The looming expiration of federal unemployment benefits raises the question of whether Democratic lawmakers bungled the debate. Though Congress can still act retroactively, Democrats' goal had been to pass an extension of the benefits before Dec. 28, when they are set to expire. The administration and allies on the Hill worked tried to attach a provision to the budget deal passed in mid-December.
But by the time they began engaging the fight, few Democrats seemed particularly attentive and Republicans were more than comfortable running out the clock. Now, with Congress in recess, long-term unemployment insurance will come to an end for 1.3 million Americans, potentially costing 240,000 jobs, according to the White House's Council of Economic Advisers. Was it inevitable? Or was it a case of political mismanagement? The record indicates that Democrats were late to show up, distracted in part by other concerns. A month and a half before the deadline, few members of Congress or administration officials were even talking about unemployment insurance.
The first major mention from the White House came in mid-November, in a little-noticed remark from top economic adviser Gene Sperling during an interview at The Atlantic's Washington Ideas Forum.
"With an unemployment rate of 7.3 percent, we need to raise the emergency unemployment insurance and push for extensions to 2014," Sperling said.
The statement received such scant attention that administration officials had to flag it for news outlets to ensure that the message actually got out. One day later, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney amplified Sperling's remarks by declaring the president "believes we should extend this provision through the end of 2014, and we are confident that Congress will join us in this effort."
But there was no reason for the White House to be confident. The shutdown of the federal government in October, followed by the disastrous launch of the president's health care law, had commanded the spotlight. On the Hill, lawmakers were only casually paying attention to unemployment insurance, outside of the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees the benefits.
A majority of Americans believe Congress should restore the federal unemployment insurance program that it allowed to expire in the recent budget deal, according to a new poll. The details of the survey further suggest that voters stand ready to punish lawmakers who block an extension — something several Republicans have indicated they are prepared to do.
Overall, 55 percent of Americans believe the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program should be extended compared to 34 percent who say it should end, the Hart Research Associates poll found. Among women, 61 percent approve of the program and just 28 percent believe it should cease. The pollsters, who were working on behalf of the National Employment Law Project (NELP), also separated out a subset of respondents who fit the profile of a mid-term election voter. Among the sort of people who show up for off-year elections like the one awaiting Congress in 2014, 55 percent support extending EUC. Senior citizens are especially supportive of the program, and other constituencies that Republicans depend upon in November such as white women and non-college-educated white voters also exhibit majority support for EUC.
Hopefully they will hear an earful from their voters and will come back and extend these benefits.
And if this article is correct I don't think you can see this as anything other than political mismanagement. Apparently, they simply assumed it would be included. I guess because they think Paul Ryan is a nice generous guy in spite of his Ayn Rand worship???
