Republicans Holding Nearly 3 Million Transportation Jobs Hostage For 6,000 Temporary Oil Jobs

In the Republican Party's stated agenda of obstructing anything and everything that might improve our nation's economy, hostage taking has become a familiar ploy. They held millions of unemployed Americans hostage in order to force us to endure two additional years of billionaire welfare through the Bush tax cuts. They held our nation's debt hostage and forced the first lowering of our credit rating ever in order to protect tax breaks for private jet owners. And now they are holding 3 million American jobs hostage just so John Boehner's investments in Keystone will bring him a profit. This is partisan corruption at its worst, and I honestly don't think the American people have any remaining tolerance for these games when it is their own future that is at stake.

Article excerpt follows:

Republicans Holding Nearly 3 Million Transportation Jobs Hostage For 6,000 Temporary Oil Jobs
By Adam Peck
Jun 21, 2012

With as many as 2.9 million new and existing jobs on the line, House Republicans are refusing to pass a transportation reauthorization bill, even after the Senate’s version of the bill overwhelmingly passed through the upper chamber in a 74-22 bipartisan vote.

The deadline for new transportation funding is June 30, and if the calendar flips to July without a compromise, as many as 1.9 million workers could lose their jobs, at least temporarily. The Senate version of the bill, if adapted, would create an additional one million new jobs as well, according to Department of Transportation projections.

So why are House Republicans holding nearly three million jobs hostage? Because they want approval of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline to be included in the bill. This infographic gives a sense of the GOP’s priorities:



The State Department estimates that roughly 6,000 jobs would be created if the Keystone XL is approved, but as few as 20 of them will be permanent.