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Jobless-benefit addition advances

By Brian Faler

Bloomberg News

Legislation to extend unemployment benefits cleared a procedural hurdle in the Senate yesterday as lawmakers edged closer to putting the stalled measure to a vote.

Lawmakers voted, 87-13, yesterday to advance a $2.4 billion measure that would extend benefits 14 weeks in all states, and an additional six weeks in states with the highest unemployment rates (including Pennsylvania and New Jersey). The legislation has been stalled for weeks by a dispute over which proposed amendments to the plan would get a vote.

Republicans demanded votes on amendments including a ban on federal funding for the activist group ACORN and an immigration-related measure. Democrats balked, accusing Republicans of being willing to delay the unemployment legislation to spotlight other agendas.

"I wish those senators from those states offering those amendments would go back home and meet some of these unemployed people, maybe sit down and buy them a cup of coffee, talking about what their lives have been like," said Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.).

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said it would not take long to consider the amendments.

The national unemployment rate last month reached 9.8 percent, the highest since 1983. The share of those who have been jobless for at least six months is the highest in more than a half-century. More than 5.4 million Americans have been unemployed for at least 27 weeks, according to the Labor Department.

About 1.9 million Americans will exhaust their unemployment benefits by the end of this year unless Congress acts, according to the Labor Department.

The Obama administration said yesterday that it backed the extension proposal.

"Millions of Americans want employment but cannot find it, and the administration is committed to supporting these Americans as they look for work and struggle to raise their families and pay their bills," it said in a statement.

Comments

Posted 04:22 AM, 10/28/2009

Country Carl Artist Adv

I'm Country Carl the Artist and Advocate for additional unemployment benefits on Unemployment-Gone-Mad.com. CURRENTLY the GOP is holding us hostage on the extension bill over funding issues and have added several extortion amendments. Your story clearly highlights this jobless disaster. We need NOW to contact our Senators and all the US Senators ( http://unemployment-gone-mad.com/ ) to realize additional benefits during these NEW DEPRESSION BLUES times( Forget Mitch McConnell R/Kentucky his attitude is "LET THEM EAT CAKE"). Otherwise thousands more will become dumpster divers, tent pitchers and street corner beggars. It's NOW up to the US SENATE and the rest of real people to get this done.

Posted 10:22 AM, 10/28/2009

kelprod1

Country Carl...it is not my obligation to fund you. Instead of calling your reps to complain about not getting more free hand out cash from those already pulling the cart, why not call your reps and implore them to end their current agenda, which is the most anti- American industry/ anti- free market agenda in American history. Do not expect unemployment numbers to sink, as long as Obama and his fellow band of congressional thieves continue their all out assualt of mandating, regulating, taxing and interjecting. No CEO is going to go on a hiring or investment binge knowing he/ she needs that money for the extra dollars Obama and congress are trying to take out of his business. CEO's manage to profit margins and if the government is going to take more cash, that cash comes from the expense side of the ledger...which means human resources are the first to get cut.