House Dems To Biden: "What kind of Deal is that? 'One Year Of Unemployment Benefits For Two Years

House Dems To Biden: 'One Year Of Unemployment Benefits For Two Years Of Tax Breaks For The Rich?'
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/08/house-dems-biden-tax-cut-deal_n_794150.html

Democrats in the House of Representatives complained to Vice President Joe Biden for two hours Wednesday evening about the White House's deal with Republicans to preserve expiring tax cuts in exchange for extended jobless aid and a payroll tax holiday.

"One year of unemployment benefits for two years of tax breaks for the rich? What kind of deal is that?" said Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), describing the gripes of "plenty of people" during a meeting between Biden and House Democrats.

The White House struck the deal with congressional Republicans on Monday to preserve Emergency Unemployment Compensation and Extended Benefits programs for 13 months in exchange for a two-year extension of tax cuts for people earning more than $200,000 a year.

The programs provide up to 73 weeks of federally-funded benefits for workers who exhaust 26 weeks of state benefits. The average weekly benefit is about $300, and the total cost of a yearlong reauthorization is roughly $60 billion. Republicans and conservative Democrats ostensibly concerned about the deficit impact of the benefits have blocked several attempts to renew them in the past couple weeks, but they've signaled they will relent if the benefits are attached to the even-costlier tax cuts for the rich.

if it really is a negation, because the dems have the majority right now, its should be 2 years of unemployment (which costs alot less than tax cuts for the rich) for 1 year of rich tax cuts.

Tell 'em to take it or leave it.

It's a stealth attack on Social Security funding and they need to let the WH know they know it and won't put up with it.

ANY monkeying with SS other than raising the cap is an assault on SS.