Oregon Senators Announce New Veterans Employment Program

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Kemea Smith, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced that more than $1.4 million will go to an Oregon National Guard program, helping veterans and servicemembers find jobs when they return home.

"Our troops have stood up for us, and now we must stand up for them. Providing our veterans with the necessary resources to help find jobs here in Oregon is crucial to the transition back to civilian life," said Senator Merkley. "This funding for the Joint Transition Assistance Program will directly help our men and women returning from war get the stable foundation they need to move forward.”

Senators Wyden and Merkley asked the National Guard Bureau for assistance after the Joint Transition Assistance Program (JTAP) lapsed late last year.

Nearly 1,000 citizen-soldiers and airmen are expected to return from overseas this spring and summer. The money will primarily be used to hire ten transition assistance specialists for the Service Member and Family Support Program. The program will help support the Guardsmen returning to Oregon in the next several months.

“Our Guardsmen put their careers on hold and their lives at risk to answer the country’s call,” Wyden said. “As somebody who helped establish JTAP, I’m just so honored to announce that these critical services will be there when our Guardsmen need them most.”