Progress Illinois

Thank you Progress Illinois!!! So far this site has been the most up-to-date source of information I've found to keep up with the progress on HR 3548 since it left the House on Sept. 22, 2009. Now(today Nov. 2, 2009), that there's another 30 hour countdown, what next? What if no Republicans are in attendance for voting on the actual bill to pass? Enough questions from me for now, but I'm sure anxious to know if someone has the answers.

I agree with you...I check this site everyday and I'm from NC! Progress Illinois is updating the most current news on HR 3548 faster than Open Congress is. Hopefully Obama can sign it soon... maybe this week?

Okay People, remember the names Kit Bond and Jim DeMint when it comes time to re-elect. Also, remember Republicans in general, they are doing nothing good for this country. Maybe they should quit listening to Limbaugh, Hannity and that other jerk and start thinking for themselves.

Thank goodness!
However, the obstructionist rather believe they've succeeded in their sick tactics by stalling progress on H.R. 3548 and blaming Democratic lawmakers for causing the stagnation. These types of actions are offensive and a miscarriage of what they were elected to do. Millions Americans, at no fault of their own, are loosing everything they have and many more are threatening to not be able feed their families while these "heartless aged cranks" knuckle drag with their theatrical nonsense. These benefits help to stave off, the landlord's eviction notice, the greedy foreclosure bandits, shut-off notices, car repo's etc., Shamefully, they have expressed contempt, dread, disceit, disdain etc., and IMO, these vindictive schematic tactics are in the most egregiously poorest taste I've ever experienced knowing, in my life time. That in 40+ years.

I agree too and Im also from NC. I surely hope Obama gets and signs the bill this week too!! *EVERYthing crossed*

I'm from GA and I've been tracking this since 9/22/09. Open Congress is a joke next to this site--at least when news updates related to HR 3548 have been concerned! I've learned an awful lot about legislation in the last month. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the next step is for a final vote from the Senate floor, then on to the House to be voted on once again there. (The second House vote may not have been necessary if the bill hadn't had amendments tacked on to it in the Senate which is why the cloture was invoked.) After it is voted on in the House again, it would then go on to the President to be signed into law. I predict Thanksgiving week...

I sure hope that your wrong, elle

Elle is exactly right on the procedure, I have to believe wrong on the time frame. People like myself who havent had a check in weeks are living on what money we can borrow. Since the House knows it is up to them to rush this through a second time, I believe they will put a RUSH on it. As will the Pres. I can't last another week. But it DOES have to return to the House because it has changed (for the better) since they voted on it last. I would suggest calling Pelosi's office as soon as the Senate passes it, and every day thereafter.

so the hr35438 is scheduled again to be talked about in the senate tomorrow at 2:15 according to the schedule for tomorrow. and just found out that the house will also be working the week of November 9th. I wonder what is the talk for tomorrow about, any of you have any idea????

Why on other sites am I seeing that the republicans are considering forcing another cloture vote?

"Today's vote has all but cleared the way for Senate passage this week, although Republicans are expected to force another "cloture vote" on the underlying bill, a move that would push a final vote to later in the week. Once the Senate clears its substitute legislation, the House could agree to the Senate's changes and subsequently send the bill to President Obama's desk. Otherwise, the two chambers would have to negotiate a final version by means of a conference committee."

Source: Capitol Hill Reports

Say it ain't so....I thought by doing the second vote it all but slammed the door on any further debate, aside from the 30 hours from the time the 2nd vote was taken today and forced a final vote automatically????

hmmmm... maybe some more action tomorrow???

http://democrats.senate.gov/calendar/2009-11.html

OK, can someone with knowledge of the process lay out a possible time line for when the POTUS is likely to be able to sign the bill?

PS: I should say that my unemployment benefits run out in 2 weeks, so I know the pain.

Does the senate realize that a lot of our lives and survival is in their hands. They need to quit dragging this out and get the bill signed so we can get on with our life. My benefits ran out in August. I can not find a job and bills are getting behind. Today get it passed.

I'm with you, Jay. And, nice way of asking a question and explaining your situation.

I think we should make an effort to keep the political comments off this site. It should be used to update information only. Political bloggers such as "Americantaxpayer" rightly or wrongly are using this site to create a political controversy. While it's true that the bill is slow making its way through the Senate that is largely the result of trying to attach extraneous amendments to the basic bill. Right now the argument is about allowing illegal immigrants the right to collect unemployment insurance which the Democrats favor while the Republicans are making an effort to stop this. That's a matter of opinion and if it were left out of the bill, the bill would have been passed long ago. Unfortunately both political parties play their little games and we suffer.

Jack, where people can back up what they say with stats it is all right by me. The all caps ranting can be tiring, but consider this individual's situation - he/her can't help but be emotional when the boat is going down. One of the functions of this site is safety valve, so maybe you can get this person to calm down and make a more effective post, but you have to bear in mind the unbearable situation this person is in.

People are under such strain now, even the people who are managing to hold onto their jobs. We've got to cut slack, we have to make accomodations for the walking wounded, which really, if you think about it, is a core problem facing this nation. The "Buck Ups, Despite Your Bleeding, Uncauterized, Amputated Extremity", versus "Here Is A Nice Tourniquet I Just Happened To Have In My Pocket". We need to get out of our heads and wake up to the people around us.

If the senate does have final passage on this tomorrow when will it be voted on in this house? Do you think the house will approve it like it is or want to amend it? Anyone with knowledge or thoughts on this it would be appreciated. Thank you and take care all of you; hopefully this will all pass soon.

It's 30 "working" hours (like they work, lol). So between the senate and house, that's a minimum of 60 working hours, or 7 1/2 working days, which means at the earliest it could pass is next Thursday the 12th, in the afternoon. Assuming the house passes it, it will probably get to the president for signing on Friday. Then, the funding has to be approved by the House appropriations committee, which incidentally, is not set to reconvene until the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, which is Dec. 1. Assuming committee approval, funds will then be dispersed to each state, which should be completed at least by the end of that week, Dec.4, no problem. After notices are mailed out, and other administrative paperwork, I'm thinking the soonest anyone will see a check is Tuesday Dec. 8, but probably later in the week.

Thank you. That sure seems like a long process, but at least we may see some money before Christmas

I personally think the senate will vote on this no later then wed and I think theres a good change this will be signed into law by the weekend. I think this will all lie on how quick the house votes on this since they are extremely busy with trying to get a health care bill thru this week. I'm thinking they would want to get the unemployment out of the way and spend an hour just voting it thru. They know what a process it's been.

Also they did not make it 30 hours senate time. They started the clock to count reg hours. It expires late tonight so either they have to come into agreement to vote alittle early on it later today otherwise it will be tomorrow for sure. This is second cloture and it's done deal, it has to be pushed for a vote, so thats good.

I don't know how everyone's unemployment procedures go for each state but for Illinois we will for sure get a check before Thanksgiving. Not sure yet if it will be a weeks worth or the full check but it should only take a few days to get a letter stating when to call in after this is signed into law. I used to be a case worker at IDES so I know about how they do things there. The computer systems there are already set up to handle this type of extension.

Once again, if I see a dime before Thanksgiving I will kiss a monkeys a$$ on national television.

Thank you Tiffany for the info. I live in Ilinois and ran out the beginning of September. I sure hope you are right that would be great. It would be nice to have somewhat of a Thanksgiving. any info you have keep posting it

Did I hear correctly, did the seantor that is speaking now say they were going to be voting on this shortly???

A month ago people were in here saying " It will be past threw this week" dont count on anything.

It seems the reports cited earlier in this thread might be correct -- the GOP appears to be trying to force a third cloture vote:

http://progressillinois.com/2009/11/3/another-cloture-vote-ui

This could push off a vote on final passage until Thursday at the earliest.

As far as when the prez signs this into law, that I can only predict. Since this is the second cloture vote, they have to vote when this is up period. It will win because we have the votes. Assuming the house passes the bill this week sometime then the prez will sign into law within 24 hours. I strongly believe it will be all over with by the weekend. The only way this can't happen is if the house ignores the bill this week because of healthcare. Remember the house passed this in only 2 days before and they will take it as is with the senate version. The only reason Reid filed a second cloture is to get rid of the amendments. He knew the house would not pass this bill with the TARP amandment added to it. He knows what hes doing and since the house only has to do a simple vote that will take up maybe an hour of their time then I think they will act quickly on this. They known the wait on this passing has been long enough. So if it is signed by the prez before Sunday then everyone will get a check before Thanksgiving. Depending on your call in day. Mine is on a Monday and I get paid 2 days after that on a wed so the latest I would see a check is on Nov 18th. Even if this didn't get passed til next week, you would see see a check by Thanksgiving. Illinois IDES is pretty good with being prepared to get these funds out. Some states are very slow but IDES had updated there computers in the late 1990's. Alot of states have systems older then that and it takes longer to get out money because they weren't equipped to handle this many claims ever.

Anytime soon? How many times is this going to be asked? Its time to wait and see. Asking questions on this board is an exercise in futility.

Let's say it does pass this week, and the president signs it into law on, say, Friday. Since it is not retroavtive, the first week you will be eligible to claim is next week; week ending Nov. 14. Since you file two weeks at a time, the earliest you could file is Sunday Nov. 22, for the weeks ending 14th and 21st. If you E-File with Direct Deposit, funds should be in your account no later than Wednesday the 25th. This is the absolute earliest I see any extended unemployment benefits actually being paid out. Other methods of filing obviously would be later, and since offices are closed on Thanksgiving, and The Day After Thanksgiving, if you use regular mail, you're certainly looking at no sooner than a December delivery. In fact, I think most people should plan on a Dec. delivery date, with MAYBE a handful possibly receiving before Thanksgiving, at best. Of course, that's if it passes and the president signs it this week. Any delay into next week (or beyond) means no payments until later, possibly the second or even third week of December.

Does anyone know what time they are to talk about the bill today?

1:15 central

Is anyone watching C-Span 2? Did they just say when the Senate gets back from lunch the coverage will be on C-Span 3?

Instead of guessing about this stuff..call and ask the employ. ofc how they plan to handle this once this mess gets cleared up.

Thanks GW and Kevin M.

His last name fits! Crapo!

have they even talked about it yet? I was away when they came back.

I just called the House of Appropriations Committee just a few minutes ago. They informed me that the only days off they will have will be on November 11, 2009 and also for Thanksgiving.

They also informed me that once the President signs the legislative bill it will take effect immediately and it DOES NOT need to go to the House Committee on Appropriations.

They will immediately appropriate the funds to all the states and also said that it doesn't take time for the states to receive them.

I'm not sure if you guys already have this link. Just keep refreshing it, I don't think it refreshes itself.

http://www.senate.gov/galleries/pdcl/

talk on the floor again.... just Sen. Kyl though.... dum dum....

Well, it seems like the Republicans are trying to run down the 30 hour time limit on debate by arguing about other issues.

Then by the end of the 30 hours they will file for their own cloture.
Just so they can slow down the process for the Democrats even though it's going to pass anyways. They are just basically holding us hostage and twisting our arms.

Well it seems there won't be any voting this week per Sen. Dick Durbin because of the Repugs tactically delaying the votes.

"I just called the House of Appropriations Committee" now comments like that are useful, not the wishful thinking or false expectations scenarios that waste a lot of space on boards.

Hedonistic,

I had to make sure what to expect instead of relying on false expectations and also false information. So i have been calling senator's offices in DC so I can be educated by the legislative process.

You're definitely right about people trying to give scenarios and wishful thinking. In the end, it will only hurt when it doesn't happen.

People need to start calling senator's offices in DC since they are more updated than the local offices in their state.

I've said this all along -- call the people that are in a position to know whats going on or are in a decision making capacity...you're doing yourself a favor by doing this. I know these boards have a pacifier effect, but in the end like mrasay said that'll make it hurt even more when doesn't happen.

At this point, the Republicans have one more quiver to slow down until the vote can be scheduled. but, from what I have researched this is their last draw with this legislative bill. If they do decide to use this option then no votes can be scheduled until Thursday at the earliest.

http://www.senate.gov/galleries/pdcl/

Nothing will happen before at least Christmas! Nothing will happen as long as we keep reading Illinois ans watching C-SPAN without making any progress on organizing peaceful protests all over the country, especially in DC.

Wake up and smell the coffee. If it did not pass before election when both Democrats and Republicans needed to aat least appear "politically correct", you will not see the Republicans rushing to vote for it now...Unless some of you may have fallen asleep the Republicans won with landslides in several states tonight. The idea was to organize and pressure them on passing this bill before they get too comfortable. Guess what...IT IS ALREADY TOO LATE. Thanks to Obama and Bella Perlosi, and their freaking endless talk abiut healthcare, they screwed up the job market to the point that the Republicans hit a home run today. And, now they will not be in any particular rash to accelerate this vote. The Democrats also will be hidding their faces after todays defeats to the point that they will not be motivated to fight with the winning Republicans over unemployment benefits for just 1.5 million Americans when 15-16 million are actually unemployed and not complaining. You saw it...The Republicans WON TODAY despite their stubbonrss not to pass the bill. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE - UNLESS WE PEACEFULLY PROTEST AND DOI IT IMMEDIATELY NO ONE IS GETTING ANY CHECKS ANY TIME SOON!!!

Hedonistic wrote:

"People need to start calling senator's offices in DC since they are more updated than the local offices in their state."

Oh please, our local offices know exactly what is going on in DC. We have been calling and writing to both the local office as well as the DC offices and the White House also! THEY DO NOT CARE! They Republicans knew that they are doing just fine as far as the elections are concerned and they are not sweating the passing of this bill. Now that they had their landslide victories over the Democrats they will be less likely to read our messages whether we send them to DC, or thie local offices, or keep bitchimng on blogs like this. The only effective way to see some quick action is to get the media and the White House attention by holding peaceful protests all over the country and in DC!

Unless the unemployment benefits extension gets more attention in the media NOTHING WILL HAPPEN! The media is busy talking Healthcare (so is our lovely President and Bella Pelosi) and tonight they are all talking about how great the Republicans did in the election. And this, despite the fact the it is the Republicans who have been holding up this bill. Well, you can keep using the pacifying effects of blogs like this but know that you are not going to get any checks any time soon. I am in CT and as of November 15th we are getting High Extended Benefits for an additional 7 weeks. So, you know that at least the CT people will not be bitching in bligs for the next few weeks, Other states are on the 7 weeks as well - so this thing is not going to heat up again until Christmas time! DO SOMETHING NOW IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE WRITING HERE FROM NOW TO CHRISTMAS. ONLY DAILY PEACEFUL PROTESTS WILL CATCH EVERYONES ATTENTION - NOT MESSAGES TO THE SENATORS - IT IS ALREADY TOO LATE FOR THAT AND IT HAS ALREADY BEEN HAPPENING WITH ABSOLUTELY NO EFFECTIVE IMPACT.

I don't mention writing senators...just calling the decision makers like your employ. offices and getting in touch with the unemployment advocacy sites. They can tell you what to expect if this passes and give you much better information than can be found on these boards (for the most part. Complaining is fine on these boards...if it helps it helps. Its the what if questions and wishful scenarios that are objectionable.

This thread is closed (sorry it took us so long to delete some of those inflammatory comments). Our latest update can be found here:

http://progressillinois.com/2009/11/4/ui-closer-passage-senate