We are pleased to report that yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed (by voice vote) H.R. 4124, the Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act of 2012, to help veterans trained as EMTs in the military to transition to similar civilian jobs. For more information on H.R. 4124, please view the bill text and summary here.

This bill is one of NAEMT’s legislative priorities. NAEMT’s Advocacy Committee, our network of state advocacy coordinators, and our Military Relations Committee actively worked for the passage of this legislation. In particular, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Ben Chlapek, the Chair of our Military Relations Committee, was instrumental in getting this bill passed. Lt. Col. Chlapek testified before Congress on July 11, 2012, on the importance of helping our military medics and how passage of this bill will support the transition process.

Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), the original sponsor of this legislation, stated, "Last month's jobs numbers highlight the continued difficulty our returning veterans face as they attempt to re-enter the civilian workforce. These men and women deserve all our efforts to identify and eliminate unnecessary hurdles to civilian employment, and I am proud that the House has acted on this bipartisan bill to streamline the civilian certification process for military EMTs. Commonsense legislation like this is an important step to quickly and effectively help our veterans as they transition from the battlefield back to civilian life."

“Our military men and women receive some of the best technical training in emergency medicine – and they prove their skills on the battlefield every day," said Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA), a co-sponsor. "When they return home, however, experienced military medics are often required to begin their training completely over at the most basic level to receive certification for civilian jobs. This unnecessarily keeps our veterans out of the workforce and withholds valuable medical personnel from our communities. Our legislation would go a long way toward eliminating this roadblock.”

Efforts are being made in the U.S. Senate to introduce a companion bill to H.R. 4124.