Letters: Unemployment Extension, Tier 5, 99ers, and Congressional Letters

Letters: Unemployment Extension, Tier 5, 99ers, and Congressional Letters. With a new Congress coming in to session, the 99ers union isn't letting up in their quest to get a Tier 5 benefits extension passed.

Friday, a new letter writing campaign launched. This is in hopes that something such as the Tier 5 will be passed before the 111th Congress adjourns.

In addition, the press release which announced the campaign reads:

The Christmas Season has long been the time where retail outlets have sought to lift themselves out of the "red" and into the "black". With millions forced into the masses of unemployed already left without Unemployment Insurance, our "fragile economic recovery" stands to take a severe blow. With the National Unemployment Rate at 9.5% percent or above for 15 months, The American 99ers Union is taking an active role in drawing attention to those who will immediately invest their dollars back into sustaining our fragile economic recovery...The 99ers.

All members of The American 99ers Union acting as one, beginning on Friday, November 12th 2010 “in the days prior to the Lame Duck Congress' return” will be hand delivering and faxing letters to all U.S. Senators. The letter emphasizes the need for unemployment extensions for ALL the unemployed. They cannot be left behind as in the past. This critical legislation must be signed into law prior to the final session of the 111th Congress.

The letter states among other things:

I as well as the rest of The American 99ers Union * respectfully request that the extension of unemployment insurance beyond the current 99 week Federal maximum be signed into law. This could be done via either S.3706 The America Wants to Work Act, as an addendum to the extension of dates set to expire on November 30^th, or a modification of one of the existing tiers. We are requesting that whatever form it takes that can allow this to be legislated prior to November 30^th be done ASAP.

This campaign involves a form letter. You can find out more details about this campaign by CLICKING HERE.

The unemployment extension, tier 5, and the 99ers are important to our country's continued success. Take action by taking part in the letter writing campaign, today.

Agenda: Unemployment Extension, Tier 5, Jobless Benefits Not On Lame Duck Session

Agenda: Unemployment Extension, Tier 5, Jobless Benefits Not On Lame Duck Session agenda. According to congress, the Unemployment Extension isn't very important at all. Today, during a Fox News broadcast it was brought to my attention that the unemployment extension isn't on the agenda during the lame duck session.

In fact, one of my colleagues pointed out this morning that Nancy Pelosi pretty much told the unemployed not to count on the GOP for extensions.

If that is the case, then I don't see why she and her democratic colleagues don't take the initiative to fight tooth and nail for the extension of benefits and possibly the Tier 5 before they get out of office.

Perhaps Ms. Pelosi is a little too bitter about handing over her gavel to John Boehner?

If the Unemployment extension isn't on the Lame Duck agenda then what is? Well, an Employment Anti-Discrimination act, the DREAM Act 2010, COLA Social Security adjustments, Continued Resolution Spending Bill, and of course the Bush Tax Cuts.

Just a question - what good is an Anti-discrimination employment act if everyone is unemployed?

Do you think that the Congress has their priorities in order, or do you think that the unemployment extension should be higher on their list of priorities?

Unemployment Extension 2010: Another "Blame it on Bush" Moment

The unemployment extension will be brought to vote again, and it's another "Blame it on Bush" occasion. Today, Obama opened up about the extension bill and once again blamed republicans for the nation's problems.  Of course, that is all not surprising as our President is a Democrat.  However, politics and the partisan lines are why millions of Americans are suffering.

Others blame Obama for the skyrocketing unemployment, as his stimulus plan was a complete and utter failure. Had he calculated this measure correctly - or not passed it at all - then it's argued that the nation would be in a better state right now.

There is only one vote needed to pass the measure, and it's believed that Carte Goodwin, the newest West Viginia senator who will be sworn in tomorrow, will vote for the bill bringing it to a passage in the Senate.

If that doesn't occur, there's little word about what 'Plan B' will entail.

Considering that billions of dollars have been spent on the stimulus bill bailing out wall street, helping Americans is the only thing that will show that the government is still acting with the best interests of taxpayers.

Once the unemployment extension is passed, many are hoping that a new tier 5 bill will be introduced.  This extension doesn't include a fifth tier of benefits, which is something that millions that have exhausted all four tiers of the current available benefits need.

Reference: LA Times

2010 Unemployment Extension: A Benefits Bill Extension for Unemployed Americans

The 2010 unemployment extension could be voted on next week. The unemployment extension 2010 is needed, and it's a very important measure for many in Congress. The so called benefits bill extension within the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 may be controversial in the Senate, but there's few who will argue that it needs to be passed.

Many Americans are left holding the bag. The benefits extension bill is the only way they will be able to afford their mortgages and put food on the table during these tough times. The extension of time to file for the emergency benefits in tiers 1-4 created by the Federal Government expired on June 2, 2010 and since then each and every day people have been losing their benefits.

According to The Huffington Post, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs expects the measure to pass this next week. Gibbs is quoted as saying:

"I think this president will press and my belief is the Senate will take up [the package], and we will pass next week an extension of unemployment insurance. As we go into the political season we talked about, we will get a sense of where people sit on the spectrum of helping the unemployed."

Hopefully Gibbs is correct in his assumptions and the unemployment extension will be passed during the week of July 19th, 2010. The benefits extension bill is a big deal for many Americans and should be for Senators. Hopefully partisan politics will be placed aside and we will get the law passed for the millions of Americans who need it the most.

2010 Unemployment Extension: A July 13 Update - Not a Tier 5 Extension

The 2010 unemployment extension hasn't been passed yet and it's 7/13/2010. The unemployment extension is a 2010 mid-term election hot topic that will be very controversial and will determine the elections in many states where the extension is needed for a large number of citizens.

The extension needs a majority of 60 votes in the Senate to pass. The last time the measure was brought to vote, the Senate received a vote of 58-38. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) the Senate Majority Leader, voted against the measure, but only so that it could be brought to vote later on.

If Reid voted for the measure, then only one more vote would be needed for passage. The passing of Senator Robert Byrd from West Virginia came at a terrible time, as he could have voted for the measure and helped it pass through the system.

The unemployment extension would extend the time to file for tiers 1-4. The measure up for vote doesn't make a tier 5 extension, although many Americans have exhausted their 1-4th tiers.

Republicans aren't voting for the extension because it would add to our nation's enormous deficit spending pattern. Democrats won't give in to Republican demands to use unused stimulus funds to pay for the extension.

Republicans don't like the tax increases and deficit spending currently in the bill, although two Republican senators from Maine voted for the measure.

Hopefully once the senator from West Virginia is named, the vote will pass. July 19th is the date that the unemployment extension will be voted on, and it needs to pass this time or else there will be many Americans without benefits.

2010 Unemployment Extension a Hot Political Issue

The 2010 unemployment extension is gaining political ground. If the unemployment extension 2010 doesn't ever pass, it won't be because the citizens of the United States have stood idly by as their benefits were taken from them. In my gut, I think that the unemployment extension will eventually pass - it has to. Why? Both political and economic issues come to mind.

Politically, it will look bad if the extension isn't passed. If Obama or the Senate can't pull a bill or an executive order that will extend benefits, it will make them look bad. Since the mid-term elections are coming up, it wouldn't be easy to be the politician who stood in the way of nearly a million angry Americans that lost their unemployment benefits.

Then, there's the economy. Sure, paying out unemployment benefits would cost employers and businesses money through increased taxes. But what's the cost of not paying out unemployment benefits?

Think of the foreclosures that will transpire if people lose their benefits and can't pay their bills. Think of the lost retail sales that will occur, as the first thing to go is superfluous spending. All of these issues will cost companies and the economy much more money that the benefit payments ever would.

Luckily, the unemployed are going strong. The Tier 5 to Survive movement keeps raging on, and there is a petition out there that will hopefully be delivered to Obama, in which case an executive order extending benefits may be in order.