A handful of government officials recently gathered to discuss the Hire MI Heroes Act, which aims to give tax credits to employers who hire veterans.
The meeting was held Feb. 20 at the VFW Post 2645, located at 24222 W. Nine Mile Road, where state Sen. Vincent Gregory and state representatives Jeremy Moss, Robert Wittenberg and Christine Greig were joined by local veterans.
The legislation, which was introduced in the Senate Feb. 19, will also be launched in the House and would provide Michigan businesses that hire an unemployed veteran with a one-time tax credit of 25 percent of the veterans’ compensation, up to $4,000.
“One of the reasons we did this is that Michigan has one of the highest unemployment rates of veterans in the country, so we needed to do something more than just job fairs,” Gregory, a Vietnam veteran, said.
Moss said passing the bill would be a win-win.
“We have a struggling, sluggish economy in Michigan, and we have an unemployment rate for Michigan vets that’s about 4 percent higher than the national veterans unemployment rate,” Moss said. “We have problems. This is the solution that can hopefully solve (the) needs of small businesses to hire qualified, talented workers and to allow veterans to fill that void.”
Greig said the mission of the bill is also to make Michigan a leader in supporting veterans.
“These were the things we were looking at: How do we get more skilled people into the workforce and really value the things they bring? How do we make Michigan the top state again for skills?” Greig said.
Stephanie Zarb, a post-911 veteran and program manager for the Buddy to Buddy Veteran Volunteer Program, spoke on the importance of keeping jobs in Michigan.
After being honorably discharged from her position as a captain in the U.S. Air Force due to medical reasons, Zarb said she struggled to find a job in the area.
Eventually, before having to look for work out of state, Zarb said she landed a position with the University of Michigan’s Buddy to Buddy program, in which honorably discharged veterans work to find fellow veterans jobs.
“The No. 1 problem we see is unemployment, and it’s legislation like this that can make the difference for Michigan veterans and keep them here in Michigan, instead of sending them out to look for work in other states,” Zarb said.
Several other veterans also gathered at the hall to show their approval.
“I came to support my fellow veterans,” said Farmington resident Harold Hrobsky. “We haven’t had support for so long, so it’s nice to see some.”
Gregory also said the bill has bipartisan support.
“We have Democrats and Republicans on the bill, so it looks like it has a good chance to be moved forward,” Gregory said. “It’s a good sign for Michigan that we’re all coming together to address this issue.”.
