2010 Unemployment Extensions Bill Passed at Last! 60-40 for Cloture

2010 Unemployment Extensions - After months of wrangling - and too many weeks of Senate vacations - the Senate finally passed the hurdle of garnering the 60 votes necessary for cloture on the unemployment benefits extension bill.

The same unemployment extension legislation cloture vote had failed to pass by just one vote back on Wednesday, June 30, due to the passing of the late Senator Robert Byrd (D-W. Virg.).

The Senate then recessed for the 4^th of July holiday, keeping millions of jobless waiting for another 12 days.

Some 1.2 million unemployed Americans had already lost their benefits while the Senate tried to pass the unemployment extension bill. With the 12 day recess, the number of jobless without their desperately needed lifeline more than doubled. Now over 2.5 million people have been going without UI benefits support for up to nearly two months. For most, this has been devastating, as many have become homeless over this time, losing homes and apartments, unable to pay for cars or gas, unable to keep utilities on, unable to feed their families.

But the Senate could not muster the 60^th vote to pass cloture on the unemployment extension bill until a replacement for Byrd could be appointed by the Governor of the Byrd's state of West Virginia.

That replacement, Corte Goodwin, was finally named last Friday and was sworn in at 2:15 today in the Senate. The unemployment extension was then put up for the cloture vote, and Goodwin's vote put it over - the Unemployment Extension Bill finally passed cloture on a vote of 60-40!

Now the legislation can proceed to a vote on the bill itself. This will certainly pass, as it will only require a simple majority, rather than the 60 votes required for cloture (the vote to end debate).

Once the unemployment extension bill itself has been passed in the Senate, it will move onto the House which is prepared to pass it quickly.

Then on to the President, who is also expected to sign it immediately so unemployment benefits and the extensions can be restored as swiftly as possible.

This bill does NOT include additional weeks of unemployment benefits or a Tier 5 for the ninety-niners, those jobless Americans who have been unable to find work for the longest. Read here for more information about Tier 5.

It also is not believed to contain the $25 per week in additional (FAC) stimulus money for those moving on to the next tier (1-4) of their unemployment benefits. The Democrats removed that $25 a week from the legislation some time back, and I have been unable to verify that it has been restored to the current bill. Read here for more information about the $25 a week stimulus money.

The bill DOES included unemployment benefits retroactively. Please check with your state EDD office to make sure, though, as some states may have different policies, depending on unemployment rates and your own circumstances. Read here for more detail about retroactive benefits.

But the passage of the unemployment benefits extension bill is a great relief to all of us who have lost our benefits already or those that were about to. With any luck - and depending on your state - expect it to take two weeks to a month to see your benefits checks coming back. And stay on top of them - Don't let it go if you don't hear soon. With so many of us to take care of and all the confusion over the way it has been handled, it would not be a surprise if errors are made. So hang in there ... I pray all of you can hang on and will make it through this horrible time in our nation's history.

Sources:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/20/AR2010072000556.html

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2010/07/senate-advances-unemployment-extension-bill/1

http://www.wistv.com/global/story.asp?s=12840313