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In unemployment benefits extension, a logistical headache for states
On Tuesday, members of the U.S. Senate plan to vote on a federal extension of unemployment benefits, which has been blocked by Republicans for an unprecedented two months. The swearing-in of Carte Goodwin, the temporary replacement for the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), will give Democrats the crucial 60th vote to overcome a GOP filibuster and restore unemployment insurance to 2.5 million Americans.
Gridlocked Senate fails again to pass unemployment extension
WASHINGTON– On Wednesday night, a bare-bones measure to keep federally funded unemployment insurance checks headed to the long-term unemployed failed in the Senate. Moderate Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine had signed on to vote for cloture on the $34 billion bill. But without Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), who passed away earlier in the week, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) — the majority leader who hails from the state with the worst unemployment rate in the country — once again found himself stuck at 59 votes. By the time Byrd’s replacement is in place, in mid-July, two million Americans will have lost their benefits, and the bill extending them will have languished for some 11 weeks.
Reid searching for one more vote to advance unemployment extension bill
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is telling reporters today that he has won the votes of two Republicans for his extension of federal unemployment insurance benefits. He says he is one vote away from having 60 senators to vote…
Angle would cut unemployment benefits to motivate jobless
Tea party favorite Sharron Angle, the Nevada GOP’s candidate for Senate, is arguing that the government should cut unemployment benefits to get the jobless back to work. Angle, whose outsider conservative candidacy has been compared to Weld County D.A.…
Polarized Washington sets new low in failing to extend unemployment benefits
Congress has never before let federally extended unemployment benefits drop with an unemployment rate so high: That is the takeaway from a searing new report from the National Unemployment Law Project and the Center for American Progress.
Reid, Baucus introduce new unemployment extension bill
Faced with the fact that millions of Americans are losing their unemployment benefits and cutting into the national economic recovery, Tuesday night Sens. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the Senate majority leader and the head of the Senate…
As states slash public sector, Washington reluctant to act
For tens of thousands of the nation’s teachers, it is the start of an endless summer. In the past month, the Los Angeles Unified School District has sent pink slips to 693 employees. The Detroit school system has laid off 1,983 teachers, including Michigan’s 2007 teacher of the year. And Greensboro, N.C., has received national attention for firing or reassigning more than 500 teachers in a district serving just 71,000 students.
Stabenow to bring standalone Unemployment extension bill
Today, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) plans to introduce a standalone bill to continue federally extended unemployment insurance benefits. The major federal jobs bill, also known as H.R. 4213, included the unemployment extension along with a number of other…
Americans identify as conservative, no matter how they vote
According to new numbers from Gallup, 42 percent of Americans describe themselves as conservative, significantly more than the 35 percent who describe themselves as moderate, and more than double the 20 percent who describe themselves as liberal. If this…
More evidence suggests federal stimulus spending was too low
Via Ezra Klein, Bruce Bartlett argues that state budget shortfalls and ensuing cuts to staff and services clearly cancel out the benefits of the federal stimulus spending and that “economists will view this as a preventable error equivalent…
