A preliminary Senate vote to extend unemployment benefits was
postponed Monday night after the extreme cold across much of the country
prevented some senators from traveling back to Washington.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid -- who vowed to make the vote his
“first item of business”upon returning to Capitol Hill from winter break
-- rescheduled the vote for Tuesday.
The bipartisan bill to extend long-term benefits to 1.3 million
unemployed Americans will cost $26 billion and needs 60 votes in the
Senate on its way to a final vote.
However, Reid will need at least four Republicans to votes yes in the
100-member upper chamber, which has 45 Republicans, 53 Democrats and
two Independents, who typically vote with Democrats.
Eighteen senators missed the vote earlier Monday night that confirmed
Janet Yellen as chairman of the Federal Reserve, which appeared to make
the jobless benefits vote too close for Reid, whose decision to
postpone received unanimous consent.
Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, among the Senate Republicans
considered likely to support the bill, said Monday that she got a call
in the morning from President Obama looking for her support and that she
would vote yes in the first round.
But whether she would cast a final vote in favor of the extension was unclear.
Collins told Fox News she would like to restructure the unemployment
program, particularly linking the extension to job training for workers
in dwindling industries and that she expressed her disappointment to
Obama that Reid was not allowing amendments.
Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, another Senate Republican who was considered
a possible yes vote, suggested Monday afternoon he is against the
extension because the spending is not being offset by cuts.
Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said he will vote against the bill, as expected.
“Unfortunately, this bill is being jammed through, has not been
considered in committee and will not be able to be amended on the
floor,” he said. “Spending [billions] in three months without trying to
find ways to pay for it or improve the underlying policy is
irresponsible and takes us in the wrong direction.”
The money for Americans unemployed for at least six months was cut
from a budget deal passed in late December, but not before Republicans
made clear they would not restore the money unless Democrats agreed to
the so-called offsets.
Reid and Obama have led the Democrats in calling for passage of the
legislation that is sponsored by Nevada Republican Sen. Dean Heller and
Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Jack Reed.
“Instead of celebrating the beginning of a new year on January 1,
more than a million Americans …were left wondering how they would feed
their families,” Reid said Monday on the Senate floor before delaying
the vote. “I hope a few reasonable and empathetic Republicans will join
my colleague from Nevada and help us advance this bill today.”
The extension faces an even more uncertain future in the Republican-led House, where leaders say the cost must be offset.
"I would like to find a way to get a compromise to extend
unemployment insurance, at least for a brief period of time, but at the
same time, the Democrats should make compromises," Rep. Peter King,
R-N.Y., told CBS on Sunday.
Critics of the plan also argue the benefits have been in place longer and paid out more than in past recessions.
Obama earlier called the cuts “just plain cruel,” and is scheduled to
give a White House speech Tuesday, surrounded by unemployed Americans,
to push for the benefits.
Restoring the money appears critical to Democratic lawmakers who need
to energize core voters in the midterm elections, which typically have
low voter turnout. It also is part of their large, emerging pl
