Unemployment Benefits Extension Defeated By Dems & GOP

Unemployment Extension Defeated In House


The House of Representatives on Thursday voted down a measure that would have reauthorized extended unemployment insurance for another three months, leaving no clear path forward to prevent the benefits from lapsing as scheduled on Nov. 30.

Without a reauthorization, the Labor Department estimates that two million long-term unemployed will prematurely stop receiving benefits before the end of the year.

"I think it's a sad moment," said Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) after the vote. "It appalls me that the Republicans keep pitching and pitching and pitching the tax cuts for the rich and won't join in a bill to help people keep their homes and not have to live in their cars."

The bill was brought to the floor under a "suspension of the rules," meaning it required approval from two-thirds of the House. It failed 258 to 154, with mostly Democratic support. Twenty-one Republicans voted in favor and 11 Democrats voted nay.

Even if it had passed the House, it's unclear how it would get through the Senate, where Democrats will need at least three Republicans to switch sides. No GOP moderates have signaled a willingness to support an unemployment reauthorization that isn't "paid for" with spending cuts -- something Democrats have refused to do all year. In most recessions, the cost of federally-funded jobless aid is usually paid for with deficit spending.

It's likely there will be another effort in Congress to reauthorize the benefits before the Christmas break, though lawmakers will be off next week for Thanksgiving.

"My understanding is the Senate is trying figure out what vehicle they can add it to and how they can include and we'll see, but I don't think we should be going home over the holidays when people are losing their unemployment benefits, and especially when the struggle seems to be how you can give more money to rich people," Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Education and Labor committee, told HuffPost.

Democrats may attempt to attach a reauthorization of the extended benefits to a broader bill, such as a measure reauthorizing some of the Bush-era tax cuts set to expire at the end of the year.

Advocates for the unemployed want a bill that preserves existing benefits for the entirety of 2011.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs on Thursday said Congress ought to reauthorize the benefits before its Christmas break.

"When we discuss how to get our economy moving again, there isn't an economist in the country who won't tell you that ensuring [that] those who lost their jobs have the ability to pay their rent, support their families, isn't in and of itself a great boost to the economy," he said.
I do not think that we want to leave here having fought for tax cuts for millionaires and against... unemployment insurance for those who lost their jobs."

Federally-funded extended benefits, which give the unemployed up to 73 weeks of benefits once they exhaust 26 weeks of state benefits, have needed several reauthorizations in the past year, and Congress has let them lapse three times. The shorter lapses didn't cause too much of an interruption in benefits, but over the summer, as Senate Republicans filibustered a reauthorization for 50 days, 2.5 million people stopped receiving checks for several weeks.

"Sadly, Congress is once again heading out of town just as the federal unemployment insurance programs are slated to expire, this time right as the holiday season begins," said Christine Owens, director of the National Employment Law Project, in a statement. "It is critical that a full-year renewal of the program moves to the top of the agenda when Congress returns on November 29th, to minimize the hardship and disruption to families and the economy that will result from the November 30th cut-off."


Sources: Huffington Post

GOP Stalls Dems' Unemployment Vote Again, Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!

Democrats Unemployment Vote Hits Snafu


Senate Democrats hit a minor snafu Wednesday afternoon when they failed to kill a Republican procedural motion on a short-term unemployment benefits package.

The vote was 58-40, two votes shy of setting aside a GOP “point of order” against the $9.2 billion bill, leaving the legislation in limbo as Democrats scrambled to schedule a re-vote later Wednesday.

With Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) at home for a funeral and George Voinovich of Ohio the the only Republican to break with his party on the motion, it became clear the Dems would fall just short of 60.

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he expects to hold a second procedural vote later Wednesday to kill the GOP point of order.

The Republicans' motion—which contends that the unemployment benefits bill violates the Senate's "pay as you go rules"—strips the legislation of its emergency designation, an action that requires the bill to be offset with spending cuts.

Even though the issue should be cleared up in favor of Democrats later Wednesday, it was still a setback because Democrats thought they had the 60 votes to waive the “paygo” rules on the first roll call on this issue.

Minutes before the 12:30 vote, a Democratic aide said he believed the party had enough votes, that the point of order would be waived and that final passage of the legislation would come "in short order.”

The aide believed Voinovich and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) would vote against the point of order. But Democrats miscalculated. Snowe, who had told reporters Tuesday she was still on the fence about how she would vote, voted with Republicans.

The pending short-term package—which includes extensions of emergency flood insurance, COBRA benefits and the Medicare "doc fix"—has become a thorn in the side of the majority party, which has faced filibusters in each of its last two attempts to move it through the Senate.

As a result of this most recent impasse, unemployment benefits expired April 5. The legislation on the floor, however, would cover the gap in coverage and retroactively grant benefits to those who lost them.


Sources: CNN, C-Span, Politico, Youtube

Richard Burr Votes "Yes" On Jobs Bill For Tax Credits...Its Pay Go

Burr Votes "Yes" On Jobs Bill


Today U.S. Sen. Richard Burr voted in support of a sweeping Jobs Bill estimated to provide $35 billion in Job-Related Tax Breaks and funding for Construction Projects.

Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican, recently boasted to GOP supporters that "it is impossible for any candidate to get to the right of me from an ideological standpoint," Barb Barrett reports.

But he was one of 11 Republicans to vote “yes” on the bill. The measure passed 68-29.

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat, also voted yes.

Burr said he supports the tax credits to get employers hiring jobless workers, and that he liked that this bill is paid for but cuts elsewhere.

"According to (the Congressional Budget Office), this bill will not add to the deficit because it is paid for by cutting elsewhere in government, a fact that makes it much different from last year’s "stimulus" package that I opposed," Burr said in a statement.

"This bill ultimately serves as an admission that last year’s stimulus package was a very expensive missed opportunity."

The bill would offer tax credits to employers hiring long-term jobless workers, and extends the federal bridge and road program.

Earlier this month Burr was one of 19 senators to vote against a $10 billion extension of Unemployment benefits. He was criticized in an online ad by the Democratic party for that vote, and for the fact that he didn’t show up for a critical procedural vote on the Jobs bill.



The jobs bill passed Wednesday now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature.

The bill allows employers who hire workers who have been unemployed for at least 60 days an exemption from paying their 6.2 percent payroll taxes for the rest of the year.

If the employees stay on at least a year, employers also would receive a $1,000-per-worker tax credit.

The bill also extends the federal bridge and roads construction program through the end of the year.




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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, Fox News, Youtube, Google Maps

Why Jim Bunning Backed Down, Holds Dems To PayGo Law

Sources: The Daily Beast, CNN, Whitehouse.gov

Jim Bunning Ends Gridlock On Unemployment Benefits, Reaches Deal

Jim Bunning Reaches Jobless Benefits Deal


Senators have reached agreement to end Sen. Jim Bunning's filibuster of $10 billion in benefits for unemployed workers and road projects, Bunning's office and Democratic officials said.

The agreement, officials said, calls for two votes -- one on the package itself and another on a measure to pay for it, as Bunning demanded -- later Tuesday night.

Bunning and other senators have been engaged in intense back-room negotiations since the Kentucky Republican began blocking movement on the bill late last week.

The extension of unemployment benefits needed unanimous consent to pass because Democrats have labeled it an emergency spending measure. Bunning rejected a motion for unanimous consent again Tuesday morning.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's spokesman, Jim Manley, said Bunning had put blanket holds on all nominations pending before the Senate, but a spokesman for Bunning said he was unaware of such an action.

"Right now, the senator's number one priority is trying to reach an agreement to get this bill paid for and passed," Mike Reynard said.

Last month, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, put a blanket hold on nominations in an attempt to secure lucrative deals for his state but later dropped it.

Bunning, who is retiring at the end of this year, has said he doesn't oppose extending the programs; he just doesn't want to add to the deficit. Democrats argue that, because it is an emergency measure, the bill should not be subject to new rules requiring that legislation not expand the deficit.

Bunning told CNN's Dana Bash that he wants the Senate to hold three votes on three potential ways to pay for the benefits package. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said he could agree to one vote.

As a result of the Senate's inaction, many jobless people were no longer able to apply for federal unemployment benefits or the COBRA health insurance subsidy as of Monday.

Bunning's actions have created a political firestorm. On Tuesday morning, the Kentucky Republican pushed on the Senate floor for a measure that would pay the $10 billion tab out of the Democrats' previously passed $862 billion stimulus bill. He also dared Reid to hold a vote to cut off debate on the measure.



Reid rejected Bunning's motions.

"You have made your point ... [but] the majority of the Senate disagrees with you," Reid said to Bunning. The need to extend unemployment benefits is "an emergency. ... Our economy is suffering. [There are] long lines of people out of work."

Reid called Bunning's legislative maneuvering "terribly inappropriate" and "very out of line."

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs chimed in as well.

"This is an emergency situation," he said. "Hundreds of thousands have been left in the lurch. ... I don't know how you negotiate the irrational."

Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins quickly moved to separate herself from Bunning and side with the Democratic leader, noting that the issue is "so important to senators on both sides of the aisle."

She later said Bunning's views "do not represent the majority of the Republican caucus."

"Ideally, we would offset this" spending bill, she said. "But I would support it either way because the programs are emergency programs. It's a very short-term [one month] extension."

One GOP senator who declined to be identified said Republicans are "furious" with Bunning. "This plays right into the Democratic narrative that we're obstructionist," the senator said. "We look insensitive."

"To say Bunning is not beloved is an understatement," the senator added.

House Minority Leader John Boehner, however, defended Bunning.

"He's got a legitimate argument that he's making," said Boehner, an Ohio Republican. "The Democrats just passed this legislation" requiring bills not to increase the deficit, and not even "a week after the president signed [it] into law, they want to exempt the first bill that comes across the Senate floor."

Bunning in turn called Senate Democrats "hypocritical" for recently passing rules requiring that new legislation not expand the deficit, only to turn around and push both the emergency unemployment extension and a $15 billion jobs bill that, according to Bunning, is not fully paid for.

He read a letter from a constituent in Louisville, Kentucky, praising him for deciding to "stand up to those in Congress who want to do nothing more than to spend the taxpayers' money."

"This country is sooner or later going to implode because of the massive amount of debt run up over the past 40 or 50 years," the letter said, according to Bunning. It is "sheer lunacy" to be "selling our nation's soul" to creditors such as China.

"Your stance in holding [politicians] to their words ... is a refreshing concept in an otherwise corrupt" capital.

Bunning identified the constituent only by the first name of Robert, citing security concerns.

Bash noted Tuesday that Democrats could effectively work around Bunning and pass an extension of unemployment benefits. However, she said, the Democrats "know that they have a good political issue right now [and therefore] have no plans to do that in the immediate future."

Veteran political analyst Norm Ornstein called the uproar "one of the few gifts that the Democrats have received in this post-holiday season. ... It reinforces the notion -- even though it's one guy -- of Republicans as the party of no."

Bash also noted that the GOP leadership has a poor relationship with Bunning and is therefore unable to pressure him to back down.

Federal unemployment benefits kick in after the basic state-funded 26 weeks of coverage expire. During the downturn, Congress has approved up to an additional 73 weeks, which it funds.

These federal benefit weeks are divided into tiers, and the jobless must apply each time they move into a new tier.

Because the Senate has not acted, the jobless will now stop getting checks once they run out of their state benefits or current tier of federal benefits.

iReporter: Shame on you, Sen. Bunning

That could be devastating to the unemployed who were counting on that income. In total, more than a million people could stop getting checks next month, with nearly 5 million running out of benefits by June, according to the National Unemployment Law Project.

Lawmakers have repeatedly tried to approve a 30-day extension, but each time Bunning has prevented the measure from passing.

Several other programs aside from unemployment and health benefits are also affected by the legislative spat, including federal flood insurance, satellite TV licensing, and small business loans.

The stalled bill also would provide a short-term extension of the Highway Trust Fund, which is a federal fund set up to pay for transportation projects nationwide.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Monday that up to 2,000 employees at the Transportation Department will be sent home without pay as a result of Bunning's decision to hold up the bill.

"As American families are struggling in tough economic times, I am keenly disappointed that political games are putting a stop to important construction projects around the country," LaHood said in a news release. "This means that construction workers will be sent home from job sites because federal inspectors must be furloughed."

According to two Democratic aides on the Senate floor Thursday night, Bunning muttered "tough s---" as Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, criticized Bunning's stance on the package.

Sources: CNN, The Daily Beast

Jim Bunning Exposes Dems' PayGo Lie, Defends Block

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Senate Plots Path Around Bunning


Maine Republican Susan Collins was on the floor this morning and asked that the Senate move to consider the short-term unemployment benefits package that Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) stopped with his objection.

Collins said she was acting on behalf of several unnamed Republicans and, in effect, goes against Bunning.

Majority Leader Harry Reid said that his "friend from Kentucky has made his point and made it well."

However, Bunning restated his objection, so the short-term benefits extention goes nowhere.

What is Bunning's position?

-- Bunning says Reid did not follow Senate rules and procedures.
-- The jobless benefits package, a 30-day extention, would add $10 billion to the federal debt, because it was "not paid for" as required with spending offsets.
-- Reid waited until the eve of the expiration of benefits to ask for "unanimous consent" to pass the measure. Bunning objected. Bunning argued that Reid should have presented it on the Senate floor earlier and thus allow for the normal process of debate and an actual vote cast by each senator. Often the chamber is nearly empty when a "unanimous consent" request is made.
-- Bunning says he will support an extention and says he offered other ways to pay for it including using TARP funds.

What is Reid's position?

-- Reid says the temporary extention of jobless benefits is an emergency that would permit a shortcut to passage.
-- Reid says Bunning "has made his point" and it's time for him to withdraw his objection.
-- Reid plans to go around Bunning by offering a separate, larger, catch-all bill that would provide an extention of benefits for all of 2010 and the other funds for highway projects, etc.
-- Reid and Democrats talk about the needs of Americans hurting in a tough economy and argue that Bunning's objection is an affront to them.
-- Reid points out that Bunning has supported past deficit spending for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and did not vote for the "pay go" rule.





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Sources: MSNBC, Whitehouse.gov, Google Maps

Pres. Obama's "Pay Go" Law Not Enough To Fix Deficit

I'm not an Economist, however I do a lot of reading about the Global Economy.

Most real Economists (not those on Obama's payroll or Democrat Political Hacks) will agree that Pres. Obama's Pay Go Law isn't nearly enough to help fix our nation's huge deficit.

In fact its just "smoke & mirrors" because Democrats love to spend, spend, spend.

In addition its going to take much more than creating 95,000 new jobs a week to bring down America's high unemployment rate.

More like 125,000 new jobs a week.



Sources: Whitehouse.gov

Pres. Obama Touts Jobs, Praises Pay-Go...Weekly Address

Sources: Whitehouse.gov

In New Weekly Address Prez. Obama Calls For Even More Fiscal Responsibility

"To help build a new foundation for the 21st century, we need to reform our government so that it is more efficient, more transparent, and more creative."



Sources: Whitehouse.gov, Youtube