Iowa Congressman Bruce Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo, says the U.S. House is scheduled to vote today on tax credits designed to help unemployed veterans. Braley says the “Returning Heroes” credit gives businesses that hire veterans who have been unemployed for at least four weeks, a tax credit of $2,400 per employee.
Businesses that hire veterans that have been unemployed for longer than six months are eligible for a tax credit of up to $5,600. Braley says another provision would help those who have been injured.
He says the “Wounded Warriors” credit doubles the existing credit for those who hire long-term unemployed soldiers who have service-connected disabilities. That doubles their eligibility for credits making them eligible for up to $9,600.
The unemployment rate in Iowa has remained relatively unchanged throughout this year. Braley says other general tax credits have had success in getting businesses to hire more workers and he believes these credits targeted for veterans will do the same.
Braley says one of the things he hears from employers all the time is that they are “looking for the right combination of opportunity, improvements in the economy to put people back to work.” He say he believes the bill will provide the right dual incentives to put people back to work and also help veterans who are unemployed.
Some 3,500 Iowa soldiers returned from deployment to Afghanistan in August, and 600 of them self-reported they were unemployed when they returned. It is not know how many of those soldiers were college students who were not looking for work, or unemployed before being deployed.