Support the “Vow To Hire Heroes Act” Amendment to S. 674
Advocacy Letter - 11/10/11
Source: The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Recipient: U.S. Senate
Dear Senator:
On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, we write to express our support for the VOW to Hire Heroes Act, which will be offered as an amendment to S. 674. The VOW to Hire Heroes Act is a budget neutral proposal that will help put veterans back to work and back on their feet. After the many controversial bills that have come up in the 112th Congress, we can only hope this bill proves to be an easy one.
The VOW to Hire Heroes Act will provide tax credits of up to $5,600 for hiring veterans who have been struggling to find work, with higher tax credits for hiring veterans with service-connected disabilities. It will also give veterans the skills they need to find good jobs through the Transition Assistance Program (TAP), expanded vocational rehabilitation, and other education and training opportunities including additional Montgomery GI benefits.
The provisions in the VOW to Hire Heroes Act are beneficial to veterans from all wars, and from all walks of life, including those from the communities we represent – and they also benefit all Americans who can continue to benefit from the talent and hard work exhibited by veterans after they leave military service. The bill will help boost our national economic recovery, is fiscally responsible, is highly popular with the public, and has a history of bipartisan support. The unemployment rate for returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans is an unacceptable 12.1 percent, with an estimated 240,000 veterans of these two wars currently looking for work. Veterans are also over-represented in the homeless population, comprising 11.5 percent of the homeless adult population. Given their willingness to protect us all and the sacrifices they have made, our nation’s veterans deserve better.
For these reasons, we urge you to support the VOW to Hire Heroes Act and to work toward its prompt enactment. Thank you for your consideration. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Rob Randhava, Senior Counsel, at (202) 466-6058.
Sincerely,
Wade Henderson
President & CEO
Nancy Zirkin
Executive Vice President
