2010 Unemployment Extension Bill is a step closer to becoming reality after the Senate put together a bill that may appease both parties, according to Boston.com. The changes in the bill have Senator Scott Brown between a rock and a hard place.
Unfortunately, the Senate will not just pass the unemployment extension without tagging on some amendments to satisfy both parties. It is the purposed amendments that have been the real hold in passing the extension bill.
Brown has been recently chastised for backing the filibustering of the bill in the Senate, which has stalled the extension benefits for the unemployed. This has left almost a million people, whose benefits have run out, desperately waiting for the Senate to pass this bill.
Now that the new bill has cuts in Medicare to make up for the money that will go to the unemployment extension, Brown is targeted once again.
Advocates for the disabled that are based in Massachusetts started a candle-light vigil outside Brown’s office today. They are planning to continue with their vigil each weekday until the Senate approves new money for Medicaid.
New Proposal For Unemployment Extension Released By Senate
The new proposal that was released last night by Senate Democrats would not supply the original $24 Billion in Medicare funding. It will supply only a $16 billion boost for Medicare. The money cut from the Medicare is where some of the money for the unemployment extension would come from.
According to estimates from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities for the State of Massachusetts, the new package would give only $500 million in Medicare state aid, rather than $760 million.
Will The Re-Positioning of The Funds Work To Get This Unemployment Extension Bill Passed?
Senator Brown has put himself in a position where he will not come out on top with either group. If he says no to the Medicaid cut and the unemployment extension does not go through, the unemployed in the State of Massachusetts will remember this when it comes time to vote. If he goes with the Medicaid cuts so the unemployed can get their extension, he will have the same groups that are staking out his office remembering him in the next round of elections.
Senate Needs To Consider the Urgency of The Unemployment Extension
The urgency of the unemployment extension should take front and center and be voted on immediately, which will put food on the table for the people counting on this bill to go through. The Medicaid cut is a dilemma, but it is not as urgent as feeding the people out of money right now.
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Reference: Boston.com
