Summoned back from summer break, the House on Tuesday pushed through an emergency $26 billion jobs bill to protect 300,000 teachers, police and others from election-year layoffs. President Barack Obama was to sign the measure by day's end.Lawmakers streamed back to Washington for a one-day session as Democrats declared a need to act before children return to classrooms minus teachers laid off because of budgetary crises in states that have been hard-hit by the recession.
Republicans saw it differently, calling the bill a giveaway to teachers' unions and an example of wasteful Washington spending that voters will punish the Democrats for in this fall's elections. The legislation was approved mainly along party lines by a vote of 247-161.
The aid for the states is to be paid for mostly by closing a tax loophole used by multinational corporations and by reducing food stamp benefits for the poor.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the bill was being immediately sent to the White House so Obama could sign it into law. Obama, joined by teachers at a Rose Garden ceremony earlier in the day, said, "We can't stand by and do nothing while pink slips are given to the men and women who educate our children or keep our communities safe."
Uh-huh. So, what happens next? What if the economy doesn't improve over the next year? Then what? More "emergency" bills signed for the benefit of the public service unions while those of us without union cards get stuck with the bill? Jeez.
BTW, this is yet another example of the failure of the "stimulus" package. It has done little to get our economy rolling again. I swear that we are all better off when congress is away on vacation where they can do little damage to the public finances.
6 comments:
VH:
This is nothing more than Democratic vote buying. Meanwhile out in the streets of America double digit unemployment stares them right in the face. They know who is in charge in Congress and who sits in the Oval Office. The majority of them don't hold union cards but they do vote. With no job to go to this November, there's nothing to keep them from going to the polls. Expect a larger than usual turn out and not because they are happy with the current administration.
Edisto Joe: I think that we are going to see voters take out their disgust out in November.
Welcome back. I, too, will Stumble your article.
prediction: teachers, policemen, and other public servents will still be laid off this fall. advertising during campaigns costs money.
26 billion partisan dollars wasted.
I would gladly pitch in for a "Send Congress on Vacation" donation. One condition is that the vacation be permanent, though.
VH - glad to see ya back. How was the vaycay?
The sad thing is that the Dems are trying to portray anyone who opposes this bill as against teachers and firefighters when we know this is a union bailout bill.
We are no longer blind and we see the truth for what it is. They're all a bunch of crooks.
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