Murray defends veterans' jobs bill against Coburn's charges

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) shot back at Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) Wednesday, calling his remarks about her veterans jobs bill “baseless and offensive.”

“What the senator called a ‘charade’ is an effort to help [veterans] find work,” Murray said Wednesday on the floor. “It’s not enough to give our veterans a pat on the back for their service, we also need to give them a helping hand into the jobs market.”

The Veterans Jobs Corp Act would create new job-training programs to help veterans find work in targeted fields such as national park conservation, historic preservation projects, police work and firefighting, among others. The bill $1 billion creates new revenue to pay for itself over 10 years.

Murray, chairwoman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said she incorporated every element of ranking member Richard Burr’s (R-N.C.) alternative bill. She said that made the bill even more bipartisan, listing parts that were proposed by Sens. John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.).

“There is no reason now that Republicans should not join us in passing this bill,” Murray said. “It’s not an either/or situation.

“Here’s what matters: nearly 1 million unemployed veterans are looking for jobs today … this is a bill that will help them.”

A vote on a motion to proceed to the bill could come as early as this evening. Then amendments could be offered and the bill would be voted on.

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