Senate Approves $60 Billion For War, While House Cuts $24 Billion For Unemployed Workers And State A

[laughingliberal]

WASHINGTON — The Senate easily passed an almost $60 billion war funding bill Thursday, but anxiety over out-of-control budget deficits led House leaders to drop tens of billions of dollars in spending from a separate catchall bill anchored by an extension of jobless benefits.

Confronted with a rebellion by Democratic moderates, House leaders planned to dump overboard $24 billion in aid to states and allow generous health insurance subsidies for laid-off workers to expire. The changes were an effort to round up votes to extend unemployment benefits and renew more than 50 popular tax breaks that expired last year.

Help for doctors facing a big cut in Medicare reimbursements would also be dropped from the measure, aides and lobbyists said, and is unlikely to be resurrected by a vote on Friday.

Democrats will miss their self-imposed deadline of passing the jobless benefits measure before Memorial Day, even if the House passes the bill Friday. The Senate announced Thursday that it will not hold any more votes until senators return from their holiday break June 7.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/28/senate-approves-60-billio_n_592923.html

This is disastrous. I, personally, know several people who are laid off and not likely to find a job any time soon who are relying on the help with COBRA to continue their treatments for life threatening conditions. They will die without medical care. And they are relatively young and still raising small children.

[Oregone]

1. LOL

How long can this empire drag on?

[laughingliberal]

3. Until they've wrenched the last few pennies from our pockets. It's moving very fast, now. nt

[sakabatou]

2. Disgusting

Predator drones over people.

[Rex]

4. In the end we will all die poor.

Thanks Dick/Bush assholes! Reagan was The First Idiot and they loved him for it.

[Lorien]

12. Those people are out of office and dead

or so we were told....

[chill_wind]

5. Can you believe this shit?

[Goldstein1984]

6. I think it works like this...

Provide $60 billion for wars;
Don't provide $24 billion for unemployed workers;
Unemployed workers experience economically-induced patriotism and enlist in the military;
The military (children of the poor) become fodder for the terror-industrial complex;
Rich people make money.

It's like a plan, or something.

[laughingliberal]

8. ...

:cry:

[aquart]

7. Gosh. What brilliant choices. Any Republican could have made them.

[bluestateguy]

9. Blame the Blue Dogs and Republicans

When all Republicans line up against a bill it only takes a few Blue Dog Democrats to jump ship and kill a bill.

Nothing in that article suggested that the White House had any role.

[laughingliberal]

10. I'm pretty sure nothing was said to indicate the White House had anything to do with it. eom

[Lorien]

11. This shit has got to end. Vote out the damned incumbants

and let's stop voting for corporate whores-old or new. They're killing us, their killing innocents abroad, they're bleeding us dry, and for WHAT?? PLUNDER??? How much gold is all of this pain and misery worth? They're destroying this Country so they can feel like big strong powerful men and women. So they can buy glittery trinkets and live with a full time staff. They are shallow,hollow people with no humanity left in them Vote them out, tax the wealthy elite until they no longer have the status of "wealthy elite" and are merely "very well off".Enough is enough!

[rudy23]

13. They're calling it the Just Die Already Act

When are they just going to come out and start saying it in their speeches?

[laughingliberal]

14. Soon would be my guess. eom

[leftstreet]

16. +1

[chill_wind]

15. But

Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak
Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak Sestak ..

[inna]

17. What a monstrosity. This is starting to be more and more in-your-face,

it's as if they are not even trying to hide it any longer. It's a little frightening, actually.

[chill_wind]

18. ..

The House on Friday approved legislation to extend the filing deadline for emergency unemployment benefits through November. It does not create new benefits.

The vote was 215 to 204. The bill — which also extends a number of tax breaks set to expire shortly — now moves to the Senate, which will take up the proposal after lawmakers return June 7 from their Memorial Day recess. In the meantime, the filing deadline for UI benefits will expire June 2.

The Crisis of Long-Term Unemployment (Washington Independent 5/28)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8439520#top

[Hydra]

19. I'm glad they have plenty of money for war

Maybe we'll open up on Iran next and I'll have to enlist to get work? I'm sure that will work fine for TPTB.

[lovelyrita]

20. This has hurt my family.

My husband has been out of work since January 2009. The COBRA subsidy has allowed us to afford his health insurance. Without it, the COBRA is not affordable. My job does offer benefits but they pay 0% for dependents. That means I will have to pay $7488 from my paycheck to insure him. That is 24% of my gross pay, so that is impossible.

I do not understand why there is money for war but not to help people.

[Better Believe It]

21. So who won the 2008 election? We did? Prove it!

Sounds to me like the Republicans are calling the shots with a lot of help from Democrats.

After all, Democrat sure can't force the Republicans to engage in actual on the Senate floor filibusters against help for the jobless.

They have the power to do that but the Republicans would get pissed off. So Democrats just can't do that.