Article:
Senate negotiators struck a bipartisan deal Thursday that would renew federal unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless, allowing for retroactive payments to go to more than 2 million Americans whose benefits expired in late December. 
  
 Ten senators, evenly divided among Democrats and Republicans, announced the pact and set up a timeline in which the legislation could pass the Senate in late March. 
  
 Its outcome in the House remains up in the air, however. Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), who has opposed previous Senate plans as insufficient in providing offsetting cuts, did not offer a statement on the new proposal. 
  
 With 55 members of the Democratic caucus supporting an extension of unemployment benefits, the five Republican supporters of the legislation provide just enough votes to clear the 60-vote hurdle needed to pass the legislation. 
  
 “It has now been 75 days since UI expired, and it needs to be renewed. We’re not at the finish line yet, but this is a bipartisan breakthrough,” Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the lead sponsor of the legislation, said in a statement. 
  
 View Graphic Who are the long-term unemployed? 
  
 “I’m pleased that we’ve reached an agreement that will get a sufficient number of Republican votes,” lead Republican negotiator Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) told reporters. 
  
 Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) signaled that the legislation would create a five-month extension of the federal benefits plan for the jobless, backdating the extension to late December, when the program expired. It will run through the end of May, if it passes the House and is signed into law. 
  
 The bill would effectively restart a key aid program for long-term unemployed workers whose jobless benefits went beyond state limits, which are about 26 weeks with some variation for each state. 
  
 The roughly $10 billion cost of the renewed federal jobless benefits would be offset by extending fees on goods coming through U.S. Customs and an alteration to the way corporations contribute to pensions, the senators announced. 
  
 In addition, the legislation will include two changes to the unemployment program, one of which will require more job training for long-term jobless workers in order to continue receiving insurance benefits. Also, the legislation includes a provision that eliminates state or federal unemployment benefits for laid-off workers whose gross income the previous year topped $1 million — which, according to federal estimates, represented 0.03 percent of all recipients. 
  
 Some Republicans involved in the discussions felt that the additional reforms to the unemployment program were insufficient, involving something akin to a promise of more changes to the unemployment program down the line. 
  
 “We’ve heard too many promises from this administration to buy in to that,” said Sen. Daniel Coats (R-Ind.), who has been involved in the talks but declined to co-sponsor the new deal. 
  
 Thursday’s announcement capped 21 / 2 months of talks in the Senate that began in earnest in early January after the law for the federal emergency unemployment program expired. Those extra benefits began late in the George W. Bush administration, as the Great Recession began, and have continued throughout the Obama administration. 
  
 For years, those extra federal jobless benefits won congressional approval without any offsetting spending cuts, but by late last year Republicans said that the unemployment program should no longer be considered “emergency” spending and should instead be brought into the normal portion of the budget. 
  
 That set off a long debate and weeks of closed-door negotiations, led by Reed and Heller, who represent the two states with the worst unemployment rates in the nation. 
  
 The issue of handling long-term jobless workers has become a key fault line in the national economy. Experts are struggling to find ways to get unemployed workers back into the economy, given that many of those who have lost their jobs come from industries that are disappearing from the United States. 
  
 Additionally, with Congress otherwise gridlocked on how to boost the economy, unemployment insurance payments represented one of the only forms of stimulus that the federal government is providing as job creation remains stagnant. ||||| Senators struck a bipartisan deal on Thursday to revive expired long-term jobless benefits following months of dramatic stops and starts on the issue. 
  
 After an afternoon of frantic negotiations, five senators from each party announced a deal that should finally deliver 60 votes necessary for the aid package to pass the Senate, barring procedural snags. 
  
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 The behind-the-scenes horse-trading was so furious that the deal was not finalized until minutes before the 4:15 p.m. announcement. Many senators were unaware that their colleagues had just struck an agreement on jobless aid that has evaded the Senate for weeks. 
  
 (Earlier on POLITICO: Senate UI vote unlikely this week) 
  
 The negotiations were led by Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.), each hailing from states with high unemployment. They were joined by GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Rob Portman of Ohio and Mark Kirk of Illinois and Democratic Sens. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Dick Durbin of Illinois. 
  
 Buy-in from progressive Democrats like Booker, Brown and Merkley illustrates a broad well of Democratic support for the bill, which lawmakers hope can prematurely quell any rebellion by liberals over concerns that too much was given to the GOP. 
  
 The White House praised the compromise several hours after the announcement. 
  
 “It’s the right thing to do for our economy. The President urges the Senate to pass the bill and for the House to do the same so that he can sign it into law,” press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement. 
  
 (Earlier on POLITICO: And the GOP economic plan is...?) 
  
 It will be awhile before the package sees a vote. The jobless aid package will be considered in late March after the Senate returns from its St. Patrick’s Day recess — though Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said aid to Ukraine will be the first order of business on March 24. And the legislation still must go through a conservative House, where aides to Speaker John Boehner declined to offer an assessment of the Senate deal on Thursday. 
  
 If it passes, the deal could be a mixed blessing for Democrats by depriving them — for a couple months at least — of a potent election-year weapon against Republicans: that the GOP doesn’t care about the unemployed. Republicans, meanwhile, claimed that it was Reid who was obstructing a deal with his tight grip over the Senate floor. 
  
 The compromise would retroactively restore for five months long-term unemployment benefits that expired on Dec. 28. The bill would be paid for by an extension of U.S. Customs fees established by the recent budget deal through 2024 and by making changes to federal pension programs over the next 10 years. The legislation would prohibit millionaires and billionaires from getting unemployment benefits and also provide for enhanced job training and placement programs. 
  
 But deal-seeking Republicans didn’t get everything they wanted. Notably absent were Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Dan Coats (R-Ind.), who engaged in negotiations with Democrats but were not listed as co-sponsors of the legislation. Coats, the most conservative senator involved in the debate, said he was eventually “frozen out.” 
  
 Coats said negotiators would not include his language that would have denied unemployment benefits to those that have received “suitable” job offers. He rejected an offer that would have launched a study into his suitability language and said the dispute would make it hard for him to ultimately support the bill. 
  
 “I’ll give it one final look,” Coats said. “If you conclude I’m a ‘no,’ that’s a pretty good conclusion.” 
  
 Ayotte said that she hopes for a chance to continue to beef up the reforms in the bill. 
  
 ”My hope is there will be further debate and opportunities to amend this proposal and add real reforms to ensure that it better helps the chronically unemployed get back on the job,” Ayotte said through a spokeswoman on Friday morning. 
  
 The legislation appears destined to skate through the Senate by the barest of margins if all 55 Democratic Caucus members vote with the five currently supportive Republicans in order to break a filibuster of the bill. 
  
 Reed and Heller said they were confident the agreement would be one that can pass the Senate, though they still must deal with shepherding the bill through a chamber where controversial amendments have derailed plenty of bipartisan legislation. 
  
 “We want to get it done and we want to get it done in a timely way,” Reed said. 
  
 Kirk, one of the Republican sponsors of the legislation, said he was hopeful the bill could pass the Senate but added: “Sometimes you ask me to get into the head of Harry Reid. It’s really tough.” 
  
 Democrats have highlighted the expired unemployment benefits to slam Republicans as being unsympathetic to those still struggling in the economy. But Republicans claimed Democrats were blocking their amendments, resulting in a months-long impasse on the issue that saw several false starts. 
  
 Reid has brought unemployment legislation to the floor several times this year. But Republicans blocked it each time, concerned over how the legislation’s cost would be covered and angry over Reid’s procedural clampdown. 
  
 Manu Raju contributed to this report. |||||Summary:
– Long-term unemployed people who lost their benefits at the end of last year now have hope of getting that money after all. A group of bipartisan senators struck a deal today to extend the benefits for five months, retroactive to December, reports Politico. Because five Republicans already have signed on to the deal, it should have enough votes to clear the full Senate, reports the Washington Post. Whether it can clear the House, however, is a dicier proposition. Under the deal, the $10 billion cost would be offset in part by US Customs fees. “It has now been 75 days since UI expired, and it needs to be renewed," says one of the lead negotiators, Democrat Jack Reed of Rhode Island. "We’re not at the finish line yet, but this is a bipartisan breakthrough."
Artikel: Senatsförhandlare gjorde en tvåpartiaffär torsdag som skulle förnya federala arbetslöshetsförmåner för de långtidsarbetslösa, vilket gjorde det möjligt för retroaktiva utbetalningar att gå till mer än 2 miljoner amerikaner vars förmåner löpte ut i slutet av december. Tio senatorer, jämnt fördelade mellan demokrater och republikaner, tillkännagav pakten och satte upp en tidslinje där lagstiftningen kunde passera senaten i slutet av mars. Dess resultat i kammaren är dock fortfarande uppe i luften. Talman John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), som har motsatt sig tidigare senatsplaner som otillräckliga i att tillhandahålla kompensationsnedskärningar, gav inte något uttalande om det nya förslaget. Med 55 medlemmar av demokraterna som stöder en utvidgning av arbetslöshetsunderstöden ger de fem republikanska anhängarna av lagstiftningen tillräckligt med röster för att klara av det 60-röstshinder som krävs för att anta lagstiftningen. “Det har nu varit 75 dagar sedan UI gick ut, och det måste förnyas. Vi är inte på mållinjen ännu, men detta är en bipartisan genombrott, "Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), den ledande sponsor av lagstiftningen, sade i ett uttalande. Visa Grafik Vilka är långtidsarbetslösa? “Jag är glad att vi har nått en överenskommelse som kommer att få ett tillräckligt antal republikanska röster,” leda republikanska förhandlare Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) berättade reportrar. Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) signalerade att lagstiftningen skulle skapa en fem månader lång förlängning av den federala förmånsplanen för de arbetslösa, och backade upp förlängningen till slutet av december, då programmet gick ut. Den kommer att löpa fram till slutet av maj, om den passerar kammaren och undertecknas i lag. Propositionen skulle i praktiken starta om ett viktigt stödprogram för långtidsarbetslösa vars arbetslöshetsförmåner gick utöver de statliga gränserna, som är cirka 26 veckor med viss variation för varje stat. Den ungefär $ 10 miljarder kostnaden för de förnyade federala arbetslösa förmåner skulle kompenseras genom att utöka avgifter på varor som kommer genom amerikanska tullen och en förändring av hur företag bidrar till pensioner, meddelade senatorerna. Dessutom kommer lagstiftningen att innehålla två ändringar av arbetslöshetsprogrammet, varav en kommer att kräva mer jobbutbildning för långtidsarbetslösa för att kunna fortsätta att få försäkringsförmåner. Lagstiftningen innehåller också en bestämmelse som eliminerar statliga eller federala arbetslöshetsförmåner för permitterade arbetstagare vars bruttoinkomst året innan toppade 1 miljon dollar — vilket enligt federala beräkningar utgjorde 0,03 procent av alla mottagare. En del republikaner som deltog i diskussionerna ansåg att de ytterligare reformerna av arbetslöshetsprogrammet var otillräckliga, vilket innebar något som liknade ett löfte om fler förändringar av arbetslöshetsprogrammet längre fram. — Vi ha hört för många löften från denna administration att köpa in sig på det, sade Sen. Daniel Coats (R-Ind. ), som har deltagit i samtalen men avböjt att medsponsra den nya affären. Torsdagens tillkännagivande begränsade 21 / 2 månader av samtal i senaten som började på allvar i början av januari efter lagen för den federala akut arbetslöshet programmet löpte ut. Dessa extra förmåner började sent i George W. Bush-administrationen, som den stora recessionen började, och har fortsatt under hela Obama-administrationen. Under flera år vann dessa extra federala jobblösa förmåner kongressens godkännande utan några kompenserande utgiftsnedskärningar, men i slutet av förra året Republikanerna sade att arbetslöshetsprogrammet inte längre bör betraktas som "nödvändiga" utgifter och bör istället föras in i den normala delen av budgeten. Detta utlöste en lång debatt och veckor av slutna förhandlingar, under ledning av Reed och Heller, som representerar de två stater som har den värsta arbetslösheten i landet. Frågan om att hantera långtidsarbetslösa arbetstagare har blivit en viktig fellinje i den nationella ekonomin. Experter kämpar för att hitta sätt att få in arbetslösa arbetstagare i ekonomin igen, med tanke på att många av dem som har förlorat sina jobb kommer från industrier som håller på att försvinna från USA. Dessutom, med kongressen annars gridlocked om hur man kan öka ekonomin, arbetslöshetsförsäkringsutbetalningar utgjorde en av de enda formerna av stimulans som den federala regeringen ger som skapandet av arbetstillfällen förblir stillastående. Senatorer gjorde en tvåpartiaffär på torsdag för att återuppliva uttjänta långtidsarbetslösa förmåner efter månader av dramatiska uppehåll och börjar med frågan. Efter en eftermiddag av frenetiska förhandlingar meddelade fem senatorer från varje parti en uppgörelse som slutligen skulle leverera 60 röster som var nödvändiga för att biståndspaketet skulle passera senaten, vilket hindrade procedurella snaror. Textstorlek - + nollställning Bakom kulisserna hästhandel var så rasande att affären inte slutfördes förrän minuter innan tillkännagivandet kl. 16:15. Många senatorer var omedvetna om att deras kolleger just hade träffat en överenskommelse om hjälp utan arbete som har undvikit senaten i flera veckor. (Tidigare på POLITICO: Senaten UI röstar osannolikt denna vecka) Förhandlingarna leddes av Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) och Dean Heller (R-Nev.), som var och en kommer från stater med hög arbetslöshet. De fick sällskap av GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski av Alaska, Susan Collins av Maine, Rob Portman av Ohio och Mark Kirk av Illinois och Democratic Sens. Jeff Merkley från Oregon, Cory Booker från New Jersey, Sherrod Brown från Ohio och Dick Durbin från Illinois. Buy-in från progressiva demokrater som Booker, Brown och Merkley illustrerar en bred brunn av demokratiskt stöd för lagförslaget, vilket lagstiftare hoppas kan i förtid dämpa varje uppror av liberaler över oro över att för mycket gavs till GOP. Vita huset berömde kompromissen flera timmar efter tillkännagivandet. – Det är det rätta att göra för vår ekonomi. Presidenten uppmanar senaten att anta lagförslaget och att kammaren ska göra detsamma så att han kan underteckna det i lag,” pressekreterare Jay Carney sade i ett uttalande. Och GOP:s ekonomiska plan är...? Det kommer att dröja ett tag innan paketet får se en omröstning. Det arbetslösa biståndspaketet kommer att övervägas i slutet av mars efter senaten återvänder från sin St Patrick Day paus — även om senaten Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) sade bistånd till Ukraina kommer att vara den första arbetsplanen den 24 mars. Och lagstiftningen måste fortfarande gå igenom ett konservativt hus, där medhjälpare till talman John Boehner avböjde att erbjuda en bedömning av senatsaffären på torsdag. Om det går över kan affären vara en blandad välsignelse för demokraterna genom att beröva dem – åtminstone under ett par månader – ett kraftfullt valårsvapen mot republikanerna: att GOP inte bryr sig om de arbetslösa. Republikanerna hävdade att det var Reid som hindrade ett avtal med hans grepp om senaten. Kompromissen skulle retroaktivt återställa de fem månaders långtidsförmåner för arbetslösa som löpte ut den 28 dec. Lagförslaget skulle betalas genom en förlängning av amerikanska tullavgifter som fastställts genom den senaste budgetaffären genom 2024 och genom att göra ändringar i federala pensionsprogram under de kommande 10 åren. Lagstiftningen skulle förbjuda miljonärer och miljardärer från att få arbetslöshetsförmåner och även ge möjlighet till bättre utbildning och praktikprogram. Men deal-sökande republikaner fick inte allt de ville. Noterbart frånvarande var Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) och Dan Coats (R-Ind. ), som deltog i förhandlingar med demokraterna men inte var medförslagsställare till lagstiftningen. Coats, den mest konservativa senatorn som deltar i debatten, sade att han så småningom “frystes ut.” Coats sade förhandlare skulle inte inkludera hans språk som skulle ha förnekat arbetslöshetsförmåner till dem som har fått “lämpliga” jobberbjudanden. Han avvisade ett erbjudande som skulle ha inlett en undersökning av hans lämplighet språk och sade tvisten skulle göra det svårt för honom att i slutändan stödja lagförslaget. — Jag ska ge det en sista titt, sade Coats. — Om du drar slutsatsen att jag är ett nej, det är en ganska bra slutsats. sade Ayotte, att hon hoppas på en chans att fortsätta att skärpa reformerna i lagförslaget. – Jag hoppas att det kommer att bli ytterligare debatt och möjligheter att ändra detta förslag och lägga till verkliga reformer för att se till att det bättre hjälper kroniskt arbetslösa att komma tillbaka på jobbet, sade Ayotte genom en talekvinna på fredag morgon. Lagstiftningen verkar vara ämnad att åka genom senaten med barest av marginaler om alla 55 demokratiska Caucus medlemmar röstar med de fem för närvarande stödjande republikanerna för att bryta en filibuster av lagförslaget. Reed och Heller sade att de var övertygade om att avtalet skulle vara ett avtal som kan passera senaten, även om de fortfarande måste hantera herdearbete lagförslaget genom en kammare där kontroversiella ändringsförslag har spårat ur massor av tvåpartilagstiftning. "Vi vill få det gjort och vi vill få det gjort i rätt tid," Reed sade. Kirk, en av de republikanska sponsorerna av lagstiftningen, sade att han hoppades att lagförslaget skulle kunna gå igenom senaten, men tillade: ” Ibland ber du mig att komma in i Harry Reids huvud. Det är verkligen tufft. "Demokraterna har lyft fram de utgångna arbetslöshetsförmånerna för att slam republikaner som är osympatiska till dem som fortfarande kämpar i ekonomin. Men republikanerna hävdade att demokrater blockerade deras ändringsförslag, vilket resulterade i en månadslång återvändsgränd i frågan som såg flera falska starter. Reid har tagit upp arbetslöshetslagstiftningen flera gånger i år. Men republikanerna blockerade den varje gång, oroade sig över hur lagstiftningens kostnader skulle täckas och vredgade över Reids procedurmässiga nedtryckning. Manu Raju bidrog till detta betänkande. ••••••••••••••••••••••
Article: Senate negotiators made a two-party deal Thursday that would renew federal unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed, allowing retroactive payments to go to more than 2 million Americans whose benefits expired at the end of December. Ten senators, evenly distributed between Democrats and Republicans, announced the pact and set up a timeline in which the legislation could pass the Senate by the end of March. However, its results in this House are still in the air. Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), who has opposed previous Senate plans as inadequate in providing compensation cuts, did not give a statement on the new proposal. With 55 members of the Democrats supporting an extension of unemployment benefits, the five Republican supporters of the legislation give enough votes to cope with the 60-vote hurdle required to pass the legislation. “It has now been 75 days since UI expired, and it must be renewed. We're not on the finish line yet, but this is a bipartisan breakthrough," Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the leading sponsor of the legislation, said in a statement. View Graphics Who are the long-term unemployed? “I’m glad we’ve reached an agreement that will get a sufficient number of Republican votes,” leading Republican negotiators Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) told reporters. Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) signaled that the legislation would create a five-month extension of the federal benefit plan for the unemployed, backing up the extension until the end of December, when the program expired. It will run until the end of May, if it passes the House and is signed into law. The bill would in practice restart an important long-term unemployed support programme whose unemployment benefits went beyond the state limits, which is about 26 weeks with some variation for each state. The roughly $10 billion cost of the renewed federal unemployed benefits would be compensated by extending fees on goods coming through U.S. Customs and a change in how companies contribute to pensions, Senators announced. In addition, the legislation will include two changes to the unemployment programme, one of which will require more job training for the long-term unemployed in order to continue to receive insurance benefits. The legislation also includes a provision that eliminates state or federal unemployment benefits for laid off workers whose gross income in the previous year peaked $1 million — which, according to federal estimates, accounted for 0.03 percent of all recipients. Some Republicans who took part in the discussions felt that the further reforms of the unemployment program were inadequate, which meant something similar to a promise of further changes to the unemployment program later on. “We have heard too many promises from this administration to buy in on it,” said Sen. Daniel Coats (R-Ind. ), which has participated in the talks but declined to co-sponsor the new deal. Thursday's announcement limited 21 / 2 months of talks in the Senate that began in earnest in early January after the law for the federal emergency unemployment program expired. These extra benefits began late in the George W. Bush administration, as the Great Recession began, and have continued throughout the Obama administration. For several years, these extra federal jobless benefits won Congress approval without any compensatory spending cuts, but at the end of last year Republicans said that the unemployment program should no longer be regarded as "necessary" spending and should instead be inserted into the normal portion of the budget. This sparked a long debate and weeks of closed negotiations, led by Reed and Heller, representing the two states with the worst unemployment in the country. The issue of dealing with long-term unemployed workers has become an important misline in the national economy. Experts are struggling to find ways to bring unemployed workers back into the economy, given that many of those who have lost their jobs come from industries that are disappearing from the United States. In addition, with Congress otherwise gridlocked on how to increase the economy, unemployment insurance payments constituted one of the only forms of stimulus provided by the federal government as job creation remains stagnant. Senators made a two-party deal on Thursday to revive end-of-life long-term unemployed benefits after months of dramatic hiatus and begin with the issue. After an afternoon of frenzied negotiations, five senators from each party announced a settlement that would ultimately deliver 60 votes necessary for the aid package to pass the Senate, preventing procedural snares. Text size - + zero position Behind the scenes horse trading was so furious that the deal was not completed until minutes before the announcement at 4:15 p.m. Many senators were unaware that their colleagues had just reached an agreement for help without work that has avoided the Senate for weeks. (Formerly at POLITICO: Senate UI votes unlikely this week) The negotiations were led by Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.), each coming from states with high unemployment. They were joined by GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Rob Portman of Ohio and Mark Kirk of Illinois and Democratic Sens. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Dick Durbin of Illinois. Buy-in from progressive Democrats such as Booker, Brown and Merkley illustrates a broad well of democratic support for the bill, which legislators hope can prematurely dampen any rebellion by Liberals over concerns that too much was given to the GOP. The White House praised the compromise several hours after the announcement. “It’s the right thing to do for our economy. The President calls on the Senate to pass the bill and for the House to do the same so that he can sign it into law,” press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement. And the GOP's financial plan is...? It will be a while before the package sees a vote. The unemployed aid package will be considered at the end of March after the Senate returns from its St Patrick Day break — although Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said assistance to Ukraine will be the first order of business on March 24. And the legislation still has to go through a conservative house, where aides to Speaker John Boehner declined to offer an assessment of the Senate affair on Thursday. If it passes, the deal can be a mixed blessing to the Democrats by depriving them – at least for a few months – of a powerful election year weapon against the Republicans: that the GOP does not care about the unemployed. The Republicans claimed it was Reid who prevented an agreement with his grip on the Senate. The compromise would retroactively restore the long-term benefits for the unemployed which expired on Dec. 28. The bill would be paid by an extension of US customs fees set by the latest budget deal through 2024 and by making changes to federal pension programs over the next 10 years. The legislation would ban millionaires and billionaires from receiving unemployment benefits and also provide for better training and traineeship programmes. But deal-seeking Republicans didn't get everything they wanted. Notably absent was Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Dan Coats (R-Ind. ), who participated in negotiations with the Democrats but were not co-proponents of the legislation. Coats, the most conservative senator involved in the debate, said that he was eventually “frozen out.” Coats said negotiators would not include his language that would have denied unemployment benefits to those who have received “appropriate” job offers. He rejected an offer that would have begun an investigation into his suitability language and said the dispute would make it difficult for him to ultimately support the bill. “I’ll give it one last look,” Coats said. “If you conclude that I am a no, that’s a pretty good conclusion,” said Ayotte, “that she hopes for a chance to continue tightening up the reforms of the bill. I hope there will be further debate and opportunities to change this proposal and add real reforms to ensure that the better helps the chronically unemployed get back to work, said Ayotte through a spokeswoman on Friday morning. The legislation appears to be intended to go through the Senate by barest of margins if all 55 Democratic Caucus members vote with the five currently supporting Republicans to break a filibuster of the bill. Reed and Heller said they were convinced that the agreement would be an agreement that could pass the Senate, although they still have to deal with shepherding the bill through a chamber where controversial amendments have derailed scores of bipartisan legislation. "We want it done and we want it done at the right time," Reed said. Kirk, one of the Republican sponsors of the legislation, said that he hoped the bill could go through the Senate, but added: “Sometimes you ask me to come into Harry Reid’s head. It's really tough."The Democrats have highlighted the expired unemployment benefits to slam Republicans who are unsympathetic to those who are still struggling in the economy. But Republicans claimed Democrats blocked their amendments, resulting in a month-long dead end on the issue that saw several false starts. Reid has mentioned unemployment legislation several times this year. But the Republicans blocked it every time, worried about how the costs of legislation would be covered and angry over Reid's procedural suppression. Mr Raju contributed to this report. <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk>
– Långtidsarbetslösa som förlorade sina förmåner i slutet av förra året har nu hopp om att få de pengarna trots allt. En grupp tvåpartiserade senatorer kom överens idag om att förlänga förmånerna med fem månader, retroaktivt till december, rapporterar Politico. Eftersom fem republikaner redan har skrivit på avtalet, borde det ha tillräckligt med röster för att rensa hela senaten, rapporterar Washington Post. Huruvida det kan rensa kammaren är dock ett mer relevant förslag. Enligt avtalet skulle kostnaden på 10 miljarder dollar delvis kompenseras av amerikanska tullavgifter. “Det har nu varit 75 dagar sedan UI gick ut, och det måste förnyas,” säger en av de ledande förhandlarna, demokraten Jack Reed på Rhode Island. "Vi är inte vid mållinjen ännu, men detta är ett bipartiskt genombrott."
“The long-term unemployed who lost their benefits at the end of last year now have the hope of getting that money after all. A group of bipartite senators agreed today to extend the benefits by five months, retroactively until December, reports Politico. Since five Republicans have already signed the agreement, it should have enough votes to clear the entire Senate, reports the Washington Post. However, whether it can clear the House is a more relevant proposal. Under the agreement, the cost of $10 billion would be partially compensated by US customs duties. “It has now been 75 days since UI expired, and it must be renewed,” says one of the leading negotiators, Democrat Jack Reed of Rhode Island. "We're not at the finish line yet, but this is a bipartisan breakthrough."