(Hartford, CT) – This morning, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) announced he will be re-introducing legislation to extend and streamline hiring incentives for “qualified veterans”, usually those who are unemployed or disabled. Blumenthal’s announcement came after a tour of Hoffman Audi in East Hartford, a company that currently employs veterans and benefits from their skills and experience; Audi of America has previously taken advantage of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit to hire veterans through its Veterans to Technicians program. The program specifically recruits unemployed and disabled veterans to become Audi technicians.

The VOW to Hire Heroes Extension Act of 2015 would renew and extend the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), which, until it’s expiration in 2014, provided employers with tax credits for hiring unemployed or disabled veterans. Blumenthal’s bill would extend this vital program until 2018 and would simplify the WOTC application process to ensure that paperwork hurdles do not create disincentives or prevent businesses or veterans from taking advantage of the important benefit.

“These tax credits have provided jobs to veterans and must be extended,” said Blumenthal. “The VOW to Hire Heroes Act has encouraged the hiring of veterans in Connecticut and throughout the country, and has helped to grow businesses nationwide. This legislation will allow employers to take advantage of these tax credits that benefit both our veterans and our economy. I urge my colleagues to continue their support for our veterans by supporting this legislation, which will create more good jobs and grow our economy as well as provide our returning servicemen and women with a clearer path to employment.”

Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-Calif.-26) introduced the House companion legislation of the VOW to Hire Heroes Act. “When our servicemembers return to the civilian workforce, we must help them find good-paying jobs and connect them to businesses,” said Brownley. “The VOW to Hire Heroes Extension Act would help unemployed and service-connected disabled veterans find work and encourage business to hire these veterans.”

Joining Blumenthal as co-sponsors of the legislation are U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.).

Specifically, the VOW Act would:

• Extend the veterans hiring tax credit for 3 years;
• Simplify the certification of veteran’s status;
• Make the credit available against payroll taxes in certain circumstances;
• Ensure parity for tax exemptions in U.S. territories and possessions;
• And require the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Labor to report annually to Congress on the cost-effectiveness of the credit increasing veterans’ employment.

By providing a tax credit for businesses to hire unemployed and service-connected disabled veterans, the WOTC incentivizes workplace diversity, facilitates access to good access to good jobs for veterans, helps veterans move towards self-sufficiency, and allows participating employers to reduce their income tax liability.