ROA in Veteran Businesses Task Force

With job placement as the number one concern of veterans returning from overseas deployment, ROA is working to improve employment opportunities.

ROA attended the first public meeting of the Interagency Task Force on Veterans Small Business Development. Held Oct. 15, this task force was established by Executive Order 13540 on April 26, 2010. The group will be recommending improvements to coordination of efforts of various Federal agencies to improve capital, business development opportunities and federal contracting of small veteran businesses. ROA will be making a statement on veteran opportunities at a future meeting. It will make a report to the president by October 15, 2011.

William Elmore, Linda Oliver, and Jiyoung Park are co-chairs of the task force. Mr. Elmore is an associate administrator at the office of Veterans Business Development at the U.S. Small Business Administration. ROA worked with Mr. Elmore on veteran hiring issues when he worked at the Department of Labor.

Members consist of the SBA administrator, and senior level representatives from the Department of Defense, and General Services Administration who shall serve as co-chair the Task Force. The Department of the Treasury, the Department of Labor, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Office of Management and Budget are other agencies that provide representatives to sit on the task force.

ROA testified before the House committee on Veteran Affairs this past year regarding job placement for veterans. ROA also supports the Servicemembers Law Center which provides advice to serving active and reserve members, and members in the legal community about the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.