House fails to extend jobless benefits
Washington (CNN) - The House of Representatives failed Tuesday to pass a bill that would extend long-term unemployment benefits through the end of November.
The legislation would have made the benefits effective retroactively, allowing those who may have been cut off from unemployment insurance at the end of May to collect those federal payments.
The House last month approved an extension of unemployment benefits in a larger package that also included an extension of health care insurance for the unemployed and some popular tax breaks, but that package is stalled in the Senate.
"We believe that passing unemployment insurance is critical for individuals, for families, for communities, for the country and for the economy," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, said at his weekly session with reporters.
The bill costs $34 billion in new deficit spending, which the Democrats say does not need to be offset because they consider jobless benefits an emergency expense.
Senate Democratic leaders have opposed a separate bill extending jobless benefits, instead favoring the larger package, which has failed to get the 60 votes needed for Senate approval.
House Ways and Means Chairman Sander Levin told reporters Democrats will put the same bill back on the floor Wednesday and predicted it will pass. Levin also said he's in discussions with Senate leaders about a vote in the Senate on the bill.
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People and their families need these benefits, I'm not one of them but I strongly advocate for them.
I am a 50 year old man who lost his job 4 months ago after working for the same company for 22 years. The company closed down because we had lost so much of our work to other countries. I know first hand how hard it is to find work to be able to support my family. Beleive me my unemployment benefits are barely enough to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. I would rather be working. There are not alot of opportunities for a man of my age. To lose our benefits will only mean more people on welfare, signing up for food stamps and becoming homeless. It seems to be ok for our country to go futher in debt to help out other countries but not to help our own. Everyone needs to remember this during our next elections.
The bill was just defeated minutes ago in the House. They couldn't get the 2/3 vote to send it to the Senate. This is insane! If the argument was that the previous bill had too many other fillers in it then this bill addressed unemployment extension of benefits only. It is ludicrous to me that anyone would have voted this bill down. Too many people are out of work and without any financial recourse, I know, I'm one of them. I reside in SC where unemployment is at 11% and jobs are far and few. I've been steadily looking for work and have been unable to find a job in 18 months. I have worked my whole adult life and cannot believe how difficult things are in the market. I've exhausted my savings, this is the only source of income I had left and now that's been taken. I am completely disgusted with the Republican party and their inability to empathize with those of us who are in such distress.
What a shame, the Senate needs to pass this bill. People are already facing undue hardship in some areas even when they are employed.
I guess America will just have to get use to not having any more manufacturing jobs...and the fact that now technical, sales and customer service jobs are being sent overseas to Commie-China or some slave labor sweatshop where they only need $1 day to pay for a bowl of rice and a mat to sleep on.
Gotta love Republican laissez-faire economics...despite slave labor camps and permanent loss of U.S. jobs. Not their problem as long as they keep getting $ from their Lobbyist Masters.
And the people shall fail to extend them their jobs come November
The great depression of 2010 has hit. Millions of people already looking for shelter and food for our children and grnadchildren. Shame on our government for taking out on the American People.
Nobody in the Senate is worthy of a vote. They disgust us.
Republican leaders don't believe voters will remember this in November. They don't believe in supporting all those lazy, unemployed people who expect a government handout. At least, until THEY are unemployed!
They had no problem with deficit spending – huge deficit spending – from 2000 through 2008. Suddenly, Republican are born-again frugal.
From all of those Americans who have found themselves unemployed and are still looking for a decent job (meaning one that you can actually live off of and/or feed your family with)...."Thanks Republicans!"...NOT!
DemocRATS now declare everything an "emergency" to not have to pay as you go. Liars and cheats doing nothing but deceiving the American people.
Unemployment is supposed to be a SHORT TERM program, not a long term care plan. The DemocRATS job killing socialist policies and anti-business approach to everything are what is hurting the American people. They ALL need to be voted OUT come November.
If you really want to see things get worse stop unemployment. Mortage defaults will skyrocket as a result of those aleady hanging on by a thread. Banks are already holding over 80% of foreclosures off the market to prevent a real estate meltdown. People that would never consider taking Federal Handouts are doing so now at the risk of self respect just so they can feed their families and keep from living under a bridge. Forget the car, it is already gone, the bank repoed it. People are loosing hope and businesses have been burned by the lack of honest reports of the state of the economy, do you really think they are going to hire anyone right now? We need some real solutions, not politics.
I have come to realize that the people running the country could give a crap less about the average person. We are promised so much during election time and after the time passes we go back to the same things as before. So many promises that go left undone. I am so disappointed in this administration. I thought they would make a difference but they are no better than the ones that preceded them. People are losing their homes because of no jobs, they cannot get medical coverage because they have no money. Now they will go hungry because you can't pass a law that will allow some proud americans to have a little money. Trust me what people get in unemployment barely covers their monthly expenses. This economy is not getting better if it were the people in AZ would not still need the help. Do you in Washington think people like living on the money they have to pay taxes on at the end of the year. COME ON!!!!! Step up and help these people where ever they happen to live. Or is it going to take away from your bonuses and raises in Washington.
How long is this "emergency response" going to continue? Some people have been collecting benefits for over two years! At some point the benefits have to end and people have to be responsible for themselves. Many unemployed have stopped looking or turned down job opportunities because they would make less than their unemployment benefits. The taxpayers shouldn't have this burden!
Enough with politicle games. The unemployed families are the ones suffering. Without unemployment benefits (or jobs) how can we put food on the table; how can we keep a roof over our heads. It seems like the Republicans don't care about the American families becoming homeless. UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS ARE A MUST! until jobs are created. Leaving the American family with no income will only create more chaos and dissaster in our Country. STOP SPENDING IN SPACE PROJECTS AND HELPING OTHER COUNTRIES THAT HATE THE AMERICANS. IT IS TIME TO HELP OUR OWN COUNTRY; OUR AMERICAN FAMILIES WHO HAVE GIVEN EVERYTHING TO BRING THIS COUNTRY UP!
That's right give them money not to work. Help the welfare state. Government can supply all. As long as monster.com, carreerbuilder.com are in business, and the classified exist in the newspaper, there should be no need for extending unemployment.
Not extending benefits to millions of Americans becasue Obama's has failed to deliver the jobs he promised will seal the fate of Democratic majorities in the House and Senate - Time to sweep out the tax and spend party of no descipline and bring back some fiscal conservatism.
This is so stupid, how long are we going to pay people to stay unemployed? Almost 2 years and most or at least alot of them are not even bothering to look for work. Time to cut the cord.
So, let me get this straight. I, along with every other taxpayer, am going to be paying interest and principal on trillions worth of bailouts to banks that refuse to lend to small businesses as the economy slowly sputters and dies, but Congress can't approve $45 billion to make sure that unemployed people don't starve. Okay. Just checking.
Gotta love the predictable GOP response to this. After blathering vehemently about the 10% unemployment rate caused by the recession and blaming it on Dodd and Frank as if bad mortgages cause the economy to collapse in the absence of financial institutions toying with them in extremely dangerous ways, they will come here and call everyone who is unemployed a lazy, entitlement-hungry, dope-smoking, oprah-watching societal parasite. Pay careful attention to their words, because they fail utterly at hiding that they think there are only two kinds of people receiving entitlements in this country: minorities and illegals. When the reality is, the majority of people receiving entitlements are lazy white wife-beater-wearing mulletheaded gun-kissing confederate-wannabes who live in the back woods of the red states attending pseudo-militia weekend daycamp, preparing for the rapture and drinking warm bud lite around a campfire built of michellin tires and odl refrigerator parts while telling scary stories about socialists, russians and muslims.