Re: GOP leaders agree to meet with Dems to discuss bill for long-term unemployed

by unemployed2long/1208 Tue Mar 22, 2011 4:46 pm

I cannot imagine a state like KY with unemployment 10.4% refusing unemployment funds!

by kjps12 Tue Mar 22, 2011 4:52 pm

i didnt think i could imagine a state like florida with12% ue cutting back on unemployment weeks but they did

by Guest Tue Mar 22, 2011 4:56 pm

unemployed2long/1208 wrote:I cannot imagine a state like KY with unemployment 10.4% refusing unemployment funds!

Guess you are not aware the state of Mississippi refused the Feds money for extended benefits at a time when the rate was 11%

by Jen Tue Mar 22, 2011 5:17 pm

Did anyone else see Cantor's statement as possibly a positive instead of a negative like I did? To me, it sounds like he may be talking about extending *along* with something else. It does say "toward job creation instead of just providing" and "rather than simply extending" so, maybe that means he's open to doing both. If you were to take out the words just and simply then it would be really bad but, with those words, it sounds kind of good.

by Guest Tue Mar 22, 2011 5:22 pm

Need2Bworking wrote:
concernedinKY wrote:
kjps12 wrote:heres a question for someone to answer? say by some miracle that this bill gets passed does it mean that its upto each state to say if they will accept these federal dollars to pay these weeks

I don't think so because it's not 'Federal EB?' I could be wrong. But these weeks will be added to tier I so everyone will benefit.

My understanding is anyone who was able to collect tier 1 will be eligible.

Correct, this is why when one of my most favorite people (NOT) who I will not mention, kept arguing for a Tier V bill, we kept saying, No this will not help all!
Adding it to Tier I is an excellent move.

by Guest Tue Mar 22, 2011 5:26 pm

Jen wrote:Did anyone else see Cantor's statement as possibly a positive instead of a negative like I did? To me, it sounds like he may be talking about extending *along* with something else. It does say "toward job creation instead of just providing" and "rather than simply extending" so, maybe that means he's open to doing both.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJCKb044mu4 Very Happy

by Jen Tue Mar 22, 2011 5:34 pm

knarf wrote:
Jen wrote:Did anyone else see Cantor's statement as possibly a positive instead of a negative like I did? To me, it sounds like he may be talking about extending *along* with something else. It does say "toward job creation instead of just providing" and "rather than simply extending" so, maybe that means he's open to doing both.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJCKb044mu4

Well, if you were to take out the words just and simply then it would be really bad but, with those words, it almost sounds kind of good. It almost sounds like he is saying extension in addition to something to promote job growth.

by Guest Tue Mar 22, 2011 5:36 pm

No arguments Jen. Ya gotta believe, right?

by nuttin2lose Tue Mar 22, 2011 6:06 pm

Lets go for the gold. Not only does the bill pass, but a WPA for job creation!!

by Jen Tue Mar 22, 2011 6:09 pm

Maybe they will do something because maybe they want to prevent an uprising like they just did in Saudi Arabia by giving money to the poor because they all know that it is hunger and lack of jobs that cause uprisings.

by mrgolf Tue Mar 22, 2011 6:12 pm

I know we would all like to see the extension passed yesterday (last March in my case) but at least we have something happening

by Guest Tue Mar 22, 2011 6:15 pm

Thank you for this thread...some news is good news!

by felixsmom Tue Mar 22, 2011 6:52 pm

Best news I've heard all year. Been in a "I give up" mode lately.
(I know...just sayin.')

by mrgolf Tue Mar 22, 2011 8:06 pm

felixsmom wrote:Best news I've heard all year. Been in a "I give up" mode lately.
(I know...just sayin.')

A lot of people have been in that mode. Only natural that people would get discouraged

by mrgolf Tue Mar 22, 2011 8:47 pm

I posted this in a couple of other threads but I think it bears repeating. I sent an email to Mike White (co founder of the American 99ers Union) to make sure he had heard of the meeting between Lee and Boehner. Here is his reply

Yup. Saw it. Good news...
BUT everyone now needs to go into high gear re-calling their Representatives and Boehner and Cantor, to push for this.

I believe the real key, though, is can Lee get Democrats to give up something, to make a deal with the devil (I mean, the Republicans)... to get this passed??

I will say that Rep. Lee has proven herself on this issue. For her to have gotten so many co-sponsors and this meeting shows her commitment to it. Now it's just a matter of whether enough Democrats are not willing to vote for it (I'm pretty sure they are), but whether they are willing to wheel and deal - to give something up to get this. IMHO. So when writing Congress one might want to mention something like "Please make whatever deal necessary with the Republicans to get this passed, because without it millions of 99ers are going to end up homeless!"

Mike

It is important that we keep advocating.

by Jen Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:37 pm

QH posted this blog from opencongress.org in another H.R. 589 thread and I thought I should put it here too in case others missed it.

Progress for 99ers Legislation
http://www.opencongress.org/articles/view/2240-Progress-for-99ers-Legislation

by mrgolf Tue Mar 22, 2011 10:35 pm

Jen wrote:QH posted this blog from opencongress.org in another H.R. 589 thread and I thought I should put it here too in case others missed it.

Progress for 99ers Legislation
http://www.opencongress.org/articles/view/2240-Progress-for-99ers-Legislation

Thanks for posting that link Jen. According to this article there are 3.9 million 99ers

Reps. Barbara Lee [D, CA-9] and Bobby Scott [D, VA-3] have been hustling on the Hill to help the long-term unemployed. Since they introduced their bill to extend unemployment insurance to the approximately 3.9 million people who have been out of work for more than two years and have exhausted their benefits — so-called “99ers” — they have almost doubled their list of co-sponsors. And now they’ve secured a meeting with the Republican House leadership to discuss ways that the bill could be offset and, presumably, moved ahead in the legislative process.

by Sunrise Tue Mar 22, 2011 11:24 pm

The National Employment Law Project estimated that 3.9 million Americans exhausted their unemployment benefits last year. The Congressional Research Service estimated that as of October, 1.4 million Americans had been out of work for 99
weeks or longer. Anyone who had exhausted benefits and still hadn't
found work would be eligible for retroactive benefits under the
Lee-Scott proposal.

We all know that the true number is more like 3.9 million plus.

by Jen Tue Mar 22, 2011 11:27 pm

Sunrise wrote:
The National Employment Law Project estimated that 3.9 million Americans exhausted their unemployment benefits last year. The Congressional Research Service estimated that as of October, 1.4 million Americans had been out of work for 99
weeks or longer. Anyone who had exhausted benefits and still hadn't
found work would be eligible for retroactive benefits under the
Lee-Scott proposal.

We all know that the true number is more like 3.9 million plus.

Yep, just imagine how many there are now that we're through Jan, Feb, and almost all of March. It's got to be a huge number. affraid

by Sunrise Tue Mar 22, 2011 11:48 pm

Jen wrote:
Sunrise wrote:
The National Employment Law Project estimated that 3.9 million Americans exhausted their unemployment benefits last year. The Congressional Research Service estimated that as of October, 1.4 million Americans had been out of work for 99
weeks or longer. Anyone who had exhausted benefits and still hadn't
found work would be eligible for retroactive benefits under the
Lee-Scott proposal.

We all know that the true number is more like 3.9 million plus.
Yep, just imagine how many there are now that we're through Jan, Feb, and almost all of March. It's got to be a huge number.

Of course they will never let the true number be known because I do believe that it would cause an outrage with employed Americans.

by Guest Wed Mar 23, 2011 2:01 am

by pugsrit Wed Mar 23, 2011 8:17 am

This is great news! I have contacted Claire McCaskill D-MO and she sent me a nice response. As you know MO is one of the 9 or 10 states to refusing to take the federal money to pay for a full 99 weeks. I have emailed and sent letters to almost everyone I know. I am hoping with attn on the federal level to how serious this unemployment issue is we will have support for the states to allow the funding so that folks can get 99 weeks. 2 steps back and 1 step forward it seems.

by doreenb Wed Mar 23, 2011 12:16 pm

does anyone know if they have set a date for this meeting???

by Jen Wed Mar 23, 2011 12:27 pm

doreenb wrote:does anyone know if they have set a date for this meeting???

Not that I have heard. I hope they hurry. Too many more of us are going to become homeless while searching for nonexistent jobs while we wait for Congress to act. Sad

by Quiethawk Wed Mar 23, 2011 12:29 pm

No word yet. Crew of 42 website:
http://www.crewof42.com/?p=5043

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