2010 Unemployment Extensions - Harry Reid to Determine when UI Extensions Will Pass

2010 Unemployment Extensions - Over 2.5 million Americans are now without benefits, waiting for an unemployment benefits extension bill to pass.

The unemployment extension bill has been bogged down in the Senate for seven weeks now. Many of the unemployed have been without income for that long as well.

Republicans and Democrats had stalemated over whether or not unemployment benefits extensions should be paid for or left to add even more to the already mind-boggling and job killing federal deficit.

Republicans had finally returned to sanity and offered a variety of fiscally sound ways to offset the cost of UI benefits extensions, either using left over portions of the failed 2009 "Stimulus" package funds or otherwise trimming bloated government spending.

The Democrats preferred to continue to put spending on the nation's credit card, adding the cost of unemployment extensions to the deficit.

By Wednesday, June 30, the Democrats had nearly garnered enough votes to reach cloture on the unpaid unemployment extension legislation and progress the bill to the floor for a final vote. Several Republicans crossed over the aisle and agreed to vote in favor of unpaid UI extensions as long as they were separated from other objectionable portions of the "Tax Extenders" bill then being debated. One Democrat still insisted that the UI package be paid for.

Unfortunately, with the passing of the late Senator Robert Byrd (D-W. Virg.), even the two Republican votes were not enough to put the Democrat unemployment extension bill over the top and they came up just one vote short.

But now, the wait is over - The replacement for Senator Byrd will be sworn in tomorrow and all 60 votes necessary for passage of the much needed unemployment extension bill should finally be in place.

The question now is which version of unemployment extensions will come to the floor. Over the course of the seven weeks of haggling and debate, a number of iterations of UI benefits extensions have been proffered. The Senate came just one vote short of passing a greatly whittled down version of unemployment extensions and the House passed a whole new emergency standalone version of the UI benefits extension legislation, both just before the 4^th of July recess.

Tomorrow, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) will have the choice of which of these or several other Senate versions he will put forward.

Reid has already prepared the way for quick passage of the House unemployment extension bill with advance procedural actions last Thursday.

However, he put the Senate bill along with the Reid-Baucus amendment on the schedule for the vote tomorrow, Tuesday, July 20.

Still, as Majority Leader, the choice will be up to Reid which UI extension bill he chooses to advance.

While the House bill is the safest bet to keep all 60 votes needed for cloture and then to move on to the White House for signature once passed, there are some benefits to the Senate version of unemployment extensions that may influence Reid to choose that bill.

The trouble is that the Senate bill, although brought to the floor on Tuesday, may have to wait for up to another day for additional debate and then will also have to go back to the House for a vote again as it has been changed from the version originally sent up from the House.

Still, the House is said to be prepared to pass it quickly and either version - either the House or the Senate version - should be able to pass and make it to the President's desk for his signature and then to become law by the end of this week.

That news could not come soon enough for the millions of unemployment Americans who have lost their benefits.

Barring any now unforeseen problems, some version of unemployment extensions should pass and become law at last this week.