00 CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 32(MLV) 01 Encouraging the United States Congress to establish hiring goals for apprentices and 02 veteran apprentices. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 WHEREAS Americans have a special obligation to those who served in the armed 05 forces of the United States and risked their lives to defend our nation's freedom and honor; 06 and 07 WHEREAS thousands of men and women have served in the armed forces of the 08 United States to protect and preserve the freedom the citizens of the United States enjoy; and 09 WHEREAS veterans have graduated from the world's largest system of specialized 10 professional and technical training schools, operated by the United States Department of 11 Defense; and 12 WHEREAS veterans of active duty military service are one of the nation's most 13 important sources of well-educated, highly trained, and strongly motivated employees; and 14 WHEREAS veterans trained by the armed forces of the United States offer employers 15 a more mature and responsible employee compared to employees with no military 16 experience; and 01 WHEREAS veterans returning home face challenges, including in education and 02 employment, that may prevent them from successfully transitioning from military to civilian 03 life; and 04 WHEREAS veterans transition training programs have successfully reduced 05 incidences of veteran suicide; and 06 WHEREAS unemployment rates for both male and female veterans increased in 2020 07 during the COVID-19 pandemic; the unemployment rate for male veterans was 6.5 percent, 08 and the unemployment rate for female veterans was 6.7 percent; and 09 WHEREAS among the 581,000 unemployed veterans in 2020, 54 percent were ages 10 25 to 54, 41 percent were age 55 and over, and 5 percent were ages 18 to 24; and 11 WHEREAS the state has the highest rate of veterans in the nation, with nearly 14 12 percent of adult Alaskans having served in the military; and 13 WHEREAS the 2022 draft federal appropriations report for the United States 14 Department of Defense indicates that $10,900,000,000 will be spent on military construction 15 that will require thousands of workers; and 16 WHEREAS military construction jobs offer a prime opportunity for veterans, 17 including veterans in apprenticeship and postsecondary programs, to further their careers; and 18 WHEREAS military service is one of the most demanding professions in the world, 19 and military training produces highly motivated individuals who set high goals for 20 themselves; 21 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully encourages the 22 United States Congress to introduce and pass legislation requiring each offeror for a domestic 23 United States Department of Defense construction project to establish a goal that not less than 24 10 percent of the total workforce employed in the performance of the project are participants 25 in qualified apprenticeship or postsecondary programs; and be it 26 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully encourages 27 the United States Congress to introduce and pass legislation requiring each contractor and 28 subcontractor for a domestic United States Department of Defense construction project that 29 employs apprentices or postsecondary students in a particular classification to ensure that not 30 less than 10 percent of the apprentices or postsecondary students are veterans of the armed 31 forces of the United States. 01 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, President 02 of the United States; the Honorable Kamala D. Harris, Vice President of the United States 03 and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of 04 Representatives; the Honorable Kevin McCarthy, Minority Leader of the U.S. House of 05 Representatives; the Honorable Charles Schumer, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the 06 Honorable Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Denis 07 McDonough, United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs; the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and 08 the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the U.S. Representative for Alaska, members 09 of the Alaska delegation in Congress; and all other members of the 117th United States 10 Congress.