Thursday, November 18, 2010

House GOP blocks bill to extend jobless benefits

As expected.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40258413/ns/politics-capitol_hill/

By ANDREW TAYLOR
The Associated Press
updated 11/18/2010 2:46:07 PM ET 2010-11-18T19:46:07

WASHINGTON — Republicans in the House Thursday blocked a bill that would have extended jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed beyond the holiday season.

An extension of jobless benefits enacted this summer expires Dec. 1, and unless they are renewed, two million people will lose benefits averaging $310 a week nationwide by the end of December.

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Every recession since 1950 has featured an extended federal benefits program financed with deficit dollars. That's a precedent Democrats refused to break when battling with Republicans for months earlier this year to extend the program.

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But allowing benefits to expire in the holiday season may draw negative attention to Republicans, especially when measured against their insistence that tax cuts for upper-income taxpayers not be allowed to expire.

"We have never cut off benefits for out-of-work Americans where the unemployment rates have been this high," said Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash. "Without this extension, temporary federal extended benefits will shut down ... denying benefits to two million of our fellow citizens over the holiday season."
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1 comment:

Patricia said...

I feel the same way. I never tried to make President Obama look bad. I have stood up for him and corrected misstatements about him on other blogs. And I have posted articles here about how Republicans have worked to block efforts by the Democratic Congress and President to help the economy, for the sake of their (the Republicans) political gain.

Eg., I posted information about how the Republicans have been blocking literally hundreds of President Obama's appointments.

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