Another Unemployment Extension Update: As Lemieux Blocks Bill, 99ers Rally for Tier 5

The unemployment extension doesn’t look likely any time soon.  The tier 5 bill for the 99ers, aka Americans want to Work Act was not passed by Congress before they left. Although Senator Stabenow, the Bill’s sponsor, tried to bring the measure to the floor it was blocked by Senator LeMieux.


The republican Senator from Florida is not up for re-election, so his measure doesn’t threaten his job for now. He claims that the “spend as you go” tactics for trying to deal with the economy aren’t working.


There’s no funding source of the bill, and as such the senator claims that it is not wise to pass the legislation. The conservative Heritage Foundation has given reasons why the bill is not economically sound, including that many individuals find work right after their benefits expire.


Yeah, right. Try telling that to the millions of 99ers who have been without work for well over the 99 weeks of current benefits. 


The American 99ers Union is rallying along with the One Nation Working Together Rally at Washington, DC tomorrow.  The laundry list of wishes from ralliers includes better unemployment benefits and higher minimum wages. 


Will the turnout at the rally tomorrow inspire changes? That will be hard to tell, as the Senate will not re-convene until AFTER the mid-term elections. Hopefully, at that time the unemployment extensions measures will be passed.

99ers Unemployment Extension Benefits and Tier 5 Rally Coming Soon

A 99ers unemployment extension benefits rally is coming soon for those who desire a tier 5 unemployment extension. The American 99ers union is staging a rally at the Lincoln Memorial this weekend to show those on Capital Hill all those in the US who are in need of help.

The rally promises to "feature human and civil rights leaders, labor leaders, environmental and peace activists, faith leaders, celebrities and sports figures – all marching together to help Put America Back to Work and to Pull America Back Together. And to help reorder our national priorities so that investments in people come first."

The bill S 3706 - Debbie Stabenow's "Americans Want to Work Act" hasn't been progressing through Congress - it's not even been brought to the floor. We have only one week before the Senate breaks to go home and campaign for the looming election.

The focus has been on the Bush Tax Cuts and extending them - the GOP promises to do so, yet they do little to promise help for the unemployed. There are a lot of distractions from the looming mid-term elections, and unfortunately millions more unemployed will be without a lifeline starting November 30th if nothing else is done.

If you are planning on attending the rally, please let us know. The unemployment extension should be a big priority, but unfortunately the 99ers and the tier 5 movement aren't.

Tier 5, 99ers Update: Could Unemployment Extension Be Available to Illegal Aliens?

Tier 5 99er updates are pouring in, as S3706 - the new unemployment extension - is becoming more and more pivotal. Tier 5 unemployment extension will add 20 weeks of benefits to the already available 99 weeks.  The checks aren't available for everyone - only those in states with 7.5% unemployment or greater are eligible for the extension.

There are many arguments against passing another extension.  All of them rest in the dollars and cents side of things - how the bill will be paid for, how it will affect the economy, how likely job growth is because of the bill, etc.   Now, there's arguments that illegal aliens could be getting benefits, too!

Illegal immigration is a very hot topic in politics as well, with controversial state immigration laws popping up all over. What started in Arizona has spread to other states, including Florida.

States are supposed to have software that helps them validate claims for unemployment benefits. In Colorado, a controversial workorder was issued, shutting the software off.  This allowed illegal aliens to slip through the cracks and receive unemployment checks.

With irresponsible spending rampant in the government, what hope do the Tier 5 99er supporters have of ensuring that benefits extensions are passed, when it's difficult at best to trust the state and federal governments to ensure that only qualified expenditures are paid?

Reference: National Policy Institute

July Jobs Report: Could Another Benefits Extension Bill S3706 Solve Problem?

The July jobs report is out, and could it be that S.3706, Debbie Stabenow's Tier 5 benefits bill, will be the thing that turns our economy around? There's some doubt that it could help, although there are also many Americans that believe that the revolving door of unemployment benefits will keep the country's economy from collapsing.

S3706 is the first true unemployment extension in a long time. It extends unemployment further for 20 more weeks, bringing eligibility to 119 weeks of benefits. The benefits eligibility is retroactive, although you won't receive benefits retroactively. Furthermore, only states with unemployment rates above 7.5% will be eligible for benefits.

The July jobs report indicated that 131,000 net jobs were lost - most of them due to the waning Census requirements. The private sector added 71,000 jobs, but hardly a drop in the bucket considering the millions of Americans without work.

Those who are unemployed through no fault of their own deserve having another benefits extension. This is especially true for those who have been trying to find jobs with no success thus far.