2010 Unemployment Extension Bill: Senate Prepares to Vote July 20

The U.S. Senate should be going ahead with a vote Tuesday which many hope will result in passage of 2010 unemployment extension bill, H.R. 4213. The currently-blocked bill, which aims to provide an extension of unemployment benefits until November 30 to those who would otherwise lose them, has been under Republican-led filibuster.

2010 Unemployment Benefits Extension Bill Headed To Senate Floor This Week

The 2010 unemployment extension bill (H.R. 4213) is expected to finally pass the Senate with Tuesday's vote. The change in the political tide comes from added pressure from President Obama and an increasingly frustrated public, but mostly from Tuesday's swearing in of a new Senate Democrat, Sen. Carte Goodwin (D-WV). Sen. Goodwin, who was sworn in today, is an attorney from West Virginia who will fill late Sen. Robert Byrd's vacant seat and close the gap to secure cloture to end the filibuster.

According to OpenCongress.org, once Senate Democrats secure cloture, the Senate has 30 hours to put the 2010 unemployment extension measure to a final vote. (To understand the term "cloture", read this article.) During this 30 hours, final debate on the proposed unemployment benefits extension will take place, and this can extend to the full 30 hour deadline. Assuming the 2010 unemployment extension bill passes in the Senate, it will then go to the House of Representatives for final amendment approval votes.

The House already voted to approve a stand-alone emergency unemployment benefits extension measure earlier this month. The Senate has been stalled on this issue since June 30, when the Republican minority successfully maintained their filibuster, disallowing an immediate vote on the matter.

If approved, the 2010 unemployment extension bill (H.R. 4213) will help provide extended unemployment benefits to millions of jobless Americans until at least November 30. Additional provisions are also being considered to provide unemployment benefit extensions for the next six months.

Source:

OpenCongress.org