The federal government spends billions on employment transition programs for veterans—but is it having the desired effect? Yahoo Finance hosts Patrick Murphy and Dan Kunze dive into the topic in a new episode of Warrior Money, where they are joined by Elizabeth O’Brien, vice president of the US Chamber Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes program.
In the interview, Murphy cites an October 2024 RAND study that found the federal government spends upwards of $13 billion per year on veteran transition programs. The question of that investment’s efficacy remains.
“Are they getting their return on investment?” Murphy asks O’Brien. “What more could they do?
“That’s what we need to know: What are the outcomes?” O’Brien explains. “We really don’t know right now. Portions of it go to education. Portions of it go to transition. So [the federal government] haven’t been able yet to capture all of that data (the federal government).”
Even without the data, however, O’Brien sees room for improvement.
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“There are indicators that we have room to improve in how we do transition.,” she says. “60% of our transition service members... make less in their first job when they separate from the military, and 61% of those feel underemployed in the first three years.”
“What we need based on that RAND study is the actual data and the outcomes from that $13 billion investment,” O’Brien adds. “We’re not really clear on that yet.”
In the full conversation, O’Brien also breaks down the importance of military spouse employment, what more can be done to assist veterans seeking new careers, and what programs they can utilize to make the transition easier.
Hosted by former Congressman Patrick Murphy and veteran investor Dan Kunze, Yahoo Finance’s Warrior Money is a weekly vodcast dedicated to uplifting military veterans transitioning into civilian life. Through insights from fellow veterans and high-ranking government officials, Murphy and Kunze are helping set vets up for success through financial education and inspiration.
This post was written by Nick Riccardo.