House fails to pass 90 day jobless benefits extension

The House brought up a 90 day extension of unemployment benefits today under suspension of the rule (an effort to bypass the Republicans regular "motion to recommit" shenanigans). Because it was brought on the suspension calendar, it required a 2/3 majority to pass, and it failed, 258-154. Your usual, loser Blue Dog suspects--11 of them--voted against their unemployed constituents.

Dday sees this as a test vote.

It was brought up quickly, without much warning, and put on the calendar in a day. They did get around 21 Republicans to vote for the unpaid-for three-month extension, while 11 Democrats voted no.... It generally shows that the votes are there, with relative ease, for a three-month extension. Then again, nobody believes the recession will be over in three months, and so the entire thing would repeat itself in the next Congress – with a Republican House – if this passed.

Which is one reason that a number of Democrats have called for a year-long extension of benefits, rather than just three months. But, as again dday points out, getting a three-month extension out of the Senate is going to be a massive challenge, never mind the fact that 2 million people will lose the benefits they deserve--the benefits they paid into (it is unemployment insurance, after all) by the end of this year, and millions more at early next year.

They're not listening.