Military Connection: BRAVE Act Is Being Reviewed By the House

Employers now have even more reasons to consider hiring veterans to their workforce. Currently, there are specific tax credits available to employers that hire military veterans. The Returning Heroes Tax Credit for companies that hire unemployed veterans gives credit for short-term unemployed and long-term unemployed hires. The Wounded Warriors Tax Credit will increase the existing tax credit for companies that hire veterans with service-connected disabilities who have been unemployed long-term and continue the existing credit for all other veterans with a service-connected disability.

While these initiatives have a time limit to qualify and file, the Boosting Rates of American Veteran Employment (BRAVE) Act has been recently introduced, allowing the Veterans Affairs Secretary to award VA contracts to companies having higher percentages of veteran employees.

Comprised of two Democrat and three Republican co-sponsors, the goal for the BRAVE Act is to reward companies that maintain high consideration for veterans. In addition to offering employment opportunities, they then become a model to other companies to do the same.

“We have to make it a priority, in government and in the private sector, to fully invest in our veterans, invest in their potential to use their unique training and experience to excel in the civilian workforce,” said New York Democrat Kathleen Rice, one of the five co-sponsors.

Marine-veteran Rep. Paul Cook (R-Calif.) said veterans still experienced higher unemployment rates in 2014 than the national average.

“It’s unacceptable that men and women who signed up to fight for their country are unable to find a job when they return home,” Cook said. “I’m proud to introduce this bill with Representative Rice and address this problem head-on by incentivizing veteran employment.”

Several major veterans’ organizations, including Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), the American Legion, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) are in support of the bill. The House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity was scheduled to begin reviewing the bill on April 16, 2015.

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve, Veterans and their Families. We are the go to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go to site.