Obama to announce Veterans Job Corps

[alp227]

President Obama will announce details Friday for a $1 billion Veterans Job Corps that the White House says will put up to 20,000 veterans to work over the next five years on projects to preserve and restore national parks and other federal, state and local lands.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki on Thursday described the program as “a bold new effort” to lower the high unemployment rate for post-Sept. 11 military veterans, which stood at 13.1 percent in December. The government estimates that 250,000 post-Sept. 11 veterans are unemployed.

Obama proposed the corps in his State of the Union address last month, describing it as “enlisting our veterans in the work of rebuilding our nation.”

At an appearance Friday at an Arlington County firehouse, Obama is also expected to announce that the budget to be released this month includes $5 billion in funding proposed in the American Jobs Act to spur police and firefighter hiring in 2012.

full: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-to-announce-veterans-job-corps/2012/02/02/gIQAmnRulQ_story.html

this sounds like one of those new deal type programs. oh, Newt Gingrich made this Day One Promise "to create jobs and help undo the damage of the Obama administration on the first day of his administration." I wonder if he'll keep this veterans job program?

[Tx4obama]

1. A link to MORE details regarding President Obama's plan in the OP on the link below

Here: http://sync.democraticunderground.com/101611730

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

2. CCC Redux?

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/ccc/

Gingrich would let this program continue, if there's a way to skim money from it.

[nyy1998]

3. That was my immediate thought when I read this

Could be a good idea, builds "work" experience for out-of-work veterans.

[Thaddeus Kosciuszko]

4. I will never understand the value of "group" politics.

[Mopar151]

5. We've needed this part since the 70's

"Additionally, our veterans will help make a significant dent in the deferred maintenance of our Federal, State, local, and tribal lands including jobs that will repair and rehabilitate trails, roads, levees, recreation facilities and other assets. The program will serve all veterans, but will have a particular focus on post-9/11 veterans." from the link at the link...
A lot of infrastructure work is machinery-intensive now, for reasons of safety as well as cost. The work proposed in this segment is much more labor-intensive, pick n' shovel stuff. I spend a fair amount of tiem in CCC=built parks, and a lot of the vets will find their work setting quite theraputic