Trump Republicans On The Spot To Put Up Or Shut Up On Veteran Support

On February 3, a bill was introduced in the House Of Representatives to reauthorize the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 which would help veteran-owned business and veterans maintain job security. We must watch this closely as it is uncertain what the Republican-majority Congress will do with this bill.

The bill, introduced Democrat Rep. Steve Cohen, would seek to strengthen the resolve to hire and provide assistance for veterans in various work forces.

Originally signed in November 2011 by former President, Barack Obama, the bill established a series of tax credits for businesses that hired veterans in need of employment, published employment assessments for all Military Occupational Specialties, and expanded on-the-job training/apprenticeship programs for Veterans.

With the bill being in effect for over five years, the success was staggering. According to DoDLive, since implementation:

  • More than 1 million service members have transitioned into civilian life.
  • The unemployment rate for veterans has been reduced by more than half, falling from a high of 9.9 percent in 2011 to 4.3 percent in 2016. In addition, the post-9/11 veterans unemployment rate was 4.7 percent 2016, down from a high of 15.2 percent in 2011.
  • VA has deployed more than 300 Benefit Advisors worldwide to provide information on the benefits and services VA provides.

Now the bill is being reintroduced with some revisions being made including:

  • A name change to: “Putting Our Veterans Back to Work Act of 2017”
  • Several reauthorizations including: extending the bill’s effective date to December 30th 2020, the number of eligible veterans to remain at 50,000 for the entire duration of the reauthorization, and to reauthorize the extension of the authority of Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide rehabilitation and vocational benefit to members of the armed forces with severe injuries or illnesses.
  • Several new implementations such as: Grants to hire veterans as First Responders, and Employment of veterans as an evaluation factor for Federal Grants. 

President Donald Trump has said in the past that Veteran’s rights would be taken seriously during his presidency. With a majority Republican congress it seems that something like this would also appeal to their values as well. Only time will tell if taking care of our veterans here at home as well as the ones abroad is truly as important to the Republican platform as they claim it is.

Currently the bill has been sent to several committees including: Committee on Veterans’ Affairs,Committees on Armed Services, Oversight and Government Reform, the Judiciary, and Science, Space, and Technology.

Watch this space because we will continue to update on the progress of this bill.

Featured Image credited to AMPpob