It’s no coincidence that a bill is going to a vote later today in the U.S. Senate called the “Vow to Hire Heroes Act” on the day before Veterans Day. Iowa Senator Tom Harkin says the legislation will aim to reverse what he says is a “disturbing” trend where soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are returning home from serving our country to find themselves jobless.
“This bill will provide tax credits to employers who hire unemployed veterans and especially generous tax credits for hiring veterans with service-connected disabilities,” Harkin says. “The bill also provides for mandatory assistance to servicemembers transitioning to the civilian workforce.”
He says the measure would also provide one year of additional GI benefits for older veterans who are seeking training for high-demand jobs. “It’s deeply disturbing that one in five veterans under the age of 25 is unemployed,” Harkin says. “The men and women who fought for our nation in Iraq and Afghanistan have to fight for a job when they return home and the odds are stacked against them.”
He says it’s a national shame that so many returning Americans in uniform are ending up unable to find a decent job. “This is not right,” Harkin says. “We have a solemn obligation to do right by the men and women in uniform who put their lives at risk for our nation.”
Harkin, a Democrat, served in the U.S. Navy and Naval Air Reserves in the 1960s.
