White House is now focusing on the long-term unemployment benefits.
US President Barack Obama will have a meeting on Tuesday with a group of unemployed Americans at the White House, in a gesture the administration hopes will boost their campaign to spotlight Congressâ„¢s failure to renew long-term unemployment benefits.
Organizing for Action, which is Obamaâ„¢s political arm, has planned other events in 30 cities Tuesday to pressure Republicans over the issue, Politico reports citing people familiar with the plans.
According to the report, labor and progressive groups also are organizing phone calls to the Capitol and holding a Wednesday rally there featuring unemployed workers and supportive Democratic members of Congress.
The campaign will continue on Thursday with Americans United for Change airing TV ads to make the case that the GOP alone is responsible for the cancelled benefits.
Congress is now gearing up for a fresh face-off between Democrats and Republicans over the White House-backed bill to renew unemployment benefits for 1.3 million Americans.
The bill in the Democratic-led Senate would prevent thousands more from losing their benefits and extend, for three months, the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program which ended on December 28.
Senate Democratic leaders feel cautiously optimistic they have the 60 votes they need to advance the legislation on Monday.
However, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has said he would consider any unemployment benefit extension only if it is paid for.
National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling said in an interview on Sunday that the bill should be extended without being paid for.
Å“Fourteen of the last 17 times that emergency unemploymentâ„¢s been extended there have been no strings attached,” Sperling said. Å“All five times that President Bush extended unemployment benefits there were no pay-fors.”
The White House has now focused on income inequality and a minimum wage hike that has no hope of passing the House, where Republicans feel it is time to stop the federal program after nearly six years of recession and slow recovery.
ARA/ARA
With permission
Source: Press TV