Washington, DC – On May 1, Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Dean Heller (R-NV), the authors of the Senate bill to extend unemployment benefits to the to the long-term jobless, told the House leadership to allow a vote on proposed extension.

The bill to restore the long-term unemployment benefits passed the Senate, with a handful of Republican votes, on April 7. Since then House Republican leader John Boehner (R-OH) has refused to allow vote on the measure.

According to reports, Boehner is holding out for an agreement that will link the proposed benefit extension with Republican economic measures. Many analysts view this as a cynical move to torpedo Extended Unemployment Compensation.

The congressional Republican leadership gained effective veto power over legislation to extend unemployment benefits, when the Democratic leadership did now insist on the extensions inclusion in last December’s budgets compromise.

Nearly 3 million workers have lost jobless benefits since they were allowed to lapse on Dec. 28, 2013. As a result, unemployed workers have home foreclosures, car repossessions and hunger.In the aftermath of the large scale economic crisis that hit the U.S. and most other capitalist countries 2007, high unemployment rates have persisted.

In Washington DC, there is a consensus among top Republicans and Democrats to rein in spending by cutting programs that serve working and low-income people. Both parties receive extensive backing from large corporations and wealthy donors.

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