Hahn Votes for Veterans Jobs Bill

House enacts “VOW to Hire Heroes Act” to put veterans to work and grow our economy

Washington, D.C. – Representative Janice Hahn (CA-36) this afternoon hailed passage of the VOW to Hire Heroes Act (H.R. 674) – legislation to put veterans to work, create jobs for America’s men and women in uniform, and grow our economy.  California’s 36th Congressional district is currently home to over 28,000 veterans. This legislation has already passed the Senate and the President has signaled his intent to sign it into law. 

“We must rededicate ourselves to fulfilling our obligations to every single veteran because soon, tens of thousands of our modern day heroes who have served multiple tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan will be coming home,” explained Rep. Hahn. “Their needs are great, but veterans deserve not just our affirmations, but the assistance to find good, well paying jobs when they return home.”

Part of President Obama’s American Jobs Act, the VOW to Hire Heroes Act expands opportunity for our veterans by creating Hiring Heroes and Wounded Warriors tax credits to encourage businesses to hire service members and those with service-related disabilities.  It includes House Democrats’ proposals to boost hiring for veterans and provide them with the training they need to find a job in civilian life. After pressure from Democrats in Congress,

“This legislation is critical as a new wave of veterans’ returns home,” Hahn said. “Unemployment among veterans far outpaces the national rate and currently sits at more than 12%. I’m only sorry that we could not have acted on this legislation months ago. It, like many other pieces of jobs legislation, has been held up by House and Senate Republicans.”

Key elements of the “VOW to Hire Heroes Act”:

• Provides businesses with a tax credit of up to $5,600 for hiring veterans who have been looking for a job for more than six months, as well as a $2,400 credit for veterans who are unemployed for more than 4 weeks, but less than 6 months.

• Provides a tax credit of up to $9,600 for hiring veterans with service-connected disabilities who have been looking for a job for more than six months.

• Makes the Transition Assistance Program (TAP), an interagency workshop coordinated by Departments of Defense, Labor and Veterans Affairs, mandatory for service members moving on to civilian life to help them secure 21st Century jobs through resume writing workshops and career counseling.

• Expands education and training opportunities for older veterans by providing 100,000 unemployed veterans of past eras and wars with up to 1-year of additional Montgomery GI benefits to go towards education or training programs at community colleges or technical schools.

• Provides disabled veterans up to 1-year of additional Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Benefits.

• Allows service members to begin the federal employment process prior to separation in order to facilitate a truly seamless transition from the military to jobs at VA, Homeland Security, or the many other federal agencies in need of our veterans.

• Works with the states to create a licensing and credentialing standard for returning service members to break down the barriers to find meaningful employment in their military occupations.

• Strengthens the protections for members of the National Guard and Reserve in the workforce to minimize hostile work environments.

• Is fully paid for, mainly with a VA mortgage fee extension similar to a provision that has already passed the House.

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