Senate passes amendment to defense bill

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate passed an amendment to the defense bill that expands business opportunities for veterans and protects employment for reservists in theater.

Lawmakers unanimously passed the amendment Tuesday, the Veterans Business Provisions, which is expected to expand business opportunities for veterans and help reservists keep their businesses afloat during deployment.

Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, sponsored the amendment to the Defense Department authorization bill.

"America's veterans and reservists sacrifice for their country -- they shouldn't have to sacrifice their jobs and their livelihoods when they come home," said Kerry, in a statement.

"This bipartisan amendment will provide critical resources to business development programs for our veterans and reservists and hold federal agencies accountable. We owe our troops more than a simple thank you. The least we can do is provide the resources they need to keep their businesses afloat while they're deployed and to start a business when they return."

Kerry and Snowe introduced the Military Reservist and Veteran Small Business Reauthorization and Opportunity Act amendment earlier this year. The passage of The Veterans Business Provisions amendment is based on that legislation.

"In recent years, our nation's Guard and Reserve forces have selflessly answered the call to duty in both Iraq and Afghanistan," said Snowe. "In fact, there have been nearly 3,000 Guard and Reserve deployments from my home state of Maine to those two countries since September 11, 2001. As our Reservists continue to answer our nation's call to duty, we must similarly fulfill our responsibility to help protect their livelihoods back home. This amendment takes a significant step toward achieving that goal."