GOP Folds On Unemployment Benefits Fight: 14-Week Extension Passes

The GOP called for the check Wednesday night, having had enough of the fight over an extension of unemployment benefits that the party had held up for several weeks.

While the Senate was stuck in parliamentary limbo, some 200,000 people actively looking for work lost their unemployment benefits. The bill extends unemployment benefits for an additional 14 weeks across the country, and in some states with the highest unemployment the extension goes to 20 weeks. More on the bill here.

The extension itself was not controversial and passed 98-0. Getting there, however, was a Herculean parliamentary task that provides insight into just how hard it is to pass even popular legislation in the Senate with a minority party intent on opposing the majority's agenda step by laborious step.

Earlier Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called for the third cloture vote on the bill to break a GOP filibuster. It passed 97-1. (That would be one Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) as the lone Republican to object in public on this round.)

At that point, the GOP could have elected to require 30 hours of debate, plus an intervening day, before moving to final passage -- as they had insisted several times before, even after the pot had been sweetened for them. But later in the evening, they called it quits and agreed to move to a final vote.

Democrats charge that Republicans are chewing up the clock to oppose their overall agenda. But the Republicans say they weren't opposing unemployment or any other Democratic priority, but were rather standing up for their rights as senators in the minority.

"What the Republican leader was objecting to was the Democratic leader picking our amendments. That's what he insisted on doing and that's why there was a hold up," Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) told HuffPost.

"We believe that the essence of the Senate is the right to offer amendments. We understand about limiting amendments, making them relevant and agreeing to a time agreement so we can get our business done," said Alexander, a member of GOP leadership.

Reid did, in fact, object to several GOP amendments aimed at ACORN and the financial industry bailout, arguing that the ACORN issue has been litigated to death and that the bailout amendment was an attempted distraction.

On Wednesday, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said she simply couldn't understand what constituency Republicans thought they were benefiting by holding up unemployment benefits.

"Who are they representing?" she wondered.

UPDATE: The House passed the extension Thursday afternoon by a 403-12 vote and it now heads to the president's desk for his signature. The no votes can be found here. Most of those nays participated in Thursday's Tea Party protest.

Comments

[Kai2009]

Something I'm not hearing from anyone, yet...

High unemployment states ARE NOT getting the promised 20 weeks of extended unemployment benefits. California, New York, and many others will not get 20 weeks of benefits.

Why?

The law passed Friday breaks the 20 weeks of extensions into two parts. Part one is 14 weeks and part two is 6 weeks. Part one (14 weeks) must have been exhausted before the application for part two (6 weeks), and part two has to be applied for BEFORE 12/31/09. Now, there are only roughly 7 weeks left in 2009. That means it is impossible to apply for part two BEFORE 12/31/09... and that means no high unemployment state will see the promised 20 weeks of extended unemployment benefits.

Is thus true?

Yes. The State of California Employment Development Department has already published the warning that only 14 weeks of benefits will be available, and I have read a few newspaper reports on the subject. Also, I contacted my State Senators (D. Feinstein and B. Boxer) and confirmed this through their offices. Still, I have yet to see word of this by any large media outlet.

We have been stiffed and most people don't even know it.

[SilenceDoGood1776]

unemployment hits 10.2% historical high in a generation. Where's the story? Where's the stimulus? Oh that's right there waiting till next year when it may help them politically.

[lafayette2009]

Same as it was under Reagan in 1982?

Note that he lost 26 seats in the mid-terms, the unemployment rate was down to 7.6% by 1984 and he was reelected in a landslide.

[reno1190]

broun & price from the state of GA, all you unemployed rethugs hope you are paying attn but then again i know they are acting in your best interest voting against the extension.After all we are only the highest in foreclosures in the nation.

[uvymopka]

Good job Obama!

WASHINGTON – The unemployment rate has surpassed 10 percent for the first time since 1983 — and is likely to go higher.

[lafayette2009]

Did you yell at Reagan in 1982?

Note that he lost 26 seats in the mid-terms, the unemployment rate was down to 7.6% by 1984 and he was reelected in a landslide.

[Malina123]

I HAVE A Question-> I was recieving "Emergency benefits " under Tier 2 (7 Weeks), Am i going to get the Extention too? Does anyone know?

[uvymopka]

Sure you will....its a give away....everyone gets it.

[katooom]

Woohoo, another 14wks of funemployment

Hurry up and sign, I'm 7months in and want my money!! This is like early SocSec!

[reno1190]

id iot

[SouthPrairie]

May the Spirits mark this day as the dawn of the folding of their entire house of cards.

[factotem]

Boo-yah.
Get in line GOP.

[goodpyr]

The RepugniCAN'Ts held up the unemployment extension to prove a point.
They proved that they are small and mean spirited.That they have no compassion.
They sure showed what really cool guys they are.

[xlntcat]

I just hope that the DNC was taking notes and will out the Nays and the entire GOP Senate who stalled the extension of unemployment for 4 weeks.

[Uda]

Please note: At the final House vote to pass the unemployment extension bill, only 12 congressman nationwide voted against passage. Three of them were from Arizona - Jeff Flake, Trent Franks and John Shadegg. Of course, all being Republicans. I leave it up to you to determine who these people represent.

[Ifticar2]

Give a man a fish and he will be at your door tomorrow for another fish. Teach him to fish and you will never see him again. It is clear that Obama wants people to depend upon him for their fish.

[goodpyr]

Unfortunately the rivers and streams became dumpsites for indutrial waste and the damn fish are tainted with mercury.Now what's your solution?

[soisay]

And people with no fish and no means to acquire fish from the very few that own all the fish, will eventually participate in violent revolution to protect their families and children. In the meantime, the economy with disappear from the lack of consumption of goods, while all the fish rot in warehouses. Sorry, didn't mean to kill your analogy.

[totaldisbelief]

??Somali Pirates ??

[Ohsnap]

Unless he's out of worms. Then he'll be back.

[sviolette]

So it should be teach a man to dig worms and he will figure out how to fish on his own?

[bigfro]

What do you do if the republicans took all the fish from t he pond and there aren't
t any fish left

[totaldisbelief]

It's the "fishing grounds" that should be provided and then we can fish for ourselves.
Where are the New jobs?...where are the Projects?.....Who's hiring?

[Pilate]

"We believe that the essence of the Senate is the right to offer amendments," said Alexander, a member of GOP leadership.

No, Senator, the "essence of the Senate" is to write and pass legislation that can be enacted into law for the good of the People of the United States.

[xlntcat]

Apparently, the essence of the Senate is to be whatever the banks, big oil and the insurance monopolies tell them to do.

[totaldisbelief]

they sure aren't for us little guys

[billobasher]

I love how these red necks and Libertarians claim to want to go back to the "original intent" of the founding fathers. I guess this means we should return blacks to servitude. I guess this means the government should not regulate anything.

If a company builds airplanes and sells them to airlines, the government should not set saftey standards. After all, the is not in the Constitution. I guess since we all have the unlimited right to bear arms, that we should be allowed to all keep suitcase nukes in our cars. Afterall, the Constitution does not say what "arms" are. Or better yet, we should go back to having only MUSKET guns.

I guess we should abide by the "Natural born citizen clause" for Presidents. If we do NO ONE could be president because it reads one must be a "Natural born citizen at the TIME the Constitution was written."

The simplistic right wingers and Libertarian view of the Constittuion is absurd. They do not see it as a living breathing document. They see it set in stone like the 10 Comandments."

[sviolette]

Talk about old presidents. We would also have to close all of the post offices. There wasn't even a pony express at the time of the constitution. No EPA. The air force would be hot air balloons.

[xlntcat]

And all libraries and public schools.

[grata2ude]

The Grand Old P ricks still s crewing after all these years.

[samilli3]

i guess they figured if we don't apporve, we will lose elections because people are worried about unemployment etc

[Ohsnap]

In a country full of billions of people, the Tea Partiers could only muster up the 10,000 people? We could probably round up 10,000 people in Wisconsin alone who would favor health care reform.

[xlntcat]

Well, let get honest. The teabaggers are the ones showing up not those who claim to support healthcare reform. I know that teabaggers are getting paid to show up but it does give them a much louder voice.

[susanai]

You are so right. All I here are Democrats belly-aching with their keyboards. Get off the chair and back your politicians, you don't need a reason. Just go and tell him you are right there with him/her.