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THE PROGRESSIVE REVIEW - November 25, 2010
Will Congress Let Jobless Benefits Expire Four Weeks
Before Christmas?
by: David Lightman
McClatchy Newspapers
Washington - Voters clearly want lawmakers to ease the
nation's unemployment pain, but a sharply divided Congress
is still balking at extending jobless benefits for those
out of work a long time.
Unless Congress acts by Nov. 30, an estimated 2 million
people slated to receive extended benefits will not get
them on time, if ever. And Congress is taking this week
(Nov. 22-26) off for a Thanksgiving recess. Congress
reconvenes on Nov. 29.
If lawmakers don't extend the benefits, it will be the
third time this year that they will have missed a deadline
to do so, even though the nation's unemployment rate, at
9.6 percent, hasn't budged since May. Earlier this year,
after Congress failed to extend benefits before deadlines,
jobless workers got retroactive benefits once legislation
was passed.
The average family receives about $290 a week from the
benefits, which can last up to 99 weeks, depending on a
state's jobless rate. State employer taxes pay for the
first 26 weeks. In weeks 27 to 99, a federal program funds
most of the benefits; that's what could be affected if
Congress doesn't act.
The new drama has two new wrinkles: Without congressional
action, the jobless workers would be without the extra
money during the holiday season ? which would make the
political stakes even higher.
Countering that sentiment, though, is that Republicans
paid no political price for leading the effort to delay
benefits earlier this year. Then, as now, they insisted
that the benefits' costs must be offset by spending cuts
elsewhere in the budget. And voters rewarded their party
on Nov. 2.
When the 112th Congress convenes in January, the GOP will
take control of the House of Representatives after gaining
61 seats; they also added to their ranks in the Senate
by gaining six seats, for a total of 47.
Polls leave no doubt that Americans' top priority is job
growth, yet last week, the first time Congress convened
since the election, the House fell short on a vote to
extend benefits, and the Senate didn't try.
"Those who are spewing the hot air have a job, the security
of a job and the security of health care," said Sen. Bob
Casey, D-Pa. "So they don't really understand what real
people are living through."
Others insist that the nation can't wait any longer to
make tough budget choices. That's why Sen. Olympia Snowe,
R-Maine, who's sided with Democrats in the past on this
issue, was more circumspect this time.
"The pending expiration of unemployment benefits should be
a signal and a wakeup call for Congress to finally focus
like a laser," she said, on developing "an environment
that will provide certainty and stability with respect to
tax and regulatory policies in order to foster economic
growth and spur job creation."
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The House last week got a 258-154 majority for a $12.5
billion jobless-benefits extension through Feb. 28, but
the measure failed because it was brought up under a
special rule that required a two-thirds majority of those
voting, or 275 votes, for passage.
Many Republicans saw the vote as a cynical Democratic
ploy.
"Are you listening to the American people?" asked Rep.
Charles Boustany, Jr., R-La., whom he said had sent a
message in the elections that they want more fiscal
responsibility.
"The fact is that we can both provide this help and pay
for it by cutting less effective stimulus spending," he
said, citing one GOP plan to pay for the jobless aid.
Democrats countered that the nation is experiencing a true
emergency, and this was no time to quibble over spending
offsets.
"Any family receiving unemployment insurance would tell
you that these benefits do not provide for a luxurious
lifestyle without financial worries," said Rep. Betty
McCollum, D-Minn. "These same families would tell you
that without these benefits, they would lose their
home, lose their car and lose the ability to feed their
children."
The National Employment Law Project, which studies jobless
trends, estimates that the benefits cover about half an
average family's routine living expenses. That family
spent about $1,408 a month on housing, $531 on food and
$638 on transportation, a total of $2,577_ but they're
getting $1,257 monthly in jobless aid.
The hardest hit state would be California, where about
410,000 people face a cutoff, followed by New York,
Pennsylvania, Texas and Illinois.
Democrats see Republican hypocrisy at work. Major Bush-era
tax cuts expire on Dec. 31, and most Democrats want to
continue only those for individuals earning less than
$200,000 a year and joint filers making less than $250,000.
Most Republicans want all tax cuts extended, including
for those making more than $250,000. That would add an
estimated $700 billion to the deficit during the next
10 years.
"The same Republicans who want to increase our deficit by
extending massive tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans
were willing to leave average Americans to fend for them-
selves," charged Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla.
The battle resumes the week of Nov. 29.
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