A bipartisan resolution to establish a first-of-its-kind Senate fellowship program for wounded American veterans has been reintroduced on Capitol Hill.
The program, called the McCain-Mansfield Fellowship, would give each Senate office the opportunity to hire a qualified veteran for a two-year fellowship. The positions could be in a senator’s state or Washington, D.C., office.
The legislation was proposed by Senators Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.).
“The McCain-Mansfield Fellowship will create career opportunities for veterans who’ve recently transitioned to civilian life,” said Rounds. “It will allow veterans to use their military skills to contribute to a legislative office while gaining valuable public policy experience. We have a number of veterans working on my staff and I am grateful for their experience-based insight.”
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The two-year fellowship program is named after the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, who was severely wounded and held as a POW while serving in the Vietnam War, and the late Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield who served during World War I.
“Following Senator McCain’s example, we’re empowering Arizona veterans transitioning to civilian life with new opportunities to continue serving our nation,” said Sinema.
The program is modeled after the House of Representatives's Wounded Warrior Fellowship Program, which was established in 2008.
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Veteran eligibility for the program would be determined by the following:
• Applicants must be honorably discharged veterans, released from active duty within the last five years.
• Applicants must be at or below the pay grades of O-3 for officers and E-5 for enlisted members.
• Applicants must also have a 20-percent or more service-connected disability rating. Purple Heart recipients are exempt from the service-connected disability rating requirement but must meet all other requirements to receive consideration.
• Veterans who are in receipt of a 20-year or Temporary Early Retirement Authorization retirement are not eligible for the program.
Original cosponsors include Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Angus King (I-Maine), and Gary Peters (D-Mich.).
Full resolution text can be found here.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
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