Hire Vets: Jeff Merkley's work in action

Posted by Carla Axtman on February 22, 2008

We've heard a lot lately about the difficulties for U.S. veterans as they try to put their lives on track after leaving military service.

One area in particular is the a reluctance on the part of some employers to hire vets:

The 2007 study by the consulting firm Abt Associates Inc. found that 18 percent of the veterans who sought jobs within one to three years of discharge were unemployed, while one out of four who did find jobs earned less than $21,840 a year.

During the 2007 legislative session, Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley fought to pass a bill in the legislature to encourage the private sector to hire veterans.

Last week while driving in Portland, a campaign staffer snapped a photo of a city bus, carrying an advertisement for the program Jeff Merkley worked to pass:

We're entering a new era of government where leaders like Jeff Merkley thrive. And we can see that leadership in action--right now.

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Jeff Merkley was born in the small town of Myrtle Creek, Oregon, the son of a sawmill worker. He's fought hard for working families in Oregon and he's ready to help lead America.

As Oregon's Speaker of the House, Jeff Merkley led one of the most effective, efficient and progressive legislative sessions in Oregon's history - with big achievements for schools, ethics, health care, jobs, alternative energy, and protections for working families.

Discover why Jeff Merkley is ready to lead.

From the Oregonian:

Merkley raced [quarter-midget cars] as a child, and once owned -- and crashed -- a Harley. He roomed with an impoverished family in Ghana as a teen, hitchhiked across Israel as a young man and went on, as he puts it, to help shut down one of Portland's worst crack alleys.

"I've lived," he says, "a pretty unconventional life."

Read the Oregonian profile of Jeff Merkley's life before politics.

Paid for by Jeff Merkley for Oregon