H.R.

674 Title II Vow to Hire Heroes Act of 2011

Support for the bill Summary
The VOW to Hire Heroes Act is bipartisan, comprehensive legislation that would lower the rate of unemployment among our nations veterans. This bill combines provisions of Chairman Millers Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) Act - which passed the House on October 12, 2011 - (H.R. 2433; Report #112242), and Chairman Murrays Hiring Heroes Act (S. 951; Report #112-36), and veterans tax credits into a comprehensive jobs package that will aggressively attack the unacceptably high rate of veterans' unemployment by: Expanding education and training, Improving the transition assistance program (TAP), Facilitating seamless transition, Translating military skills and training, and Veterans tax credits Congress has received a lot of criticism lately for their political infighting leading to inability to get anything done. There is one thing they could agree on however. Dont mess with vets. The VOW bill passed the house easily 418-6 and the Senate approved it 95-0. It was signed into law Nov. 21, 2011 by President Obama. The head sponsor was Walter Herger, R-California.

Intended Results
The federal government's February jobs report showed that the unemployment rate for veterans of the two wars had dropped significantly, to 7.6 percent although economists warn the sample isnt large enough to consider it a long term success yet.

Facts
The unemployment rate for veterans who left the military after 2001 was 12.1%, about 240,000 veterans, including 30% for those ages 18-24 The bill gives employers tax credits of up to $5,600 for hiring veterans who have been unemployed longer than six months. and give a tax credit of up to $9,600 for hiring long-unemployed disabled veterans. The bill is fully paid for through changes in VA mortgage programs and would even reduce federal deficits by $2 billion over the next decade. A retraining program that includes one year of GI Bill benefits to teach a skill that could lead to immediate employment. The bill provides for 45,000 to be trained in 2012 and 55,000 in 2013 and makes military transition programs mandatory for those separating or retiring. Mandates a Department of Labor review of skills service members learn in various sectors of the military and what training or certifications would translate into obtaining employment in the civilian sector

References

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/10/military-veteransemployment-bill-101211w/ http://veterans.house.gov/jobs http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr674 http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hr674enr/pdf/BILLS-11