Southampton - Congressman Tim Bishop applauded unanimous House passage today of job training assistance for veterans transitioning to civilian employment and tax credits for employers who hire unemployed veterans or veterans with service-connected disabilities. The package contains provisions originally proposed in the President's Jobs package and the Veterans' Opportunity to Work Act, which passed the House with Bishop's support earlier this month. It previously passed the Senate and the President has pledged to promptly sign it into law.

"The 12.1 percent unemployment rate for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan is unacceptable, and these efforts should only be the start of an ongoing effort to ensure our veterans successfully transfer to civilian life after their service to our nation," said Congressman Bishop.

The package, which is fully paid for, contains provisions to aid veterans seeking work including:

 • Tax credits for employers of up to $5,600 for hiring veterans who have been looking for a job for more than six months, and a $2,400 credit for hiring veterans who have been unemployed for more than four weeks, but less than six months.

 • A tax credit of up to $9,600 for hiring veterans with service-connected disabilities who have been looking for a job for more than six months.

 • Expands participation in the Transition Assistance Program (TAP), an interagency workshop coordinated by Departments of Defense, Labor and Veterans Affairs, to all exiting servicemembers to help them secure 21st Century jobs through resume writing workshops and career counseling.

 • Expands education and training opportunities for veterans of past eras by providing 100,000 unemployed older veterans with up to one-year of additional Montgomery GI benefits for education or job training programs at community colleges or technical schools.

"Veterans returning to their families from overseas - especially those who are partially disabled as a result of their service deserve more than our thanks; they deserve the opportunity to use the skills and discipline they learned in the Armed Forces to make a decent living when they come home," Bishop said.