Editorial: Hiring law for veterans may only be foot in door

Today, Veterans Day, too many American service men and women are still in the field, under fire, 10 years after the war in Afghanistan began and nine years after the Iraq invasion. They have been subject to a cycle of combat deployments unparalleled in U.S. history. Fortunately, the remaining forces in Iraq will be home by the end of the year.

When these conflicts began, much was made of the steps that were being taken to assure warriors called up from their civilian jobs would find their desks, lockers or other workspaces ready for their return. But that was a more prosperous time, when the commitments being made were not understood, and the recession and aftermath that linger today were unimagined.

Now, more than 850,000 veterans are unemployed. Their unemployment rate is 3 percent higher than the rate for all workers. Younger veterans, like younger workers in general, have had a particularly hard time scoring a job.

President Barack Obama and Congress, in partnership with the private sector, have created education programs, established job banks and provided financial incentives for veterans and employers alike. It has not been enough.

On Thursday, the Senate unanimously passed legislation – the VOW to Hire Heroes Act – that goes further.

Credits for employers who hire veterans were stepped up to $9,600 for those with disabilities. Lesser amounts are available, depending on how long the veteran has been unemployed. More job and job-search training will be provided. Veterans will be able to apply for federal jobs before they leave the services. The measure extends GI Bill benefits and requires the military to find more ways of matching military skills with private-sector needs.

The cost, about $1 billion, will be paid by extending a fee already imposed on Veterans Affairs home loans. In effect, former service members will be paying a significant part of VOW’s cost themselves.

With Senate action complete, quick approval in the House of Representatives is expected next week.

How many veterans will find employment as a result of VOW is anybody’s guess. The latest jobs statistics are mildly encouraging, but the edge veterans have filling public sector jobs is not worth much with governments at every level cutting back. As alluring as the credits may be for other employers, their challenge is finding buyers for their goods and services, not workers to produce them.

Washington this year became the first state to allow private employers to give veterans preference in hiring.

The VOW bill incorporates much that U.S. Sen. Patty Murray proposed last spring. The chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs has been a dogged champion.

However, the hurdle is significant. This bill should help, but it may take more to lift those who have shouldered an inordinate burden for the rest of us.