Politics

Just One Vote

By Sunlight Foundation & Participatory Politics Foundation

A single senator now stands between millions of unemployed Americans and the extension of unemployment insurance benefits they need in order to feed their families and gas up their cars to get to job interviews. The Hill reports:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday said two Republicans will support his new extension to unemployment benefits and that he is hopeful a third and final Republican will eventually back the bill.

“If we had Senator Byrd’s replacement we would have 60,” he told reporters. “We have to wait and see what a couple of Republicans do.”

Reid did not say which Republicans have chosen to support the bill, but one of them is expected to be Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine), who last week said she would support a stand-alone extension of unemployment benefits.

We’ll know later today or tomorrow morning if the Republicans and conservative Sen. Ben Nelson [D, NE] (pictured) are going let the Democrats’ latest attempt at passing an extension, and the last attempt before they leave for July 4 recess, get an up-or-down vote.

Full post as published by Open Congress on July 01, 2010 (boomark / email).