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Pres. Obama presses Republicans on jobs for veterans
US President Barack Obama pressed Congress on Monday to ditch blocking tactics and take bold action to boost hiring, using the emotive plight of unemployed war heroes to push an aspect of his jobs plan.
The US commander-in-chief, surrounded by veterans in the White House Rose Garden, called on the Senate to pass a bill offering tax credits to firms that hire jobless former service members, expected to be debated this week.
“This week Congress will have another chance to do the right thing,” Obama said, recalling that when he announced a plan to reward companies which hire veterans in September, both Republicans and Democrats stood to applaud.
“When these ideas come up for a vote this week, I expect both sides of the aisle to stand up for our veterans and vote in the affirmative,” Obama said.
“Our veterans did their jobs, it is time for Congress to do theirs,” he said, pushing the measure to help former soldiers in the week that America marks Veterans Day and honors those who fought its foreign wars.
“Bold action from Congress ultimately is the only way we’re going to put hundreds of thousands of Americans back to work right now and rebuild an economy where everyone who works hard has a chance to get ahead,” said Obama.
The fate of the bill, part of Obama’s wider US$447 billion jobs package which has been blocked in the Senate, is uncertain.
