In Hampton, Obama pushes plan for hiring veterans

HAMPTON

On the last morning of a three-day, two-state bus tour promoting his jobs bill, President Barack Obama spent considerably less time attacking Republicans, focusing instead on praising members of the military and their families.

Before a cheering crowd of about 2,400 in a hangar at Joint Base Langley, Obama and first lady Michelle Obama talked Wednesday about the need to provide more jobs for veterans and military spouses.

"There are far too many veterans who are coming home and having to struggle to find a job worthy of their talents. There are too many military spouses who have a hard time finding work after moving from base to base and city to city," Obama said. "That's not right. It doesn't make any sense... It doesn't make sense for our businesses... And it doesn't make sense for America."

Michelle Obama opened the event, formally announcing a pledge by 270 companies to hire 25,000 veterans or military spouses over the next two years.

She called it the largest coordinated effort to hire veterans in years.

The pledge was organized by the administration with the American Logistics Association, whose member companies sell consumer goods to military exchanges, commissaries and retail outlets on military bases.

The jobs initiative is tied to Joining Forces, a broader White House effort to assist the military, veterans and their families that is headed by Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden.

In August, President Obama challenged private companies to provide at least 100,000 jobs for veterans or their spouses by the end of 2013.

The audience on Wednesday consisted mostly of airmen and soldiers who were under orders not to talk with reporters but clearly were excited to see the Obamas. As the couple walked out from underneath a large American flag toward a stage, most of the troops applauded loudly as scores of others, in unison, raised high their cellphones or cameras to record the event.

In earlier stops on the trip through North Carolina and Virginia, Obama railed against Republicans in Congress for blocking his $447 billion jobs legislation, accusing them of protecting the interests of the wealthy. Here, he emphasized bipartisanship, noting that the Senate is going to consider pieces of the jobs plan and saying that he'll urge them to start by approving tax breaks for small businesses that hire veterans.

The president noted that many Republican lawmakers had applauded the idea months ago during a speech to Congress.

"Don't just applaud about it, vote for it," he said.

The most prominent Republican in the hangar, Gov. Bob McDonnell, watched Obama's speech from the sidelines after he and his wife, Maureen, talked privately with the Obamas for 10 minutes before the rally.

McDonnell said afterward that he urged Obama to approve making Fort Monroe a national park and to provide federal disaster aid for Louisa County after the August earthquake. The president listened but made no commitment, he said.

McDonnell said he supports the tax break for those who hire vets but was critical of Obama for attacking his political opponents and for pushing for more federal spending.

"He's gotten much more partisan, much more negative ... much more hostile to the job creators," he said.

The governor acknowledged both political parties contribute to the stalemate in Congress.

"There's a crisis of leadership with the federal government. They can't pass a budget," McDonnell said. "But I lay a lot of the blame on the leadership role of the president."

Linda Bottoms, a 30-year civilian employee at the base who stood in the back of the hangar as Obama spoke, said she's tired of the bickering in Washington when so many people, including some in her family, can't find work.

The recession has led to her 30-year-old son and her 58-year-old brother losing their jobs while a niece and nephew who recently graduated college are waiting tables because they can't find more lucrative employment.

"I feel frustrated with Congress," she said. "They're not doing anything and they can't compromise.... Find something that works. If it doesn't work out, try something else."

Bill Bartel, (757) 446-2398, bill.bartel@pilotonline.com