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Dems trying to strike a deal with GOP on unemployment benefits extension
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Just two days after Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) held a news conference criticizing his Republican counterparts for holding up a bill extending jobless benefits, the Democratic leadership is now attempting to make a deal with the GOP to get the legislation passed.
On Wednesday night, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) filed for cloture on the measure. Through cloture, the Senate can place a time limit on considering a bill and possibly overcome a potential filibuster. Several Republican members have offered amendments to the legislation, which have, in effect, kept it from moving. Democrats are feeling the urge to get the unemployment benefits extension to the President's desk with hundreds of thousands of Americans literally losing their benefits with each passing month.
Now Reid and his colleague Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) are working to engage Republican members by being receptive to amendments Republicans have been asking for, in particular, renewing the tax credit for first time homebuyers through 2010. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) has been a strong proponent of including the tax credit renewal in the unemployment extension legislation. He also wants to remove the requirement that only first time homebuyers receive the tax credit. However Reid and Baucus are not quite willing to go that far. Instead the two ranking members, while supporting the continuation of the $8,000 credit, only want it to remain in effect until April 1. After that time, the tax credit would decrease incrementally throughout the rest of 2010.
If the Democrats can reach an agreement on the tax credit language then the unemployment benefits legislation has a greater chance of moving more quickly to the floor for a vote.
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