Vets may loose federal employment advantage

WASHINGTON — Congress stepped this week into a sensitive issue that's been quietly roiling the already-challenging hiring system for federal jobs: the Obama administration's high-profile push to give preference to veterans.

The Senate version of the vast military policy bill that now heads to conference with the House would knock out one of the advantages veterans enjoy when they apply for federal work. They would continue to get a leg up over non-veterans to get a foot in the door. But once they're in government and want to be considered for another federal post, they would no longer go to the head of the hiring queue.

The change, approved Tuesday by the Senate as part of its annual defense policy bill, would apply across government and affect thousands of veterans and their close relatives, who also are able to jump the line over non-veterans.

It was high-level Pentagon officials who pressed Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, for a change to the veterans hiring system. These officials have expressed concern to McCain and other lawmakers that too many qualified non-veterans are getting shut out of federal jobs in deference to those who served but may not be qualified for some positions, according to committee staff.

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