Dems, GOP characterize unemployment reforms differently

Democrats and Republicans at the very least are emphasizing different aspects of the reforms to the unemployment insurance program that would be included in a deal to extend the payroll-tax cut.

According to Democrats, the pact would allow beneficiaries a maximum of 89 or 99 weeks through May, with that total getting whittled down to 79 weeks through August and 73 weeks through December.

A GOP aide, meanwhile, emphasized that only residents in states with at least 9 percent unemployment would be eligible for up to 73 weeks. The vast majority of states, the aide said, would only be offered a maximum of 63 weeks by the fall.

Details of the potential deal continued to spill out Wednesday — though there also appears to be some disagreement, at least publicly, on how close Congress is to an agreement.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said this morning that lawmakers had an “agreement in principle,” and GOP members of the conference committee dealing with the payroll-tax cut have said that they believe the legislative language on the panel’s report will be wrapped up by the end of the day.

That would allow the House to vote on the measure Friday under the chamber’s three-day rule, as Boehner has said he expects.

But top Democratic House members — including Reps. John Larson (Conn.), Xavier Becerra (Calif.) and Chris Van Hollen (Md.) — have said lawmakers have not yet reached an agreement.

The proposed deal would also include a job-search requirement for applicants, which Republicans have pushed for, and give states greater flexibility to drug test applicants.

But the measure would not give states as much leeway on that issue as was included in the House-passed payroll-tax-cut extension last year, and the agreement does not include the educational requirements for beneficiaries that had been opposed by Democrats.

Unlike the payroll-tax cut, the roughly $50 billion to $60 billion cost of extending unemployment benefits and the Medicare reimbursement rate is scheduled to be paid for in the deal.

Spectrum sales and trims in retirement benefits for federal workers are expected to be used to pay for the unemployment insurance extension.

Savings from the healthcare overhaul passed in 2010 are expected to be among the healthcare cuts used to offset the Medicare “doc fix.”

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