U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York has announced renewed efforts to make WOTC benefits permanent for businesses that hire military veterans.   Read the press release by clicking here.

“Too many veterans are still coming home to a very bad job market and struggling to find work,” Senator Gillibrand said. “They fulfilled their duty to our country, and now it’s time for us to fulfill our duty to them by making sure they have access to a good-paying job. The tax breaks we put in place are a win-win for businesses and veterans, and now we need to make them permanent so we can continue supporting businesses, create jobs, and put more of our veterans to work as they come home to their families so they can succeed in the economy.”

The WOTC program as a whole is set to expire in August 2011, while some aspects of the program have earlier expiration dates.   The entire history of the program has been one of expiration and reauthorization.  So far, however, proponents have been unable to achieve making the program permanent.
The likelihood that Congress will discontinue the program is slim but there will be political battles to be won for reauthorization, and hopefully permanence, in the near future.