Blog - Articles Tagged 'George LeMieux'

This afternoon Sen. Debbie Ann Stabenow [D, MI] called for the Senate to pass, under unanimous consent, the "Americans Want to Work Act." The bill would add a fifth tier of unemployment insurance benefits in states with unemployment rates above 7.5%. The fifth tier would give an additional 20 weeks of benefits to unemployed people who have exhausted all of their available unemployment insurance benefits and have not yet found a job.

Since June 29th, Senate Democrats have been stymied by Republicans on a bill (H.R. 5297) that would give small business $12 billion in tax breaks and a $30 billion lending fund in order to encourage new hiring. Today, a couple Republicans gave in, providing the Democrats the votes they need to overcome GOP opposition and move the bill towards final passage.

After passing the unemployment relief bill, the Senate this week finally made some progress on what will probably be the final job-creation measure to be considered this year -- the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010.

Six Republican senators have flip-flopped on the jobs bill having initially voted against it on Monday and then voting for it today.