Gee, if only the GOP hadn't blocked the bill to help vets find jobs!
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/veterans-jobs-bill-blocked-in-the-senate/?_r=0
September 19, 2012, 5:31 pm
95 Comments
Veterans Jobs Bill Blocked in the Senate
By
JENNIFER STEINHAUER Eager to shoot down President Obamas legislative agenda just weeks before the election,
Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a measure that would have provided $1 billion over five years to help veterans find work in their communities.
The measure, which would have potentially created jobs for up to 20,000 veterans, was
blocked on a procedural point by Republicans, who argued that the bill was unpaid for.
snip/
The bill was opposed, by, among others, Senator
Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, who said he believed the bill duplicated existing job programs for veterans that are not well run, and Senator
Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, who has been seeking amendments on bills that would cut off funding to Egypt and to Pakistan until Pakistan freed
Shakil Afridi, the doctor who helped the United States find Osama bin Laden.
Its both shocking and shameful that Republicans today chose to kill a bill to put Americas veterans back to work, Ms. Murray said in a statement.
At a time when one in four young veterans are unemployed, she said, Republicans should have been able, for just this once, to put aside the politics of obstruction and to help these men and women provide for their families.
She added that the vote was stark reminder that Mitch McConnell, Senate minority leader from Kentucky, and Senate Republicans are willing to do absolutely anything to fulfill the pledge he made nearly two years ago to defeat President Obama. It doesnt matter who gets in their way or which Americans they have to sacrifice in that pursuit, even if its our nations veterans.
snip/
The vote was met with a strong rebuke from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. Once again, this Congress let partisan bickering stand in the way of putting thousands of Americas heroes back to work, said Paul Rieckhoff, the organizations founder. Lowering veteran unemployment is something both parties should be able to agree on even in an election year.