Bill clears Senate hurdle

WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats broke through a Republican filibuster Tuesday and pressed to restart jobless benefits for 2½ million Americans still unable to find work in the frail national economic recovery. The Democrats were victorious by the single vote of a new senator sworn in only moments earlier.

Senators voted 60-40 to move ahead on the bill, clearing the way for a final vote in the chamber today.

The recovery from the nation's long and deep recession has produced relatively few new jobs. Millions of people's unemployment benefits began running out seven weeks ago as Congress bogged down in an impasse over whether the $34 billion cost of a fresh extension of benefits should be paid for with budget cuts or be added to the $13 trillion national debt.

Democrats emphasized the plight of the unemployed and argued that putting money in the pockets of jobless families would boost economic revival.

"This bill is about jobs because unemployment insurance goes to people who will spend it immediately," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. "That would increase economic demand. And that would help support our fragile economic recovery."

But the numbers are far smaller than last year's $862 billion stimulus legislation. Republicans have blocked Democratic add-ons, such as aid to state governments.

"It's too small to have any noticeable impact on the economy's growth rate," economist Joel Naroff said. "But the benefits do provide an important safety net for people during these difficult economic times."

By extending the unemployment aid, Congress might remove one potential drag on the economy, analysts say.

"It reduces the likelihood of a double-dip recession," said Gus Faucher, an economist at Moody's Analytics, refering to a brief recovery from recession followed by another drop in growth.

The economy has added 882,000 jobs this year, but many of those were temporary as the federal government geared up for the U.S. Census.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid rapped Republicans who had filibustered the bill.

"We've talked about it for so long because the other side stood in the way for so long," the Nevada Democrat said after the vote. "The only difference is that today, we finally had exactly enough senators who wanted to say yes.

"It shouldn't take the slimmest of margins to do what is right."

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., voted to continue the filibuster. He said afterward that both parties want to extend benefits, but there has been a difference in philosophy.

"Republicans have been fighting to extend these benefits by paying for them now with cuts in wasteful government spending. Democrats, however, have decided that we should not concern ourselves with the national debt and would rather charge another $30 billion to our national credit card," Ensign said.

"I know that with 14.2 percent unemployment in Nevada, these benefits are incredibly important, but I wanted to extend them without further threatening our economic security. Today, Democrats got their way and extended these benefits without paying for them, which is detrimental to the economic future of our country."

Many Republicans have voted in the past for deficit-financed benefits extension, including twice under the most recent Bush administration. But with the deficit well in excess of $1 trillion, they say it should be paid for with cuts elsewhere in the $3.7 trillion federal budget.

"We've repeatedly voted for similar bills in the past. And we are ready to support one now," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, said. "What we do not support -- and we make no apologies for -- is borrowing tens of billions of dollars to pass this bill at a time when the national debt is spinning completely out of control."

Democrats have cited economists who have said each dollar spent on unemployment benefits generates more than $1.60 in economic activity.

"For the $34 billion that we have obligated today, we're going to get a return on that of about $75 billion," Reid said. "So, a pretty good deal."

In tough times, Democrats said, the government invariably lengthens the eligibility period for jobless benefits as more and more people chase fewer jobs. Such efforts have been deficit-financed, which policymakers and economists say has a stimulative effect on the economy.

White House officials signaled Monday that the administration might seek another renewal of benefits in November if unemployment remains high.

Despite the breakthrough vote, the Senate could not finalize the bill on Tuesday. Senate rules provide for an additional 30 hours of debate after cloture is invoked, although that can be waived by agreement among senators.

On Tuesday evening, an angry Reid took to the Senate floor, saying Republicans were refusing to speed the final vote, which might not occur until this evening. That would further delay benefits because the House still must pass the latest version of the bill, then transmit the measure to the White House to be signed into law.

Reid charged GOP senators with a lack of compassion for the unemployed.

"There are people who are desperate for this money, desperate, and they are making us wait," Reid said of Republicans. "Every hour that is delayed is misery for 2½ million people" whose benefits have expired.

After Tuesday's vote, President Barack Obama assailed Republicans for "obstruction and game playing" and promised to redouble his efforts to win enactment of legislation to help small businesses and cash-starved states and to renew an expired middle-class tax cut.

The vote to break the filibuster was a modest victory for Obama and the Democrats, whose more ambitious hopes for jobs legislation have fizzled in the face of GOP opposition in the Senate.

The jobless benefits fight is looming as an issue for the upcoming midterm elections, with Democrats assailing Republicans as harshly seeking to deny benefits to the almost 5 million jobless people whose six months of state-paid benefits have run out. The measure provides federally financed extensions that allow the chronically jobless up to 99 weeks of benefits averaging $309 a week.

Republicans cast themselves as standing against out-of-control budget deficits, a stand that is popular with their conservative supporters and the Tea Party activists whose support they're courting in hopes of retaking control of Congress.

The filibuster-breaking vote came moments after Democrat Carte Goodwin was sworn in to succeed West Virginia Democrat Robert Byrd, who died last month.

Goodwin was the 60th senator needed to defeat the filibuster. The Senate gallery was packed with Goodwin supporters, who broke into applause as he cast his "aye" vote.

Two Republicans, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, voted to end the filibuster. Ben Nelson of Nebraska was the lone Democrat to break with his party and vote to sustain it.

This would be the eighth extension of unemployment benefits since July 2008 at a total cost to taxpayers of more than $120 billion.

Stevens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault contributed to this report.