I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
New Mexico Democrat Tom Udall introduced his first amendment as a U.S. senator, and it passed unanimously. The amendment, to the economic stimulus package, would expand tax incentives to employers hiring veterans who have served since September 2001.
“Those soldiers leaving the military after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, serving with great distinction and honor, are finding themselves back in a shrinking workforce,” said Udall.
The bill would help out veterans who had collected unemployment benefits for at least four weeks in the past year.
The employer would be able to receive a tax credit equal to 25 percent of the first $6,000 in wages if the veteran works between 120 hours and 400 hours. If it is over 400 hours, the employer is eligible to receive a tax credit equal to 40 percent of the first $6,000 of wages paid.
“We know from study after study that these men and women have substantial capabilities in technology, in mathematics, in management, in crisis response and so many other areas that are critical to employers,” Udall said.
Udall also said that the post-9/11 generation of veterans has the highest rate of unemployment of all veterans.
The executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Paul Rieckhoff, praised Udall for the amendment. He said, “Iraq veterans are returning home from combat only to face the hardest job market in decades.”
Reickhoff also said it is our “patriotic duty” to give veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan a chance at a career once they come back home.
Udall served as a member of the House Veterans’ Affair Committee. He also was a big proponent of the new GI bill that became law last year.
