Senate Approves Veterans' Jobs Bill

The approval of a bill providing tax credits for hiring unemployed or injured veterans is a ray of bipartisanship in an otherwise largely divided town. In recent weeks all or portions of President Obama’s jobs bill have been defeated in the Senate. But on the eve of Veterans Day, lawmakers came together to approve legislation providing up to a $5,600 tax credit for hiring an unemployed veteran and $9,600 for hiring injured veterans.

Virginia Democratic Senator Jim Webb says the bill will be a boon to those coming back from war zones: "It’s helpful. I mean certainly it’s something positive that we can do.”

Other portions of the president’s jobs bill that are estimated to spur more job growth remain stalled. But Maryland Democratic Senator Barbara Mikulski says a baby step is better than none.

"Any step forward takes us forward," says Mikulski.

The unemployment rate for veterans sits approximately three percent above the national average. The Senate-passed legislation also bolsters a program to retrain out of work soldiers.