[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17546]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           HIRING HEROES ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Al Green) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, America continues to be the land 
of the free because America continues to be the home of the brave. I 
think it most appropriate that this House take up legislation today 
that will include the Hiring Heroes Act.
  This legislation is exceedingly important because our brave heroes, 
our troops, go to distant places, and they risk their limbs and their 
lives to protect great and noble American ideals. They do not ask why. 
When the clarion call comes, they respond by going to their various 
assignments and doing their jobs.
  When they leave home, they many times will leave home a wife that is 
with child. Many of their children are born while they are in distant 
places protecting our great and noble American ideals. They will leave 
behind them children who are about to take their first steps. They 
never get to see the first step or hear the first words spoken.
  When a troop goes to war, that troop has that family with him or her. 
A family goes to war, not directly, but always indirectly, with the 
troop that goes to war.
  And they do their jobs. They have done their jobs in Afghanistan. 
They have done their jobs in Iraq. And they will continue to do their 
jobs.
  But it is sad to note that of those veterans who have done their jobs 
in Iraq and Afghanistan, 12.1 percent of them are unemployed. This is 
not a partisan issue. This issue transcends the lines that generally 
separate us. If they can go to distant places and risk their limbs and 
their lives for us to do their jobs for us, we have to provide jobs for 
them when they come home.
  This is about doing the right thing for people who answer the clarion 
call to serve without reservation or equivocation. They merit jobs when 
they come home. This is why I'm proud that this House will take up 
legislation that will accord tax credits to businesses that hire our 
veterans.

                              {time}  1100

  If a business hires a veteran who has been unemployed for 4 weeks, 
there is a $2,400 tax credit available. If that veteran has been 
unemployed for 6 months, there is a $5,600 tax credit that's available. 
If the unemployed veteran has been unemployed for 6 months and has a 
service-connected disability, there is a $9,600 tax credit available to 
the business.
  This is the business of America: putting our veterans to work.
  This piece of legislation merits our consideration for other reasons 
as well. The legislation will allow approximately 100,000 veterans of 
wars of other eras to be helped with job training and other programs. 
This piece of legislation is the least a grateful nation can do for 
those who answer the clarion call to serve in distant places.
  I am honored to say I will vote for the legislation. I believe in our 
country. I believe in the American service people--the troops that go 
to distant places. I want to make sure that they have every opportunity 
to recapture what they lost when they left their homes, left their jobs 
for years on end. If they can leave their jobs here and make sacrifices 
for us, we've got to make sacrifices here so that they can have jobs 
when they return home. America will continue to be the land of the free 
as long as we continue to make sure that we have jobs for those who are 
brave enough to serve us in distant places.
  God bless America and God bless our troops.

                          ____________________