House Democrats Push For 3 Month Extension Of Unemployment Benefits - No Tier 5

WASHINGTON -- House Democrats on Wednesday introduced a bill to prevent two million people from losing their unemployment benefits during the holidays.

Congress has until the end of the month to reauthorize federally-funded unemployment benefits currently supporting five million long-term jobless (practically, they have just until Friday because of a Thanksgiving break next week). If the federal benefits are allowed to lapse, waves of people will prematurely stop receiving them, with two million people facing a cutoff by the end of the year.

Full story:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/17/house-democrats-push-for-_n_784996.html

H.R. 4213 is dead; it's time for a new strategy or that second stimulus talked up recently.

This issue is now more than just about an unemployment extension and a Medicare adjustment. This issue is now about: Do you stand with the American workers who have fallen on a rough job market or do you stand over in a corner somehwere silent about the issue chanting with big business proud to have defeated the hardest hit persons in the Great Recession?

H.R. 4213 is dead; it's time for a new strategy or that second stimulus talked up recently.

GOP filibusters wide-ranging benefits and tax bill in Senate

Senate Democrats failed Thursday to overcome a Republican filibuster of a bill to extend unemployment benefits and prevent Medicare doctors from having their reimbursements cut.

All Republicans opposed ending debate on the wide-ranging bill, forcing further negotiations on specific provisions to seek a possible compromise.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid complained Republicans were simply stalling progress on the bill, and he and other Democratic leaders said the GOP filibuster showed Republicans were aligned with special interests such as oil companies and Wall Street hedge funds.

In floor debate, Republicans proposed using money from the stimulus bill to pay for provisions of the bill, but Democrats objected. Republicans complained that the bill would increase the deficit, a concern shared by some Democrats.

Full Story @ CNN:  http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/18/gop-filibusters-wide-ranging-benefits-and-tax-bill-in-senate/?fbid=qLcA86yhRr8

Thousands Of Tennessee Residents Cannot Certify For Weekly Unemployment Insurance Benefits - Other States, Same Issue

This is a brief statement from the Tennessee Department of Labor/WFD:

Last week, the United States Senate adjourned without passing legislation to extend the expiration date for the EUC, FAC and EB provisions beyond June 2, 2010.  Congress is scheduled to return the week of June 7, 2010 and it is expected that the Senate will take up the House-passed version of HR 4213 at that time.  At issue is whether any future extension will be retroactive to address the “coverage gap” that will be created beginning June 2, 2010, if no legislation is in place.

Any regular Tennessee Unemployment Compensation claim that exhausted benefits with week ending 5/22/10 should have transitioned to Tier 1 for the phase-out period.  As of now, Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) new claims or transitions to the program will expire with the date of 06/02/10.  If a claimant exhausts a Tier-1, Tier-2 or Tier-3 balance on weekending 05/29/10, the claimant will be entitled to set up the next Tier on 06/01/10.  No other entitlement is allowed.  If a claimant has set up on EUC by application or transition entitlement that week, the claimant will be allowed to draw out any balance in that part (Tier) of the program.  No other funding/entitlement will be set up after that date unless the National Congress approves another extension period.  That is unknown at this time.

The Extended Benefit (EB) program will stop according to state law on June 5, 2010.  No balances will be paid out, and no new entitlement will be set up after that date.  According to Federal law if an individual was receiving EB and has not drawn a Tier 2XTRA week or had any Tier-3 entitlement set up, the claimant may do so for weekending June 12, 2010.  This is the only entitlement that will be allowed the claimant.  After that amount has been received no further benefits will be paid unless Congress authorizes an extension of the dates for Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation or Extended Benefits.

Source:  http://www.tn.gov/labor-wfd/unemployment_ExtendedBenefits_Nov2009.html

In effect, if you are on a current unemployment tier of benefits - you will not be able to certify until Congress resolves this issue when they return from break this week.  Is there anyone out there still receiving benefits who happens to have links to resources or are from other states having this same issue? 

If you are in the State of Tennessee you may email:  john.partlow@tn.gov and he can assist with your claim and give you information.  More on this issue will be posted when it is known.

UPDATE:  Us Unemployed Blogsite has learned that the issues with certifying in the State of Tennessee have now been resolved.  If you are still experiencing problems, call the claims center or try to certify again tomorrow. 

H.R. 4213 update, Ed Schultz & Chris Matthews Get A Message

H.R. 4213 update, Ed Schultz & Chris Matthews get a message, jobless claims pop 25,000 to 471,000

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Eve Of Tier 5 Petition Delivery - Michael Thornton, Rochester Unemployment Examiner Helps As Always Reporting Where This Effort Is

This article sums up where we are at this point:  Tier 5: Sen. Reid’s office: will explore long term unemployed policies after passage of H.R. 4213  (Michael Thornton, Rochester Unemployment Examiner). 

The direction that seems to be most likely is the passage of HR 4213 first so that the persons unemployed on current tiers get their extension through the end of the year.  And I'm glad of that.  After thinking about it, if this bill were to get ping-ponged back and forth to add weeks for those who have exhausted weeks, it might slow down the process for those who have benefits expiring on June 2nd.  We must be mindful of that group of unemployed persons as well because so many in that group who have not exhausted benefits yet are helping those who have exhausted benefits with our cause to get a Tier 5!

Congress might not have met the deadline and left many more expiring their benefits if HR 4213 was held up even longer.

With that said, just like the rest of you out there.  I hope that Senator Reid takes up the need for a Tier 5 or extending the weeks on current tiers immediately after HR 4213 is law.  We are continuing to send our messages and contact our elected representatives.  Until there is a bill introduced, Congress will not see any relief from the jobless who have exhausted benefits and who are advocating for a Tier 5. 

No matter what Tier 5 campaign that exists - it is still alive and well and participation is much appreciated.

We are still waiting for the results of the meeting this Thursday (tomorrow) at 2PM that Issa Decker and Robert Grone are having with Mr. Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader.  Everyone in the cause for a Tier 5 is hoping to get some type of statement on the record and most importantly, get a bill on the floor!

More information as it is known will be posted and the continuation of the Jobless In America series of articles for all of the states will be continued.  Also, everyone should be aware that the efforts of so many advocates for Tier 5 was noted in the Huffington Post.  HuffPo can bring us more media coverage if they continue to cover the story.  Here is that article also released today:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/19/website-raises-1000-to-br_n_581676.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Tier 5 Unemployment Emissaries Are Being Dispatched To Washington, H.R. 4213 May Be Coming To Final Passage, & For Millions, H.R. 4213 Currently Does Not Help Them

As most know, a vote will happen this week on H.R. 4213, American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act of 2010.  The vote is currently planned to be a simple reconciliation vote at this point and it would be a little unorthodox if any amendments were introduced. 

However, the longest term unemployed are hoping and praying, wishing and lobbying, calling US Representatives and petitioning for an amendment despite how inconvenient it may be for the procedure or the political unpopularity.

There are so many unemployed who would love to see an amendment to this bill that would also extend the weeks of benefits that are currently available which are federally funded.  This legislation has already passed the House of Representatives once and the United States Senate has added amendments.  The United States Senate gave their last vote on this on 3/31/2010.  It is not the fault of the unemployed that the Congress and Senate overlooked this need.  However, long term unemployed might have done more had we began our SOS Attacks and petitioning in February, perhaps.  The problem at that time was that so many did not know that this bill does not include assistance for those exhausting benefits.  It is to the advantage of the jobless to remain united as the unemployment crisis is not over yet.  The economy has only just began to show any substantial amounts of growth for job creation.  If the recession is factually over according to economists and the pill that we swallowed for the Stimulus Act indeed made an impact and reversed the economy then the side-effects of that legislative pill are just as bad as the recession itself for far too many millions.




Many jobless Americans began their efforts in early March to communicate to this Congress as they learned that H.R.4213 does not help the needs of the longest term jobless.  Tier 5 Activists began this in a very respectful and civilized order.  First with sending emails and calling their elected representatives to simply ask them to add an amendment to this bill.  After that seemed to have little impact in the beginning days, we all sat out on our own initiatives to get our voices heard to Congress. The online petition to Congress began on multiple sites (all are still ongoing), however the Change.org petition found at http://www.99erspetition.com/ caught the eye and respect from WorldNewsVine, the Rochester Unemployment Examiner, Michael Thornton, Gather's Mike Rheaume, and MLive.com also broke the news in the beginning of this movement discussing the efforts of so many by reporting on the Unemployed Will Be Heard campaign.  If any news credit was left out it was not intentional.  This information is simply what is chronicled in the US Unemployed Blogsite's Archives and it is certainly possible a source was overlooked by accident.  However, the long term unemployed will give credit to anyone and everyone out there who is willing to take up their message and report information factually as it is known.

The unemployed need to understand that these sources are great but they are not mainstream press yet.  We can certainly make them mainstream by staying loyal to their news articles first and helping these sources stay strong by visiting their sponsors and posting our feedback and thanks to the contributors and the Editors.  Currently these sources mentioned are the only few willing to take up our cause and the longest term unemployed should be thankful to all of them.  Personally, this blogger plans to go steps further and help spread the word about these sources and their excellent reporting on other issues.  It stands to reason that if these sources can cover with such detail the needs of all unemployed they are covering the full story on other issues that impact our lives as well.

WorldNewsVine was able to do something for us over the weekend and regardless of the outcome we should all be grateful for their effort to try.  As some know WorldNewsVine has offered to help hand deliver Issa Decker's 99er petition to members of Congress this week as a result of a Web-A-Thon that was held over the weekend asking for donations to go to Washington, D.C. and submit the message of the longest term unemployed in person and for the very modest donation price of just over $1,000.  Anyone who has ever had to visit the nation's Capitol should take a look at hotel room rates and the daily parking fees in D.C.  The cost of $1,000 was a bargain.  We are all anxiously awaiting the news from WorldNewsVine about more details of their trip to Washington, D.C. but we must be realistic.  There is only so much that these brave persons can do but the long term unemployed are better off to have tried this before the upcoming vote on H.R. 4213 than to not.  Before this vote, there is the opportunity to hand deliver professional copies of over 27,000 signatures for the public record and make a last ditch attempt to express the dire need of urgency to members of Congress.

The longest-term unemployed are sending these missionaries in hopes for answers and more comments on the record.  We are also sending them in hopes that action will be taken soon but there are no guarantees with anything in politics.  We may very well only learn what we already know and that there indeed is no political will to further combat opposing hypocrisy and obstruction. 

Congress needs to muster this political will with the urgency it deserves.  Too many depend on this.

In addition to the plight of being stricken into poverty by many political factors, we have to stay abreast to current events or we lose credibility for what we need to accomplish. United States legislatures are still in need of tackling issues with Immigration, Financial Reform, a Supreme Court nominee to confirm or deny, legislation on Climate Change and Energy, and don't forget about the 2011 Budget and other domestic issues that are currently dominating headlines such as the BP Oil disaster in the Gulf Coast and foreign affairs such as maintaining the wars in Afghanistan and the Iraq war which seems to be finally coming to an end.  If I counted those issues that this Congress needs to handle before the year's end I get a total of at least eight very large-scale and somewhat controversial ticket items. 

No matter what your position is on these issues, it is absolute fact that the 111th United States Congress will want these issues at least started or completed before the end of this year. 

It makes sense and is in the favor of the long term unemployed if this Congress is going to extend the weeks available for benefits that they do so as soon as possible with this many "legislative balls".  (That was an actual term used by an unnamed Congressional staffer for those who don't know).

It just makes sense to most unemployed that Congress finds the money and time to quickly amend H.R. 4213 so that additional weeks of benefits are available for those who are exhausted and who have exhausted their benefits.  That is, if they intend to do it.  Yes, we realize that it would need to go back for the Senate for a large fight again but this is needed and it is an emergency or so many would not be demanding it now.

OpenCongress.org offers detailed tracking of this bill at:  http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h4213/show. 

This bill is not yet law as it still requires reconciliation in the United States House of Representatives and the signature of the President of the United States.  Congress, there is still an opportunity to amend this bill - regardless of how politically unpopular that may be.  This bill in it's current form is a good effort as it does extend the dates for tiers which already exist, it extends ARRA provisions that allowed for the $25 raises for unemployment and $15 for dependents, it extends the dates for COBRA benefits, it extends adjustments to Medicare payments and includes tax cuts.  It's a great bill; however, it has nothing to benefit those who exhausted all tiers of benefits available to them and are jobless right now and still cannot find work.  To be honest, this bill really does do a lot for the jobless but if you are unemployed and have exhausted your benefits - this bill means nothing to you.

The current estimated cost of this bill is $140 billion dollars.  ($80 billion goes to just extending the dates for the existing tiers of unemployment).  This is the current cost without extending the available weeks and keeping this bill in its current form.  The main objection from advocates for a Tier 5 is the fact that this bill does not extend the number of weeks available nor does it add any new tier for unemployment benefits.  The main objections from those who oppose it seems to be that it adds to the national debt. 

This bill is excluded from the rules of PAYGO as there is emergency funding in the bill.  Adding additional weeks for the jobless who have lost their benefits is vital to the economy, Congress.  The long term unemployed have done more than their fair part in this effort.  The burden now falls on Congress to make this right. 

Well wishes to Issa Decker and the WorldNewsVine emissary who are going to attempt to get our message hand-delivered to Congress.  The attention of the current mainstream media should be covering this.  This effort is the most genuine and grassroots effort ever witnessed by this blogger in recent years and it deserves the press attention from mainstream news outlets. 

Everyone, please wish our ambassadors well on their journey to Washington, D.C. this week and please continue the fight!  Please stay clicked into these updates as we get updates throughout the week from the trusted news sources we have and keep your eye open for any updates to WorldNewsVine specifically. 

This is where the issue stands at the moment.  More updates and important information coming soon.

-Photos owned and taken by the Editor of this blog, Washington, D.C. Highway 1 Exit Sign going into D.C. and the United States Capitol Building immediately after sunset.

Kirsten Gillibrand Supports Tier 5 Unemployment Extensions

At around 5:15 EST on a live video Facebook session with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), a number of unemployed persons began voicing their concerns about the need for a Tier 5 Unemployment. 

This was the answer from Kirsten Gillibrand: 



Please excuse the video quality.  It was a record from a ustream Facebook session and may not be the greatest in video quality.  The Senator does state that she supports a Tier 5 Unemployment but offers no details as to when the extension may happen. 

Please trust, the issue of when was pressed.  The collective online participating crowd kept pressuring the Senator for answers of when.  Comments from other participants stated replies such as:  "the Senator supports the extension, why are you so concerned?" or "you need to ask NY State Legislature about that issue" or my favorite, "Are all of these people being paid to lobby for a Tier 5?"...

No one is getting paid here.  It is only the collective efforts of those who can participate in these events raising awareness and asking the questions that so many are desperately seeking the answer.  Hopefully, Senator Gillibrand takes this dire need of urgency seriously as HR 4213 is being debated in the coming weeks.

Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich) Vows To Pass HR 4213 Before Memorial Day

According to public records available from the House Ways & Means Committee, the Representative from Michigan's 12th District has released the following statement: 

“Chairman Levin has stated that he will continue working with the Senate to complete work on H.R. 4213 by Memorial Day to ensure the benefits included are available to families and businesses, particularly those benefits directed to workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. We are committed to, and working toward, passing a longer-term extension of unemployment benefits as included in H.R. 4213.”

H.R. 4213 (American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act of 2010) will extend the dates for the existing tiers currently approved by Congress (if your state meets the eligibility requirements).

This bill has already passed the House and Senate and is awaiting reconciliation before the President can sign the bill into law.  As most unemployed may know, the debate continues in Washington on how to pay for these extensions and there have been reports that there will be another spectacle before the passage of this bill. 

In it's current form, this bill DOES NOT offer an extension of weeks or the creation of a Tier 5 for those who have exhausted the maximum approved benefit amount.

Political activism from those seeking a Tier 5 unemployment extension will continue.  Please visit the JoblessUnite website for details on the "Resume Fax Attack" and "On The Record" Campaigns.  On April 30, 2010 and May 3, 2010 those who wish to participate will be faxing their resumes to Congress with the "M-A-Y-D-A-Y S-O-S" message on the very front of their resumes.