Members of the Congressional Black Caucus offered a bill that would help those that have exhausted benefits as well as other unemployed: http://www.crewof42.com/
The representatives introduced an11th hour "99er" Bill - "To provide for the further temporary extension of the emergency unemployment compensation program and for other purposes."
This unemployment legislation appears to have been discussed as part of the $856 billion tax bill that added 13 months of unemployment eligibility to those unemployed who have yet to exhaust benefits.
6,000 estates trumps 1,300,000 people without unemployment: The White House was desperate to pass the deal crafted with estate tax champion Sen. Jon Kyl and GOP Leader Mitch McConnell unchanged — so as not to bother anyone. Accordingly, no provision was added for the unemployed who already exhausted their unemployment benefits (aka “99ers”).
"Unfortunately, the Congressional Black Caucus’s alternative which would have provided this assistance was not considered on the House floor Thursday night," said Rep. Scott. "Instead the House passed a package that adds almost $900 billion to the nation’s deficit but does little to help Americans who are chronically unemployed."
Accoring to http://www.crewof42.com/, the bill contains the following provisions:
••• This section provides 14 additional weeks of emergency unemployment compensation in Tier I.
••• This additional benefit will be available for those who have exhausted all their benefits (99ers and other exhaustees) as well as those who will be unemployed this year.
••• This expansion is similar to the expansion in Nov. 2009 which provided an additional week of benefits to Tier II.
••• Adding these extra weeks in Tier I makes them available for all chronically unemployed and not only those currently collecting unemployment benefits from a "high unemployment state."
Since the language of this bill has yet to be released, a full description of its contents is not possible.
This is a first step in a many step process:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-6556
This bill is in the first step in the legislative process. Introduced bills and resolutions first go to committees that deliberate, investigate, and revise them before they go to general debate. The majority of bills and resolutions never make it out of committee.
While the passage of this bill is a long shot, it's the only 99er legislation currently being pushed forward by anyone in Congress. Congress needs to be pressured to act on this bill before they decide to adjourn for the year. Once Republicans and Tea Party types take control of the House in January, this bill will be wiped off the slate by new House Speaker John Boehner and House committee chairpersons.
The Daily List
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You can find your representatives contact information at: http://conservativeusa.org/mega-cong.htm, or at http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt.
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Comments
It's about time. Let's put the pressure on!
Thanks, Mike. This is good news to be sure - they even handled in a way as to eliminate the restriciton that only states with 'high unemployment' would be eligible.
I wonder if the bill is introduced as being 'paid for'?
As further evidence that the media and members of Congress have sold the American people of 'bill of goods', on Friday Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) told FOX News' Greta Van Susteren that unemployment benefits have been extended "well over 100... weeks now."
The propoganda - outright deception that is coming out of DC needs t o be stopped. Period.
Denver Unemployment Examiner
Please every one lets keep putting the pressure on!!!!
As one prisoner who was interviewed on an episode of MSNBC's "Lockdown" was quoted to say, "Hope will kill you." H.R. 6556 currently has virtually no support within the House. Bernie Sanders might vote for it in the Senate.
Traditionally, I would think Representative Lee should continue to use her regular press releases, and broaden the announcements distribution via Facebook, Twitter, PRNewswire, or similar channels to tout this draft legislation. The grim reality, if we can't get "A" list celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Oprah, Ashton Kutcher, or Justin Bieber (etc.) to tweet about the #99ers, NOTHING will happen until there are London/Greece style riots in the street, or the authorities start finding "enough" bodies due to exposure, starvation, suicide, etc. PLEASE PROVE ME WRONG, Congress!
"Happy" Holidays (for some. The Constitution's "...to promote the general welfare..." is apparently on an indefinite hiatus.)
@ Dann I agree with you but as a financial struggling wife of a 99er we still need to cling to some ray of hope it makes it through!
Dann's is a typical TROLL comment--this won't pass just give up.
Well spoken! If it's not reported in by main stream media, ABC, CBS or NBC before the first commercial break its not news.
I agree with Dann. While I am all for continuing the fight for extended benefits I think we need to face the sober realization that getting this through the House OR Senate is a real long shot and certainly would not happen any time soon. It's not something 99ers can hang their hopes on and hold their breath for.
99ers need to keep fighting but at the same time learn about surviving whether that means being homeless, starting a low-cost or no-cost home business or moving in with relatives or starting a 99er commune - whatever. Nothing is likely to happen for us any time soon, and realistically maybe not even within the next 6 months. No one has a crystal ball but it would be my best guess - having been involved in this struggle since last May - that nothing will happen for us in the next 6 months.
The reason for this is obvious: Obama PURPOSELY abandoned us and PURPOSELY never mentioned 99ers EVER. Michael and other journalists might want to follow the Deep Throat (from the Watergate scandal) suggestion of how to investigate it: "Follow the money!"
WHO DOES IT BENEFIT to have millions of 99ers?
The banksters.
The banksters get to foreclose on more homes.
I would not be surprised if Obama is part of such a conspiracy.
Once everyone sees the H.R. 6556 bill tomorrow, things will move fast!
God bless the Congressional Black Caucus for supporting the 99ers!
Everyone call your Congressman and Senators in the morning!
Possibly. I just heard a news report of a 'Christmas Miracle' - Representatives from New York have tinkered with the bill that would compensate 9/11 workers for the health woes they've suffered from laboring in the contaminated debris. Although the new amount is $6 billion vs $7.1 billion, a dollar now is worth more than a promised payout maybe some time in the future.
@pdsnickels raises many valid points-perhaps a 'dual track' approach is necessary, Hope (for H.R. 6556) AND reaching out to any remnant of the various lifelines, e.g. soup kitchens, food banks, the tent-city Obamaville in Colorado (I don't have the link, I think it was featured in a Denver Unemployment Examiner post...)
ANOTHER false promise/hope?
that all i have this x-mas hope .for job or extension I NEVER EVEN GOT 99 WEEK I GOT 72 ,i KNOW LOOK LIKE ALOT BUT EVEY WEEK I look for a job going more then10 a week hearing same thing no jobs at this time ,im not trying give you more sad stroys but I have hope that x- mas will find Government that all i have is hope my 3 boy are so good to me they know mom as no $ i cant real buy them any toys they ask if i could go to dollar store get them 10 thing for x-mas so im hopeing that are govermant will find a little bit of x-mas this year I l LIVE IN USA WERE HOPE,LOVE ALL I REALLY NEED ,,, GOD HELP THE Government
I didn't get 99 weeks either even though I live in one of the states that have the highest unemployment rates (and getting higher). My question to these idiots that are blaming President Obama for the high unemployment rate, why aren't you blaming the person that really caused this and that was George Bush. I got laid off in June 2007 from a company that I had worked at for 31 years, but now because of my age, all I hear is you are "over qualified", but what they are really telling me is that I am "to old". Even though the government says the unemployment rate is 9.7%, it is much, much higher then that because they are not counting the people whose benefits have run out, they are only counting the people who are currently receiving benefits.
Hi Mike thanks for theupdate
Thers a LINK for a new petition for this legislation on change.org I found it through unemployedfriends.org Thy are asking for everyone to sign! Keep in mind when you sign letters are sent to all Congress it wont let me post on here what it under there is over 400 signatures right now
USA News Media: Report ASAP re: H.R. 6556 & S.3706 Americans Want To Work Act for Tier 5 99ers
The recent bill HR-6556 that was proposed by Rep. Barbara Lee offers a jobless extension for 99ers won’t matter because of the short period of time involved to become an active bill before the new congress takes effect. Unless we have the support of the main stream news media ABC, CBS and NBC nightly news programs during the first few minutes. (At the 1st commercial break we tend to change channels.) We need the help of the general American public. Because of the recent passing of the president signing the bill HR-4853, the Big Lie Sham, of an employment extension most people think every unemployed American has an extension for a full year (13 months). So no one understands what we, the forgotten (99ers) over 99 weeks are asking for! If the TRUTH regarding Tier restrictions were reveled to the public Via the main stream news media then we would receive some sort of sympathy form the middle class and other unemployed that may not even know they are about to become 99ers.
All you can do is make your calls and send your letters via web or e-mail. This may not get done this session but the pressure needs to be put on Republicans now so that in January they will start to sweat.
Remember every week there are thousands more exhaustees and that won't stop happening until we see real drops in unemployment rates.
Glen Bax NJ, excellent point. The petition put out by change.org is not for the Congress, but for the major news networks to report the TRUTH about this sham of a UI extension which not only doesn't include 6 million Americans who've already exhausted all benefits, but also those who will be exhausting their state's maximum number of eligible week per the trigger rate which may not even go up to 99 weeks. We need the mainstream media to report this correctly, since so far, it's been misrepresented and the general public thinks the unbalanced compromise gives a 13 month extension of benefits to all unemployed which is far from what the real story is. Can't post the link to the petition on here, but change.org has it on their site which needs more signatures to be sent to all major news outlets to get the story straight!
It's being reported on U-F that this may have cleared the committee and been forwarded to both the House and Senate leaders. Does anyone know if that's true or have more info on the status?
According to the American99ersUnion.com web site
The House bill
H.R. 6556 "To provide for the further temporary extension of the emergency unemployment compensation program, and for other purposes."
"This bill has been referred to both The House Ways and Means Committee
& The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee"
http://www.american99ersunion.com/
While your at the web site, check out
"* EMERGENCY ACTION REQUESTED BY ALL MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN 99ERS UNION!"
We are still in the game!
-Peter
-Peter
I am impressed and thankful for the great persistence of House Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), House Rep Bobby Scott (D VA) and The Congressional Black Caucus in general,
for putting together their bill
(H.R. 6556) "To provide for the further temporary extension of the emergency unemployment compensation program, and for other purposes".
But I do wish the number of weeks of benefits was larger. If I were a cosponsor if this bill, I would have suggested increased weeks of benefits scenarios:
20 weeks as in (S 3706) The Americans Want to Work Act
26 weeks equaling a half-year
13 months like in the Tax Extension
2 years like in the Extention of the Bush Tax Cuts
And my solution to paying for any of these increased UI Benefit weeks scenarios; as most of you would agree to, would be letting the Bush Tax Cuts for the Rich Expire, creating approximately $900 billion additional tax revenue to tap into.
-Peter
The number of weeks of unemployment which should have been negotiated by Obama with the Republicans, should have matched the two years of tax credit given to the rich. (Considering the tax credit is supposed be a trickle down type of incentive). There should be no Tier system for unemployment. That's what confuses everyone. Only a flat time period should be observed like 2 years, or until a decent number of jobs are made available The Republicans should have received a Tier system for their tax period, i.e. 6 months if your worth 50 million, 3 months if your worth 25 million and so on. Obama just gave away everything with no incentives or compromises.
Thanks Peter!
Please watch 60 minutes video that aired on Sunday the 19th, titled, STATE BUDGETS: DAY OF RECKONING. Very informative about what shape each large state government is in now and next year.
I hope HR 6556 goes through for all of us.
In Washington there is so much smoke and mirrors that I wonder if Obama got this into the black caucus agenda! The reason I consider it is because I know I wasn't the only one hammering the whitehouse comment line for the last several months! Maybe this is Obama's back door theatric's,( just thinking out loud)! I believe Obama would sign any bill that holds us in it! I am still bummed about that tax break for the rich but I believe in 2 years he will keep his campaign promise!
Sadly for us, I see nothing to this more than a year's end version of a Shirley Sherrod moment. Given the exigency of our situation, obviously we're doing the pushing this time. Who wouldn't take a scintilla of hope right now? Even if Lee's intentions were good, which is iffy right now, both Houses have their cars in queue with the motors idling. Cruel and unusual punishment.
I hope it'll pass, though.
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