Letter to John Boehner, Speaker of the House - Braley Pushes for Passage of Hire a Hero Act

Letter

The Honorable John Boehner
Speaker of the House
United States House of Representatives
H- 232 The Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Mr. Speaker:

I'm writing to urge you to quickly bring up H.R. 3648, the Hire a Hero Act of 2013 for a vote in the House.

Recently I met with veterans and businesses in Ames, Grinnell, and Iowa City. I saw firsthand the individuals and employers that benefited from the Work Opportunity Tax Credit for Returning Heroes and Wounded Warriors. Unfortunately, this tax credit expired at the end of 2013. Thanks to the credit, in 2013, the unemployment rate for Iowa veterans fell to 3.4 percent, which was about half the national average. However, there are still significant populations of veterans that are in need of good jobs. For example, in December 2013, the national unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans was 7.3 percent. This remains unacceptably high, and that's why we must renew and extend this important tax credit that helps our nation's veterans find good jobs.

On December 4th, 2013 I introduced H.R. 3648, the Hire a Hero Act of 2013. This bill would make the Work Opportunity Tax Credit for Returning Heroes and Wounded Warriors permanent. Over 50,000 veterans have been hired because of this tax credit nationally, 1400 of those in Iowa. These key figures illustrate the need to make the tax credit permanent, which provides a valuable incentive for businesses to hire veterans.

I urge you to swiftly bring up this bill for a vote in the House and I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

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