WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama on Friday will propose a $120 million package of new tax credits for businesses that hire US veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan at a time of stubbornly high unemployment at home.
Obama was due to visit Washington's Navy Yard to unveil a package of measures, including improved retraining and education, to help smooth the way for service members entering a tight US job market, administration officials said.
The announcement comes as Obama, fresh from a bruising fight over deficits, faces growing pressure for new steps to boost the struggling economy and spur lagging job growth.
As the United States winds down the war in Iraq and begins a troop drawdown in Afghanistan, thousands of veterans are flooding the job market.
In June, there were 1 million unemployed veterans and the jobless rate for those who served since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks stood at 13.3 percent, compared with 9.2 percent for the overall US workforce.
"The brave men and women who have put their lives on the line for our country ... should not have to necessarily sacrifice more because our country is recovering from a very deep recession," one administration official said.
Obama will propose a new "Returning Heroes Tax Credit" of $2,400 to firms for each veteran they hire who has been unemployed for less than six months and $4,800 if unemployed for half a year or more, administration officials said.
The existing "Wounded Warriors Tax Credit" -- paid out for hiring wounded veterans -- would be doubled to $9,600 for taking on someone unemployed for six months or longer.
Administration officials put the cost at $120 million over two years. The plan requires congressional approval and will be funded from the existing budget, the official said.
Obama will also challenge the private sector to hire or train 100,000 unemployed veterans by the end of 2013 and will name companies willing to take part, an official said.
Copyright Reuters, 2011
Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011
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