June 14, 2005

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. The Committee on Veterans' Affairs will now come to order.

This morning we will receive testimony from two very distinguished public servants: Mr. James P. Terry, who has been nominated by the President to serve as Chairman of the Board of Veterans' Appeals, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and Mr. Charles Ciccolella, who has been nominated by the President to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Veterans' Employment and Training, U.S. Department of Labor.

The Chairman of the Board of Veterans' Appeals serves as the head of the appellate body that renders final decisions within VA on appeals involving veterans benefits. The Chairman oversees more than 50 Veterans Law Judges and almost 400 attorneys and support staff. As we discussed last month at a hearing before this Committee, it is essential that VA's claims adjudication and appeal system provides timely and accurate decisions to our nation's veterans. The Board plays an important role in that system, rendering decisions on 30 to 40 thousand appeals each year.

It would appear to me that Mr. Terry ? a former Marine officer who served in combat in Vietnam and is a Purple Heart recipient ? would bring to the Board a wealth of experience and education. He has undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Virginia, a law degree from Mercer University, and advanced law degrees from George Washington University. After he completed his combat service in Vietnam, he had a distinguished legal career in the Marine Corps ? a legal career which culminated with his service as legal counsel to the then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Colin Powell. After his retirement from the Corps with the rank of Colonel, he served in the Department of the Interior as Deputy Director of the Office of Hearings and Appeals and, later, as an Administrative Judge at the Interior Department's Board of Land Appeals. Subsequently, he was reunited with General Powell at the State Department where he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs. 

Turning now to Mr. Ciccolella ? he has been nominated to serve as the head the Labor Department's Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS), an office which administers national programs to help veterans find jobs and also to protect the re-employment rights of veterans who have returned from service. Currently, 200,000 service members are leaving active duty each year and, for many, obtaining a job will be a critical step in successfully making the transition back to civilian life. Unfortunately, young veterans ? many of them recently separated ? experience higher unemployment rates than non-veterans. And, in total, nearly 700,000 veterans of all ages are unemployed in any particular month. Obviously, there is important work to be done to help our young veterans ? and all unemployed veterans ? find suitable employment.

Mr. Ciccolella is undoubtedly very familiar with the employment issues facing veterans today since he is currently the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Veterans' Employment and Training Service. Prior to coming to VETS, he served as a Senate staffer ? first as Chief of Operations for the Senate Sergeant At Arms and, later, as the Director of Information Technology Policy for the Senate Rules Committee.

More significantly, perhaps, Mr. Ciccolella served with distinction in the U.S. Army for 28 years prior to taking on these important civilian jobs. Most notably, he served as an Infantry Officer with the 101^st Airborne Division in Vietnam, and during his Vietnam service, he received, among other decorations, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star for valor. Later he served in various command and staff positions in the U.S., Germany, Panama, culminating in a posting as Senior Military Advisor to the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. He retired as a Colonel in 1996 after 28 years of service. Mr. Ciccolella is a graduate of the National War College and has an undergraduate degree from Auburn University and a graduate degree from Central Michigan University.

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