FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON – Starting May 15, unemployed Veterans between the ages of 35 and 60 can now apply for new benefits to cover education costs for up to one year through a joint Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Labor (DOL) program that focuses on retraining 99,000 Veterans for high-demand jobs.

“This important tool will help those who served our country receive the education and training they need to find meaningful employment in a high-demand field,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “Veterans are disciplined, hardworking, goal-oriented team members who can play a vital role in helping businesses and the economy grow.”

“Our veterans have made this nation stronger through their service, and they deserve our continued support,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “This new program will help unemployed veterans expand their skills and compete for good jobs,” she added.

As part of a provision of the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) to Hire Heroes Act of 2011, the Veteran Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP) allows qualifying Veterans to receive up to 12 months of assistance equal to the full-time Montgomery GI Bill – Active Duty rate, currently $1,473 per month.

Veterans can apply on a first-come, first-serve basis for VRAP beginning on May 15, 2012, for programs that begin on or after July 1, 2012. Assistance under this benefit program ends on March 31, 2014.

To complete an application, a Veteran will need to know his or her direct deposit information (bank routing number and account number), the name and location of his or her school, the program the Veteran wishes to pursue, and the applicable high-demand occupation.

To qualify Veterans must: 

• Be 35-60 years old, unemployed on the day of application, and not dishonorably discharged;

• Start education or training after July 1, 2012, in a VA-approved program of education offered by a community college or technical school leading to an associate degree, non-college degree or a certificate for a high-demand occupation as defined by the DOL;

• Not be eligible for any other VA education benefit program (e.g. Post-9/11 GI Bill, Montgomery GI Bill,  Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment);

• Not be enrolled in a federal or state job training program within the last 180 days;

• Not receive VA compensation at the 100% rate due to individual unemployability (IU).

Upon completion, the Labor Department will engage with participants within 30 days after their training to help them find good jobs that utilize their newly learned skills.

“We are working diligently with our partners around the country to ensure our Veterans have access to all the benefits and services to which they are entitled – especially when it comes to those unemployed,” added Under Secretary for Benefits Allison A. Hickey.

“This is a true example of interagency collaboration and we are committed to the full and speedy implementation of this program to ensure the success of our veterans in the civilian labor market,” said Ismael “Junior” Ortiz, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Veterans Employment Training Service.

For more information on VOW, VRAP, high demand occupations, and how to apply,

Veterans may go to the website at www.benefits.va.gov/VOW, or call VA’s Call Centers toll free at 1-800-827-1000, Veterans may also access the VRAP application online athttps://www.ebenefits.va.gov through eBenefits, a joint project between the Department of Defense and VA.

Veterans are also encouraged to visit the nearly 3,000 One-Stop Career Centers across the nation for assistance from staff, Local Veterans’ Employment Representatives (LVERS), and Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program (DVOP) specialists. To find the center near you visitwww.servicelocator.org.

For more information about the Department of Labor’s Veterans programs, go to http://www.dol.gov/vets/

Are you a democratic candidate in needing of an award-winning caliber website?  Visit Demwebs.com today!

Click for full-size

In the last two elections, veterans have voted overwhelmingly for the Republican candidate. In 2008, John McCain took 54 percent of the veteran vote, according to the Los Angeles Times. In 2004, President George W. Bush took 57 percent in his re-election bid and amid fighting two wars. ABC noted the last two elections went Republican by 10- and 16-point margins, respectively.

So here’s a surprise: The veteran vote in the 2012 election is trending toward Barack Obama. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll found that Obama would beat Mitt Romney by as much as seven percentage points in November.

In this election, veterans trend toward the norm of the remainder of the country.

The reason: Weariness from a decade of fighting two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. More and more veterans are going the direction of the Graftons, a couple that both served in the military.

Read the Reuters write up here: http://www.businessinsider.com/veterans-obama-over-romney-2012-5#ixzz1uyoMRPUM

While not a campaign event, Obama’s visit to Afghanistan provided him a major opportunity to reach out to the military community, which he used to thank troops at Bagram Air Force Base and call on Americans to “give our veterans and military families the support they deserve, and the opportunities they have earned” in a nationally televised address.

Back stateside, Obama has embarked on a number of recent speeches, initiatives and campaign events specifically highlighting his work on veterans issues. He used a presidential weekly address last month to tout a new executive order aimed at protecting veterans from deceptive practices by for-profit colleges. Michelle Obama and Jill Biden toured the country to promote Joining Forces, an initiative aimed at helping military families cope while loved ones are abroad and encouraging businesses to hire returning veterans

The military vote has become especially important in 2012 as a pair of previously solid-red states with large veteran communities, Virginia and North Carolina, have turned purple. Obama will kick off his re-election with a campaign rally in Virginia on Saturday.

Read the rest here

Need a democratic website designer?

The Truman Project’s Security Briefing Book is a one-of-a-kind tool for political practitioners, Capitol Hill staff, and the broader national security community. It outlines the 21st century solutions to America’s national security and foreign policy challenges. Each chapter, designed to be easy to read and digestible, contains essential background, key facts, policy options, and message guidance. The Security Briefing Book was previously known as the National Security Manual.

This letter was published by the Daytona Beach News Journal

Premium Campaign Website Templates for Democratic Candidates

Demand for the program has been so robust that it nearly crippled the Veterans Administration’s computer processing system, delaying benefits for vets who are trying to further their educations.

“This term was a nightmare,” said Stephen Abel, a retired Army colonel in charge of Veterans Services at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, which currently has 1,107 students on the GI Bill.

His office created an emergency scholarship fund of $30,000 for Rutgers GI Bill students who are contending with late VA payments.

More than 416,000 veterans have enrolled in school for the spring semester under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which President Obama enacted in 2009 and made available to anyone who’s served in the military since Sept. 11, 2001.

VA spokesman Randal Noller said the agency had expected a surge in applications this year, considering that 40,000 Iraq vets came home in the last two months of 2011 alone. But the demand exceeded those expectations.

Gary Twerdak, now a Rutgers sophomore, joined the Army just two weeks after graduating high school in 2006, with the express purpose of going to college on the GI Bill after he got out.

Read the full story here

Hire a democratic website designer

Milli Smith posted “President Obama’s Support of Women from the Start” for Women’s History Month, on the DNC Blog.

http://www.democrats.org/news/blog/supporting_women_from_the_start

Larry Babbits has a letter in today’s Daytona Beach News Journalentitled “Obama helped save jobs”

http://www.news-journalonline.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/2012/03/13/obama-helped-save-jobs.html

Well done to both!

Washington (CNN) — President Barack Obama unveiled a new $5 billion veterans jobs plan Friday that the administration says will put thousands of men and women who once wore their country’s uniform back to work.

The new Veterans Jobs Corps initiative, first mentioned in the president’s State of the Union address last week, involves partnerships with the Veterans Administration and the Interior Department, as well as state and local law enforcement agencies.

Under the blueprint, the administration will award $166 million in grant money to communities that show a preference for hiring post-9/11 veterans for new law enforcement positions. In addition, $320 million in grant money will be awarded to various fire departments who pledge to hire and train new veterans.

Money for those grants has already been appropriated by Congress. The president, however, will now seek an additional $4 billion in his upcoming budget to expand both programs. Congress last fall rejected a similar proposal that was part of the president’s broader jobs initiative.

The president rolled out the new plan during a speech at an Arlington, Virginia, firehouse.

“This has been a top priority of mine,” he declared. “These are Americans that every business should be competing to attract. These are the Americans that we want to keep serving here at home as we rebuild this country. So we’re going to do everything we can to make sure that when our troops come home they come home to new jobs and new opportunities and new ways to serve their country.”

 

The rest is here

Need a website?