Is 589 Dead?

I thought I read on this site that 589 was going to be added to the other
bill and voted on 5/23/11? Any news? Did Lee and Scott stop advocating
for 589?

A few of us read in an article a while back that it may come to the floor on May 23. It didn't though.

Lee is still working on getting the bill to the floor. It is still in committee. Given the current political climate, with republicans starting to disagree on other important bills, I think we have a better shot now more than ever.

The bill is not dead...After the CBC met with the White House they said they were looking to possibly add 589 to some big piece of legislation. Which piece and when is still unclear. Dont lose hope!!

Below is the latest post from the CBC "crew of 42" website. The good news is that HR 1745 has been pulled back from being introduced into the house chamber as they anticipated it would be submitted for a floor vote yesterday. One would suspect the GOP finally realized it would be pure folly to proceed with that bill unless compromises are the order of the day. Hopefully this will not just resort back to a gridlock in committee and something will now happen with moving HR 589 forward in some manner in the near future.

"Know one knows yet exactly what’s up but House Republicans decided to delay (?) taking up legislation that would have stripped unemployment benefits in their interestingly titled “Jobs Act of 2011″ (aka HR1745). Instead they introduced a new “jobs bill.” Statement from CBC Chair Emanuel Cleaver:

Today, Chairman Emanuel Cleaver, II released the following statement regarding legislation offered by the Republican Leadership that would strip unemployment benefits for millions of displaced workers:

“Today the Republican Leadership chose not to consider H.R. 1745, which was paradoxically named the Jobs Act of 2011. The ‘Jobs Act’ would have stripped unemployment benefits and denied millions of Americans the ability to make ends meet. It would have eliminated federal payments for temporary extended unemployment benefits on July 6, 2011. Four million Americans would have lost their extended benefits in early July unless states provide coverage for them. The CBC is truly committed to doing our job to create jobs and protect our most vulnerable. This is the reason all but one of the Democratic amendments came from the CBC.

“The bill would have transferred money to the states now dedicated to providing extended unemployment benefits and allowed them to use it for other purposes. This included paying off debts to the federal government, providing tax cuts to businesses and/or backfilling state and federal cuts to employment –related services. We were armed and ready to strengthen this piece of legislation to create jobs.

“Well over five months—and over 100 days—into the 112th Congress, the Republican Leadership continues to prevent critical jobs legislation from being considered and passed. Instead, they have proposed draconian cuts first with their budget proposals and now with their version of a ‘Jobs Act’. I am pleased they reconsidered. It is time to get to real work on a plan that gets America back to work. The CBC remains committed to playing a critical role in ensuring that happens.”

Posted by lauren victoria burke at 8:52 pm