Washington— A bipartisan group of senators ended a long-running election-season standoff and struck a compromise that would extend jobless benefits for 2 million Americans who have been out of work the longest, the lawmakers said Thursday.
Should the Senate approve the election-year measure — as seemed likely — it would throw the issue to the Republican-run House. Its fate there was uncertain.
The timing of a Senate vote also was unclear.
Two leaders of the negotiations —Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Dean Heller, R-Nev. — said in a statement that the deal would be retroactive to the end of last year, when the emergency benefits program expired.
On Dec. 28, about 45,000 unemployed workers in Michigan were cut off from benefits when Congress failed to pass an extension. The benefits contribute up to 37 more weeks of unemployment aid in Michigan after residents exhaust their state-provided 20 weeks of assistance.
U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, D-Royal Oak, has led efforts in the House to restore the benefits as the top Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee. He called the Senate legislation "a major step forward for millions of job-seeking Americans. … The need is urgent, as is our responsibility to act."
U.S. Rep. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, who has also been advocating for action, called on the House to take up the compromise.
"Thousands of Michiganders have lost the critical support they need to find a job in a still recovering economy," said Peters.
As the stalemate dragged on, Democrats had said opposition by most Republicans to extending the emergency benefits showed GOP indifference toward helping those out of work. Republicans said they wanted an extension that was fully paid for and which improved the system.
One aide said the measure's price tag was $9.7 billion.
Lawmakers said the proposal was fully paid for by extending some customs fees and changing how some companies set aside money for pensions, in effect increasing their taxes. More federal revenue would be raised by changing the way some companies make payments to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., which guarantees workers' pensions.
The measure will need 60 votes to overcome Republican procedural tactics aimed at killing it.
But with Democrats having 55 votes — including two usually supportive independents — supporters seemed to have a strong chance of reaching that threshold because five Republicans co-sponsored the announced deal.
Detroit News Staff Writer Marisa Schultz contributed.
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