly, this bill is about serving veterans. Servicemembers who are transitioning to civilian life bring exceptional training, critical skill sets, and proven leadership ability back to their local communities.

Unfortunately, as a country, we are facing an unacceptable number of unemployed veterans, people who are experienced, who are capable and energetic, who are coming back from serving oftentimes in conflicts overseas. These are veterans who will serve as a great asset to businesses and organizations of any size because they come with a built-in unique work ethic, a great deal of training, and real-world experience. These are people who are highly disciplined, who know what it means to work as a member of a team. They know what it means to put the mission first, and they are servant leaders at their very best.

This bill provides an incentive for businesses to hire these veterans and, in turn, helps these veterans be successful in their transition to civilian life. This commonsense legislation benefits both veterans and small businesses, while also growing our economy. I urge all of our colleagues to strongly support H.R. 22.

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