Government

Obama to Propose ‘Reverse Boot Camp’ & Corporate Tax Credits to Help Unemployed Veterans

Obama Proposes Tax Credits for Unemployed Military VeteransWASHINGTON (The Blaze/AP) — President Barack Obama is asking Congress to approve new initiatives to help some of America’s 1 million unemployed military veterans find work, including tax credits for companies that hire out-of-work vets.

The proposal Obama is to outline Friday is part of the president’s efforts to return to a focus on jobs after spending weeks mired in the contentious debt-limit debate that consumed the White House for much of the summer.

His announcement was to come shortly after the Labor Department releases a new round of nationwide unemployment data. Last month’s jobs report was dismal, with the country’s unemployment rate ticking up to 9.2 percent and job growth slowing nearly to a halt.

The White House says the sluggish economy creates additional challenges for veterans looking to enter the civilian labor market. About 1 million veterans are unemployed, according the administration, including former 260,000 service members who joined the military after the Sept. 11 attacks. Below, learn more about the challenges facing veterans:

The administration says the unemployment rate for the post-Sept. 11 service members is 13.3 percent. The main features of Obama’s proposal, according to administration officials, are two tax credits for companies that hire unemployed veterans:

- A “Returning Heroes” tax credit for 2012-2013. Companies that hire unemployed veterans would receive a $2,400 tax credit. That tax credit would increase to $4,800 if the veteran has been unemployed for six months or more.

- A two-year 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 of more, the tax credit increases to $9,600.

The tax credits would require congressional approval. Administration officials said the White House would start working with lawmakers on the proposal after Congress returns from its recess in September.

One official said the administration estimates the cost of the tax credits at $120 million. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss the initiatives ahead of the president’s announcement at the Washington Navy Yard.

The president also will announce a joint initiative between the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments to come up with a “reverse boot camp” program that would help train service members for the civilian workforce as they wind down their time in the military. Fox News has more:

Obama is calling on the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to develop a proposal for post-military career readiness. The task force would create an extended transition period, including counseling for outgoing service members and providing veterans with more information on the benefits available to them through the GI Bill. The Labor Department is expected to play a role in this plan to transition service members to the civilian work force.

During his remarks Friday, Obama also will challenge private companies to hire or train 100,000 veterans by the end of 2013. He is expected to name some companies that already have committed to taking part in that effort.

Comments (42)

  • Roros
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 10:45pm

    One million oh-wow, We can get things done, start with the removal of infiltrators from American soil. There you will receive Money and Food, for your familie, Guns without taking from Base, however.
    Most important call Israel set up a hiring deal, we could send them Five hundred thousand trained men and women right now. Need money need food we all do, you trained people are skilled and have something worth money you can fight. Call your people together, one million strong, put some hunger behind that, even China would think first at least, I pray.

    Report Post »  
  • J Chase
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 3:20pm

    That program already exists in the Army. It is called the Army Career and Alumni Program, or ACAP. Participation is mandatory for separating Soldiers.

    Report Post »  
  • Daryn J. Moran
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 2:34pm

    Problem: Any

    Solution: Spend money

    Philosophy 101 for Obama and his tyrannizing, oppressing, Communist followers

    Report Post »  
  • workinghard
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 1:52pm

    I am a small businesses owner and am limited in growth ONLY due to inability to find good staff. Where do you find these people coming out of the military? Recruiting centers? Local armories?

    Report Post »  
    • Justin85
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 3:46pm

      I am a veteran of 8 years with the army…6 years infantry, 2 years CI. I send out over 100 resumes a week, and have had only 1 call-back. I keep hearing business owners claiming that they would love to hire veterans, but so far it appears that it is nothing but lip service. People tell me all the time how they appreciate my service to the nation, but they never want to hire a vet.

      Report Post »  
  • markdido
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 1:46pm

    “Reverse Boot Camp?”

    Boot Camp and the military in general turns “me” centerered slackers into goal-oriented team players and achievers.

    So would Reverse Boot Camp turn them into Progressives?

    Report Post »  
  • soundtracktowar
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 1:23pm

    Platitude, youre an idiot. Im a vet and the biggest thing i was taught was to take the initiative and think outside the box, fyi, i wouldnt come to the blaze if i didnt mind questioning authority. I’m pre-med, and im the biggest pain in the a$$ to my professors, because i do think for myself. thanks for the support though.

    Report Post »  
  • capitalismrocks
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 11:39am

    Mr. President – I guess your crack think-tank team of advisers forgot to tell you – WE ALREADY HAVE SUCH A PROGRAM !!!!

    Its called ACAP (Army Career and Alumni Program)

    http://www.acap.army.mil/

    YOU MORON !!!

    Report Post » capitalismrocks  
  • LukeAppling
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 11:35am

    Obama continues to spemd money we do not have-wake up Obama and stop spending!
    You are FDR for this progressive failure! Every 30 years it seems to infect America let’s make sure it never infects us again. Prosperity means FREEDOM not big government..

    Report Post »  
  • ProudInfidel
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 11:24am

    ANYTHING that helps our Vets get up & running in the job market is GOOD by ME!

    Report Post » ProudInfidel  
  • twowarvet
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 11:17am

    As a current serving active duty Soldier who had a break in service for 8-1/2 years, we don’t need to spend money on this. A job hiring search program exists as it has existed when I originally discharged in 1994. My Soldiers today use this progam called and it is ACAP. http://www.acap.army.mil/ It provides for job listings, resume classes, interview classes, and numerous job fairs. All Soldiers are mandated by Congress to have access to the program offices and they alsways get it.

    The problem is that we have a lower quality individual entering the miltary, and it’s not from lowering the standards on the entrance exams, it’s rather from our so-called modern day parenting. Typically, these kids come in with no sense of self-discipline, self-respect, or passion. Then, they never get to develop these traits while in the Army. With the Army trying to mimic contemporary societal values, opinions, and actions, we have become a social experiment that looks as bad as the civilian world. We shy away from individual spirit, individual accountability, independent thinking, and adventure. You see these great videos on YouTube and in the news that do show these things happening, but what those videos don’t show you is the other 95% of the Army.

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  • nysparkie
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 10:40am

    Bring em on home. Screw the Nation building. Let Iraq go into civil war. Who in the USA really freakin cares. Islam don’t care about us, let them burn each other at the stake. Bring the troops home. 31 just died, Special Ops guys in the ugly sand pit Afghanistan, for what? Get the boys home, NOW!

    Report Post » nysparkie  
    • capitalismrocks
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 11:46am

      Yes, agreed! Our troops should be home defending the US border and the Army Corps of Engineers should be building the 2000 mile triple layer security fence along the US-Mexico Border:

      Stop Drug Trafficking
      Stop Gun Running (Including Obama’s gun runners)
      Stop Human Trafficking
      Reduce Gang Violence
      Cut off funding to Mexican Cartels
      Cut off entry by terrorists

      Once this is done and the “hole in the sinking ship is plugged” we can then do comprehensive immigration reform, all illegal aliens should report to an immigration office within 6 months to be fingerprinted, registered, issued a social security # and put on the “US tax grid”

      Failure to report in 6 months – permanently deported
      All immigrants if caught in a felony within 5 years – permanently deported
      All immigrants found to have felons in their home country – deported and barred from the US
      All immigrants who fail to pay taxes – deported and allowed to reapply for citizenship, 2nd offense – permanently deported

      Being a US citizen is a priviledge and must be treated with high regard and respect, violate our laws and you lose that priviledge permanently.

      Report Post » capitalismrocks  
  • junkmaninohio
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 10:31am

    You can start by getting our troops out of Afganistan and Iraq. Let these mud people kill themselves. Why are we wasting our boy‘s blood and our country treasure on these corrupt muslim morons who don’t want us there anyway? .

    Report Post »  
  • powhatan
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 9:40am

    Obama is just a simple idiot…I mean really? It is just to win hearts and spend money….Why now? Anything for vets is a plus, but not from him..

    Report Post » powhatan  
    • SamIamTwo
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 9:48am

      He does it willfully and for a purpose. He is no idiot, he is by far worse than an idiot.

      Report Post » SamIamTwo  
    • MIBUGNU2
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 11:10am

      With a little over a year to go before elections, He will pull all the
      plugs..He will stop at nothing, could have been getting vet‘s job’s
      2 years ago..you ask why now,,,,,It’s re-election TIME…and with
      serious cuts to be made, they will say the RIGHT is holding him
      “HOSTAGE”….Sure getting tired of hearing that word being used !

      Report Post » MIBUGNU2  
  • TomFerrari
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 9:13am

    Yeah, because government knows SO MUCH about how the private sector works.
    .
    .
    .
    NOT !
    .
    .
    .

    Report Post » TomFerrari  
  • PelositheGreat
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 8:55am

    but I dont have any more money to pay more taxes. Now, if you would cut taxes so I had money, I would be happy to buy things and the manufactures would have to hire more people as would the stores.

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    • darkrage000
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 9:40am

      Amen to that!

      oh wait.. are we allowed to say that anymore?

      Report Post »  
    • SamIamTwo
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 9:49am

      Well if you paid the “amen” tax then it is OK to say it.

      Report Post » SamIamTwo  
  • Gekko
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 6:41am

    This was an asinine speech to give to a military audience. There is already a long-time program in place, called the Transition Assistance Program. http://www.turbotap.org This was in place when I left the Air Force in 1997. I also became a speaker for the local program about how I made a successful transition to a civilian career. I remember slamming the speaker who preceded me once because he was trying to recruit veterans for minimum wage security positions. I advised them not to sell themselves short like–that they should aim higher. If Obama really wanted to help them, he would slash regulations and corporate tax rates, and get out of the way of the private sector and small business hiring. Instead, as Steve Wynn said, he remains the biggest “wet blanket” holding back economic growth.

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    • loriann12
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 8:29am

      This is Obama’s way of taking more money out of the coffers in order to collapse our government. They want to tax corporations more, but now (with election time coming up) he wants to give a tax break for those who hire veterans? When I got out of the navy in 1988 they had a special liason at the unemployment office (oops excuse me, the employment office) to handle vets and help them get a job. My job had no civilian equivilent, and he helped me word a resume to include the skills I’d learned in the Navy.

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    • karen162
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 8:40am

      I know he is most likely doing this to help himself get re-elected, but I am for tax breaks of any kind, especially if they help the military and in this instance…does somewhat help business. Our business need any and all the help from taxes they can get.

      Report Post » karen162  
    • sbleve
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 9:46am

      The Presidents play book is tutored by his 37 Czars. The very best improvement would be to terminate all of the Czars (shadow government that is independent from Congress). Infact, the best solution long term for our Nation is to eliminate government paid Czars, indefinitely. If a President needs Czars to rule, then that person is not of presidential quality. If czars are necessary then Cabinet Secretaries are useless.

      Report Post » sbleve  
  • planbdeveloper
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 6:38am

    I will put them ALL to work! Send me an e-mail…..

    Report Post » planbdeveloper  
  • planbdeveloper
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 6:36am

    I’ll put them ALL to work! Send me an email at bob@planbdeveloper.com

    Report Post » planbdeveloper  
  • EP46
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 5:41am

    I must be wrong…again….I thought it was Republicans who gave away everything to Big Business….
    but here the PUPPET is giving TAX CREDIT to Big Business to hire people !!! Taking money out of the coffers to ‘spread the wealth’ ?? NO PUPPET….REPEAL your REGULATIONS on Business and people can have jobs and pay taxes and feed their families. The government DOES NOT CREATE jobs…except government jobs that pay 2-3 times as much..paid for with tax dollars. Repeal the Czar imposed Regulations and businesses will hire…taxes will be paid..we will start to climb out of this ditch.

    Report Post »  
  • afwifemomof4
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 4:13am

    my brother has been overseas 3 times and each deployment has messed up his schooling (leaving in the middle of a semester and coming home in the middle of another one) now he has a wife and new baby and he’s unemployed. i don‘t think pres obama’s proposal is a good one though. there are already programs in place to help returning vets but they aren’t run well. why don’t we work on fixing what is already in place rather than trying to implement another program?? vets are awesome and they don’t need tax incentives to get a job, they just need help changing over from war mode to civilian mode.

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    • Seasoldier
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 4:58am

      They tried a “training” program similar to this toward the end of the Vietnam war, and it was a big flop. The skills to be taught were limited to low-paying, manual labor-type jobs, the training for which had to be available near the base. If the base was in the boonies, like Camp Lejeune, N. C., too bad. The people who volunteered for the program were mostly dead beats looking to get out of military duties. As AFWIFEMOMOF4 pointed out, the programs they already have in place are not well run, mostly because they are half-hearted, poorly staffed, and the DOD doesn’t coordinate will with other government agencies like the VA and Dept. of Labor for these types of things. Just because a soldier rotates back from a combat zone, it doesn’t mean his work is done. He is simply taking the place of the guy who just left to replace him and there are lots of things to be done. There is no time to create and run a broad range of training programs. Where are they going to send these soldiers for the training? How will they decide who gets the training? What skills are they going to teach? How long will the training last? At what point does the soldier begin this training, and, if it’s before he gets discharged, who replaces him in the military duties he would have been performing? I say give the servicemen and women the right to select the type and place of training they want after their discharged and give the companies tax breaks to provide that training, as long as they hire the v

      Report Post »  
  • DallyWama
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 3:08am

    It’s a little late to fix the quagmire of unemployment he created. Even Bush wasnt this terribad.

    Report Post »  
  • banjarmon
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 1:18am

    Put them on the south border.

    Report Post » banjarmon  
  • godhatesacoward
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 1:12am

    REVERSE BOOT CAMP!?! Are fn’ kidding me?!! Get fkd you marxist waste of space!!!!!

    Report Post » godhatesacoward  
    • godhatesacoward
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 1:16am

      Most vets would make great employees. But don’t fk with their training that made them model employees!

      Report Post » godhatesacoward  
    • platitude
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 4:53am

      vets make great employees, they are systematically trained to fall in line and obey without question. not the best when it comes to challenging convention, or inventing and creating anything of significance, but perfect when you are looking for a dutiful, stalwart, sycophantic, workhorse, like boxer from orwells animal farm. just don’t put them in charge of anything that requires dialectic reasoning.

      Report Post » platitude  
    • StopAgenda21
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 1:50pm

      @Platitude

      I‘m sure you feel that comment makes for a good sound bite but you certainly don’t know what your talking about. Military personnel, especially infantry and special operators are trained to think for themselves. Why you might ask? Because when the chain of command breaks down in the middle of nowhere and the situation FUBAR, they need to make smart, fast decisions that complete the overall mission, create the least collateral damage and maintain acceptable loss. I could go on but I doubt you will understand this much, so why bother.

      Report Post »  
    • markdido
      Posted on August 6, 2011 at 1:51pm

      Platitude.

      What an amazingly ignorant post.

      I’d be willing to bet that the percentage of people holding post-secondary degrees in the military is higher than that of the general population.

      Report Post »  
  • mossbrain
    Posted on August 6, 2011 at 1:11am

    Damn rights I’d hire a vet for a tax credit like that.

    Report Post » mossbrain  

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