Thursday was a red-letter day for Wyoming Republican John Barrasso. He got to screw over both unemployed people and seniors. First, Sen. Whitehouse asked for unanimous consent to move S. 3976, the Emergency Senior Citizens Relief Act of 2010 to the floor for consideration.
WHITEHOUSE: "This past year, for the first time since 1975, Social Security recipients in Rhode Island and in New York and else where did not receive a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA. And it appears they will not receive a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA in 2011 either."
"I rise in support of the Emergency Senior Citizens Relief Act introduced by my colleague, Senator Sanders of Vermont. This will would help ease the strain on the budgets of our seniors by providing a special one-time payment in 2011 of $240 to all Social Security recipients. In effect, it would be a COLA replacement...."
"I ask unanimous consent that the Finance Committee be discharged of S. 3976....and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration."
PRESIDING OFFICER: "Is there objection?"
BARASSO: "...Would the Senator agree to include an amendment that would offset the cost of the bill with unspent federal funds, the text of which I have at the desk?"
WHITEHOUSE: "I am happy to discuss with colleagues on the other side how this can be paid for, but I cannot help but note that colleagues on the other side do not share their concern for the payment and paygo side of the equation when it comes to the tax cuts for people making many, many millions of dollars a year that we are trying to get exempted as we try to get tax relief to the middle class. It would be hard for me to hold seniors getting a $250 one-time benefit in a time when...they're not getting [a] COLA benefit despite their costs going up AND at the same time be asked to agree to hundreds of thousands of dollars per millionaire in some cases in tax relief."
BARASSO: "...I object"
So Seniors are not going to be getting that small check to help them make up for not getting a cost of living adjustment this year. No extra heat for you this winter, greedy geezers.
But that's not all Barrasso managed yesterday. He also had reponsibility for blocking unemployment insurance and in the process displaying his complete ignorance of the program.
"This is about people who have been collecting unemployment benefits for 99 weeks," said Barrasso, describing the bill he just blocked.
Except he wasn't describing it. The bill Democrats have been pushing is for a yearlong reauthorization of two programs called Emergency Unemployment Compensation and Extended Benefits, which combined provide up to 73 weeks of benefits in some states. Those programs lapsed this week, meaning people laid off through no fault of their own are now eligible for just 26 weeks of state-funded benefits.
If the lapsed benefits are reauthorized, some unemployed will once again be eligible for up to 99 weeks of benefits -- but not any more.
Sen. Boxer was on hand to correct him, but he still blocked the bill. Because the only people who are going to be getting any help from Republicans are the people who absolutely don't need it at all.