Fall 2009 Unemployment Extension Possible

Thanks for posting that Nancy, I too agree the republicans object just to object with no sense of urgency. I really havent read anywhere a valid point for the objection hold up, other than to let grandpa read the bill.

I suppose you'd have to be there to know what's really going on. But I find it hard to believe that during the "weeks per state" wrangling, that the issue of funding, which is a valid concern, didn't come up or wasn't considered. If it were me, I'd have gotten with the Repubs and asked what it would take to get this done quickly. That way any issues with funding could have been resolved. It's almost like the Dems intentionally kept the Repubs out of the loop. Otherwise why would some Repubs all of a sudden have a handfull of amendments? Or is this the procedure, and we are simply being impatient due to our own dreadfull circumstances?
Regarding Senator Colburns stall tactic for an unrelated issue, with an emergency unemployment matter waiting in the works is not the time to be muscling for position. In the meantime the unemployed are getting eviction notices, having their electric turned off, going without food, and generally being ravaged by lions.

Jeff wrote:I suppose you'd have to be there to know what's really going on. But I find it hard to believe that during the "weeks per state" wrangling, that the issue of funding, which is a valid concern, didn't come up or wasn't considered. If it were me, I'd have gotten with the Repubs and asked what it would take to get this done quickly. That way any issues with funding could have been resolved. It's almost like the Dems intentionally kept the Repubs out of the loop. Otherwise why would some Repubs all of a sudden have a handfull of amendments? Or is this the procedure, and we are simply being impatient due to our own dreadfull circumstances?

Jeff,

Our impatience stems from our past dealings with the house and senate....be it federal or local. We know all to well how they all operate,it's a big chess game in my opinion....and we are the pawns. I never have liked chess. I know there are rules and procedures...but I swear,this stalling,bickering and less than transparent dealings are well thought out and planned by both parties. Yes,I blame both parties for this horse pucky that has been going on at our expense. My only hope is that they get something done quickly with this extension...I'm so sick of health care that I could hurl. The Dem's and the Repubs just loathe each other....if one party said that Christmas is on the 25th of December...the other party would say "no it isn't". That's how assine this has become.

GonzoFL wrote:

Jeff wrote:I suppose you'd have to be there to know what's really going on. But I find it hard to believe that during the "weeks per state" wrangling, that the issue of funding, which is a valid concern, didn't come up or wasn't considered. If it were me, I'd have gotten with the Repubs and asked what it would take to get this done quickly. That way any issues with funding could have been resolved. It's almost like the Dems intentionally kept the Repubs out of the loop. Otherwise why would some Repubs all of a sudden have a handfull of amendments? Or is this the procedure, and we are simply being impatient due to our own dreadfull circumstances?

Jeff,

Our impatience stems from our past dealings with the house and senate....be it federal or local. We know all to well how they all operate,it's a big chess game in my opinion....and we are the pawns. I never have liked chess. I know there are rules and procedures...but I swear,this stalling,bickering and less than transparent dealings are well thought out and planned by both parties. Yes,I blame both parties for this horse pucky that has been going on at our expense. My only hope is that they get something done quickly with this extension...I'm so sick of health care that I could hurl. The Dem's and the Repubs just loathe each other....if one party said that Christmas is on the 25th of December...the other party would say "no it isn't". That's how assine this has become.

LOL. Ain't that the truth.

so, friends, what now? what is supposed to happen today? If they do not decide anything today, i think they don't work tomorrow, then until MOnday or Tuesday they don't start again,; i can't even sleep at night, between that, looking desperately for work in the daytime and waiting all day impatiently for "something to be decided" as days go by ;quickly and things get worse and worse.....any ideas?

Hi Nancy-

An informative post on the front to back procedural hurdles for the bill. Looks pretty accurate to me. (Im no parliamentarian but my take from it is slightly different here)

My contention is these guys said, "vote for us" and we will sanctimoniously attend to the needs of the forgotten middle class. Well, people did vote for them and they now have a 60-vote filibuster proof majority in the Senate. Yes individual members can refuse unanimous consent, offer amendments, or even filibuster other bills on the agenda with the intended or unintended result of a delay.

The point is the Dems with their majority could introduce a new bill tomorrow, get it on the agenda and simply out vote any obstacle that presents itself (I realize this would take a few weeks to worm its way thru the Senate) [i.e. ram it thru]. If they spent one fraction of the time advocating such a bill on TV as they have spent on gabbing about Health Care legislation, it would get done sooner.

Exposed to the disinfectant of light, most politicians would not stand in front of a TV camera in the Senate and rail against an unemployment extension (it looks insensitive at best)

The reason Health Care hasn’t progressed to their liking is that the Dems disagree with themselves on the issue.
There should be unanimity within the Dem Caucus on a EUC extension and thus they would prevail on any vote on anything. At some point they have to be accountable for this.

It is with this backdrop that I said the Repubs are technically irrelevant. The Dems are in control of the majority and all of the committees. At the end of the day the responsibility rests on them.

I would also add that an extension of a $14 levy per employee on employers to fund this doesn’t sound like much. However if you took my former company and applied it to their 10,000 employees that computes to $140,000 a year. If the goal is to create jobs, allowing this levy to expire wouldn’t hurt the cause any. Considering that only <20% of the so-called stimulus money has been spent, diverting some of the remaining boondoggle to EUC (where people like us have 100% propensity to spend) and have the money go directly into the economy sounds like a idea with merit to me.

Thanks for the thoughtful post.

sc4ram wrote:http://pantagraph.com/news/article_ce38bf64-b9b3-11de-b33a-001cc4c002e0.html

Oh great. They need to get the unemployment out to us NOW, and start a new bill for the other stuff. This is absolutely maddening.

Latest NELP email for those who do not subscribe :

Dear Friends:

As we reported last week, Senators Reid and Baucus, with the help of Senators Shaheen, Dodd, Reed and Klobuchar, introduced a bill that would provide 14 additional weeks of unemployment benefits to workers exhausting their benefits in all states, and an additional 6 weeks (for a total of 20 weeks) for those in states with unemployment rates at or over 8.5%. This bill would be fully paid for by simply extending a small surtax on employers. This tax is nothing new as it has been in place for 30 years and amounts to a mere $12 per worker per year. We had hoped that in light of the calls for an extension from certain key Republican Senators including Senators McConnell, DeMint and Cornyn, that this bill would move quickly through the Senate, back to the House, and to the President's desk for signature.

Unfortunately, that has not happened yet. Last Thursday, and again this Tuesday, the Republicans (first Sen. Kyl from Arizona and then Sen. Hatch from Utah) blocked attempts to move the bill and provide unemployed workers with the relief they desperately needed. They have a series of amendments, most of which have nothing to do with unemployment insurance, that they want to force the Senate to debate. The amendments include issues such as the TARP program, ACORN, and an attempt to characterize extending the surtax to pay for this extension as an unreasonable burden on employers. We are sure you agree that a mere $14 per year per employee, a tax employers have been paying for the last three decades, is a small price to pay for the important stabilizing and stimulative effects of extending unemployment benefits to those who have exhausted them.

NELP has called on the Senate to do whatever it has to do to pass this bill. To view NELP's press release click here. We have demanded an end to partisan games around an issue of such desperate importance, and asked that they stay in session 7 days a week if that's what's needed in order to get this bill passed and back to the House of Representatives. We know that even another day of delay could mean an entire week of delay for your unemployment checks, and NELP has made it clear that such delay in unacceptable.

Now is the time for all of you to contact your Senators. If your Senators are Democrats, tell them to speak up and stand up to demand a vote on the unemployment extension. If your Senators are Republicans, tell them to stop playing partisan games instead of performing their duty to their constituents. Click here to send your message. Ask your friends and family to do the same -- we need to make our voices heard and get this done!



As always, when we receive more information, we will update this website right away. In the meantime, know that we are doing all we can to help make sure your benefits continue.


Sincerely,

Andy, Tiphany, Rick, Christine, Maurice and Judy The unemployedworkers.org team

Like that Snickers Bar commercial said "this is going to be a while"


http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=200910151801dowjonesdjonline000882&title=lawmakers-mull-directing-some-stimulus-funds-to-job-creation

Hi All, please visit this link & email your representatives/senators to end this delay in passing the bill:

http://www.nelp.org/page/speakout/EndFedBenDelay

Flood them with emails!

Does anybody know if this will pay retroactive to the day we exhausted our EB or they just start paying the weekly benefit going forward?

It's my understanding that it will not be retroactive

Thanks Nancy for all your informative posts, much appreciated.

I, too, had gotten the same exact email reply from Senator Nelson earlier this week. Although he's supporting the EUC legislation, it felt pretty non-commital & dispassionate. I think it's reprehensible for any Senator to stall or block this bill at this time. Although excuses & game-playing may be the standard strategy in Washington, tactics like that will affect people's lives in terrible, even catastrophic, ways. Shame on all of them. They need to do better.

Below is a list of senators from AZ, UT and FL and their contact info. I think everyone should contact each of them and ask them "what are you thinking???? Do you believe your unemployed constituents are gonna thanks you for this unnecessary delay? etc.
BTW, AZ is at 9.1% and UT at 6.2% unemployment.

Hatch, Orrin G. - (R - UT) Class I
104 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5251
Web Form: hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Offices.Cont...


Bennett, Robert F. - (R - UT) Class III
431 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5444
Web Form: bennett.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Email


McCain, John - (R - AZ) Class III
241 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2235
Web Form: mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Con...

Kyl, Jon - (R - AZ) Class I
730 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4521
Web Form: kyl.senate.gov/contact.cfm


Nelson, Bill - (D - FL) Class I
716 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5274
Web Form: billnelson.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm

LeMieux, George S. - (R - FL) Class III
356 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-3041
Web Form: lemieux.senate.gov/public/?p=EmailSenatorLeMieux

This guy is #2 in the Senate leadership, he says the Senate will debate the bill next week.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/state&id=7068920&rss=rss-wls-article-7068920

Guys,

Here's the most recent post on the proposed extension that got stuck in the Senate. Labor advocates say GOP is responsible for delay.

http://bit.ly/4grNZl

js

So, Jim, what do u think will happen next>? i have been glued to the tv, drinking linden tea because of this horrible anxiety attacks that i get, and praying something is decided before Friday., you have any idea or maybe have hopes that this will be passed this week>? this is insane, intolerable, ! thanks, and maybe our great friend, UIO also has something to say about this, it will help us so much!!!

MiamiVice wrote:So, Jim, what do u think will happen next>? i have been glued to the tv, drinking linden tea because of this horrible anxiety attacks that i get, and praying something is decided before Friday., you have any idea or maybe have hopes that this will be passed this week>? this is insane, intolerable, ! thanks, and maybe our great friend, UIO also has something to say about this, it will help us so much!!!

Heya Maggi, hang in there girl! Try to remain calm

Im thinking this should be resolved pretty soon, dont stress yourself over this every day. The good news is that we will not have a cluster !@#$ like we did last time with EB since the EUC will automatically kick in for exhausted accounts.

u r a good person, UIO, and all of the others here! thanks so much for your words, yes, i am sure that by Friday we should have something cooked already, tomorrow is only Wednesday so there is time, i get very emotional because this would be our only assistance left, if nothing, then, straight to under the bridge, thanks again! please, if you hear of anything, the most minimal thing, POST PLIZ!!!!!!! luv ya

Hi! i have been coming here all morning to see if something new was posted and i just saw yours, thanks so much, i am terrified because these people do not work on Friday, tomorrow is already Thursday and...what? they promised they would do something this week, what have they done? i am holding on to 6 bucks i have as it it was dear life, not kidding, and only have not even half of November rent and no way of getting the whole amount, fpl and phone bills are just sitting on top of the corner table and oh well, did not mean to bother, we are just DESPERATE!

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=abdI0IokR6FE


Hang in there Miami- unfortuantely this is going to take a while (in my opinion) . Historically speaking, the Senate was designed to work this way as we are seeing now.

George Washington said; "The senate is the saucer into which we pour legislation to cool" The idea being if the House of Representatives passed some law in the heat of a populist moment, the Senate could kick it around for a while while cooler heads prevailed. (I realize this is not much comfort, but it is reality none the less)

Good Luck!

You would think they could have gotten their act together a little better since Washington's time! They have a lot better communication tools than our forefathers had. No waiting for 1 if by land and 2 if by sea. Gotta go tweet President Obama and see if he is going to do anything to get their sorry a**es in gear.