Americas

Americas

Obama signs bill to help veterans back to work

21 November 2011 23:08 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday signed a bill into law that would encourage businesses to hire veterans, APA reports.

During a signing ceremony at the White House, Obama said the legislation is an important step to help veterans transition into workforce. He noted that while the national jobless rate has slipped somewhat over the past month, the unemployment rate for veterans back from Iraq and Afghanistan is still on the rise.

"Just as they fight for us on the battlefield, it’s up to us to fight for our troops and their families when they come home," the president said. "I urge every business owner out there who’s hiring to hire a vet right away."

The bill, approved overwhelmingly by both chambers of Congress, would offer tax credits of up to 5,600 dollars to companies that hire veterans who have been unemployed for more than six months. The maximum amount of tax credits would be elevated to 9,600 dollars if companies hire long-unemployed disabled veterans. It would also expand education and job training benefits for veterans.

This is so far the only piece of Obama’s American Jobs Act to get enacted. After the 447-billion-dollar jobs package was stalled in the highly partisan Congress, the White House instead sought to pass it piece by piece.

The president hailed the bipartisanship the Congress showed in passing the veterans bill, and called on lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, to keep working to find more ways to solve the nation’s problems with "no politics, no delays, no excuses."

The harmony demonstrated at the ceremony was a rare thing given the tension surrounding the so-called supercommittee, which is tasked with drawing up a plan to cut federal deficit by at least 1. 2 trillion dollars over the next decade.

The 12-member committee, established in accordance with a summer deal to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, is reportedly to announce on Monday it’s failure, which might trigger spending cuts of 1.2 trillion dollars across the federal agencies.