WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) today joined President Barack Obama and leading veterans’ organizations in the Rose Garden to unveil new programs to boost the economy and help create employment opportunities for veterans.

Reed, a former Army Ranger, is a key supporter of the Returning Heroes and Wounded Warrior Tax Credits, which the U.S. Senate will consider this week along with a package of other initiatives designed to encourage businesses to hire former members of the military or injured veterans who have been out of work.  The Returning Heroes Tax Credit provides businesses that hire unemployed veterans with a tax credit of up to $5,600 per veteran.  The Wounded Warriors Tax Credit offers companies that hire veterans with service-connected disabilities with a credit of up to $9,600 per veteran.

“It may not seem like Congress can agree on much these days, but one thing all Americans must agree on is that our soldiers’ service and sacrifice sustains us.  Everyone needs to do more to help veterans transition from military service to the civilian workforce.  Congress should quickly pass a bipartisan veterans jobs bill that encourages immediate hiring and will connect experienced veterans with businesses that can benefit from their considerable skills,” said Reed.  “There has been too much obstruction in Congress.  Our veterans are counting on us and economic progress demands that important jobs bills like this one start getting support from the other side of the aisle.”

There are over 70,000 veterans in Rhode Island today.  And while the state’s unemployment rate is at 10.6%, the overall veterans’ unemployment rate in Rhode Island is 11.1%.  The unemployment rate among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans has remained several percentage points above the national unemployment rate, and without action, there are concerns it will grow worse in coming years.

The veterans jobs bill Congress is set to consider contains bipartisan ideas and will make the military’s Transition Assistance Program mandatory for separating troops.  It will also extend education and training benefits to unemployed older veterans and give disabled veterans an extra year of vocational rehabilitation benefits.

During the Rose Garden Ceremony, President Obama also announced the White House is taking immediate action to provide new resources for veterans to translate military experience to the private job market, give veterans additional career development support, and better identify firms looking to hire veterans.  These executive actions include:

My Next Move for Veterans: The Department of Labor has launched www.mynextmove.org, a new online resource that allows veterans to enter their military occupation code and discover civilian occupations for which they are well qualified.  The site will also include information about salaries, apprenticeships, and other related education and training programs.

Veteran Gold Card: Post-9/11 veterans will be able download the Veteran Gold Card, which entitles them to enhanced services including six months of personalized case management, assessments and counseling, at nearly 3,000 One-Stop Career Centers located across the country.  The White House estimates this could help serve the more than 200,000 unemployed Post-9/11 veterans. 

Veterans Job Bank: the Obama Administration is creating the Veterans Job Bank, at National Resource Directory (www.nrd.gov), an easy-to-use tool to help veterans find job postings from companies looking to hire them.  It already searches over 500,000 job postings and is growing.  In a few easy steps, companies can make sure the job postings on their own websites are part of this Veterans Job Bank.