June 10th, 2010

Unemployment Extension 2010 and HB 4213 “Tax Extenders Bill” Senate Vote, Tier 5 Updates.  So where are all the unemployment benefits extensions? Ask your Senators.  The Senate has yet to vote on the so-called “Tax Extenders Bill” which seeks to temporarily extend unemployment benefits from the federal government for tiers 1-4.

There is no tier 5 created by the bill, which ballooned from $113 million in the House to $140 million in the Senate because of relaxed tax hikes on Venture Capitalists and $24 in medicare reimbursements for the states.

The bill does, however, extend COBRA subsidies along with the current tiers until November 30, 2010.  In addition, it also keeps physician reimbursements from Medicare at levels where people will be able to afford to keep going to their doctors.

Even though the bill is promising, the “tweaking” of the bill done in the Senate will make it so that the bill must go back to the House before it can be passed.  Since today is Thursday and the bill has yet to pass the Senate (as of this morning) After the bill is passed, then the President must sign off on it.

Until the bill is passed, there are millions of Americans whose benefits have run out.  These people are waiting around while the Senate tries to adjust the bill to their liking.

Source:

OpenCongress.org