Senate blocks jobless aid

[Keefer]

Source: Politico

The Senate blocked two separate proposals to revive emergency unemployment benefits that expired in December, all but killing the prospects of reviving jobless aid for now.

The chamber voted 52-48 to reject a bill that would have extended benefits through November and pay for it by extending the sequester’s mandatory spending cuts into 2024. A different measure to extend the aid for three months — without a pay-for — was defeated 55-45.

The votes capped a tumultuous week of positioning on the bill, which fits into the Democrats’ election year focus on income inequality. There was initial progress last week when six Republicans joined with Democrats to open debate on the issue. But that goodwill quickly devolved into partisan sparring over the length of the benefits and whether to pay for their continuation.

Until just before Tuesday’s roll calls, it was unclear if the vote would even go forward. Several previously scheduled votes were canceled, some due to weather problems last week and others because of familiar partisan divides.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/unemployment-benefits-update-102165.html?hp=t1

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Here we go.

[Iliyah]

1. The GOPers want the filibuster back

as well as cuts to programs that benefit the needy and of course no raising taxes on the 1-2%ers.

Again, if they are sooooooooo concerned about how to pay for UI then I suggest to GOPers - repay the USA for the shutdown - $24 billion.

[rhett o rick]

13. Didnt they use it on these bills? nm

[tridim]

2. I can not wait until the elections. The GOP is going down.

[PatrynXX]

5. I would hope

First we need to get rid of the Conservatives who are holding up the votes. it's the Conservative Party (with a side order of Tea) vs the Liberal/Progressive party. Until then we get what we get. Conservatives

[Demo_Chris]

8. Not over this they're not. We own this one just as much as they do. nt

[PatrynXX]

3. Easiest way to pay for this....

is to eliminate the Bush Tax Cuts that weren't paid for. Duh!!

[theHandpuppet]

4. Disgusting

Our system is broken.

[sulphurdunn]

6. Not broken at all.

It continues to serve the people it was designed to serve quite well. It's just that those people aren't you and me.

[Demo_Chris]

9. Yep, we keep voting hoping for the occassional crumb. nt

[frazzled]

7. This is so incredibly sad

In the meantime, the Senate spends billions on stalling and shutting down the government. These people would rather flush money down the toilet than help the least among us.

[choie]

10. okay, could somebody kindly explain

to me why Reid would agree to a 60 vote threshold? Hasn't this backfired before? What the hell is going on?

[cosmicone]

11. Some democrats must have voted with the rethugs .. who? n/t

[gwheezie]

15. the vote is on the senate.gov site

the fuckers

[rhett o rick]

16. The article says that 60 votes were needed to pass. That means that the GOP filibustered

it.

[freshwest]

12. To extend the sequester through 2024 is a disaster. Some say they'd refuse to vote on that.

The GOP continues to extort the country, punishing us for not voting for what in the end, would have been even worse. Romney, Ryan and Paul's radical regressive system. They laughed shutting down the government in one fell swoop as Paul and Cruz wanted to do with default. Now they're going to keep on strangling us in slow motion.

[octoberlib]

25. And look who benefits.

But a study published last November in The Journal of Politics suggests that this sorry state of affairs is good news for a small group of Americans at the top of the economic pile. “Washington gridlock helps the super-rich stay rich, and get richer,” says Thomas Volscho, a sociologist at the City University of New York and one of the authors of the study. “And the richer they get, the more the gridlock actually helps them.”

The researchers looked back over 70 years of data, and found that the more dysfunctional Washington is, the bigger the share of the pie the top one percent tends to grab. And most importantly, they also found that when economic inequality is high, the kind of polarization and gridlock that have been the hallmark of Washington since Barack Obama’s election make legislative efforts to change course all-but-impossible.

http://billmoyers.com/2014/01/06/study-polarization-and-gridlock-work-well-for-the-wealthiest-americans/

[PSPS]

17. Politico's usual GOP slant. It was filibustered so it should say "GOP blocks jobless aid."

[yeoman6987]

22. It cannot be "GOP blocks Jobless Aid"

It is impossible to have that title because it was bipartisan. 3 Democrats voted for it too.

[ctsnowman]

18. No surprise here.

[Stuart G]

19. Bennet, Landrieu and Udall. (Colorado) Ds opposed to cloture...link to both votes here:

all Republicans voted against cloture....
first vote 52 to 48

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=2&vote=00009



second vote 55 to 45...direct party vote:

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=2&vote=00010

[BP2]

26. Bennet, Landrieu and Udall

Grrrrr!

[SCVDem]

20. I wonder how the suicide rate is doing?

Thanks a lot you bastards!

You killed us!

[adirondacker]

23. That, and malnutrition, stress induced health problems including depression, spousal and child abuse

drug abuse. Cancerous fuckers they are.

[adirondacker]

21. Hunger Game Superbowl. 1.3 million + families effected by corporate sponsored political football. nt

[blkmusclmachine]

24. GOP to America: "Starve, you worthless mutherf/ckers!!!"

[muriel_volestrangler]

27. Kick (nt)

[polynomial]

28. Gluttonous Old Party, the GOP

Today, reflecting on this issue of unemployment, which is connected to employment, that is a direct result of Congress and Senate policies. And all trade agreements that are made especially those that are done behind closed doors in secret those too big to fail “Political Contrapasso Criminal Gluttons”. Appear to attract all kinds of economic parasites of the Romney kind torqued in secret perpetuated party boss deciders to smooth talk our very own treasury and Federal Reserve board.

Would it be something if as a citizen that made a mistake in their daily living practice could have that wonderful feeling to be able to say “gee my derivative decision just didn’t work out for me it’s too complicated to explain the money I need to get bailed out is needed because the country will certainly fail.” Oh thank you at the federal reserve. My bank number will be in the next message. Please take action for my bailout as soon as you can. Thanks again yours truly no lie. John Doe, citizen.

Banking advertisements appearing at regular diurnal moments in the hour by rhetoric commercial that jack hammers the public 24/7. By Gold we are doomed, or a new way to look at your portfolio. My portfolio is the poverty retirement plan in progress. I don’t see advertisements for that one which is half the population.

On the serious side the current Congress and Senate are applying an ancient draconian economic system of the thirteenth century. A very real Occam’s Razor approach that is medieval, out step wouldn’t you say. Worse just a small slippery slope and America cuts it’s economic throat. Sheesh, it so crazy many go googling to goggling in explanations.

However finally some sense of order is in what Senator Durbin of Illinois is saying please take a look, it makes sense to me in this economy of the time. Dr. Durbin, if you did not know holds a PhD a doctor of Humane Letters & Science. Here Dr. Durbin earns my respect in his expression for grace and laity for the unemployed.

http://www.durbin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/videos?ID=a49486db-7376-41e5-a4ba-21a7b1fa8fc7