Speaker Pelosi to hire nine disabled vets as staffers

From The Hill:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is planning to announce Monday the hiring of nine wounded or disabled veterans into House staff positions as part of the “Wounded Warrior” program.

The program is intended to help wounded veterans, including those who have lost arms and legs in the conflict, make the sometimes difficult transition back to civilian life.

Pelosi launched the $5 million venture through the office of the Chief Administrative Officer in 2007 as a way to also give members and staff on both sides of the divisive Iraq war debate a symbol of the cost and sacrifice of war.

The jobs of the nine “wounded warriors” working for lawmakers are not permanent, but rather function as fellowships for which they will receive salaries for one year. After that year is up, the hope is that many will apply for permanent House positions, doing anything from serving as a liaison to veterans in a member’s office to being a CAO carpenter.

Pelosi’s update on the program, which aims to have 25 fellows by the end of the year, comes as the Department of Defense announced Sunday its intention to bring home 12,000 U.S. troops from Iraq over the course of the next six months.

The scaling back of armed forces reflects the Obama administration’s strategy to reduce the U.S. presence in Iraq to 30,000-50,000 troops by mid-2010.The Senate and House Veterans Affairs committee is also planning to hold a hearing Tuesday on the proposed fiscal 2010 budget.

Obama’s proposed $3.6 trillion budget would increase money for the Department of Veterans Affairs by $5.5 billion, from $50.4 billion to $55.9 billion.

“This budget request will increase funding for VA by 15% this year and by $25 billion over the next five years, including a proposed $4.9 billion increase for fiscal year 2010,” said Rep. Bob Filner (D- Calif.), chairman of the House Veteran Affairs Committee, in a statement.

“After years of funding neglect and budget shortfalls, I commend President Obama on this honest assessment of the funding needs of the VA.”