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What's Next for the Unemployment Extension Bill
July 8, 2010 - by Donny Shaw
Congress reconvenes from their July 4th recess on Monday and one of their first orders of business will be extending unemployment insurance benefits for the more than 2 million Americans who have had their benefits cut off over the past month due to congressional inaction. Here’s a step-by-step rundown of what to watch for over the next several days as the pieces fall into place for getting the extension out of the Senate and signed into law so that millions of unemployed workers can finally get some relief.
Interim Senator Appointed — Now that the West Virginia Attorney General has issued his ruling on when the next election to replace the late Sen. Robert Byrd [D, WV] should take place, Governor Joe Manchin can pick an interim senator to fill Byrd’s seat in the meantime (see his shortlist). Manchin has been getting pressure from national Democrats to appoint an interim replacement as soon as possible, so we can expect an announcement on his decision soon, possibly even later today. (UPDATE: Manchin today said he would wait until after a special session of the West Virginia state legislature clarifies the law in regards to the next election to fill Byrd’s seat before he appoints an interim replacement.) The speed with which the attorney general issued his ruling on the election issue is a sign that that Gov. Manchin plans on satisfying the request from Washington to act quickly.
Interim Senator Sworn In — Byrd’s interim replacement will be sworn into the Senate relatively quickly. When Sen. Edward Kennedy [D, MA] passed away last year, it on took about 48 hours for his interim replacement, Paul Kirk, to be be sworn into the Senate after being tapped for the job by the Massachusetts Governor. If Governor Manchin picks a replacement for Byrd in the next couple days, there should be no problem getting them to D.C. by the time the Senate is scheduled to reconvene (Monday at 2 p.m.) for a swearing-in ceremony.
Filing for Cloture on Proceeding to the Bill — The Senate will most likely move forward with the version of the unemploymemty insurance bill that was passed by the House last week, H.R. 5618. That way, they won’t have to bounce the bill back to the House again before it can become law. The first step here will be for Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid [D, NV] to file for cloture on the motion to proceed to the bill. This will allow the Democrats to take a vote on overcoming the Republicans’ objections to even bringing the bill to the floor for debate.
Invoking Cloture on Proceeding to the Bill — One hour after the Senate convenes on the second day after the cloture motino was filed, the motion will be “ripe” and the Senate will vote on whether or not to debate the bill despite Republican opposition. If Reid files the cloture motion on Monday, the cloture vote will happen on Wednesday morning. If he delays filing until Tuesday for whatever reason, the vote would be pushed back to Thursday. When the vote takes place, it will require 60 senators voting in the affirmative for it to pass. With Byrd’s interim replacement voting, the Democrats are expected to have exactly 60 votes for this. Debate of the actual bill will then begin.
Invoking Cloture on the Bill Itself — Right after cloture is invoked on the motion to proceed, Reid will file for cloture on the bill itself. This will be a motion to end an inevitable Republican filibuster of the bill and bring it to a vote on final passage. Like the last cloture motion, this will be ripe and ready for a vote one hour after the Senate convenes on the second day after it was filed. That means we’re looking at a Friday vote on this at the earliest.
Passing the Bill — The last step in the process is a simple up-or-down vote on passing the bill. This will be the real test of how dedicated the Republicans are to gumming up the works. Under Senate rules, they could hold the post-cloture period open for up to 30 hours. But it is customary to allow the majority party to hold a vote on passage soon after they invoke cloture since cloture takes 60 votes and passage takes only 50. If the Republicans follow Senate custom and let the vote happen quickly, the bill could be out of Congress and on its way to the President’s desk by the end of next week. If they decide to stall, it will be pushed back to the weekend or next week.
Signing the Bill Into Law — As soon as the Senate approves final passage of the bill, it will be enrolled and sent to Obama to be signed into law. There should not be any delay at this stage since Obama is fully supportive of the extension.
Implementation — State Labor Department will begin fulfilling the new law as soon as the bill is signed into law. Reports indicate that states have been preparing for Congress to pass the extension for months, so there should be very little delay in getting checks sent out. Besides extending the filing deadline for poeople exhausting their current tier of benefits, the bill will require states to pay back benefits retroactively for people who have had their benefits cut off since June 2 due to congressionall inaction, so you can expect a lump-sum payment, or a series of checks, sometime soon following the enactment of the unemployment extension bill if you fall in that category.
Lots of moving parts here. This process could move quicker than what I described here — for example, Republicans could agree to a unamious consent agreement on proceeding to the bill instead of forcing the Dems to take the first cloture vote — or it could get slowed down at just about every step. To follow along with all of this over the next week or so, subscribe to this blog’s RSS feed, or just keep checking back for updates. You can also stay in tough on Twitter and/or Facebook.
(Post updated to incorporate clarification of cloture rules from David Waldman.)
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Displaying 1-30 of 69 total comments.
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Even though killing ourselves sounds really good, think about all the people that depend on us( I can’t figure out why they do). I have never been so interested in the political websites before. I’m hoping that when And if this bill gets passed I will never have a reason to look at them again. Since I lost my job in 10-08, I have lost alot of things I even lost part of my finger so on top of my normal bills I now have medical bills rolling in too. Be happy to pay them if I had the money. Something has to be done. I can live without part of my finger but not live without money.
This is my first but not my last comment about the unemployment benefits. I, too, am depending on the unemployment check. I know how most ,if not all ,of you feel. I only have a few questions I would like congress to answer. Why do they think our crime rate keeps going up? Why do people feel they have no choice but to steal from others( especially the well off). What do they expect people who depend on that money for medicine, let alone food for their children, to do? But my biggest question is this- What happened to " We the people"? Did it suddenly get changed to -“We the congress”? This country has always been in such a hurry to go and help other nations but they choose to ignore their own! To me, that says a lot about how much our congressmen care about us. To those of you who are talking suicide, I say don’t give congress the satisfaction. I think it’s time “we the people” stood up for our rights as a nation.
Please do not speak or think that way. It is so not worth ending it. I’ve been there, that mental state. I have no family. My side of the family is gone. The only one alive is my uncle and he won’t speak to me. My father is in a nursing home with dementia. My husband’s family could care less. They two brothers own their own business, one sis lives nearby and not a call nor an offer of help. Not even if you need you can stay with us. We have a 10 mos. old to make things a bit more urgent. I know how you feel about being alone. You must fight the battle on your knees. Please keep your eyes up to God. If you need someone to talk to, I’m on Facebook. Let me know. This is only temporary. Hang in there.
CSPAN – 2 With GOP SENS COLLINS SNOWE AND BROWN BILL NOW HAS 60 VOTES TO PASS!!!!!!!
We all know that politics isa dirty game,its not fairWE THE PEOPLE are the once who get punished, its not fair, ‘regular’ workers,have to starve,haveto pay bills,WITH WHAT IF WE cant even rely on Unemployment TO HELP A LITTLE BIT WHILE UNEMPLOYED because its also being taken away from US,why dont prices drop? if we are in crisis,why does everything stay same,price wise, its not like half of the things are affordable now, and we are not eligible, for anything, HOW ARE WE SUPPOSE TO SURVIVE,and trust those,who are in charge of us,but DONT EVEN WANT TO HELP US! AND THEY ARGUE OVER THIS ISSUE!ITS OBVIOUS IT WONT BE ANY GOOD IF ITS NOT PASSED. WE HAVE HELPED OUR COUNTRY, WE PAID EVERY CENT! EVERY INSURANCE, TAXES, AND THE REST, WHY CANT THE COUNTRY HELP US NOW, ITS NOT LIKE WE DONT HAVE TO PAY ALL THAT, WE STILL DO!!CREATING JOBS WOULD BE GREAT TOO, GOING TO COLLEGES SHOULDNT OF BEEN POINTLESS!OR EVEN THOSE THAT DIDNT!EVERYONE DESERVES A CHANCE!AT LEAST A LILBIT OF $ WOULD HELP.
i am also unemployed and have had my benefits stopped cause i have exhausted all that they had given me. ive been unemployed since nov. 2009 and i have been looking for a job everyday. ive been helping my mother take care of bill with my unemployment. and now that i have none its getting worse. i lost my father in jan. and have been helping my mother for that reason. we have lost the house we have lived in for over 32 years my mother has lost her vehicle cause she cant afford it. we have no food atleast no meat to cook. and my brother is a single parent of 3 and we also help him and they eat with us all the time and now its just imposible. i could get help from the link program but would only get 50 dollars a month for food and how is that supppose to be enough food for a month. our government has only been thinking about themselves and not about us. they all got pay raises just recently if i heard right. they all get fed well help us out support the people that voted for you.
I was froze out of unemployment on May 30… I started a new job this week making 16 dollars less an hour than I used to make. I will still lose everything by the time I receive my first paycheck…. IT is so SAD….I say we should freeze all of congresses pay till the resolve this issue….
I feel the same way. With three children its so difficult and I continue to take out payday loans and am falling farther and farther behind but trying to keep afloat. I way shocked to have the unemployment cut off. I was not following what was going on and all of a sudden i got a letter saying the week before check was my last one and almost fell to the floor. Im sick to my stomach and i’m sure my landlord is hating me right now. It affects not only us but the people we rent from because they count on the money too. it’s like a domino effect. but hang in there, i feel there is always a way. sometimes we have to rob peter to pay paul but you gotta do what you gotta do. continue to call your city for help with money food housing etc. people on welfare get this crap and the hard working people when in need get crap. don’t make sense to me our country is crazy.
The Republicans say they are Christian, yet they turn their back, not only on the poor of this nation; but also on the hard working tax-paying currently unemployed. Don Francisco said it best in his song, "Every time you turned your back and pretended not to see, when you did it not for the least of them, you did it not for me.) (Jesus)
I have to think that Jesus, himself, would tell the Republicans, “Woe to you lawyers (congress)! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.” (Luke 11:52, NASB ©1995)
Sorry, probably not going to happen anytime soon. Manchin is stalling to see how he can get the seat himself in the future. That means the person he appoints now has to be someone the people do not like so he would not become an election problem when Manchin runs for it himself. Then you have the Blago trial, which he is probably also watching to see how “pay to play” is going to be handled. Based on that outcome he might do something different as well. He needs to maneuver toward the money so he can get elected later in November. Blago had the same problem to deal with, and see where it got him now. This has nothing to do with the bills in Congress and everything to do with Manchin’s future.
everyone please just hang in there till later today. we have lasted this long and i for one am not going down without a fight. I know my landlord will not be happy with the news that it probably wont be till the end of the month before she gets paid. Im more worried that they the senators are all leaving again the end of the month and wont be back until sept6-7 or so. this bill must get passed this week or we have had it. Im getting depressed and feeling hopeless myself. but im going to try and hang in there.god please bless all of us with good results from congress tomorrow. amen
I can’t imagine how those of you who are parents are feeling. I do know that I’m also sitting here tonight thinking of killing myself. I don’t feel like I have many other options. I’ve been through several times in my life where I didn’t have money to pay my bills, and the collectors are relentless. I’ve worked hard to pay on time, etc. to get my credit rating decent, & I’m afraid that’s all about to go down the tubes. I don’t even have a home to burn – I’m staying with a relative. Unfortunately none of my relatives want to help me any more. I have $140.00 left to my name. And I’m so depressed that I can’t imagine projecting the self-confidence and competence needed to get a job. So I either stay on earth and try to live with no money, or I just end it. You can probably guess which one is sounding best at this point in time.
FreedomWorks(Tea Party) has big money donations. Oil&Gas Industry Special Interest group contribute 80%+ to Republicans. Koch Industry lead in contributions. Senators will be listen to them, not the cries of the average Americans. Here are donation recorded. The unemployed dont have Lobbyist and Special Interest groups. This is how it appears for Democrats and millions of average Americans. NO MONEY, NO VOICE, NO CRUMS.
Total individual contributions by party, 1989-2010
The following individuals contributed at least $50,000 to federal candidates and parties during one or more election cycles while affiliated with the organization. Based on data released by the FEC on June 13, 2010
Koch, Charles&Elizabeth Total $494,700 Soft Money $0 Democrats $1,500 Republicans $298,200 Democrates 0% Republicans 60%
Koch, David&Julia Total $2,009,095 Soft Money $1,222,500 Democrats $0 Republicans $1,911,095 Democrats 0% Republicans 95%
Good brain storming. Millions of unemployed Americans are not being represented. Mainstream Media is controlled by the Big Corporate money and the few extremely wealthy individuals. They pay the wages of the Reporters/Producers.
CNN censors and blocks blogs that are NOT pro GOP (anything that can hurt the special interest lobbyist efforts for the EXTREMELY WEALYTHY). AC360 the Reporter “who use to tell it how it is” seems censored. Anderson wants to preserve his job. Dont blame him. He did not take an oath in office, but he has to do what his employer wants.
FOXNEWS hired Glen Beck to protect their big wealthy special interest groups. Mr. Beck is the spokesperson for the Tea Party/FreeedomWorks non-profit power house organization.
Enjoy the freedom of speech and free social networks, the little that is left, while we still can do Open/Honest communication on this site.
LOL! Coke Party, is too funny. It’s good that you still have a sense of humor.
We would probably have to pay Coka Cola for the use of their name. Coke and Pepsi alone are polarizing. We have to hand it to them; The Tea Party name is a good name, since they claim to be a movement that is similar to the Boston Tea Party, a demonstration against taxation without representation. The name was the only thing they got right, they ($$$$) are very well represented… just check out the Senator’s Special Interest group contributions. Big Corporations, Big Industries, and the Extremely Wealthy do not have any trouble getting the Americans’ taxes and spending to represent(benefit)them.
Good idea. I know that there is a Twittermarch going on now too. But we should form a party, like the Anti Tea Party (The Coke Party?). We need to keep the pressure on congress, make lots more noise so that news media starts covering unemployment again…maybe a march to Washington (like we could afford that). How about a virtual mrch to Washington, where we organize people iin every small location from one coast to the other in every community to post a YouTube video about their individual stories about being unemployed; how difficult it is to find ANY work, and what the effect is on themselves and their family of being denied unemployment extension money. We could call each video The Unemployment March to Washington.
Governer Machin is like most Americans. He wants to preserve the job he has(Politician), and advance his career. He is probably making decisions by listening to political power and money. Does anyone really think he or any of the Senators who have stood in the way of passing UI Ext benefits to the millions who need it, are losing any sleep?
The millions of ordinary Americans that have been forced into unemployment lines may not have very much money, or even empathy from other fellow employed Americans at this point, but you have the power of your vote in November. Make sure you make it to that appointment.
Good for you. Get media’s attention, write your Representatives. Mostly, remember to get everyone you know and influence to vote in November against all the Senators who listened to FreedomWorks(Tea Party Movement) Advocates and Big Special Interest groups, and did not hear the cries of the people of the USA.
It is the FreedomWorks influence through the Tea Party movement who has put the pressure on these politicians. FreedomWorks is the front for Big Corporation and Extremely Wealthy. The truth of FreedomWorks (Tea Party) and AmericansforProsperity are that these non-profit organizations are disguised as organizations to protect Americans, but they are really only there for the purpose of helping the BIG WEALTHY corporations, industries, individuals, etc.
Check it out: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Prosperity
Jennifer Rizzo
Assignment Editor CNN New York
The number of Americans filing for initial claims for unemployment benefits dropped by 21,000 last week to 454,000 according to the Labor Department, more than economists expected. People coming to the end of their unemployment benefits are waiting for the Senate to vote on an extension. The Senate, currently on its weeklong summer break, will be back in session July 12th. More than 2.1 million people are expected to have lost their unemployment benefits by that time
Look!! tomorrow all of us that still have access to phones or email can start calling and writing again and again.CALL the President, the senators and MANCHIN. WE won’t be ignored and pushed aside anymore!!!
I think there is another America about to emerge. I think it is an America that will be seperate from corporate America. I think that there are a lot of smart and clever people who are in the unemployment line. I think eventually they are going to realize they need to create some kind of organization that will better support the people. I think it will be like the old farm cooperatives. There are many skilled laborers who could all come together to make new places for the unemployed to go to live and work and be taken care of, to help each other. I think the government is not realizing that people will not just sit around and wait for the calvary to come. Americans are resilient and smart. We will take care of ourselves and the losers will be these corporations and government entities who forced their hand. It will be interesting to watch this develop. I am already seeing some evidence of it.
These corporations seem to think they get a lot of mileage out of those contributions. BP didn’t get such a big return on its investment, did they? I wonder if they would be so eager to invest in the people, say make some contributions of the same amounts to a fund to diperse to the poor and needy, homeless and unemployed? Think they would get a better return on that investment? Think they even care? NO.
It is summertime in the USA. Being homeless or without electricity or running water in summertime is bad, but not as bad as it’s going to get when winter time comes. Pray for the people. Pray for Congress to get it’s head out of it’s ass and do the right thing. Pray for the rest of America who thinks this is “not their problem” because they still have a job, so they are not concerned, have not been to the “other side” yet, and have no clue what survival really is. Pray hard people.
True.
At the same time, Republicans are the ones who are working to win November’s election with the help of Tea Party Movement (FreedomWorks) and their BIG CONTRIBUTIONS FROM SPECIAL INTEREST.
Oil&Gas Industry Contribution 2009-2010
Koch Industries $724,300 14% Dems, 86% Repubs
Kosh has made big contributions to FreedomWorks, a non-profit that funds Tea Party. These 2 organizations are putting a great deal of pressure on Senators to not support UI Ext. with stimulus that require corporations to help pay back through taxes.
Most big corporations have made record profits this year by cutting jobs long-term. They started layoffs in 2007, and putting millions of Americans on unemployment.
They created the business mantra of “Do more, with less”, causing todays workforce to do more job responsibility with no more pay.
This is not about Rep There was Dems that voted aganist the UI Ext bill too. If the dems all voted yes it would have pass. there was some rep that voted yes
Sharron Angle a Tea Party favorite:
If you’ve been following the ongoing Senate campaign of Nevada hopeful Sharron Angle, you know that she’s sick and tired of the long-term unemployed taking home all of those cushy unemployment benefits. Angle’s angle is that these millions of Americans are just living large on the dole and need to have their unemployment benefits terminated so that they will be motivated to go out and get a job — one of the millions of magical jobs that exist in Sharron Angle’s mind!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/30/sharron-angles-unemployme_n_631350.html
Letter was written to Senators:
On behalf of hundreds of thousands of FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to carefully consider all aspects of H.R. 4213…
If the bill comes to a vote as currently formulated, we encourage you to vote NO, and will track the vote on our Economic Scorecard….
FreedomWorks(FreedomWorks funders for Tea Party.)