Republican senators (Sen. Cornyn and Hutchinson)should be ashamed for shelving the veteran jobs bill

[white cloud]

Re: “Veterans job bill shelved in Senate — Republicans in chamber balk at five-year, $1 billion cost of Obama proposal,” Thursday news story.

The one characterizing word for Republicans has been “obstructionist” for the last four years. This last week, they did it again.

In what was labeled as a bipartisan bill to help returning soldiers find jobs, the Republicans again blocked the bill from even getting to the floor. Even more insane, four Republican senators were invited to help write the bill, and they did: Senators Boozman, Johanns, Burr and Toomey co-authored this important bill to help our veterans get jobs as firefighters and police officers in their own cities. But, when it came time to vote, they filibustered their own bill.

Without 60 votes needed to even bring it to the floor for debate, the bill has died and cannot be brought back until next year.

I cannot even imagine how betrayed our vets must feel. I cannot begin to understand how all but five Republican senators can even look at a vet in the face ever again, or themselves in a mirror.

This is a new low for them and they deserve our collective shame. They certainly do not deserve even one vote. And that goes for our own Sen. Cornyn as well.
http://letterstotheeditorblog.dallasnews.com/2012/09/republican-senators-should-be-ashamed-for-shelving-the-veteran-jobs-bill.html/

[ruffburr]

1. They should live in shame, and lose their jobs

Shame upon these people ,I'm amazed that this is not Big news both online and MSM,So as I see it the shame goes past these two Slime.

[vlyons]

2. Given that Kay Bailey Hutchinson is retiring,

there is absolutely no excuse for her voting against vets. She is a f$%king bitch for this vote. You better believe that if she decides to run for gov again, we will not forget! Cornyn is a pompous blowhard, so we sort of expect him to be a dick.

[northoftheborder]

3. KBH is a traitor to her supposed "moderateness". I've never tolerated her.

Wish Sadler would get some help and publicity. Cruz is awful - a nutty rightwinger.

[TexasBushwhacker]

4. I'm sure Cruz would have voted against it to

Sadler should say he will fight for it. He should also fight against public domain being used for the Keystone Pipeline.

[white cloud]

5. Wonder which freeper hates disabled veterans?so much they did this?

Mystery Republican Blocks Cost of Living Adjustment for Disabled Veterans
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray, Chairman of the Senate Veteran’s Affairs Committee, announced that an as yet unnamed Senate Republican has blocked a traditionally non-controversial bill that would provide over 3.9 million veterans and their survivors with a Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) for the benefits they receive. The COLA increase, which is designed to offset inflation and other factors that lead to the rising cost of living, was brought to the Senate floor by Senator Murray last Thursday. The bill was cleared by all Senate Democrats but was blocked by at least one Senate Republican that has not come forward to claim responsibility.
http://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2012/9/mystery-republican-blocks-cost-of-living-adjustment-for-disabled-veterans

[white cloud]

6. Our 2 senators run home on vacation while

Michelle and Jill are hard at work.. What a bunch of hipocrits

First Lady Seeks More Help for Military Families

Michelle Obama has been everywhere from a West Point mess hall to a NASCAR speedway in the past year to drum up support for military families through her "joining forces" campaign. On Wednesday, she marked the program's one-year anniversary by taking stock of what's been done and challenging Americans to do even more.


At a chilly ceremony on the White House lawn, Mrs. Obama praised businesses, churches, schools and other organizations for working to hire more veterans and provide other services to military families but added, "we are not here to pat ourselves on the back."

"There is so much more to do," she said. "It's a time for us to redouble our efforts."

Paul Rieckhoff, executive director and founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, attended the White House event, and said afterward that while the first lady's campaign has been a welcome effort, many veterans of the two conflicts still aren't feeling its impact.

He credited the first lady for bringing new attention to the needs of military families and veterans, but said much more needs to be done to make sure promised jobs actually are delivered and to address the rising suicide rate among veterans, an issue he said the White House has shied away from.

"Mowing lawns for military families is great, but we've also got a spiking suicide rate," he said.

Reichoff said the White House would have to carefully navigate how to push the program in an election year without allowing it to become bogged down by partisanship.

"It's a very complicated dance to do, especially in an election year," he said.

Handled right, though, the initiative can be boost for President Barack Obama's re-election campaign, offering the administration a patriotic platform that's guaranteed to be popular even if the war in Afghanistan is not.

After the White House event, Mrs. Obama and Jill Biden, the wife of the vice president, set out on a two-day anniversary tour with stops in Pennsylvania, New York, Louisiana and Florida to celebrate all things military and announce two milestones for the campaign:

-A commitment by more than 150 nursing organizations and hundreds of nursing schools to train current and future nurses on how to recognize and care for those with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries. The injuries have affected 1 in 6 of the troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq - more than 300,000 veterans.

-The hiring of the 50,000th person under the president's pledge last summer to promote the employment or training of 100,000 more veterans and military spouses by the end of 2013. Because military families move around so much, it can be hard for spouses to find and keep good jobs. Companies have pledged to hire 160,000 more veterans and spouses in coming years.

The first lady also will talk up the program Wednesday night on Stephen Colbert's TV show, "The Colbert Report."
http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news-2/2012/apr/11/first-lady-seeks-more-help-military-families/?utm_source=/articles/wnyc-news/2012/sep/30/veteran-groups-providers-weigh-presidential-order-increasing-services-veterans/&utm_medium=treatment&utm_campaign=morelikethis

[white cloud]

7. Scores of recent Texas war veterans have died of overdoses, suicide and vehicle crashes, investigati

thanks to pinboy3niner for story


By American-Statesman Investigative Team


They survived the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. But they did not survive the homecoming.

A six-month American-Statesman investigation, which paints the most complete picture yet of what happened to Texas’ Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who died after leaving the military, reveals that an alarmingly high percentage died from prescription drug overdoses, toxic drug combinations, suicide and single-vehicle crashes — a largely unseen pattern of early deaths that federal authorities are failing to adequately track and have been slow to respond to.
more
http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local-military/texas-war-veteran-deaths-studied/nSPJs/

[onestepforward]

8. I don't understand why this hasn't gotten more media attention.

Reps. have been voting against many items that would benefit our Vets and with the lack of media coverage, they get away with it.

White Cloud, do you think that the majority of Vets are aware of who is screwing them?

[white cloud]

9. I watch a lot of vet groups and you would not beleive how many

don't realize what the Riech Wing are doing to them...Stabbing them in the back with hard cut to programs so TR can give tax breaks and MIC contract ot big business

Even POW MIA John McCain stabbed them in the back by not supporting or voting for the Webb Hagel Bill of resent.

[onestepforward]

10. I knew you'd be the one to ask

and it's disheartening to hear the answer. I was really hoping that more knew with groups like IAVA and social media in general.

I've been trying to spread information as bet I can and will continue to do so. Our military men and women are close to my heart.

Thanks for your answer and all the information you post about this.