Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/47350
4A Daily News – Friday, November 11, 2011 'Pay It Forward' for veterans in your community By BILLLAWSON McClatchy-Tribune "How can we give back to the veterans?" It's a commonly asked question and it's an uncommonly tough question. On the one hand it means that America really cares about its veterans. On the other hand it's very difficult to know what to give someone who is pre- pared to defend your freedom with his or her life. From this grateful veteran, may I suggest an answer that we can all take to heart this Veterans Day: "Pay It Forward." Pay It Forward for all veterans and their families in your commu- nity. Do something that is really going to make a difference. Do something that is really going to change their lives and help them build a brighter future. At the moment, for the many veterans who are unemployed, a good job and a lasting career is the "something" that is really going to make all the difference. Indeed tackling unemployment is the biggest issue facing our nation right now, with the toughest economy in a generation. Whatev- er the national employment rate is, you can bet that figure is much higher for veterans with disabili- ties. At Paralyzed Veterans of America, we are meeting this challenge head on. We created Operation PAVE (Paving Access for Veterans Employment) to help get America's veterans back to work with good careers and great employers. How does Operation PAVE work? We directly engage veterans with disabilities by locating our network of Operation PAVE offices at VA spinal cord injury centers, and we aggressively pur- sue employers with vacancies. We change lives and percep- tions: For veterans with disabili- ties, we help them take that often hard next step to a good career and independence. For businesses, we educate them about the advan- tages of hiring veterans and how easy it is to adapt a workplace for employees with disabilities. Overcoming the challenge of unemployment is part of a cam- paign we call Mission: ABLE (www.mission-able.com). It is a full-on effort by Paralyzed Veter- ans of America to enlist every sin- gle citizen, community and com- pany to ensure that veterans receive what they need most: care, benefits and jobs. When Catherine Ryan Hyde popularized the idea of "Paying It Forward" in her book of the same name, she suggested it should mean doing three good deeds for someone. So this Veterans Day here are three things you might do: 1) Think about the unique chal- lenges paralyzed veterans face every day. Imagine a world with barriers, a world as experienced from a wheelchair. 2) Reach out to veterans and their families. This means more than you might imagine. 3) Pay It Forward for veterans — and if you are an employer, this means creating more jobs and hir- ing more veterans. Now that would be a really powerful way to say thanks to all those who have worn the uniform. ___ Bill Lawson is a U.S. Army veteran from Woodward, Okla.He was elected national president of Paralyzed Veterans of America in 2010. Senate approves jobs benefits for veterans WASHINGTON (AP) — On Veterans Day eve, an uncharacteristically unified Senate emphatically passed a bill to help unemployed veterans and government contractors that includes the first, small slivers of Presi- dent Barack Obama's jobs agenda that he is likely to sign into law. Thursday's 95-0 vote gave lawmakers the oppor- tunity to fly home to holiday events and boast about help- ing veterans and protecting jobs. But it did little to help close the scorching partisan divide over how to revive the gasping economy, an issue that seems sure to decide next year's presiden- tial and congressional elec- tions. ''We deal with a lot of contentious issues here, but this should not be one of them,'' said Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., a leading sponsor of the veterans' provisions. The legislation would award tax credits of up to $9,600 to companies that hire disabled veterans who have been job-hunting for at least half a year and strengthen employment counseling and training pro- grams for vets and troops about to leave the military. It also would erase a law, yet to take effect, requiring federal, state and local gov- ernment agencies to with- hold 3 percent of their pay- ments to companies with which they conduct busi- ness. That law was enacted under President George W. Bush to nudge companies to fully pay their taxes, but lawmakers now say it would fence off money those firms could better use to hire more workers. The House is expected to approve the bill resounding- ly next week, which would send it to Obama. The president's signature would make the veterans tax credits the first fragment of his $447 billion jobs package to be enacted. Those tax credits would cost $90 million over the next decade, according to White House estimates. Obama also has supported annulling the withholding requirement on contractors' payments. The rest of the presi- dent's jobs plan, which is highlighted by payroll tax cuts and money for infra- structure projects and hiring teachers and police officers, has foundered. There are about 240,000 unemployed veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, around 12 per- cent of those who served there, the White House says. A total of 850,000 vet- erans overall are out of work, and 1 million addi- tional service members are expected to return to civilian life by 2016, according to White House data. ''No veteran who fought for our nation should have to fight for a job when they come home,'' Obama said in a written statement after the vote that also called on Congress to approve addi- tional jobs proposals. That didn't stop both parties from seeking politi- cal advantage in Thursday's vote. Knowing they faced cer- tain defeat in the Democrat- ic-led chamber, Republi- cans nonetheless tried amending the bill with a giant package they said would create jobs by cutting income tax rates, repealing Obama's health care over- haul and blocking or annulling many labor, ener- gy and environmental regu- lations.