WASHINGTON (CNN) – President Barack Obama unveiled a new jobs initiative geared toward veterans Friday that the administration says will put thousands of former men and women in uniform back to work.

The new so-called Veterans Jobs Corps initiative, first mentioned in the president's State of the Union address the first week in February, involves partnerships with the Veterans Administration and the Interior Department, as well as state and local law enforcement agencies.

“When these men and women come home, they bring unparalleled skills and experiences.  They’ve saved lives in some of the toughest conditions imaginable,” Obama said during a speech at anArlington,Virginiafirehouse. “These are Americans that every business should be competing to attract.”

But with a price tag of at least $5 billion, it's likely the new initiative will be met with stiff opposition in Congress.

Specifically, Obama said his administration will preference awards of $166 million in grant money to communities that hire post-9/11 veterans for new law-enforcement positions. Simultaneously, $320 million in grant money will be preferenced to various fire departments that pledge to hire and train new veterans. FULL POST

WASHINGTON (CNN) - President Barack Obama is unveiling a new jobs initiative geared toward veterans Friday that the administration says will put thousands of former men and women in uniform back to work.

The new so-called Veterans Jobs Corps initiative, first mentioned in the president's State of the Union address last week, involves partnerships with the Veterans Administration and the Interior Department, as well as state and local law enforcement agencies.

The president is scheduled to announce the new proposals during a speech at an Arlington, Virginia, firehouse.

But with a price tag of at least $5 billion, it's likely the new initiative will be met with stiff opposition in Congress.

Specifically, the administration will preference awards of $166 million in grant money to communities that hire post-9/11 veterans for new law-enforcement positions. Meanwhile, $320 million in grant money will be preferenced to various fire departments who pledge to hire and train new veterans.

The money for those grants has already been appropriated by Congress as part of programs that are broadly targeted at retaining and hiring law enforcement personnel and firefighters. But the president will seek an additional $4 billion in his upcoming budget to expand both programs with an eye toward especially awarding those communities who fill their ranks with veterans. Congress rejected a similar proposal last fall that was part of the president's broader jobs initiative.

The president also will announce that his upcoming budget will include a $1 billion proposal to create as many as 20,000 new jobs for veterans relating to conservation efforts of America's federal and state public lands.

That initiative, to be overseen by the Department of Interior, would put veterans to work in visitor and tourism-related jobs as well as positions that will assist in general upkeep and maintenance roles throughout the country's public parks and nature preserves.

"These are common-sense initiatives to serve our 9/11 veterans who are coming home," Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar told reporters on a conference call with reporters. "We hope Congress does its job (in approving the funding)."

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki also announced the president will propose expanding training programs for entrepreneurially focused veterans seeking to start their own businesses. This program would include online training seminars conducted by the Small Business Administration lasting as long as eight weeks and could service as many as 10,000 veterans annually, according to administration estimates.

"Our country owes them a debt of gratitude and we must ensure that veterans who come home from Afghanistan and Iraq get the opportunities they deserve," Shinseki said.
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