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Senator Baucus: "War on Veterans Unemployment" Gains Momentum

"Time for Our Troops to Return to Good-Paying Jobs and a Nation That Honors Their Sacrifices" Senator Max Baucus

Montana U.S. Senator Max Baucus announced progress in the battle against veterans’ unemployment today. Baucus, who authored the original tax credit for hiring unemployed veterans in 2009, noted the FY2014 federal budget includes a provision to permanently extend tax credits for businesses that hire vets.

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Missoula Veteran Stand Down And Job Fair, 5/23, Missoula, Montana http://www.matr.net/article-55125.html

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"When duty calls, Montanans have a proud legacy of answering. Our veterans deserve to come home to good-paying jobs and a nation that honors their sacrifices. Making these veterans tax credits permanent will bring certainty to businesses that hire veterans and bring down unemployment among our nation’s heroes," said Baucus as he reaffirmed his declaration of War on Veterans Unemployment today. "While this is a step in the right direction, we can do more to make sure businesses don’t hit a wall of red tape when they’re interested in putting veterans to work, and that is what my bill does."

A proposal in the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget would permanently extend the Returning Heroes Tax Credit, which provides up to $5,600 to employers to hire unemployed veterans, and the Wounded Warrior Tax Credit, which provides up to $9,600 to hire long-term unemployed veterans with service-connected disabilities. Baucus has long fought to make veterans tax credits permanent.

Baucus introduced the Veteran Employment Transition Act of 2013 or "VETs Act" in January, legislation he authored which expands the existing tax credit to help more veterans and makes it even easier for businesses to claim. The legislation, co-sponsored by Senator Jon Tester, allows employers to claim a $2,400 tax credit when hiring any recently-discharged veteran and streamlines the certification process for those veterans and businesses.

The VETs Act includes four cornerstones:

1. Increase opportunities for veterans to transfer military skills into the civilian workforce;

2. Support small businesses owned by disabled veterans;

3. Make it easier for businesses to get tax credits for hiring recently discharged veterans; and

4. Hold government agencies accountable for delivering results for veterans.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday that the unemployment rate for Post-9/11 veterans was 9.2 percent in March http://iava.org/press-room/press-releases/new-unemployment-data-underscores-financial-strain-new-veterans , 1.6 percentage points higher than the rest of the country.

Senator Baucus authored the original credit http://www.finance.senate.gov/newsroom/chairman/release/?id=d1079490-5726-4b7c-a9f5-b089241efc47 for hiring unemployed vets in early 2009, as well as its 2011 expansion http://www.baucus.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=751 and its extension http://www.finance.senate.gov/newsroom/chairman/release/?id=e3290a69-8fa4-4a6d-8c3a-756ea03a4224 earlier this year. When the original tax credit was enacted, Senator Baucus promised to continue working to cut red tape and make the process simpler, which this bill does.

Senator Baucus’ bill also helps veterans earn certifications and licenses when they return home for skills they learned while serving in the military. The legislation calls for better coordination between the six different veteran unemployment programs in the Departments of Veterans’ Affairs and Labor, and it compels executive agencies to award contracts to small businesses owned by disabled veterans.

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