March 14, 2014
CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen has introduced two bills to help veterans look for jobs and start small businesses.
The Veterans Hiring Act would cut payroll taxes for businesses that hire veterans.
The Veterans Entrepreneurship Act would lower the cost of Small Business Administration loan programs designed to help veterans start their own small businesses. It would permanently eliminate fee waivers for veterans applying for SBA Express loans and would focus on pre-deployment financial counseling and emergency assistance.
The bill also includes a provision requiring the SBA to identify ways to improve its outreach and services for female veterans.
“Despite making up fourteen percent of our military and owning thirty percent of our small businesses, only four percent of veteran-owned small business are run by women,” Shaheen said. “We need to do better. This bill will make important progress in filling in some of the gaps in our current programs.”
Shaheen’s office said the unemployment rate for U.S. Iraq and Afghanistan veterans stands at 9 percent, 2.3 percent higher than the national average.