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WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives on Thursday voted down a measure that would have reauthorized extended unemployment insurance for another three months, leaving no clear path forward to prevent the benefits from lapsing as scheduled on Nov. 30.
Without a reauthorization, the Labor Department estimates that two million long-term unemployed will prematurely stop receiving benefits before the end of the year.
"I think it's a sad moment," said Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) after the vote. "It appalls me that the Republicans keep pitching and pitching and pitching the tax cuts for the rich and won't join in a bill to help people keep their homes and not have to live in their cars."
NYTimes.com: There was a time when everyone took it for granted that unemployment insurance, which normally terminates after 26 weeks, would be extended in times of persistent joblessness. It was, most people agreed, the decent thing to do. But that was then. Today, American workers face the worst job market since the Great Depression, with five job seekers for every job opening, with the average spell of unemployment now at 35 weeks. Yet the Senate went home for the holiday weekend without extending benefits. How was that possible? The answer is that we’re facing a coalition of the heartless, the clueless and the confused. Nothing can be done about the first group, and probably not much about the second. But maybe it’s possible to clear up some of the confusion.
By the heartless, I mean Republicans who have made the cynical calculation that blocking anything President Obama tries to do — including, or perhaps especially, anything that might alleviate the nation’s economic pain — improves their chances in the midterm elections. Don’t pretend to be shocked: you know they’re out there, and make up a large share of the G.O.P. caucus. By the clueless I mean people like Sharron Angle, the Republican candidate for senator from Nevada, who has repeatedly insisted that the unemployed are deliberately choosing to stay jobless, so that they can keep collecting benefits. A sample remark: “You can make more money on unemployment than you can going down and getting one of those jobs that is an honest job but it doesn’t pay as much. We’ve put in so much entitlement into our government that we really have spoiled our citizenry.” Now, I don’t have the impression that unemployed Americans are spoiled; desperate seems more like it. One doubts, however, that any amount of evidence could change Ms. Angle’s view of the world — and there are, unfortunately, a lot of people in our political class just like her.
But there are also, one hopes, at least a few political players who are honestly misinformed about what unemployment benefits do — who believe, for example, that Senator Jon Kyl, Republican of Arizona, was making sense when he declared that extending benefits would make unemployment worse, because “continuing to pay people unemployment compensation is a disincentive for them to seek new work.” So let’s talk about why that belief is dead wrong.
Do unemployment benefits reduce the incentive to seek work? Yes: workers receiving unemployment benefits aren’t quite as desperate as workers without benefits, and are likely to be slightly more choosy about accepting new jobs. The operative word here is “slightly”: recent economic research suggests that the effect of unemployment benefits on worker behavior is much weaker than was previously believed. Still, it’s a real effect when the economy is doing well. But it’s an effect that is completely irrelevant to our current situation. When the economy is booming, and lack of sufficient willing workers is limiting growth, generous unemployment benefits may keep employment lower than it would have been otherwise. But as you may have noticed, right now the economy isn’t booming — again, there are five unemployed workers for every job opening. Cutting off benefits to the unemployed will make them even more desperate for work — but they can’t take jobs that aren’t there.
Wait: there’s more. One main reason there aren’t enough jobs right now is weak consumer demand. Helping the unemployed, by putting money in the pockets of people who badly need it, helps support consumer spending. That’s why the Congressional Budget Office rates aid to the unemployed as a highly cost-effective form of economic stimulus. And unlike, say, large infrastructure projects, aid to the unemployed creates jobs quickly — while allowing that aid to lapse, which is what is happening right now, is a recipe for even weaker job growth, not in the distant future but over the next few months.
But won’t extending unemployment benefits worsen the budget deficit? Yes, slightly — but as I and others have been arguing at length, penny-pinching in the midst of a severely depressed economy is no way to deal with our long-run budget problems. And penny-pinching at the expense of the unemployed is cruel as well as misguided.
So, is there any chance that these arguments will get through? Not, I fear, to Republicans: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something,” said Upton Sinclair, “when his salary” — or, in this case, his hope of retaking Congress — “depends upon his not understanding it.” But there are also centrist Democrats who have bought into the arguments against helping the unemployed. It’s up to them to step back, realize that they have been misled — and do the right thing by passing extended benefits.
One of my anonymous posters posted this ludicrous comment about Republicans voting NO on extending unemployment which goes to show you how uninformed Republicans and their supporters are. He said, "Geez, those being cut off have been on unemployment for a year and a half. All others will still get their unemployment checks.You can't live on unemployment forever anymore than you can live on welfare forever."
He is so wrong!
Here is how the process works. If you become unemployed, once you qualify and are approved, you receive the standard 26 weeks Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits. After that, because of our high rate of unemployment, Congress passed 3 tiers of Emergency Unemployment Benefits (EUC) and one additional Extended Benefits (EB). EUC Tier 1: 20 weeks. EUC Tier 2: 14 weeks. EUC Tier 3: 13 weeks. EB: 20 weeks. Since Congress has not extended Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC), no new claims are able to be added. This means that when you complete a Tier, you cannot apply for the next Tier of benefits. Your benefits stop until/unless Congress approves extended benefits. Therefore, once you finish your standard unemployment (26 weeks) you cannot apply for additional tiers or EB. Or if you are in the middle of a Tier, once you complete that Tier, you cannot apply for another. Each week that Congress does not approve the extensions, millions more will fall off. Many will drop off at the end of 26 weeks. Many will drop off once they complete the Tier they are on. With unemployment rates hovering at about 10% nationally and the job outlook appearing bleak, with only 1 job for every 5 unemployed, it is heartless and inhumane to expect our unemployed to survive without unemployment extensions. Economists indicate these monies boost the economy with a return rate of $1.6 for every dollar provided. Republicans do not care about the Americans they are impacting. They continue to be the party of NO. They do not care that Americans are starving and in need of unemployment insurance. I've researched and studied a number of comment sections focusing on these extensions not passing. All commenters blame Republicans. I agree with them.
President Obama has lashed out at Senate Republicans regarding their "cold-hearted" efforts to block relief for unemployed Americans. He said they were “using their power to hold this relief (to unemployed Americans) hostage.” Currently, a new unemployment extension package lies in wait in the Senate with hopes of swift action next Monday, when Congress returns from the Fourth of July recess. The package is a much scaled down version of the previous version. The sponsors of the new bill - H.R. 5618, Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) a long time supporter of the nation’s workforce along with House Ways and Means Chairman Sander Levin (D-MI) worked hard to get a bill that would bring much needed relief to America’s unemployed workers.
President Obama, referencing the unemployment emergency, stated, “Still, at a time when millions of Americans feel a deep sense of urgency in their own lives, Republican leaders in Washington just don’t get it. While a majority of Senators support taking these steps to help the American people, some (primarily Republicans) are playing the same old Washington games and using their power to hold this relief hostage – a move that only ends up holding back our recovery. It doesn't make sense.”
Remarking about the economy, President Obama stated, “Well, on Friday, we learned that after 22 straight months of job loss, our economy has now created jobs in the private sector for 6 months in a row. That’s a positive sign. But the truth is, the recession from which we’re emerging has left us in a hole that’s about 8 million jobs deep. And as I’ve said from the day I took office, it’s going to take months, even years, to dig our way out – and it’s going to require an all-hands-on-deck effort.”
As the Senate returns to business on July 12, millions of unemployed Americans in desperate need of assistance have one ray of hope. W.V. Democrats and state labor leaders are pushing WV Gov Joe Manchin to fill the Senate spot held for more than half a century by the late Sen. Byrd. By naming himself Senator this week, Manchin becomes the 60th vote and on Monday, Senate Democrats could muster the votes to overcome Republican filibusters and pass an extension of unemployment benefits.
From my perspective, Republicans are a party of NO. They are digging in their heels. They think tax cuts are the only option left for economic recovery. They want the American Public as miserable as possible. Keep them unemployed by stopping the creation of new jobs. Deny them unemployment extensions. Let them starve. Make the American Public so miserable they believe the Federal Government is broken and therefore elect Republicans in November. Their goal is to end entitlements of any nature. Curtail all future Federal programs. Return power to the states where they think they have more influence because “Washington is Broken." At the state level, this means no unemployment benefits at all - even 26 weeks of benefits are in jeopardy because the states are broke. Already they are portraying the unemployed as "spoiled" and "Lazy." As Republican candidate for Nevada Senate and Tea Party favorite Sharon Angle said about the unemployed, "We’ve put in so much entitlement into our government that we really have spoiled our citizenry.” She said cutting them off from unemployment "will motivate them to find and accept any job, no matter the pay." She said this even though the Labor dept reported there is only 1 job for every 5 unemployed Americans.
Republicans will try to cut ALL entitlement programs. They are preparing to cut Social Security. If the public supports them they will cut Medicaid, Medicare and every other "Liberal Democrat" program. They will continue to support outsourcing so more jobs will be lost. If you believe in their vision and they win this power struggle, you may have lower taxes but you certainly will not have a job nor any benefits including insurance. We truly will evolve to two classes, the Rich Elite Conservatives/Business Owners and the desperately poor, unemployed masses.
WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives on Thursday voted down a measure that would have reauthorized extended unemployment insurance for another three months, leaving no clear path forward to prevent the benefits from lapsing as scheduled on Nov. 30.
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