Obama promotes jobs initiative for veterans

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

President Barack Obama on Friday proposed tax credits and training programs to help thousands of U.S. service members returning from war in Iraq and Afghanistan find jobs in the shaky economy at home.

The president announced his proposals just hours after a new report showed the nationwide unemployment rate is still over 9 percent.

For some military veterans, the economic outlook is even more dismal. The White House said 1 million military veterans are unemployed. Among those who joined the military after the Sept. 11 attacks, the unemployment rate was 13.3 percent as of June.

The president said many of those veterans bring skills from the wars that can be applied in the civilian work force.

The president’s proposals were part of his efforts to return to a focus on jobs after spending weeks mired in the contentious debt-limit debate.

Obama challenged Congress to get to work right after its August recess on legislation to extend for another year an expiring tax break on Social Security payroll taxes, to further extend unemployment insurance and a program for “putting construction workers back to work rebuilding America.”

The tax credits Obama proposed for companies that hire veterans would also require congressional approval.

He asked Congress to authorize a “Returning Heroes” credit for 2012-13 that would give companies that hire unemployed veterans up to a $2,400 tax credit. It would rise to $4,800 if the veteran has been unemployed for six months or more.

Obama also called for an extension of the “Wounded Warriors” tax credit, which gives companies that hire veterans with service-related disabilities a $4,800 credit. If the veteran has been unemployed for six months or more, the credit increases to $9,600.