<<<Back to News Center 2010

Monday, August 8, 2011

Pierluisi Seeks Inclusion of Puerto Rico Veterans in New Federal Initiatives to Encourage Companies to Hire Veterans

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO- Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi is urging the inclusion of Puerto Rico in a series of initiatives recently unveiled by President Obama that are intended to spur companies to hire military veterans.

The Returning Heroes tax credit would provide companies that hire unemployed veterans with a tax credit of up to $2,400 if the veteran has been jobless for at least four weeks, and up to $4,800 if the veteran has been out of work for at least six months.

The Wounded Warrior tax credit would continue the existing Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) of up to $4,800 for firms that hire veterans with a service-connected disability, and would double the maximum credit—to $9,600 per veteran—for companies that hire veterans with service-connected disabilities who have been unemployed for over six months

In a letter sent Friday, Pierluisi asked the President to extend these two credits to Puerto Rico through a “cover-over” mechanism, just as was done with the Making Work Pay tax credit and the American Opportunity tax credit, both of which were established in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Under this mechanism, the federal government would authorize the Puerto Rico government to offer the credits to firms through its local tax system and would direct the U.S. Treasury to reimburse the Island Treasury for the lost revenue.

“I share your belief that, as a nation, we have an obligation to help our veterans find rewarding employment in the civilian workforce. The unemployment rate among veterans, particularly among those who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, is too high,” said the Resident Commissioner in his letter to President Obama.

As of June, it is estimated that approximately one million veterans were unemployed throughout the nation.

In addition to proposing the creation or expansion of certain tax credits, President Obama has issued a challenge to the private sector to hire or train 100,000 unemployed veterans or their spouses by the end of 2013. “A number of prominent companies, some of whom have a presence in Puerto Rico, have already pledged to increase their efforts in this regard,” noted Pierluisi.

Most of these initiatives announced by President Obama must be implemented through federal legislation.

“I look forward to working with you and my colleagues in Congress to enact legislation to implement the Returning Heroes and Wounded Warrior tax credits, and to ensure that the many brave men and women from Puerto Rico who served our nation in uniform will be able to benefit from this legislation. If the Administration will be transmitting legislation to implement your proposals, I respectfully ask that your legislation fully and fairly include Puerto Rico veterans,” said Pierluisi in his letter to President Obama.