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~ Sooz
~ Sooz
Republicans, while claiming to support a payroll tax cut extension that will primarily benefit the middle class, have cycled through a list of reasons to oppose proposals from Senate Democrats. The GOP refuses to pay for the cut with a surtax on millionaires, even as the wealthiest Americans' tax rates have fallen to historic lows. Other GOP members have claimed the extension — which would put an extra $1,000 a year in the average American's pocket — would undermine Social Security (it wouldn't).
Now, with some members of the party worried that opposing the extension would cause it to lose its reputation for anti-tax zealotry, House Republicans are attempting to make it look as if they support the extension by proposing an alternative plan full of demands they know Democrats won't accept. One of those demands, the Hill reports, is a drastic reduction in unemployment insurance that lowers a person's maximum time on benefits from 99 weeks to 59 weeks:
The Republican proposal is expected to reduce the total number of weeks unemployed workers are eligible for aid by as much as 40 weeks and tighten rules for eligibility.
Such a reduction would significantly reduce the cost of extending federal unemployment benefits, making it easier to secure GOP support for a measure that will also include an extension of a payroll tax cut many conservative Republicans dislike.
Unemployment insurance remains one of the GOP's favorite targets. Republicans have decried the program as a “lifestyleâ€
