Where Veteran Policy Gets Written

I sat down with Zach Federico, who runs the veterans task force at ALEC. He got there sideways. A commander walked into his rehearsal at Liberty University and offered to pay him to play music, which is how he wound up in the Virginia National Guard Band. He was a brand new executive assistant when a barely advertised roundtable packed out, and he turned that room into the first new ALEC task force in over 15 years.

ALEC is a nonprofit where state legislators trade what worked. The process is more mechanical than it sounds. A legislator brings a bill that passed at home, the room argues it out with nothing on the record and industry in the chairs, then two votes, legislators first and the private sector second. What survives becomes a model the other states can run. The Military Crosswalk Act came through that way, from a Utah senator, and it keeps a plumber with 10 years in uniform from starting over on a civilian license. Utah was the 37th state to pass one.

We also get into the Veterans Justice Act, why slim-majority states like Arizona out-function the supermajorities, and the referral mess a veteran hits the week they get out. Zach was blunt about where the policy comes from: “We don’t just hire PhDs to tell legislators what to think.”

What I keep chewing on is whether our industry shows up, because Zach has never had a veterans bill sent to the energy task force. His 50-state ranking on veteran policy drops Veterans Day, and he would not spoil where the states land.

Chapters

• 00:00 - Introduction

• 02:04 - How Zach Built ALEC's Veterans Task Force

• 05:11 - What ALEC Is, and the Coming 50-State Ranking

• 09:56 - Statehouses, Slim Majorities, and Why State Policy Moves

• 15:45 - Cross-Referrals and Veteran Pathways into Energy

• 17:47 - The Virginia Guard Band, and a Year Without a Break

• 23:06 - The Military Crosswalk Act and How Model Policy Gets Made

• 27:10 - Dual Referrals and Why Industry Should Be in the Room

• 30:49 - Advice for Veterans Who Want into Policy

• 32:52 - Rapid Fire

• 33:28 - The Veterans Justice Act and Veteran Treatment Courts

• 36:17 - What the Military Taught Him, and How to Join ALEC

• 38:20 - The Referral Problem and the Peer Network

• 42:56 - Closing Thoughts

Resources

People & Organizations

• Kevin Doffing (LinkedIn)

  • Project Vanguard (Website - Newsletter - Podcast)

• Zach Federico (LinkedIn - ALEC Profile)

  • American Legislative Exchange Council (Website - LinkedIn - X)

  • ALEC Veterans and Military Affairs Task Force (Task Force Page)

• Other Orgs & People

  • Mike Hutchings (LinkedIn)

  • Combined Arms (Website - Team)

  • John Wills (ALEC Profile)

Veteran & Transition Resources

• DoD SkillBridge

• Center for Energy Workforce Development

• Veterans in Energy

• Justice for Vets

• Veterans Treatment Court Program, Bureau of Justice Assistance

• Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, George W. Bush Institute

Policy & Programs

• Military Crosswalk Act

• Utah S.B. 90, Occupational Licenses for Veterans and Service Members

• Veterans Justice Act

• Veterans Treatment Court Act

• Election Workforce Expansion Act

• Statement of Principles on Veteran Referral Networks

Company & Industry News

• Combined Arms CEO Mike Hutchings to Lead as Private Sector Chair of Inaugural ALEC Task Force

• ALEC Veterans and Military Affairs Task Force Charts Path for State-Level Policy Solutions

• Texas Veterans Network Powered by Combined Arms Surpasses 100,000 Veterans Served Statewide

Books & Articles Discussed

• Federal Programs to Assist Military-to-Civilian Employment Transitions

• Rich States, Poor States

Related Project Vanguard Episodes

• Veterans, Policy, and the Hidden Energy Battlefield with Michael Dunn

• How a Marine Lands in Energy Policy

• The Network After Service with Ken Webre

• The Super ERG: Turning Veteran Networks Into Real Jobs and Real Power