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Obama’s 2013 Announcement of Veteran Initiatives

By Bradley Hood
In Military Education Contributor

A little over a week ago, President Obama discussed his commitment to veterans and their families. He broke down his plan for the future into five parts: Employment, Education, Healthcare, Resources (VA claims), and Dignity (Homelessness, etc). For the purposes of this blog, the two areas of his plan I will focus on are new or future endeavors by the administration to improve veteran education and employment opportunities.

In 2011, President Obama signed two temporary tax credits for veteran hiring – the second of which was a double incentive for veterans with service related disability – and he has proposed to make this temporary tax credit permanent, and they will continue to remain in effect until the end of 2013, if they are not further extended. Also notable is the challenge issued by the First Lady to State governors to create legislation to assist in civilian credentialing for military service members, which will obviously assist in the transition process for veterans. Thus far, 38 states have passed legislation of this nature, and it seems likely that this trend will continue. The White House website detailing President Obama’s commitment to veterans makes mention of significant increases of funding to veteran employment and education programs, although aside from the extension of tax credits and encouragement of state based veteran credentialing, it is vague on program specifics and how they will benefit veterans.

The most recent announcement by the President in veteran education is the “8 Keys to Success”, a program that includes participation by 250 community colleges and universities, who have committed to assisting veterans in pursuing degrees and certifications. The President has also stated a commitment to building up the Post 9/11 GI Bill program, and has additionally directed the development of “Principles of Excellence” to assist in the improvement process.

In a difficult time for the military and veterans, when money has become short and opportunities much more competitive, or even entirely closed off, a renewed commitment to the men and women who serve our country is refreshing. Although like many political plans the President’s plan is thick on past dollar amounts and vague on specifics for the future, there is a clear dedication to improving the transition process and overall quality of life for veterans. Let’s hope that the Obama Administration’s claim of a VA backlog decrease of 20% will go even further, and continue to translate into other areas of veterans benefits at such a critical transition phase for so many.

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