Good things can happen when Democrats break through Republican logjams in the Senate. We wish this would happen more often, but the current group of Republican senators has been impossible to deal with because they have shown no interest in lending a hand to turn around the nationÕs battered economy.Republicans have consistently voted against legislation to create jobs and give small businesses the relief they need to survive and expand. The Senate minority, interested only in securing tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans, simply has turned its back on the nationÕs middle class.
That is why it was welcome relief when a unified Senate Democratic majority, aided by Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, voted 61 to 38 Wednesday to end a Republican filibuster on a $26 billion spending bill that would help states bolster education and Medicaid programs. The measure, which would save an estimated 140,000 jobs for teachers, firefighters and other civil servants nationwide, is expected to get a final vote in the Senate as early as today.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who led the fight to end the filibuster, said the bill would give Nevada schools an additional $83 million to keep educators working and would add $79 million to the stateÕs Medicaid coffers. Because more than 160,000 Nevadans rely on Medicaid, the additional money is sorely needed.
Stating that the procedural vote offered a simple choice, Reid said, ÒWe could either stand up for the jobs of teachers, firefighters and police officers by saying yes, or we could have turned our back on them and their families by saying no. By overcoming this procedural hurdle, we are one step away from ensuring teachersÕ jobs are secure for this school year, that funds are available for Nevadans who rely on Medicaid, and that our state avoids a budget shortfall that could result in more layoffs.Ó
What could Republicans possibly have been thinking by trying to filibuster this legislation? Do they want teachers to lose their jobs? Do they want children, seniors and others who rely on Medicaid to live on the streets? Those irresponsible senators will have some explaining to do back home when they face constituents who are struggling to keep their jobs and make ends meet.
Additionally, to help turn the economy around, everything possible should be done to preserve existing jobs and give businesses a fighting chance to create new ones. People with jobs spend more money on goods and services, and take more vacations to tourist destinations such as Las Vegas.
We look forward to swift passage of this bill in the Senate and encourage the House to do likewise. The help this legislation would bring cannot come quickly enough.
Copyright 2010 Las Vegas Sun
