With November comes one of our greatest national ceremonies, Veterans Day. On this day, we honor veterans and their families who have sacrificed to protect the freedoms our country holds dear. Boulder City is home to thousands of veterans, and we hope each day that the Nevadans currently serving overseas return home safely. When they return to Nevada, it is our duty to repay their service by ensuring they can transition smoothly back to civilian life. We must stand ready to give them every chance to thrive.

I have worked to ensure Nevada's veterans have access to higher education, quality healthcare, and opportunities to find jobs when they return home. For example, I advocated for the 21st Century G.I. Bill, which expanded education opportunities for veterans and their families. And in July of this year, my office in Las Vegas co-hosted a Veteran's Job Fair with UNLV to connect Boulder City veterans and their dependents to employers seeking to hire them.

There has been much progress over the past decade to ensure that our disabled veterans receive both the disability and retirement pay that they have earned. Now, veterans with fifty percent or more disability rating are receiving their full retirement and disability payments.

Recently, I announced nearly $10 million in grants from the Department of Labor to expand the capacity of Nevada's community colleges to provide training programs for veterans and active duty military. As a result, Nevada's community colleges will develop a system of credit for prior learning combined with training to meet the workforce demands of employers in Nevada. These funds will allow Boulder City veterans to bring their unique skills learned from serving our country and put them to use in the civilian workforce.

I was glad to support this effort and I thank the colleges and the entire Nevada System of Higher Education for developing such a strong, competitive proposal. I thank all of those who have served our country in the past as well as those currently serving in any capacity in our armed services both home and abroad.

Contact Harry Reid at http://reid.senate.gov/