Do They Care?

To put it nicely, I was appalled to learn that Senate Republicans blocked a measure that would open up $1 billion over five years and create 22,000 new jobs for military veterans, according to the New York Times. This begs me to ask one question: do Republicans even care for Americans anymore? I mean, you have Mitt Romney saying earlier this week that he basically doesn't care for the 47% who "depend on the government" and now Senate Republicans obviously have little regard for the 1 in 4 young vets who are unemployed.

Acording to the Times, the bill was opposed by, among others, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) who has also 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.

The vote was met with a strong rebuke from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. Paul Rieckhoff, director of the organization, said “Once again, this Congress let partisan bickering stand in the way of putting thousands of America’s heroes back to work. Lowering veteran unemployment is something both parties should be able to agree on – even in an election year.”

When I see this, I think about a couple of my friends who are in the military. Will they be able to get jobs when they are veterans? Why not lay out some framework now instead of continuously putting it off? So, back to my original question: Do Republicans (or Congress in general) care? No, I guess they don't.