veterans. and i m proposing an increase in the existing tax credit for companies who hire unemployed veterans with a disability who still have so much to offer our country. finally, we re challenging the private sector to hire or train 100,000 unemployed post-9/11 veterans or their spouses by the end of 2013. this builds on commitments that many companies have already made as part of the joining forces campaign championed by my wife, michelle, and dr. jill biden. siemens, for example, recently met their goal of hiring 300 veterans, so they re aiming to hire 150 more by december. microsoft is helping more than 10,000 veterans get i.t.-certified over the next two years. and today groups from the u.s. chamber of commerce to accenture to lockheed martin have all agreed to do their part to help
chamber of commerce to accenture to lockheed martin have all agreed to do their part to help get veterans back into the workforce. the bottom line is this, we still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do to give them the economic security they deserve. that begins with connecting americans looking for work, including our veterans with employers looking to hire. over the last few years, another generation of young veterans has learned that the challenges don t end in kandahar or baghdad. they continue right here at home. today, we re saying to our veterans, you fought for us, and now we re fighting for you, for the jobs and opportunities that you need to keep your families strong and keep america competitive in the 21st century. at a time when there s so much work to be done in this country, we need everyone s help to do