Washington Update for 9/8/2021 - TREA Supports Three New Legislative Proposals
Wednesday, September 8, 2021
By Bill McCabe
TREA Members,
We are proud to join The Military Coalition in support of 3 new legislative proposals aimed at assisting veterans, transitioning servicemembers, military spouses, and caregivers.
H.R. 3321 - The Credit for Caring Actwould create a new, non-refundable federal tax credit of up to $5,000 that would help eligible working veteran, military, and other caregivers address the financial challenges of caregiving. This credit would provide critical financial relief to a broad population of hidden heroes that may or may not qualify for support for Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense but nevertheless incur personal expenses to provide care and support to those who depend on them. In doing so, these caregivers often help delay or prevent more costly medical care that might otherwise be paid by the U.S. taxpayer.
H.R. 2974 - The Military Spouse Hiring Actwould create a target group within the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) for employers who hire military spouses and provide a proven economic boost for their communities. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Defense reported a 22% unemployment rate among military spouses, which had remained stagnant since 2012. Employers have expressed concern that hiring and training military spouses who may move within a few years is not cost effective for their companies. We believe expanding WOTC to include a military spouse target group would provide a multi-pronged approach to incentivize employers to tap into a talented pool of potential employees, while also tackling the extreme unemployment rate of military spouses.
H.R. 3582 - The Veteran Employment Recovery Act would expand both short-term unemployment and long-term unemployment tax credits under the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) for recently separated servicemembers with a service-connected disability and veterans who have previously received unemployment benefits. We know finding employment during military transition is challenging enough, and made even more difficult if the veteran has a service-connected disability. The Veteran Employment Recovery Act would temporarily increase the value of the WOTC for recently separated veterans with a disability and veterans who have been unemployed for more than 6 months as our nation’s economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
We thank Congressmen Pat Fallon, Congressman Antionio Delgado, and Congresswoman Linda Sanchez for introducing these important bills and look forward to working together in order to get them across the finish line.
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