Update - March 13, 2014

I came across this today, thought some will be interested.



Posted on | March 13, 2014 |

Unemployment  Benefit news and Extension Update today March 13, 2014:

Congress has been debating a potential plan to extend unemployment  benefits for the long term unemployed for months now. Many Americans lost their long term unemployment benefits in December of 2013 and continue to struggle without federal aid. The Senate was unable to find a majority vote on multiple occasions last month when possible plans were presented. Both sides, the Republicans and Democrats, accuse the other of playing politics at the expense of the American public. Hope rose higher though as word spread that the House would attempt a rarely used tactic to push through a vote to pass EUC for the long term unemployed. Democrats in the House planned to file a discharge petition in order to vote on an emergency benefit plan. In order for this tactic to work, the petition would need to amass an absolute majority number of signatures from representatives. This task however was ultimately futile. The number of signatures needed for an absolute majority totaled 218. The number of Democrats only totals 199. In the end, the discharge petition failed because the number of signatures needed for the absolute majority could not be acquired. If there is a silver lining in this activity and outcome, it is that the attempt heightens awareness in the media and ultimately in the American public. Approximately 2 million Americans are still waiting for the long term unemployment benefit extension to pass and they need the issue to gain as much attention as possible.


http://www.learningandfinance.com/

News >>
U.S. Senate reaches deal on extending unemployment insurance 03/13/2014 3:52 PM

By Paul Edward Parker

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A group of 10 senators — five Democrats and five Republicans — has reached a deal to reauthorize emergency unemployment benefits for five months, Rhode Island’s Sen. Jack Reed, one of the architects of the plan announced Thursday afternoon.

In a joint statement, Reed and Sen. Dean Heller, a Republican from Nevada, said the plan would be retroactive to Dec. 28 for eligible beneficiaries.

The proposal is fully paid-for using a combination of offsets that includes extending “pension smoothing” provisions from the 2012 highway bill, which were set to phase out this year, and extending customs user fees through 2024, the senators said in their statement.

The bill also would deny unemployment insurance payments to people who made $1 million or more in the preceding year.

Reed and Heller expressed confidence that they would have more than the 60 votes needed to advance the bill in the event of a filibuster

http://m.providencejournal.com/projo/db_21364/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=idgn46ic

Doubt it will pass....and the house for certain will not pass it....unless there is a rider about killing ACA, abortion, or something else....

503Depressed wrote:Doubt it will pass....and the house for certain will not pass it....unless there is a rider about killing ACA, abortion, or something else....

It won't get the 60 votes, and even if Harry goes nuclear, it will never make it to the House floor for debate. They are too busy trying to repeal the ACA. Wasn't today vote #51 on that issue?

Looks like our fine government is trying to force people off of unemployment. Who says congress can't work together! But, being the cowards that they are, they simply point fingers at eachother for not passing the extension.

Now if only there were jobs for the people being kicked off of unemployment to go to. I guess the government didn't think of that. In fact, had there been plenty of permanent, fulltime jobs that pay a living wage, we wouldn't have an unemployment crisis right now.