Vilsack says U.S. must prepare for veterans

DES MOINES - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack touted government programs aimed at aiding returning veterans during a stop Friday in Des Moines.

Vilsack, a former Iowa governor, said the country is on the verge of seeing “an explosion” in the numbers of returning veterans and the country must be ready to help them.

“With the conflict in Iraq over and the conflict in Afghanistan winding down we have a pipeline of returning veterans,” Vilsack said in a stop that was part informational about current federal programs benefiting veterans and part political as the Obama administration pushes for authorization of a $1 billion Veterans Job Corps program.

Vilsack's comments came the day after he stumped for President Barack Obama during a campaign stop at the Iowa State Fairgrounds and just as the Memorial Day weekend got under way.

Vilsack highlighted the existing Returning Heroes and Wounded Warrior tax credit programs.

The Returning Heroes program gives employers a tax credit of up to $2,400 if they hire a veteran who has been out of work for at least four weeks and up to $5,600 for hiring a veteran who has been out of work for longer than six months.

The Wounded Warrior program gives a tax credit of up to $9,600 for firms that hire veterans with service-connected disabilities who have been unemployed for longer than six months.

The Veterans Job Corps proposal would be a federally funded training program that helps veterans transition their skills into the public and private work forces.

“It's not dissimilar to the Youth Job Corps program,” Vilsack said. “It's paid training for careers like police work, firefighting or, as it relates to my office, the forestry service.”

The Veterans Job Corps is one of five items on a “Congressional To-Do” list released by Obama that he wants Congress to approve before it breaks for the summer.