The New York Times on the unemployment-insurance legislation passing its first procedural hurdle through the Senate yesterday: “The three-month extension of benefits passed with no room to spare, on a vote of 60 to 37, and some of the six Republicans who voted yes made clear that they wanted the $6.4 billion cost paid for through cuts elsewhere in the budget. Still, even getting the Senate on to the bill was a victory for President Obama and Democratic leaders, who have tried for weeks to steer away from health care and budget wrangling and onto pocketbook issues, which they say they will use to try to frame the 2014 elections. Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, hailed the vote as a shift in ‘the tectonic plates of our politics.’”
The Washington Post adds, “The triumph may be temporary, because the measure still faces big hurdles in the Senate and longer odds of passing the House. The crux of the negotiations now is the GOP demand for offsetting savings from other portions of the budget. The bill, sponsored by Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.), calls for an estimated $6.5 billion to grant an additional three months of benefits for the long-term unemployed.”
Trey Radel is back in DC. Roll Call: “A somber Rep. Trey Radel refused to say whether he would run for re-election Tuesday night, as he returned to the Capitol to vote for the first time since he took a leave absence following an Oct. 29 drug arrest for possession of cocaine.”
