Boswell Submits Amendment to Favor Veterans in Domestic Oil Leases

Leonard Boswell

Republicans shoot down job assistance for veterans

Washington, DC – Congressman Leonard Boswell submitted an amendment to the House Rules Committee for H.R. 1231 that would require oil companies that are awarded domestic leases give preference to veterans when hiring workers. The Rules Committee leadership rejected the amendment along party lines without raising an objection to the language or having a substantive discussion of the amendment.

“When an oil company submits a lease application they are asking to take federal energy resources, owned by the American taxpayer, and we have an obligation to ensure that these companies put veterans first in their hiring process,” said Boswell, a 20-year military veteran. “As we begin to draw down in Iraq and Afghanistan, we need to consider what job opportunities are available for our men and women who have served their country bravely. With unemployment of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans at 10.9 percent, they should have the first opportunity to help produce our energy resources here at home. Unfortunately, Rules Chairman David Dreier and his Republican colleagues do not believe that oil companies that lease federal land should be held to the same standards as all government agencies and contractors who are bound by law to prefer veterans in their employment selection. When will my colleagues understand that Iowans and the American people are tired of coddling and subsidizing the oil and gas industry?”

H.R. 1231 will be considered by the full House today.

Source: Congressman Boswell