Unemployment Extension Vote Will Decide Fate of Millions

Unemployment extension vote to come

Millions of Americans who can't find work could benefit from the unemploment extension vote.

The unemployment extension vote that took place Tuesday cleared the way for the unemployment extension bill to make its way through Congress. The House has passed the bill, which would allow unemployed workers to collect benefits for an additional 13 weeks beyond what is already allotted.

Originally, the bill specified that only states that have unemployment rates of 8.5 percent or higher would receive the benefits, but that provision has been amended. Because some states with lower overall unemployment rates have areas with very high unemployment, the bill was amended to include all states. Another unemployment extension vote must take place before the benefits will be extended.

Unemployment extension vote sorely needed

The nation’s unemployment rate is hovering uncomfortably near 10 percent, at 9.8 percent, and several million Americans are scheduled to stop receiving unemployment benefits before the end of the year. People who aren’t getting payday cash rely heavily on unemployment benefits.

The bill would provide emergency unemployment compensation for people who are actively seeking work but unable to find it. If the Senate passes the bill when it holds the unemployment extension vote, job seekers would have another three months to try to find jobs while still collecting unemployment insurance.

Why unemployment extension is needed

Out-of-work citizens who are collecting unemployment must actively seek work. In the state I live in, people are require to apply for three jobs per week in order to be eligible for unemployment. Though the jobs the insured applies for do not have to be in the person’s field, people aren’t required to accept job offers unless the pay and position match their previous job.

People in many different fields are having a very tough time finding work during this recession. Many people often think that someone who is collecting unemployment should take whatever job he or she can get, but the reality is that sometimes people can make a lot more from unemployment than they’d make working at Starbucks. Extending unemployment benefits would allow people more time to find a suitable job in the right field of work. This could prevent people from having to uproot their families and move for a job or accept positions below their skill levels.

As anyone who has tried to find a job during this recession knows, the unemployment extension vote could greatly help or hurt millions of Americans.

Drama in the unemployment extension vote

So far, there have been some near scuffles involving the unemployment extension vote. Congress held a cloture vote Tuesday, which is simply a vote agreeing that they should proceed to have a vote on the bill. This was necessary because some members were unable to reach an agreement regarding amendments to the bill.

Sen. Harry Ried at one point threatened to hold a vote at midnight this morning. That would have been the soonest time Congress could legally vote on the bill, as it was 30 hours after the cloture vote. He didn’t follow through with holding the unemployment extension vote at midnight, but the bill passed in House anyway.