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Politics weekly address

President’s Weekly Address – Honoring Our Veterans

In preparing for the upcoming Veteran’s Day celebration on Tuesday, President Obama used his weekly address to honor all the men and women who have put on the military uniform for this country.

Let’s honor our veterans by making sure they get the care and benefits they’ve earned.  That means health care that’s there for them when they need it.  It means continuing to reduce the disability claims backlog.  And it means giving our wounded warriors all the care and support they need to heal, including mental health care for those with post-traumatic stress or traumatic brain injury.  Some of the most moving moments I’ve experienced as Commander in Chief have been with our wounded warriors.  Some have to learn how to walk again, talk again, write their names again.  But no matter how hard it is, they never give up.  They never quit.  And we can’t ever quit on them.

Let’s honor our veterans by making sure they get their shot at the American Dream that they risked their lives to defend – by helping them find jobs worthy of their skills and talents, and making sure the Post-9/11 GI Bill stays strong so more veterans can earn a college education.  When our veterans have the opportunity to succeed, our whole nation is stronger.  And let’s work together to end the tragedy of homelessness among veterans once and for all – because anyone who has defended America deserves to live in dignity in America.  

Finally, let’s honor our veterans by remembering that this isn’t just a job for government.  It’s a job for every American.  We’re all keepers of that sacred trust that says, if you put on a uniform and risk your life to keep us safe, we’ll do our part for you.  We’ll make sure you and your family get the support you need.  We’l have your backs – just like you had ours.

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Barack Obama Domestic Policies Mitch McConnell Senate United States

Big Up! To The Heroes

On the day before Veteran’s Day, The Senate overwhelmingly approved a provision of President Barack Obama’s  Job Act that gives companies tax credits for hiring unemployed military veterans –  a proposal which had rare bipartisan appeal.

A month ago, President Obama’s job’s plan was killed the second it hit the congressional floor, but as promised,  he began sending portions of the bill up to Congress in hopes of getting them enacted separately,  but until yesterday Republicans voted unanimously to knock them down as well.  But Thursday, Republicans joined Democrats in passing this bill with only one dissenting vote, that belonging to  Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) explaining that the amendment only created loopholes that benefited veterans over regular citizens for jobs (WTF?!).

President Obama urged lawmakers to “pass additional jobs proposals in the weeks ahead to help the millions of other Americans who are still looking for work.” After weeks of publicly campaigning against Republicans for failing to act on portions of his $447 billion jobs bill, President Obama said Thursday they “did the right thing.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY.) said the bill offered a welcomed opportunity to break the  gridlock on the Senate. “We’re going to legislate,” he said, before predictably ranking on Democrats for not advancing more jobs ideas Republicans could back.

The 94-1 vote for the legislation came as the jobless rate among Iraq and Afghanistan vets are  in the double digits. The bill  awards companies a $5,600 tax credit for each veteran they hired who had been unemployed for at least six months and $2,400 for hiring a veteran who has been out of work a month.

On his jobs plan stump, Obama has emphasized that taking care of our Veterans is not a Democratic or Republican issue, it is an American responsibility.

Big Up! for our military women and men and  President Obama’s bill.

 

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