Conservative Dems Jettison COBRA Subsidy, Jobs Help

It's time to get mad as hell, folks. The House has been tinkering with a tax and jobs bill that should have been passed before the Memorial Day recess so people's unemployment and COBRA subsidy would not have lapsed. In addition, states were counting on a package of aid to help pay for the overburdened Medicaid programs strained by the recession.

The Senate passed $33.5 Billion to go to send more troops to Afghanistan, while the House cut the COBRA subsidy out of the jobs bill entirely, along with the aid to states for Medicaid funding. Many states were counting on that money to balance their budget, so the failure of Congress to appropriate those funds will force states to further cut budgets -- another move that can't possibly help the unemployed and uninsured.

Do we really need another 30,000 troops in Afghanistan? 'Cause I know for sure we do need the COBRA subsidy until people find jobs and get back on their feet.

Call your member of Congress. Contact information for the House is here and for the Senate is here. Remember, they'll be home in their districts for the Memorial Day recess, so if you happen to bump into one of them, let them know that the COBRA subsidy and aid to states are critical -- more critical than sending more troops into a war that nobody thinks we are winning. Jennifer.