Reid warned that there’s no such thing as easy money in this political climate. Jobless benefits advance in Senate

The Senate begins an even tougher task after a surprise vote on Tuesday to break a GOP filibuster of legislation extending unemployment benefits.

That is: finding a way to pay for the measure.


Democrats were able to secure six Republican votes to advance the three-month extension of unemployment benefits, nabbing just the 60 votes that are necessary to move ahead. But now they must work with centrist Republicans to strike a bipartisan accord that would offset the legislation’s $6.5 billion cost, a tall task in a Senate still brimming with partisan divisions.

But it’s not at all clear that the Republicans who sided with Democrats to break the filibuster will vote for final passage. Two of them said Tuesday they would most likely oppose it without the offsets they are seeking.

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he spoke to White House chief of staff Denis McDonough on Tuesday about finding spending cuts or new revenue to pay for the bill — McDonough told Reid he’d “run the traps” on it. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has also begun discussing pay-for proposals with Democrats.

Though Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) seemed buoyed by Reid and McDonough’s openness to find a way to fund the bill, Reid warned that there’s no such thing as easy money in this political climate.

“If they come with something that’s serious, I’ll talk to them. But right now everyone should understand, the low-hanging fruit is gone,” Reid said.

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Senate Democrats hope to hold a vote on final passage by the end of the week ahead of work on a government spending bill that must pass before Jan. 15.

Several Republicans voted to advance the bill with the expectation that the Senate will find a way to pay for it and perhaps make structural reforms to the unemployment insurance program. Republicans will have another opportunity to block the bill before it can move to final passage, and may eventually vote to scuttle the bill if they are dissatisfied with the amendment process.

GOP Sens. Dan Coats of Indiana and Rob Portman of Ohio — who supported breaking the filibuster — said they would very likely end up opposing the legislation if money is not found to pay for it.

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“I voted to proceed with the debate over how to address unemployment insurance with the hope that during the debate the Senate will agree to pay for the extension and work to improve the unemployment insurance program so it works better to connect those unemployed with available jobs,” Portman said.

In return for several Republican “yes” votes, Democrats began to back away from their position that the legislation should not be paid for, a key development for the legislation not only to clear the Senate but also for its future in the Republican-controlled House.

“Best choice: Pass it, no strings attached, get it done, get it done quickly. Second-best choice: finding a reasonable pay-for that can work on both sides of the aisle,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). “I would caution people that that’s easier said than done.”

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The 60-37 vote shocked key Democrats, who appeared ready to strafe the GOP with charges of obstruction should the legislation stall on the floor. On Monday, President Barack Obama lobbied lawmakers ahead of the close vote and spoke to Collins, who voted to advance the bill, and reached out to Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), who opposed it. During a Tuesday speech, Obama called on Congress to send him a bill to sign.

”The Senate is a complicated place,” Obama said. “All they’ve agreed to so far is that we’re actually going to be able to have a vote on it. They haven’t actually passed it. So we’ve got to get this across the finish line.”

The Democratic Party is charging forward with a legislative agenda strong on solving the nation’s widening income inequality and Democrats believed a failed unemployment insurance vote would have offered them yet another opportunity to chide Republicans during an election year.

But that didn’t happen, as GOP Sens. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Dean Heller of Nevada, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Coats, Collins and Portman joined with Democrats to break the expected filibuster.

“It was in the balance until the very last moment. I was hopeful, but I guess being Irish I’m always expecting the worst. So yeah, I was surprised,” said Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), who wrote the bill with Heller.

Senate Democrats declined to suggest a pay-for that they believe can generate bipartisan enthusiasm, but they quickly ruled out a proposal from McConnell to delay Obamacare’s individual mandate for a year to pay for the extension of jobless benefits. Reid blocked McConnell’s request for a vote on the issue.

Several Republicans who would otherwise be supportive of a benefit extension said that they worried that Reid would further stifle their amendments during debate on the bill. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said shortly before the vote that he was “not at all comfortable” with voting against the bill but said he felt he had no choice given the “total dictatorial behavior” of Reid.

“I’m terribly uncomfortable [that] a majority leader, on an issue such as this, will not even allow an amendment to be considered,” McCain said. Asked how the bill might move forward, McCain replied: “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask the dictator.”

The narrow victory in the Senate still doesn’t solve the problem in the House, where Republicans haven’t been at all keen on passing an extension.

House Minority Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) hasn’t had any indication from the House Republican leadership that it would allow a vote on an extension that doesn’t include an offset or even one that does. But he’s hopeful success in the Senate could put pressure on Speaker John Boehner.

“If the Senate passes unemployment insurance, I think that there is going to be very, very increased pressure on Republicans to bring that to the floor,” Hoyer told reporters on Tuesday morning. “If it comes to the floor, I believe it will pass.”

About 1.3 million Americans were shaved off the benefit rolls on Dec. 28 as Congress failed to extend the emergency benefits, leaving a maximum benefit of 26 weeks in most states. McConnell said he was surprised that Democrats were making political hay of an issue well after the benefits already expired.

“They ignored the issue all of last year,” said McConnell. “Instead of working on reforms that would actually help people overcome the challenges so many of them face in this economy, Democrats plan to exploit these folks for political gain. It’s pretty amazing if you think about it.”

Ginger Gibson and Reid J. Epstein contributed to this report.