Senate Passage of Veterans Bill A Welcome Approach to Jobs Crisis

Bill also repeals burdensome withholding requirement that slows job creation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) today voted for legislation that was a prt of Obama's job proposal.  It will help create jobs for veterans and also ends a requirement that penalizes small businesses that contract with the government.

Boozman called today’s vote “a welcome bipartisan approach” to our economic crisis.  The $447 billion veterans jobs bill passed with a vote of 95-0.   The bill also repealed a piece of  Obama’s job proposal - a tax provision slated to go into effect in 2013 that would have withheld 3% of payments to contracts by government agencies.

“The American people want us to work together to turnaround our economy, and on the eve of Veterans Day, we showed we can do that to help get unemployed veterans back to work. I remain confident that we can do the same on larger scale to help put our economy as a whole back on track and get unemployed and underemployed Americans working again,” Boozman said.

The bill increases the tax credit for companies that hire disabled veterans who have been jobless for six months or more to $9,600.  The bill also creates new tax credits of up to $5,600 for employers hiring veterans who have been job hunting for six months or more and $2,400 for those out of work for a month or more. It also enhances job training and counseling programs for veterans.

“During my tenure as Ranking Member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, we worked hard to help assist veterans in making a smooth transition into civilian life. That has become a far more challenging task this difficult economy. The tax credit that this bill increases and the new ones it creates will help ensure veterans are able to assume their rightful role as an indispensable part of America’s work force,” Boozman said.

The repealed regulation penalizes small businesses that contract with the federal, state and local governments by requiring the government entities to withhold 3 percent of their payments. The Withholding Tax Relief Act, which is one of the initiatives in the Senate Republican jobs plan which Sen. Boozman cosponsored, had broad bipartisan support so it became the vehicle used by the Senate Majority to add the veterans’ jobs initiatives.

“There is no reason why government agencies should be required to withhold federal taxes from payments to contractors. All this does is divert resources to the federal government, resources that could otherwise be used for capital investments, employees or additional project bids.  Repealing this requirement is one step toward fostering an environment that helps create jobs where they are most needed—the private sector,” Boozman said about the withholding tax repeal provision of the bill.

During consideration of the bill, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) offered an amendment based on the Senate Republicans jobs plan that would reform the tax code, abolish burdensome regulations, eliminate wasteful spending, promote new markets for American exporters and reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy. However, the amendment was not agreed to.  However, Boozman said “this is the kind of bold plan our economy needs to turn around.”

“My colleagues and I remain committed to seeing this vision through as the broad range of market-based solutions included in it will help turn the economy around by encouraging private sector job creation and economic growth,” Boozman said.

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