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Senate Drops Jobless Help from Stimulus Package |
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The millions of jobless workers who are expected to run out of unemployment benefits during the next several months won’t be getting help from the U.S. Senate.
Republicans successfully derailed an economic stimulus bill last night that included an extension of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. This afternoon, Senate Democrats backed down and agreed to pass a House-passed stimulus plan that falls far short of reaching the people who need help the most as the economy teeters on recession.
Democrats gave up on their bid to add the UI extension and heating assistance for low-income families to the bill. Instead, in a separate vote, the Senate approved an extension of tax rebates for low-income seniors and veterans with disabilities. The final vote was 81-16 and the House is expected to go along with the changes, perhaps as early as this evening.
When the House bill was approved late last month, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said the plan:
simply is not enough to make a real difference for America’s working families.
Along with the UI extension, the AFL-CIO urged lawmakers to include a temporary increase in food stamp benefits, fiscal relief to the states and the acceleration of ready-to-go infrastructure construction projects.
2 Comments
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John Edwards where are you. With food prices and everthing else going up the increases in social security don’t keep up. While the Bush administration is to blame the Democrats don’t have the guts to fight back. If the NY Giants played that way they would have lost the Super Bowl.
Alas, I agree with alma; where is John Edwards when we need him?
The dems better realize that if they run another “Bushlite” type canidate; many a working person might well stay home (something the Kerry folks know quite well). Indeed we do “need change”, but a lot of change not a band-aid type approach to the serious problems we face.
The entire infra-structure of the nation is crumbling, safety-nets nonexistant and still no action. Were is the reform congress as well?