"...As well as they've served us"
President Obama dedicated this week's address to discussing the importance of thanking our veterans. But, more than showing gratitude, the President stressed the need to create an environment that serves our men and women in the armed forces as well as they've served us.
With troops scheduled to come home from Iraq, President Obama focused on the challenges that lay ahead, and the need to strengthen support for those who have sacrificed on behalf of the country:
"Today, more than 850,000 veterans remain unemployed. And too many are struggling to find a job worthy of their talents and their experience.
That's not right. We ask these men and women to leave their families and their jobs and risk their lives to fight for our country. The last thing they should have to do is fight for a job when they get home.
To give our veterans the opportunities they've earned, I've directed the federal government to lead by example - and already, we've hired 120,000 veterans. We've also challenged private companies to hire or train 100,000 post-9/11 veterans or their spouses by the end of 2013. So far, many patriotic companies have answered the call, hiring more than 16,000 Americans. And yesterday, thanks to the hard work of Michelle and Dr. Jill Biden, companies announced their commitment to train or hire 125,000 more over the next two years."
Citing the need to do more, President Obama returned to the topic of his American Jobs Act, expressing gratitude that Congress passed two portions of his bill that are focused on the nation's men and women in uniform:
"That's why, as part of the American Jobs Act, I called on Congress to pass a Returning Heroes Tax Credit, which would give businesses a tax break for each unemployed veteran they hire; and a Wounded Warriors Tax Credit, which would give businesses a tax break for hiring an unemployed veteran with a disability related to their service in uniform.
These proposals will go a long way towards putting our veterans back to work. And on Thursday, I was pleased to see the Senate put partisanship aside and came together to pass these tax credits."
President Obama's Weekly Address:
