–Senate Majority Leader: Vote Will Occur After New Senator Sworn In
–Senate Minority Leader Says UI Extension Should Be Offset
–Sen. McConnell: UI Extension Should Be Offset With Unused Stimulus
By John Shaw
WASHINGTON (MNI) – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Tuesday said
the Senate will vote at 2:30 p.m. in the afternoon to end the debate on
extending unemployment benefits.
In comments on the Senate floor, Reid the Senate will vote to
invoke cloture after the new interim senator from West Virginia, Carte
Goodwin, is sworn in.
This would give the supporters of the legislation the 60 votes
needed to end the debate on extending the benefits.
A final Senate vote on the UI benefits could occur later Thursday.
The measure must still be approved by the House.
The bill would retroactively give UI benefits to more than 2
million people who have lost them since the end of May. It extends
funding through Nov. 30.
Speaking after Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said
Republicans continue to believe that the $34 billion UI package should
be offset by tapping unused funds from last year’s fiscal stimulus bill.
“The debate is not about UI,” McConnell said, adding that
Republicans believe the nation’s debt is “spinning completely out of
control.”
McConnell said it is wrong to add $34 billion to the public debt.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin then chided McConnell for
insisting on offsets for the UI extension, saying that Congress has
typically extended UI benefits without offsets.
He said Republican insistence on offsets for UI benefits on the
basis of fiscal concerns is disingenuous, given their support for tax
cuts that are not offset.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **
[TOPICS: M$U$$$,MFU$$$,MCU$$$]
