COBRA subsidy extension Senate vote expected today

Congressional Quarterly: A 65 percent subsidy that helped laid-off Americans pay for their COBRA health insurance premiums expired March 31, just before the Congressional recess. Now, one of the first orders of business is voting on legislation that would extend that subsidy. "With 15 million Americans unemployed, some advocates for the jobless say Congress should not only be extending the COBRA subsidies but expanding them — either with more-generous subsidies or by changing the law to make more people eligible."

"Meanwhile, California Democrat Barbara Boxer has introduced a Senate bill that would enable domestic partners, same-sex spouses and extended family members of a covered worker to continue their own coverage under COBRA" (Benson, 4/12).

The legislation that is set for a Senate vote Monday would extend subsidies through May 5, according to The Washington Post. "Democrats will need at least one Republican supporter to get the 60 votes necessary to proceed." But while jobless benefits are traditionally seen as having bipartisan backing, this extension has proved more partisan. "Each party has been eager to blame the other for the cutoff. … Democrats point out that they easily moved an extension through the House and were primed to do the same in the Senate before Republicans, led by Sen. Tom Coburn (Okla.), stood in the way. … Republicans respond that they're not opposed to extending unemployment benefits but want to offset the $9 billion cost with spending cuts elsewhere" (Pershing, 4/12).

The Atlanta Journal Constitution: "For Republicans, the theme of this fight is pretty simple. If you can't find $9.2 billion to pay for an extra month of benefits in a budget that's well over $3 trillion, then you've got quite a problem with spending." Democrats charge that "Republicans continue to treat the American people as expendable political pawns," according to a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid."

"The fight comes as 33 different states have now run out of unemployment benefits money, and are borrowing cash from the feds to make up the difference" (Dupree, 4/12).

The New York Times: Democrats claim that COBRA and other jobless benefits are traditionally treated as "an emergency, and that the payments help the economy and generate new tax revenues, since the money is typically immediately applied to essential purchases. … Republicans say the difference now is that the nation has sunk far too deep into deficit spending to continue to put the jobless benefits on the national credit card" (Hulse, 4/9).