Senate Fails to Advance Bill Extending Jobless Benefits

“Efforts to reach a bipartisan deal extending benefits for the long-term unemployed floundered Tuesday, sunk by squabbles over Senate procedure magnified by both parties’ efforts to reap political points in an election year,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Lawmakers had been working for weeks to restore emergency unemployment insurance benefits that expired on Dec. 28, but progress ground to a halt Tuesday as tensions rose over Republicans’ role in the Senate’s legislative process.”

“A series of closed-door meetings and votes produced no headway in reaching an agreement on an extension of the unemployment insurance. A key procedural vote to end debate on the bill extending the benefits failed in a party-line 55-45 vote, ending more than a week’s worth of unsuccessful negotiations. The measure needed 60 votes to advance.”