Senator Murray, acknowledging the difficult job market and relatively inflated unemployment rates among veterans, has urged a commitment by the Federal government to veterans. Among its provisions, the legislation would:

• Expand the GI bill to allow veterans to use benefits for apprenticeships and worker training programs in addition to college
• Establish a Veterans Business Center program to help vets starting their own businesses
• Create pilot programs to help vets utilize and expand technical skills learned in the military and market those skills to the civilian work force
• Create the Veterans Conservation Corps, modeled on Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps, which created jobs and facilitated construction projects around the country
• Require a study that could lead to the expansion of the National Guard Employment Enhancement Project, which provides career transition assistance to National Guard members

Funding for the legislation is still pending a report from the Congressional Budget Office, but the bill already has bipartisan support in the Senate.