Update: Reid:deal reached on expanding homebuyer tax credit–UE vote within 24 hours; Unemployment Extension Update: Reid now trying to put homebuyer tax credit back in UE bill?? Senate to proceed to UE bill @930am EST; Bill passes cloture 87-13

Update 5: 11/2 newer new thread following UE vote here

Update 4: New thread following UE vote here

Update 3: 430pm EST: Breaking on CNBC- Diana Olick says Harry Reid’s office confirms a deal has been reached on the homebuyers tax credit, It WILL BE EXPANDED AND EXTENDED to include more than 1st time buyers, and IT WILL BE ATTACHED TO THE UE EXTENSION BILL

Reid says he expects a vote on said UE bill WITHIN 24 HOURS.

More as it becomes available…

(Diana Olick’s RealtyCheckBlog, earlier compromise report with details, details moved to Housing Update post.)

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October 23, 2009. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Economy, Finance, Labor Department, Obama Administration, Politics, Unemployment Statistics. 11 comments.

Update: GOP proposes amendments for housing tax credit and Dems Johanns and Nelson propose amendment banning ACORN from any federal funding; Unemployment Update: Extension still stalled in the Senate…

10/23 See Update https://moderateinthemiddle.wordpress.com/2009/10/23/unemployment-update-senate-cloture-vote-on-unemployment-extension-next-tuesday/

Update: The Hill:

(…)Since early October, Senate Democrats have been looking to quickly push through a bill that would extend jobless benefits by at least 14 weeks. But Republicans have blocked the immediate consideration of the bill on the Senate floor, objecting because the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has yet to score it and because a voice vote would preclude GOP amendments….

…Republicans said that a quick vote on the bill would have precluded Isakson’s amendment and others that have bipartisan support. Nebraska Sens. Mike Johanns (R) and Ben Nelson (D) are pushing for an amendment banning all federal funding for ACORN.

Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl (Ariz.) dismissed Democratic suggestions that Republicans are the “party of no” for holding back support on the bill.

“I think when all is said and done, you’ll see a lot of support for unemployment extension. That’s not the issue,” Kyl told reporters. “The question is how you pay for it. The question is what is the score for it, and whether some other amendments will be allowed.”

Democrats plan to find the extra revenue by extending by 18 months the federal employment surtax, paid by employers and set to expire at the end of the year. The CBO expects the extension of jobless benefits to cost approximately $2.4 billion, according to a Democratic aide.

GOP senators, hoping to avoid a tax extension, are planning amendments that would pay for the prolonged jobless benefits by using bailout or stimulus money, according to a Senate Republican aide.

The Indpendent reports an E Verify amendment is also coming to the floor:

(…)The stalling of legislation to expand unemployment insurance (UI) has little to do with the benefit itself. First, there’s a push to attach an extended homebuyer tax credit to the bill — something the Obama administration is wary of.

But also there’s this: Republicans are hoping to attach a number of amendments related to ACORN and immigration — provisions that have delayed floor action on the UI bill indefinitely, according to the offices of both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

The agreement ends after that.

The Republican amendments include at least two provisions related to ACORN; one related to the E-Verify program; one to pay for the UI benefits with unspent stimulus money; and one providing tax relief….

fiddling-while-rome-burns

Update: Courtesy of James McConnell at the Chicago Economic Policy Examiner:

Democratic politicians will hold a press conference Tuesday to blast Republican politicians for holding up legislation to extend unemployment benefits another 14 weeks for the nation’s out of work citizens. Elected representatives in both houses of Congress have agreed on the details of a bill and apparently have the votes to pass it, but Republicans blocked passage by unanimous consent, and continue to offer what Democrats characterize as unrelated amendments…

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October 20, 2009. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , . Economy, Finance, Foreclosures, Labor Department, Obama Administration, Politics, Unemployment Statistics. 4 comments.

Update: Deficit for FY 2009 to hit $1.4 trillion, another record: Congress faces hurdles in push for second stimulus…

Update: TOTUS voted against raising the debt ceiling as a Senator. The hypocrisy continues unabated

Another record deficit projection from CBO. Can’t we send TOTUS to the IMF and he can withdraw us from all foreign subsidy obligations the way he does with our defense agreements? I can see it now:

Of course, they are not letting this stop them from adding the ginormous healthcare entitlement to the economy but they appear wobbly on a jobs bill now, figures.

WSJ:

Democratic leaders pressed President Barack Obama on Wednesday to extend more elements of the existing economic-stimulus package, and to possibly add tax cuts that were rejected the first time around, despite a record budget deficit that is giving some lawmakers pause.

On Wednesday, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the federal deficit for fiscal 2009 will be $1.4 trillion…The figure remains the largest budget deficit, measured as a percentage of gross domestic product, since World War II. That so far isn’t stopping Democratic leaders discussing further stimulus measures.

Worried that the economy isn’t creating jobs, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) went to the White House for a hastily planned meeting. White House economists had already embraced extending enhanced unemployment-insurance benefits and subsidies for the purchase of health insurance under Cobra. Both of those measures are currently set to expire Dec. 31.

After the meeting, Mr. Reid made it clear he also wants an extension of a generous tax credit for first-time homebuyers, something the White House was leaning against as too expensive for the number of jobs it might create(…) Go read the entire piece..

They are going to attempt a giant ROADS AND INFRASTRUCTURE BILL now, which is what they CLAIMED was in the giant spendulus package, guess Apollo Alliance didn’t have enough union jobs to warrant any real infrastructure when they wrote our stimulus bill. Frakkers.

October 7, 2009. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Economy, Finance, Housing, Obama Administration, Politics, Unemployment Statistics. 2 comments.

Update 5: Senate makes a deal, UE extension for all for 14 weeks; UE extension held up: Senate debates how many workers should be eligible; Schumer says UE extension vote to come this week; WSJ: WH & Congress negotiating to extend portions of stimulus, including unemployment extension and Employer subsidies of COBRA coverage…

10/23 See Update https://moderateinthemiddle.wordpress.com/2009/10/23/unemployment-update-senate-cloture-vote-on-unemployment-extension-next-tuesday/

Update 6: WSJ covers the Senate proposal:

Senate Democrats on Thursday introduced legislation that would extend by 14 weeks unemployment insurance benefits for jobless Americans in all 50 states.

It would offer an additional six weeks of federal assistance for unemployed people in the hardest-hit states with unemployment rates above 8.5% over a three month period….

Update 5: Okay the Senate has cut a deal to extend UE for everyone not just states over 8.5% UE rate, for 14 weeks, but when will they pass the bill and git r done?. Also, still on the table:

Senate Democrats reached a deal Thursday to extend the benefits an additional 14 weeks in every state. Both proposals are paid for by extending a federal unemployment tax.

Also on the table: extending subsidies for laid-off workers to help them keep the health insurance their former employers provided, known as COBRA. The current program, which covers workers laid off through the end of the year, costs nearly $25 billion.

Congressional leaders haven’t settled on the length of an extension, or how to pay for it.

They are trying to buy off Seniors with a check by increasing..SS PAYROLL TAXES!!!!!

Several bills would issue extra payments to the more than 50 million Social Security recipients, to make up for the lack of a cost-of-living increase next year. One bill would set the one-time payments at $250, matching the amount paid to Social Security recipients and railroad retirees as part of the stimulus package enacted in February.

The payments would cost about $14 billion and would be paid for by applying the Social Security payroll tax to incomes between $250,000 and $359,000 in 2010. Currently, payroll taxes apply only to the first $106,800 of a worker’s income.

Now the Senate is holding up the UE extension arguing over how many people to cover. What new madness is this! But they are fine pushing through a bazillion dollar health care bill? And now they worry about cost on UE extensions??

Man let’s just bark at the moon, it’s probably as effective as calling these whackadoodles on the Hill but here is the linky to look up your Senator if you need a UE extension, call them..

*Ozzy courtesy of jman19428

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October 2, 2009. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Economy, Labor Department, Obama Administration, Politics, Taxes, Unemployment Statistics. 11 comments.

August 2: Stimulus Unemployment Extended Benefits and Emergency Benefits Weekly State by State Reporting…

Updated Repost:

PDF here from NELP with guidelines for UE Benefit Extensions

Here is the key information for people needing extended benefits, which may be most of us under the ‘new normal’ PIMCO keeps talking about:

6. Where can workers find out whether their state qualifies for EB under the different “trigger” formulas in order to collect EB after running out of EUC benefits?

On a weekly basis, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) provides an update of which states have reached the required unemployment level to trigger on to EB.

The most recent notice is summarized in Table 1, and the weekly DOL notice can be found at:

http://ows.doleta.gov/unemploy/claims_arch.asp by selecting
“Extended Benefits Trigger Notice.”

Here is the status of triggered extended benefits by state as of August 2nd

Here is the status of triggered Emergency benefits by state as of August 2nd:

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August 5, 2009. Tags: , , , . Economy, Finance, Unemployment Statistics. 8 comments.

Stimulus Unemployment Extension Update: NY – 7online.com

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Courtesy of WABC7 Online

more about “Unemployment Extension Update: NYS -…“, posted with vodpod

May 5, 2009. Tags: , , , . Economy, Labor Department, Uncategorized, Unemployment Statistics. Comments off.

Updated:Stimulus Unemployment Extended Benefits and Emergency Benefits Weekly State by State Reporting…

Updated with corrected links thanks commenter!! Note there is a more recent post with Triggers eff 4/19 now up as well…

We have a serious lack of reporting on the state level and in national media about eligibility for the extended benefits in the stimulus, so here are some important resources so we can monitor it ourselves:

PDF here from NELP with guidelines for UE Benefit Extensions

Here is the key information for people needing extended benefits, which may be most of us under the ‘new normal’ PIMCO keeps talking about:

6. Where can workers find out whether their state qualifies for EB under the different “trigger” formulas in order to collect EB after running out of EUC benefits?

On a weekly basis, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) provides an update of which states have reached the required unemployment level to trigger on to EB.

The most recent notice is summarized in Table 1, and the weekly DOL notice can be found at:

http://ows.doleta.gov/unemploy/claims_arch.asp by selecting
“Extended Benefits Trigger Notice.”

Here is the status of triggered extended benefits by state as of April 5th:

TRIGGER NOTICE NO. 2009 – 12
STATE EXTENDED BENEFIT (E.B.) INDICATORS UNDER P.L. 102-318
Effective April 5, 2009
INDICATORS STATUS
13 Weeks
Insured
Unemployment
Rate		 Percent
of Prior
2 Years		 3 months
S.A.
T.U.R.		 Percent of prior Periods
Year Second
Year		 Available
Weeks		 Begin Date(B)
End Date(E)
& Alabama 3.83 236 7.6 194 223 E 06-04-1983
@ Alaska 5.52 113 7.6 118 124 13 B 01-25-2009
& Arizona 3.18 286 7.0 159 184 E 10-23-1982
& Arkansas 4.99 170 6.2 129 121 E 03-26-1983
@ & California 5.02 176 9.7 159 197 20 B 02-22-2009
& Colorado 2.82 218 6.5 151 166 E 01-24-1981
#@ Connecticut 5.14 170 7.1 142 161 13 B 02-15-2009
* & Delaware 4.16 166 6.6 169 200 E 07-17-1982
& District of Col 1.44 165 9.1 154 165 E 01-24-1981
* & Florida 3.57 243 8.6 172 238 E 01-24-1981
* & Georgia 3.85 240 8.4 158 195 E 01-24-1981
& Hawaii 3.21 262 5.9 190 256 E 01-24-1981
# & Idaho 6.90 208 6.5 175 232 13 B 02-08-2009
# & Illinois 5.13 175 7.9 138 168 13 B 04-05-2009
# & Indiana 5.53 211 8.8 183 187 13 B 03-15-2009
* & Iowa 4.35 170 4.7 120 127 E 06-04-1983
Kansas 3.42 210 5.6 140 136 E 11-06-1982
* & Kentucky 4.86 216 8.5 154 149 E 03-19-1983
& Louisiana 2.14 182 5.5 144 141 E 02-25-2006
& Maine 4.51 172 7.4 154 164 E 06-25-1994
& Maryland 3.57 195 6.1 169 174 E 07-31-1982
# * & Massachusetts 5.28 159 7.2 156 156 13 B 03-22-2009
# & Michigan 7.74 173 11.3 154 161 13 B 01-25-2009
@ Minnesota 4.48 164 7.4 151 164 13 B 03-29-2009
& Mississippi 3.87 210 8.5 141 130 E 07-16-1983
& Missouri 4.41 189 7.8 144 162 E 06-19-1982
# & Montana 5.63 195 5.5 141 171 13 B 03-15-2009
& Nebraska 2.16 147 4.2 144 144 E 01-24-1981
# & Nevada 5.82 250 9.3 175 211 13 B 02-22-2009
* New Hampshire 3.69 217 4.9 136 132 E 01-24-1981
@ New Jersey 5.49 161 7.4 160 176 13 B 03-15-2009
New Mexico 3.15 189 5.1 137 137 E 11-27-1982
& New York 4.38 171 7.1 151 161 E 01-24-1981
#@ North Carolina 5.26 230 9.5 186 206 20 B 03-29-2009
* & North Dakota 2.89 150 3.9 130 125 E 06-11-1983
& Ohio 4.91 192 8.6 148 156 E 05-14-1983
& Oklahoma 2.28 219 5.0 147 119 E 01-24-1981
@ Oregon 7.28 219 9.6 181 188 20 B 02-15-2009
# & Pennsylvania 6.31 166 7.0 148 162 13 B 02-15-2009
# & Puerto Rico 5.41 149 13.6 124 130 13 B 01-25-2009
@ Rhode Island 5.95 156 10.1 160 210 20 B 11-09-2008
# & South Carolina 5.34 221 10.0 175 172 13 B 03-08-2009
* & South Dakota 1.89 192 4.2 155 140 E 01-24-1981
& Tennessee 4.13 234 8.4 155 182 E 09-25-1982
& Texas 2.20 197 6.1 138 135 E 01-24-1981
* & Utah 3.31 289 4.6 148 184 E 06-25-1983
#@ Vermont 5.38 164 6.6 157 169 13 B 03-22-2009
& Virgin Islands 2.27 177 6.8 212 309 E 08-06-1983
& Virginia 2.47 219 5.9 173 210 E 01-24-1981
@ * Washington 4.97 214 7.6 165 165 13 B 02-15-2009
& West Virginia 4.08 153 5.2 123 123 E 07-13-1991
# & Wisconsin 6.46 170 6.9 153 140 13 B 02-22-2009
* & Wyoming 2.72 203 3.6 128 124 E 06-13-1987
Total Number “ON”: 23 15 8
* – State does not have 6 % I.U.R option in law
& – State does not have T.U.R option in law April 02, 2009

@ – State “ON” by 3-month average T.U.R
# – State “ON” by 13-week I.U.R
I.U.R reflects 13-week period ending March 21, 2009
T.U.R reflects avg. seasonally adjusted T.U.R for 3-month period end February 2009

Here is the status of triggered Emergency benefits by state as of April 5th:

EUC 2008 TRIGGER NOTICE NO. 2008 – 12
SECOND TIER EUC 2008 TRIGGERS UNDER P.L. 110-449
Effective April 5, 2009

State 13 Weeks IUR 3 months SA TUR Status Effective Date
Alabama 3.83 7.6 ON 2/15/2009
Alaska 5.52 7.6 ON 7/6/2008
Arizona 3.18 7.0 ON 1/4/2009
Arkansas 4.99 6.2 ON 1/25/2009
California 5.02 9.7 ON 7/6/2008
Colorado 2.82 6.5 WILL BEGIN 4/12/2009
Connecticut 5.14 7.1 ON 11/9/2008
Delaware 4.16 6.6 ON 3/29/2009
District of Columbia 1.44 9.1 ON 7/6/2008
Florida 3.57 8.6 ON 10/5/2008
Georgia 3.85 8.4 ON 11/9/2008
Hawaii 3.21 5.9
Idaho 6.90 6.5 ON 1/18/2009
Illinois 5.13 7.9 ON 8/3/2008
Indiana 5.53 8.8 ON 10/5/2008
Iowa 4.35 4.7 ON 3/22/2009
Kansas 3.42 5.6
Kentucky 4.86 8.5 ON 8/3/2008
Louisiana 2.14 5.5
Maine 4.51 7.4 ON 2/15/2009
Maryland 3.57 6.1 WILL BEGIN 4/12/2009
Massachusetts 5.28 7.2 ON 2/15/2009
Michigan 7.74 11.3 ON 7/6/2008
Minnesota 4.48 7.4 ON 11/9/2008
Mississippi 3.87 8.5 ON 7/6/2008
Missouri 4.41 7.8 ON 10/5/2008
Montana 5.63 5.5 ON 2/15/2009
Nebraska 2.16 4.2
Nevada 5.82 9.3 ON 8/3/2008
New Hampshire 3.69 4.9
New Jersey 5.49 7.4 ON 1/4/2009
New Mexico 3.15 5.1
New York 4.38 7.1 ON 2/15/2009
North Carolina 5.26 9.5 ON 9/7/2008
North Dakota 2.89 3.9
Ohio 4.91 8.6 ON 8/3/2008
Oklahoma 2.28 5.0
Oregon 7.28 9.6 ON 11/9/2008
Pennsylvania 6.31 7.0 ON 1/18/2009
Puerto Rico 5.41 13.6 ON 7/6/2008
Rhode Island 5.95 10.1 ON 7/6/2008
South Carolina 5.34 10.0 ON 8/3/2008
South Dakota 1.89 4.2
Tennessee 4.13 8.4 ON 8/3/2008
Texas 2.20 6.1 WILL BEGIN 4/12/2009
Utah 3.31 4.6
Vermont 5.38 6.6 ON 2/15/2009
Virgin Islands 2.27 4.0 WILL END 4/12/2009
Virginia 2.47 5.9
Washington 4.97 7.6 ON 12/7/2008
West Virginia 4.08 5.2 ON 4/5/2009
Wisconsin 6.46 6.9 ON 1/25/2009
Wyoming 2.72 3.6
All states are eligible for up to 20 weeks of first tier benefits.
37 states are eligible for up to 13 weeks of second tier benefits as of April 5, 2009.
I.U.R reflects 13-week period ending March 21, 2009.
T.U.R reflects avg. seasonally adjusted T.U.R for 3-month period ending February, 2009.

April 9, 2009. Tags: , , , , , . Economy, Labor Department, Uncategorized, Unemployment Statistics. 3 comments.

Stimulus Unemployment 13 week Extension Update…

Ahh FINALLY, some clarity on WTH is going on with the 13 week unemployment benefits extension in the states.

Dissecting this piece in the AZ Republic we get to the bottom of how states have to qualify:

Arizona has an opportunity to take advantage of an additional 13 weeks of federal unemployment benefits that could help more than 33,000 residents this year, but lawmakers have been hesitant to accept the funds. Getting the federal stimulus money requires action by the Legislature by the end of its session this spring…

A change in state law on what would trigger the extended benefits is needed to take the money. Arizona officials were confused over contradictory information they had received about whether they could change the law back to keep the state from having to pay the extended benefits once the federal dollars run out.

Although the state and federal government usually split the cost of extended benefits, federal stimulus dollars would pay 100 percent in this case...

So WTH is the delay? Well the state legislators are afraid of hidden strings and who can blame them with Congress Critters running wild changing roolz midgame left and right, Congress is creating this problem just as it is with TALF everyone is afraid to participate.

We have no less than 7 members of the Congressional Black Caucus trying to normalize relations with Cuba while Rev Al and vote fraud riddled ACORN demand OUR ELECTED Sheriff resign ..it is insane…now it is affecting our UE extensions =nationwide= because no one trusts these maroons in D.C….

In addition to having concerns over any long-term consequences, many Arizona lawmakers are leery of requirements from Washington. Federal officials said Arizona can reverse the law. The state can add a “sunset clause” into the legislation that “ends the benefits when 100 percent of federal funding ends,” said Peggy Abrahamson, a Labor Department spokeswoman…

…Arizona lawmakers are still studying the details of the sunset provision. “If we can sunset it when the federal money goes away, fine,” said House Appropriations Chairman John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills….

Here is the guts of the extension provision:

The change in state law necessary to receive the funds would include wording that would trigger 13 weeks of extended benefits whenever the unemployment rate exceeds 6.5 percent over a three-month period.

Current AZ benefits:

Arizonans are currently eligible to receive up to 59 weeks of unemployment benefits. The average length of time collecting benefits is between 16 and 17 weeks, according to the Arizona Department of Economic Security….Jobless benefits in the state, including a recent $25 addition by the federal government, total a maximum of $265 a week…

Additional UE EXPANSION to P/T workers and some voluntary terminations are still being debated in AZ, but I cannot see it passing here, one of our state legislators already announced we ‘would not follow the nation into socialism’ and told constituents to move out if they think they need more funds and social services after June 2009:

…In a separate matter, House Democrats on Monday called for Brewer to accept $132 million from the federal government for Arizona to modernize its unemployment insurance system…Changes could include providing unemployment benefits to part-time workers or those in job-training programs and allowing unemployment-insurance eligibility to be extended…

April 9, 2009. Tags: , , , , , , , . Economy, Labor Department, Uncategorized, Unemployment Statistics. 3 comments.

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