GOP Blocks Unemployment Insurance Bill, Senate Leaves for July 4th Recess
July 1, 2010 - by Donny Shaw
For the fourth time in a month, Senate Democrats on Wednesday night failed to win enough votes to overcome a Republican filibuster of a bill to extend unemployment insurance benefits (H.R. 4213). After the failed vote, the Senate adjourned for recess until July 12th.
“It is beyond disappointing that Republicans continue to stand almost lockstep against assistance for out-of-work Americans – especially since many of these same Republicans spent months protecting Wall Street and preserving tax cuts for CEOs who ship American jobs overseas,” Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid [D, NV] said after the vote.
The final tally was 58-38. 60 votes were needed under Senate rules to pass the motion on breaking the filibuster known as “cloture”. Majority Leader Reid voted “no” on the bill in order to preserve his right under Senate rules to bring the bill up again in the future for another vote, so the Democrats were actually just one vote shy of passing the motion. Republicans Sen. Susan Collins [ME] and Sen. Olympia Snowe [ME] voted with Democrats in favor of the bill. Conservative Democrat Sen. Ben Nelson [D, NE] crossed the aisle to vote with Republicans agains it.
Sen. George Voinovich [R, OH] said after the vote that he would have provided the one vote Democrats needed to pass the cloture motion if some of it was paid for with money from the stimulus bill. “In order to move forward, yesterday I told Leader Reid that I would support extending unemployment insurance if Democrats would be willing to use some of the estimated $40 billion in unspent stimulus monies to help offset at least half of the stand-alone unemployment insurance extension," Voinovich said. “He flatly rejected this request even though Democratic Leadership was going to take $10 billion from the stimulus to help pay for business tax breaks just last week.”
After the vote, Reid said that the Senate will not vote on the bill again until a replacement for recently-deceased Sen. Robert Byrd [D, WV] is seated in the Senate. West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin (D) is in charge of appointing a replacement and he will likely do so over the July 4th recess.
By the time the Senate reconvenes on July 12, data from the Labor Department suggests that more than 2 million unemployed Americans will see their unemployment insurance benefits cut off due to the Republicans’ objections to the extension bill. Benefits began expiring for people on June 1st when the last extension of the benefits expired. Before then, unemployed individual were eligible for up to 99 weeks of unemployment benefits under an extended, four-tier federal program created by the 2009 stimulus bill. Now that the federal program has been allowed to expire, newly unemployed individuals are eligible for a maximum of 26 weeks of state-provided benefits.
Still, people who have had their benefits cut off in the past month should expect to become eligible once again for the full 99 weeks and to have their lost benefits paid back to them retroactively. Wednesday’s vote makes it clear that as soon as a replacement for Byrd is seated in the Senate, the Democrats will have the 60 votes they need to overcome Republican opposition and pass the bill.
Original article found here.
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Unemployment Extension Passes House, But the Bill is Now Stuck in Limbo
July 1, 2010 - by Donny Shaw
As expected, the House of Representatives this afternoon passed their stand-alone unemployment insurance extension bill (H.R. 5816). The vote wasn’t even close. 270 congressmen voted in favor of the bill, including 29 Republicans, and only 153 voted against it. The full roll call details can be viewed here.
Among those voting “no” were 11 Democrats — Brian Baird [D, WA-3], Robert Berry [D, AR-1], Bobby Bright [D, AL-2], Jim Cooper [D, TN-5], Baron Hill [D, IN-9], Betsy Markey [D, CO-4], James Marshall [D, GA-8], Mike McIntyre [D, NC-7], Walter Minnick [D, ID-1], Glenn Nye [D, VA-2] and Heath Shuler [D, NC-11].
The bill would extend the filing deadline for extended unemployment insurance benefits until Nov. 30, 2010. It does not contain the extra $25 per month from the Federal Additional Compensation program that was passed in the 2009 stimulus bill. It also would not create a fifth tier of benefits; 99 weeks would still be the maximum amount of time a person coud receive benefits payments. It would, however, pay benefits back retroactively to individuals who have seen their payment cut off since the deadline for filing for new tiers of benefits expired on June 1.
Despite the House’s vote today, the bill is not likely to be signed into law until mid July when the Senate returns from their recess. Both chambers must pass the bill before it can be sent to Obama to become law. When the Senate returns on July 12, the Democrats should have the 60 votes they will need to finally overcome a Republican filibuster of the extension because West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin (D) is expected to have appointed a replacement for Sen. Robert Byrd [D, WV] by then.
The Iowa Independent reported earlier in the day that another Senate vote was possible tonight under an emergency session called by Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid [D, NV], but that does not appear to be panning out. It looks like the Senate will, in fact, stay adjourned until July 12.
Original article found here.
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Cannot believe a DEMOCRAT actually blocked the extension of the UI!!!! I am so frustrated that I do not even want to post it here. But for those who want to read the article on why Sen Ben Nelson (D, NE) "crossed the aisle to give the Republicans the final vote they needed to block the UI extension, click here. Grrrrrrr.
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Saturday, July 3, 2010
2010 Unemployment Extension Benefits Bill And July 4th Celebrations
After all, it's unfortunate the bill didn't pass, but it's not a reason to let YOUR holiday be ruined. It's hard to put your worries aside, but with a little thought and creativity you could possibly have the best Independence Celebration of your life. Here's a thought on how.
Gather all your unemployed friends together. Have everyone bring a dish - this way you can have one big meal that didn't cost any one person a considerable amount of money.
Come armed with your laptops, air cards, cell phones, printers, paper, envelopes, and stamps, Celebrate your right to freedom by bombarding your Senators with letters, emails, and voicemails about the unemployment extension.
Thank your lucky stars that you live in a country where you can do this without repercussions. There are some countries out there where you would be in big trouble for speaking your mind to a government official. In America we have a right to think and a right to be ticked off.
After you are satisfied with the amount of mail you have produced for your representatives, spend the rest of the time helping each other apply for jobs. Help each other spruce up your resumes.
IF you really want to go all out, have everyone bring some of their career clothes that don't fit any more or that you are tired of. Have a clothing swap to help each other get a new career wardrobe.
All this may sound silly to some, but without the unemployment benefits extension many people are at a loss on the Fourth of July weekend. Use your anger, discontent, and other negative feelings and try to spin them into something positive.
Original article found here
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