WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins at a press conference at the Kansas National Guard Museum in Topeka today announced the introduction of the Hire a Hero Act. The legislation would amend the tax code to extend the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) to small businesses that hire or employee members of the National Guard and Reserve Components.
 
“We have an obligation to support our National Guard and Reserve Components while they are fighting to keep us safe, but equally important is our obligation to support them once they have returned home,” Jenkins said. “These American heroes are sometimes bypassed for jobs because employers are uneasy about hiring an individual who is required to provide monthly service that may take them away from work and who could be called away at any time to serve the military overseas.”
 
The WOTC is intended to entice employers to hire groups thought to experience employment problems regardless of general economic conditions. The Hire a Hero Act would extend the WOTC to members of our National Guard and Reserve Components. Small business employers with no more than 100 employees who receive at least $5,000 in compensation can qualify for this credit. Jenkins currently has 22 bipartisan cosponsors of the legislation.
 
Congresswoman Jenkins continued, “As it stands today, the WOTC incentivizes the hiring of felons but it ignores the American heroes giving their time and effort to our nation’s military. It only seems logical to extend the WOTC to apply also to members of our National Guard and Reserve Components.”