SCHUMER LAUNCHES NEW CAMPAIGN TO SAVE EXPIRING TAX CREDITS FOR BUSINESSES HOSPITALS THAT HIRE VETS CREDIT IS A PROVEN SUCCESS GIVES EMPLOYERS, LIKE CROUSE HOSPITAL, UP TO $9,600 PER VET HIRED

 

Schumer: As More & More Vets Return from Battlefield, They Must Have Place to Work

Today, at Crouse Hospital in Syracuse, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer joined local veterans, including employees at the hospital, and revealed his plan to prioritize the extension of the Returning Heroes and Wounded Warriors Tax Credits, which are proven successes in incentivizing companies and organizations like hospitals to hire veterans and set to expire at the end of this year. Crouse Hospital already employs about 100 veterans, and Schumer applauded their goal to hire at least 5 to 7 veterans in the near future. Specifically, Crouse is looking to hire physician assistants, registered nurses, patient access representatives, biomedical technicians, environmental and nutritional services staff. Schumer highlighted that veterans, like medics and others trained in handling trauma and firstaid, are perfectly positioned for those positions and others at Crouse and other Central New York hospitals. He also urged other Central New York businesses to similarly seek to hire these highly skilled workers that often fall through the cracks when returning home to civilian employment.

 

The Returning Heroes and Wounded Warriors Tax Credits, enacted in November 2011, provide tax breaks to employers of up to $9,600 depending on the length of time a veteran has been unemployed and if that veteran has a serviceconnected disability. Schumer fought to include these critical tax credits in the Senate tax extenders package that was considered in September, and will fight to pass the tax credits before they expire at year's end. Schumer also discussed Crouse Hospital's plans to expand and hire new employees. Hospital officials will state that these federal tax credits would allow them to achieve their goal to hire more veterans in the future.

 

"These vital tax credits are proven successes in helping Onondaga County businesses to hire more veterans, and we cannot allow such a powerful antidote to the economic recession come to an end," said Schumer. "The Returning Heroes and Wounded Warrior Tax Credits are set to expire at year's end, which would be a devastating blow to the efforts of companies like Crouse Hospital that want to get unemployed veterans in central New York back to work. Renewing the veterans' tax credits isn't just the smart thing to do for hospitals, companies and organizations in central New York and across the country, it's the right thing to do to honor the sacrifices made by our heroes in uniform. Our veterans have spent months and even years of their lives protecting our freedom, and I am going to fight to renew these tax breaks so that veterans don't spend the same amount of time in the unemployment line."

 

 

Schumer was joined by President Dr. Kronenberg, numerous veterans employed at the hospital in management positions, and other hospital staff and local employers that support his push to extend these critical tax credits.

 

Crouse Hospital has a long record of hiring veterans in the past and hopes to hire many more in the future as it expands its programs. Specifically, the hospital estimates to employ nearly 100 veterans, and Schumer's office plans to work with the hospital to determine its eligibility for "The Returning Heroes and Wounded Warriors Tax Credits." Given that Crouse would like to hire 5 to 7 vets in the near future, in fields ranging from registered nurses to physicians assistants, they could save over $40,000 should the tax credits be extended. Crouse serves more than 23,000 inpatients, 66,000 emergency patients, and more than 250,000 outpatients each year. Crouse is the largest provider of prenatal and maternity care in central New York. Crouse's facilities were recently modernized as a result of a major $50 million overhaul project. In February, Schumer successfully prevented $28 million worth of cuts that would have affected Crouse and two other Syracusearea hospitals. Crouse was also one of the headliner organizations that participated in the first year of central New York's Operation: Hired - a program designed to serve as a veterans' only career fair. These tax credits will be critical in Crouse' pursuits to hire more veterans as the hospital continues to grow.

 

 

 

Unemployed veterans often have a welldeveloped skill set that allows them to be productive and contributing members of the workforce in local communities. This is especially true for Army medics, military veterans trained in trauma and firstaid, and others who go on to work in medical settings, like Crouse Hospital, after their service duty is finished. Army medics have the potential to be effective nurses, physician assistants and medical technicians. These veterans are certified as basic emergency medical technicians and passed an eight week course given by the U.S. Army. During this course, the medical personnel learn skills ranging from performing CPR to stabilizing a broken bone to reinflating a collapsed lung. Their job is to be prepared for the worst on the frontlines of battle when no physician is available. Veterans all across the country are taking these skills and utilizing them in medical centers and hospitals here in America, becoming valuable and contributing members of the medical community.

 

 

 

President Obama signed the Returning Heroes and Wounded Warriors Tax Credits into law on November 21, 2011 as part of the VOW to Hire Heroes Act, which contained a series of tax credits for businesses that hire outofwork veterans. As a result of this tax break, businesses that hire veterans who have been searching for work for at least four weeks, but less than six months, are eligible for a tax credit of up to $2,400 per veteran hired. Businesses that hire a veteran who has been looking for a job for at least six months receive a tax credit worth up to $5,600. A business that hires a veteran who has been seeking work for at least six months and has a servicerelated disability is eligible for a $9,600 tax credit. While taxexempt organizations save a slightly smaller percentage, a nonprofit company can still save up to $6,240 if they hire a disabled veteran who has been unemployed for six months or more.

 

Schumer pushed to extend the Returning Heroes and Wounded Warriors Tax Credits in light of disappointing unemployment numbers for veterans, particularly in upstate New York. Onondaga County alone has 782 unemployed veterans, while Central New York has 2,233, according to New York State Department of Labor's most recent data from 2010. According to the state's data, there are 16,846 unemployed veterans in upstate New York as a whole. Unemployment among New York's veteran population, particularly younger veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has remained stubbornly high over the last several years. Last year, the veteran population in the United States consisted of 20.2 million men and 1.8 million women, accounting for about 9.5 percent of the adult population in the country. 2.2 million of those veterans served after September 11, 2011, and two thirds of that total were under 35 years old. Unemployment among veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan has risen to 12.1 percent nationally, up from 10.6 percent from a year ago. 240,000 young veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are unemployed nationwide. An astonishing 21.9 percent of male veterans aged 1824 who have served since September 11th were unemployed last year, according to data recently released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.