Senate Republicans blocked the $1 billion veterans jobs bill Wednesday, by forcing a budget point of order vote.
Democrats needed 60 votes for the bill to pass, but got only 58 votes.
Only five Republicans – Sens. Scott Brown (Mass.), Susan Collins (Maine), Dean Heller (Nevada), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Olympia Snow (Maine) – joined Democrats and voted for the waiver, in a 58-40 vote.
“It’s clear that commonsense bipartisan legislation is being thwarted in this Chamber over politics,” said Sen. Bill Nelson, who sponsored the jobs bill, the hill.com reported.
