America’s heroes return home to fight another war on unemployment and poverty.

 By Justin Brown

Bureau of Labor and Statistics unemployment data for August shows an increase to 9.7% unemployment for the general population, a slight drop in the overall veterans population, and a dramatic increase in the number of unemployed veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact, the number is at an all time high of 185,000 unemployed at 11.3%. There are only 9,000 more servicemembers serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan then there are unemployed Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in the streets of the United States.

The economic stimulus offered little to veterans with the exception of a small tax break for recently separated servicemembers that was championed by Virginia’s Representative Glenn Nye. Much of the stimulus spending in fact circumvented federal veteran laws by giving federal money to states in the form of state grants, particularly for transportation projects. Senator Bernie Sander’s (VT) attempted to introduce legislation that would have stipulated states acceptance of federal employment and small business laws regarding veterans but was rebuked for fear it would “slow the stimulus down.”

Please contact your members of Congress and ask them to prioritize our veterans returning home to the toughest economic situation in our lifetime. Our brothers and sisters should not be returning home to unemployment particularly at a time our Congress, and our President, agreed to pass a stimulus that would provide 3-3.5 million jobs.

I am asking for 185,000 of those jobs—for our men and women who deserve them most.

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