Paralyzed Veterans of America commends President Obama for stressing the important need to take care of our veterans in Tuesday’s State of the Union address.

In his speech, he said: “Above all, our freedom endures because of the men and women in uniform who defend it. As they come home, we must serve them as well as they’ve served us. That includes giving them the care and the benefits they have earned – which is why we’ve increased annual VA spending every year I’ve been President. And it means enlisting our veterans in the work of rebuilding our nation.”

He then highlighted the new tax credits package that was passed last fall for companies that hire veterans and also spoke about the efforts by first lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden to get American businesses to secure a pledge of 135,000 jobs for veterans and their families. He also proposed a Veterans Jobs Corps that will help communities hire veterans as cops and firefighters, so that “America is as strong as those who defend her.”

“Paralyzed Veterans of America applauds President Obama for the work he’s done with Congress to continually increase VA funding each year and the efforts he has made to help get our unemployed veterans back to work. We hope the increased funding for VA continues with his budget request for this year,” said Bill Lawson, national president of Paralyzed Veterans of America.

On the complex issue of tackling the problem of unemployment, Lawson welcomed the President making it one of his top priorities. “We need all leaders and all sectors — public and private — to play their part to get this economy moving for everyone and especially our unemployed veterans who have so many great skills to offer and have done so much for our country,” added Lawson.

Immediately following the release of the President’s budget request (expected to be released on February 13), Paralyzed Veterans of America, along with AMVETS, the Disabled American Veterans, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, will release ‘The Independent Budget’, a comprehensive budget and policy document that outlines veterans’ health-care and benefits funding and policy recommendations for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Please visit www.independentbudget.org or www.pva.org for more information.

Sixty-six years ago, Paralyzed Veterans of America was founded by a band of spinal cord injured service members who returned home from World War II to a grateful nation, but also to a world with few solutions to the challenges they faced. These veterans from the “Greatest Generation” made a decision not just to live, but to live with dignity as contributors to society. They created an organization, dedicated to veterans’ service, medical research, and civil rights for people with disabilities. For more than six decades, Paralyzed Veterans of America and its 34 chapters have been working to create an America where all veterans, their families, and people with disabilities have everything they need to thrive. (www.pva.org).

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