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GOP spurns Dem offer on jobless benefits as payroll talks slog on
Republicans swiftly rejected a Democratic offer on unemployment insurance Thursday, underscoring the obstacles lawmakers face in reaching a deal on a yearlong extension of the payroll-tax cut.
Democrats emphasized that their offer — which would slice six weeks from the maximum time an unemployed worker can receive benefits — is just another step in the protracted negotiations over the payroll-tax break, emergency jobless insurance and Medicare reimbursements.
But the quick rejection from the GOP also showed how far the two sides have to go before striking an agreement.
Unless lawmakers act, the three policies will expire at the end of the month, a scenario lawmakers in both parties said they wish to avoid.
In their latest offer, Senate Democrats recommended capping the maximum number of weeks an unemployed worker could be eligible for benefits at 93, down from the current 99 weeks.
The Democratic offer rejected Republican proposals to require some unemployment beneficiaries to seek GEDs or take drug tests.
With their deadline now less than three weeks away, Democrats on Thursday denied the negotiations are moving too slowly.
“That’s standard procedure,” Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), vice chairman of the conference committee, told reporters Thursday. “We’re negotiating.”
Republican conferees said the Democratic offer isn’t serious, noting that President Obama had called to cap the number of unemployment benefit weeks at 79.
“They’re disagreeing with their own president,” said Rep. Kevin Brady (Texas), a GOP conferee. He called the Democratic offer “puzzling.”
“I don’t know how serious they are,” Brady added. “With the clock ticking, we really need serious proposals.”
Baucus had tipped off Republicans on Tuesday that the offer would be coming “very soon,” and GOP conferees had hoped the proposal would also include suggested offsets.
But Sen. Ben Cardin (Md.), another Democratic conferee, said his party is not particularly interested in offsetting the cost of unemployment benefits, saying it had historically been deemed emergency spending.
A full-year package extending the 2-percentage-point payroll-tax cut, the Medicare reimbursement fix and unemployment insurance has been estimated to cost roughly $160 billion.
“We’re in tough times,” Cardin said. “I think our caucus feels pretty committed to extending [unemployment benefits].”
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) accused Democrats of intentionally dragging their feet to score political points.
“If the president wants to get this done, I think he needs to let Chairman Baucus and the Democrat conferees do their work,” Boehner said. “Right now, the only ones blocking agreement are Senate Democrats and the president. It’s time for them to act.”
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) has countered that Republicans are intent on letting the tax relief expire to throw a wrench into the economic recovery.
While the leaders quarreled this week, the 20 lawmakers on the conference committee continued to be on vastly different pages when it comes to how to pay for the yearlong package.
Democrats are pushing for a surtax on millionaires to help extend the payroll-tax relief, which would help an estimated 160 million Americans.
Republicans, meanwhile, are offering a variety of pay-fors included in a bill that passed the House last year, such as an extension of the pay freeze on federal workers and limiting Medicare subsidies for higher-income seniors.
The Democratic unemployment insurance plan would affect 17 states, along with the District of Columbia, that currently offer the full 99 weeks of benefits, which is made available to states with an unemployment rate of at least 8.5 percent.
Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, warned Republicans against trimming too much from unemployment benefits, and said offsetting the costs could be counterproductive for the economy.
There needs to be “some compromise made on both sides,” said Judy Conti, federal advocacy coordinator at the National Employment Law Project.
— This story was originally posted at 11:09 a.m. and has been updated.
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