Hiring Heroes Act of 2011 aimed at assisting veterans
Youngstown Vindicator – The Hiring Heroes Act of 2011 is a bill aimed at reducing the 27 percent unemployment rate among military veterans by 20 to 24 percent.
The bill, which recently cleared the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs and awaits action of the full Senate, would help close the disconnect between the Department of Defense and organizations that help veterans get training and jobs when they leave the military and return to civilian life, said U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, D-Avon.
Brown, a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, called the unemployment rate “staggering” and “unacceptable,” and in calling for passage of the bill said: “That means that more than one in four of these young veterans can’t find a job to support their family or to ease the transition to civilian life.”
The senator spoke on the issue Monday at Youngstown State University, which he said, along with Cleveland State University in northeast Ohio, has taken very seriously the role of integrating military personnel into the university with its Office of Veterans Affairs.
The Hiring Heroes Act of 2011 would ensure broad job-skills training for service members returning home and help ensure that more jobs are available for veterans as they transition to civilian life, Brown said.
