WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) is an original cosponsor of the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011, which will be introduced today to help America’s veterans get jobs when they return home from service. It is the third major bill to confront America’s jobs crisis that Senator Coons has cosponsored in the last four weeks.

“The very least we can do for those who have fought for our nation abroad is to make sure they don’t have to fight just to find a job at home,” Senator Coons said. “This difficult economy has made it harder than ever for our returning heroes, but this bill will help create new employment opportunities for our veterans. I cosponsored the Hiring Heroes Act this spring and now the VOW to Hire Heroes Act because I believe it is our duty and responsibility to help private companies to utilize the many skills and talents our service members developed in the service of our country. It is my hope that helping our veterans can somehow break through the partisan logjam that has prevented this Congress from making real progress against our nation’s job crisis.”

The VOW to Hire Heroes Act draws on ideas from S.951, the Hiring Heroes Act, and from President Obama’s American Jobs Act. The bill:

  • Creates 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;
  • Creates 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—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 jobs through 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 one year of additional Montgomery GI benefits to go towards education or training programs at community colleges or technical schools;
  • Provides disabled veterans up to one 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.

In August, Senator Coons hosted a roundtable discussion that included 19 participants from around Delaware, from the military, public, private, medical, and academic sectors. The Senator led a 90-minute-long discussion on the unique challenges veterans face after returning home and on opportunities to help ease their transition to the workforce. Learn more about that roundtable here: http://bit.ly/rJYvXa

“The bill we are introducing is a bipartisan and comprehensive approach to getting our nation’s veterans back to work,” said Senator Patty Murray, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. “It includes Republican and Democratic ideas because getting our veterans the financial security and dignity a job provides should never be partisan. For too long in this country we have patted our veterans on the back for their service and then pushed them out into the job market alone. With this bill we are giving our veterans the job skills to get their foot in the door and incentivizing employers to make sure that door is open to them.”

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