Kaine visits Ft. Lee, pushes his first Senate bill

On the day of the unveiling of his first Senate bill, Sen. Timothy M. Kaine, D-Va., took a trip down memory lane today when he visited a welding shop at the United States Army Combined Arms Support Command at Fort Lee.

As the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported this morning, Kaine’s measure, which he’ll introduce in the Senate next week, was designed to help veterans get the credentials to use their military skills as civilians.

Kaine grew up in Kansas City where his father, Albert Alexander Kaine, Jr., owned an ironworking shop. As a teenager, Kaine and his brothers had to help out, learning the tricks of the trade.

When Kaine picked up the tools today, it was a much different experience – 21st Century Army welders train in simulators, molding metal in digital form. Kaine faced the challenge with bravoure. “I’ll come back soon, and we’ll do this again,” he said.

The welding that Kaine faces in Washington in the coming weeks might be tougher. The senator made a stop at Fort Lee to learn more about the need for streamlining of military credentialing. He met with Army leaders, talked to service members and visited several on-base installations, including a culinary school.

Credentialing is an issue of great concern because the unemployment rate among veterans is almost 2 percent above the national average, incidcating that many former service members struggle upon returning to civilian life.

Kaine said today that his proposal – which he calls the Troop Talent Act of 2013 – is just the beginning.

“This bill is not going to solve every issue that needs to be solved,” Kaine said. “I have a vision that in the future, everybody who is going to the military, whatever skill they are getting, at the very moment they get the skill, they are getting the most equivalent civilian credential. That’s what we would shoot for ultimately,” he said.

After spending more than two hours on base, Kaine visited the Rolls-Royce Crosspointe facility in Prince George County before heading to Richmond, where he officially unveiled his bill at the American Legion Headquarters this afternoon.

###