September 9, 2009
Alarming Unemployment Rate for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans
For more information, contact: Brian Lawrence (202) 225-3527
Washington, D.C. –Congressman Steve Buyer has expressed dismay over a government report released last Friday that shows skyrocketing unemployment for recently discharged veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics study shows that unemployment for veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom has ballooned over the past twelve months to 11.3 percent, significantly higher than the overall unemployment rate of 9.7 percent.
“These numbers are alarming and should serve as a wake up call to the country that the recession, bad as it is, has disproportionate impact on returning veterans,” said the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. “More than 185,000 veterans from the War on Terror are unemployed; this is a spike of nearly 123 percent from what it was at this time last year.”
“The enormity of this situation is best illustrated by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, who point out that the combined number of servicemembers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan is comparable to the number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans standing in the unemployment line.”
“Earlier this year, I tried to amend the stimulus package to focus on veterans. For months, I pointed out that in addition to being the most deserving category of citizens to receive financial stimulus, veterans have the proven ability to transform their own economic opportunities into positive momentum for the entire country.”
“Unfortunately, my calls to provide $1 billion in loan guarantees to veteran-owned small businesses and to increase veterans’ training and job placement programs by $357 million did not resonate with either the Obama Administration or majority leaders in Congress.”
For more news from House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Republicans, please go to:
http://republicans.veterans.house.gov/
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