Greensboro, NC - U.S. Senator Kay Hagan today applauded First Lady Michelle Obama's announcement that more than 2,000 businesses have participated in the Joining Forces program to hire or train more than 125,000 veterans and military spouses since the initiative launched last year. Hagan joined the First Lady and Dr. Jill Biden at Camp Lejeune to help kick off the program in 2011.

"A veteran should not have to fight for a job after fighting for our country," Hagan said. "Today's announcement marks a step in the right direction towards ensuring our brave men and women have employment opportunities as they transition into the civilian workforce. We must continue to do everything we can to get them back to work."

Hagan helped pass the bipartisan VOW to Hire Heroes Act last November. The basis of that bill was the Hire a Hero Act, a bill she introduced to help veterans and their spouses find employment opportunities.

ABOUT THE VOW TO HIRE HEROES ACT

• The law provides a tax credit of up to $5,600 for hiring veterans who have been looking for a job for more than six months, as well as a $2,400 credit for hiring veterans who are unemployed more than four weeks but less than six months. 

• Businesses receive a tax credit of up to $9,600 for hiring veterans with service-connected disabilities who have been looking for a job for more than six months. 

• Also included is a provision to make the Transition Assistance Program mandatory for service members moving on to civilian life.

• The Transition Assistance Program is an interagency workshop coordinated by the Department of Defense, Department of Labor and Department of Veterans Affairs to help veterans transition with skills like resume writing. 

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