Unemployment benefits bill slows in Senate

Fight over amendments trips up Democratic leaders.

A fight over amendments is slowing progress on a bill to extend unemployment benefits.

The bill (HR 3548 ) would provide additional benefits to jobless Americans, but it has been slowed in the Senate by a debate over adding other programs, report Keith Perine and Greg Vadala in CQ Today.

Senate Republicans want to amend the bill to include provisions about the community organizing group ACORN and the E-Verify program, which allows employers to check immigration status of workers online.

They have also proposed amendments that would use stimulus funds already set aside to pay for the benefits extension, rather than a payroll tax.

Democratic leaders oppose those amendments, but a bipartisan group of senators has already agreed to consider amendments to extend the first-time homebuyers tax credit and give tax breaks to money-losing businesses.

The bill could be voted on as early as Thursday, or it could get pushed back to next week.

-- Ryan Teague Beckwith, Congress.org

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