Jon Tester: “the economy has hit us all hard. Montanans who have done everything right are losing their jobs, and some are even…”

“the economy has hit us all hard. Montanans who have done everything right are losing their jobs, and some are even losing their homes. To get the economy back on track we need to employ some common sense. We need to put politics aside, and we need to work together on behalf of the struggling families across this country. In particular, we need to do the right thing on behalf of our men and women who have served our Nation in uniform. The unemployment rate for younger veterans who have served since September 11, 2001, continues to remain well above average. It is unacceptably high and is getting worse. It is a national disgrace. Our service men and women deserve better. These men and women left the comforts of home and put their lives on hold to fight for us in some of the harshest conditions imaginable. Far too many have paid the ultimate sacrifice, while thousands continue to struggle with the wounds of war--those seen and those unseen. They face daily challenges many of us can never fully comprehend, and they have endured sacrifices we can never fully repay. Many of them served multiple tours. Even the Montana National Guard's largest unit was sent to Iraq twice in the last 8 years. That is a long time--especially for a Reserve component--to be away from home. But they carried out their assignments as the best-trained, most professional military in the world. And for that we are proud and we are grateful.…”