Senate Votes to Advance Bill on Extension of Unemployment Benefits

[onehandle]

Source: New York Times

WASHINGTON — A Democratic push to extend unemployment benefits that have expired moved forward in the Senate on Tuesday morning, barely avoiding a Republican filibuster.

The 60-37 vote to take up a three-month extension of benefits passed with no room to spare, which will set off negotiations to try to pass the bill later this week. Even some of the Republicans who voted yes want the cost of the extension set off by cuts elsewhere in the budget.

Senate leaders on Monday night abruptly postponed a vote on the measure. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, was about to call the vote when the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, John Cornyn of Texas, accused him of manufacturing a political issue by holding a vote with 17 senators absent, mostly because of weather delays. Mr. Reid than gruffly asked for consent to postpone it until Tuesday morning.

Conservative Republicans were resolute in opposition, contending that issuing emergency unemployment checks would only discourage job seekers. And they urged Congress to focus on Republican job-creation ideas, like expanded oil drilling.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/08/us/politics/unemployment-benefits.html

[Botany]

1. Now what are the chances that House will do the right thing?

Unemployment helps to stimulate the economy besides helping the unemployed
with their day to day bills.

[groundloop]

3. Chance of the House passing it - exactly ZERO. However, we'll have the talking points....

Boner won't even allow the House to vote on it, mark my word. But HOPEFULLY there will be plenty of Democrats that take advantage of that in the next election. I know, it's damned sad to be taking solace in political talking points when people are hurting, but hopefully we can take back the House and get back to passing legislation which will help people instead of corporations.

[adirondacker]

2. This is not looking good for over 1 million plus myself...

"Democrats vowed to keep up the political pressure. President Obama called moderate Republican senators on Monday. But the Democrats privately conceded that the push is likely to drop from view as senators turn to other measures like flood insurance, a farm bill and a $1 trillion spending bill that must be passed by Jan. 15 if much of the government is to be kept operating."

[Iliyah]

4. I would say no if it was 2015 but its 2014 and election

time. The corporate media will be credit to the GOPers for passing it with no mention of the Dems except for it being bipartisan.

Dems in the Senate put pressure on the GOPers, lets see if Boner will do the same with his unruly bunch of assholes.

Dems passed it because it was the RIGHT thing to do, GOPers voted for it because it's election time.

[watoos]

5. The Bill hasn't passed the Senate yet

The vote was to move the Bill forward. Once the actual Bill is voted on the Republicans who voted for the Bill can change their vote on the grounds that the Bill wasn't paid for. I'm not so sure the Bill will pass the Senate.

[Tom Rinaldo]

7. Yes, but only 50 yes votes now are needed

Biden gets to vote if there is a 50/50 tie. So we can lose 10 votes and still pass this one. It will pass.

[watoos]

10. Sadly, I was right

The vote the Senate took was just a procedural vote. They still have to go through debate and one more 60 vote threshold. Mitch McConnell plans on adding an amendment to the Bill which will surely kill it. No, it looks to me like the Senate has a long road to ho to pass the Bill.

[lastlib]

6. If the GOP basturds want it paid for before they pass it.......

...they shouldn't have shut down the F*CKING GOVERNMENT!! thus wasting $24billion that would have gone a long way toward paying for it!

[Gothmog]

8. Majority Leader Reid did a great job in finding 60 votes

When I heard that McCain and Kirk had voted against the bill, I was worried.

[MindMover]

9. Expanded oil drilling will bring in tons of jobs ... NOT