An organization that will aid veterans find jobs protecting communities is expected to help Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) who have given military service to the US.
The proposal was made by President Obama to ensure that “America is as strong as those who have defended her,” the White House Initiative on AAPIs (WHIAAPI) said.
“At the WHIAAPI, we embrace this shared commitment, and will continue to ensure that AAPIs—including our brave and honorable AAPI service members and veterans play an important role in an America Built to Last,” WHIAAPI co-chair Chris Lu said.
In a Feb 1 blog, Lu noted that the President’s proposal for veterans was significant among AAPIs since among the 17 million members of this community, over 265,000 are Asian American veterans. Some 28,000, meanwhile, are Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander veterans.
President Obama, in his Jan. 24 State of the Union Address, proposed the creation of a Veterans Job Corps, which will help veterans find jobs in local police or fire departments.
Lu discussed the president’s proposal in a roundtable discussion last Feb. 1 between officials of the WHIAAPI and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as well as representatives from the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations, Japanese American Citizen League, National Alliance for Filipino Veterans, National Filipino Veterans for Equity, National Organization of Chamorro Veterans in America.
“The roundtable could not have come at a more crucial time, as the data from the 2010 Census revealed that AAPIs are one of the fastest growing racial groups in this country,” Lu said.
In the discussion, the WHIAAPI noted President Obama’s recent initiatives to help veterans. One is the Returning Heroes Tax Credit, a bill signed at the end of 2011 which provides firms that hire unemployed veterans with a maximum credit of $5,600 per veteran. Another was the Wounded Warriors Tax Credit, which offers firms that hire veterans with service-connected disabilities with a maximum credit of $9,600 per veteran.
Other initiatives proposed include additional career development support, including the Veterans Gold Card which entitles veterans to six months of personalized case management, assessments and counseling, as well as the Veterans Job Bank, a tool to help veterans find job postings from companies looking to hire them.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(NYNJ Feb 3-8, 2012 Sec A pg.1)
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