Obama Pushes for Companies to Hire Military Veterans

Posted August 5th, 2011 at 12:00 pm (UTC-5)
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U.S. President Barack Obama is calling on private companies in the United States to put the country’s unemployed military veterans back to work.

Mr. Obama Friday unveiled a series of initiatives designed to encourage private employers to hire veterans. He told military personnel and veterans at the Washington Navy Yard “you fought for us and now we’re fighting for you.”

A key part of the plan would give companies a $2,400 tax credit for hiring out-of-work veterans. The credit would double to $4,800 if the veteran had been out-of-work for more than six months.

The president’s plan would also extend an existing tax credit for companies that hire veterans who were injured during their military service and create what the president called a “reverse boot camp” to prepare veterans for their transition back to civilian life.

White House officials estimate the cost of the initiatives would be about $120 million. The measures need to be approved by Congress.

Mr. Obama said veterans have the type of expertise and leadership abilities that any business in America can use. He challenged private companies to hire or train 100,000 veterans by the end of 2013.

The U.S. says there are 1 million unemployed military veterans and that the jobless rate for veterans who joined the military after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks is 13.3 percent.