Excerpt: "In an editorial last weekend referring to today's vote, the New York Times said, 'We'll know then whether good sense prevailed, or the wheels have come completely off the Congressional machine.' It looks like the Republicans have made sure of the latter."
Veterans register for the 'Hiring Our Heroes' job fair at the South Towne Expo Center in Sandy, Utah. (photo: George Frey/Getty Images)
Senate Republicans Kill Veterans' Jobs Bill
20 September 12
enate Republicans prevented a veterans' jobs bill from coming to a vote today by forcing a budget point of order vote. Democrats came up 2 votes short of the 60 needed to defeat the GOP's budget measure.
The Veterans Jobs Corps bill - which is part of President Obama's push to secure jobs for veterans - would have provided $1 billion over five years to hire 20,000 young veterans for public lands jobs and prioritize vets for first responder jobs such as police, firefighter, or EMT. The measure would have also provided young vets access to the infrastructure with which to assist in job searches, such as access to computers, internet and career services advisers.
The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a vets group that supported the legislation, called the GOP move "a huge disappointment," adding, "Today, politics won over helping vets."
While only five Republicans voted with the Democrats to waive the GOP budget point of order measure, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) led the GOP opposition. "When we find ourselves in $16 trillion of debt and we pay for a five-year bill over 10 years, we make the problem worse," he said.
However, Veterans Jobs Corps bill co-sponsor Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) said on the Senate floor today that "this bill is fully paid for and does not violate pay-go rules." (The New York Times said Murray's aides say "say the program will be paid for by recovering more money from tax-delinquent Medicare providers and forcing big tax deadbeats to pay up before receiving passports.")
Murray even tried to include most of the provisions of a competing Republican bill but Democrats still ran into opposition. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said he would block the measure until the Pakistani doctor that aided the CIA in looking for Osama bin Laden was freed, while Coburn claimed the bill would have no chance of passing the House so it wasn't worth the effort.
"I've been surprised at the many obstacles and weird arguments that have been thrown at us," Murray told the Washington Post.
The jobless rate for Iraq and Afghanistan war vets, while steadily declining, is still higher than the national average, yet congressional Republicans remain "resolute in their commitment to deny the Democrats anything that looks like an accomplishment in an election year."
In an editorial last weekend referring to today's vote, the New York Times said, "We'll know then whether good sense prevailed, or the wheels have come completely off the Congressional machine." It looks like the Republicans have made sure of the latter.
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VOTE STRAIGHT DEMOCRATIC there are states that need cleaning out too.
OBAMA/BIDEN 2012 for the 100% of us.
First, they impose a war that is not only not paid for, but then it is not even put on the books for budgeting purposes. Which of course brings up a point of GOP hypocrisy. Rhetorically speaking, isn't no budget better than a false budget?
Second, after they determine (based on their own vivid imaginations, or on just plain stupidity)that we are way too far in debt, a cost of those wars must suddenly be balanced by actual cuts.
Listen GOP. You placed the wars off the books, it takes a lot of brass to turn around as the wars are ending to suddenly call for offsets so that we can finance job opportunities for the men and women that were lucky enough to survive your deadly adventures. These are GOP wars, they were not proposed by Dems. Dems did not create phony reasons for these wars.
You own them.
To ask individuals to alter the path of their life, then refuse to provide a road back is despicable.
VOTE. BUT NEVER VOTE FOR A REPUBLICAN.
They ask you to sacrifice your life and they don't want to make your life whole afterwards.
Republicans support all life (until it is out of the womb and needs essential services, like healthcare and education to survive and thrive)
Republicans support the elderly (until they seek the benefits they PAID FOR over the course of their working lives)
Republicans support minorities (hey, at least they said they do at the National Convention; although a delegate from Arizona did ask Marco Rubio for proof of citizenship)
Republicans support working class citizens (Its just that the only ones 'working' are the corporate 'citizens', but hell, they are 'people', just ask the Supreme Court)
I have asked some of my Republican friends and acquaintances why they are going to vote for Romney and the answer I get is that "He isn't Obama". Now, don't get me wrong, I think Obama has failed in so many of his promises and many of his policies are so far to the right, that he has shredded our rights of free speech, free assembly, due process, privacy. In fact, one of the few things he has going for him is HE IS NOT REPUBLICAN! (He is heading down a slippery slope, the Republican party has jumped on a sled down that slope with greased skids!
Similarly, the GOP creates a war and appeal to young people to enlist and fight the battles for America and the flag. But once the soldiers who survived come home and return to civilian life, they're on their own.
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