By Peter S. Gaytan

 

President Obama’s proposed $447 billion American Jobs Act had specific provisions designed to improve job prospects for veterans, as well as provide for training to make veterans more marketable. As President Obama said, “We’ve got hundreds of thousands of brave, skilled Americans who fought for this country. The last thing they should have to do is to fight for a job when they come home.” The President encouraged Congress to quickly pass the American Jobs Act, so we can “put the men and women who served this nation back to work.”

 

While the nation’s unemployment rate is 9.1 percent, Gulf War II era veterans, those who have served since 2001, suffer an even higher rate of unemployment, 11.5 percent. The American Jobs Act included a Returning Heroes Tax Credit of up to $5,600 for small businesses who hire veterans who have been unemployed for six months or longer. The Jobs Act also incorporated The Wounded Warriors Tax Credit of up to $9,600. This increases the existing tax credit and is directed at companies that hire veterans who have service-connected disabilities and have been unemployed for six months or longer. It’s critical that this bill makes an investment in small business so they have the money needed to create jobs for vets.

 

Also included in the Act was a Department of Defense task force to maximize the career-readiness of all servicemembers. There will also be enhanced job search services for transitioning veterans through the Department of Labor.

 

Yesterday the Bill was voted down in the Senate. However, the fight to pass portions of the bill continues. What are your thoughts?

 

To learn more about the American Jobs Act, go to: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/reports/american-jobs-act.pdf

 

Peter S. Gaytan is the author of For Service To Your Country – Updated Edition: The Essential Guide to Getting the Veterans’ Benefits You’ve Earned (Citadel, 2011), available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other booksellers. He has served as an advocate in securing and protecting the earned benefits of America’s veterans for more than a decade. Gaytan is the Executive Director of the American Legion, the largest veterans service organization in America.