U.s. congressman Rodney davis proudly representing the 13th district of illinois

U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) today announced that the House has passed his legislation, the Hire More Heroes Act, to incentivize small businesses to hire veterans as a part of a broad, bipartisan jobs package called the Jobs for America Act. The legislation was approved by a vote of 253-163.

“The Hire More Heroes Act is a commonsense piece of legislation that will help our veterans find work and assist small businesses in hiring qualified, well-trained employees while providing much-needed relief from Obamacare,” said Davis. “So I’m pleased that the House once again passed the Hire More Heroes Act, along with a number of other jobs bills, in another attempt to have the Senate join us in putting Americans back to work.”

The Hire More Heroes Act incentivizes small businesses to hire veterans by exempting veterans who already receive health insurance through the Department of Veterans Affairs or reservists covered under TRICARE from being counted towards the number of employees required by the employer mandate under the Affordable Care Act. The employer mandate is a requirement that all businesses with more than 50 full-time employees provide health insurance to their employees or pay a fee.

Currently, there are 8 million veterans receiving health care through the VA system, and every service member returning from Iraq and Afghanistan has the option of signing up for health care through the VA.

Although national unemployment rates continue to decrease, unemployment among veterans remains high, with the current rate at 6.9 percent for women and 6.5 percent for men, higher than the national average. Veterans who have served since 9/11 are facing a much higher unemployment rate of 9 percent.

The Hire More Heroes Act was originally approved by the House on March 11, 2014 by a vote of 406-1.

Other bills approved as a part of the Jobs for America Act includes:

• H.R. 2575, the Save American Workers Act, which repeals Obamacare’s 30-hour definition of full-time employment;
• H.R. 899, the Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act, which equips Congress and the public with tools to determine the true costs of regulations;
• H.R. 2804, the Achieving Less Excess in Regulation and Requiring Transparency (ALERRT) Act, which promotes jobs, better wages, and economic growth through regulatory reform;
• H.R. 367, Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, which ensures that Congress votes on all new major rules before they can be enforced;
• H.R. 1105, the Small Business Capital Access and Job Preservation Act, which prevents Dodd-Frank Act regulations from diverting capital from small- and medium-sized businesses;
• H.R. 2274, the Small Business Mergers, Acquisitions, Sales, and Brokerage Simplification Act, which streamlines regulatory requirements to help facilitate capital formation to grow small- and medium-sized businesses;
• H.R. 1526, the Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act, which will put Americans back to work by promoting responsible timber production;
• H.R. 761, the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act, which allows the U.S. to develop resources that are critical to our economic competiveness;
• H.R. 3086, the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act, which protects internet access for all Americans and fosters growth in the digital economy;
• H.R. 4438, the American Research and Competitiveness Act, which makes the R&D Tax Credit permanent, paving the way for increased innovation and investment in the U.S.;
• H.R. 4457, the America's Small Business Tax Relief Act, which makes section 179 expensing permanent ensuring that our small businesses have the certainty they need to grow their businesses and create jobs;
• H.R. 4453, the S Corporation Permanent Tax Relief Act, which provides the necessary flexibility for S corporations to access capital and make new investments; and
• H.R. 4718, Amending the Internal Revenue code of 1986, making bonus depreciation permanent in order to lower the cost of capital for businesses.