Casey pushes for tax credit for companies hiring vets

This week, as the U.S. Senate debates legislation aimed at cutting the unemployment rate of veterans, Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania said the country owes a great deal to Philadelphia County’s more than 12,000 out-of-work veterans and others around the country.

The “Vow to Hire Heroes Act” would provide a tax credit to small businesses that hire and provide job training to veterans, he said.

Casey said the legislation will help ease the struggle of veterans seeking work when their service is complete.

“When you consider the sacrifices that veterans and their families have made for our country, I think it’s an obligation of all of us–and especially elected officials–to do everything we can to help them re-enter the job market, to help them become employed in a very, very tough economy,” Casey said.

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Employing skilled, committed veterans will strengthen the U.S. economy, he said.

“I know there are a lot of employers over the years who have worked very hard to hire veterans, and I commend them for that work,” Casey said. “But they need more incentives, more tools, more strategies to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to hire our veterans.”

Under the legislation, businesses that hire veterans who have been searching for work for between four weeks and six months are eligible for a tax credit of up to $2,400. Businesses that hire a veteran who has been looking for a job for more than six months would receive a tax credit worth up to $5,600.

The “Vow to Hire Heroes Act” would also make the Transition Assistance Program, known as TAP, more broadly available for service members. That program provides resume-writing workshops and career counseling to service members.

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