Senate postpones test votes on unemployment legislation

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

The Senate postponed a pair of test votes on stalled unemployment legislation Monday as Republicans and Democrats sought a compromise to restore benefits to 1.3 million long-term jobless workers who lost them abruptly late last year.

The postponement came after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada met privately with two Republicans on the measure, the first in what looms as a series of election-year bills in which the political parties vie for support from economically strapped voters.

Officials in both parties said that in the meeting with Reid, Sens. Dean Heller of Nevada and Susan Collins of Maine proposed adding a provision to the bill to restore full cost-of-living benefits to military retirees under age 62. Lawmakers voted to curtail the increases late last year and now face enormous pressure from veterans groups to reverse themselves.

As drafted, the legislation would restore federal benefits for the unemployed who have exhausted their state-provided support, generally after 26 weeks. An earlier program expired Dec. 28, cutting off about 1.3 million people hurt by the recession who had been receiving an average $256 weekly.

In remarks on the Senate floor, Reid did not mention the veterans but said he hoped an agreement was possible on the unemployment issue.