Pryor amendment to help returning veterans

2007-09-22

Source: The Benton County Daily Record

U. S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., talked Wednesday about a proposal to help U. S. war veterans returning home and to meet shortages in the U. S. labor market.

Pryor wants to add the proposal, called the Vet Act, to the Defense Authorization Bill. On the Senate floor on Wednesday, the Defense Authorization Bill would approve $ 648 billion in budget authority for defense programs, Pryor said.

He would like to amend the bill to include the proposed Vet Act, which would try to meet the needs of both returning vets seeking work and potential employers, the U. S. senator said.

"This is the amendment that basically connects the dots between needs in the U. S. economy and the needs of our veterans returning from overseas. Veterans have a higher unemployment rate than the general population. Part of it is because of the disruptive nature of their deployments," Pryor said. "And then we look at the economy, and we see there are some real needs in the U. S. economy. For example, we have a truck-driver shortage. So, what the Vet Act does is, it allows them to use a VA program and to pay for their own training, etc., with that VA program."

As of now, veterans who could use the money may not be able to get it, he said.

"The way it's currently structured is, they have to dribble that money out over time. But, for example, if you want to go to truck-driving school, you can't dribble that money out over time. You need the money to pay for the program to get your commercial driver's license," Pryor said.

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