[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3859 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3859

 To provide incentive for employers to hire service-connected disabled 
    veterans and to improve adjustment assistance and job-training 
 transition for injured and disabled veterans, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 6, 2006

  Mr. Baucus introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide incentive for employers to hire service-connected disabled 
    veterans and to improve adjustment assistance and job-training 
 transition for injured and disabled veterans, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Help Our Patriots Employment (HOPE) 
Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) As of July 15, 2006, a total of 19,813 members of the 
        Armed Forces of the United States have been wounded in action 
        in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom 
        (OEF).
            (2) As of July 15, 2006, a total of 3,083 members of the 
        National Guard have been wounded in action in OIF and OEF.
            (3) As of July 15, 2006, a total of 1,626 members of the 
        Reserve have been wounded in action in OIF and OEF.
            (4) Rural States are carrying a huge burden when it comes 
        to this Nation's current conflicts abroad. Ninety-five percent 
        of America's National Guard combat battalions and special 
        operations have been mobilized since September 11, 2001. When 
        not deployed, many members of the National Guard and Reserve 
        have second and third jobs to make ends meet.
            (5) Many of these brave servicemen and women are now 
        permanently disabled, and many of them are now unable to 
        perform the jobs they did before deployment because of injury 
        or disability.
            (6) Since August 2002, the number of veterans collecting 
        unemployment insurance has risen 96 percent. In addition, 
        during any given year, 500,000 veterans experience 
        homelessness.

SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF DISABLED VETERANS UNDER THE WORK OPPORTUNITY TAX 
              CREDIT.

    (a) Disabled Veterans Treated as Members of Targeted Group.--
            (1) In general.--Subparagraph (A) of section 51(d)(3) of 
        the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to qualified 
        veteran) is amended by striking ``agency as being a member of a 
        family'' and all that follows and inserting ``agency as--
                            ``(i) being a member of a family receiving 
                        assistance under a food stamp program under the 
                        Food Stamp Act of 1977 for at least a 3-month 
                        period ending during the 12-month period ending 
                        on the hiring date, or
                            ``(ii) entitled to compensation for a 
                        service-connected disability.''.
            (2) Definitions.--Paragraph (3) of section 51(d) of such 
        Code is amended by adding at the end the following new 
        subparagraph:
                    ``(C) Other definitions.--For purposes of 
                subparagraph (A), the terms `compensation' and 
                `service-connected' have the meanings given such terms 
                under section 101 of title 38, United States Code.''.
    (b) Increase in Amount of Wages Taken Into Account for Disabled 
Veterans.--Paragraph (3) of section 51(b) of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986 is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``($12,000 per year in the case of any 
        individual who is a qualified veteran by reason of subsection 
        (d)(3)(A)(ii)'' before the period at the end, and
            (2) by striking ``Only first $6,000 of'' in the heading and 
        inserting ``Limitation on''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to individuals who begin work for an employer after December 31, 
2005.

SEC. 4. INCREASED FUNDING FOR THE NATIONAL VETERANS' EMPLOYMENT AND 
              TRAINING SERVICES INSTITUTE.

    (a) In General.--In addition to any amounts otherwise appropriated, 
there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Labor to 
operate the National Veterans' Employment and Training Services 
Institute in accordance with section 4109 of title 38, United States 
Code, $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009.
    (b) Availability.--Any amounts appropriated pursuant to the 
authority of subsection (a) shall remain available until expended.
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