Outlook For Jobless Benefits Dims In Senate

[Purveyor]

Source: Politico

By BURGESS EVERETT | 1/9/14 1:24 PM EST Updated: 1/9/14 5:11 PM EST

Urgent bipartisan negotiations in the Senate to extend emergency unemployment benefits blew up on Thursday, placing the future of the jobless aid in doubt.

Republicans and Democrats appear to be at an impasse over how long to extend the benefits and how to pay for the continuation. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) further stoked the GOP’s anger by preventing Republicans from proposing amendments to legislation reviving unemployment benefits.

It’s now unclear when the Senate might move to end debate and hold a final vote on bringing back benefits that expired for millions of Americans on Dec. 28.

The sour outlook for the legislation is all the more notable considering it was just Tuesday that six Republicans joined Democrats in a procedural vote to allow the bill to move forward, giving hope — if only briefly — that the parties might be able to work together on some priorities in the New Year.



Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/dems-eye-sequester-to-pay-for-unemployment-101972.html#ixzz2pwUkYcJQ

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JOBLESS BILL STALLS IN SENATE

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Legislation to resurrect long-term jobless legislation stalled in the Senate on Thursday, triggering angry recriminations from both sides of the political aisle despite earlier expressions of optimism that benefits might soon be restored for more than 1 million victims of the recession.

Gridlock asserted itself after majority Democrats offered to pay for a 10-month extension of a scaled-back program of benefits - then refused to permit Republicans even to seek any changes.

Instead, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., accused Republicans of "continually denigrating our economy, our president and frankly, I believe, our country."

Sen. Dan Coats of Indiana, one of a half-dozen Republicans who helped advance the bill over an initial hurdle earlier in the week, said he hadn't been consulted. Echoing complaints by other members of his party, he said that under Reid's leadership he has been relegated to the sidelines. He added that Indiana voters "didn't send me here to be told just to sit down and forget it."

MORE...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CONGRESS_UNEMPLOYMENT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-01-09-17-17-54

[1000words]

1. Another GOP hostage crisis

Wonder what we are going to have to give up to appease them.

[another_liberal]

2. House Republicans want the Keystone Pipeline approved before they agree.

Their masters (the Koch brothers) have demanded it. For the GOP it's all about two billionaires, not one and a half million American unemployed.

[Mass]

3. It goes both ways.

If Democrats had been serious, they would have looked at the issue last January, not wait until November. They also knew that they had offered an offset for the two last bills, so what were the odds that a non offset would pass.

Political theater is great, but does not help the unemployed, particularly when the other side is beyond being shamed.

https://d262ilb51hltx0.cloudfront.net/max/720/1*vqrCUJyn_fVK5tGhgzojog.jpeg

[adirondacker]

8. +1000. nt

[Demeter]

7. WE are going to have to give up APPEASING them

[Blue Idaho]

4. Why would this surprise anyone?

Jesus, Joseph, and Mary - this has been the standard operating procedure for Teapublican congress critters for how many years now? How can anyone have any sort of expectation that these scoundrels would ever negotiate in good faith?

Not gonna happen, not now, not ever.

[indepat]

5. Looks like an issue Noam Chomsky dubbed "savagery" is becoming even more

unseemly, inhumane, and savage.

[azurnoir]

6. so the Teapublickin's are holding the lives of Americans hostage once again

over ObamaCare (don't they ever give up?) and or benefits to immigrants

from the article

Republicans countered that any legislation must be offset by cuts elsewhere in the budget. Among their proposals was one to delay the requirement for individuals to purchase health care under Obamacare, and another to prevent immigrants living in the United States from claiming a certain type of tax credit for their children.

they are swine IMO and as some of them come from high unemployment states I would hope this comes back and bites them in tender area's

[Iliyah]

9. The GOPer base also believes that only non-gops

are on Unemployment and why should they support Dems on it, seriously.

[adirondacker]

10. Judging from the feedback, Poptarts and trolls are a bigger concern. Pathetic.