2010 Unemployment Extension - Reid Still Short One Vote
House and Senate Versions Both in Jeopardy If Reid Can't Muster the Last Vote
The media all but ignores the crisis. Like an economic tsunami that's already swept 1.2 million unemployed citizens and their families out to sea while millions more struggle to maintain their grip on what's left of the shore, the story only seems to make it to an after-thought buried at the bottom of page 12.
There are now two unemployment extension bills vying for the coveted Congressional votes needed for passage. Both are unemployment benefit extension standalone or quasi-standalone measures, with the Senate version including an extension of the tax credit for first time home buyers put there in an effort to attract Republican support.
The House bill is expected to pass today and be sent up to the Senate as quickly as possible for their approval. (Read more here.) At the same time, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is shopping the Senate version all over the upper chamber in an effort to find a buyer for the one last critical vote he is missing. (Read more here.)
Trouble is, both UI extension bills are missing the one key element a tightly unified Republican Senate has been crying for all along - Offsets for the $34 billion or so that the bills would add to the deficit. Pay for them, either using some unallocated stimulus funds or a combination of any number of spending cuts to government, like wage freezes or cut backs to Congressional air travel budgets (Can you say Nancy Pelosi's in-flight alcohol budget?) and you'd have a done deal. The Democrats have even been provided a laundry list of fat trimming suggestions (Read more here.) but are apparently adamantly opposed to - what? Experiencing the recession on Capitol Hill, I guess.
Consequently, either unemployment extension bill is still likely to suffer the same fate - To fail by one vote. Unless one more Republican in the Senate flinches or the Democrats finally relent and agree to tighten their belts a little, we, the sinking American unemployed, aren't likely to see a life preserver until after the Fourth of July Recess, when a replacement can be appointed for the late Senator Robert Byrd (D-W. Virg.) I still believe an unemployment benefits extension will pass. It's just a matter of how much longer millions of us can continue to tread water.
Published by S Gardner
S. Gardner is a freelance writer and researcher. She has experience as a weight loss and health counselor, a real estate agent, a small business owner and a high school history and civics teacher. She is a... View profile
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16 Comments
Post a Commentwe are all going to need weapons to protect our family. Think about it no unemployment, no food , what next . Our children stolen from our yard. The senate needs to get the sleep out of their eyes and open them if they give a damn.
Why not be pennywise and use the profits the gov't is making off the sale of stock it owns in these various institutions and use those billions as the offsets. They truly are unaccounted for billions yet I reckon that would make too much sense.
Suzy; Thank you again for your tireless efforts to keep all of us unemployed up to date on this issue!
Thank you Suzy for your timely answer to my question, yes I understand now :)
I understand that you are tired, we all are, it is very stressful, waiting and hoping and being let down again and again and again!
I have had a headache for four days now, and I know it's from the stress of worrying wondering how i the world I am going to survive, and buy grocieries. I have to call my landlord today (rent is due) and try to explain why I can't pay the rent, hope she belives me, cause she is old and there had been no local media coverage on this issue.
Wish me luck :)
37 U.S. Terrorist Senators defeated the unemployment extension tonight (6/30/2010) while passing the home tax credit unanimously. Go figure that one out! I say 37 Senators because Harry Reid (D) HAD to vote against the bill for some obscure Senate rules to allow future votes on the measure; actual NO votes were 38. Webster’s defines terrorism as 1) Use of terror and violence to, intimidate, subjugate, etc, especially as a political weapon or policy, and 2) Intimidation and subjugation so produced. To me, by definition, these 37 people are not Senator’s, they are terrorist holding not just the unemployed, but the entire nation hostage for their own purposes. I’m fed up with the party of NO! I’m done trying to believe that underneath they might have my best interests at heart. I’m done playing nice.
So this is what Im going to do. Since I live in Michigan with two Democratic Senators that both voted FOR passage of the bill, I will call them and say thank you. Then I will look for the Senator from the state closest to me that voted NO, and Im going to take my last $100 and gas up the van and drive to their state so I can be with them while they take their walk in their friendly neighborhood 4TH of July parade to schlep votes like they always do and offer them my sincere thanks by giving them lots of ripe fruit and vegetables, perhaps at a velocity that they may not like, but I would sure hate to see them not have a good meal on such a grand occasion like celebrating Independence Day. Dont march on Washington, march to your local neighborhood parade. Let these 37 terrorist know up close and personal just how happy we are with their performance!
Oops! I knew I was too sleepy to be coherent - Sorry! On the second line below where I said "they may 'vote' for up to another 30 hours - I meant to say "they may 'debate' for up to another 30 hours. Big difference! Sorry! Hope I didn't confuse you even more!!! Good night all ... Please hang on. More news for you in the morning ...
... they have to have two thirds of the Senate vote for cloture or to "end debate" or to "limit debate". If they get that 2/3 vote, they may vote for up to another 30 hours (they usually agree to just end it there, though) and then they can finally go forward with the actual vote on the issue. The trouble the Senate is having, and just had again this evening, is that they keep falling just short of cloture, so debate is still open. The bill's not voted down if they don't get cloture, they just can't bring it to a vote until everyone agrees to end it or they get the full 2/3 vote for cloture. Hope that made some sense. Time for bed for me! Here is a link to a good, clear explanation that's probably more coherent than I am right now! http://www.filibusted.us/learn
Hi Suzy - I was going to respond by private mail but then thought someone else might like to see an answer to your question, too. As to the volume on CSPN2 - I'm not sure what was going on there. I haven't had any trouble today, but was away off and on. As for "limiting debate" or the cloture vote - When debate has gone on for a very long time and it seems to those that believe they have the majority that the people (Senators, for instance) in the minority are just going on and on and on trying to prevent a vote by debating forever (which could turn into a filibuster - There never was an actual filibuster in the case of the various Extenders bills we've all been watching lately, even though so many are reporting that the Republicans filibustered - it never got there ... anyway...) ... to keep one side from debating on and on to prevent a vote and using up so much Senate time, they created a procedure about a 100 years ago called the cloture vote. With the cloture vote, they have to
yea nancy pelosi has a 5 million dollar private jet that could feed alot of people thanks nancy for nothing