Bi-Partisan Congress Votes To Cut Unemployment Benefits And Cut Federal Workers Pay ....
via an increase in the amount of pay deducted from paychecks to cover the increase in employee contributions to the pension system. BBI
Payroll Tax Cut/UI Details Released
By: David Dayen
February 16, 2012
We know the topline stuff: it’s a $150 billion piece of legislation, and $52 billion will be paid for. The payroll tax cut, extended to the end of 2012, will not have an offset. But the offsets for the unemployment extension include a sell-off of wireless spectrum, and an increase in the contribution to pension benefits for new federal employees. For the doc fix, the offsets include a variety of health care-related items, including a damaging 33% cut to the Health Care Prevention Fund (called a “slush fund” in this document).
Then there’s the changes to the unemployment system. Under the bill, unemployment beneficiaries in every state will lose anywhere between 19 and 36 weeks of unemployment benefits by September of this year. It breaks down like this (previous maximum benefit in parentheses):
States with unemployment rate under 6%: 40 weeks (60 weeks)
6.0%-6.4%: 54 weeks (73)
6.5%-6.9%: 54 weeks (86)
7.0%-7.9%: 63 weeks (86)
8.0%-8.4%: 63 weeks (93)
8.5%-8.9%: 63 weeks (99)
9.0% and above: 73 weeks (99)
These are significant drops in the numbers, and more people – I don’t have a precise number, but I would put it in the hundreds of thousands, considering that the average length of unemployment right now is around 43 weeks – will see their benefits expire.
http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/02/16/payroll-tax-cutui-details-released/
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Winning, austerity style
by digby
February 16, 2012
.... how awesome it is that progressives are now thought to be "winning" issues by cutting taxes, cutting unemployment benefits, cutting federal pensions, cutting health programs and agreeing to mandatory drug testing? If we keep this up we'll put Republicans out of business in no time. They will be superfluous:
While the payroll tax break is paid for with borrowed money -- a major concession for GOP leaders who had adamantly opposed new deficit spending -- Democrats gave up their traditional stance that emergency unemployment benefits should be offset with cuts elsewhere. They also agreed to quicker cuts in the duration, and to allow drug-testing of unemployed people who had tested positive before or who were seeking work in certain jobs.
The $52 billion cost of the unemployment extension and Medicare "doc fix" will be funded in part by forcing federal workers to contribute more to their pensions and by auctioning off unused sectors of the broadcast spectrum. Precise estimates of that revenue were being reviewed by the Congressional Budget Office Wednesday night. Federal workers would pay for about $15 billion of the unemployment extension by having their pension contribution raised from 0.8 percent to 1.55 percent. Spectrum auctions would provide about $15 billion, according to preliminary estimates.
If one were to have asked me three years ago if we'd be cutting unemployment benefits with 8.4% unemployed, I'd have laughed in their face. But that was before austerity became our new motto. Now, it's a reasonable compromise for tax cuts. What a world.
Read the full article at:
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/winning-austerity-style.html
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http://www.scribd.com/doc/81866323/Payroll-Tax-Holiday-Agreement-TPM
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US Congress passes payroll tax extension
By Anna Fifield in Washington
February 17, 2012
The bill was passed by a majority of 293-132 in the House of Representatives and 60-36 in the Senate.
Harry Reid, the majority leader of the Senate, said: “In the end, both sides compromised for the good of our country, which is exactly how the American people expect their elected leaders to work.”
Benefits for the long-term unemployed will also be extended for 10 months, at a cost of $30bn, although Republicans chalked up a victory here. The current maximum coverage of 99 weeks will be reduced to 73 weeks in the worst-hit states by the autumn, but in most states it will be scaled back to 63 weeks.
The measures will be offset in part by broadcast spectrum auctions, potentially raising $15bn, and requirements that public sector workers pay more into their pension programmes, raising another $15bn.
Read the full article at:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6739e152-598a-11e1-8d36-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=published_links/rss/world_us_politics/feed//product
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Here's how the Senate voted on this agreement:
Vote Counts:
YEAs
60
NAYs
36
Not Voting
4
Grouped By Vote Position
YEAs ---60
Akaka (D-HI)
Ayotte (R-NH)
Baucus (D-MT)
Begich (D-AK)
Bennet (D-CO)
Blumenthal (D-CT)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Brown (R-MA)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Cochran (R-MS)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Coons (D-DE)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Franken (D-MN)
Gillibrand (D-NY)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hagan (D-NC)
Heller (R-NV)
Hoeven (R-ND)
Inouye (D-HI)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lugar (R-IN)
McCaskill (D-MO)
McConnell (R-KY)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Merkley (D-OR)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Rubio (R-FL)
Schumer (D-NY)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Snowe (R-ME)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Udall (D-CO)
Udall (D-NM)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wicker (R-MS)
Wyden (D-OR)
NAYs ---36
Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Blunt (R-MO)
Boozman (R-AR)
Burr (R-NC)
Cardin (D-MD)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coats (R-IN)
Coburn (R-OK)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Enzi (R-WY)
Harkin (D-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Johnson (R-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lee (R-UT)
Manchin (D-WV)
McCain (R-AZ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Moran (R-KS)
Paul (R-KY)
Portman (R-OH)
Risch (R-ID)
Sanders (I-VT)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Toomey (R-PA)
Warner (D-VA)
Not Voting - 4
Bingaman (D-NM)
Kirk (R-IL)
Roberts (R-KS)
Vitter (R-LA)
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=112&session=2&vote=00022
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