Senate Vote On Extended Unemployment Benefits Coming Next Week
Senate Democrats plan to put the House GOP on the spot regarding last Friday’s lapse of extended unemployment benefits very early in the New Year:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told The Associated Press in an interview that the Senate will vote Monday on a three-month extension of federal unemployment benefits.
Calling the House a “black hole of legislation,” he offered no prediction on whether the lower chamber would take up the extension as well.
“We’ll see what happens,” he told the AP on Monday.
Reid had previously said taking up the extension would be his first priority when the Senate returns in January. Monday is the first day the Senate is back in session in the new year.
President Obama and Democrats are pressuring Republicans to pass an extension of the jobless aid, which expired on Saturday for about 1.3 million people.
The Senate is expected to take up a bill sponsored by Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.), which would temporarily extend the benefits without offsetting the cost.
“I hope we can get that done,” Reid said.
President Obama has endorsed the proposal, but Republicans in the House have insisted that any renewal of the extended jobless benefits be offset.
Reid commended Heller, his state colleague, for breaking “away from the Tea Party folks who don’t want to do anything” and sponsoring the bill.
It remains unclear whether the proposal can garner the 60 votes needed to advance in the upper chamber.
To say the least, it will be interesting to see how the GOP handles this one given that polling has indicated strong public support for the idea of renewing the benefits.
Expect the TeaParty Republicans to put up a fight on what should be a straightforward move to extend benefits. Because screwing the poor is always Job#1 for those sociopaths.
It will, of course, need to be paid for with tax cuts to the wealthy.
@Gustopher:
As you know, EVERYTHING can be paid for by reducing taxes on the wealthy.
@Gustopher: well, they pay for everything already so why not? and what will extending unemployment really do- aside from allowing the unemployed to not have to get a job? it’s tax dollars that come from somewhere, and after such a long time they may need to realize that their jobs are gone and need to try something new….maybe even “beneath” their stature?! these aren’t “poor” people so get real. i’ve been there and it’s no fun but i do whatever i can to assure my kids have what they need and my bills get paid.
There are 3-10 applicants for every open job offering. Penalizing the unfortunate many is sadism, nothing to be proud of.
Can we just not order one of the F-35? Maybe even 2 or 3?
@bill:
People like you amaze me. I send out hundreds of resumes. I am over 55 and have a minimum wage job just to get some money in. Who do you think you are with these blanket statements? You are just one of those people who don’t understand that not everyone lives in a large city, that not everyone has equal opportunities based on where they live and especially AGE. You have NO idea what we have been doing to get a decent job, or that most of us ARE working beneath our experience and knowledge. There are only part time jobs out there, and part time, even FULL time, at minimum wage is not going to pay the rent and utilities. God help this country…
@karen: i don’t know you or what career/life choices you made- apparently it didn’t work out but what is a few more months of unemployment going to do? i just hired a guy in his 60’s, he lasted 3 days and said he couldn’t deal with the stress so he went back to his job in security. there are jobs, you just have to go where they are- at your age and with your work history i don’t know what to tell you. it sucks, but you probably voted for it too. good luck anyway, life is what you make of it.
@bill:
If you have to ask the question you don’t understand modern money. Here’s a hint: her spending is your income.
Anecdote, and so therefore probably bullshit.
That’s right, you don’t know. You don’t know a thing about her work history given she didn’t tell you about it, so you aren’t in a position to declare there are jobs available for her, are you? But I forget, like Athaena you spring from the forehead of Zeus fully formed, don’t you?
And now you’re using your superhero psychic powers to read her mind. Oh do keep going, please, I sense a new Avengers movie in the making.
So she needs luck, but life is what she makes it. Both of these cannot be true. Did you think about any of this before you wrote it or was this stream-of-conscience? Your ignorance and anti-christian attitude are your business, but they aren’t knowledge.
@Ben Wolf: reality sucks when you’re not ready for it. what will my “conscience” do for her lack of financial security/high paying job? better yet-what will any political party do for her? you can ramble on and on about greek mythology but you have no solution for her either, and it’s not your responsibility anyway.
under the guise of the gov’t. printing money and how wonderful it is for the economy? really? you bought into that bs…..nice. hint, it works for a while but it’s actually something called “debt” – someone pays for it eventually and the way we’re going now it’ll be my grandchildren.
i could really care whether you believe anything i say but i don’t need to pretend i’m someone else online so i don’t- everything i said in here is true- maybe you didn’t read the whole thread or your comprehension is bad……
anyway, what kind of moron needs to lie about things on a chat board anyway…..well, i’m sure some do.
@bill:
There you go again. No one said anything about your “conscience”.
The solution is called job creation and it’s really, really easy.
Every dollar you have came from government “printing” as you crudely put it. If they’re bad for the economy then send them to me.
We have things called “reserve accounts” and “securities accounts”. These contain dollar balances. When the government deposits dollars in reserve accounts we call it cash. When government deposits dollars in securities accounts we call it debt. Are you getting it? It’s total bullshit and there is no debt other than a word written on a balance sheet.
Ad hominem: the first resort of those who know they don’t have a leg to stand on.
@Ben Wolf:
wow, pretty big words considering the lack of said. you should get back to karen and let her know when these jobs are coming back and such so she can pay her bills and stop fretting over nonsense….like obama knows how to create something he’s never really had to begin with let alone ever did before being elected to do so!. wow, that’s all i can say to that.
ronnie reagan did it much better, and had substance/facts to back it up.
awesome, so we don’t owe anyone anything-i feel much better now……..jesus, do you read your own stuff at all or is that the caffeine/meth spewing?
but seriously, the whole thing is this- how will extending unemployment benefits for x amount of time actually benefit anyone when it looks like their jobs are gone for good anyway?
@bill, you really are a piece of work and live in a world of make believe. Come sit with me for a day. I put three children through college and at 51 years old lost my job so they could replace me with a young college graduate who is willing and can live on $10 per hour. How dare you put people down when you don’t even understand the situation. Go away.