Unemployment Benefits - Speaker Nancy Pelosi Gives Hopeful Signal

While unemployment benefits have never gone on for anywhere near the ninety-nine weeks provided to many during this recession, it is also unprecedented for unemployment benefits to be cut off to jobless individuals in a time of such high and sustained unemployment where the opportunity for most to attain gainful employment is simply not there.

The Democrats have, thus far, been unwilling to pay for or "offset" the cost of unemployment benefits extensions, considering it emergency funding; while the Republicans, due to the extraordinary and unsustainable size of the federal deficit, have been unwilling to pass the unemployment benefits extensions without their being offset, creating the impasse that stalled passage of HR-4213, the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010, in the Senate.

Both sides, however, have expressed great concern for the unemployed and Republicans have presented bills, both for the entire Act and on a stand alone basis, which would pay for the much needed unemployment benefits extensions. To this date, however, the Democrats have been unwilling to use stimulus funds or make other budget cuts to pay for unemployment benefits for the nation's jobless.

That may be changing, however, as Arthur Delaney from the Huffington Post reported that, "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told HuffPost on Friday that reauthorizing the benefits remains an urgent task, raising the possibility that Democrats might agree to offset the cost of the spending.

"It really has to happen," said Pelosi of reauthorizing extended benefits. "One of the debates that goes on now -- which I completely resist, but it's one of the debates going on -- is at the end of the day, these people have to have their benefits, and should we begin paying for unemployment benefits?""

As I previously reported (Read: "UI Benefits Extension Failed - What's Next for the Bill"), Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) reportedly wrote to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) and asked that he consider bringing the Unemployment Benefits Extension back as a stand alone bill for consideration in the Senate as there is interest by Senators on both sides of the aisle to get unemployment benefits back to the jobless as quickly as possible.

Clearly, Congress is very aware of our need for immediately restoration of unemployment benefits extensions, so now is not the time to let down. Please continue to contact your legislators and the media to keep the situation fresh in their minds. For a comprehensive contact list of legislators and media, click here.

Source:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/25/nancy-pelosi-on-unemploym_n_625812.html