Finding jobs for veterans has been a priority for the Obama administration, and it looks like one of its landmark bills may soon move forward in Congress. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid recently called for a debate on S 3457, which would create the Veterans Jobs Corps to hire former service members as first responders, Military Times reports.
The bill, which has been met with considerable Republican opposition, was first introduced July 30. Republican lawmakers have voiced concerns over the legislation because it did not make its way through a Senate committee before being introduced on the floor. Reid says passing the bill is unquestionably the right thing to do given that similar programs have worked in the past.
"We have tried this once before, and we were really struggling as a country during the Great Depression," Reid told reporters. "We have the [Works] Progress Administration; we had the Civilian Conservation Corps."
Reid's announcement that he'd bring the bill up for discussion comes more than four months after President Barack Obama called on Congress to create the legislation. Back in May, Obama also ordered the formation of the Military Credentialing and Licensing Task Force to provide servicemembers with greater access to certification and licensing exams for new jobs.