Posted on 11/10/2011 1:46:15 PM PST by mdittmar
Washington, D.C.—Nevada Senator Harry Reid issued today the following statement after the Senate approved the VOW to Hire Heroes Act by vote of 94-1. This bill encourages businesses to hire unemployed veterans and creates training programs to help them transition into the civilian workforce. The bill is part of President Obama’s jobs agenda.
“This Veterans Day Congress pays tribute to those who have put their lives on the line to defend our country with deeds as well as words. I am glad Senate Republicans joined us to pass legislation that will help spur hiring among the nearly 900,000 out-of-work veterans in this country and in Nevada. This includes a quarter of a million young veterans of the global fight against terrorism. The best way for the House to honor our troops on Veterans Day would be to pass this bill tomorrow. Our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines fighting overseas should be focused on the job at hand, not how they’ll find a job when they come home.
“While we need to do more to maintain our commitment to our nation’s heroes, today’s vote was an important step in the right direction. Now that we have begun the important task of putting veterans back to work, I hope Republicans will cooperate with us as we focus on putting the rest of America back to work as well.”
Haven’t veterans always gotten preferential treatment in hiring and training, as well as the GI Bill. So I must be missing it, but why is this bill any different than what is already here.
FUHR!
I am a Veteran and I’d live under a bridge in a cardboard box before I’d take anything touched by that POS. I’m surprised he isn’t sending us all pox-filled blankets!
Every so often they have to continually pass the same bills in Congress so they can let the vets know that they haven’t forgotten them. If it was about the vets they would not have put massive cuts in Defense as the back up plan if they don’t come to a budget agreement in the next couple weeks. This is window dressing and all for their own benefit.
You are correct Sir! The services and tax incentives being offered have been in place for quite awhile. The kind would say that it is a marketing effort to make sure vets are aware of the benefits available to them. The cynical would say the CIC is once again taking credit for something he didn’t do.
If it comes from a Republican, Reid Tables it, to make sure HE gets the credit?
Anyone know who voted against it? Who didn’t vote?
THAT WAS SCOTT BROWNS BILL!!!
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BigNews.Biz - Nov 10,2011 - Senate To Vote On Scott Brown-Sponsored Vets Jobs Amendment today
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Scott Brown (R-MA), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Veterans Affairs Committees, cosponsored a major veterans jobs package that was introduced as a bipartisan amendment to his 3 percent withholding repeal bill. Senator Brown issued the following statement on the amendment, which the Senate will vote on today:
“How fitting that America’s veterans are helping the Senate overcome the gridlock. This bipartisan amendment brings together a number of veterans jobs initiatives—from active duty military transition assistance to vocational rehabilitation—that will spur job growth among those who’ve sacrificed the most. I was proud to work with my colleagues from both sides of the aisle on this legislation to help our heroes, and I am optimistic that it will pass the Senate today.”
Background
With the veterans-jobs amendment now introduced, the Senate will vote today on two pieces of bipartisan jobs legislation introduced by Senator Brown.
The underlying bill, the 3 percent withholding repeal, was originally introduced as the Withholding Tax Relief Act of 2011 and championed by Senator Brown.
The veterans-jobs amendment will expand the Work Opportunity Tax Credit to incentivize the hiring of unemployed veterans, which closely mirrors the Hire A Hero Act, introduced by Senator Brown. The amendment also contains elements of the Hiring Heroes Act of 2011 [not to be confused with the Hire A Hero Act], of which Senator Brown was the original Republican cosponsor.
In January, Senator Brown introduced the bipartisan Hire A Hero Act and the bipartisan Withholding Tax Relief Act of 2011 as part of a package of six bills intended to boost job growth in the Bay State. After nine months of steady advocacy from Senator Brown and dozens of discussions with veterans groups and small businesses, these policies have finally broken through to the top of the Senate agenda as leaders on both sides of the aisle look to pass bipartisan jobs legislation for the American people.”
this new and improved version gives 100 vet preference hiring points to gay, fake rangers.
The (an) idiot of the Senate has spoken.
Don’t be fooled by the phonies running around saying they are for the troops. Congressman Brad Sherman of California is one. He was at Operation Gratitude (packages for the troops) again, to praise the troops, blah blah blah. Also, he claims that he tried to help the vets keep the deeded land in West Los Angeles, but alas....Brad comes, bloviates, and leaves. He doesn’t even make one box. Unlike his rival Mark Reed. But there are many who were in the Armory who live in his district who will remember that he came when it comes time for reelection. Harry Reid is like Sherman. Vets have resources already. This bill was window dressing. Reid, Sherman, and their co-horts have and are still trying to cut funding to the troops. Don’t be fooled. If it is a Democrat, then you can be sure they don’t like the military.
Too bad one of the biggest employers of veterans is the defense industry which is going to be gutted by Obama and company.
Well here’s the catch, the whole veterans’ benefits part is a rider within the Bill to get bipartisan approval. Then when whomever votes against the bill as a whole, which could still be bad, they pull out their little blame card and argue that going against their bill hurts veterans, well guess what, when the private sector is not eased up, that still hurts veterans overall. I could always see a person who served valiantly and faithfully in the armed forces as a good candidate for the private sector, especially when faithful military service, in addition to the achievements made while there, offer a great deal of the attributes some company is looking for in an employee.
About the GI Bill, you are completely correct, especially in the pursuit of additional education as a military veteran, not to mention putting aspects of your military service on your resumé, but the sad fact is, once the research of what is out there is done, this is mostly a move to buy gullible votes from people who can forget that the GI Bill actually does exist.
However, the fact that veterans are having a bad unemployment rate, is IMHO, a bad reflection on the status of the economy overall, especially when plenty of military veterans potentially can demonstrate some value in the workforce. As for the story of the veteran who had a hard time, it’s not just the military veterans who are having this problem, but people in the high levels of educational achievement, such as graduate school. I have a nephew who it took ten months to get a lasting job, and not just a short gig, but something that lasts, and he was a recent person to earn a Master’s Degree too. The even sadder fact is, he looks to me as being among the luckier individuals of his age and educational background.
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