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Meet Sen. Byrd's Replacement
July 16, 2010 - by Donny Shaw
The Associated Press is reporting that West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin will appoint his former chief legal counsel, Carte Goodwin [D], to fill the seat of the late Sen. Robert Byrd [D, WV] for the rest of this session. Manchin is scheduled to make an official announcement on the appointment later this afternoon.
Goodwin will be sworn in to the Senate on Tuesday at 2:15 ET. Immediately after he is sworn in, the Senate will vote on the stalled unemployment extension bill, and Goodwin is expected to give the Democrats the 60th vote they need to break a Republican-led filibuster and get the bill signed into law. While there is no specific information on Goodwin’s position on the unemployment bill, the fact that he is a Democrat (95%+ of Dems support the UI extension) and the fact that Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid [D, NV] has scheduled a vote on the bill to take place minutes after he is sworn in suggest that he will vote in the affirmative.
See Memeorandum for commentary on the pick.
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Comments
Displaying 1-30 of 71 total comments.
We the Unemployed Americans are really depending on him for the 60th vote. DO NOT LET US DOWN.
Yes, we are all depending on him. I have been unemployed for 6 months and my extension has been on hold because of this Bill. I have struggled to find a job because with my IT experience, companies have preferred to bring in cheap labor from overseas. The unemployment rate is high and the jobs are limited to almost nothing.
In addition, companies taking advantage of low wage contracts any benefits of all. We need this bill pass so Americans can have a breathing room to find a decent job that will provide for their families.
He Pretty!
I waved bye-bye to my apartment several months ago when the unemployment checks died. And I’m kinda getting used to eatin’ cheap, then eatin’ cheaper. But I do wish (since it’s summer) that I didn’t have to run the heater full blast so the car doesn’t overheat. Sure hope Congress passes SOMETHING for the unemployed, although my only hope would be a Tier 5.
In the meantime, YES He Pretty! It doesn’t make up for the lack of coins, but he is one gorgeous lookin’ guy.
The song, I’m your puppet, comes to mind (Goodwin is Manchin’s state attorney), but if that gets the job done—hey, go for it. Manchin will really be pulling the votes behind the scenes. You gotta love it.
Don’t forget to keep calling in your job status to unemployment. Especially all you on EB, keep your employer contact list up-to-date and sent in as well. Whatever comes will be retroactive.
Dems already have 60. It’ll pass easily.
Not if they are voting on HR 4213, instead of HR 5618.
There just throwing out false hope to keep people sitting in wait, instead of rioting on the streets and commiting crimes
I sure hope the DEMs don’t try to pass 4213. We need help NOW, not a month from now.
I agree, don’t let us down. We the american people are depending on you to pass the extension.
come on open congress please don;t play the creat publicity and manipulate the stupid people game.
reid has scheduled a vote for 4213 the pork un-paid for bill for the 20th
you know the bill that cuts social security benefits for old people that Snowe said that she will not vote for.
they do not have 60 votes for 4213, Reid needs to schedule a vote for a standalone extension like the one that passed the house before the break.
I believe you are wrong on that aspect. I have been talking to a couple of the senators and they will vote on the ui extension Tuesday. We will see what happens.
yes you are right in that they will vote for the extension 5618, they will not vote for 4213, the same bill failed when byrd was still alive. Old people living on social security benefits are a huge part of the republican base it would be political suicide for a republican to vote to cut social security benefits. Snowe (we need 2 repub votes to pass a bill) already said that she would not vote for 4213, unless reid allows for a stand alone bill such has 5618 (which he already said he will not allow) we are screwed it is all big game to the folks in Washington. Reid has blocked stand alone unemployment extension more then 5 times.
4213 also has a provision that creates a retroactive tax, ie they raise a corprate tax in this bill and companies have to pay the new tax rate retroactively for 2007, 2008 and 2009 that sets a dangerous precedent.
imagine the income tax going up but not just for the money you made this year but the money you made the last three years, so now with the stroke of a pen you have to pay an extra 5% taxes on the money you made in 2007, 2008 and 2009 in addition to you taxes for this year that is a very dangerous proposition,.
4213 is a very bad bill it was not wrote to pass, it was wrote to make news headline, make republicans look bad and to manipulate stupid people before the election. we need a stand alone unemployment extension like the one that passed the house but Reid will not allow a vote because he know it will pass and that will not help him in the upcoming election, they need drama to motivate voters.
But not all middle & poor class Americans will. People are already starting to commit suicide; crime is on the rise on a national level. What’s happening is you’re either going to be rich or poor.Most politicians and government officials that work in Capitol Hill are considered upper class because of the salaries they are GIVEN & not EARNED.I think they only care about how they stand to make more money for themselves, friends and family by whatever ties they have to current & future bills, foreign & domestic policies.I don’t think both Democratic & Republican Senators are really concerned about the people that are truly affected by UI extensions that have stopped.I think they are trying to do just enough to keep themselves in office and the money pit going since this is an election year.
If each bill that passes in congress for UI Extensions roughly costs about 34 billion and the bill that passed for bailing out the banks and financial institutes was estimated about 750 billion.That means congress could pass about 22 UI bills to equal the bill that bailed out basically Wall Street.How about bailing out the AMERICAN CITIZINS!I know people are concerned about the deficit but I’m tired of hearing the Republican Party in congress keep giving the excuse that we are passing on debt to generations to come.Maybe this is true for THEIR CHILDREN AND THEIR GENERATIONS to come because these Senators and people they surround themselves are wealthy and will survive this.
Mikes1lakerfan makes an excellent point (which is rare for Lakers fans, but anyway)… And I don’t expect that any of those who have been unemployed and will now receive some additional help as they continue to look for work will be receiving million dollar bonuses or be vacationing (errr, I mean, having a “team building” event) in the Caribbean. Wouldn’t it be nice to see a little help for the working folks on whose backs this nation actually depends?
Great post. This videoshows where the politicians stand on UI Ext., and what politicians do best… avoid the truth, twist the truth, and try to deceive Americans. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDOb8E7D8tc
1. Do Mitch McConnell(R-KY)& GOP understand Americans are unemployed, but not stupid. They can continue to manipulate the numbers GDP to Deficit percentage in attempt to win in November’s election.
2. Do McConnell and GOP really think Americans can’t add, and figure how the Fed. Deficit got into the Trillions$?
Let’s see, here is just a small list of the dollars Bush Administration/GOP started piling up in USAs Fed. Deficit: Two Oil War, Total Cost 1.6 TRILLION; Bank Bailout, $700 BILLION in October 2008 (prior to Obama Administration); Tax Breaks, Cost 1.8 TRILLION so far (most went to high incomes earners of $250,000+, and the rest of America received on average $100), Prescription Overhaul Bill…
Americans are unemployed, but not stupid. VOTE SMART IN NOVEMBER.
4213 is indeed on the calendar but unfortunately for us REID losses 2 votes with that bill if that is indeed the bill he is trying to pass it wont. sorry guys i try to stay positive but i read this somewhere else hos rep votes will vote on a stand alone UI bill and not 4213
Noone really knows what bill is on the calendar. I was told by some senators offices that it could be on the calendar but that don’t mean thats going to be the one they vote on.
http://democrats.senate.gov/calendar/2010-07.html
Thank you, I have seen the calendar and as I said I talked to some of the senators office and that don’t mean that the 4213 is the one they are voting on. I appreciate your reply.
The vote is scheduled for Tuesday and I believe that it is in writing. I’ve had my hopes up before that this bill would pass only to have my spirit broken by yet another disappointment. However, hope is all we have. So, with that, I will stay positive and have faith that our Government and the Senate will finally do the right thing for the American people. We cannot live without this extension.
So what happens after they receive the 60th vote? They vote yea on Tuesday and then it goes to Obama’s desk? What’s the process for it to get to our pockets? I guess I’m trying to figure out the potential timeline of when we unemployed americans will start to feel the impact of this bill. Will we get our money before the August break or does that part have to wait still?
historically it has taken 3-7 weeks from the time the president signs the bill before the unemployed get there checks, it varies from state to state some states move faster then others. In the past though we have gotten a big check that includes all the weeks from the time the bill passed to the time you receive your check, so you can get a check for seven weeks of benefits at the same time.
It’s not going to take 3-7 weeks for this bill. It’s considered an emergency and the president will most likely sign it into law by next friday or a couple of days after that.
the president has always signed the extensions the day after they pass the senate, the president is not what holds it up.
it take at least a week for washingtion to send instructions to the states on how to process the extensions then it takes a week for the states to read the instruction and start implementing them, the sates then have to reprogram there computer systems to apply the benefits, the states then have to send out letters to tell you to aply for you benefits, some states can move pretty quick (like 3 weeks) some states are very understaffed and have really old computer networks so it takes forever, if you are in California or Florida it can take seven weeks, if you are in Colorado or Texas it might only take 3.
I have gone through these extensions 4 times already. I am amongst the long term unemployed that has has a stop in benefits before every extension. in Colorado the fastest they have implemented an extension was 3 weeks the slowest was 5 or 6 weeks.
no state has a 5th tier but states that have recently had their 3 month average total unemployment rate reach 8% now qualify for an additional 7 weeks from tier 2. and states that have recently surpassed 8.5% will get an additional 6? weeks of tier 4, Ca already received those weeks months ago because there unemployment rate was already high enough.