Senate To Take Up Unemployment Insurance Extension

By The Associated Press
Mar 9, 2010, 7:09 AM
66 Comments

WASHINGTON — Legislation extending unemployment insurance for the long-term jobless faces a key test vote in the Senate, its momentum helped by about 60 popular tax breaks for individuals and businesses that expired at the end of last year.

The measure also prevents doctors from absorbing a crippling cut in Medicare payments, extends health insurance subsidies for the unemployed and gives cash-starved states help with Medicaid, the federal-state program providing health care to the poor and disabled.

The unemployment insurance alone – to provide weekly unemployment checks averaging above $300 to people whose core 26-week benefit package has run out – will cost $66 billion through December. In some states people are eligible to receive benefits for up to 99 weeks.

The bill, and the test vote Tuesday, demonstrate the difficulty Democrats face as they focus on jobs. It doesn’t include new ideas for boosting jobs, but instead reprises elements of last year’s $862 billion economic stimulus bill, which is earning mixed reviews from voters. Simply extending those provisions has produced a far more expensive measure than a separate so-called jobs bill that Democrats hope to soon send to President Obama. That measure would boost highway spending and give tax breaks to companies that hire the unemployed and could clear the Senate for Obama’s desk this week.

At a gross cost of about $148 billion, Tuesday’s measure illustrates the extraordinary cost of the unemployment safety net as the economy inches out of the recession. Democrats say the unemployment benefits inject demand into the economy and say renewing the tax cuts helps preserve existing jobs.

The measure closes $29 billion of tax loopholes to help defray its cost, including one enjoyed by paper companies that get a credit from burning “black liquor,” a pulp-making byproduct, as if it were an alternative fuel.

All told, the measure would add $107 billion to the deficit over the coming decade. Democrats have labeled most of the bill an emergency measure, exempting it from stricter budget rules enacted just last month.

Democrats need to muster at least one Republican vote Tuesday to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to limit debate and guarantee an up-or-down vote. But Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, provided crucial help last week to keep the measure out of another procedural tangle, and Democrats sound confident they will prevail.

The bill includes about 60 popular tax breaks for individuals and businesses that expired at the end of 2009. The bill would extend the tax breaks through 2010, at a cost of about $26 billion.

Congress routinely extends the tax breaks each year with large bipartisan majorities. Businesses and tax planners would prefer a more permanent solution, but lawmakers can’t agree on how to pay for a longer extension.

The tax breaks include a property tax deduction for people who don’t itemize, lucrative credits that help businesses finance research and development and a sales tax deduction that mainly helps people in the nine states without income taxes: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and Wyoming.

There is a deduction for college tuition for couples making less than $160,000 a year, and one for teachers who use their own money to buy school supplies. There is a tax credit for community development agencies that invest in low-income neighborhoods, as well as a tax break for restaurant owners and retailers who remodel their stores.

The expiration of one tax break, a $1 per gallon credit for the production of biodiesel, has already caused “a pretty substantial blow to the industry,” said Michael Frohlich, a spokesman for the National Biodiesel Board. The credit would cost $1 billion to extend for the rest of the year.

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Cynthia

After working for a living for 43 years, I quit my job in April of 2008. My father passed away on Christmas Day of 2007 and I had to go back to work the next day, due to legal/tax requirements of my job. After being threatened with termination by my employer if I took any time off work for bereavement, I submitted my 30 day notice. I have now exhausted all 99 weeks of unemployment benefits allowed in Illinois. I have no family to help me, and my friends are having their own financial problems. My plan for my future is to take what little cash I have left, about $850, donate it to my local no-kill animal shelter when I drop off my 3 cats and my small dog,(the only “kids” I could ever afford to have) then I’ll commit suicide. I’m diabetic and have a nice jar full of pills just waiting. I’m 55 years old and have nothing left to live for anyway. Public aid in Illinois is a joke. The unemployment office treats you like scum. Their job center hasn’t sent me one job referral in two years, yet they think I should have found a job by myself! I don’t qualify for any other type of aid, primarily because I don’t have a house full of bastard children, and by the time they pass a Tier 5 UI plan, I’ll be dead. Nice talking to you.
meryl

Cynthia please don’t do that. It breaks my heart to read your statement,and I truly understand. I googled about feeling very sick with worry and having to go on unemployment – guess I was looking for others who feel like this,and then saw your post.
I absolutely know these suggestions sound so damn useless and am so sorry about that. But maybe a church nearby has a home visiting program for the homebound that can pay something? Can you try asking local restaurants for left over food that’s perfectly good to give to your pets for food? Maybe have flyers made up for doing housekeeping,dog walking,or baby sitting?
Please know I know how hard this is to do when you have no strength left. I’m thinking of you and will keep you and your pets in my prayers that you can stay together.
meryl
Belinda Miller

I think it’s wrong that this is America and the third world country are getting help and living better than americans. What is this world coming to probably the end. Can you people imagine not being able to eat, feed yourselves of your children. Drinking water because there’s no food to eat. Eating food that’s in the refrigerator that molded and you just scrape the mold off. Could you just imagine thinking back when things were plentiful. You could always get what you wanted to eat. You could go to the doctor when you were sick. You could get medicine for your sickness. Just imagine not being able to go to the doctor you are your children or you pet. People this world is in a terrible condition. People in the United States are starving. Did you hear what I’m saying. We are starving in AMERICA. How is this possible. The REPUBLICANS Donot care because they have money plenty of it. These people and including myself are employed, but we did not want our jobs to go out. You can look for jobs all over, but to no avail. I’ve been told you are over qualified and your resume is great. But why will you not hire me or some else. We want to work, but you canot find anything. So, what will AMERICA do to help us? We need help desperately. Please Extend our Exhausted Unemployment. Hey were standing on our last leg. Are you going to let us fall? We are living in AMERICA or am I dreaming? Please let us stand as one nation. Give all Americans a helping hand.
schrodinger_hated_cats

Hey Cynthia you spoiled little brat– have you offed yourself yet? You shouldn’t have gotten even a DAY of UI benefits, much less 99 WEEKS. YOU VOLUNTARILY QUIT your job like a bloody fool, with nothing else to go to, I might add. You put yourself into your position, no one else did.

So your dad died. Sorry, life sucks sometimes. You would have been better off taking the bereavement days and letting them fire you– maybe that’s why the job center hasn’t put much effort into finding you something new. They are afraid that you’ll just resign the next time something doesn’t go your way. Oh, and in 99 weeks, you could have gotten SOMETHING, even if it isn’t a high paying job– all you would have had to do was show up and do the work and then you wouldn’t be worrying about “benefits running out”. Oh that’s right, you jumped ship from your last job so that might be a foreign concept to you.

Yeah, your problems come from something “running out”– and that was YOU, running out from your last job when things didn’t go your way. Boo freaking hoo, the only sympathy I have here is in my dictionary right between sh*it and syphilis.
robert

cynthia dont give up baby.u will burn in hell if you do that ..find your father JESUS he,ll show you the way. by the way thursday moring on wsvn 7 they say 100s of thousand of long term unempolyment will receive 14 more weeks
prayingforhelp

I was laid off in May 2008. What a LOT of people don’t seem to understand is that the first 18 months or so for the people that have been on 99 weeks of unemployment is there were NO JOBS for the first 18 months. If you were looking for employment then you were lucky if there was one job posted looking to hire. It was not until RECENTLY that people are truly able to even slightly find some work. I have been searching daily sending out 4 to 5 resumes a day!! I have sent over 2,000 resumes since I was laid off. I have only had a handful of interviews always to be told they found someone who better qualifies for the position. Applying for anything and everything (including fast food) I am told over and over again that I am either over or under qualified or educated. Who cares what your degree is if someone is willing to work and able to do the job HIRE THEM!!!!

I have had several friends that used to tell me to try fast food etc…and then they have come to realize it’s not lack of me looking but the businesses not hiring.

I am a single mother of 3 that solely relied on the unemployment extension to help pay my rent, utilities etc. I lost my home and we moved to a small two bedroom apartment because the leasing lady felt horrible she let me rent. I finally found a part time (seasonal) job that hired me regardless of my past experience. I was SO happy that between the part time position and my unemployment I might finally be able to get myself out of trouble and be able to pay the most important bills rent, car and utilities only to have my unemployment stopped. I am now on the verge of loosing the apartment, car and phone the three things needed to provide for my family and be able to contact possible employers. I have no family to help if I am evicted and desperately need the extension for the “99er’s”!!! I want to work desperately not only to provide for my family but to get some of my pride back…I am willing to do anything!!!
Virginia Keagle

Agreed! Americans, mostly skilled, educated and middle-aged (40-50) who are newly unemployed are suffering. We have paid into the system our entire adult working lives! We have impeccable work ethics but due to the economic recession, we have been let go by no fault of our own – unable to find work, no matter how much effort we give it. Jobs simply are few and far between, Congress is well aware of this! Or should be! Bottom line, I was laid off Oct 09, took a contract job in early January 2010 – through March, it was to go permanent after 3 months but the company elected not to make the job permanent after the 3 months, so I had to go back on unemployment. How humiliating and sad after I went through 4 interviews intense just to get the job, then they let me go because they didn’t have the money budgeted to pay benefits or what have you. So, like many other Americans’, my benefits after 6 months, have run out. This bill MUST be passed by the Senate if they have a shred of understanding of how hard it is out here! I have a BS in Business Marketing and 15 years experience in my field, impeccable work references and have worked my entire life. I’m 45, now living with my mother, bcause I had to give up my townhouse! I’m tired of giving up everything, I simply want a JOB~! Sad, for all of us out here. America needs to HELP AMERICANS who have the desire and have ALWAYS worked. Stop judging us from the lack of jobs available to us, and don’t think we want to live on unemployment. It simply helps us to get by. You can’t pay rent on unemployment or a house-payment by the way, that’s why I had to put my entire life in storage and move back home with my 79 year old mom. Talk about HARD! You have no idea how HARD Things are until you step back out of your offices and look at what American’s are facing. HELP US and APPROVE THIS EXTENSION IMMEDIATELY.
R

maybe if we could all fly to washington in our corporate jets we’d be able to get money. funny how a company can be too big to fail because it affects so many people but the same number of people who have no source of income don’t matter. when those same amount of people lose their homes let’s see if the economy is still rebounding!! i will be watching who votes no on this issue and you can bet they will NEVER get my vote!!

and why isn’t this issue being discussed in the media?! this is just an outrage! what ever happened to just doing the right thing??
JAY

HOW IS IT THAT OUR BELOVED ‘LEADERS’ CAN FIND MONEY AND BENEFITS FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS—-BUT NOT FOR THOSE OF US WHO WERE LAID OFF AND CANT GET A JOB—NOT BECAUSE OF JOB PERFORMANCE. NO, I AM NOT SITTING ON MY ASS SMOKING CAMELS AND DRINKING. I LOOK FOR A JOB 24/7. PERIOD

AS A REPUBLICAN, IF REPUBLICANS DO NOT STEP FORWARD AND HELP US—IN MY CASE TO SAVE MY HOUSE—I WILL DO EVERYTHING I CAN TO MAKE SURE THEY NEVER GET ANOTHER POLITICAL APPOINTMENT. MR. VOINOVICH, DO YOU HEAR US?
T. Johnson

American are so willing to help the rest of the world and now that we are in trouble everyone wants to close there eyes. I don’t want a handout just a job. It’s hard to live on unemployment but when it’s the only thing have you do your best.

I worked for the same co. for 25 yr. and I didn’t WALK AWAY FROM THEM, THEY WALKED AWAY FROM ME. I gave them everything I had and it didn’t matter they went.

Now I’m 50 yrs. old and who will want me? I’ve gone every were and door after door is closed, we can not force anyone to hirer us.

I’ve work my sence I was 14 never asked anyone for anything but a job!!! So until you walk in our shoes, Please don’t judge us. JUST HELP US GET THROUGH THIS HARD TIME…
deedee

Hey americans I have an Idea since the administration wants to ignore the working class citizens and there crisis let gather together and find out what has caused this damage to us lets see who we can sue for negligence and damages lets go over our losses 1.we cant pay our mortgages so we may lose our homes 2. for the renters we cant pay our rent so we will probably be evicted 3. this one for children the disabled and the critcally ill we wont be able to pay our utilities results may cause death if in this hot weather their no air conditioning oh just plug in a fan guees what no electricity plus we cant find recepticals becaus ethere are no light if your water connected to your electric wont be able to flush your toilet now we are looking at being left in in humane coditions 4.Mental disorder patient increase in their mental states more treatments possible thought or carried out suicides % my god what about our elderly those who have given all their lives to america remember their out in the cold people these are damages so their must be someone we can sue since we did not put ourseles into this situation all ammerican beig effecte by the no uemployment extension rh4213 the 99ers lets hit the lawyers and see what we can get o
http://none joel revell

wake up america .we need help and we need it now not when the congress come across thier desk. we can send billions of dollars to forgin countries but we cant help america.we need to get the ball rolling and send every american legal that is one millon dollars and this country will take off like a jet .get the cheack book out.
Tammy

Guess what?! Unless you are Bilingual/Spanish speaking.. you don’t have a fighting chance for a job.. at least in Southern California, from my experience. Notice the internet job boards, companies are requiring individuals speak Spanish, and if they are not requiring, they are “preferring”, and we all know who ends up with the job. NOT the educated ones, nor the ENGLISH only speaking ones. When did you ever remember having to press “1″ just to hear instructions or information from your banking institution? And these employment agencies are a trap, a scam and they are a road to nowhere. Someone needs to go into the H.R. Depts of these companies, and look at the applications submitted… (if they haven’t shredded them), and look at who really applied, and compared that to who was hired for the job….
darell adams

Its about time to help Americans First, why can we send soldiers over seas now for 10 count them 10 years at millions of dollars per day. We have politicians arguing over rights and benefits of people who are not citizens in Arizona. Wake up politicians and help Americans for once you useless wase of skin!
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Terry Harris

I too am on the verge to losing my mind we moved to Nevada from California where my husband and myself both lost our jobs then our home and then our car I have run out of my benefits its now been 2 months and we were surving on a job my husband got at a covenience store thank god!! then he was recently terminated for an undercover sting he had been there for 2 years excellent employee long story short not only is the government not helping us long term hard workers get extra tiers because there are no jobs!!!!!! they turned down my husbands employment and I really think they are turning down everyone and making them appeal it not to mention what the heck do you do in the meantime we are hardworking people who have worked all our lives and 2 weeks away and no way to pay the rent upset in Nevada!!!!