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By Alex Holt January 7, 2010

Two programs accomplish the goal

In his campaign, Barack Obama promised to "ensure that more of our veterans can enter the new energy economy. They will create a new 'Green Vet Initiative' that will have two missions: first it will offer counseling and job placement to help veterans gain the skills to enter this rapidly growing field; second, it will work with industry partners to create career pathways and educational programs."

As far as we can tell, there is nothing called the "Green Vet Initiative". However, the Department of Labor has funded two programs that meet all the goals that Obama outlined.

The Veterans Workforce Investment Program "allows for specialized employment, training, and educational resources, tailored to meet the needs of the specific target populations of veterans served," according to the Department of Labor Web site. It also says that "projects that support the President"s commitment to 'Green Energy Jobs'... will receive priority consideration." The the veterans workforce program granted $7.5 million this year to create 3,000 jobs, and at least some of those jobs went to training veterans to operate in the new green energy economy.

Another program funded by the Labor Department as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act created $100 million worth of grants in green job training, in which at least some of the money will go to helping veterans get green jobs.

It's not called the Green Vet Initiative, but the two programs by the Labor Department do everything Obama promised, and since he did not promise a specific amount of funding or number of jobs to be created, he has fulfilled the criteria of the promise.

We're rating this a Promise Kept.

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